Chapter 204
Franz slowly read the letter that had arrived from his family home.
“To my beloved son, Franz Gilbert.”
The season when the wheat fields turn golden has already arrived.
The weather seems to have gotten quite chilly, and I wonder if you are doing well.
(Omitted)
Perhaps I have grown old now, for your face only comes to mind faintly.
I know the work of a Magic Tower master is very busy. But wouldn’t you visit home, even if only very occasionally?
I will be expecting a good answer.”
In short, it meant he should show his face.
It had been over ten years since Franz entered the Magic Tower. He hadn’t returned home even once during that time, so it was only natural.
To think that something he had put off little by little, finding learning magic so enjoyable, would drag on this long…
It was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped him.
“Magic Tower master…?”
Were his emotions showing on his face? Arian was looking at him with concern.
She wasn’t the only one giving him such a look. Yuna, Hera, and Arian were making similar expressions.
Then again, considering he had lived through all sorts of incidents up until now, it was understandable that they would be worried.
“It just says to show my face for a bit. So you all don’t need to worry.”
Franz casually placed the letter on the table. Upon this, their gazes naturally followed the letter.
Finding that sight quite amusing, Franz picked the letter up again.
And wouldn’t you know it, their gazes followed the letter this time as well.
Their eyes were full of interest, much like cats watching a toy.
So, as he moved his hand this way and that…
“Franz, may I ask what you are doing…?”
Hera suddenly voiced her question.
“…It’s nothing.”
Thanks to that, Franz was able to come to his senses belatedly, but he couldn’t answer the question honestly.
It was obvious what would happen the moment he said he wanted to play a prank on them because they looked like cats.
He would definitely receive looks of contempt. No, it would be a relief if it just ended there.
It was while Franz was having such terrible imaginings.
“You were trying to dry the table because there was some moisture on it, right…?”
“U-um, perhaps it’s a process to check if something magical is hidden inside.”
“…I spaced out for a moment.”
In order, Yuna, Arian, and Yusti-ah made excuses with awkward smiles.
Unlike Hera, they hadn’t been able to take their eyes off the letter until the very end, so they felt needlessly embarrassed by the situation.
And rightfully so, didn’t it feel like they had become pets? Not long ago, they had even worn leashes around their necks together.
Of course, there was no way Franz could know how they felt.
'It’s a good thing I didn’t say anything…'
In Franz’s mind, the terrible imaginations were still continuing.
Afterward, the silence continued in the awkward atmosphere.
Everyone’s minds were full of various thoughts, so it was only natural.
“Come to think of it, was there perhaps anything written in the letter about mar…riage or something similar?”
The first to break the silence and speak was Arian.
Wasn’t marriage quite an interesting topic for them? None of them showed it outwardly, but inwardly, they were all waiting for Franz’s answer.
“There wasn’t really anything like that?”
“But wouldn’t they still be worried…?”
Franz couldn’t easily give an answer.
It was more like he had never thought about it in the first place.
It had been the same when he lived in his previous life, but for some reason, marriage just felt distant.
“If they seem worried, I will tell them clearly that we decided to get married in a few months.”
Arian smiled and spoke as if it were a given.
“What on earth is she talking about?”
Franz racked his brain to understand her words, and it didn’t take long for him to realize.
The promise they had made a few months ago at the Ducal House of Phrygia was definitely a promise to get married if neither of them found a suitable partner within a year.
However, the sensation felt completely different. When he heard one year, it felt far away, but hearing a few months made it feel like it was right around the corner.
It was then.
“Arian, who definitely did not have a suitable partner by then, right…?”
Yuna was definitely smiling, but her voice was incredibly eerie. Just hearing it from the side was enough to give him goosebumps.
“So? What about it?”
“It means the promise is void if someone snatches Franz away.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to snatch the Magic Tower master away?”
Sitting across from each other with the table between them, the two glared at one another.
Both of them had smiling expressions, but what could be felt beneath them was clear hostility.
He knew they wouldn’t actually swing their fists and fight, but he couldn’t just sit back and watch either.
So, Franz was about to say something.
“Franz, you like quiet and obedient women, right?”
Yusti-ah, who had stealthily clung to him, whispered softly in his ear.
An extroverted woman and an introverted woman.
If he had to compare the two, Franz’s preference leaned toward the latter. Meeting someone with a similar disposition would mean fewer exhausting situations.
But did that mean extroverted women had no charm? Not at all. Sometimes, he benefited greatly from their positive aspects.
To conclude, he felt it didn’t really matter what the disposition of the person he liked was.
However, one thing was certain…
Yusti-ah was absolutely not a quiet and obedient woman.
“Why do you ask?”
“J-just because…! Am I not allowed to be curious…?!”
Flushing red, Yusti-ah blurted out in a voice full of dissatisfaction.
Even so, the distance between them remained just as close, which was truly baffling.
At that moment, Hera, who had been silently watching the whole situation, slowly shook her head.
“No matter what you all say, I cannot hand Franz over. He is the grand chieftain acknowledged by the World Tree, after all.”
Everyone’s gazes turned toward her, and silence fell simultaneously.
And a moment later.
“Isn’t it more accurate to call him the Saint acknowledged by the Goddess? He was actually saved by the Goddess’s power and was able to become a demigod.”
“Hah, I don’t know what either of you is talking about. It would be more accurate to call him the Magic Tower lord rather than a Saint or grand chieftain.”
There was no law saying that belonging to one place meant he couldn’t belong to another, so why on earth were they bickering over that?
In the first place, claiming ownership by saying they could or couldn’t hand him over was absurd.
“Guys, let’s…”
It was when Franz, whose head was slowly starting to throb, tried to organize the situation.
“I-I’m living in Franz’s house, you know…?!”
Yuna was staying at the mansion of the Ducal House of Esteban, so she wasn’t exactly wrong.
It was just that she had ended up pouring oil on a burning fire.
“I’ve slept in the Magic Tower master’s room several times too…!”
“Franz has even slept resting his head on my thighs…!”
“I have gone for a walk wearing a leash…!”
It definitely seemed like the conversation started out about marriage or something, but how on earth did it turn into this situation?
Well, whatever the trivial reasons were, one thing was certain: he had to stop them.
At this rate, they would be arguing all night.
“Stop fighting.”
Saying that, Franz lightly made a pulling motion with his clenched fist in the air.
A leash that had appeared at some point was grasped in Franz’s hand, and it was soon pulled taut.
The leash was connected to the chokers around their necks, so it was only natural for silence to fall over the Magic Tower master’s Office.
But unfortunately, that silence did not last long.
“You’re doing this again…!”
“Magic Tower master…”
“Franz, do you really like this kind of thing…?”
“I… don’t mind either way, but…”
Somehow it was still just as noisy, and it seemed only the opponent they were fighting had changed, but…
He had stopped them from fighting among themselves for now, so he figured that was enough.
…Probably.
It was only after Franz had listened to a long bout of nagging that the Magic Tower Lord’s Office finally quieted down.
Of course, Hera didn’t say anything, but Yusti-ah nagged enough for her share as well, so the result was practically the same.
As time passed like that, night had grown deep before they knew it.
Fatigued from the long day, Franz’s consciousness was slowly trying to leave his body.
“Magic Tower master, you must be very tired. I’m sorry. It’s all because of us.”
“It’s fine. It’s just sleeping a little less. Well, you sleep forever when you die anyway.”
“Magic Tower master, when you say it, it doesn’t sound like a joke, so please don’t say things like that from now on.”
Franz actually had the experience of almost dying twice.
Since it was him saying it, it naturally couldn’t help but sound different.
“Then we’ll be going now. You worked hard today.”
Arian said her farewell, followed by Yuna, Yusti-ah, and Hera.
Franz acknowledged their farewells and stood up.
And just as he was about to head into his room.
“Magic Tower master, I’ll ask you one last thing. If only one of us could go to your family home, who would you take…?”
One person…
Perhaps because a wave of sleepiness was washing over him, it felt like his brain wasn’t working properly.
So Franz scratched his head and gave a half-hearted answer.
“How could I choose just one? I’d have to either take everyone or leave everyone behind. Anyway, you all worked hard today too.”
Franz didn’t even listen to their answers and went straight into his room. And as he threw himself onto the bed, his consciousness immediately drifted far away.
What he had answered them had already vanished from his memory.