Chapter 103
Wow…
Arriving at the lake, an exclamation naturally burst from Franz’s lips. The water was so clear and clean that he could see all the way to the bottom of the deep lake. To exaggerate a little, it looked like there would be no problem drinking it right away.
'It would have been really nice if it wasn’t for work…'
If he was going to take in such scenery, he wanted to enjoy it as leisurely as possible. Sitting on a nearby rock, eating a sandwich, and just taking it easy.
But right now, he didn’t have the luxury to do so. He’d need more than ten fingers just to count the lakes he had to check today. If he dawdled, the work might drag on until tomorrow.
Of course, did he absolutely have to finish it today? Not really. He just hated bothersome things, so he didn’t want to make two trips for the same task.
In a way, it could be called the result of a consequence of his duties as the Magic Tower master. If you put off work, today is easy, but you suffer twice as much tomorrow.
In the end, for those reasons, Franz had no choice but to leave his regrets behind and move his steps.
Still, well, it was fine. He knew a place like this existed now. He could just come back next time.
“Would they like it if they saw it too…?”
Arian, Yusti-ah, Yuna, Hera. He didn’t know why, but the faces of the four suddenly came to mind.
It was probably the influence of them getting closer recently. Honestly, excluding them, he didn’t have anyone he could call a friend anyway.
The corners of Franz’s mouth had subtly curled up, but he himself didn’t realize it.
Soon after arriving in the city, Franz began looking for someone he could ask about the code.
Just like Arian’s grandfather earlier, the older, the better. There was a high chance they would know the history of the area in detail.
After walking through the city for a short while, an old man leaning on a cane appeared.
Franz immediately approached him and asked.
“Excuse me, sir. May I ask you something?”
The continent used a common language everywhere, so just because it was a different country didn’t mean communication was impossible.
For Franz, who had often struggled with the complexities of foreign tongues, he was nothing but grateful for that fact.
Belatedly raising his head at Franz’s words, the old man spoke.
“Eh? That’s a face I haven’t seen before.”
“Yes, I came from the empire.”
“The empire? You came from an incredibly far place. Ah, come to think of it, I also went to the empire when I was young. I was quite a successful merchant back in my prime…”
The old man spoke with a wistful expression, as if reminiscing about his memories.
His story seemed like it would end, yet it continued without stopping. If his life story were written into a book, it would easily fill three volumes. If you put him next to a certain chatterbox, they could probably keep the conversation going for a whole week.
At first, Franz listened and responded appropriately, but when it didn’t end no matter how long he waited, he slowly started to get exhausted.
But even so, he couldn’t just cut the story off in the middle. The old man was talking so joyfully. Plus, since he was the one who initiated the conversation, it was a truly awkward situation.
How much time passed like that?
Eventually, tired of waiting, Franz made a decision.
“Excuse me, sir…”
“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you had something you wanted to ask? Go ahead and tell me.”
The old man beat him to the punch, as if he had read his mind.
Franz was oddly displeased by that, but he decided to just let it slide. The result was the same anyway.
“Do you happen to know the phrase, “when a ray of light shines on the lake”? I understand it to be related to a lake in the western part of the continent.”
“When a ray of light shines…”
The old man muttered quietly and narrowed his brow.
The years of experience emanating from those deep wrinkles raised Franz’s expectations. It really felt like he knew something.
If he gave the answer he was hoping for, listening to that long story wouldn’t have been a waste of time.
However, Franz’s expectations crumbled immediately.
“Well? At the very least, it doesn’t seem to be a story about our village’s lake.”
They say the greater the expectation, the greater the betrayal, don’t they? Overcome by a surging sense of futility, Franz stared blankly into space.
Then what on earth was the point of listening to that story for so long…
That, too, was a choice he made himself, so he couldn’t blame anyone. He could only regret his past self for not firmly getting to the point.
“Thank you, sir.”
Franz bowed his head lightly in greeting and tried to leave immediately. Now that he knew it wasn’t this lake, there was no reason to stay any longer.
At Franz’s actions, the old man spoke as if it was a shame.
“I’d like to hear the story of your travels, how about having a cup of tea?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m very pressed for time. I’m sorry.”
“Well then, it can’t be helped. Have a good trip.”
Saying so, the old man slowly began to walk away.
Seeing that lonely-looking back, Franz felt a little sorry. This was a connection in its own way, yet he had ended up coldly rejecting him.
Even if he talked a bit much, he definitely wasn’t a bad person. If they met next time, sharing a cup of tea wouldn’t be so bad.
Let’s put off the story until then. It was the story of the Hero’s Party that subjugated the Demon Lord, so it would probably get quite long.
Afterwards, Franz wandered all over the village, asking about the lake. He had heard from the old man, but cross-verification was always important, so he couldn’t just ignore it.
The answers he got back from everyone were similar. They hadn’t heard such a story, or they didn’t know - it seemed certain that this lake wasn’t the one.
Having finished his verification, Franz etched the beautiful sight of the lake into his mind one last time and used teleport.
Arriving at the next lake, Franz acted exactly as he had before. After examining the lake, he asked the villagers about the code.
But this time too, the answers were the same. The vast majority replied that it was their first time hearing such a story.
Like that, one, two, three…
“What number was this again?”
Checking the map, it was already the eleventh lake. If the map wasn’t wrong, this was the last one.
Given the situation, Franz slowly started to get anxious. If it wasn’t this lake either, the assumption about the western part of the continent might be wrong, or the code itself could be a lie.
Going completely back to square one - was there anything more terrible than that?
But it was still too early to despair. That would only be true if this lake wasn’t the one in the code either.
To use a common saying, he still had one arrow in his quiver - .
That reminds me, if there were a defense against such projectiles, perhaps anti-magic glass could be developed?
Thinking that, Franz took in the sight of the final lake with his eyes.
The lake wasn’t particularly special. The water was moderately clear, and it was a moderate size. If he had to pick a place where a sealed artifact was hidden, this would be the first to be excluded.
Sss -, I’m getting anxious…
Harboring a growing sense of anxiety, Franz arrived at the nearby village.
The village’s appearance was just as ordinary as the lake. It had no distinct characteristics, just a village you could find anywhere.
Franz bought a random item at the general store and asked the owner.
“Sir, may I ask you a question?”
“Yes, as many as you like.”
Franz hoped. Please, let the old man in front of him know about the code.
But the answer that came back was far from Franz’s hopes.
“Well. I’ve never heard such a story in my life. Could it be somewhere else and not our village’s lake? There are quite a lot of lakes in the west, you see.”
“Is that so…”
Saying so, Franz left the general store.
Afterwards, he wandered around the village and asked the residents the same question, but the answers he got back were no different. Everyone was ignorant of the code.
With this, everything about the Seven Great Evils and the sealed artifact was lost in a fog. It was truly the worst-case scenario.
'I don’t even know where to start fixing this…'
Was the hint the cultist gave him wrong, or was the assumption about the lake of the Western Region wrong?
“Not knowing where things went wrong”, he just felt completely at a loss.
It was then.
Someone approached Franz, who was sitting on a random bench deep in thought.
It was a little boy who had been with one of the old men he had questioned earlier.
“E-Excuse me…”
“Yeah, is something the matter?”
“That phrase, “when a ray of light shines on the lake”…”
I think I know it.
The little boy’s words were what Franz had been waiting and waiting for.
Franz jumped up from the bench and asked.
“Could you tell me in detail?”