Chapter 149
It was early morning, as the sun began to peek over the mountain ridge.
It was a time when ordinary people would just be opening their eyes, but several people were already gathered in the large open area behind the Magic Tower.
There were five people in total, including Franz.
Since Franz was the only man among them, it was a situation that many men would be quite envious of.
This was especially true given that the women were all exceptionally beautiful.
If he hadn’t been the Magic Tower lord, he might have been stoned to death while walking down the street.
“I’ve only heard rumors about it, so this is my first time actually going there.”
Unlike when she commuted to the Magic Tower, Arian was wearing a flowing dress.
With a pleasant smile on her face, she seemed to be looking forward to the trip to Ganiphus.
“I thought a ducal daughter would have been there before. How unexpected.”
“It’s not that I didn’t have the chance, but I was more interested in magic back then.”
While Yusti-ah and Arian conversed, Franz shifted his gaze slightly to the side.
There, Yuna was rummaging through her bag, checking her belongings.
“Thankfully, I didn’t leave anything out.”
“It’s fine even if you did. We can just make a quick trip back to the mansion.”
“That takes the fun out of it. Plus, I don’t want to bother you for no reason.”
Would it really be a bother? It would only take a moment.
Franz thought so, but he didn’t say it out loud.
Since Yuna was being considerate in her own way, there was no reason to nitpick.
Just then, Hera spoke up.
“Come to think of it, Franz, did you bring that?”
“Bring what?”
“Didn’t you say my kin in the Great Forest packed some fruit wine for you? It would be nice to have a light drink while looking at the sea.”
“Ah, I packed that.”
Although they were going because of the Seven Great Evils, he had no intention of solely focusing on that.
Since everyone had taken the time to go, he planned to enjoy the things they could only do there.
And when it came to things to enjoy, drinking while looking at the sea was definitely a must.
Gulp-.
Everyone’s attention was momentarily drawn to the mention of fruit wine, but Franz was unaware of this.
“Everyone, load your bags in here.”
The trunk of the special carriage, imbued with the sweat and passion of Franz and the Magic Tool Development Department, opened.
The trunk wasn’t very spacious, but since everyone had brought bags with spatial expansion functions, there was no shortage of room.
“Then, everyone, get in. Let’s head out.”
Saying that, Franz immediately climbed into the driver’s seat.
Considering the long hours of driving, it would have been much more efficient to move quickly using Spatial Movement Magic, but the romance of driving along the coast was worth enduring such drawbacks.
He had even finished inspecting the carriage for today in advance, so now all he had to do was truly enjoy himself.
However, no matter how long he waited, no one was getting into the vehicle.
Feeling puzzled, Franz stepped down from the carriage.
“Doesn’t it look exactly like an assistant’s seat? Therefore, I believe it is right for me, the secretary, to sit there. I even have prior experience riding in that carriage with the Magic Tower lord.”
“If it’s such a bothersome task, it would suit me, who will become a slave, a little better than a noble like you.”
“No. If the driver is a Saint, then naturally the Saintess should sit next to him. Even if he loses consciousness from fatigue, I can heal him immediately.”
“If an enemy appears in front of us, I think I’m the one best suited to handle it…?”
He wondered what was going on, and it turned out they were deciding who would sit in the passenger seat.
['Is the passenger seat really a spot worth coveting that much…?']
You have to talk to the driver from time to time so the driver doesn’t get tired, and sometimes you have to pay attention to things the driver might have missed.
It isn’t called the assistant’s seat for nothing; it’s literally the seat for the driver’s assistant.
But there was no way they, who weren’t modern people, would know such things.
Even so, trying to explain these things to them seemed pointless, as the atmosphere was already so heated that they likely wouldn’t listen.
So what could he do?
He just had to wait until they figured it out themselves.
“It seems none of you have any intention of backing down. Then it can’t be helped.”
Yuna spoke in a firm tone and reached her hand into the air.
Then, a sword flew in from somewhere and was grasped in her hand.
An art where the sword was grasped first, and the process followed.
It was something only a Hero chosen by the holy sword could do.
“Aha, so we’re resorting to the use of force. I may not compare to the Magic Tower lord, but I’m quite capable myself, you know?”
Arian gave a soft smile, raising her mana.
Pure white cold energy spread out with her at the center, carving its traces into the ground.
“Oho-, this is quite interesting. Come to think of it, I’ve never fought you all before. I won’t be an easy opponent.”
Clusters of light gathered in the air, forming a bow in Hera’s hand.
It was the bow the World Tree had given her as a gift. Its power would be incomparable to that of an ordinary bow.
“I-I’ve been learning martial arts lately too…?!!”
Yusti-ah raised both her fists and took a combat stance.
Seeing as there wasn’t much awkwardness to it, her claim of learning martial arts seemed to be true.
However, there was no hiding her legs, which were trembling like aspen leaves.
Then again, it honestly wouldn’t make sense for a Saintess to be strong in martial prowess too.
Aside from such leisurely thoughts, the atmosphere was incredibly hostile.
This is a volatile situation where an accident could happen at any moment.
At that moment, a hologram appeared before Franz’s eyes.
<Warning!>
<You are on the verge of a Bad Ending! Your choice will greatly impact the fate of the world!>
A branching point created merely by deciding who gets the passenger seat.
While he thought that would naturally be the case if they fought in earnest, the reason was so incredibly trivial that a hollow laugh escaped him.
Who in the world destroys the world while deciding who gets to sit in the passenger seat?
Anyway, since it had even kindly guided him, he couldn’t just stand by and watch this situation unfold.
“Play rock-paper-scissors. Starting with the winner, take turns sitting there for an hour each.”
As expected, there was nothing as fair and square as rock-paper-scissors.
Even if they lost, it just meant a different order, so they wouldn’t feel too bad about it.
To give everyone a fair chance, he would have to drive for a whopping four hours, but if that could prevent the destruction of the world, it was a cheap price to pay.
Just then, Yuna picked up a small pebble from the ground, placed it between her index and middle fingers, and crushed it.
“H-heek? Yuna, you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, are you?! F-Franz will get mad?!”
…He had never considered that scissors could beat rock.
While he felt the power of the Hero putting that into practice was amazing, he was simultaneously dumbfounded.
Well, rock-paper-scissors wasn’t a physical game anyway.
“Will the Magic Tower lord give the signal?”
“Alright, everyone get ready.”
Everyone had a resolute expression, as if they were soldiers heading out to the battlefield.
What was the big deal that they were going this far…
“Rock, paper, scissors.”
As soon as Franz finished speaking, everyone thrust out their hands.
One pair of scissors, three papers.
“I-I won!”
Yuna raised her scissors high into the sky and smiled.
Given the situation just before, it was a reasonable suspicion, but there was no reason to care that much.
Surely they hadn’t played paper because they thought Yuna would crush their rock if they played it.
However, it seemed not everyone shared Franz’s thoughts.
“Uwaa-, I was too scared to play rock!”
Yusti-ah pouted her lips as if it were a shame.
He hadn’t expected that to actually be the case…
Putting those thoughts aside, Franz called out rock-paper-scissors again.
This time, it was one rock and two papers.
“…Why am I in last place?”
Yusti-ah muttered, staring at her fist clenched tightly like a rock.
['Honestly, I would have played paper too.']
Who wouldn’t know when she was making such a fuss about wanting to play rock?
Perhaps because she was a Saintess, she was transparent and pure as expected.
The subsequent real bout between Arian and Hera ended in Hera’s victory.
While it was a comfort not to be last, they were perhaps bothered by not being first; their expressions were neither good nor bad.
Thus, the final order was Yuna, Hera, Arian, and Yusti-ah.
“Franz, how do you open this door…?”
“Grab the handle and pull. It should open.”
“It won’t break, right?”
“…Probably?”
If Yuna used her real strength, turning the carriage into a lump of scrap metal would be nothing.
Fortunately, such a mishap did not occur.
When Yuna gently pulled the handle, the lock clicked and the door opened.
Meanwhile, another problem arose among the three riding in the back seat.
“Who’s going to sit in the middle?”
“Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
The three gathered to play rock-paper-scissors, and the result, naturally, was Yusti-ah’s defeat.
“Why on earth?!”
This time she had lost purely out of bad luck, so it was understandable that she felt wronged.
But what could be done?
The world of competition was cold and harsh.
Still, the carriage was quite wide, so it wouldn’t be cramped.
Moreover, with three women sitting there, it was safe to say there would actually be room to spare.
“Then we’re off.”
Franz started the carriage.