Chapter 127
Snap-.
Along with the cheerful sound of snapping fingers, Franz arrived at the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
Beside him was a man with a highly excited expression, none other than the feeble Mage who had been the host of the bug.
He spoke.
“To wield this level of magic with just the snap of your fingers, you are truly amazing.”
Was it flattery, or was it sincere? He didn’t know exactly which it was, but he hoped for the latter if possible. He wasn’t particularly fond of people who spoke lightly.
Well, if it was sincere, that would be embarrassing in its own way.
Franz said.
“Do you happen to like tea?”
“Ah, yes. I do like it, but…”
“Then could you wait a moment? I will quickly brew some tea.”
Since he had invited a guest, shouldn’t he at least serve some tea?
It would be troublesome if a rumor spread saying, 'I went to talk with the Magic Tower Lord, but he didn’t even offer me a single cup of tea-.'
Normally, Arian would have naturally offered to brew it, but unfortunately, she wasn’t here today. To be precise, she was running a little late.
'Anyhow, these Mages have nothing but pride…'
The cause was a dispute between the fire attribute and the water attribute, which was happening for the umpteenth time this season.
They had been quiet lately, so why did they have to cause trouble at a time like this?
But what could he do? They were members of the Magic Tower, so as the Magic Tower Lord, he had no choice but to embrace them even if he didn’t want to.
Franz sighed inwardly and took a step toward the pantry.
It was then.
The Mage spoke in an urgent tone.
“Magic Tower Master, I will do it. My body is feeling better now, and I am quite confident when it comes to brewing tea.”
Franz could catch a glimpse of himself in him. His reaction was truly similar to when the Emperor had personally served him tea.
What had the Emperor said back then? Surely…
“I have recently developed a hobby of brewing tea. It is something I do because I enjoy it, so you do not need to mind.”
Right, the Emperor had definitely said that.
And upon hearing that, he had been struck dumb and couldn’t say a single word.
It was what they called an unblockable attack.
Sure enough, the Mage opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn’t say a single word.
He probably felt wronged. Having been the victim of it himself, Franz knew better than anyone.
But what could he do? He wasn’t so lacking in conscience that he would order a guest to bring him tea.
In the end, the point was this.
If you wanted to brew the tea, you should have become the Magic Tower Lord.
Franz thought that the Emperor wasn’t the Emperor for nothing as he entered the pantry.
Of course, the Mage waiting outside was going through a hellish time.
Before long, the two of them ended up sitting across from each other with steaming teacups between them.
“The reason I asked you to spare some time is none other than because I have a few things I want to ask.”
Franz struck first before any impressions could come out of his mouth. It was obvious he would say something needlessly embarrassing.
Taking a sip of his tea, he carefully set down his teacup and replied.
“I will answer anything as long as it is something I know.”
“Then I will not decline and ask right away.”
Franz handed him the questions he had prepared in advance, one by one.
What exactly his physical condition had been like, in which region he had felt the stinging sensation, and so on.
The main content was, of course, related to the bug they had examined yesterday.
Fortunately, there were quite a few gains.
The place where he had been infected by the bug was the Western Region of the Empire, the Rudelia Dukedom, where the plague was spreading.
He also said that starting from the night of the day he felt the stinging sensation on his neck, his mind became hazy and his body slowly began to lose strength.
And the most important fact.
“Come to think of it, I saw several people who were experiencing similar symptoms. I remember the person who requested the dispatch wasn’t in very good condition either.”
If so, was the bug the cause of the plague?
As of now, that possibility was high.
Of course, it was only a hypothesis, so he would have to confirm it himself.
'But do I really have to be the one to do that…?'
Franz pondered deeply over how things would unfold from here.
First of all, there was a high chance the Emperor was taking this matter seriously. The fact that a plague was a national disaster was already a truth proven by history.
He would probably point to the Goddess Church as the right people to resolve the situation. Since a plague was also a type of disease, he would think that divine power could somehow handle it.
But what if the cause wasn’t actually a plague, but a tiny bug?
Since it was impossible to pick out and remove only the bugs with the power of divine power, the treatment would eventually become like pouring water into a bottomless jug.
If the host became healthy, the bug would get excited and suck up even more mana.
If time continued to be delayed like that…
'The Empire will fall into chaos, and the Goddess Church will lose its trust.'
Of course, it was a very extreme thought. To the point where one could say there was almost no chance of that happening.
But thinking about it the other way, didn’t that mean there was at least a tiny bit of a possibility? That alone meant it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Continuing his train of thought, Franz finally made up his mind.
'Let’s just try to do something about it for now.'
Because he didn’t want chaos to come to the Empire that was supposed to guarantee his retirement.
There was also the reason that he had to fulfill his responsibilities as a Lord in his own way.
But as expected, the biggest reason was that his mind felt uneasy. It would be one thing if he hadn’t stepped foot into it in the first place, but now that he had come this far, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
And if the situation didn’t calm down anyway, the Emperor would send an S.O.S signal.
Rather than hurriedly making a move when that time came, it would be better to move in advance.
'My workload has increased again.'
Franz sighed inwardly and said.
“Thank you for sparing your time. It was a great help.”
“I am the one who should be thanking you. Thanks to you, Magic Tower Master, my physical condition has improved so much.”
“I am glad to hear you have improved. Then please continue to take good care of yourself, and if you need any help, feel free to seek me out.”
Their conversation ended with that.
When Franz snapped his fingers, the Mage’s figure disappeared with a cheerful Snap-.
And at the same time, the door opened and someone came in.
“Huh? What about that Mage? Did you perhaps not meet him?”
The person pouring out questions as soon as she arrived was none other than Arian. It seemed she had safely finished mediating between the two Magic Associations.
“No, he already came and went.”
“I see. But…”
Arian was about to continue speaking but stopped.
Her gaze was directed at the teacups on the table, so it seemed she was concerned about what had happened while she was away.
“Did you perhaps brew the tea yourself…?”
“I couldn’t leave it to a guest.”
“What do you mean a guest…! If he’s a Mage working in the Magic Tower, he’s a subordinate…!”
Was that so? Come to think of it, that seemed to be the case.
Well, he didn’t particularly have any regrets anyway. The Magic Tower Lord could at least serve a cup of tea to a subordinate, couldn’t he?
“Really, I shouldn’t have stepped away.”
Arian grumbled and brought a teacup out from the pantry. Then she sat down aggressively on the sofa and poured the remaining tea from the teapot into her teacup.
Feeling puzzled by her behavior, Franz said.
“That’s all cold now, isn’t it?”
“You said it yourself, Magic Tower Master. Tea is a matter of preference. I am drinking it according to my preference.”
Wasn’t she the one who had criticized him so much for drinking his tea cold just a while ago?
He had no way of knowing what kind of wind had blown to make her change her mind.
In the meantime, Arian brought the lukewarm tea to her lips.
“Well, this isn’t entirely bad either.”
“Right? I told you it was good.”
“I didn’t say a single word about it being good.”
He was almost hurt a little by Arian’s words that seemed to draw a line, but he decided to be satisfied with the fact that Arian drank the lukewarm tea, figuring that good is good. After all, evaluations could change at any time.
'Then the question is what to do from now on…'
Investigating the plague was, as expected, the thing that should be placed as the highest priority.
Fortunately, there was no backlog of work, so it seemed he could make a move right away.
It was then.
Suddenly, the door burst open and an unexpected figure appeared.
Seeing her, Arian hurriedly began to explain.
“I had forgotten. A guest has come to see you, Magic Tower Master.”
Franz knew that too. The problem was that he had already come face-to-face with her before hearing the explanation.
Hearing Arian’s words, Yustia spoke as if she was dumbfounded.
“You said you were going to check the situation inside, so why didn’t you come out?!”
“I forgot.”
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“I’m not joking, I really forgot. It’s the truth without a single ounce of a lie.”
As Arian pushed through to the end, Yustia was ultimately unable to say anything.
Of course, that didn’t mean her anger had subsided, so she narrowed her brow and sat down irritably beside Franz.
Franz thought.
'Why did they go out of their way to sit on both sides of me when there are plenty of spacious seats?'
Did they perhaps value the beauty of empty space?
If so, leaving the opposite sofa completely empty was understandable…
As expected, he couldn’t understand it.
Be that as it may.
“Yustia, can I ask you something for a moment?”
“Yes, go ahead and ask. I am your teacher today, so I will answer anything.”
Franz realized it as soon as he heard the word teacher.
The reason Yustia had come to visit was to teach him the doctrines of the Goddess Church.
Come to think of it, she had said she would start right after the banquet ended.
Anyhow, that wasn’t what he wanted to ask about.
“Do you happen to know anything about the plague?”
If it was Yustia, it felt like she would definitely know something.