Chapter 164
That was the very day he met the King.
Franz sat on the edge of the bed, blankly staring at the ring in his hand.
The Red Witch’s Ring is said to drive its wearer mad and ultimately lead them to their death.
'It’s certain that this is the item corresponding to the question marks, at least.'
Having just checked the notification window, I found there was no room for doubt about it.
However, apart from that, there was something he couldn’t understand.
The World Tree Staff was an item that definitively boosted the user’s abilities. As its user, Franz himself knew that better than anyone.
The sealed armaments also possessed tremendous power, as they contained the Goddess’s power.
Although he hadn’t found a way to utilize them until now, that was strictly because he couldn’t use divine power.
Now that he could use divine power, he would surely be able to find a way to utilize it, so he planned to begin researching as soon as he returned to the Magic Tower.
Anyway, while the other items were sufficiently helpful, this ring in his hand was full of drawbacks, with not a single advantage to be found.
'And it’s not a product of magical engineering, either.'
The earrings Arian chose had a Magic formula engraved inside, so their power could be increased or decreased by modifying it.
In contrast, this ring had absolutely no Magic formula engraved on it. There was no room to tamper with it in the first place.
Despite that, the fact that it harbored magic power was truly bizarre.
It was a contradictory item that couldn’t be interpreted magically.
'Well, there must still be many things in the world that I don’t know.'
Thinking that, Franz slipped the ring onto his index finger.
With an unknown item sitting right in front of him, a Mage could not resist it.
Even if the price was their life, they wouldn’t hold back.
In truth, it was something that would make other Mages shake their heads in dismay if they saw it, but Franz was unaware of that.
“Ugh…?”
Right after Franz put the ring on his finger, the magic power flowing from the ring began to seep into his body.
The ring’s magic power revealed its intense presence, as if intending to burn away every Magic Power Circuit in his body.
Furthermore, his body was heating up, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
True to the name Red Witch’s Ring, its magic power seemed quite fiery.
“I think I know why they died after going mad.”
There was no way an ordinary person could endure this. Ten out of ten would have probably died.
But Franz was different.
Huu-.
He let out a short sigh and slowly drew up his magic power.
He pushed back the ring’s magic power that was eating away at his body and launched a counteroffensive.
The ring tried to resist Franz’s magic power somehow, like a conscious creature.
But Franz wasn’t one to allow that.
“Is that it…?”
When he pushed it back completely, the magic power flowing from the ring completely disappeared.
Along with that, the jewel that had been flickering like a flame and changing colors by the second now took on a pure red hue.
“Can it perhaps store magic power…?”
Franz could feel his own magic power inside the ring. It seemed to have flowed inside during the process of erasing the ring’s magic power.
Starting an experiment right away, Franz was able to confirm that his thought was correct.
The ring had the power to store magic power, and he could take it out and use it whenever he wished.
With this alone, he could drastically increase the power of his magic, making it truly a dream item for Mages.
“Then the magic power that was inside this…”
It must have been the Red Witch’s.
It would be a long time before he learned the fact that the Red Witch was an ancient Mage who had been unjustly burned at the stake.
* * *
Time flowed on, and before long, it was evening.
Everyone, including Franz, had gathered in one place for no other reason than to decide who would be on dinner duty.
However, the conversation flowed differently from Franz’s expectations.
“I’ll make dinner tonight.”
First was Arian.
“No, I will do it.”
“Everyone, please rest. I’ll do it.”
Next was Hera, and the last was Yusti-ah.
Franz was simply puzzled.
He naturally thought everyone would try to put it off, but instead, they were clamoring to do it themselves.
Of course, Franz had absolutely no intention of doing it, so he just wanted it to be decided quickly, no matter who it was.
It was then.
“I want to eat the food Franz makes. You used to make it often.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
He asked back just in case, but Yuna gave him an immediate answer, as if to say “not a chance.”
Of course, just as she said, he had often cooked during their Hero’s Party days.
It didn’t have any special meaning; they had just divided the chores among themselves.
'I’ve been treated to a lot of meals, so I suppose doing it once now would be fine…'
Normally, he would have just gladly accepted, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do that today.
Weren’t there as many as three volunteers for meal duty?
However, that hope of Franz’s was shattered to pieces not long after.
“Well, if the Magic Tower lord is doing it…”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had it.”
“Right. If Franz is doing it, I won’t insist on stepping up either.”
How could they give up so unanimously?
Where on earth did their triumphant eagerness to step up from just a moment ago go?
As he was inwardly venting his unfairness, Yuna landed a critical blow.
“Franz, you hear that? You’ll cook for us, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
It was already an atmosphere where he couldn’t refuse, so it couldn’t be helped.
Since coming to Ganiphus, he had always been treated to meals, so doing it once should be fine.
“Ah, come to think of it, I caught a fish earlier today. Do you want to use that?”
“Bring it here first.”
“Wait just a second.”
Yuna scurried out of the villa and immediately came back carrying a wooden bucket.
Inside the bucket, a sizable fish was breathing in the water, its gills opening and closing.
“How on earth did she catch this…?”
There was no way she had brought a fishing rod, so it was truly baffling.
Anyway, it would be a waste not to use it when she went through the trouble of catching it.
“Alright, give it here.”
Franz received the bucket from Yuna and headed straight for the kitchen.
He had already decided what dish to make.
All that was left was to show off the taste of the unique dishes he’d mastered during his years of fending for himself.
Chop-chop-chop-.
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board echoed through the kitchen in a steady rhythm.
A bubbling sound came from the pot, and an intense, nose-tingling aroma filled the kitchen.
“Is the Magic Tower lord always like that…? I think he’s better than me…?”
“It seems this is your first time seeing it. Franz is the best cook among us.”
“Right. I always enjoyed his food.”
“I helped out from the side a little too, you know…?”
The four of them were blankly watching Franz cook from outside the kitchen.
They were looking forward to his cooking, but him cooking for them himself was actually more important.
Such feelings were evident on their faces, and the corners of everyone’s mouths were turned up.
How much time had passed since then?
“It’s done. Come and eat.”
Franz called everyone over.
“Magic Tower lord, what is this?”
“I can tell that you’ve boiled the fish down in a little broth, at least…”
“The smell is quite strong.”
“I don’t know what this is, but it looks delicious…”
Seeing the food placed on the table, the women all tilted their heads in unison.
It wasn’t strange that they didn’t know what it was.
The dishes Franz made were all things he used to eat in his homeland.
Of course, there were many things left to be desired. The taste of the seasonings was different, and there were missing ingredients.
However, he could proudly say that he had replicated the taste as closely as possible.
“Just try it first.”
Franz spoke proudly and sat down.
Looking at something similar to rice placed in front of him, he felt his heart swell with emotion.
“To think I never even thought of trying this after coming here…”
Having adapted to the food of this world since he was young, he just lived with it.
He started his mornings with sandwiches instead of hot porridge, and ate stew and steak instead of a hearty roast.
But seeing it like this, he almost regretted that he hadn’t tried it until then.
Franz placed a piece of the braised fish on top of his rice and took a big bite.
“…”
This is it. This is it.
It was a taste that truly evoked admiration.
“This is quite good…”
“It almost makes me suspect you’ve learned to cook somewhere.”
“It feels a little spicy. But it’s still delicious.”
“I wish I could eat this every day…!”
Fortunately, it didn’t seem too bad for their palates either.
As expected, the power of his unique cooking was great.
How much time had passed since that highly satisfying meal ended?
Long after the sun disappeared over the mountain ridge, night fell.
At the thought of finally being able to catch up on his lack of sleep, Franz lay down on the bed with a joyful heart.
It was then.
Knock, knock-.
Someone knocked on the door, followed by a voice from the other side.
“It’s Hera. I’d like to talk for a moment.”
…It seemed catching up on his lack of sleep was out of the question after all.