Chapter 231
Gro Man of the Barbarian Tribal Alliance subjugated the giant earthworm that was the boss of the labyrinth.
Franz, who had watched the entire spectacle, was simply bewildered. He hadn’t expected them to be this strong.
Occupying the northern lands of the Continent wasn’t something they won through a game of child’s play, after all.
“Great Sorcerer, you have quite the surprised expression.”
“Everyone was amazing, both the sorcerers and the warriors.”
“Even if we were to die, we would never kneel…”
Thud-.
While Gro Man was speaking, he stumbled and dropped to one knee.
The exact reason was unknown, but if he had to guess, it seemed the aftereffects of the sorcery hit him.
He had exerted such strong power that a glimpse of a hero could be seen for a brief moment. This was only so mild because he was a sturdy barbarian; an ordinary person might have died long ago.
“T-this is to gain momentum-!”
Perhaps embarrassed about kneeling, Gro Man needlessly raised his voice.
Right, sure it is.
Franz inwardly replied inwardly and placed a hand on Gro Man’s shoulder.
Pure white divine light flowed from his hand and seeped into his body.
“W-what in the world is this…”
“Divine power. Just think of it as something that roughly heals you.”
“I know that much too. I am merely questioning how you, who are not a High priest, can use such power.”
“Well, it’s something roughly similar.”
Strictly speaking, it would be the position of the Pope, but he figured being a Saint was still somewhat on a similar level.
It wasn’t exactly a position he had obtained because he wanted it, but…
It was helpful at times, so he was reasonably satisfied with it.
“A sorcerer and a High priest, just what is your true identity?”
“Well, actually, I’m a bit of a unique case on our side too. This doesn’t usually happen.”
Magic Tower lord, Saint, demigod, Duke.
Where else would there be a person who could hold these four titles all at once? It was safe to say he was a truly unprecedented existence.
After finishing Gro Man’s treatment, Franz healed the other warriors and sorcerers. Fortunately, they only had minor scratches, so it wasn’t a big problem for him to handle alone.
It was around the time he finished treating everyone. The Red gate, which had been gradually shrinking in size, completely disappeared.
Even if the color of the gate was different, the time it took to disappear seemed to be the same.
Anyway.
“Regarding the monsters you guys killed, if it’s alright, could I take one of each type? It’d be great if I could take the huge one too.”
Franz had also participated in the battle, but all he did was help them. Therefore, the disposal of the spoils was entirely within their authority.
“You came all this way. How could we not do that much for you? If you need it, take the grub buried in the ground too. It doesn’t seem like it’ll be of any use anyway.”
It was welcome news. He had needed specimens for his research anyway.
However, he felt sorry for just accepting it straight away. This was especially true for the boss.
“Then I’ll give you this instead.”
Franz took something out of his bag.
They were dark green leather and a pelt with white fur. They were appropriately processed orc leather and yeti pelt, respectively.
“This is quite an excellent, no, an incredible item. Is it really okay to give us something like this?”
“Please accept it as payment for taking care of the monsters.”
“We cannot do that. You are a guest we invited, and a warrior who receives a gift from a guest is a disgrace.”
For some reason, those words brought a certain forest-dwelling race to mind. They had been just as stuffy, after all.
Well, it didn’t really matter.
“Then accept it as a token of friendship.”
“A token of friendship! If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped!”
Gro Man burst into hearty laughter and accepted the leathers.
Because he had the precedent of Hera, Franz had become an expert at taming stuffy folks.
“Then, since we have become true friends, why don’t we go back together and have a drink? It was a shame we couldn’t treat you to anything last time.”
A drink…
“Thanks for the offer, but I have work to do.”
He had to return to the Magic Tower and handle the work he hadn’t finished yet.
And the promise he made with Yuna a while ago was for today - the promise to roast and eat the snake together.
“To send a friend back like this is truly a warrior’s disgrace.”
“Sorry, but I’ll definitely come by next time and have a drink with you.”
“Alright, please do so.”
Gro Man lightly patted Franz’s shoulder, tap-tap-, and began to lead the others.
Watching his retreating back, Franz let out a soft chuckle (pfft-) and snapped his fingers.
As expected, aside from their loud voices, they were people without any real flaws.
* * *
In the front yard of the Es-teo-ban Ducal Residence, a light flashed and someone appeared.
There was only one person on the Continent who used Spatial Movement Magic as a personal means of transportation, so naturally, it was Franz.
Franz approached the woman who was nodding off on the stone steps in front of the mansion’s entrance.
“Yuna.”
“U-uhhng?”
Yuna jolted awake in surprise and wiped the drool from her mouth with the back of her hand.
He had definitely arrived earlier than the promised time, so why in the world was she already waiting?
“Did you wait long?”
“N-no! I just came out!”
Despite claiming to have just come out, she looked as if she had been sleeping while drooling…
Well, whatever.
“You said we were doing it in the backyard, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got the firewood and everything ready.”
“Then let’s go.”
Franz headed to the mansion’s backyard with Yuna.
In a space a bit too spacious to be called a backyard, there were chairs and a table that looked to be made of wood, along with firewood.
However, the firewood was exceptionally abundant. It was stacked twice as high as a person’s height.
“Yuna, are we using this much firewood?”
“That’s not it. I was just clearing out dead trees from the nearby mountain and…”
Yuna let out an awkward laugh, hehe…
“Ah, right. I’ll go get the ingredients. Franz, you start the fire.”
“Alright, be careful.”
Yuna hurriedly went through the mansion’s back door.
Franz casually tossed firewood into the small pit Yuna had dug beforehand.
Snap, with a crisp sound, a small ember shot out from Franz’s finger.
The ember that clung to the firewood didn’t go out and began to burn its surroundings.
Meanwhile, Yuna returned carrying a large tray. On the tray were various ingredients, and among them, of course, was the prepared snake.
Placing the tray on the table, Yuna began to skewer the ingredients onto wooden sticks one by one.
Watching her, Franz snapped his fingers, snap-, and in an instant, all the ingredients were skewered onto the wooden sticks.
“Oh, thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
After that, a slightly boring time followed. It took a considerable amount of time for the ingredients to cook without burning the wooden skewers.
Still, since he was chatting with Yuna, it wasn’t too bad.
How much time had passed like that?
“It’s all cooked!”
Yuna pulled out the wooden skewer that had been stuck in the ground with a swish. It was a skewer with a long snake winding around it.
“Here, Franz.”
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
Franz received the skewer from Yuna.
To an ordinary person, it looked like something that would naturally evoke disgust.
But who was Franz? Back in his original world, a place far removed from this one, he was someone who had used hagfish, spoon worms, sea cucumbers, and the like as drinking snacks. He had truly eaten all sorts of gross things.
Furthermore, he had already eaten snake several times before, so he didn’t feel any particular aversion to it.
As he carefully put the meat in his mouth and chewed, a clean taste similar to chicken spread throughout his mouth.
This must be why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The taste was top-notch.
From then on, Yuna and Franz’s meal began in earnest.
“Franz, try this too. I picked it myself in the forest.”
Not only the snake they ate first, but also the fish Yuna caught herself, the mushrooms she picked from the forest, the root crops grown in the garden, and so on, were a perfect lineup for a barbecue.
The situation was different from back then when they had to scavenge for whatever they could find because food was scarce, but eating together in front of a campfire brought back fresh memories.
How much time had passed like that? Before they knew it, they had eaten everything they had prepared.
Franz and Yuna were sitting on the ground, looking up at the sky.
“There are so many stars, right?”
“Yeah. There really are.”
When was the last time he had looked at the stars?
A year ago? Two years ago?
It was definitely so long ago that he couldn’t remember exactly.
He had once read a sentence in a book that said people live without looking up, and it was exactly as that sentence described.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew and tickled his cheek. Because the mountain was right in front of the backyard, the wind felt exceptionally cool.
His stomach was full, the sky was beautiful, and the wind was cool.
In an environment that was truly no different from paradise, Franz lay back. The well-grown grass supported his body, making it reasonably soft.
“I wish we could live like this every day…”
“Me too.”
Yuna, who was also lying down, muttered in a low voice.
A moment passed like that.
Suddenly, Yuna rolled over until she was climbing on top of him.
“Franz.”
“…What is it?”
“I have something to say.”
At Yuna’s expression, which was quite different from usual, Franz gulped.