Chapter 68
‘*How did I get in here yesterday?*’
Lying in bed, Franz tried to recall how he had ended up in his room, but nothing came to mind.
His memory after drinking in the Great Forest was gone, so it seemed he had indeed drunk a lot.
But how did Arian know he had been drinking?
She had spoken as if someone had told her, which only raised his suspicions.
‘*Someone...?*’
At that moment, a crucial memory suddenly surfaced in Franz's mind.
It was about bringing Hera to the Magic Tower last night.
Without even a moment to kick his blankets in embarrassment, Franz immediately rushed outside.
“Hera…”
Sure enough, Hera was in the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
“Ah, Franz.”
Hera, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, spotted Franz and immediately approached him.
She then asked with a worried expression,
“Did you sleep well? How are your stomach, and your hangover?”
“My stomach’s a bit off, but the rest is fine. More importantly, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind yesterday.”
“Don’t worry about it. Mistakes happen all the time in life. Besides, I am your Slave, am I not? It was simply my duty.”
It was Hera’s slave mindset, emerging as always.
Franz found it truly awkward, but today, he couldn’t say anything.
He felt too sorry for her.
“More importantly, your stomach not feeling well is the problem. When we return to the Great Forest, I’ll personally make you some porridge.”
“It’s fine. Even so, you don’t have to go that far…”
“Taking care of a Master who isn’t feeling well is also a Slave’s duty.”
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but….
Franz had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to utter a word.
It was truly a reversal of master and servant roles.
‘*This is why I shouldn’t make mistakes.*’
A single mistake had truly rendered him speechless.
But what was the point of regretting it now? Spilled water couldn’t be gathered back up.
In the end, all Franz could do was take Hera back as quickly as possible.
“I’ll get ready and be out in a moment.”
“It’s all right, take your time.”
Hera replied, a faint smile playing on her lips.
However, Franz couldn’t possibly accept her consideration, so he immediately went into his room to prepare to leave.
It didn’t even take him ten minutes to emerge from the room.
And it wasn’t because he’d rushed his preparations. He had finished showering and changing his clothes.
It was the result of a man who had completed his service in the Republic of Korea Army, now augmented with the power of magic.
Hera tilted her head at Franz’s peculiar actions.
“Franz, is there perhaps a spell that cleanses the body…?”
“No, there isn’t.”
How wonderful it would be if such a thing existed.
A spell that would cleanse the entire body with a single word, “Cleanse—.”
Unfortunately, such magic did not exist in this world.
From recognizing what constitutes an impurity to establishing the Magic formula for it….
Magic didn’t turn imagination into reality; it produced results based on a magical equation.
Therefore, creating such an ambiguous spell was inherently impossible.
For example, if blood flowing out of the body were recognized as an impurity, what about the blood still flowing inside? A slight miscalculation could result in even the blood within the body being completely erased.
And.
‘*Even if it existed, I probably wouldn’t use it.*’
Unless it was an emergency, he’d probably just wash normally.
How good it felt to soak in warm water after work.
Anyway, with all preparations complete.
All that remained was to take Hera back.
“Hera, let’s go.”
“Yes, let’s.”
Hera, who had been sitting on the sofa, rose and approached Franz.
*Snap—.*
Franz snapped his fingers, and a flash of light later, their forms vanished from the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
The place where the vanished pair reappeared was, naturally, the Great Forest, specifically near the Elf Settlement.
The fresh air filling their lungs and the cool temperature clearly proved they had arrived in the Great Forest.
The two began to converse as they walked towards the Elf Settlement.
“Hera, are you really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re responsible for cleaning up after the festival, and I was just wondering if you couldn’t do it because of me.”
Franz had spoken out of genuine concern, but Hera, in turn, let out a soft chuckle.
“The other Elves would have taken care of it. There’s no one who can’t do his or her job just because the Chieftain isn’t there. Still, I appreciate your concern.”
“That’s a relief then…”
As they walked, chatting for a while, a voice suddenly echoed directly in Franz’s mind.
[I’d like to have two children.]
It was the World Tree.
Judging by the absurd things it was saying, someone must have poured alcohol on its roots.
[I’m perfectly sober.]
‘*You’re saying that while sober?*’
[Oh my, you two disappeared completely drunk, so isn’t it obvious?]
…He had no words.
Even he, as one of the parties involved, thought it was too accurate to refute.
However,
‘*There was nothing like that, so you don’t need to worry.*’
It was true he had taken Hera and spent the night, but they had only slept.
Moreover, it wasn’t even in the same bed or the same room; they had slept separately.
‘*Separate rooms, right...?*’
His memory of last night wasn’t clear enough to be certain, but it was probably separate rooms.
Because there was no way he would have slept in the same room as her.
[That’s a bit disappointing. I’d approve of you two.]
‘*Haha, ha...*’
Every time he heard something like this, he found it difficult to know how to respond.
It was similar to grandparents asking, “When are you getting married?”
[I’m not a grandmother, am I...?]
‘*It’s just an expression.*’
It was while Franz was conversing with the World Tree.
“Franz, is something wrong?”
Hera suddenly asked.
It seemed his expression must have shown some discomfort.
“No, it’s nothing much. Just having a quick chat with the World Tree.”
“Wh-what did it say?”
“…Just you know, asked if I enjoyed the festival.”
He briefly considered telling her the truth, but decided against it.
If Hera heard it, she would only feel awkward.
Especially since it was coming from the World Tree.
“So? What did you answer?”
“Well, of course, I said I enjoyed it.”
“Mm-hmm, that’s a relief. Ah, if you’re alright with it, I was thinking of getting you some more alcohol.”
“…I’ll decline that.”
He had made such a mistake after drinking. If he drank again, he’d be a dog. A barking dog.
As they walked, chatting, the two soon arrived at the settlement.
The place that had been so boisterous just yesterday was now utterly silent.
It felt as if the festival had been a lie.
“Alright, my house is this way.”
Hera led the way, and Franz followed her.
Soon, they arrived at the Tree-trunk House.
“This is my house.”
Hera said, opening the door naturally and stepping inside. The lack of even a basic lock felt truly Elf-like, a fact that reminded him anew of how much they trusted each other.
Franz’s gaze darted around Hera’s house. But there was nothing particularly interesting to see. In fact, it felt so empty it was almost desolate.
‘*If I’d known it was like this, I would’ve bought something on the way.*’
He wasn’t sure if their aesthetic sense was similar to Humans', but they’d probably like it if he brought something.
“You sit there for now. I’ll make the porridge right away.”
“You’ll really make it? Ah, it’s fine. I’ll just go.”
“I feel bad for giving you so much alcohol yesterday. So please, if you can, eat before you go.”
*This is awkward….*
He wasn’t particularly busy, but he felt bad making her go through more trouble after she’d already suffered so much. However, refusing was difficult since she was being so humble about it.
So, in the end, all Franz could do was hesitantly sit down on the chair.
‘*Oh...?*’
It was a chair carved from wood, but surprisingly comfortable.
‘*I want to swap it with the overly luxurious chair in the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.*’
Soon after, the sounds of cooking began to emanate from the kitchen, and before long, a steaming pot was placed on the table.
Hera scooped the porridge into a wooden bowl and handed it to Franz.
“It’s hot, so cool it down before you eat.”
“I’ll eat well.”
Franz scooped up some porridge with his spoon and blew on it, *hoo-hoo—*.
Once the porridge had cooled sufficiently, he carefully brought it to his mouth.
“Oh, it’s delicious?”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, it’s really good.”
What kind of taste? It was like the vegetable porridge he’d eaten in the 21st century. Seriously, no exaggeration, it tasted exactly like that.
For Franz, it was a taste he had actually missed.
“That’s a relief…”
Hera let out a sigh, *hoo—*.
It seemed she had been secretly nervous.
Just as she had hoped, Franz truly cleaned out the bowl.
Not only that, but he even ate another bowl.
‘*Kimchi would be perfect right now.*’
It was a shame, but what could he do? Wishing for kimchi here was too greedy.
Still, just in case, he should look for ingredients that could create a similar taste next time.
Thinking that, Franz stood up.
“Hera, the porridge was really good.”
“I’m glad it suited your taste. More importantly, are you leaving now?”
“I have things to do too. And I feel really bad about everything.”
“I’m fine, but… well, if you have work, there’s nothing for it. Then, I’ll see you next time.”
“Yeah, I’ll come visit next time.”
After saying goodbye to Hera, Franz immediately returned to the Magic Tower.
Hera stared blankly at the spot where he had vanished, then shifted her gaze to the empty bowl on the table.
‘*...It’s lonely.*’
How long had it been since she’d had such a thought?
It seemed she needed to become his Slave as soon as possible.
* * * * *
Back in the Magic Tower, Franz sat on the sofa and organized the tasks ahead.
Dealing with the remaining five of the Seven Great Evils, being granted a ducal title, and attending the party of the Ducal House of Phrygia.
‘*It’s tighter than I thought.*’
There were no fewer than three immediate tasks before him.
Moreover, once he was granted the ducal title, he would have to oversee various matters in the Ishtar Dukedom, so in reality, he would be much busier.
Just when things at the Magic Tower were getting easier, other matters were making him busy.
He worried he might end up working his entire life until he died.
Well, it would work out somehow.
Just as it always had.
It was when Franz had finished organizing his thoughts.
“…Magic Tower Master.”
The tightly closed door opened, and Arian entered.
She had rushed out that morning with a flushed face, but now her expression wasn’t too bad, so it seemed her anger had fortunately subsided somewhat.
“Arian, I’m sorry about this morning. I haven’t had alcohol in a while, so I overdid it a bit…”
“Th-that’s fine.”
Franz felt a weight lift off his shoulders at her words.
Indeed, her anger had subsided.
But there was a bigger problem than that.
“You know we have to leave together tomorrow, right…?”
“Tomorrow?”
The party of the Ducal House of Phrygia was still three days away. So she must be talking about a different schedule. But nothing came to mind, which made him curious.
“Yes, we agreed to go by carriage, didn’t we? It takes quite a while by carriage.”
Ah, the carriage.
‘*I forgot to modify it, but it should be fine, right?*’