Chapter 142
Franz’s magic power dug into the cracks of the seal.
Grabbing the ends of the complexly tangled threads, the formulas and characters that made up the seal, he slowly untied the knot.
Given that he had already undone seals twice before and this seal was already partially undone, it didn’t take very long.
He was practically a professional seal breaker at this point.
Snap-.
As the seal broke, the transparent crystal disappeared, leaving only the brilliantly shining golden arrowhead on the table.
divine aura wavered and flowed out from the arrowhead.
One would undoubtedly find it an incredible object, to be able to feel it this clearly even without being a cleric.
Though it was a bit funny to be a Saint but not a cleric.
Thinking that it was all because of the Goddess, Franz let out a short sigh and reached out to grab the arrowhead.
His hand touched the arrowhead then.
His vision began to gradually blur.
“That damn Goddess again…”
Eventually, his vision went completely black, and Franz lost consciousness.
* * *
A temple dyed completely white in all directions.
Franz opened his eyes in that place where one could feel not just divinity, but nobility.
Since it was a place he remembered visiting once before, he didn’t even need to ask to know who had summoned him here.
“It has been a while since we saw each other like this.”
The Goddess said, while sitting at the table, leisurely enjoying a cup of tea.
Franz narrowed his brow at her relaxed attitude.
Normally he would have just brushed it off without much thought, but he had built up far too much ill will toward her.
“What is it this time?”
Franz sat opposite her, expressing his dissatisfaction in a blunt tone.
“I called you because I wanted to have a quick chat. We can’t meet like this unless you’re touching a divine armament, right? It was too good an opportunity to miss.”
In short.
“Are you saying you called me because you were bored?”
The Goddess seemed to have a knack for needlessly dragging out things that could be said briefly.
She gave off the feeling that she would fit right in as a noble in this world.
“Is that how it comes across…?”
“Is it not?”
“It’s not like that feeling is completely absent, but…”
As if expressing her awkwardness, the Goddess’s eyes wavered intensely.
Looking at her like this, he felt like there was another Yusti-ah here. He would believe it if someone said they were sisters.
Soon, having sorted out her emotions by taking a sip of tea, she spoke in a calm voice.
“I see you saved a cultist?”
“…”
Franz had nothing to say.
He wasn’t ignorant of what the cult meant to the Goddess.
Though he hadn’t expected the party involved to bring it up directly like this.
“And you are agonizing over whether that choice was right.”
“…That’s correct.”
“You did a good deed. You didn’t expect anything in return, and it was an altruistic action. You did well.”
Franz was momentarily stunned by the unexpected reaction.
He hadn’t expected to receive praise, let alone not be reprimanded.
“There is a phrase in the doctrines of the Goddess Church. The Goddess loves and watches over all people. Even though her followers made it up as they pleased, it’s not exactly wrong.”
“Even if the other party is an enemy?”
“If they are truly remorseful, there is no reason they cannot be forgiven.”
Franz felt like he understood, just a little, why people followed the Goddess.
Though of course, how many among them had actually met the Goddess?
Anyway.
'What’s with this feeling that her love doesn’t quite reach me.'
If it was all people, Franz himself was definitely included.
And yet, far from receiving that love, he was doing her favors, and was even forced into the position of a Saint, which only brought him trouble.
As Franz let out a sigh at that thought, the Goddess twiddled her fingers and said.
“I have no intention of stealing my child’s husband…!”
“Excuse me…?”
“You were just talking about love and all that…”
It seemed the Goddess had read his thoughts without permission and had misunderstood.
Similar things had been happening since yesterday; was he cursed or something?
For a moment, many words came to Franz’s mind, but he forced them down and spoke calmly.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean love in that sense.”
“R-right? Phew…”
“And I am most certainly not Yusti-ah’s husband.”
“Fufu-, you never know.”
The Goddess smiled as if amused and took a sip of her tea.
Even taking an interest in this sort of thing made her the spitting image of a noble.
To the point where he wondered if a noble aristocrat had ascended to become the Goddess.
Anyway, since their business was done, there was no longer any reason to stay here…
It was then.
“Leaving me out again…!”
Along with the sound of a familiar voice, the empty air tore open and someone revealed themself.
It was a woman with hair the color of new sprouts growing on a tree as winter passes and spring arrives.
Since he had met her before, there was no need to ask who she was.
“Did you barge into my space without permission again?”
“You took our child’s husband and are doing this and that with him, so did you expect me to just sit still?”
“Hah-? He’s our child’s husband, you know?”
The World Tree and the Goddess began to bicker as if they had planned it.
What on earth would the followers of the Goddess Church and the Elves think if they saw this sight?
Haa-.
Franz let out a sigh and shook his head to erase the thought.
Paying attention to it would only give him a headache.
“If our business is concluded, I would like to return. I am not exactly a man with endless free time.”
“Y-you haven’t talked with me yet…?”
“I will come visit you separately later, World Tree. Let us have our conversation then.”
Franz turned his gaze away from the sulking World Tree and looked at the Goddess.
Because sending him back was the duty of the ruler of this space.
Perhaps feeling a bit apologetic, the Goddess offered an awkward smile.
“I ended up showing you an unsightly side of myself for no reason. I will send you back now, but before that, I will give you a small gift.”
A small lump of light popped out of the Goddess’s body and was sucked into Franz’s body.
There wasn’t any particular feeling. It just felt the same as usual.
“You should be able to use divine power now. For some reason, your body was rejecting divine power, so it took some time to adjust.”
Divine power, that miraculous power used by Clerics, could now be used by Franz as well.
“Anyway, my body rejected divine power…?”
He had been inwardly dissatisfied with the fact that he couldn’t use divine power despite becoming a Saint, but as he looked at it now, the problem hadn’t been with the Goddess.
The Goddess didn’t seem to know the reason either, so she probably wouldn’t get a meaningful answer even if she asked.
“Then, please have a safe trip back.”
With those final words from the Goddess, Franz’s vision began to gradually blur.
It seemed he could finally escape from those foolish gods and return.
As Franz surrendered his body to his slowly fading consciousness, the Goddess’s voice reached his ears.
“I gave the child a heads-up, so please do not worry too much.”
A heads-up? What on earth was she talking about?
Given the circumstances, there were two possibilities he could expect.
She had informed her that he could now use divine power.
Or she had informed her of the fact that he had saved a cultist.
“It absolutely cannot be the latter.”
If Yusti-ah were to find out about that fact through the Goddess, the situation would only get worse, never better.
Thus, Franz hoped desperately.
Please, let that damn Goddess not have caused an accident.
* * *
Franz, who had been slumped over the desk, slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling something hard at his fingertips, he looked down to see the golden arrowhead resting there.
The moment he put it into his bag, the door to the Magic Tower Lord’s Office opened.
The one who entered the Magic Tower Lord’s Office was none other than Arian.
“Magic Tower master, about lunch… Were you sleeping by any chance?”
“Huh? Why?”
“You have a mark on your cheek. It looks like you slept really soundly.”
Feeling unnecessarily awkward, Franz rubbed his cheek with his hand.
He hadn’t exactly fallen asleep, but explaining it all would be a hassle.
Afterward, Franz left the Magic Tower with Arian and had a meal.
According to Arian, it seemed to be a fairly famous restaurant, and the taste was certainly decent enough.
After finishing their meal, they headed to a sandwich shop.
It was because they needed to get food for Seri-ah and Zeni-ah.
He felt it was a bit bothersome, but since it wouldn’t last for too long, he decided to endure it.
It wasn’t like there was anyone else to take care of them anyway.
“If they like it that much, why don’t we buy three? One might not be enough, you know.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
After purchasing three sandwiches as Arian suggested, they immediately moved to the 5th basement floor.
Of course, Arian was with him.
He was a little worried, but he figured there wouldn’t be any major problems.
One way or another, she was someone who took good care of her younger siblings.
“Wow… To think there was a space like this in the Magic Tower…”
Upon arriving at the 5th basement floor, Arian let out an exclamation of awe and looked around.
Her gaze stopped at a certain point, which was where Seri-ah and Zeni-ah were.
Perhaps she had been in the middle of a conversation with Seri-ah, as Zeni-ah was standing in front of the magical engineering device.
As Franz took the first step toward them, Arian followed behind him.
At the appearance of a stranger, Zeni-ah spoke with a highly tense expression.
“W-who is this pretty person…?”
The corners of Arian’s mouth shot upward.