Chapter 172
“After you disappeared, the other mages kept coming over and asking us this and that… sir.”
“Right. Honestly, I felt bad saying things about the Magic Tower master’s disciples, asking if we even had the skills for it… sir.”
Perhaps they were somewhat aware of the situation, as Seri-ah and Zeni-ah were using honorifics they didn’t normally use. Even that was ambiguous, which felt very much like them.
After that, the two explained in detail what had happened.
The mages were asking them various things about magic theory, or making them attack a dummy for testing power. To sum it up simply in one word, it seemed the mages were being territorial.
It was a good thing Zeni-ah’s magic skills were outstanding, otherwise people would be talking a lot of trash behind their backs right now, saying they were nepotism hires, or that they took money from somewhere.
“I knew they were these kinds of guys, but…”
Every group usually had people who shunned newcomers. The Magic Tower was full of people who had devoted their entire lives solely to magic, so that tendency was especially strong.
They thought someone might steal their results. In fact, such things had happened a few times.
“Should I have just taken them on this trip instead…”
It was fortunate, if anything, that they experienced something that would happen eventually, but on the other hand, he felt sorry for seemingly making them go through an unnecessarily bad experience.
Even though they weren’t his children, he felt a sense of guilt as their guardian.
“Actually, we were just going to ignore them. But someone said the Magic Tower master really has no eye for people, so we couldn’t hold back.”
“Right. It’s fine if we get insulted, but not you.”
Franz was touched by their words. He hadn’t expected them to be thinking of him to this extent.
On the other hand, the thought of “Then you should do well normally-” came to mind, but he didn’t bother saying it out loud. If he said something like that, this touching moment would definitely come crashing down.
“Thank you both. You went through a lot dealing with that.”
Franz said that and patted both of their heads.
The expressions of the two, which had been full of tension at first, had loosened up at some point.
“Still, it’s better not to engage with them if you can help it. There are a lot of weirdos among the mages.”
Not the good, the bad, and the weird, but mages were the weird, the weirder, and the truly crazy.
You don’t avoid crap because you’re scared of it, right? Getting involved would only make things unnecessarily tiring, so it was better not to associate with them in the first place.
“But you’re weird yourself. Right? Zeni-ah.”
“Right. He’s the king of weirdos. Right? Seri-ah.”
The two looked at each other and said that, then giggled playfully.
If he had known it would turn out like this, should he have just scolded them harshly instead?
Franz belatedly regretted the fact that he had missed the chance to establish discipline, but the ship had already sailed.
“By the way, you brought something fascinating with you?”
Seri-ah and Zeni-ah’s gazes were directed at leviathan, who was moving this way and that in the air as if bored.
“I met him on this trip. Well, he’s roughly something like a pet.”
Saying he was a calamity of the Mythical Era created by the Demon God and so on would make the story too long, so he just made up a rough excuse.
He wondered if he might get angry at the word pet, but fortunately, no such thing happened.
Leviathan merely glanced sideways at Franz and went back to doing his own thing. It seemed he was as quick-witted as the years he had lived.
“Come to think of it, I had something to give you…”
Franz trailed off and reached into the small bag at his waist.
What he soon pulled out was two small glass bottles. Inside the glass bottles were seashells, and the various colored shells gathered in one place looked quite nice.
“Did you make this yourself by any chance?”
Zeni-ah asked, examining the glass bottle this way and that.
“Well, technically yes…?”
There were pretty seashells on the beach, and he happened to think of Seri-ah and Zeni-ah, so he made things for them.
It wasn’t that special a gift, but it could be said that his own effort went into it.
“Doesn’t it seem a bit shoddy somehow? Seri-ah.”
“It can’t be helped. He made it himself. Zeni-ah.”
The two looked at each other and smiled playfully.
Franz was simply dumbfounded. He hadn’t done it to hear things like that.
Shouldn’t they at least show some manners to the person who gave them a gift?
“Give it back if you don’t like it.”
“No. I’m going to keep it for the rest of my life.”
“Right. I won’t give it back.”
The two startled and hugged the small glass bottles to their chests, like young children who didn’t want their dolls taken away.
He really didn’t know which it was. Did they like it, or did they hate it?
Franz decided to just let it slide. As long as they didn’t hate it, it didn’t really matter. Since he had already given it as a gift, taking it back would be a bit much anyway.
“Then you two get back to work now.”
Since he had finished everything he wanted to say, there was no reason to keep them any longer.
“You’re just sending us away from here…?”
“At least tell us a fun story…!”
Seri-ah and Zeni-ah seemingly didn’t want to go back to work.
But that was out of the question.
“Come find me after work for that.”
If he fed them, housed them, and let them wash up, shouldn’t they at least earn their keep?
The ancestors' proverb, “He who does not work, neither shall he eat.”, didn’t exist for nothing.
“Let’s just leave that idiot behind. Seri-ah.”
“Yes, that would be best. Zeni-ah.”
Zeni-ah and Seri-ah glared at Franz with sullen expressions and immediately left the Magic Tower master’s Office.
If someone saw this, they might misunderstand that the Magic Tower master was exploiting the labor of minors, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Because he was providing them with quite a lot of support, he gave them a spot in the residential facilities of the Magic Tower; magic lessons were free; and he even provided financial support every month in the name of a salary.
Even making them do work was done out of a desire for the two of them to settle down quickly if possible. If a definite place for them was established, their anxiety or discomfort would disappear.
He hadn’t done it hoping they would recognize it, but it was a bit upsetting that they were so oblivious to it.
Phew-.
Letting out a short sigh to shake off those feelings, Franz stood up.
They weren’t the only ones who had to work, so from then on, he had to process the paperwork piled up on his desk.
How much time passed after that?
It was around the time the piled-up paperwork had dwindled by half.
As he was writing the word 'REJECTED' in huge letters on an official document submitted by the Necromancer Association, the door suddenly opened and Arian came in.
“Magic Tower master, excuse me.”
What was held in her hands as she bowed her head and entered was none other than a stack of paperwork.
Franz’s expression instantly soured.
“You have to work as much as you played. Don’t make such a disgusted expression. If it looks like you’ll be working overtime, I’ll help you.”
“What do you mean by overtime? If I can’t finish it, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
It wasn’t an overwhelmingly massive amount like before, so if he pushed it back a day, he could finish it reasonably well. There was no reason to unnecessarily drag Arian into it and work overtime.
But why was it? Arian’s lips jutted out, full of dissatisfaction.
“Is something wrong?”
“Never mind.”
“Right…?”
Something felt off, but Franz decided to let it slide. Unless Arian told him, there was no way to find out.
Fortunately, Arian’s pout disappeared not long after.
“Shall I bring you some tea?”
“Yes, please.”
Not long after Arian headed to the pantry, a teacup with steam rising from it was placed on the desk.
Because the scent of the tea was quite different from usual, it seemed she had used the tea leaves gifted by Lena.
As he was sipping the tea like that, he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
“Arian, do you want to leave the earring you received earlier? I’ll fix it up for you after work today.”
“Understood.”
Arian fiddled with her ear, then soon placed the earring with the snowflake-shaped ornament on the desk.
After she left the Magic Tower master’s Office, Franz focused on his work.
A pen moved in the air, writing words on the documents. At the same time, he was sipping tea with his other hand - a bizarre situation.
How much time passed like that? It was a little past quitting time.
Ughhh-!
Franz let out a drawn-out sound and stretched. Sitting for a long time made his body quite stiff.
Still, he felt somewhat proud since he had done everything he needed to do today. Unlike Arian, he had no need to work overtime.
Shall I then go do my personal work now?
Thinking that, Franz picked up the earring resting on the desk.
It had been a very long time since he had touched a Magic Power Circuit engraved on an accessory, so he was worried his skills might have rusted in the meantime.
Well, it’ll work out somehow.
Franz took a step toward the research lab.