Chapter 199
It was right after their rather boisterous meal had ended.
“Then, as promised, I’ll be borrowing Franz.”
Yusti-ah said to everyone, as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Her tone was as calm as ever, but she couldn’t hide her twitching lips.
No matter what she said, she was looking forward to spending time alone with Franz.
“Franz, let’s go then.”
Saying so, Yusti-ah took the first step.
“I’ll see you guys later.”
Franz gave an awkward smile and said his goodbyes before following Yusti-ah.
Thus, the three left behind stared blankly at the retreating backs of the two.
They had only eaten together, so they wondered if it was right for her to borrow him for half a day…
But her friends, whom she thought she was close with, had thrown a party leaving her out.
They understood her disappointment, so they couldn’t bring themselves to say anything.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were just going to sit still.
“Yuna, Hera, come here for a second.”
Arian said quietly.
As Yuna and Hera tilted their heads and approached, she began to hatch a plan in earnest.
“You’re not planning on just staying still, are you?”
“Huh? Do you have a plan?”
“I wouldn’t call it a plan…, but let’s tail them for now.”
Tailing: In other words, secretly following the two of them.
Even so, they couldn’t just stand by and watch them be alone together.
It would be a big deal if they did anything impure.
They doubted that Franz would do such a thing, but they couldn’t bring themselves to relax.
“Will it be okay? It might be fine with Yusti-ah, but deceiving Franz would be nearly impossible.”
Hera expressed her concern.
Franz’s mana detection was at such an outstanding level that it was hard to believe he was human.
Even if Arian hid his mana with magic, given his skills, he would easily see right through it.
“It’s fine. The Magic Tower lord won’t know either.”
Arian was confident they wouldn’t be caught.
She knew that Franz’s mana core wasn’t normal.
Deceiving him, who was currently no different from an ordinary person, would be a simple task.
“It seems you have a clever trick. Then I will follow your idea.”
“I’ll follow too. I need to see what those two are up to.”
With Hera and Yuna accepting the idea, a party was formed.
Namely, the Franz Shadowing Party.
The goal, of course, was to prevent anything impure from happening between Franz and Yusti-ah.
“Both of you, take this.”
Arian handed them both a thin cloth.
They would do their best not to get caught, but there was a possibility of a dangerous moment. They were going to do a minimal disguise in preparation for that.
The three immediately wrapped the cloths around their heads like bandanas.
It was such a ridiculous sight that Franz would have burst out laughing if he had seen them.
“Then let’s go before it’s too late.”
Led by Arian, the Franz Shadowing Party began to move out.
They were completely unaware of what was going to happen next.
* * *
Franz walked down the street with Yusti-ah.
Many people were going about their lives on the street. Some were moving busily to sell goods, while others were moving to buy them.
Peaceful. In a way, one could think of it like that.
“Franz, how is it, watching the world you saved?”
“I don’t really have any particular thoughts…? Besides, you were there too.”
“That’s true. Though I don’t think I was much help.”
“You were plenty of help.”
“That’s unusual for you to be giving compliments.”
Yusti-ah smiled playfully.
What did she think of him?
He was aware that he was stingy with compliments, but he still gave them when he had to.
Anyway.
“Where are we going right now?”
“Who knows?”
“If you don’t know, who does?”
“Well, won’t we end up somewhere if we keep going like this?”
Of course they would end up somewhere, though it didn’t seem like that place would be their destination.
Franz found it hard to understand Yusti-ah’s thoughts.
So he just decided not to think about it.
She was the one who asked to borrow his time, so wouldn’t she figure something out?
All he had to do right now was walk silently by her side.
How much time had passed since then?
“Wow, isn’t this pretty?”
Yusti-ah suddenly marveled as she looked at an ornament displayed in a shop.
It was an ornament made of glass, and the glass flower, made of various colors, looked quite beautiful as it caught the sunlight.
“Aren’t there a lot of these in the Cathedral too?”
“Are you perhaps talking about the Cathedral’s windows…?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Most of the windows in the Saint Seraphia Cathedral were made of stained glass.
The sight of the golden late afternoon sunlight shining through the windows was quite spectacular.
“Well, it is similar. But those are windows and this is an ornament. Don’t you think it would look pretty if you decorated a room with one?”
“I suppose so.”
“Hmm, but it’s a bit much to buy. I might break it while carrying it around.”
Yusti-ah made a regretful expression and moved her gaze elsewhere.
“Wow, this is pretty too. The craftsman must be very skilled.”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
“But why are you holding that in your hand?”
Yusti-ah tilted her head and expressed her confusion.
In Franz’s hand was the flower-shaped ornament they had been looking at just a moment ago.
“Didn’t you want it?”
“I did, but…”
“I’ll hold onto it and give it to you later. I can just put it in my bag.”
Inside his robe, three small bags hung at Franz’s waist.
They were, of course, no ordinary bags. Their exterior was incredibly compact, but they were magic tools with an endlessly large internal capacity.
“I’ll go pay for it, so look around for a bit.”
“W-Wait a minute. I have money too.”
“Forget it. What money does a Saintess have…”
Franz left Yusti-ah behind and walked over to purchase the ornament.
Of course, the Saintess would have some emergency funds too. But how much could it be? With all her talk about worldly desires and such, it was obvious it wouldn’t be much.
“[And I did feel a little sorry…]”
Franz was feeling a bit of guilt about everyone gathering for a meal and leaving Yusti-ah out. It was a separate issue from her saying she was fine with it.
So he planned to give her a small gift to make her feel better.
Even though it was an inexpensive ornament…
Wouldn’t it help at least a little?
Soon, having finished paying, Franz faced Yusti-ah.
“…Thank you.”
Yusti-ah said quietly, gazing vaguely into the distance.
“It’s nothing. It wasn’t even expensive.”
“The price isn’t what’s important… Anyway, that’s just how you are.”
Yusti-ah let out a long sigh as if she was frustrated.
Flustered by her reaction, Franz just blinked his eyes.
He felt like he had done something wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was at all.
“Well, it’s fine. I already knew you were like this.”
“What do you mean…? Explain it a bit more.”
“Who knows?”
Yusti-ah let out a small chuckle and took a step forward.
Franz followed her and thought, 'Let’s not think too deeply about it.'
If Yusti-ah wasn’t in a bad mood, that was enough.
Franz and Yusti-ah wandered around many shops after that.
At the magic tool shop, he explained this and that to Yusti-ah, and at the clothing shop, he picked out clothes that would suit her.
In the midst of that, they suddenly spotted a teahouse, and the two naturally stepped inside.
“Wow, the scent is really nice.”
Yusti-ah smiled with a teacup in her hand.
Franz stared at her blankly.
“W-What is it? Is there something on my face?”
“No, I was just wondering what it would have been like if you hadn’t lived as a Saintess.”
“Well…”
Yusti-ah trailed off and took a sip of her tea.
Soon, she quietly set down her teacup and continued speaking as she shifted her gaze out the window.
“I probably wouldn’t have lived an ordinary life, as is usually the case with children raised in an orphanage.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s fine. It’s just a hypothetical anyway.”
Slurp.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Franz sipped his tea.
If he had known this kind of answer would come out, he wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.
“But you know what?”
“What…?”
Franz quietly set down his teacup.
At the same time, her gaze turned to Franz.
“I think it’s a good thing I became a Saintess.”
“You hated it until recently, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. Subjugating the Demon Lord and subjugating the Demon God were both too difficult. And life in the Cathedral is still just uncomfortable.”
“Then why on earth…”
“Because there’s someone I wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t become a Saintess.”
Yusti-ah gave a bright smile.
Franz stared at her blankly, and only came to his senses when something touched his mouth.
Yusti-ah had picked up a cookie that was placed in front of him and shoved it into his mouth.
Franz was flustered, but he ate it for now.
“How is it? Is it good?”
“The cookie is good too.”
“That’s a relief.”
They were having a relaxed conversation like that.
Turning his gaze out the window, Franz suddenly spotted someone.
Three people wearing bandanas on their heads were looking at him and Yusti-ah.
Their identities were, of course, Arian, Yuna, and Hera. Their hair colors were so unique that he couldn’t possibly fail to recognize them.
“Franz, is something wrong?”
“Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.”
“You slept well yesterday, right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Franz made a calm excuse while thinking about how to tease them.
Just taking it lying down didn’t suit his temper.
How much time had passed since then?
It was right as they finished their tea and were about to leave the shop.
“Yusti-ah, don’t be too surprised.”
“Yes…? What do you…”
Before Yusti-ah could even finish her sentence, Franz grabbed her wrist and dashed into a nearby secluded alley.
They navigated through the narrow, dark alley, weaving through its twists and turns for a moment.
“[This should be enough, right…?]”
Franz stopped at a suitable spot.
They had ventured quite far inside, so they wouldn’t be found easily.
“Franz, what on earth is going on…?!”
Yusti-ah panted and voiced her complaint.
From her perspective, she had been suddenly dragged away without any explanation. It was only natural for her to be upset.
“Please explain this properly. Or else… Mmph?!”
Franz hurriedly covered Yusti-ah’s mouth with his hand.
The voices of the three were coming from not too far away.
Yusti-ah, unaware of the situation, simply closed her eyes quietly.
It seemed a huge misunderstanding had occurred.