Chapter 109
“I’ll be heading back now.”
Yusti-ah said, immediately after returning to the Magic Tower.
Going to the Great Forest hadn’t been part of the plan in the first place, so her departure was only natural.
It would be fine if she were had plenty of time to leisurely enjoy tea, but as far as Franz knew, the saintess wasn’t that free. In fact, she was quite busy.
“Really? Should I take you back?”
He offered because using teleport was more convenient and faster than taking a carriage.
However, Yusti-ah shook her head.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t suit my temperament to be indebted every time.”
She didn’t really need to think of it as a debt. It only took a snap of his fingers, anyway.
Anyway, when she was going on about him being a saint, she treated him like family, so why was she distancing herself now? He really couldn’t figure out what to make of her.
Regardless, one refusal was enough. He had no intention of offering twice.
Just then, Yusti-ah narrowed her eyes and strode right up to Franz.
“More importantly, I hope no unsavory incidents occur, saint.”
“Unsavory incidents?”
What was that supposed to mean?
Franz was simply puzzled. It wasn’t like he was playing around dissolutely with women, nor was he enjoying gambling or nightlife. He couldn’t really think of anything that could be called an unsavory incident.
From the Goddess Church’s perspective, acting like a cultist could be unsavory, but it didn’t seem that she was suspecting him of that.
What could someone cooped up in the Magic Tower do in the first place? At most, he’d be thinking up tuning kits for new carriages, or researching whether horned horses really didn’t exist.
“Well, is she just worried?”
Now that he had become a saint, he should have some self-awareness and behave properly - he figured she meant he should have some self-awareness and behave properly.
“Anyway, think about it carefully on your own. I’ll be going now. Today was fun.”
With those final words, Yusti-ah slipped out of the Magic Tower Lord’s Office, striding away without even looking back.
However, there was one very big problem.
'She won’t be able to leave on her own…?'
Where was the Magic Tower Lord’s Office located? It was at the very highest peak within the towering Magic Tower.
Unless the past Magic Tower Lords were crazy, there was no way they would walk up and down all those stairs, so naturally there was a device connecting the floors.
It was just that it was designed so only mages could use it.
Even then, the top floor where the Magic Tower Lord’s Office and the secretary’s office were located could only be accessed if a specific mana wavelength was recognized, roughly similar to scanning a keycard.
In short, it was like this.
Yusti-ah would feel awkward and come right back.
Arian had also realized this and was looking at Franz with a flustered expression.
Yet, surprisingly, Surprisingly, the firmly shut door showed no signs of opening.
Feeling puzzled by this, Franz eventually stood up from his seat.
He opened the door soundlessly and peeked his head out, only to lock eyes with Yusti-ah, who was standing in front of the door.
Yusti-ah’s expression was full of petulance. As if all her dissatisfaction had gathered on her lips, they were pouting like a duck’s, and her brow was furrowed so deeply it formed a crease.
She had walked out so confidently saying she was leaving, so how embarrassing must it have been to realize she had no way back down.
Knowing that feeling well, Franz didn’t bother saying anything and pulled his head back in.
“Arian, stay with Hera for a moment. I’ll go drop Yusti-ah off.”
“If you’re only taking her to the first floor, should I go?”
“No. You rest. I’ll be right back.”
Ending the conversation like that, Franz immediately stepped out of the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
Just as he was pondering what to say to the still-petulant Yusti-ah, she opened her mouth first.
“Wh-why didn’t you tell me beforehand…?!!”
“You walked out so naturally that I completely forgot.”
“You were being petty because I told you not to cause any unsavory incidents, weren’t you?!”
“Hey, why would I do that?”
So what the hell was that anyway?
…He wanted to ask that so badly, but he forced it down. If he said that now, it wouldn’t help the situation.
“More importantly, let’s go for now. You’re busy.”
Saying so, Franz took the first step forward.
“Ugh-! I’ll remember what happened today, so you’d better know that.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Not that remembering it would do anything.
Well, there was no reason to stop her.
Afterward, Franz, who had escorted Yusti-ah down to the first floor, returned straight to the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
While going down, he had offered once again if it wouldn’t be better to use teleport, but she had refused a second time. The reason was the same as he had heard earlier: something about not wanting to be a burden.
In truth, the reason Yusti-ah hadn’t accepted Franz’s help was so she could buy clothes to wear to the banquet. The saintess’s clothes were nice, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were too plain.
Of course, Franz, who had no way of knowing this, didn’t think anything of it.
As Franz sat on the sofa, Arian spoke.
“Magic Tower lord, I’ll get back to work now.”
“Alright.”
“Also, I talked with Miss Hera while you stepped out for a moment. I think it would be better for Miss Hera to sleep at my house. Even though there are places to stay in the Magic Tower, they’re uncomfortable. It’ll also be easier to help her get dressed up tomorrow that way.”
For Franz, it was a perfect suggestion. Hera would certainly feel less averse to Arian than to other people.
But he couldn’t just be simply happy about it, as he worried Arian might be taking on too much trouble for nothing.
“Are you sure both of you are really okay with this?”
At Franz’s question, the two of them nodded simultaneously.
He didn’t know exactly what they had talked about, but if they both thought it was fine, there was no reason to object.
“Then do that.”
“Yes, I’ll be going then.”
Arian bowed her head in greeting and left the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
Now, only Hera and Franz were left.
Franz, who had been sitting on the plush sofa, stood up and said.
“Hera, get some rest. I’m going to do some work.”
Franz headed straight for the desk piled with paperwork.
He used to always sigh first whenever he saw the piled-up paperwork, but recently the frequency of incidents had decreased, so it was somewhat bearable.
Except for these guys, of course.
“The Necromancer Association is really…”
As he always did, Franz signed 'Rejected' on their paperwork and shoved it into the corner of the desk today as well.
How much time had passed since he started working like that?
Feeling stiff, Franz stretched, and suddenly realized that Hera had been watching him.
Since when had she been watching him?
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“Not particularly. It’s just that this situation where the master is working and the slave is resting feels awkward. If there is anything I can help with, please feel free to tell me.”
Help with…
Franz thought about it carefully, but he couldn’t come up with anything Hera could help with.
It would be one thing if there were miscellaneous chores, but that wasn’t the case either.
In the first place, all the Magic Tower lord did was read documents and stamp them.
But if he told her that honestly, it was obvious Hera would keep staring at him.
“Then do you want to brew some tea? You’re good at brewing tea.”
“I don’t really know if I’m good at it, but I can at least do that.”
“If you open that door over there and go in, there will be a kettle and teacups. The tea leaves are in the upper cupboard.”
Hera started moving as if she had been waiting for this, and before long, a steaming teacup was placed on the desk.
She could have sat down once she was done, but standing next to him holding a tray, she looked exactly like a servant.
'Let’s not mind it.'
Hera was doing it because she wanted to. And it wasn’t bothersome enough to be an issue, so it should be fine to leave her be.
With that, Franz drank the tea Hera had served and started working again.
How much more time passed after that?
Arian entered the Magic Tower Lord’s Office once again. It seemed it was time to get off work.
“Then I’ll be clocking out with Miss Hera.”
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
“Franz, see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow too, Hera.”
Having finished their goodbyes, the two left the Magic Tower Lord’s Office, and the door shut firmly. At the same time, Franz also finished his work.
Leaning back against his chair, Franz thought.
“Should I just rest now…?”
Since there’s a banquet tomorrow, getting some good rest wouldn’t be a bad idea. It’s bound to be incredibly tiring, after all.
But for some reason, he didn’t want to. It’s said that a true workaholic feels anxious even when resting, and it felt exactly like that. He wondered if this was what being a workaholic was like.
“Right, what rest? I have a mountain of things to do.”
In the end, Franz stood up and draped his robe over his shoulders.
When a ray of light shines on a lake in the west of the continent.
He had found the answer to that cipher, so now it was time to confirm it with his own eyes.
Just what kind of guy had come up with such a ridiculous cipher! Thinking about how much of a headache it had caused him made his head throb all over again.
'You’d better be prepared…'
Franz was grinding his teeth.