Chapter 147
A massive lake located about a 30-minute walk from the Duke Esteban’s Residence.
Surrounded by lush green trees, the lake boasted a view that could easily be called a breathtaking spectacle.
Since Franz’s dream was to live a leisurely life in a villa overlooking a lake after retirement, this place could be considered his own kind of utopia.
At that lake, two women were casting their fishing lines.
“Have there been any problems since you moved your residence?”
“No, Franz has been taking care of this and that, so it’s fine.”
“But about that servant in the mansion…”
“Ah, you mean Ludmilla.”
“I don’t really know her name, but anyway, is that woman perhaps Franz’s slave… or something?”
Hera had always thought that while she might not become a wife, she absolutely couldn’t miss out on the position of the first slave.
So, she couldn’t help but be bothered by the mansion’s servant.
As Yuna pondered how to answer that, her fishing rod bent, signaling that a fish had bitten.
Splash-!
As she pulled the fishing rod up forcefully, a fish came up to the shore, flapping wildly.
Yuna placed the caught fish into a wooden basin filled with water and spoke.
“She’s not a slave. They have a formally employed relationship.”
“Is that so…”
A faint smile spread across Hera’s face.
Hearing that, Yuna considered whether she should have a serious conversation with her.
She understood aiming to be a wife.
Yusti-ah was like that, Arian was like that, and Yuna herself was like that.
But becoming a slave was a bit much, wasn’t it?
Even if Franz were to tolerate it, as a friend, she wanted to stop her at all costs.
“Hera, you know…”
Just as Yuna was about to bring up the topic.
A sudden flash of light burst out from beside them.
It was a phenomenon incredibly familiar not only to Yuna but also to Hera.
Because it was what appeared when Franz used Spatial Movement Magic.
And sure enough, Franz arrived in front of the two.
“You were fishing.”
Yuna, who had been blinking at Franz, slowly lowered her gaze.
Because she had to pass through the forest, she had worn clothes suited for mobility, an outfit that was truly far from beautiful.
She hadn’t even put on makeup, so Yuna blushed in embarrassment.
“Y-you should have at least given some notice before coming…”
“I should have done that, sorry.”
“N-no. It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize.”
Yuna smiled awkwardly and hastily shook her head.
Withdrawing his gaze from her, Franz shifted his attention to Hera.
“Hera, I didn’t know you were here, so I went all the way to the Great Forest and back.”
“Is that so? I’m sorry for making you make a wasted trip after coming such a long way.”
“No. It’s my fault for visiting without any notice. I got to meet the Elves and the World Tree while I was at it, so it wasn’t exactly a wasted trip anyway.”
“The Elves were practically singing about how much they missed you anyway, so it worked out well.”
Franz felt like he understood why the Elves had swarmed him like that.
Since they had been looking forward to it so much, it was a natural reaction.
Should I visit a bit more often from now on…
It was when Franz was pondering that.
Yuna spoke.
“Franz, why did you come?”
“Ah, I had something I wanted to ask you two for a moment.”
According to his original plan, he had intended to ask Hera first in the Great Forest and then come to meet Yuna, but since they were gathered together, he could just ask them both at once.
“Do you happen to know about Ganiphus?”
The southern part of the continent, a place where the beautiful sea offered a breathtaking view.
Franz had come to invite the two of them to go there together.
* * *
“Well then, shall we end today’s doctrine study here?”
Yusti-ah said that as she closed the book.
It was called a book, but it was so thick it could easily serve as a blunt weapon in an emergency.
He didn’t know why there wasn’t something like a summary of the doctrine.
If he just knew the concepts or basic principles, he could somehow apply them…
“Uh-uh, you’re having bad thoughts again, aren’t you? I told you to accept it with your heart.”
“…I never thought anything like that.”
Franz tried hard to feign ignorance.
Perhaps she had awakened a sixth sense upon becoming a Saintess.
It felt like she would do incredibly well if she opened a fortune-telling shop.
Sipping the tea placed in front of her, Yusti-ah’s eyes widened as if she remembered something, and she subtly clung to Franz.
“Come to think of it, you said you could use divine power now, right?”
“Well, for now…”
Since he had heard it directly from the Goddess, it was right to assume he could use it.
But for some reason, despite trying countless times since that day, he hadn’t been able to see even a fragment of divine power.
When he explained that fact to Yusti-ah, she narrowed her brow.
“Hmm, usually you just naturally figure it out, so I wonder what happened.”
It might be because he was too accustomed to the method of using magic.
Or perhaps the body’s rejection response that the Goddess mentioned had become some sort of problem.
“Would it be faster to ask the Goddess directly…”
It would be impossible right now, but it wouldn’t take that long.
Because he would be able to meet her once he unsealed the holy relic.
If the Seven Great Evils in Ganiphus had it, it was a problem that could be resolved within a few days.
“I feel like there might be a way… Just in case, should we at least give it a try?”
“What is this way?”
“I’ll infuse my divine power to act as a sort of guide. I heard there’s a similar method in magic, isn’t there?”
There certainly was a similar method in magic.
A mage who had just begun learning magic couldn’t smoothly circulate the mana within their body, so a master would somewhat resolve that through mana adjustment.
But to do that, physical contact had to be made.
Perhaps knowing that, Yusti-ah was constantly gauging his reaction while slowly reaching her hand out.
'Since Yusti-ah is trying this hard, I can’t just back out.'
Thinking that, Franz firmly grabbed her hand.
“H-heueue?!”
“Wasn’t this what you wanted to do?”
“T-that’s, it is true, but… It is…! It’s just a little…!”
It seemed something was lacking.
True, even with magic, mana adjustment became easier as the area of physical contact increased.
It seemed safe to assume divine power worked on a similar principle.
Franz moved the hand he was holding.
“Heueeng?!”
Between her fingers, his slipped into those narrow gaps.
When he did the same with his other free hand, he ended up facing her as a result.
“Alright, done. Let’s start.”
What kind of structure did divine power, called the miracle of the gods, actually have?
Because there were no notable research results yet, it was an unknown territory.
And the unknown was like a kind of treasure to a mage.
Right now, Franz was full of thoughts about thoroughly dissecting and savoring divine power.
In contrast to his resolute face, Yusti-ah’s face was so red that it looked like it would burst at any moment.
“T-then I’ll begin…”
Letting out a voice mixed with a faint tremble, Yusti-ah drew up her divine power.
The golden aura blooming from her hands slowly seeped into Franz’s body.
Yusti-ah’s divine power was warm and soft. It felt like the sunshine on a spring day.
“Then I’ll reduce my divine power now. Franz, try slowly pushing it out from your side.”
Remembering a sensation and mimicking it was practically Franz’s specialty.
Because magic also shared a similar principle to some extent.
Swaaa-.
He perfectly recreated the sensation Yusti-ah had shown him.
It was a matter of grasping the flow of energy that made up the physical body, rather than mana, slowly circulating it, and sending it out through his hands.
“Good, keep going just like that…”
Yusti-ah’s golden divine power slowly faded, and Franz’s divine power filled its place.
Franz’s divine power was an untainted pure white.
“Wow… it’s a pretty color…”
Yusti-ah let out an exclamation of awe at the divine power flowing from their clasped hands.
Since divine power usually had a light green hue, Franz could be considered a special case.
But that admiration was only for a moment.
“H-heuut?”
Soon, a strange moan slipped from her lips.
“W-wait a minute. Franz…! Adjust it a bit…! It’s too strong…! Heuut…!”
Just as mages often made mistakes by failing to control their mana, Franz, being a beginner with divine power, had also ended up making a mistake.
If there was a problem, it was that unlike mana, the more divine power was used, the more stamina it consumed.
Beads of sweat began to form on Franz’s forehead, and his hands were trembling.
“You idiot…!”
Yusti-ah hastily shook off his hands.
The divine power, having lost its destination, turned into a cluster of light and scattered into the sky.
“Ah, sorry. I guess I got too absorbed in it.”
Franz, who had been engrossed in exploring the divine power, came to his senses belatedly.
Since it was a power he was encountering for the first time, he had inevitably gotten overly excited.
Haa-.
Letting out a sigh, Yusti-ah took a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.
“It’s fine that you’re excited, but don’t overdo it. You might collapse at this rate.”
“Right, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Still, you did well.”
Yusti-ah beamed, showing a soft smile.
With the conversation concluded, Yusti-ah stood up.
Just as she was about to head out, Franz spoke.
“Yusti-ah, do you happen to know about Ganiphus?”
“Are you talking about the small country in the southern part of the continent?”
“Yeah, I have to go on a business trip, so I was wondering if you’d like to come along if it’s alright. Yuna and Hera already said they’re going.”
“So you asked those two first…”
Yusti-ah narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
It seemed she was dissatisfied with the order.
Franz himself hadn’t attached any meaning to the order, so he just felt a bit wronged.
“Well, fine. Let’s go. It makes me anxious to leave you with other women.”
If that was the reason, she didn’t really need to tag along…
Franz thought that, but he didn’t bother saying it out loud.
Because it felt like he would only get nagged more for no reason.
Anyway, with Yusti-ah included, a total of three people had agreed to go, so the only one left was Arian.