Chapter 198
Franz calmly analyzed the situation.
There were two exits in the room: the door Arian was blocking, and the window behind him.
Honestly, beating Arian in his current physical condition was impossible. He couldn’t use magic. If she were determined to block him, he would be helplessly trapped.
In that case, the only thing left was the window…
“Even so, going out through the window is a bit…”
Of course, this was strictly assuming the worst-case scenario. When thought about normally, there was no reason to run away.
It was then.
“Magic Tower master, I can’t hold back anymore…”
Click-, clack-.
The sound of footsteps echoed unusually loudly in the darkness.
Soon, the moonlight streaming in through the window began to illuminate her.
Her face was flushed red, and for some reason, her breathing was heavy.
“What can’t you hold back…?”
Franz asked cautiously.
Normally, he would have taken it as a joke, but given the atmosphere, he simply couldn’t.
“I feel like I’m going crazy because of you, Magic Tower master…”
Arian, who had suddenly stepped right up to Franz, cautiously reached out her hand.
Grip-.
She timidly grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked up at Franz.
Her brown eyes, catching the moonlight, sparkled like jewels.
“…Tell me.”
The hand holding his clothes slowly moved up and touched his chest.
Franz swallowed hard, gulped.
He didn’t know what she wanted him to tell her. No, maybe that wasn’t important.
“How did your mana core get broken…? Are you really okay…?”
Arian’s eyes grew moist.
The moment he saw that, the tension drained from his body. Along with it, a short sigh escaped his lips.
He was grateful for her concern, but…
He didn’t know if there was a need to drag him all the way to a place like this.
“As I said earlier, I’m really fine.”
“Then why won’t you tell me in detail?!”
Arian took a large step forward, and Franz backed away just as much.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t told her for any particularly important reason. He just wanted to tell everyone at once when Arian was present.
If she ended up sulking for no reason, complaining about how they had talked without her or something, it would be incredibly bothersome.
Franz tried to explain these underlying reasons, but…
“It’s actually bad, isn’t it…?”
“Well…”
“I-is there anything I can do to help…? I’ll do anything…!”
Arian took another step forward.
Franz stumbled backward as if pushed by her, and soon his heels bumped into something, thudding.
It was none other than the bed.
Since there was nowhere left to retreat, falling back onto the bed was inevitable.
“Just tell me everything honestly…”
Something dropped onto Franz’s face, dripping.
Arian was shedding tears while leaning over Franz in a position that looked like she was pinning him down.
Perhaps her emotions had intensified under the influence of alcohol.
Even so, it was true that she was worried, so Franz slowly stroked her hair.
“I’m not joking, I’m really fine. I’ll be completely healed in about a month.”
“How am I supposed to believe that…? You lie every time you open your mouth…”
He felt like he had been doing that a bit less lately, though.
In the first place, those lies were for their sake anyway.
Regardless, it was something he couldn’t bring himself to say right now.
“It’s not a lie. I promised I wouldn’t hide anything.”
“…I’ll trust you.”
The corners of Arian’s lips rose faintly.
Having wrapped up their conversation like that, the two got up.
Because they had been in such a strange position just moments ago, an awkward atmosphere lingered.
“T-then, shall we go out?”
Arian smiled sheepishly and took the first step.
And when she opened the locked door, Yuna and Hera were standing in front of it.
“W-we weren’t exactly trying to eavesdrop…!”
“Yuna, if you say it like that, doesn’t it give everything away…”
“I-is that so…?”
Yuna scratched her head awkwardly, and Hera let out a short sigh.
Well, even if Yuna hadn’t said anything, it was obvious anyway.
What reason would there be to coincidentally run into them right in front of the door?
“Then does that mean you heard everything…?”
Arian’s tone was full of embarrassment.
She had made a huge fuss crying in the room, so it was only natural.
Yuna and Hera turned their heads away without saying a word.
He didn’t even need to ask to know what that action meant.
“U-ugh…”
Arian covered her face with both hands, though her ears, which she couldn’t quite hide, were dyed red.
“Arian, it’s okay. I cried a ton that day too.”
“It was the same for me. I ended up crying because a certain idiot made me worry.”
Yuna and Hera patted Arian’s shoulders soothingly.
Franz just stood at a distance, smiling awkwardly.
The reason they had cried, and the idiot Hera mentioned, was none other than himself.
Still, he had no regrets. If it weren’t for that choice, they wouldn’t even be able to be here like this.
It was not long after that.
“Guys, I’ll be going now.”
Quite a bit of time had passed since they finished dinner.
If they were children, it would be about time for them to fall asleep.
Not that they were children, of course.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, Franz.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Arian, Yuna, and Hera said their goodbyes in order.
Franz replied with a light nod.
“If you’re scared of the dark streets, let me know. I’ll walk you home.”
“If someone chases you, you’ll probably run away looking pathetic.”
Seri-ah and Zeni-ah tossed out words that might or might not have been a goodbye.
To joke around in front of Arian, they had gotten quite bold…
“H-have a safe trip back…”
“We will see you tomorrow…”
The two suddenly flinched at the murderous intent felt from behind them and greeted him again.
The one emitting the murderous intent was, of course, Arian.
Franz let out a chuckle, pfft, as if to show off to the two of them.
You have to pick the right time and place for jokes. It’s like trying to jest with a dragon in its lair.
“I’m going then.”
Franz waved his hand lightly and started walking.
The cool night air tickling his cheeks felt quite pleasant.
* * *
How many days had passed since then?
Franz was spending his time no differently than usual.
A simple job of just reading documents, signing them, and stamping them…
Or so he would say, but there were far too many things to pay attention to.
After all, the responsibility for everything that happened in the Magic Tower lay with the Magic Tower master.
Still, he supposed it was better than before. The number of absurd official documents coming up had decreased.
He had to say the Magic Tower was changing little by little. It felt good to see the areas he had put effort into finally seeing the light of day, even if a bit late.
While Franz was working so hard, Yuna and Hera were also working for the Magic Tower.
More accurately, they were acting as Franz’s hands and feet. They were taking care of tasks that Franz would normally have to do himself.
Although they couldn’t use magic, Yuna had physical strength, and Hera could use Spirit Arts.
Thanks to that, they were a huge help, and he couldn’t be more grateful.
Time passed like that, and it was noon.
He hadn’t exactly set a specific mealtime, but Franz always ate around this time.
It was like an old habit. It was because he had lived that way in the 21st century as well.
“Franz-!”
Yuna called the Master’s name in an excited voice as she entered the Magic Tower master’s Office.
Hera and Arian came in, following her…
“It’s been a while.”
And finally, a completely unexpected person appeared.
“Yusti-ah, what brings you here?”
“Can I not visit unless I have business?”
He didn’t exactly mean it like that.
He was just wondering because it wasn’t a distance that could be easily traveled back and forth.
Yusti-ah must have been joking too, as she had a playful smile on her lips.
Well, it was actually a good thing. He had been waiting for her to visit anyway.
However, the conversation ended up flowing in a slightly different direction than Franz had thought.
“I heard that everyone gathered and ate something delicious without me.”
Yusti-ah’s voice was still as calm as could be, but beneath it lay a sulky heart.
“Of course, I’m not trying to blame you all. You all deserve to have a good time too.”
“Yusti-ah, about that…”
Franz tried to say something.
Soothing Yusti-ah was the most urgent priority above all else.
But before he could even finish his sentence, Yusti-ah continued.
“So I plan to confidently make a demand. This afternoon, I’ll be borrowing Franz. Since I was the only one who couldn’t share in the fun, this much is fine, right?”
Yusti-ah looked at Arian, Yuna, and Hera in turn. And finally, her gaze stopped on Franz.
She was speaking with her eyes.
If he didn’t agree, she would throw a tantrum.
So what else could he do? He had no choice but to accept.
“Let’s do that. But let’s all eat lunch together.”
“Alright. If it’s just that.”
Arian smiled.
As if she were the true winner.