Chapter 120
Snap-.
With the light sound of snapping fingers, Franz and his party arrived in front of a massive mansion.
The former Ishtar Ducal Residence, and the current Es-teo-ban ducal residence. In other words, a mansion owned by Franz.
Franz looked at the exterior of the mansion and thought.
‘I’ll need to tidy it up a bit first.’
When Duke Ishtar was revealed to be a cultist, all the servants who managed the mansion had been burned at the stake.
Of course, there must have been some who were wrongly accused. The servants who truly knew nothing and just worked honestly must have felt like venting their resentment.
But what could be done? That was how the law worked. In fact, it could even be considered a leniency that they hadn’t touched the servants' families.
Anyway, because of that, there was no one to manage the mansion, so its condition wasn’t very good.
Vines were climbing the walls, and in the garden, weeds were forming a dense thicket.
He wouldn’t be living here anyway, but he figured it would be better if it were clean. It was where Yuna would be living from now on, after all.
‘While I’m at it, I should clear out all the decorations too.’
It seemed the extravagant desires of nobles didn’t discriminate between Cultists and non-Cultists. His brow naturally furrowed at the sight of the bizarre decorations starting from the yard.
Simple was best, so why didn’t they know that?
Franz slowly shook his head at the nobles' lacking aesthetic sense and stepped inside the mansion.
Looking around the entrance of the mansion, Arian said.
“It’s old, but it doesn’t look like there are any problems. Except for a little dust.”
“Well, it was used by that guy until recently. Let’s look around some more first, there might be some unexpected items lying around.”
Saying that, Franz shifted his gaze to Yuna.
“Yuna, you should take a closer look. You’ll be staying here longer than me anyway.”
“Yeah, I should. Yuri-ah and I will clean up all the dust too.”
The two of them were going to clean this entire massive place…?
Sure, with Yuna’s incredible stamina, it might be possible. But what about Yuri-ah? She’d probably drop from exhaustion halfway through.
Well, they wouldn’t have to clean it themselves in the first place. They could just leave that to the servants.
Thinking he shouldn’t bother mentioning that, Franz was about to take a step when an ominous thought suddenly popped into his head.
‘Don’t tell me she wants to become a slave like Hera…?’
No, Yuna was absolutely not that kind of person.
Then again, it wasn’t like Hera was that kind of person either…
Anyway, no. It absolutely had to be a no.
To think he’d have such thoughts just from hearing the word 'clean'. It seemed his brain had been messed up thanks to Hera.
Franz let out a small sigh and shot a resentful glare at Hera.
Noticing his gaze, Hera asked, flustered.
“Did I perhaps make a mistake…?”
“Not really? I was just looking.”
“That’s a relief then… Ah, come to think of it, I heard a story about you from someone yesterday.”
“You talked about me? With who?”
Franz was simply dumbfounded.
Since he was the main character of yesterday’s banquet, he could somewhat understand his name being brought up. But the fact that Hera had conversed with someone else, not with the people present here, was surprising.
He had been worried because she seemed so tense, but it appeared she had managed well enough in her own way.
“It was someone named Count roman. He spoke with great emotion, saying you saved him from the clutches of the wicked Cultists.”
Count roman was definitely…
“Who is that.”
There was no man with such a name in Franz’s memory. He just figured it was probably one of the people who had attended the social gathering hosted by Duke Ishtar.
But was there a reason to go around talking about that…?
He understood the feeling of gratitude, but it was just embarrassing. He wished the man would just keep it to himself.
“So Hera, what did you say?”
“Me? I likewise told him of your achievements.”
“What achievements…?”
“Things like saving an elf slave, or reviving the World Tree.”
Ah.
Franz felt dizzy. It felt like the hangover that had disappeared with Yusti-ah’s help had returned.
“Right, it is what it is…”
Wasn’t this the first conversation Hera had with someone in human society? He decided to just let it slide, thinking it is what it is…
“Upon hearing that story, the man was deeply moved and looked as if he would shed tears at any moment.”
“…Right.”
It was a good thing, right?
Harboring such doubts, Franz slowly took a step forward.
Afterward, Franz and his party proceeded to inspect the mansion. They went into every room one by one to check their condition and verified the magic tools needed for daily life.
Since it was a place where a cultist had lived, they couldn’t afford to overlook even the smallest details. He had no desire to leave any potential trouble behind.
How much time had passed like that? Suddenly, Arian spoke up.
“Saintess, you’re unusually quiet today?”
“Huh? I-is that so?”
“You haven’t said a single word since we got to the mansion.”
Hearing their conversation, Franz had a gut feeling. Another quarrel was about to brew.
Of course, he had no intention of just watching it happen. If he didn’t stop them, they would bicker until the sun went down.
But if it was going to be like this, wouldn’t it be an option to just let them fight it out? If the hierarchy was clearly established, things might quiet down a bit.
It was when Franz was having such absurd thoughts.
“I just didn’t have anything in particular to say.”
Meek words came out of Yusti-ah’s mouth. Her tone was a bit blunt, but it was at a level that could easily be overlooked.
‘What’s this? Is she still not sober?’
Considering the usual Yusti-ah, it was such a nonsensical situation that the thought naturally came to mind.
Franz wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Are you perhaps not feeling well…?”
Arian actually showed concern.
At that, Yusti-ah spoke as if she’d been wronged.
“I-it’s nothing like that?! I really just didn’t have anything to say…!”
However, Yusti-ah definitely looked a bit strange in Franz’s eyes too. Her face was a little red, and her condition didn’t look very good.
“Are the effects of drinking too much still lingering?”
Perhaps that really was the case. There might be parts that divine power couldn’t resolve. (Demon God omitted)
In truth, the reason Yusti-ah was quiet wasn’t what everyone thought.
The problem was that she had remembered a forgotten fact. To be exact, she remembered how she had acted toward Franz while drunk.
Since she had said something akin to a confession in her drunken state, she was so busy agonizing over it that she couldn’t afford to think about anything else.
That was also the reason her face looked a little red.
Of course, there was no way Franz would know that fact, so he just thought she would get better as time passed.
Eventually, time passed, and the mansion inspection was already nearing its end.
“This is the last place.”
Franz and his party stood in front of a door that looked different from the rest at a glance.
Among the places they had checked so far, there hadn’t been any major issues. Including Duke Ishtar’s own room, it was so ordinary that one would wonder if it was really a cultist’s mansion.
“But beyond here is a different story…”
Franz knew the space beyond the door. Yusti-ah and Arian did as well.
Beyond the door were stairs leading underground, and at the end of those stairs was that place.
The ugly and terrible laboratory of Duke Ishtar, where Yuna’s mother and younger sister had been experimented on.
Hesitating in front of the door, Franz spoke quietly.
“Yuna, I’m sorry, but could you wait here for a moment?”
Once this inspection was over, he planned to completely block access to the basement through physical and magical locks. If that wasn’t enough, completely filling it with dirt would be an option too.
So he figured there was no need for Yuna to check it. She wouldn’t have any reason to see it in the future anyway, so there was no need for her to step forward and receive a shock.
‘It’s still vivid in my mind…’
What kind of expression Yuna had that day, and how much she had suffered and struggled.
That was why Franz wanted her to wait here even more.
However.
“You mean Yuri-ah and Mom were locked up beyond here…?”
Yuna was stronger and more upright than Franz thought.
“Then I’ll go. I want to see it with my own eyes. Ah, you don’t have to worry. I won’t lose my reason like that day.”
Franz hesitated. Just as there was a saying that ignorance is bliss, sometimes the truth could be poison.
But in the end, he decided to respect her wishes.
Because she would be more than capable of overcoming it.
And.
“Tell me whenever it gets too hard.”
She had companions around her who would be her strength.
Creaaak-.
Franz opened the door leading to the basement.