Chapter 47
Haaah—.
Franz threw himself onto the sofa and sighed.
*‘No, what in the world is this?’*
He couldn't just leave her out there, so he brought her in, but he had no idea why Yuna had specifically come all the way to the Magic Tower.
That's why he was uneasy.
Usually, when she shows up so unexpectedly, she always brings some kind of trouble with her.
And why was she so completely soaked?
Water was dripping from her clothes, so he wondered if she had literally gone for a swim.
Eum—.
Franz furrowed his brow, lost in thought, then shook his head, clearing his mind.
It was a problem that wouldn't yield a conclusion no matter how much he thought about it at that moment.
Anyway, Yuna would explain everything when she came out, so it was better to just get some work done.
Franz then headed to his desk to start his work.
Just as he was about to sit down, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor, and someone burst into the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
“M-M-Magic Tower Master! Please help me!”
The person who cried out urgently was a Mage working for the Potion Research Association.
From his expression, as if he was about to burst into tears, it didn't seem like good news.
But Franz's heart remained perfectly calm.
When had the Magic Tower ever been peaceful?
It was truly full of lunatics, so today was peaceful enough.
What happened last time?
The Necromancer Association had messed up its Skeleton Control, and the Magic Tower was covered in bone fragments….
“The Necromancer Association planted a ton of bones in the herb garden, calling it fertilizer!”
*It’s you guys again…?*
Franz, his brow deeply furrowed, rose from his seat.
*I left it to Arian, but they're not listening at all. I guess I'll really have to kill them today. Since they're a Necromancer, they'll probably resurrect themselves even if they die.*
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll take care of it.”
“Th-Thank you!”
Franz left the Magic Tower Lord's Office with him.
He was completely unaware of what was about to happen.
* * * * *
The sound of birds chirping came from outside the window, and at the same time, the gentle morning sunlight shone on her face.
Huuuugh—!
Arian opened her eyes and stretched her body, shaking off the lingering drowsiness and waking up.
When she opened the window, a pleasant breeze blew in.
She had a feeling something good would happen today.
*‘So, today too….’*
Arian’s hand instinctively reached for the handkerchief on her bedside table.
She brought it to her nose and sniffed, *swoosh—*.
She could detect a very, very faint lingering scent of Franz.
This had become one of Arian's recent routines.
At first, the scent was too strong, causing a bit of awkwardness every morning, but now it was just right.
But somehow, today too, it was strangely….
Arian's hand slowly moved towards the blanket, then abruptly stopped.
She looked at the clock and realized there wasn't much time left before she had to leave for work.
It seemed she had sniffed the scent for too long.
Well, it was probably for the best.
She shouldn't use up all her energy in the morning.
Arian immediately got out of bed and prepared for work.
This was the time of day she put the most effort into.
She would soon see Franz at work, and she wanted to look her best for him.
After finishing her makeup and looking in the mirror, she noticed her makeup seemed to have applied exceptionally well today.
Between the strangely refreshing feeling this morning and now, she somehow felt like today would be full of good things.
Yes, it definitely should have been.
“Franz, my clothes are too big….”
What in the world was this?
A woman came out of the Magic Tower Lord's Office—no, more precisely, out of the Magic Tower Master's room.
And she was wearing very loose clothes.
By all indications, they had to be his clothes.
Moreover, her hair was damp, as if she had just finished showering.
Showering?
What reason would a woman have to shower in the Magic Tower Master's room?
*Thud—.*
Arian dropped the bag she was holding.
“U-Um, we met once before, didn’t we…?”
Only after hearing her words did Arian realize.
The alluring woman in front of her was the Hero she had seen before.
Indeed, after spending so much time with him, it made sense for their relationship to develop like this.
They must have traveled together, seen various sights, and overcome countless crises by helping each other.
Just as Arian's thoughts were sinking into a murky swamp, Yuna spoke.
“Have you seen Franz, by any chance…?”
Arian let out a hollow laugh, *huh—*.
*‘You, who just rolled around in the Magic Tower Master's bed, would know where he is, not I, who just arrived.’* The words rose to her throat, but she swallowed them down.
In fact, Arian had also rolled around in Franz's bed before.
She just hadn't rolled around *with* him.
*Together*—those two simple letters made an enormous difference.
“…Well, I wouldn’t know.”
Arian replied in a curt tone.
Despite her rising fury, it was a surprisingly sensible response.
“Ah… yes….”
Yuna spoke in a dejected voice, and just as a dumbfounded Arian was about to say something, the door opened, and Franz entered the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
* * * * *
Franz's eyes scanned the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
Yuna, in loose clothes, and Arian, with a furrowed brow, were in a standoff.
If it were a fight, Yuna would be overwhelmingly superior, and if it were an academic quiz show, Arian would be overwhelmingly….
*‘No, this isn’t it.’*
Franz, belatedly regaining his composure, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Arian, I’ll explain. Just wait a moment.”
Arian didn't even nod, averting her gaze at Franz's words.
She seemed quite upset.
Indeed, it would feel like her boss had brought a woman to work, so it was natural for her to be upset.
It was a perfectly understandable reaction.
All right, moving on from that.
“Yuna, I just stepped out for a bit; what’s wrong?”
“Ah… well…”
Yuna glanced nervously at Arian.
*Did Arian say something?*
It seemed things had gotten quite complicated while he was away.
“It’s all right, tell me.”
“My clothes are a bit big, so I was going to ask if there were any other clothes….”
“Those are the smallest ones.”
Indeed, as she said, the clothes were a bit big.
This was because Yuna's build was smaller than average.
However, as he had already said, there were no clothes smaller than those, which was problematic.
*Should I go out and buy some….*
As Franz was pondering this, Arian suddenly spoke.
“I have some clothes in the Secretary’s Office; I’ll give them to you.”
“Y-Yes? Oh, thank you.”
“It’s fine. Well, I guess that could happen.”
As Yuna bowed her head in thanks, Arian replied with a sigh, as if she had already given up.
Having finished their conversation, Arian started to leave the Magic Tower Lord's Office but suddenly stopped at the door.
“Magic Tower Master, you’ll have to explain this properly.”
Arian’s voice was so cold it was like a sharp thorn.
It seemed she had completely misunderstood.
But it didn't really matter, as she would understand once he explained it properly.
With those words, Arian left the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
And a short while later, she returned.
“Here.”
Arian handed the clothes to Yuna.
Yuna bowed her head to her again.
“Thank you.”
“Yes, please change quickly.”
Yuna went back into Franz's Room, and the door closed firmly.
Only then did Arian’s gaze turn to Franz.
“Magic Tower Master, then please explain. Why, and how, did the Hero come out of your room? And after showering and wearing your clothes, no less.”
“I was planning to meet Yuna this morning, you see? because of that Cultist business, but just then….”
Franz explained the eventful morning.
How Yuna got wet, and so on and so forth.
Then Arian let out a hollow laugh, *huh—*.
“Are you asking me to believe that? A woman comes out of a man’s room after showering, and you’re saying she *only* showered? That makes no sense.”
“That….”
Franz felt wronged.
But her words also made perfect sense, so he had nothing to say.
He could only hope she would believe him.
“Alright, since the Magic Tower Master says so, I’ll accept it. I suppose it must be true.”
Arian said with a sigh.
She didn't seem to fully believe him, but at least the situation seemed to be ending somehow.
Since she reacted that way, Franz didn't say anything further.
Sometimes, it was better to let the situation pass quietly than to insist on revealing the truth.
He felt wronged, but that was a problem he could resolve later, with time.
Just as Franz was letting his guard down, a blue Magic Circle suddenly appeared above Arian’s head.
Franz hadn't anticipated Arian would do such a thing, so he was unprepared.
Soon, mana gathered in the Magic Circle, and the spell activated.
Drip—.
A drop of water fell from the blue Magic Circle.