Chapter 72
The bizarrely shaped carriage carrying the Magic Tower Master and the Secretary left the Magic Tower’s grounds, seen off by many people.
Smiles spread across the faces of the Mages as they watched the carriage grow distant. The two who had been suppressing them were finally gone.
As mentioned time and again, the Magic Tower was structurally rotten from the start.
The more one groveled to the Magic Tower Master, the more of the Magic Tower’s operating funds one received, and all one did in return was handle commissions coming from the outside. Even then, the youngest rookies were the ones handling all of it, leading to a situation where complaints were skyrocketing.
On top of that, embezzlement was a given. With entertainment being nothing more than a hobby, how could Franz just sit back and watch? Naturally, as soon as he ascended to the position of Magic Tower Master, he overhauled it from the bottom up.
It was just that the old men of the Magic Tower took that as suppression.
Anyway, the disappearance of Franz and Arian was great news for the Mages from the so-called 'back in my day' era.
With not only the Magic Tower Lord but also the Secretary who tormented them on his behalf gone, their world had finally arrived.
“Hey, hey, everyone, take the day off today.”
The Mages who returned to their respective research labs all declared a strike.
They took tea leaves out of the cupboard to brew tea, and placed secretly hidden refreshments on the table.
“Isn’t this seriously great?”
“Haha-, you can say that again. It feels a bit wrong to say this, but the current Magic Tower Master was very strict.”
“And he’s so green and young, too. Working like that from such a young age, how is he going to live a long life?”
As the two leisurely enjoyed their teatime, the figure of someone working suddenly appeared.
It was the youngest, who hadn’t been here for long.
He was deciphering a magic book that had come in as a commission.
“Hey, Gallan.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“You come over here and rest too. If you don’t rest on a day like today, when will you?”
“I, I’m…”
“Hey, we all suffer together, so why should you be the only one suffering? Hurry up and come have a cup of tea.”
It was a truly heartwarming sight of seniors taking care of the youngest.
This was a phenomenon that appeared because Franz had become the public enemy, so, in a way, it could be said to be thanks to Franz.
However, their leisureliness did not last very long.
“How many commission forms are there today?”
“I think there were about 10 pages.”
“Sss…”
These people who loved playing around so much were contemplating whether to work. Even though neither the Magic Tower Lord nor the Secretary was in the Magic Tower.
Because they had worked normally under Franz for the past year, their bodies had naturally adapted to it.
Besides, they would have to do all the piled-up work at once when the Magic Tower Lord returned anyway, so it was better to handle it leisurely from now rather than being busy later.
If they were needlessly caught and had their academic society’s operating funds cut, they might have to downgrade the highest-grade tea leaves they were currently using to just high-grade tea leaves.
They had to prevent that at all costs.
“Shall we slowly get to work…?”
“I was just thinking the same thing. There are so many problems in the world that desire our touch, so we shouldn’t be resting.”
“Gallan, go and bring the commission papers.”
Such a reaction was happening not only among them, but throughout the entire Magic Tower.
Of course, some old men didn’t particularly care and were taking it easy, but they were the ones who took it easy whether Franz was there or not.
If there were a problem,
'Sss, it should be fine, right?'
While the Magic Tower had begun to run normally through Franz’s efforts, he, currently driving, could not put his mind at ease.
They were guys who caused accidents every single day as it was, so how much worse would it be now that he and Arian were gone? It would be a relief if the Magic Tower wasn’t split in half.
As Franz let out a sigh while worrying about such things, Arian, who was next to him, asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well, I’m worried about the Magic Tower.”
“It’ll be fine. Let’s not worry too much and just focus on attending the party for now, shall we?”
“Yeah, I should.”
From her tone to her expression, Arian looked quite excited.
She seemed happy to be returning home after a long time.
“Ah, right. My family were all so happy to hear that the Magic Tower Master is coming.”
“Really…?”
Being welcomed was naturally a happy thing. But it was also that much of a burden. He was worried about what would happen if he needlessly failed to meet their expectations.
On top of that, the other party wasn’t just any random nobodies, but a ducal family, which added to the burden.
'It’ll be fine…'
It was just a party, after all. Considering the things he had gone through with the villainesses so far, this much was nothing.
“Come to think of it, did you have breakfast? The sandwich shop you usually go to is closed today, isn’t it?”
“That’s why I skipped it.”
“What? We have a long way to go from here. Will you be okay?”
“I’m going to pull over and eat for a bit in the middle.”
Since they were already out, it would be nice to eat somewhere with a good view if possible.
He was pretty sure there was a place where a wide lake could be seen if they kept going straight this way…
It was when Franz was retracing his memories like that.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to eat this…?”
Arian took a wooden box out of her magic pouch, opened the lid, and showed him the contents.
What was inside the wooden box were sandwiches.
And they were quite appetizing-looking sandwiches at that.
“Then just give me one.”
Franz, who was hungry anyway, held the steering wheel with one hand and held out his other hand to Arian.
Arian then placed a sandwich in Franz’s hand.
'Oh, it’s delicious.'
Taking a large bite of the sandwich right after, Franz felt quite satisfied with the taste.
The ingredients were fresh, and it seemed quite high-quality bread was used.
“Where did you buy this?”
He asked Arian, thinking it would be a good place to get breakfast if the shop he usually went to is closed today, but she gave an unexpected answer.
“I didn’t buy it…?”
“Then?”
“I made it.”
“You made it yourself?”
“Yes, I thought you might get hungry on the way.”
To think she had actually made this herself…
It was unexpected. Nobles usually didn’t cook for themselves, after all. On top of that, the taste was excellent, so he naturally assumed she had bought it from some shop.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. It was so delicious, like something made in a shop, that I was mistaken for a moment.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Could you give me another one?”
Franz reached out his hand again, and Arian gave him a sandwich.
After driving down the road while soothing his hunger for a while, he felt satisfied.
“What is your ideal type, Magic Tower Master?”
Just as Franz swallowed the last of his sandwich, Arian asked.
An ideal type…
Even though it was a truly random question, it was something to be thankful for that she threw out a topic of conversation instead of dozing off in the passenger seat.
Because there were more than a few people who slept as if the passenger seat was a sleeping room the moment they got in.
“Well. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Then think about it now.”
“Hmm… Well, wouldn’t it be the same as other men? A woman who cooks well, is family-oriented, and raises kids well, though our personalities would have to match well before that.”
“I see. I understand.”
What did she understand?
If she was given an answer, she should have continued the conversation, but cutting it off was truly ironic.
“Then what about you? What’s your ideal type?”
In the end, Franz asked her a question in return.
Fortunately, since she had brought it up first, there would be no misunderstanding it in a weird way.
“M-m-me?!”
“Yeah, who else is here besides you?”
“F-first of all, I’d like it if we were the same age… And um, he should be pretty good at using magic, cool, handsome…”
Did such a person even exist?
First of all, the age was a problem. People in this world married in their early twenties on average.
She was the same age as him, so wasn’t she in her late twenties?
It would probably be hard just to find someone the same age.
On top of that, cool, handsome, and good at magic?
'What the… Who is this guy that seems like God’s favorite?'
He hoped such a guy didn’t exist in the world.
It felt like it would be needlessly unfair.
However, since he couldn’t voice such inner thoughts, Franz gave an appropriate response.
“I hope you definitely meet someone like that.”
“I know, right. I really hope I meet him. Please.”
For some reason, there were thorns in Arian’s words.
Was her family pressuring her to get married quickly or something?
It really might be the case, because in a little while longer, she might be too old and there would be no one to take her.
The two continued to converse after that, and as they went along, they arrived on top of a hill with a good view before they knew it.
“Let’s rest here for a bit before going. It’s tiring if we just sit for too long.”
If there had been a rest stop, they would have eaten things like baby potatoes or grilled squid, so it was truly a shame.
Should he just build rest stops while supplying cars while he was at it?
He would have to seriously consider it later when he received his ducal title.
The income seemed as if it would be pretty decent.
Soon, the two got out of the car and chatted quietly while looking down at the large lake.
Meanwhile, Arian suddenly spoke in a meaningful voice.
“Magic Tower Master…!”
“Yeah?”
“U-um, you know? Actually…”
Arian was about to say something.
[M-Magic Tower Master, can you hear me…? The Saintess has come looking for you, saying she has business…]
A Telepathic Message came from a clerk.