The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

86 – The Heroines’ Cooking Contest (1)

Yuna, Justia, Hera, Franz, Arian.

The five of them sat around the table.

It was a strange combination, to say the least. They had met separately before, but this was the first time they were all together.

‘Is it still okay…?’

Franz sipped his tea and glanced around.

Everyone remained silent, just sipping their tea.

But there was a subtle tension in the air, so he couldn’t completely relax.

It might be more comfortable if they openly bickered instead.

How much time had passed like that?

“Franz, how was the party? Did you have fun?”

Unable to bear the heavy atmosphere any longer, Yuna suddenly asked.

“Did I have fun…?”

Franz answered the question with a question.

He had been quite harassed by others to say it was fun, but he had enjoyed it enough to not say it was bad.

It was ambiguous to give a definite answer.

“I see. Shall we have a party next time?”

“Well, sure. But do we have anyone to invite?”

“Uh, right…? I don’t know many people….”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be a lot of people. Just a small gathering would be nice.”

Like the birthday parties he had with his friends when he was young, just a small gathering of close friends.

That way, there would be no need to meet a lot of people, which was a great relief for Franz, who was uncomfortable with large crowds.

“Oh, right. There was something I wanted to ask you.”

Yuna clapped her hands as if she had remembered something she had forgotten.

“What is it?”

“I decided to stay at the mansion, right? Can I make a pond…? I want to catch fish from the river and raise them.”

A pond….

It was a very Yuna-like idea, having grown up in the countryside.

“Do as you like.”

Franz readily gave his permission.

It didn’t matter if a pond was created on that vast piece of land.

He was a little worried that Yuna might create an ecological wetland park instead of just a pond, but he thought she would manage it well.

Just as the conversation seemed to be wrapping up,

“Wait a minute. This is the first time I’m hearing about this…?”

Arian said with a rather serious expression.

As if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

“What is the first time you’re hearing?”

“That the hero is staying at the tower master’s house.”

Hadn’t he mentioned it…?

Franz retraced his memories, but he was certain he had never brought it up with her.

But there was no reason to mention it.

It would be ridiculous to go around talking about having a friend stay at his house.

However, there was one thing Franz had overlooked, and that was his promise to Arian.

“We agreed to get married in a year, didn’t we?”

Arian said this while observing the reactions of Yuna, Eustia, and Hera.

It was obvious they had feelings for Franz.

She was too curious about what expressions they would show.

It was like the confidence of the person who had confessed first.

Of course, it was only half-hearted courage, but it was true that she was ahead of the other three.

I am the future wife-, Arian’s boast made the other three naturally show blank expressions.

It was too sudden and shocking.

Thinking she had finally struck a blow to the stray cats, Arian couldn’t help but smile slyly.

“Wait, Franz. What is this about? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

The first to speak was Eustia.

She furrowed her brows and questioned him.

“He said if neither of us had someone to marry in a year, we should get married…?”

“And you accepted that?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting married anyway and didn’t have a suitable partner…”

Franz was puzzled as he answered.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he was being interrogated.

“You’re taking marriage so lightly…!”

Eustia almost raised her voice but caught herself and stopped.

‘Why am I getting angry in the first place…?’

There was no reason to care whether Franz got married or not.

Yes, that must be it, but she felt strangely upset.

As if she liked him.

After much deliberation, Eustia spoke in a much calmer voice.

“Anyway, think carefully.”

“Huh? Saintess, isn’t that too much? The Tower Master made his decision after much thought. And I don’t think it’s something you should interfere with to that extent.”

“I didn’t say much, did I? I just told you to think a bit more carefully since you can’t undo marriage. And isn’t it strange that there’s a condition that if neither of us has a partner in a year, we get married?”

Arian’s words pierced Justia’s core, and Justia’s words pierced Arian’s core.

The two exchanged blows, glaring at each other, contemplating their next words.

It was then.

“But if either of you finds a partner within a year, the promise is void, right?”

Yuna accurately exploited the loophole in the promise.

It was a much sharper move than when they defeated the Demon King.

“Well… if you think about it, that’s true…”

Franz also agreed with Yuna’s words.

It was an undeniable truth.

“Master of the Tower?!”

“Oh, I see.”

Arian’s eyes widened in surprise, and Justia nodded with a sly smile.

It seemed like the hero party was ganging up on Arian.

“Hera, why don’t you say something too?”

Sensing an opportunity, Justia spoke to Hera, who was quietly sipping tea.

Hera responded with a kind smile.

“I’m fine… A slave just does what their master orders. It doesn’t matter to me who Franz marries.”

“Are you really okay with that? If you’re going to serve anyway, isn’t it better to be a wife than a slave?”

“That is…”

Hera trailed off, glancing at Franz.

It sounded plausible when she thought about it.

‘How did it come to this…?’

Franz was just bewildered by the situation.

He couldn’t understand why they were talking about slaves and wives.

But he couldn’t just leave the situation as it was.

After all, it was about him.

“Why don’t we stop here and have a meal?”

Franz declared a temporary truce.

Everyone seemed overly excited, so they needed time to cool their heads.

If we eat something delicious, we might not fight.

Fortunately, everyone accepted Franz’s suggestion.

No, in the first place, there was no one who would refuse Franz’s suggestion.

There was no reason to make enemies for no reason.

This too was an extension of the psychological warfare.

Just as the conversation was about to end.

Yuna spoke.

“Franz, you said the food I made before was delicious, right?”

“Yeah, it was delicious. But why?”

“I was thinking of making it again if I could just borrow the kitchen. I wanted to feed the others too, and it just so happened that everyone gathered.”

Indeed, Yuna’s food was delicious.

It felt like eating really delicious home-cooked food.

But is there really a reason to make it now?

Since we came to the North, it would be better to just enjoy the food of the North comfortably.

Moreover, it’s made by the chef of the Duke’s family.

I should tell her to cook next time.

Just as Franz finished thinking and was about to speak.

“Master of the Tower, did you eat the food made by the hero?”

Arian brought her face close to Franz and said.

The deep furrow between her brows represented her feelings.

It seemed she had another complaint.

“Well, it just happened.”

“Is that so. I can’t just stand by.”

What on earth is she planning to do again?

Franz, recalling the day she was drenched in water, felt uneasy for no reason.

And as expected, the ominous prediction did not miss.

Arian turned her head sharply and glared at Yuna.

“Yes, you can borrow the kitchen as much as you want. But I will cook too. The opportunity should be fair, right? And not just you, everyone else should join in. We need to decide who is the best bride.”

Wow, a cooking contest.

…But the situation was not good enough to be happy about it.

‘Well, I guess they’ll figure it out….’

Franz had now simply given up.

No matter how much he said, it seemed like it wouldn’t get through, so he decided to just leave it be.

“Master of the Tower, please wait here. We’ll go and cook.”

With that, Arian took the other three, excluding Franz, and went outside.

Left alone in the room, Franz stared blankly at their receding backs before turning his gaze to the window.

The snow-covered mountains were always beautiful, no matter how many times he saw them.

Especially the mountain with the peak; it was magnificent every time he saw it.

Slurp-.

Even though it had cooled down, the tea still tasted good, indicating it was of high quality.

‘I’m hungry.’

When will it be ready?