Chapter 753: 753: Fran And The Curry Heaven

『Here Urushi, since you did your best this time. Your reward is super spicy curry.』

「Woof woof woof!」

『W-Wait! I haven't put it on the floor yet! You'll spill it all over the inn!』

「Woof woof!」

『You say you're hungry? Didn't I give you a snack on the way in?』

「Woof!」

『Okay okay! Here!』

Come to think of it, they haven't had a proper meal in half a day. Maybe he hasn't taken in enough calories after the fierce competition in the finals.

「Master!」

『Oh I know. Don't look at me like that.』

The smell of the curry Urushi was eating must have activated her stomach. Fran looked at me with sad eyes as she patted her belly, which was making a rumbling sound.

If she wasn't begging for food with that face, I'm sure the boys would be all over her. No, I misspoke, Fran is always super cute.

『Congratulations on winning! Here's a super-sized big bowl of curry!』

「Yay~」

『You can add as many toppings as you like, and seconds are free too! You can have as much as you want today!』

「Really?」

『It's a victory celebration! You can have sweet, medium, spicy, beef, pork, chicken, fish, lamb, shrimp―― or just a little bit of everything if you want!』

Normally, I would forbid her from eating like that because it's bad manners, but just for today, you're free to go!

「Seriously?」

『Seriously. Just for today, you can eat as much as you like, how you like it!』

「Oh......」

Fran was so emotionally overcome that she was trembling. I haven't seen Fran this moved in a long time.

「Heaven was here all along.」

What an exaggeration!

But Fran seemed to mean it. With a serious face, she immediately started stuffing herself with curry.

「......I must win next year too. To taste curry heaven again.」

『G-Good luck!』

「Nn... To do that, I'll get even stronger. Nom nom.」

Would be a pretty cool line if you weren't eating......

Her eyes were just as enthusiastic as when she's in battle.

「First, I'm going to train. Nom. In Gordicia. Nom. For the sake of curry. Nom. I'll endure any trials. Nom.」

『I-I see.』

「Nn.」

W-Well, it's good to be motivated. Whatever the reason is.

「Nom nom!」

「Om om!」

『Whoa! Fran! The food is getting everywhere! Urushi! You're making the curry fly all over!』

While catching the flying food with telekinesis, I immediately cleaned the carpets and furniture with cleansing magic. This is, after all, a suite room in Ulmutt's top-class inn.

We came here to keep out merchants, nobles, and others visitors who might try to bother Fran.

Diaz had arranged for the guild to pay the lodging costs.

We had originally been staying in a decently nice inn, but if we wanted to keep out the nobles, it would have to be this one.

Fran and Urushi were happy with the soft beds and fluffy carpets, but I was not at ease. The furnishings were so luxurious that every time Fran and Urushi got excited, my stomach somehow ached.

『Huh? Someone's coming. This is the mana of......』

「Lumina!」

Fran exclaimed, sending a few grains of rice flying out of her mouth.

Knock knock.

There's a knock at the door. I opened it with telekinesis, and there stood a small doll. It was a human-looking, or rather black catkin-looking, doll about 20 centimeters tall.

It's cute appearance looked like something a little girl would use to play house with. But we recognized the doll as well as the magic that the doll emitted.

It was the doll that Lumina, the black cat and dungeon master, possessed when she went outside. I once saw her having a meeting with Aurel in the form of this doll.

『We were thinking of going to see you tomorrow, but you came all the way out here?』

「Indeed.」

The doll strode into the room, closed the door on its own, and climbed onto the table with a jump.

「I saw the whole tournament through the eyes of this doll. You have grown much stronger. As a fellow black cat, I am proud of you.」

「It wasn't just me... Master and Urushi made it possible for me to win.」

『No, no, it's thanks to Fran's hard work. No matter how much we helped, it would be over for us if Fran's spirit was broken. The most amazing thing about Fran is that she didn't lose her fighting spirit until the very end.』

「Woof!」

「Thanks.」

「Fufufu. You get along as fine as ever. Master, take care of Fran, will you? Things are going to get noisy now that she's the champion.」

Apparently some of them were waiting in the dungeon for the slightest chance of Fran's arrival. That's how tempting it is to get a meeting with the winner. What is surprising is that there are even merchants who went out of their way to hire adventurers for this.

It seems that Lumina came to see us after noticing that.

「Hmm. Nom nom. More people.」

『Aurel and Kaitly, huh.』

This is getting kinda annoying, so I'll just keep the door open. Then Kaitly, who was about to knock on the door with a nervous look on her face, froze with a surprised expression.

「Eh?」

Uh, sorry about that Kaitly.

「You can come in.」

「Excuse us, Fran.」

「P-Please excuse the intrusion.」

Aurel led Kaitly in. I guess he wanted Kaitly to see Fran off before she leaves town.

Kaitly fidgeted for a moment, but soon her expression became determined and she stood in front of Fran, bowing her head.

「Thank you very much. I heard that you looked everywhere for me, even though you were still recovering from your injuries in the finals......」

「No need for thanks. After all, it was Sibylla who saved you.」

「But that doesn't change the fact that you went around looking for me. So, thank you very much.」

「Nn...... Are you going to become an adventurer?」

An embarrassed Fran changed the subject awkwardly. Fran shows a lot of unusual reactions when she talks to Kaitly, so this feels pretty fresh.

「Y-Yes, I intend to.」

「Good luck. You will be a good adventurer.」

「Thank you. I'll do my best!」

This seemed to have helped her relax, and Kaitly started talking to Fran with a smile on her face. Fran must really like Kaitly, since she even gave her some curry.

Uhh, please let Aurel have some curry as well. Just looking at the old man's lonely expression is tugging at my heart strings!

「Onee-sama. Are you going to Gordicia next?」

「Nn. That's the plan.」

「Please be careful. I've heard it's a very dangerous place.」

「Thanks. But I'll be fine.」

Kaitly stared with a dazzling gaze at Fran's confident statement.

「Someday......」

「?」

「Someday, I'll become strong enough to fight alongside you, so......」

「Nn. I'll be waiting... When you become a full-fledged adventurer, we'll go on an adventure together.」

「Okay!」