Chapter 557

Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Paris.

Numerous reporters had gathered upon hearing the news of the return.

As soon as I got out of the car, the flash of cameras felt familiar now.

From the entrance, a man approached with a stride that balanced formality and casualness.

“Hello, High Mage. I am An Ho-gyun.”

The 27th President of the Republic of Korea, An Ho-gyun, extended his hand with a gentle smile.

There was no need to be aloof during our first meeting.

“Hello, Mr. President. It’s an honor that you came all this way.”

“Ha ha, no, I should have come to see you sooner. I sincerely congratulate you on winning the National Exchange Championship, and thank you for bringing great happiness to our people. The final match against Katsuhata was especially delightful to watch.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Did he come to France with the First Lady and the children?

I shook hands with the president’s family in turn and moved toward the customs area.

“Unspecified Mage, Air Force One is wider than I expected. Since the area is divided, it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable to travel together.”

“Still, I can’t use the VIP section with the president present.”

“Excuse me?”

“I appreciate the consideration, but we really can ride on Air Force Two. It’s a long flight, and it would be better if we were both comfortable. You’d prefer that, wouldn’t you, Mr. President?”

“Ah… Yes, I understand your feelings.”

An Ho-gyun hesitated, seemingly flustered.

So he wants me to sit in the regular seats?

After all, the presidential office went so far as to put Air Force Two in the sky to bring me here.

While it’s admirable that they tried to convince me until the end, I couldn’t leave any room for negotiations.

“Well then, I wish you a pleasant return, and I will take my leave here. This government will spare no support for all the research and endeavors you undertake, Unspecified Mage. Please remember that you have a steadfast supporter.”

“Yes, thank you, and please travel safely.”

Air Force Two was smaller than Air Force One, but still quite spacious for the three of us.

After exchanging light greetings with the captain and crew, I received permission to use the bedroom.

I stayed alert until the plane took off and crossed the French border.

Only when two South Korean fighter jets accompanied us did I feel more at ease.

I lay in bed and gently closed my eyes.

“Phew… The week I was most worried about has passed safely.”

How long had it been since I spent a full 24 hours with my family?

Although Professor Cheon scolded me for using the capsule too much, it was just one of the small conflicts that inevitably arise between parents and children.

In that sense, choosing Romanee Conti Villa was a brilliant decision.

“Above all, I was able to find out the details of the situations where the erosion manifested.”

The most severe manifestation was lust, Astarte.

She once exerted such a powerful influence that it almost completely pushed my ego aside.

Of course, her existence was too weak to hold onto a physical form, so I returned to normal a few days later.

At that time, I thought it was simply because the iron bar that separated the aura heart had loosened.

Since the major surgery, the erosions had stably composed my long-term memory and ego.

However, the moment my mind was tainted wasn’t solely due to Astarte.

[Ha ha! You can’t even make a bomb properly, useless! If you get mad, come find me. I’ll gladly take you on! Are you scared?]

Even when I provoked Valpurgis and ran away from home.

[Everyone gets burned if they touch something hot. And it hurts when you get burned. The older sisters did that to So-hye because they didn’t know, right? It’s okay; ignorance isn’t a crime. I’ll teach you little by little from now on.]

Even when I retaliated against bullies who committed school violence.

At the time, I didn’t feel anything strange at all.

Because I made decisions based on rational judgment, and if I were my past self, I would have acted the same way.

But I had been thinking incorrectly from the very beginning.

That was something mimicking Esthesia’s thought process.

It wasn’t my decision.

Fundamentally, my ‘self’ in this life is a timid child.

[It’s so scary… I… Waaaaah… those mean seniors… sneakily using forbidden magic on me! And then denying it… Aura heart… I didn’t want the iron bar I worked hard to create to break… I need to extract mana quickly… But the blood from my arm wouldn’t stop flowing…! It really hurt a lot… Waaaaah…!]

Of course, it’s normal for an average 8-year-old to be afraid of such situations and behaviors.

That’s only true when compared to my past self.

No actions I regret deeply.

Yet, I wonder if, going back to that time, I would truly act as I did.

So what, exactly, drove me to extremes?

I could hear this story from a dog that visited one day.

Hunger, Erisiton.

* * *

Three days ago, it was an ordinary morning at the villa, just like any other day.

“Yawn. Moo!”

In fact, it wasn’t ordinary at all.

The drowsiness dissipated and I sprang upright from the bed.

The first thing I did was check whether my hands or face had turned furry.

[Cast: Diagnosis]

I was so startled that I cast a spell.

Of course, I didn’t find any abnormalities whatsoever.

“What was that just now? Was it a dream?”

If it was a dream, then surely it was a stupid one.

I calmed my racing heart and took a deep breath.

Since I woke up early, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Click, click, click, click—

The bathroom lights flickered on and off.

Just from hearing the giggling laughter, it wasn’t hard to guess the culprit.

“Grrr… Don’t make me say it nicely. Okay?”

This was the second feeling of discomfort.

I thought it might be because of the toothpaste, so I spat out the white foam in my mouth and burst open the door.

“Bonjour desu! You woke up early, Unnie!”

“What are you doing up at this hour? It’s not even 6 AM yet.”

“Yawn. Do I still look like I woke up early? No, no.”

“Huh?”

The flexible-bodied Saetbyeol stretched.

“It’s time to sleep now! Ugh, I’m so tired. I’ll go to dreamland and see you at lunchtime.”

“Wow… Did you stay up all night?”

From this point, I realized that my body had some serious issues.

“Huh? Did you not hear that just now? What did I say?”

I mumbled something dumb as Saetbyeol rubbed her eyes.

I entered my room and began an intelligence test.

There was no problem even when I looked at my favorite number theory, especially Landau’s textbook written in German.

“What the heck is the problem, huh…?”

What was the problem? It was quite serious.

The symptoms appeared to be similar to those of a tic disorder.

I felt a strong premonitory sensory impulse, and to relieve it, “dog” sounds would involuntarily escape my mouth at the end of every sentence.

If I tried to hold it, I could manage, but it felt tight as if my heart was being squeezed.

However, I concluded it wasn’t a tic disorder.

Suddenly, an instinct to hide under the dark bed surged within me.

I flattened my body and rolled on the floor to squeeze under the bed.

“… Oh, this is nice? Hah, what’s nice about it?”

Although no strange dog sounds escaped my mouth, I soon felt embarrassed about what I was doing.

What was I even doing?

Just then, Professor Cheon, who was preparing breakfast, entered the room with two knocks.

“Nameya, breakfast will be toast and eggs like yesterday… Nameya? What are you doing in there?”

“Uh… just uh… woof!”

Desperately trying to hold back barking sounds.

Should I consider it fortunate that I ended up letting out a light whining sound instead?

I quickly wrote my response on a sticky note and showed it to him.

“Because my throat hurts, I’d like to have warm truffle soup today? You need to buy it from the supermarket, so can you wait a bit?”

Nod, nod—

Of course, that was intentional.

When I sent an OK sign, Professor Cheon hurriedly prepared to leave.

Sorry, Dad.

Professor Cheon went to the supermarket, and Saetbyeol, blissfully unaware of the world, continued to sleep.

The villa was my world.

“You’re dead today, you little mutt. Woof woof woof!”

With no doubt in my mind, it was Erisiton’s doing.

I didn’t know what exactly she had done to my body, but the solution was quite simple.

Creeeeak—Clink!

I inserted the silver key from the last drawer and opened the door leading to the basement.

The villa’s wine cellar spread out before me.

“Slurp… Hah.”

The slightly cold air at 14 degrees felt refreshing in my lungs.

I turned on my aura in my eyes and searched for a vintage wine that suited my taste.

“Woof! This is it!”

Romanee Conti 2017.

In 2017, the weather was overall stable, and the climate remained consistent from spring to autumn, resulting in a large number of perfectly balanced wines with great acidity and flavor.

I went up to the kitchen to prepare the decanter.

Using a corkscrew is for amateurs.

I took a hot pair of tongs and grabbed the neck of the wine bottle.

After a while, I wrapped the bottle neck with a cold towel and broke it cleanly.

It was to enjoy the wine without cork residue.

Decanting generally requires 30 minutes, but I decided to settle for 15 minutes due to time constraints.

Slosh—

I filled half of my glass to savor the taste and aroma.

It was a shimmering color.

Gulp—

“Hah…!”

I enjoyed the appropriate acidity and refined tannins throughout my tongue.

The aftertaste of grapes lingered in my mouth.

Drinking such noble wine like a barbarian felt wasteful, but I thought of it solely as a medicinal purpose.

“Bon appétit! Woof…”

Gulp gulp gulp gulp—

Holding the decanter with both hands, I poured the wine straight into my mouth.

“Woof woof woof… Ah, I’m so full…”

With a bottle containing 750mL, I had practically shotgunned about 375mL.

The potential for an alcohol shock crossed my mind as my head began to spin.

“Are you back to your senses now, mutt?”

[You’re bad! Erisiton hates alcohol! Ugh, it’s gross! It’s not tasty! Uwaaaaah!]

Voices echoed in my head.

“Why are you coming out again? I sealed you properly, didn’t I?”

[You opened the door yourself! Erisiton did nothing wrong!]

“When did I?”

[You always needed our power! What path do you think that power took?]

“Could it be…?”

[Shade, Baritia, Astarte, Sekhmet… so why are you treating me differently! Waaaah!]

In that moment, I realized the completely unexpected chain of cause and effect.

One use of erosion opens a passage for another erosion.

Previously, when I arm-wrestled against Madam So-wol, I used the hunger ‘Erisiton.’

This awakened the greed ‘Baritia’ and provoked Valpurgis.

The jealousy ‘Shardenfroide’ I employed during the Academy Championship.

This awakened the lust ‘Astarte,’ helping her claim my body.

The arrogance ‘Hibirisu’ I used to subdue the drunken bully who threatened both Saetbyeoni and me.

Thus, the manifested rage ‘Sekhmet’ influenced my impulsivity.

“So, this time you popped out, Erisiton…”

It was because I used the sloth ‘Medusa’ in this national exchange event.

[I already endured during the exorcism and the sports festival!]

Erisiton let loose an overwhelming sense of grievance.

However, I was not generous enough to spare the erosions their conveniences.

[Aaaah!]

Fueled by alcohol, the residue of the erosions sank back into the deep abyss.

Ding dong!

“…!”

I dashed to the bathroom, clutching the wine bottle and decanter.

[Cast: Ventus Flora]

Even in my drunken state, my situational judgment hadn’t dulled, and I disposed of the aroma of the wine with magic.

“But how do I deal with the wine?”

At that moment, the quantity of aura I possessed was insufficient to detoxify more than half a bottle of wine.

Slosh—

With tears in my eyes, I had no choice but to flush half a bottle of 50 million won wine down the toilet.