Chapter 57

The first sensation I felt was dampness. I wondered if I was lying in a pool of blood, but the faint smell of iodine, like a hospital scent, made it clear it wasn’t blood.

With great effort, I opened my eyes and realized I was just lying on a damp bed soaked with my own sweat. The strange thing was, the bed felt oddly large, and my body felt a bit lighter. It seemed like I had lost some weight from sweating so much while unconscious.

“You’re awake, youngest.”

“How’s your condition?”

Melchior and Melissa greeted me. They had brought chairs next to my bed and had been sitting there, waiting for me to wake up. They really are always so attentive to the youngest. I placed my left hand on my forehead and answered. My hand felt unusually soft today.

“Ah, aside from feeling a bit dizzy, I’m fine.”

Did something happen to my ears? Why does my voice sound like this?

Looking at the hand on my forehead, it wasn’t the hand of an adult. It was clearly the hand of a child who should be playing in the dirt… Did they cut off my arm and replace it with a child’s arm?

I slowly began to assess my body. This is… no matter how I look at it…

“Brother, sister, I have a question.”

Melissa was avoiding eye contact. The way she was covering her mouth, it was clear she was holding back laughter.

Melchior had a look on his face that said, “Here it comes.”

“Why is my body younger again?”

I’m not some grim reaper bringing murder cases, so why am I younger? Was the north not a communist base but the headquarters of a black organization? Why are they messing with my body like this?

“Well… you have that friend who knows about your condition, Werner… I sent her a letter.”

Ah, so it’s about Lorcha? Why bring up Lorcha out of the blue?

“I asked her to heal you. She knows your condition better than any healer or doctor. She sent a bottle of medicine.”

“I get that my body is healed, but what does that have to do with me turning into a kid?”

“She said making your body younger would enhance your healing abilities… but her real intention was different, sigh…”

Melchior looked troubled. But Lorcha sent me healing medicine? I thought our relationship was at its worst? From Werner’s memory, after that fight, we only met for work, and even then, it was cold. And that was 12 years ago when Werner ran away.

Melchior scratched his head and pulled out a piece of paper from a nearby drawer. The emblem at the top of the paper felt familiar.

“This was enclosed with the medicine.”

“Geas…?”

A geas among mages is like an E.M.X. It’s a kind of contract with a strong enforcement mechanism—lie and get caught, and you’re screwed.

I carefully read the contents of the geas.

[I, Lorcha McCallin, have placed a curse on Werner Altan’s body to make him younger through this medicine. The curse will be lifted if Werner Altan accepts one of the following conditions:

1. Accept a curse that changes your gender instead of making you younger.

2. Accept a curse that turns you into a toad instead of making you younger.

3. Never touch a woman for the rest of your life.

4. Cut off your genitals.

5. Return to being an Imperial Mage.

Underline and sign the condition you choose, and the curse will be lifted automatically.

And Lorcha McCallin will heal Werner Altan’s body through this medicine.

If you break this contract, your body will explode and you will die on the spot.

Signature: Lorcha McCallin

Signature: ___________________________]

“Damn it…”

A curse came out naturally. She’s still holding a grudge over that incident. Exploding and dying? Is she some kind of crazy artist who thinks art is an explosion? I need to lift this curse, so I quietly weighed the options and started to think.

First, option 1 is an absolute no. How can a manly man choose to live as a woman? Option 2 is also an obvious no.

Option 3 was a bit tempting, but it’s not much different from option 1, so no. Option 4 is about becoming a eunuch… cutting it off? I’m not Sima Qian, so there’s no reason to accept that.

That leaves option 5… Honestly, I’m not thrilled about it either. In games, deserters aren’t treated well, and after deserting the Imperial Mage position for 12 years, will they really treat me kindly? I’m not Jang Seung-eop, and I doubt they’ll treat me well even if I go back.

So, it’s a three-way battle between living like this forever, returning to being an Imperial Mage, or becoming a eunuch.

Swearing came naturally, but there was no way to avoid choosing one of these options.

I had to choose. I won’t hesitate anymore. There’s no time to waste in this body.

I will save my body with my choice.

I underlined option 5 and wrote “Werner Altan.” The paper emitted a bright light and flew out the window.

The curse will definitely be lifted tomorrow, right? So, I have to stay in this child’s body until at least tomorrow.

Melchior watched the flying contract for a moment and then spoke.

“I’ll talk to the Imperial side. Don’t worry too much; the Imperial family wants you back.”

“Thanks, brother.”

Honestly, if it weren’t for the risk of my body exploding, I would have run away immediately. Damn geas, this is no different from a slave contract. Making a slave contract without consent, Lorcha must be an imperialist. How dare she try to make me a Kunta Kinte? I’ll get revenge for this someday.

“Damn it, if you’re going to lift it, just lift it right away, you crazy woman.”

She definitely could have lifted it immediately, but she’s doing this on purpose. She’s fermenting that old grudge like kimchi and serving it back as aged kimchi.

Melissa chuckled and patted my head.

“But this reminds me of when we first met our youngest.”

Melchior chimed in.

“You too? Me too.”

“You begged for a piece of bread to show us a magic trick, right? I thought you’d ask for a coin and run, but…”

“Old Man Heavenly Demon got struck by lightning right there for volunteering as a test subject.”

Thinking about it, that’s why Old Man Heavenly Demon gave Werner a knuckle sandwich like Shin-chan’s mom.

“The leader recognized your talent and took you in, right?”

“Right, that thief Squar gave you her castle and even named you. That little kid has grown so much; time really flies.”

“Melissa, sister, and Melchior, brother, but…”

“Come to think of it, when Werner was young, he called us ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’ right?”

“No, back then, the youngest’s pronunciation was so bad, he called us ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ in a weird way. A 10-year-old with such a childish pronunciation…”

That was over 19 years ago. Yet, they reminisced about those times while patting my head. Despite my appearance, I’m a 29-year-old mage inside.

Being the youngest loved by all party members. It’s fine when you’re young, but as you get older, it becomes burdensome. Imagine an adult man wearing overalls like a kindergarten kid. Unless you’re cosplaying as a plumber with a red hat, it doesn’t look good. Positions are like clothes; they should change as you age, but this youngest position never changes. It’s like being a private in the army where no new recruits ever come.

“What about Glacia…?”

“As soon as she saw you collapse, she went berserk, so I subdued her and put her in a room.”

Glacia is strong, but still weaker than Melissa. That’s to be expected, right?

“What about my disciple and Sister Camelian?”

“Ah, we detained them in separate guest rooms. We have our pride, so we can’t just let those who ruined the engagement ceremony we prepared stay. Of course, they cooperated after you were somewhat healed…”

==============================================

In a dark room.

A woman with sky-blue hair was writing a post on the Akashic Magician Record, a community for mages.

Title: Werner, that damn bastard, is about to return to the Imperial Mage position in disgrace.

Author: IWantToKickWerner’sAss

Content: I bet my entire fortune that this bastard will return soon.

ㄴ MagicPuff: Zzzzz

ㄴ MagicThatDestroysEvenGods: Oh, the attention-seeking mage is back.

ㄴㄴ IWantToKickWerner’sAss: Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?

ㄴ EssenceOfMagic: You… little brat… how dare you insult Lord Werner…!

ㄴㄴ IWantToKickWerner’sAss: Old man, I’m really curious, why do you…?

ㄴ BitchPlease: It’s nice not seeing that white snake and that attention-seeking mage duo today.

“Hmph, clueless old farts.”

Lorcha McCallin, the number one popular mage on the Akashic Magician Record, the Tower Lord of the Water Magic Tower, and the second greatest genius in history after Werner.

She disconnected from the Akashic Magician Record and looked at the geas contract that had flown to her with an unreadable expression.

“Let’s meet face-to-face soon, you bad guy…”