Chapter 3: Change (1)

Changing the body was simpler than I thought.

I just had to lie down in the designated spot and watch what the Archmage was doing.

I was concerned that she might do something malicious in the middle of the magic casting, but I couldn’t read the aura unique to hostile mages.

It was fortunate that I didn’t have to attack her.

“It’s all done. I’ll clean up and go, so could you wait a moment?”

“Underst···ood.”

Her voice was strange.

I unconsciously touched my neck at the delicate voice I had never heard in my life.

“Hmm…”

The skin was soft and there was no Adam’s apple.

The palm of my hand, which I looked down at with a bewildered heart, was as soft as that of a noble girl who had never experienced hard work.

‘It’s a really weak body.’

With this body, I wouldn’t be able to break even a rock.

I looked around, then picked up ten scrolls that were on the table nearby.

It seemed like a good way to test my strength, since the scrolls were thick.

Crack!

As I tried to tear the scroll with all my strength, my slender forearm trembled.

As expected, I couldn’t even tear the dust of the scroll with this body.

“Ugh.”

Was it because I had used too much force with a weak body?

I couldn’t help but let out a delicate groan.

Startled by the shocking situation, I looked around and met Philiana’s eyes, who was cleaning up in the distance.

“···I made a mistake with the new body, I’ll act as if you didn’t hear it.”

“Ah, um, yes.”

Philiana quickly turned her head.

I stared at her back for a long time, then turned my gaze towards the scroll in my hand.

‘Is this all?’

The girl’s body was terrible, but I wasn’t really weak.

Because I hadn’t used my original power yet.

‘If I do this…’

I pulled up the power hidden within a corner of my body.

Then, the power of my original body began to dwell in the girl’s body, which was only weak.

Zzzt!

The scroll was torn lightly.

I could use the same power as before, but I might not be able to perform to the same level of skill because the length of my body had become shorter.

Reach was a very important factor in a fight.

‘I need to adapt.’

That was the goal from now on.

Adapt to the body without using my original power.

Using power was easy, but if I used it haphazardly, I might be discovered.

It was better not to use it unless it was a really urgent case.

‘Because I changed my body for this.’

I erased the power I had drawn up and looked around the small body.

I was measuring the length of my limbs, including arms and legs, by eye, and Philiana, who had returned after finishing the cleanup, approached me.

“How is your body?”

“It’s uncomfortable.”

Turning my head in the direction of the voice, I could see Philiana’s stomach.

Is that how much shorter my height has become?

It was unpleasant to be looking up at the person I had been looking down on, but I wasn’t angry.

“It’s probably because you’re so much smaller. Other than that, is there any other problem?”

“No, there’s a problem.”

“There is? There’s no way.”

Philiana’s eyes widened.

She grabbed my cheek as if to check my condition and then was startled and removed her hand.

Is she trying to treat me like a child because of my appearance?

It was a truly rude attitude.

I thought about scolding her at the opportunity, but I just decided to report on the condition.

I couldn’t raise my voice to her, my benefactor.

“My eyes are heavy.”

“Your eyes?”

“Yes, not only my eyes, but my body is also quite heavy.”

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and looked up at Philiana.

My whole body was languid, and I felt like I could collapse at any moment.

Of course, I could erase the languidness if I brought out my original power, but the fundamental problem wouldn’t be solved.

If I erased the power, I would return to the weak girl’s body again.

‘It’s a truly annoying body.’

Weakness and strength coexisting in one person’s body.

The inconvenience was not trivial.

I frowned and sat on the sofa nearby.

“Are you very tired?”

“Not very, but a little. It seems like something’s wrong with my body.”

“Oh? That can’t be true? Aren’t you just sleepy?”

“Sleepy…?”

Is that so?

Am I sleepy now?

I looked up at Philiana with a drowsy mind.

Now, my eyes were half-closed.

“Philiana, do I look sleepy now?”

“Yes. You look extremely tired.”

“···I see.”

I didn’t know the concept of being sleepy because I’d never slept in my life.

Of course, there had been a hundred years of sealing, but I hadn’t fallen asleep due to fatigue.

It could be considered out of the question.

‘Should I sleep for now?’

I could drive away the fatigue if I brought out my original power, but the words I had heard from Philiana a month ago caught my ankle.

-Living a good life means living like an ordinary person.

If I were an ordinary person here, I would surely sleep without any resistance.

Since I had decided to learn from her, I had no choice but to follow the rules.

“Philiana, how do you sleep?”

“···Yes?”

“Is it just a matter of closing my eyes?”

I grabbed my swaying body with difficulty.

The situation of having to let go of my mind directly was unfamiliar, so I couldn’t do anything.

“···Don’t you know how to sleep, Tyrant?”

“That’s right. I have never slept a single time since I was born.”

“My word.”

I could tell just by looking at Philiana’s surprised expression.

That sleep was a normal physiological phenomenon even for an Archmage.

‘It’s awful.’

A normal physiological phenomenon is ordinary.

It was hard for me to understand the ordinary now.

“Philiana, can you put me to sleep?”

At my question, Philiana showed a bewildered look.

Perhaps putting a person to sleep wasn’t a common situation.

“Shall I cast a sleep spell···?”

Sleep spell.

I felt a sense of rejection despite it being a good method.

Even a hundred years ago, ‘magic’ was the exclusive domain of special people.

“Is sleeping with a sleep spell a normal case?”

“It’s not a normal case.”

“Then I’ll refuse. I’ll try to sleep in an ordinary way.”
“Ah, in an ordinary way.”

Philiana nodded.

She knew best why I was sticking to ordinary things.

“Is there no way to sleep without a sleep spell?”

“Um… Wouldn’t it be okay to close your eyes and count the horn rabbits?”

“Horn rabbits?”

“Yes. They say that if you count the horn rabbits one by one, you’ll fall asleep.”

Do ordinary people fall asleep counting horn rabbits?

I wrinkled my brow at the strange and unfamiliar method, but I decided to try it first and lay down on the sofa.

“Horn rabbit one. Horn rabbit two. Horn rabbit thre…”

“Your voice is too loud. No, you should count in your heart.”

“···It’s uncomfortable.”

Honestly, I didn’t believe that I would fall asleep this way.

However, it was right to do everything first before complaining.

I continued to count the horn rabbits.

Horn rabbit one.
Horn rabbit two…

Snore

The sleeping girl on the sofa exhaled a cute breath.

Philiana knew she shouldn’t be fooled by the girl’s appearance, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the adorable, angelic girl.

‘···I should move her to the bedroom.’

But how should she move the Tyrant’s body?

Would she incur the Tyrant’s wrath if she moved recklessly?

Philiana seriously considered it and decided to carry her.

“Euch.”

The girl’s body came into her arms.

The being who could conquer the empire with a single body was so delicate now.

‘It feels strange.’

Philiana pulled the girl’s cheek, unable to resist the urge.

Zzzzuuuk

Seeing the cheek stretch and soften, her heart pounded.

‘If I get caught, I’m dead.’

The Tyrant who once ruled the world had become a young girl and was in her arms.

Her whole body tingled with a sense of betrayal and conquest.

That was when the Tyrant stirred.

“U, um···”

“······!”

Philiana hastily let go of her hand.

Fortunately, she didn’t wake up.

“Phew.”

The fun was over.

Philiana carried the Tyrant in her arms and moved towards the bedroom of the mansion.

‘There’s something strange.’

Philiana kept looking at the Tyrant in her arms as she moved to the bedroom.

It was because she felt an incongruity from him.

‘Why is he so kind?’

He would kill out of boredom, kill out of annoyance, and kill even without a reason, that was the Tyrant.

According to what she had learned from the history books, she should have been killed about three times already.

But what was the actual image of the Tyrant she had encountered?

Wasn’t it the image of a saint who forgave any mistake?

Philiana remembered the Tyrant forgiving her mistake.

‘···Did history record it wrong?’

There was a possibility.

No matter how powerful the Tyrant was, he wouldn’t be able to influence history if he had been asleep for a hundred years.

Indeed, there were many cases where the wrong history was overturned.

‘···No, he said he wanted to live a good life. He might have become kind now.’

If it was the former, it was a pity, but if it was the latter, it was hard to give affection.

Because innocent people would have suffered because of the Tyrant.

‘I hope it’s the former.’

Arriving at the bedroom, Philiana laid the Tyrant on the bed.

She tucked in the blanket and, for the last time, pulled the soft cheek.

‘I can’t always be scared.’

She had to test it.

How much rudeness would he forgive?

Although it was immoral to play with people’s emotions, it was a test that must be done to know his true feelings.

If the Tyrant was truly good, he would forgive any rudeness, and if he was ‘pretending’ to be good, he would eventually explode.

If that time came, she would have to beg on her knees until her forehead bled and her hands and feet became sore.

Because, judging from his behavior so far, she thought he would forgive her at least once.

Of course, after that, she wouldn’t give any affection.

Because that’s what relationships are all about.