Chapter 2: And be kind (2)
Philiana only waited for a month.
This was because Bella, the assistant, had requested that she not look inside during the process of the appearance creation.
‘Does she want to surprise me?’
Seeing Bella’s expression, which was full of self-confidence, it was clear she had created an incredibly handsome man.
Philiana trusted her assistant’s skills, so she waited without any doubt.
‘She said it would be completed around today.’
It was then, when Philiana was sitting in the rest area prepared in a corner of the lab, sipping tea.
Bella came running from afar with cute footsteps.
“Philiana! It’s all done!”
“Oh, yeah.”
Finally finished.
A month seemed short, but she had managed to meet the deadline.
Philiana decided to give Bella a vacation and a generous bonus, and opened the door to the room where the homunculus was sleeping.
“Tada!”
Simultaneously with Bella’s self-made sound effect, a girl with light-blonde hair appeared.
She was a small and delicate girl who stimulated the desire to protect her.
The eyelashes of her closed eyes were as bright as starlight, and her skin was perfect, without a single flaw.
Philiana admired the girl’s appearance as if she was captivated, and then she froze in place.
“Huh?”
I know she’s pretty, but why is she a girl?
Philiana looked back at her assistant with a bewildered look.
“It’s a girl, right?”
“Yes! I did a good job, right?”
She did a good job.
Even Philiana, who had faced many beauties in the empire, was filled with admiration.
If there was a problem, it was that the owner of this body was the Tyrant.
Giving the body of a delicate girl to a tyrant who had brought an era to its knees was nothing more than courting death.
‘Oh no.’
Once the appearance of the homunculus was decided, it couldn’t be changed.
No, it could be changed, but it would cost an astronomical amount, so it was almost impossible.
The time it takes to create a new homunculus is about five to ten years.
It was uncertain whether the Tyrant would wait that long.
‘I’m ruined.’
How cruel was the Tyrant?
He was the man who had sentenced the former era’s Archmage to death for the sole reason that she was rising up.
How should she give a girl’s body to such a person?
As Philiana was tearing her hair out in despair, Bella, looking dispirited, tugged at Philiana’s sleeve.
“Philiana, don’t you like it?”
“Ah, no, you did a good job. You did a good job, but…”
“But…?”
“···You did such a good job that it’s almost frightening.”
Philiana forced a smile and stroked Bella’s head.
The fault of not mentioning the gender in this matter was her own.
She couldn’t blame her assistant, who had done her best every moment.
‘I have to solve this myself.’
As the Archmage, she steeled her resolve.
Philiana thought so, and moved all the people remaining in the mansion to a far-off annex.
It was announced to the people that it was an evacuation due to a large-scale magic experiment, but in reality, it was to protect the people from the Tyrant’s anger.
In front of Philiana’s mansion.
Sitting on a bench and looking around, I felt something strange.
‘What is it?’
The mansion was huge, but there was no sign of anyone.
As if they had been deliberately cleared away.
I looked around and then opened my mouth towards Philiana, who was cautiously approaching behind me.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, yes!”
Philiana was startled.
Her voice was stiff, like a well-disciplined knight.
‘Is she timid?’
I looked at her without a word, and then decided to ask what I was curious about.
“There’s no one in the mansion.”
“Yes. I evacuated them just in case. It’s dangerous because it’s a large-scale magic.”
“Is that so.”
What I wanted was ‘to change the appearance to the point where no one could recognize me’.
She must have prepared the highest-level magic to hide all my mana and aura.
There was no need to suspect her for a reason.
“Let’s move soon.”
I got up from the bench and turned towards the mansion.
That was when Philiana blocked my path.
“A, are you leaving already? Aren’t you going to look around the mansion?”
“Do I need to?”
“···No, you don’t.”
Philiana’s gaze turned towards the ground.
Unless she was a fool, she couldn’t help but know it was suspicious.
“Philiana, are you trying to trick me?”
“No, it’s not like that, but…”
“If not, why are you dawdling?”
I will not forgive her if she’s planning something.
Frowning, I glared at Philiana, and she let out a long sigh.
“Actually, there was a mistake in the body creation.”
“Mistake?”
“Yes. It wasn’t a big mistake, but on the other hand, it could be a big mistake…”
It could be a big mistake, or it might not be.
In the end, she meant for me to judge it myself.
“Is the created body unstable?”
“A little. Really, really a little.”
Philiana showed her tightly closed index finger.
What kind of mistake would make the Archmage behave like that?
I thought I should see it with my own eyes.
“Lead the way for now.”
“Yes.”
Philiana nodded and led the way to the lab.
As she moved, she occasionally looked back at me, and whenever our eyes met, she quickly turned her gaze away.
‘Is there a reason to be careful?’
Did she make the height shorter?
Or did she make the appearance ugly?
It’s not a problem to that extent.
I was walking, making some guesses, and soon I was able to arrive at Philiana’s lab.
‘The lab is similar to a hundred years ago.’
A desk, piles of documents, and magical materials everywhere.
Passing all of these, the place I arrived at was in front of the door sealed with magic.
“···Shall I open it?”
Philiana placed her hand on the doorknob.
Seeing her fingertips tremble, it seemed she had been frightened.
“···You have to open it.”
Carefully turning the doorknob.
Because she used so little force, the door opened quite slowly.
Thud
In frustration, I kicked the door and entered the room.
I wasn’t impatient, but I didn’t want to delay any longer than this.
Because I’d have to confirm the problem to find a solution.
‘That.’
The first thing that came into view was a girl lying on the altar.
She was a beautiful girl that even I, who didn’t judge people by their appearance, was captivated by.
But why is a child sleeping in a lab?
I could soon realize, after a little thought.
That no signs of life were felt from the child.
‘Could it be…’
I wasn’t very expressive, but this time, even I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Because I sensed that the girl was my new body.
“Ugh.”
It was okay to be short.
It didn’t matter if the face was ugly.
Even if the appearance looked weak, I was confident I could handle it.
But she’s a woman.
Moreover, she was a young girl who hadn’t shed the immature look.
‘···There’s no way it was a mistake.’
It wasn’t a common man, and it was the body of a girl for someone called the pinnacle of an era.
This was a deliberate insult.
‘Does she want to fight me?’
I thought she was a good person, but to be so arrogant.
I clenched my fists in the face of humiliation.
I had been trying to live a good life according to my friend’s wishes, but if she was so rude, it was okay to use violence.
“Philiana, if you are trying to insult me…”
“No, no! It was a mistake! I can’t believe I would do that to the Tyrant?!”
Philiana hastily waved her hands.
Judging by her surprised expression, it seemed like a mistake, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe her.
“What kind of mistake causes this?”
“W, well, I’m not confident in the appearance creation, so I left it to someone else. But I forgot to tell them the gender…”
“Forgot the gender?”
Is that a mistake the Archmage would make?
Staring at her in bewilderment, I eventually had to nod.
The pinnacle of this era was very different from a hundred years ago.
Here, I, who don’t know the ways of the world, had to understand it even if I had to.
“Isn’t it impossible to change just the appearance again?”
“It’s possible, but you’ll have to wait at least five years.”
“Five years…”
It wasn’t a long time.
If I hadn’t wasted a hundred years.
In total, one hundred and five years was a terribly long time.
‘Time is being delayed too much.’
I can’t keep complaining and delaying the promise forever.
Now, I had to take the first step to keep the promise.
“Ha…”
But, even so, it was a girl’s body.
I looked at the girl lying on the altar with a miserable feeling, and then turned my gaze towards Philiana again.
“Philiana, swear to me.”
“What oath?”
“An oath that you will never betray me.”
“Ah…”
Philiana’s mouth fell open as if in a daze.
Then, at some point, it closed firmly.
“I will swear on all my mana. The things you are worried about will not happen.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. And it’s not like the Tyrant will become weaker just because he’s using that body.”
“That’s true.”
Even if the body changes, the soul doesn’t.
Even if it becomes a fragile body, there would be no harm.
‘It’s awful, but…’
It wasn’t like I would be trapped in a girl’s body for the rest of my life.
After five years, I would be able to return to a man’s body again.
I made up my mind and stood in front of the girl.
Although the unsightly body didn’t please me, I didn’t intend to miss the only chance given to me.