Chapter 4: Change(2)

The sleep I experienced for the first time in my life was truly strange.

They say you feel refreshed when you wake up, but how could my body be so heavy?

Perhaps something was wrong with my frail body.

“Hmm.”

Should I use my power to improve my condition?

Looking around with eyes that didn’t open well, I could see Philiana sitting on a chair in the distance, dozing off.

“Philiana?”

“Ah, … you’re awake?”

Philiana rubbed her eyes and got up from the chair.

Is that how you wake up?

I imitated her behavior and got up from the bed.

“My body is heavy even after waking up.”

My body was staggering so much that it was hard to stand.

I had no choice but to sit back on the bed.

“That’s because the sleepiness is still lingering.”

“Sleepiness?”

“Yes. It’s very common.”

Was I supposed to feel this revolting sensation every time I woke up?

It was hard for me, who had lived a strong life, to accept it.

“Philiana, I don’t like the sleepiness. Is there any other way to get rid of it?”

I looked up at Philiana with a serious face.

But for some reason, Philiana was just smiling.

“How about stretching?”

“Stretching? Is that a way to get rid of sleepiness?”

“It’s effective not only for sleepiness but also for fatigue recovery.”

“I see. I didn’t know because I’ve never felt fatigue in my life.”

I nodded to Philiana and stretched my arms up to stretch.

I didn’t know the method well, so I just imitated the appearance somehow.

“You have to stretch your arms until your chest tightens. Excuse me for a moment.”

Philiana’s hands grabbed my arms.

Although her strength wasn’t strong, I couldn’t resist with this frail body.

“How impertinent.”

Should I release my power?

I was seriously considering that, when suddenly, Philiana pulled my arm up.

“Nuuu-gh!”

A pathetic voice came out.

At the same time, an inexplicable vitality dwelled in my whole body.

Mixing the two emotions of wonder and embarrassment, I glared at Philiana with a furrowed face.

“···From now on, I need your permission to touch this body’s precious body.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

Philiana bowed her head.

Yes, well.

I could get rid of the sleepiness thanks to her.

I couldn’t get angry since I had received her help.

“My fatigue is gone. What should I do now?”

“Ah, I made a new identity for you, I think.”

Thwack!

As Philiana snapped her fingers, a document popped out of the air.

I reached out to grab the document that was fluttering down, but my pathetic body was too slow to react, unable to even catch it.

“Is the body still awkward?”

Philiana floated the document with magic.

I fixed my gaze on the document with my new identity written on it.

‘Name Luna Eve Chambers. Age ten···’

Ten?

Did I see it wrong?

I blinked my eyes several times, but there was no change in the document.

“Ten years old?”

“Yes, because I thought that age would be good.”

“···Why would I look like ten years old?”

“You look like ten years old in every way···?”

Thwack!

As Philiana snapped her fingers again, a full-length mirror appeared in front of me.

I didn’t know how to evaluate people by their appearance, but I could roughly guess the age of the girl in the mirror.

Perhaps she would be about ten years old, as she said.

“···Couldn’t it be around twelve?”

“Twelve years old?”

Philiana, stroking her chin as if in thought.

I couldn’t help but swallow at that sight.

‘Why me?’

An individual like me, getting nervous about such a thing?

As the question began to rise, Philiana nodded.

“Okay, twelve years old.”

“···Thank you.”

Twelve years old.

Although young, it was the age where I could participate in the war and achieve meritorious deeds.

I could be recognized as a ‘warrior’.

‘I won’t be treated like a child.’

As I was taking a breath of relief, feeling relieved after a long time, Philiana pulled a chair to my front and sat down.

“I thought about it while you were sleeping, and I think it would be a good idea for you to attend the academy.”

“To the academy?”

“Yes. It will definitely be a great help.”

“Hmm…”

I had Philiana, a skilled teacher.

I wasn’t particularly interested.

“I only want to learn from you.”

“It’s not for learning. It’s a place to utilize what you’ve learned from me. The academy is where people from various classes gather.”

“Do you mean to use the academy as a place for socializing?”

“That’s the feeling.”

It wasn’t wrong.

Even if I learned normalcy from Philiana, it would be meaningless if I didn’t use it.

“How can I get into the academy?”

“There’s an entrance exam next month. It would be good to aim for that time.”

A month.

Although it was a short time, I wasn’t in a hurry.

Because it wouldn’t be impossible for me to pass the entrance exam with my skills.

“Good. There’s a martial arts department in the academy, right?”

“···It is, but isn’t that cheating?”

“Cheating?”

“Yes. It’s a place where students compete with each other, so what would happen if the Tyrant interfered?”

Is she worried about the students?

It was a pose that should be emulated as a peak, but it didn’t make me feel good.

She didn’t seem to understand my situation.

“I understand your concern, but for me now, martial arts is everything.”

If it wasn’t a fist, I’d have to compete with knowledge, but the knowledge I possessed was from a hundred years ago.

I would have to lose if I competed with the people of the present era.

“Then, how about magic?”

“Magic?”

“Yes. You have two bodies, so it’s a fair competition if you use your current body to learn magic, isn’t it?”

To challenge a new field with a new body.

It was a good idea, but there was one problem.

“Is it possible with only one month left for the exam?”

To enter the magic department, I had to have at least the skills of this class.

I don’t know now, but at least it was the case a hundred years ago.

But could I, who didn’t even know the basics of magic, achieve this circle in a month?

It was something that even I, who had reached the pinnacle of one field, couldn’t guarantee.

That was when Philiana giggled.

“Have you forgotten who I am, Tyrant?”

“Oh ho.”

She was the one who was called the Archmage and the pinnacle of this era.

She would surely have a way.

“Then, I’ll put in your application as an advanced student. Is that okay?”

“Advanced? What’s advanced?”

“Ah, you don’t know because it’s a recent system. Originally, you have to be fifteen to enter the academy. But if you are an advanced student, you can enter even at the age of twelve.”

“That’s a wonderful system.”

Ability and age are unrelated.

Because of this, even a ten-year-old child could become a professor in the empire.

‘That’s a good thing for me.’

Even if the appearance is young, you can be treated as an adult if you prove your ability.

This was exactly what I was aiming for.

“Philiana, start the lesson right now.”

“Um… Then, shall we start with the theory class?”

“Good.”

“Then, let’s go to the library.”

Leaving the bedroom, we walked along the hallway side by side.

Although I had to keep up with Philiana’s fast pace with a hurried pace, I couldn’t say that I wanted her to go slowly because it would hurt my pride.

The library of the mansion.

Here, where all the knowledge of the empire was stored, I and Philiana sat facing each other across the table.

“I have something to say before Luna starts the class.”

Was she calling me Luna now?

As I remained silent with a name that was difficult to get used to, Philiana opened her mouth again.

“You’re hiding your true identity now, Luna. You need to change your way of speaking accordingly.”

“Way of speaking?”

“Yes. As you know, I have a higher status than you in public. In that situation, if you call me carelessly, your identity might be revealed.”

“···That’s right.”

That was right, but it wasn’t easy to raise someone who was weaker than me.

I had lived my entire life according to the logic of power.

‘Polite language is impossible.’

At that moment, I was struggling alone to find another way.

Philiana spoke to me, tapping the table.

“Now, follow me. Phi. Li. A. Na. Nim.”

“Phi··· what?”

What is she saying?

I glared at Philiana with wide eyes.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that? I’m doing my best to help you.”

“Th, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

It was an attitude that shouldn’t be shown to someone who was helping.

As I quickly relaxed my expression, Philiana let out a long sigh.

“What would people think if Luna treated me poorly?”

“···They would doubt my identity and status.”

“Yes. So, it has to be the opposite. I have to treat Luna poorly.”

“Ugh···”

I decided to live a good life, but I had to use polite language to someone weaker than me.

A sense of rejection rose up from the depths of my body.

‘Is there no other way?’

My mind raced in the urgent situation.

Thanks to this, I could easily come up with a solution.

It was mutual disrespect.

“How about we treat each other casually in front of people?”

“Casually?”

“Yes, because even if friends speak casually, they won’t be suspected.”

“Friends··· It’s a pretty good method.”

Philiana smiled.

At the same time, she reached out her right hand.

“What is this for?”

“We’re going to be friends in public. Then, we have to practice in advance. Ah, and you shouldn’t get angry if I’m rude from time to time? It’s because we’re practicing being friends.”

“I understand.”

Although it was strange, it wasn’t wrong.

I nodded and clasped Philiana’s hand.

“Nice to meet you!”

Philiana shook her arm, holding my hand up and down.

She leaned her upper body forward to hold my hand, and every time she shook it, her small body quivered.

‘Wh, what power.’

I grabbed Philiana’s arm with both hands to hold on somehow, but her power was more powerful than I imagined.

I couldn’t resist at all.

“Whoa, hold on! Shake slowly!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Philiana was surprised and quickly pulled her hand back.

The problem was that I was tightly holding her arm.

“Nuuu-gh!”

As my body was pulled by Philiana’s power, my body collapsed on the table.

I tried to endure by using my leg strength in a hurry, but my legs in the air were just floundering in the air.

“···I’m sorry.”

“···It’s okay. I want to be alone for a moment.”

“Yes…”

Had I ever felt such powerlessness in my life?

I couldn’t even be angry at the shocking situation and was lying face down on the table.

I was only lying down like that for about ten minutes.