Severian was having a troubled day. He struggled to find a way to get into the vault.
Five days later. In the corner corridor of the Crown Prince's palace. He was busy longing for the imperial palace wizards he had bought.
"Oh, incompetent bastards! Why can't great people who can distinguish black magic use a single magic that makes them younger? Can't they even use transformation magic?"
"Body-altering magic is so dangerous that it is illegal in the Empire. You can use it if you want, but you will have to deal with the side effects."
"What are the side effects?"
"The magic may never be broken, or the internal organs may be twisted."
"...Yes, I'll find another way."
Severian ran out of the hallway as if he were running away. He struggled as he climbed the stairs leading to his room.
'Damn, when the hell is Iberia waking up? If she wakes up, I'll be able to easily find out the location of the last Soul Fragment.'
Could it be that Iberia had something left behind? As a prophet, she might have known in advance the situation in which she would fall.
Then, he spotted someone walking across the hallway. It was Ren, Iberia's escort knight.
Ren found Severian and rushed over and bowed his head.
"I meet Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
"Greetings, what's wrong with you?"
"I am here to deliver a note left by Her Highness Princess Iberia. It was found by a maid who was cleaning Her Highness's study."
Severian hurriedly snatched the note.
"I feel a bad feeling. If anything happens to me, please call my brother Severian to my study."
After all, it is Iberia.
"Come to the study? Didn't she say anything else?"
"Yes, it was said that this was the only one on the desk in the study."
"I'll go first."
Severian and Ren headed to the Princess's palace. Before going straight to the study, he stopped by Iberia's bedroom for a moment.
The healer in the bedroom greeted the Crown Prince.
"Oh, are you here, Your Highness? What is the condition of Her Highness..."
"I know even if you don't say it. Are you trying to say that you don't know why she can't wake up?"
"...Yes."
"What the hell do you know?"
"That... The dwarf cautiously guessed that it was the work of a witch. After combining various documents and my long experience, I have come to the conclusion that if it is not the work of a witch, there is no explanation."
"Where are the witches in the world? That's funny."
Filthy and capable. Severian swallowed his words in his heart and examined Iberia's condition. At first, she was pale and emaciated, but after being immersed in the lake of purification, she became a little more vibrant.
'It's getting better. If so, you'll wake up sooner or later.'
With a faint sigh of relief, Severian left Iberia's bedroom. They weren't usually close, so it was awkward to keep beating her. Once he made sure she was doing well, that was it.
Severian was guided by Ren to the study. The study he entered alone was too spacious.
'The Imperial Public Library is wide. Why does she like books so much? It's disgusting.'
That's why Iberia called him here in the sense of something. Severian rolled his head and found the note.
Fortunately, the desk was easy to find. There was only one in this large study. When he opened the drawer with a sense of urgency, a white book appeared in a daze.
"What is this?"
It was a suspicious book with no title and only a blank sheet of paper inside. The only thing that caught his eye was the label on the corner of the bookshelf. It was a label that indicated where the original location of the book was.
If so, it means to take the book there.
"Is the location B1?"
Severian walked around the study with a white book. The original location of the book could be quickly found. It was a bookshelf attached to the wall in a corner location.
All the books were neatly arranged on the bookshelf. And there was only one empty seat at the bottom. Anyone could see that it was the place where there was a white book.
'Of course, you're telling me to insert a book here, right?'
The moment he inserts a book into an empty space. There was a crack in the sound of something opening. It was the sound coming from the tiles on the floor.
'Is this a tile?'
A slightly raised tile caught his eye. When Severian lifted the tile, the box inside the secret space was revealed.
Severian put down the tile and took out the box. When he opened the box, he found some jewelry, an unfamiliar plant, and paper
'What is it, this purple jewel... Isn't it only in the kingdom of Secron? These grasses seem to grow only in that kingdom.'
The paper that came with the box read:
[ How to make a potion that makes you feel younger safely
Secret recipe of the sorcerers of the Secron Kingdom ]
He doesn't know why, but he has a hunch that she should convey this to Severian.
"What, what? Is it real?"
Below are all the plausible production methods. The crystals and plants in the box were the ingredients for the potion.
After all, it is Iberia. There was no way she would have been sick without any countermeasures!
'Seeing that she left something like this, I guess it's right that the answer is in the forbidden bookstore. But is this really safe? I'm afraid to eat it.'
Just as he was afraid to think so, he noticed the phrase at the bottom of the paper.
[ I tried it myself and it was safe. The duration is 2 hours. ]
At the same time, the credibility of the recipe increased. It's a recipe given to him by Iberia, who even predicted that her brother would be scared, so he's sure it'll be fine.
Severian hurried back to the Crown Prince's palace and summoned the wizards he had bribed again. He slammed into the box and the recipe.
"Come on, make it."
The two wizards read the recipe with great interest
"Whoa. Pretty simple. We have all the necessary equipment for production and materials, so there will be no problems in making it."
"If there is no problem, go make it quickly. I don't have time."
"By the way, according to this recipe, it requires a five-day aging process. No matter how fast I make it, it will take a week."
"What? Week? Damn!"
An emergency bell rang in Severian's head. A week. What if demons are installed in it again? In the yard where the hour is urgent.
The wizards who didn't know the situation were just calm.
"Oh, even without medicine, His Highness the Crown Prince is still alive enough."
"That's right. I understand that you want to be young soon..."
"Let's both be quiet and go make it quickly. And I see a misunderstanding; this is not just a drug recipe that is made into a drug. It is a drug that temporarily makes you feel as small as a child... Why are your eyes like that? Do you think you're looking at a pervert?"
The wizards laughed clumsily
"Oh... I never thought Your Highness would miss your childhood so much... Do you want to go back to being a child and be loved like before?"
"Anyway, I will do my best to help Your Highness achieve your will! Hehe! We understand and respect any taste of Your Highness!"
"What the hell are you imagining? It's not for that reason, so making it."
Severian drove the wizards out. Just as he was catching his breath on the sofa for a while, a letter from Chession appeared in front of him.
'It seems that there is a division between the demon god and the witches? Thanks to that, do you think the human world will be safe for the time being?'
The contents of the letter calmed Severian's impatience. He hurriedly sent a reply.
***
"Mori, they found a way to make Severian younger. Iberia left a way to make potions. But it takes at least a week to complete."
Chession's bedroom. Gremory, who was dozing lazily in Chession's arms, opened her eyes.
"It's a week. That's enough."
A week later, it was Chession's birthday.
Gremory decided on a birthday present for Chession. Thanks to the fact that she realized the meaning of gifts through the ball that Chession had prepared the other day, it was not difficult to decide on a gift.
'A week will be enough to make a gift. I'll have to secretly go get ingredients from tomorrow.'
Gremory looked into the air and smiled proudly. How will Chession react after receiving the gift?
'It's Chession who receives the gift, so why am I more excited? Is this the real thrill of a surprise?'
Chession's birthday was expected. If the witches come out again before his birthday, they will tear it all up somehow and make Chession's birthday uneasy.
"Enough, what?"
"Yes, that's what it is."
"What is it? I'm curious."
"Yes. I'll sleep. Tired. Pet me."
"Hmm."
Gremory slipped into Chession's arms. Chession didn't ask any more, but stroked Gremory's head eagerly.
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