Spreading Wings (1)

Having finished our business in the Demon Realm, we decided to return without delay.

After several days of travel through the Demon Realm and the wastelands, we crossed back into the Western Continent. The air somehow felt sweeter and cooler than usual.

"Haa... that's good..."

I thrust out my chest and drew in a deep breath.

But unlike me, savoring that sense of liberation, Isana wore a distinctly wilted expression.

"Haa... I have to put on that stuffy disguise again... It felt so good after so long, too..."

Isana had been grumbling nonstop the entire way back. She'd been at it for hours now, ever since we left the wastelands. Did the woman never get tired?

I considered snapping at her for a moment, but in the end I let her complain. It wasn't as if I couldn't understand how she felt, and she'd had her own share of hardships this time around.

After another half-day of travel through the wastelands, we finally arrived at Easthall.

The moment I stepped into the village chief's manor, I demanded the herbs I'd requested last time from Isana.

"By the way, Edwin Reed. I'd like to ask what you intend to use these for."

Isana seemed about to hand them over, then suddenly clenched the pouch of herbs tight in her fist.

"What do you think you're doing? That's none of your concern. It has nothing to do with your kind, either. Frankly, this is rather unpleasant."

I frowned at her sudden behavior. What was this woman on about now?

"No, it does have something to do with us."

Isana didn't budge an inch. If anything, she pressed me harder.

"The apothecary told me that every last thing you requested is a poisonous herb with potent, unique toxins. If you asked us for these poisons because you intend to plot against someone, then I'm sorry — I cannot hand them over."

"Ambush is a humiliating act we cannot tolerate. If we were to take part in such a thing, not only I but my master as well would be branded with a stain of dishonor that could never be washed away. So tell me, Edwin Reed. What do you intend to use these poisonous herbs for?"

So that's why...

Her behavior was a bit irritating, but given those circumstances, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. I decided to tell the fuming Isana the truth.

"These herbs are all for me to consume. Satisfied?"

"Wh...what? Edwin Reed, are you trying to take your own—"

"That's enough of that nonsense."

Even after I'd given her a reason, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Isana showed no sign of dropping the absurd speculation. Seeing no need to hear any more, I cut her off mid-sentence.

"As if I'd request something like this just to die. Each of them has its own purpose. You still look like you don't believe me even after I've said this much, so I'll consume all of them here in Easthall and dispose of whatever remains on the spot. Does that put your mind at ease?"

"...If that's the case...fine."

Isana still eyed me with suspicion, but once I'd given my word so firmly, she no longer had any pretext to interfere.

Once that chaotic exchange was over, Isana left for the audience chamber to report to Pyne. I borrowed the apothecary's workshop, completed a round of work, and returned to the guest room where I was staying.

The guest room. On the table in front of where I sat were a single unmarked pill, one bottle of Holy Water remaining from what I'd consumed in the Demon Realm, and one bottle of Elixir acquired in Palana.

I stared at them, sunk in deep contemplation.

Should I really eat this...?

The pill was a compressed mash of the poisonous herbs I'd requested — the root of Moonroot Grass, the petals of Tristar Roundleaf, and the leaves of Nine-Strand Thornwood, mixed in a 2:1:1 ratio. And this was the last-resort method I'd devised to shed my fat in the shortest time possible.

I'd learned this recipe in my previous life, from a post that had happened to appear on the community of the game I Became an Academy Munchkin Knight.

The game had allowed a wide variety of interactions with NPCs, and so there were plenty of people who did all sorts of bizarre things to them. Then one day during the beta test, a player discovered a bug: if an NPC ingested a certain combination of items, the polygons that made up their body would rapidly shrink.

The player immediately reported it to the GM, but the reply was so half-hearted that it became a hot topic for a while. The specific item combination that player had found was consuming those poisonous herbs together with Holy Water, and the GM's explanation went as follows:

It was a hastily cobbled-together lore patch to cover up the bug, and there'd been a huge uproar about how they could possibly run a game like that — which is why I still remembered it. Naturally, the bug was never fixed even by the time the beta test ended.

In the game, it was common for the polygons to shrink endlessly until only the NPCs' skeletons remained. But it occurred to me that if I could just stop the process midway, it could serve as a useful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠method. And the tool I'd thought of for that purpose was the Elixir sitting in front of me.

The Elixir was, by lore, a potion capable of curing all status ailments, boasting the highest-tier performance in the game. "Obesity" was a bit of a stretch to call a status ailment, but the physical weakening caused by the poisonous herb pill and Holy Water would unquestionably fall within the category of conditions the Elixir could restore. On top of that, the accursed Mana Sclerosis currently in my body might even be cured through the Elixir.

Alright. Let's do it.

After a long deliberation, I finally decided to go through with this method. There was the difference that this was reality, but given how smoothly the game knowledge I'd known had applied here so far, there was a high chance it would work this time as well. And no matter how I thought about it, there was no other way to get my weight back to normal before my suspension was lifted.

Someone might say I could just take my time and lose the weight gradually. But the only thought in my head right now was that I wanted to escape this prison of fat as soon as possible. A body that was exhausted after the slightest movement. The smell of sweat trapped in the folds of layered wrinkles. Even fat rising inside my nostrils, making it uncomfortable to breathe. This body was hell itself to me.

Having steeled my resolve, I grabbed the pill in front of me and swallowed it in one gulp, then immediately poured the Holy Water down my throat.

The effect appeared instantly.

A sound like water boiling away rose from inside my body. Sssssssss...

It wasn't merely a sound. Something like steam actually began to rise from every part of me. My flesh was shrinking, truly, as if it were evaporating.

The fat around my joints vanished at a speed you could watch with the naked eye. In my arms and legs, the shape of muscle and bone emerged more and more clearly. A parched, searing dryness spread through my lips and tongue.

"Not yet... not yet... just a little more..."

The anxiety in a corner of my mind was urging me to gulp down the Elixir already, but I waited with superhuman patience. The benchmark I was using was my belly fat.

I don't know how much time passed. At last my stomach had caved in, just before the outline of my ribs became visible. And something seemed to be hitting my internal organs as well — I started to feel something twisting inside my gut.

"Now!"

If the weakening progressed any further, it would threaten my life, so I quickly grabbed the bottle of Elixir. I had no strength left, and both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arms trembled as I barely managed to pick it up — thank goodness I'd opened the lid in advance, just in case. The thought that if the lid had been closed, I might have died without even being able to open it sent a sudden chill down my spine.

I used every ounce of strength to bring the Elixir bottle to my lips and downed half of it in one go.

The moment I drank the Elixir, the sound coming from my body vanished, and the evaporation of my flesh stopped as well. I barely managed to set the bottle down on the table, then squeezed out my last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remaining strength and crawled toward the bed.

And I threw myself onto it as if collapsing.

—BANG BANG BANG!

"Edwin Reed, are you in there? Edwin Reed!"

The loud pounding on the door, and someone's voice continuously calling my name, snapped me back to consciousness. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I felt like the number of times I'd been passing out had increased considerably lately.

The room was pitch dark — quite a bit of time must have passed, and it seemed to be evening. I fumbled for the bedframe, got up, and roughly threw on the clothes that had fallen to the floor.

—BANG BANG BANG!

"Edwin Reed!! If you're in there, answer me!! If you keep not answering, I'll break this door down!!"

Even as I was coming to my senses, someone outside kept pounding on the door and calling my name. Judging by the voice, it was Isana — did this woman really think I'd committed suicide or something?

—Click.

"You're really loud, Isana. How rude. What do you think you're doing?"

"Edwin Reed! If you're in there, you should say so!! I came because they said there was no answer when they called you for dinner, just in case you— wait...?"

I opened the door and looked down at Isana, answering her curtly. Not to be outdone, Isana seemed about to snap back, lifting her head — then suddenly her words trailed off.

Her face was painted over with utter bewilderment.