The Emperor's Abrupt Summons
He's a man now, and there were no more seriously ill people in our territory! I could declare that confidently once the long week had finally ended. In truth, no one came asking me to heal their bodies anymore.
"Our young master is a divine gift from the gods!"
"He has to be an angel descended to earth."
Instead, people showed up just to shower me with praise. With all the territory folk singing my praises like this, no one was babbling on about witches or demons. Thanks to that, I finally got some proper rest after so long. I spent a peaceful stretch without a care in the world.
But then, "Seres, the emperor has invited you to a party."
One day, Ares delivered the news like a bolt from the blue.
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I'd been quietly playing the invalid in my room when her sudden words left me utterly dumbfounded. I glanced at her, half-hoping it was a joke, but her face was as grim as if she'd swallowed poison. It wasn't a joke.
"You mean Emperor Viol?"
"Is there another emperor besides that woman?"
Why the hell was that crazy tyrant bitch summoning me already?! Emperor Viol Zadenbioum. The third male lead to appear in the original story—and the second craziest psycho among them. Arios and Hames start off normal enough, but this one? Not even close. She was the brutal emperor infamous as a tyrant from the moment she showed up in the story.
There was a scene in the original where she half-forcibly drags Seres to a party because she wants to see him once. That was supposed to be how they first met, but the timing was way too early here! According to the timeline, it should've been a few months after meeting Arios, then a few more after encountering Hames before Viol came into the picture. I'd figured I had plenty of time.
No way... had she heard the rumors about the saint too and moved faster than in the original?
I'd assumed I had time on my side, so I hadn't prepared at all!
"Wait a second. I can't even walk properly yet."
By the time the original Seres gets invited to the party, he's able to walk around. That's precisely why they call him—he figures it's enough to attend by then.
"Why invite someone who can barely move to a party?"
"I said the same thing. But after hearing you'd healed the territory folk, she decided that must mean you could handle attending a party."
"...And if I say no?"
"She threatened to send soldiers and drag you there by force!"
Her filthy personality hadn't changed a bit, even as a woman.
"When's this party?"
"In just a week."
I gritted my teeth at her sheer high-handedness. Attend a party when I couldn't even walk—and with only a week to prepare?
"Seres, don't look so scared. I'll figure something out."
Ares spoke anxiously, trying to reassure me, but I knew it was impossible. The other side was the emperor—a lunatic without a shred of common sense. Who knew what she'd do?
"...Mother, bring those two people I mentioned to the mansion."
I had no choice but to go. But I'd recover my body enough to at least walk somehow.
"Call Arios first."
"That one's been showing up religiously without needing an invite."
"Then just summon High Priestess Hames."
"Why High Priestess Hames?"
"I think I'll need holy power."
I really didn't want to, but I had no choice. I needed seriously potent holy power, so Hames it was.
"She said herself last time to call her if I needed anything, so she'll definitely come."
"Your body has already failed to respond to holy power several times. But maybe a high priestess will make a difference?"
Ares looked skeptical but trusted my words enough to contact Hames anyway. And then,
"It's been a while."
"Why's this person here?"
Hames, whom I'd summoned, and Arios, who'd shown up on her own, had arrived.
"I was waiting, but you called sooner than I expected."
Hames said it bluntly.
"What's going on today? The vibe feels off."
I explained the situation to the two of them. Their faces twisted immediately upon hearing it.
"Inviting a sick guy who can't even walk on his own to a party? That's a fresh kind of insanity."
"No way!"
Arios reacted the most fiercely.
"Doing something this ridiculous again. Don't worry, I'll handle it somehow!"
"It's impossible."
I cut her off bluntly to snap her back to reality.
"You think the emperor will listen just because you're the duke's heir and a hero?"
If she were sane enough to listen, she wouldn't have summoned me in the first place.
"Don't waste time on useless crap. Help me instead."
"Help how?"
"I need your holy power and mana."
When I said I'd use it to fix my body enough to walk, they both looked stunned. Finally, Hames spoke up reluctantly.
"From what I know, Ares already tried it and failed."
"The people Mother called to heal me weren't high priestesses."
"Can't you heal yourself?"
"Divine power doesn't work on my own body. I need your help. I'll give you any reward you want, so please."
"...No need for rewards. Just don't resent me if it has no effect."
Hames seemed skeptical, convinced it'd fail. And honestly, she was right. No amount of holy power could heal me. My pain stemmed from divine power—a superior force to holy power—and it wasn't an injury or illness, just my body unable to handle the power.
But that didn't mean holy power was useless.
In the original story, Hames tries healing Seres out of guilt for suspecting him unnecessarily. It doesn't work at first, but she keeps pouring in holy power repeatedly. Strangely, Seres starts gradually getting healthier—not suddenly cured, but steadily improving. Back then, it just seemed like "wow, high priestesses are amazing," but the real reason comes out later.
Holy power is a lesser version of divine power but far more compatible with humans. Prolonged exposure builds tolerance to divine power. It acts as a bridge, linking the two forces smoothly. And the stronger the holy power—like from a high priestess—the greater the effect.
"Seres, mana isn't a guaranteed healing force like holy power, though?"
Arios said awkwardly, but mana was essential too.
"I'm not asking you to heal me. I want you to inject your mana so I can learn to handle it myself."
"Learn mana? In a week?! That's impossible!"
"I hear it's much easier if a practitioner with strong mana guides you."
Inject mana into the target's body. Let them experience the sensation of manipulating it firsthand, accelerating acquisition. The mana learned this way would play a crucial role for me. Holy power builds tolerance to divine power; mana physically reinforces the body to withstand it.
'Ah, my dear Seres. Build tolerance with holy power, then learn mana yourself to protect your body, and you'll live normally.'
...Both methods were discovered later by the grand mage male lead, so they're proven effective. Especially when used together—the synergy boosts efficiency. That's why the grand mage handles the mana injection personally, while Hames supplies the holy power. It takes time, but it gets Seres to a normal person's level of recovery. After that, his debuff resistance rises, wrecking his body again, but whatever.
I'd planned to use this method soon anyway. Just with regular priests and mages, taking it slow.
But with a crazy bitch to meet in a week? No choice but to call the heavy hitters and max out efficiency.
"Hurry up and inject your stuff into me—both of you."
I urged them while shrugging off my upper garment.
"Kyaa!"
"What are you doing?!"
Arios and Hames jumped in shock. Arios let out her first girly scream, and Hames hastily draped my clothes back on.
"Why? Direct skin contact is more effective."
"So you just strip like that? A man baring his torso isn't proper. Don't you know that?!"
This was weird. Sure, this world had gender roles reversed, but men's upper bodies weren't exactly sexualized. Why the overreaction?
"W-well, what then? Injecting over clothes takes longer."
In the original, since Seres was a woman, they couldn't touch bare skin casually, so they did it clothed—and lamented the wasted time.
"Look, I'm fine with it, so just—"
"We're not!"
Arios yelled, blushing in a way that didn't suit her.
"How do you just strip without warning? You don't do that in front of others, right?!"
"No."
I had no reason to strip in front of others anyway.
"You think I like stripping in front of you? Honestly, I hate it too. But skin contact makes it faster."
"Then hold hands or something more decent?"
"Hands are too small an area."
The original explicitly says that doesn't work well enough. I thought for a moment and said,
"How about my back?"
"Your back?"
"I'll lie face-down and expose just my back. You put your hands there and inject."
They shouldn't freak over a back. I sprawled prone on the bed, baring only my back.
"…."
"…."
For some reason, the two women fell silent.