Sudden Fortune Is Scary (3)
I went back through the diary, reading and analyzing every page.
"Ah. So that's it."
There was no mention of any clinical trials. The rejuvenation magic had been completed in theory alone. The gender change was probably a side effect—or maybe it had never been a rejuvenation spell at all, but a gender-alteration magic from the start.
And then I remembered smashing the crystal orb I'd assumed was the core of the whole thing, fury completely overwhelming me.
"Ah—ah!"
Why had I destroyed it? If there was any chance of reversing my gender, that had been it.
I scoured the diary again, but there was no page with a magic circle drawn on it. It only described the goal and the process of developing the circle—nothing more.
"Son of a bitch!!!"
I'd been an idiot. If I'd just left it intact, there might have been a way back to being a man!
Smashing it because I was angry! Stupid. Completely stupid.
I should have thought.
"Aaagh!"
I smacked myself in the head with the diary. You absolute moron!
I spent a long while wallowing in self-reproach before finally getting my thoughts in order. What was done was done. Regret wouldn't change anything. First priority: get out of here alive…
In the dim light, I scanned the room and spotted a suspicious-looking wall.
"Is that an exit?"
I gave the wall a gentle push. It slid open with barely any force, revealing another space beyond. Past the wall lay what seemed to be a cave—pitch black.
"So the reason this room was lit was that magic tool."
A mage who'd crafted magic of that caliber and stationed golems and gargoyles to guard it was no ordinary practitioner. Still—I'd found a way out.
I searched the room one more time for anything valuable enough to take.
"Nothing else, huh…"
Unfortunately, there wasn't much worth carrying. A few pieces of jewelry were the best I could find, and even that was a relief.
How much would these sell for? I'd become a woman, sure—but at least I'd made some money, right?
Stay positive.
Further searching turned up nothing more.
I debated whether to go back in and examine the magic circle or head through the door. In the end, the answer was obvious.
"I can't even use mana, and I don't know the first thing about magic. What good would staring at it do?"
If I had a photographic memory and could memorize the entire circle, maybe—but that was a stretch.
"If I waste too much time, a survey team might find this place. And if they find me, they'll interrogate me…"
That was dangerous. They'd confiscate everything I'd found, and they might bury me for interfering. On top of that, I was in a woman's body now… There were far worse things that could happen.
Just imagining it made me shudder.
Deciding it was too risky to stay, I resolved to leave. I stepped through the door into the cave and closed the wall behind me.
I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark, then pulled out my flint and made a torch. Once I had light, I burned the diary.
It was a shame—my only real lead—but I burned it deliberately. It didn't contain the magic circle, so it was useless to me, and I judged it too dangerous to leave behind. If someone else found it and the rejuvenation magic became public knowledge, it would be a disaster.
Anyone who saw that would want it. And the world would be thrown into chaos.
I ground the ashes under my heel, erasing every trace I could, and moved on.
"All right. Time to get out of here."
The cave turned out to be surprisingly short. I was outside in no time.
"Where am I?"
Beyond the cave mouth, a forest stretched out in every direction. The sun hung high overhead. I had no idea how long I'd been down there, or where this place even was. The sheer emptiness of it left me stranded.
"I'll head downhill for now. If I find a road, I'll follow it."
There was nothing else to do. I started the slow descent.
All that physical effort helped me adapt to my changed body; the awkwardness of moving in it gradually faded. I absolutely did not want to get used to this—but I did.
Along the way, I learned a few things. Becoming a woman hadn't made me weaker than before, for one.
My strength had dropped a little, but my stamina was nearly the same, and with the reduced body weight I was more agile than ever.
During a rest, I tried out my only weapon—the spear. Aside from the slightly shorter reach, it felt fine.
I was genuinely grateful for that.
I wandered the mountains for days, completely lost. Fortunately there were no monster dens nearby, so I never ran into real danger, and I survived on wild greens and berries I foraged along the way.
And then—finally—I found a road!
"Finally!!!"
I'd been thrashing through the wilderness for days with no idea where I was, and at last I'd found a path people actually used. It was well maintained, with clear traces of wagon wheels. No doubt about it.
Which way led to a city?
I dithered between right and left, then decided to leave it to chance. I'd go whichever direction my spear fell. I stood it upright.
The spear held its balance for a moment, then toppled when a breeze caught it.
Thud. It fell to the right.
"This way's the city… right?"
I'd left it to luck, but either end of a road like this would lead to a settlement eventually, so I wasn't too worried. I set off at an easy pace. Now and then I spotted signs of recent travelers. My remaining rations were running low, but I'd be back among people soon enough—no need to fret.
I ate as I walked and spent the nights dozing in the branches of trees.
The sun set and rose twice more before the walls of a city came into view. Very familiar walls… the place where I'd lived as an adventurer.
"Now what do I do?"
I hadn't even thought about what came next, and already I'd arrived at my destination…
I decided to go in first and figure it out later.
As I approached the gate, a guard stopped me.
"Halt."
"G-good work out here."
The guard looked me over.
"Hmm. Adventurer?"
"Yes."
"You know what happens if you cause trouble inside."
He waved me through without any real suspicion. I'd been half-afraid of being detained—but then again, I hadn't committed any crime, so of course they let me in.
"Whew. I actually made it back to the city."
Once inside the walls, I headed for the inn where I'd been staying.
"Who're you?"
"A guest."
I held up the inn key I'd been carrying.
"Hmm. Been about two weeks, has it?"
I ignored the innkeeper and headed for my room. He gave me a slightly suspicious look, but didn't press the matter.
That short exchange told me something important. Two weeks had passed since I'd set out chasing easy money…
"Ha. Two whole weeks of wandering…"
No wonder my body was exhausted.
Stepping into the room I'd left two weeks ago brought a wave of relief—and with it, a crushing tide of fatigue.
It was a long-term rental, so the innkeeper hadn't touched anything. The first thing that caught my eye was the wooden idol of a goddess sitting on the table.
"Ah… thank you, Goddess."
I dropped to my knees right there and prayed. I'd been doing this since before I even knew which god the idol represented, and the habit still calmed me.
Metis, Goddess of Wisdom—a great deity, and one of the most powerful among the pantheon.
This world had many gods and many churches devoted to them, but none had accumulated achievements and contributions on the scale of the Metis Church.
True to her title as the Goddess of Wisdom, the apostles she chose had uncovered and spread knowledge capable of overturning the continent. Fully thirty percent of the continent's culture was said to have been created by Metis's apostles. That said it all.
I offered a heartfelt prayer of gratitude for having survived.
When I finished, I couldn't stand the days of grime any longer. I stripped off my clothes—and a pale, bare body appeared.
"Haha. Looking at it like this… I really am a woman."
Where had the solid muscle gone? How had I ended up with a body this soft… Since I was already naked, I took stock. At least my physical capabilities were roughly the same as before. That was a blessing.
Otherwise it would have taken even longer to get here, and I might have been crippled by muscle pain the whole way… I pulled out a clean set of clothes I'd kept in the room, threw the dirty ones into a corner, checked and organized my gear and belongings, and headed out.
There was a reason I stayed at this inn even though it cost a bit more. The shared bath.
I made for the communal shower room to wash the filth off, and as always there was an attendant at the entrance. I flicked a coin I'd prepared in advance.
The attendant took the money and opened a door.
"Don't overdo it."
It was a different door from the one I'd always used. This must be the women's side…
The thought made my face flush slightly. What if someone else was in there? I peeked into the shower room, trembling. Thankfully, it was empty.
Relieved, I undressed in the changing area, went inside, claimed a spot, and set my hand on the magic tool.
The device activated using the mana within a person's body, and water poured from above—not cold water, but warm.
The heat soaking into my skin felt like it was melting me. My already exhausted body loosened further, making me even sleepier, so I washed quickly. Every pass of my hands over soft flesh was mortifyingly embarrassing. Still, once I was clean, I felt genuinely refreshed.
"This really is fantasy. Absolute fantasy."
Who had invented a magic tool like this? It was incredible.
Back in my village, things like this barely existed. You washed in the stream or wiped yourself down with a damp cloth. When I was little, still carrying the sensibilities of the modern world, the inability to bathe in warm water had been genuine torment…
Coming to the city, this magic tool had been one of the best things about it.
"Being able to wash with warm water anytime, anywhere… the best…"
Of course, even though people had a faint amount of mana in their bodies, you couldn't just burn through it recklessly. I'd never seen it myself, but I'd heard of people collapsing—or even dying—from overusing magic tools. You had to be careful. Though since I'd never witnessed it firsthand, I wasn't entirely sure I believed it.
Clean at last, I returned to my room and sleep hit me like a wave.
I'd gone looking for easy money and come back a woman… Ugh. Headaches for later. For now—sleep.
I must have slept deeply, because when I opened my eyes it was morning. I got dressed, equipped my gear, and left the inn. The innkeeper still eyed me strangely; I pretended not to notice.
Today's agenda was simple: sell the accessories I'd found in the chest, and find a way to become a man again.
Judging by the location of the ruins and the cave, this city had almost certainly fallen within the radius of that mage's activities. If so, magic books he'd disposed of might still be around here somewhere. And if I could find those books, I might get a hint on how to reverse this.
First, I found a shop that dealt in accessories.
"What do you want?"
"Appraisal."
"Let's see them."
I set the accessories on the metal tray the shopkeeper produced. Two rings, one necklace, one brooch—four pieces in total.
"Hmm."
"Any chance they're magic tools?"
Someone who could handle mana would be able to sense residual magic in the gems or read the circles inscribed on them. I had no such ability, so I had no way of knowing.
The shopkeeper pulled out a monocle and examined each piece.
"Not magic tools."
Damn. What a waste. If they'd been magic tools, the price would have skyrocketed depending on the enchantments.
"Hmm…"
This place was famous among adventurers—so why was the appraisal taking so long?
"Old pieces."
I didn't know the exact era, but given that the mage had been a figure from the past, that was only natural.
"The brooch is forty gold. The necklace, thirty. The two rings, sixty."
I—insane!! One hundred ninety gold total?! Ten gold was enough for one person to live on for nearly a month. A family of four needed thirty gold a month. One hundred ninety gold was half a year's living expenses!
Easy money! This was easy money in the truest sense! My body had changed, but this haul alone made the whole ordeal worthwhile.
"I'd have paid more if the condition were better, but the preservation is terrible."
With so much time having passed and technology having advanced, the value of these pieces would have dropped. They still fetched this much purely as antiques.
"You're not lowballing me?"
"Ha. Go try somewhere else. You won't even get eighty percent of what I offered."
"Fair enough."
Among adventurers, this shop was said to be the most trustworthy around. I'd only been probing for a higher price, but his reaction made it clear I wouldn't get more. I sold the accessories on the spot and took the money. After a three-gold appraisal fee, I received a pouch holding one hundred eighty-seven gold. It was extremely heavy. Feeling that solid weight in my hand, I couldn't help smiling.
"With this much, even if I went back to the village, they'd have to respect me, right?"
Our village mostly ran on barter rather than coin… but the border garrison spent money when they came down, and so did the occasional merchant caravan selling goods.
After leaving the shop, I moved carefully, watching my surroundings. The city's security was decent, but you never knew when a thief might appear. I tucked the coin pouch deep inside my clothes and headed for my next destination.
What kind of magic was on me? I could have gone to the church and asked, but this was the work of a mage who'd pursued immortality—something that bordered on taboo. I had to be careful.
What if the magic on me was a forbidden art? I could be arrested.
So instead of the church, I decided to look for information in books first.
I arrived at a quiet used bookstore tucked into a corner of the city and stared blankly at the entrance.
"Never thought I'd end up somewhere like this."
I pushed open the door of a shop that had nothing to do with adventurers. The bell hanging above it jingled brightly.