The Situation Turned Impossible
I let out a notice.
[Quest Completed: “Someone Has to Speak Up”]
[1P is awarded]
What the hell? A fist pump?
No, no, not that…
How am I supposed to handle this vibe?
Even Adrian, the prince himself, was staring at me in pure shock.
But since I’d rather avoid any future embarrassment…
Isn’t there that old saying about striking first?
The time I waited for Adrian’s reaction felt like nothing more than a blink, yet it stretched on as if forever.
And in that eternal stretch, I suddenly thought of the perfect way to shatter the tension.
The gap in our information.
While the other students would see me as a hidden powerhouse who had been concealing his strength,
Adrian would look at me as nothing more than some lightning-struck freak who’d gained a bizarre ability.
And the interrogation magic he’d cast on me.
From the way Serene and Lirith had reacted earlier, it was clearly not a positive spell.
So no matter how much of a prince Adrian was, he’d hate it if word spread that he’d used that kind of magic on me.
The moment my decision was made, I let a faint smile tug at my lips.
“You know, don’t you? My situation.”
The secret password only the two of us in this lecture hall could share.
“…”
Fortunately, he seemed to understand what I meant.
He shot me a fierce glare for a second, then started sketching an entirely different magic circle on the blackboard that looked far simpler.
A sigh of relief escaped me as I stared at the circle.
After that, I simply followed the paper diagram to copy it.
I didn’t want to risk making it look half-assed and expose my own clumsiness to the fullest.
So I figured it was better to claim there was some reasonable excuse rather than create one.
‘This is something I’ll have to practice in the dorm later…’
Ignoring the strange looks people gave me while I wrote, I kept at it.
***
“Serene! You heard what I said?”
A cute brown-haired girl in a simple one-piece dress came sprinting over to Serene, who was swinging her sword in the garden.
She was bouncing with excitement, like a newspaper delivery girl who’d just gotten the big scoop.
“What happened?”
Serene wiped sweat from her brow and asked in short bursts.
The girl in front of her was always loud, but this was on a whole new level.
Watching Serene’s face full of doubt, the girl burst into giggles.
“Prince Ludaipe… he fought the professors for the sake of the female students!”
“What? What are you even saying?”
Thud.
Serene’s sword clattered to the ground.
That was shocking enough to make anyone drop their weapon.
Prince Caron?
“So~”
When I heard all the events from the lecture on magic theory, my head grew even more tangled.
A guy who could stop a stopwatch with his abilities was saying he couldn’t draw magic circles?
That was an outright lie even a drunkard wouldn’t commit.
Which meant…
‘He really did it… for the female students?’
I shook my head vigorously to shake the thought loose, but once it had taken root it refused to disappear.
“..Do you know why?”
The girl laughed softly, as if she’d expected Serene’s reaction.
“That’s something nobody knows. Maybe he fell in love?”
While nodding along to my friend’s story about the “love-struck demon,” Serene let the thought sink in.
The story of Adrian’s interrogation spell.
Caron getting hit by lightning.
The person he became afterward.
In Serene’s mind, a line from an old book flashed through her thoughts.
‘People change when they’re about to die.’
Could Caron be…?
If he was trying to atone for the things he did to women before he died?
And if he burned the last of his life force to gain overwhelming power?
She’d definitely seen forbidden magic like that in the family’s secret archives.
Forbidden, yes, but with the duke’s family involved, he could probably find a way.
As she pieced it together, everything began to fit.
She knew logically there were gaps in her reasoning, but her heart had already accepted the hypothesis as truth.
She was still just a girl in her prime, after all.
***
‘Ugh, I’m going to die.’
Pulling at my hair hurt, but I didn’t feel like caring anymore.
Lirith was staring at me in discomfort, so I couldn’t even curse.
Drawing the magic circle was no walk in the park either.
Mana moved my limbs perfectly, but I’d forgotten how terrible my artistic sense was.
Every stroke came out crooked, and lines refused to connect straight.
Damn it. I should have paid attention in art class instead of zoning out.
Or maybe I never learned how to draw in the first place.
Whether the chicken came before the egg or vice versa…
I sighed and tossed the useless thoughts aside.
Then I glanced back at Lirith and asked shortly.
“You don’t want to go play somewhere?”
Because of how uncomfortable she looked watching me, I wanted to send her away somewhere, but…
“..!”
She just widened her eyes like a startled cat and shook her head.
“The maid’s role is to… assist my lord…”
“No, that’s not necessary right now.”
But she stayed right where she was, blinking occasionally.
From what I’d seen so far, she had an unusual stubborn streak.
No, strictly speaking, it was just her sense of duty as a maid…
Still, I acknowledged my own wandering thoughts.
At least drawing the magic circle right now was more than I could handle.
‘If only I’d been trying to get strong in a normal way…’
Is the world really trying to make me like this?
[Drawing requires 3P.]
[Currently held: 4P]
Four P’s had gathered.
I’d planned to save them until after I adapted to the new ability.
“Come on, relax. I’ll handle it.”
I patted the sofa and gave a short command.
Watching her nod obediently, I started the draw without hesitation.
[Drawing…]
[Congratulations! First piece of ‘Inscriber’s Memory’ acquired.]
Embracing the familiar fuzzy feeling, I closed my eyes.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw a thick arm that looked male.
But it wasn’t mine.
A man in a surgical room lay there, bare-chested and peaceful, as if still sleeping.
“Interesting. So this is what it feels like.”
The words came out in a blunt woman’s voice.
No, it was clear now.
It wasn’t someone possessing my body.
I had possessed someone’s body.
I was inside a woman’s body now.
“What are you doing right now—”
“—It’s too much trouble to explain, so just watch.”
Ignoring the strange sensation of my chest bouncing, I had no choice but to watch her start the procedure.
The procedure had begun.
She grabbed the man’s arm and started engraving a picture with a needle-like tool.
The small device she was looking at for reference showed a photo of a rosemary flower.
I hadn’t learned about flowers; that’s just what it said.
While watching the procedure, a sudden question crossed my mind.
‘Isn’t this just a regular tattoo?’
I looked around for some magical gadget, but…
“..Is it really not a tattoo?”
“Yep.”
“?”
“Well, the ability I’m giving you is already set. The usage will be explained later.”
The corners of her lips curved up.
“So let’s at least get one thing I want.”
“What are you—”
My mouth went dry.
It was because of this woman’s shamelessness.
And because my head was spinning.
I’d felt it during magic school, during the scammer days, but this time it hit home.
These people.
The ones listed in my persona had been correct, but something was different.
Because the ones who actually lived and breathed were real.
How was this even possible?
Surely this was one of the characters I’d invented on the spot in my head?
The woman kept talking, clearly not understanding my complicated feelings.
“■■■■■■”
The kind of noise you’d hear if you tuned the radio to the wrong station.
That unpleasant sound cut her words off.
“Ah, I guess this level isn’t allowed.”
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
She started mumbling to herself.
“I couldn’t say something I was too embarrassed to before…”
With the feeling of something rising in my chest, my heavy mouth opened.
“I like you. That’s all.”
***
‘What are you…?’
The moment I heard the sudden confession, consciousness snapped back to reality.
My eyes were closed, but golden light windows appeared.
[Skill ‘Magic Inscription’ acquired.]
It was my first time receiving a skill.
‘Explain.’
[Magic Inscription: Can permanently engrave rune characters onto targets.]
As expected, the explanation was curt.
It said the usage would be passed on, but how?
Did I not know the usage before using it?
Or was this a confession directed at me?
Did she know me?
Countless questions rose, but the scorching gaze made me stop thinking.
Opening only one eye, I looked at Lirith and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Hiik…!”
A clattering sound echoed as she collapsed to the floor.
“Um… that…”
She sat on the floor, struggling to answer.
Anyone who saw it would definitely think I was bullying her.
Suddenly it occurred to me that I hadn’t let Lirith rest comfortably because of me.
I couldn’t have before, but now that I was the top student, I could at least secure her a new room.
“By the way, how long are you going to share a room with me?”
Honestly, it was uncomfortable every morning when I showered and got ready…
Setting that aside, I was a full-blooded young man!
Trying to live in the same room as a beauty like you would be torture.
While I hesitated, she tried to repeat her usual line.
“A maid is…”
“Lirith.”
I shook my head briefly.
“You didn’t come here as my maid.”
I met her eyes straight on and continued calmly.
“You came as a magic department student.”
Her large blue eyes grew wet.
‘Well, even I thought that line was touching.’
At that moment, I felt a quiet pride in my own words.
“Master… please don’t abandon me. I… I’ll listen well.”
Oh shit.
That one was directed at me?
…For a second I’d forgotten.
This was a world where things weren’t normal.
A world where I’d have to console a sobbing maid through hard labor.
---
Magic Inscription