Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Part 2: An Unexpected Boon
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The problem was that no matter how divine the holy magic, it couldn't eliminate the fundamental cause of their poor stamina and frail constitutions.
Without sufficient rest and physical training, relying on these shortcuts would eventually lead to a sudden collapse.
At best, mixing in elixirs could hold them together for a month. He needed to wrap up all his planned tasks during that time and then take a proper break.
"It's fine. Everything's going according to plan. We can keep pushing like this for the time being."
As he muttered to himself out of habit, he suddenly recalled last night's pointless chatter in the Deer Lodge Pavilion.
At first, spilling stories to men on the verge of death had been a way to extract information.
But at some point, it had turned into unloading secrets he couldn't share with anyone else.
Why?
Because the dead don't talk.
Keeping all secrets bottled up alone led to something like depression. So occasionally, this "the king's ears are donkey ears" tactic was necessary.
Additionally, there was a specific reason for using the highest-grade Tempest to kill those weaklings.
To leave evidence that the culprit was an "Arch Wizard."
For reference, traitors existed in the empire.
What were traitors?
On a small scale, those who betrayed the Payud Empire; on a larger scale, those who betrayed humanity as a whole.
The otherworldly army would open gates and launch a full-scale invasion in ten years.
But spies had been infiltrating their side for years already, corrupting influential figures to bend them to their will.
Their activities were so cunning and secretive that even after nine regressions, he hadn't rooted them all out.
What he knew for sure was that the second prince, Jess, was a traitor.
And at least two of the four existing Arch Wizards were traitors as well. Possibly three.
But based on past experience, traitors acted on their own convictions and didn't ally or pool their strength.
Creating rifts between Jess and the Arch Wizards to make them check each other was helpful in the long term.
This had been a key early strategy in the last three regressions, with decent average results.
That's why this time, he'd executed it faster than ever—right on the first day of regression.
Of course, eliminating traitors sooner was better... but the problem was they couldn't be removed as easily as Albert last night.
Especially Jess, who always kept his "Knight Master" bodyguard close. That damn Phiren. The only true monster among humanity's traitors.
"Your Highness, did you cough? I've brought a damp cloth and breakfast."
Head maid Lania entered the room carrying a large tray. He roughly wiped his face and hands with the cloth, then grabbed the water cup from the tray and downed it.
Breakfast consisted of what seemed like soft-boiled eggs, half a fish baked until its skin was crispy, a herb salad drizzled with dressing, freshly baked white bread, and a cup of some unidentified white liquid.
Being able to eat a feast like this first thing in the morning... It almost brought tears to his eyes.
During the weeks fleeing to Roa's sanctuary after losing the war against the otherworld, he'd barely eaten.
To him, those weeks felt like they had happened just the other day. So every bit of food was precious.
"I kept breakfast simple. I know Your Highness dislikes fish especially, but good ones came into the dawn market, so I tried baking it. This fish has relatively little fishy smell. It used to be common, but it's become quite rare lately. Its name is..."
"This is rockfish, right? I'll dig in."
Unable to hold back any longer, he picked up his fork and started eating. Lania nodded in surprise.
"Yes, rockfish. The official name is Crown Black Fish, but most people just call it rockfish because of its stone-like skin... I didn't think Your Highness would know it, since it's such a common fish and probably not served in the imperial palace."
"Huh? No, it came up sometimes, and I ate it. So of course I know."
He brushed it off casually while skillfully filleting the fish and bringing it to his mouth.
Of course, such common fish had never appeared on the imperial palace menu.
"If I may be so bold, seeing Your Highness eat so well fills this lowly servant with such joy and gratitude."
Lania bowed her head, eyes glistening with tears. Poor auntie. Before he took over, Claude had been extremely picky, avoiding most foods, so Lania must have always felt like her insides were burning whenever she served meals.
"I'll eat anything from now on, so don't worry. Though it won't make me grow taller again."
"No, that's not true."
"Huh? What?"
"Your Highness will surely grow a lot from now on. That's why I prepared this nutritious milk. You'll shoot up in height for sure."
Yeah. No.
For the next ten years, he'd stay like this. It had always been that way through nine regressions.
Of course, he couldn't say that to Lania, who was caring for him with such sincerity. He just smiled quietly and downed the white liquid on the tray.
Ugh, goat smell.
The stench was incomparably stronger than the milk he'd drunk on Earth long ago.
Still, it wasn't undrinkable. It had a rich flavor to match the smell, giving it its own appeal.
Anyway, drinking this wouldn't make him grow taller. That damned Jess's poison had halted his growth during his prime developmental years.
The problem was that Jess's poison was a special toxin originating from the otherworld, nonexistent in this world.
That's why even this world's holy magic couldn't detoxify it.
Even though he'd chosen Arch Priest-level holy magic, he couldn't start regressions in a fully cured state because of this.
"Your Highness, now that you've finished eating, please take your detoxification elixir."
Lania held out a glass bottle with a plump bottom, handed to her by another maid behind, offering it politely with both hands. Without a word, he downed the elixir and let out a long sigh.
"Ugh... This stuff really..."
The taste was utterly vile!
What if you boiled charred mud and tree roots at high heat for hours?
Still, he had to grit his teeth and keep drinking. The reason even top-grade holy magic couldn't neutralize Jess's poison, but this elixir could, was that it didn't detoxify the poison accumulated in the body—it specialized in expelling it outright.
Thanks to that, each dose brought black nosebleeds, honey-sweet sweat pouring from his body, or sudden dashes to the bathroom.
After about a month of that ordeal, Jess's poison would finally be completely flushed out. Only then would he be free from morning headaches, sudden limb paralysis or numbness, or bursts of irritation and excitement.
But then, Lania subtly held out another elixir bottle.
"Your Highness, once you've finished that, please take this elixir as well."
"What's this?"
A second elixir? This was new.
"It's a new elixir made by researching the poison Your Highness vomited yesterday. If I may speak out of turn..."
Lania hesitated with a pained expression before speaking.
"The truth is, it's not just about meals—Your Highness's growth has completely stopped due to the poison you've ingested over the past few years."
"Ah... That... right?"
He put on a disappointed act. Lania bit her lip, her face twisted in anguish.
"This isn't something that will return just by escaping the poison's effects. But there is a way. This newly made elixir can restart Your Highness's halted growth."
What?
Really?
He hadn't been this shocked even when he learned that Phiren, one of the empire's three Knight Masters, was a traitor to humanity!
No, what the hell was going on?
Lania had developed an elixir to make him grow taller again? This had never happened in any of the nine regressions?
"Is that... possible?"
"Yes. I've reached a level where I can ascertain an elixir's effects just by handling it. It would take too long to explain everything, but this elixir was made specially for Your Highness, so please, for my sake, drink it."
Of course, he knew Lania was a top-grade elixir master.
But he'd reached the same level himself. That's why he knew no elixir existed that could make someone grow taller again.
So what was this?
Why was something like this happening on just the second day of regression?
"But this..."
The first detoxification elixir had been a deep brown, but this one was pitch black, like boiled coal.
"The color's horrific. What's it called?"
"It's an elixir that never existed in history, so it has no name yet. How about calling it the 'Growth Elixir'?"
A completely new elixir? For real?
Lania wouldn't lie to him, so this meant she'd ascended to a new realm of elixir mastery that had never existed before.
It was astonishing and bewildering. What had caused this change in Lania just two days into the regression?
Could removing Albert and Fennell on the first day have influenced her actions?
No, that didn't make sense. There was no connection. Lania probably didn't even know they were dead yet.
Or maybe drinking the elixir Albert gave him and vomiting shortly after? He'd done that exactly three times before.
Or had he said something different this time? Maybe something about height during dinner?