~LFTV 10~
Chapter 10
Suddenly, he had transformed into the body of a child, and his magic had been sealed.
In this state, all Kallius could do was desperately want to figure out the cause and return to his original form as soon as possible.
‘And now, my small body is holding me back again!’
The vicious cycle kept repeating. Clenching his teeth in frustration, Kallius ground his lips together.
Soon, a small shadow appeared above his head—it was Daisy.
She knelt down to meet Kallius’s eyes. That’s when he noticed her green eyes blazing with the raw desire to survive.
“Kallius. You’re basically responsible for my life after this too, you know? So…”
“So?”
“Let’s go eat!”
Daisy grabbed Kallius under the arm and marched briskly toward the kitchen.
Daisy, full of excitement, started lecturing nonstop.
“You’ve grown so little because you haven’t been eating properly, Kallius!”
“You have to get better to cure my illness too!”
“If you had eaten properly from the start, you’d have grown enough to hold your own in the world!”
“And if you keep being picky, I’ll smack your butt!”
Her tone was outrageously audacious. But Kallius, now in a child’s body, could only endure the humiliation helplessly.
‘Hmph. Once I regain my strength, I’ll teach that brat a lesson.’
He clenched his teeth and watched Daisy closely.
Daisy busied herself in the kitchen, seating Kallius in a corner.
‘She looks pretty fierce holding that knife.’
Daisy was skillfully chopping something with her gleaming kitchen knife.
Kallius frowned.
“What is she doing? I hope she’s not planning to feed me something weird.”
Daisy grinned and held the knife vertically.
“It’s fine. From now on, the word ‘picky’ won’t exist in Kallius’s life.”
“…”
With her strange charisma, Daisy silenced Kallius and continued her work.
Soon, the cooking was finished.
“Eat.”
She placed a large dish in front of him. A steaming, golden omelet sat atop it.
It looked appetizing, but Kallius was not fooled. As he lifted his fork and cut into it, he saw colorful vegetables packed inside.
“What is this?”
“…You’ve seen something you weren’t supposed to.”
Daisy snatched the fork with an eerie smile, cut a piece of the omelet, and brought it to Kallius’s mouth.
“Eat.”
“No. Too many gross ingredients.”
“They’re good for growth.”
“I won’t eat it.”
“Won’t eat? Eat it! I made this hoping that Kallius would grow properly, fully restore his magic, and thrive! Understand?!”
Her scolding was so fierce that Kallius unconsciously opened his mouth.
Seizing the opportunity, Daisy stuffed the vegetable-filled omelet into his mouth.
“Ugh! Stop!”
He couldn’t spit out what was already in his mouth. Reluctantly, he finished half the omelet, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“…Disgusting.”
The texture of the vegetables could not be masked by the eggs and spices—at least not for a professional picky eater like Kallius.
“You… I will never forgive this…”
As he gritted his teeth and swore to remember this humiliation forever,
—shhhhhh…
A familiar breeze stirred around Kallius, a natural phenomenon caused by the magical waves.
Daisy’s eyes widened.
“…What’s happening?”
Soon, Kallius’s body was engulfed in a sparkling light.
—Fwoosh!
The dazzling glow faded, and there he was…
“Kallius!”
“…My magic… it’s all restored.”
A tall young man with a cold, imposing presence stood before her.
After self-diagnosing, Kallius slumped into the chair.
“I can’t figure it out. What could have caused this?”
“Really? You have no idea?”
“It’s not that I don’t know. I just haven’t determined the reason yet.”
“Oh… I see.”
Daisy, without a word, observed the sensitive archmage with a mix of awe and exasperation.
“Still, isn’t it good that it’s over? At least you’ve got your body back.”
For Daisy, it was truly fortunate. Kallius had recovered; now all that was left was to cure her illness!
“Anyway, now please cure my illness, as promised! We even signed the contract!”
Daisy demanded her due boldly, unafraid since the contract guaranteed it.
“Very well. Sure. Nothing wrong with that.”
Kallius readily rose and gestured with his hand. In an instant, the surroundings changed—they were now on a quiet forest path.
“Huh? Wha…?”
Daisy blinked in astonishment.
‘We were just in Kallius’s study a moment ago…’
Kallius gestured casually toward her.
“I’ll guide you.”
“Guide me… where?”
“To see the mage who diagnosed you.”
“Oh… this place…”
Daisy looked around. The scenery was strangely familiar; they were passing through a place she had seen several times before.
Her eyes sparkled.
“This place is really far! Did magic transport us here?”
“Yes. Magic.”
“Wow… to move instantly without even casting a spell… you truly are the world’s greatest mage.”
Daisy’s pure admiration caused a small smirk to twitch at the corner of Kallius’s mouth.
“For me, it’s trivial. Those who find it difficult are just weak-minded.”
‘Not only does he praise himself, he manages to put down other mages naturally! Truly the demeanor of a future villain.’
Daisy marveled at Kallius’s personality as she recalled the path and led the way.
Turning the corner, Daisy abruptly stopped and pointed ahead.
“…Turn here. The house at the very end is the mage’s residence. Right there!”
But when they arrived…
“Hey, there’s nothing there.”
The place was empty.
Daisy rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
“Huh? We came to the right spot… why is it gone? Did they move? But why is the house completely vanished?”
And this happened within just a few months!
Panicking, Daisy circled the area where the mage’s house should have been.
“This is strange. The tree, the neighboring houses, the wall… everything’s the same as before…”
“Are you sure your memory is correct?”
“Yes! I may not be smart, but I have a good memory.”
After fretting, Daisy knocked on the neighboring door.
—Knock knock knock!
“Hello? Anyone there?”
“Who is it?”
An elderly woman appeared and looked down at Daisy.
“Grandma, do you remember the mage who used to live next door?”
The woman looked at her as if she were speaking nonsense.
“What? Mage? There’s never been a mage here.”
“There was an old mage who lived on that empty lot. There was even a house until a few months ago.”
“What are you talking about? There has never been a house there. It’s been an empty lot since I was born.”
“Uh…?”
“And there are no mages in this town. To see one, you’d have to go to the next village.”
“The next village?”
Unable to believe it, Daisy repeated her words like a parrot.
“Mage? What mage? Why would someone like that live in this village? This girl is talking nonsense.”
The woman slammed the door shut.
“This can’t be!”
Daisy asked around about the mage’s whereabouts, but every answer was the same:
“What are you talking about? Some money-hungry mage?”
“There’s no mage here.”
“That place has no house.”
“Is she crazy?”
The mage who had diagnosed Daisy’s illness had vanished as if he had never existed!
In the end, Daisy and Kallius had no choice but to return to the tower empty-handed.
Daisy shouted in frustration:
“My memory is real! This is a matter of life and death. How could I possibly misremember? That mage told me about the illness, which led me here to Kallius!”
