I left Mr. Sjorn’s office with one goal. I must heal Duke Renild’s daughter.

I continue walking until I arrived at the library doors, which were now closed shut for some reason. Determined to cure the Duke’s daughter, I decided to push the doors again, as I had done the first day. I prepared myself to push on one of the giant wooden doors leading to the library, and began pushing with all my might. This time, though, unlike before, the door opened much easier than last time, but it was still difficult to open. This time, though, I was able to open the door in 5 minutes, as opposed to last time, which took an eternity. I walked inside, surprised at what had happened, but overcame my surprise, remembering why I was here. I walked over to the medicinal herbs/techniques section and began reading. Every. Single. Book.

Now, you might be wondering why I was reading about techniques and herbs instead of trying to look through the books on diseases and their cures. The reason, simply put, is I already knew the disease. While I was reading in The Kabbalah, one of the books The Professor had given me was about all of the demon’s knowledge on ailments and curses. One of them was called The Demonic-Angelic Mutation. It is a horrible condition that is caused when two different species give their blessing, something different than certificates, to a human. When this happens, the body will react with the opposing blessing, causing two types of mutations inside of a body. The first would be an angelic mutation, causing the cells of the body to become like that of angel’s, and the demon’s mutation is exactly the same, only the cells become like those of a demon. Now there are levels of this type of mutation depending on the level of the demon and angel. If the angel is an archangel while the demon is a devil, then the mutation becomes much worse, and the worst would be if the Omniums (The Kings of The Angelic world and Demonic World) had given their blessings, and it seems The Duke’s Daughter has gotten the Omniums’ Mutation, the highest level. That is why I’m reading about techniques and herbs, not cures.

Well, anyways, after reading for what seemed like days, I closed the book that was in my hands and get up.

“Hoo, this i-isn’t going to be e-easy.”

After confirming what herbs were available and weren’t, I went to Mr.Sjorn’s office. As I was traversing the halls, I suddenly bumped into someone.

“Oof!”

“Hmm? Oh, Maxwell!”

I look up and see James standing there. He reaches out his hand, which I grabbed. After standing up, I look at James and notice that he has grown taller, as he was now up to my chest. I also notice his arms have grown bulkier and his body has become slimmer.

“J-James, you seem to be taller t-than usual.”

“Oh, yeah. We’ve started training with weapons and magic, and our cursed trainer is currently putting us through a rigorous training session.”

“Oh, w-wow! Well, where are you g-going?”

“Well, Duke Calligpher has called me to his study, so I was walking over to his office.”

“Oh, I-I was also just on m-my way to his study, as w-well. Would you like to t-talk on the way?”

“Oh, sure! I have a lot of things to tell you, hyung-nim!”

“Oh, s-sure.” (Reminder that Maxwell is actually older than James by 8 months)

After overcoming my surprise of being called hyung, I began listening to James. As we talked, I learned that the technological world had a major advancement in telephones and mobile phones. Apparently, with help from the dwarves and elves, we were able to create panels that allow us to create a holographic interface with many uses, and it not only allows for communication, but also a variety of commodities for entertainment and other things, and apparently, they’re still developing the technology. James was so excited about it, as he was able to convince Mr.Sjorn to buy it for him. As we continued to talk, I noticed something weird that James hadn’t talked about. We kept talking until we reached the doorway to Mr.Sjorn’s study. We were about to open the doors, when I heard yelling coming from inside the study,

“You can’t let that little boy treat the duke’s daughter! If something goes wrong, we could all very well be blamed for her death.”

“It’s too late. The duke is expecting Maxwell to treat his daughter, and if I were to prevent Maxwell from going, I worry the duke won’t hold back his anger. All we can do is hope that Maxwell succeeds.”

“Well, then… What about escorting Maxwell?”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if Maxwell is incapable of curing, some people may believe that he can.”

“So…?”

“What if one of the people who believe that Maxwell can cure the Duke’s daughter tries to kill Maxwell?”

“Oh, that. I have that already sorted out. I’m going to have James accompany him.”

“You’re going to let a child protect another child?”

“Oh, don’t say that. Haven’t you heard? James has already surpassed all of his peers and mentors. I believe allowing him to guard Maxwell would be a perfect opportunity.”

“Ugh, seriously? Fine, but if anything happens, you’ll be held responsible. Understood?”

“Yes, dear.”

I panic as I hear footsteps begin approaching the door, deciding to act as if I was just about to knock on the two golden doors. As I was about to knock, the door opens, as a figure comes into view.

“Oh, Maxwell. You are here. We were just talking about you. I’ll get going now, love.”

“See you, Delirn.”

Mrs. Sjorn beckons us in as she leaves, while Mr. Sjorn fixes the papers on his desk.

“Ah, just the two I was looking for. Come inside. We have to talk about some things.”

We sat down, while Mr. Sjorn observed us with his crystal blue eyes.

“Well, Maxwell, I must ask, as we need to prepare ahead of time and let Duke Renild know, but when will you be prepared to cure the Duke’s daughter?” (Sjorn)

“Well, s-sir, I was actually coming to t-tell you that everything’s b-been prepared. I just need the f-following items and skills on this l-list.” (Maxwell)

I handed Mr. Sjorn the list, as James looked at Mr. Sjorn with shock.

“What do you mean Maxwell’s going to cure the Duke’s daughter?!” (James)

“Well, James, this is a well-guarded secret, but currently, the Duke’s daughter is suffering from an incurable disease, and Maxwell volunteered to cure her.” (Sjorn)

“B-But isn’t it uncurable?!” (James)

“Yes, it is.” (Sjorn)

“T-Then, Maxwell, you must make up an excuse or something, anything! You can’t risk this! We’re talking about the Duke’s daughter!” (James)

James grabbed my arm, pleading for me to not go while shaking my arm.

“No, James. I-It’s too late for t-that. Isn’t that right, M-Mr. Sjorn?” (Maxwell)

“Sadly, Maxwell’s correct. It’s too late to back out of this. Maxwell, are you prepared?” (Sjorn)

“Yes, I-I am.” (Maxwell)

“Well, when do you prefer to leave?” (Sjorn)

“Well, I’d l-like to perform the o-operation when the patient’s a-asleep and in s-secrecy, so I’d like t-to arrive at night.” (M)

“Hmm? Why?” (S)

“I’d like to remain a-anonymous, as I’d also like to publish a paper o-on how to cure this to the p-public. So by remaining anonymous, n-nobody would know I published the p-paper.” (M)

“What? Wouldn’t it be better for you to take credit for it, Maxwell?” (J)

“I’d rather n-not. If you’d l-like, though, I could w-write it either under a pen name o-or Mr. Sjorn’s name.” (M)

“Hmm, well, I don’t want to take credit for it, but I still want some credit for the family. I don’t know…” (S)

“Well, how about we make a fake name with the family name Sjorn?” (J)

“Great idea!” (S)

“W-Well that settles i-it.” (M)

“Okay, Maxwell. When should we leave?” (S)

“As s-soon as you prepare everything o-on the list, sir.” (M)

“Well, I can have them prepared by this evening. Does tonight sound fine?” (S)

“M-mhm.” (M)

“Okay. Then at 9, come out to the front door. There’ll be a carriage waiting for you, and since I can’t go with you, James will go along to protect you.” (S)

“Okay, sir. I’ll prepare everything.” (M)

“Then you may leave.”

I left Mr. Sjorn and James and went to begin packing my clothing and necessities.

As I was walking to my room, I suddenly recalled the clothing the tailor was supposed to prepare for me, so I took a detour and went to his room. After going down the stairs and walking towards the Servent’s Quarters, I arrived at the tailor’s door. After giving it a few good knocks, I heard someone yelling out,

“Coming!”

The door opened a few seconds later. When Mr. Rester saw me, he suddenly began smiling.

“Ah, Maxwell! Where’ve you been? You were supposed to come get your new outfit a while ago.”

“Ah, s-sorry, Mr. Rester. I have been v-very busy.”

“Ah, it’s alright. Come inside.”

I followed Mr. Rester into his room as he began explaining to me some things,

“Well, you see Maxwell, while you were gone, I had long finished your outfit, but over time, I began noticing some small issues with it, so I began fixing them. Day by day, I began to work on your outfit every day, and due to that, I was able to make this.”

Mr. Rester stopped in front of a covered-up mannequin and pulled on the cloth that was covering it. When the full mannequin came into sight, I almost gasped. The clothing that was revealed had a little shine, making the entire thing seem like a glowing suit.

“So, what do you think?”

“I-It’s very nice. Thank you very m-much, Mr. Rester.”

“If you want, you can try it out in that room over there.”

“Oh, t-thank you.”

Mr. Rester took the clothes off and handed them to me folded nicely, with the tie and top hat resting on top of it all. I took them from his hands very carefully and walked into the room. I began changing into them when I instantly realized something. They were too tight. After struggling to put them on, I walked out of the room like a scarecrow, unable to move my legs. When I came out, Mr. Rester began laughing.

“Ahahaha!”

“M-Mr. Rester, what’s s-so funny?”

“Ah, I just forgot to tell you. Well, I knew you probably wouldn’t fit into these clothes after a month, so I went to a local enchantress that I knew and asked her to put some enchantments onto your clothes. I asked her to put some enchantments to make it so they’d fit you no matter how old they are, and she went ahead and made it so the clothes fit the wearer’s liking.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the clothes could become any type of clothing you’d like, from armored clothing to formal to pajamas, and even to a mix of all those! That means that if you want this clothing to become indestructible, well then, it will!”

“Oh, wow!”

“And it doesn’t take your own mana! It automatically takes mana from the environment and stores it into the fabric!”

“W-Wait, who enchanted this?!”

“It was a good friend of mine who used to be a dragon empress!”

“Eh?!”

“It’s a long story, but basically, she retired from being the dragon empress, allowing her son to rule, and she decided to take the form of humans and live amongst them.”

“Whoa!”

“Well, enough about that. I already told you more than I am allowed.”

“Okay, Mr. Rester. B-But how do I make this f-fit me?”

“Oh, simple. Just snap and it’ll turn into whatever you want.”

“Oh, wow!”

“And if you ever need to clean it, just say, ‘clean’.”

“A-Amazing!”

The moment I snapped, the fabric suddenly loosened up and became the perfect size for me to move around comfortably. I could even run around in this and I’d still be comfortable. Then I grabbed the tie and tied it around my neck. I went to grab the top hat, when Mr. Rester grabbed my hand.

“Be careful, Maxwell.”

“What d-do you mean?”

“When I asked the enchantress to do this, I was calling in for a favor, which was the favor of saving her life, so god knows what she did to this top hat. She told me that only the wearer would know how to use her clothes fully after placing this top hat on their head, so I worry that she might’ve gone overboard.”

“U-Understood.”

I grabbed the top hat and placed it on my head and waited. After a couple of seconds of waiting for something to happen, I concluded that everything was fine.

“Uh, M-Mr. Rester, I feel fine.”

“Huh. Weird. Well, tha-.”

Suddenly, I felt a weird sensation come over my head.

{Bzzt. Hello, owner. What is your name?}

“Huh? Maxwell? Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, I am fine.”

{ Confirming owner name. Is your name Fine?}

“N-No, it’s Maxwell.”

{Okay, correcting name. Hello, Maxwell.}

“Maxwell, what’s going on?”

“N-Nothing. I must get going, sir.”

“O-Oh, yeah. I understand, but are you sure you’re fine?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Okay then, Maxwell. See you…”

I left Mr. Rester’s room in a daze as I walked to my room, trying to not succumb to the weird feeling coming from the top hat.

(To Be Continued . . .)