Chapter 67 ….
Esid quietly stared at Frea.
Night of the Magic Tower.
It was the one time of year—only three days—when the tower was opened to the public. The tower was normally shrouded in secrecy, but on those days, ordinary people were allowed to enter.
Held on the day when mana was at its fullest, the Night of the Magic Tower celebrated the birth of magic and was also the day when mages sold magical items to the public.
It was, in a way, a night market.
Because the festival opened in the evening and ran until dawn for three days, it was called the Night of the Magic Tower. It opened at dusk and closed at the darkest hour.
“But how are we supposed to sneak in?”
Frea looked at Esid with clear doubt. Since they were already targets of the Magic Tower, it was obvious they would be turned away if they showed up openly.
At her concern, Esid answered calmly.
“We’ll have to disguise ourselves.”
“A disguise?”
Frea stared blankly at him in confusion. There was no way a mere disguise could fool the eyes of mages.
When she let out a deep sigh, Esid smiled leisurely. Then he pulled out a glass bottle in front of her.
Inside were colorful, round, bead-like candies.
Still not understanding, Frea asked,
“Huh? Why candy all of a sudden?”
“It’s not just candy. It’s Poly Candy—it changes your appearance for up to six hours.”
“It changes appearance? But magic won’t work in the Magic Tower, will it? The polymorph will definitely be dispelled the moment we enter.”
“This isn’t a polymorph created with magic, so it’s fine. It’s made by mixing the fruit of the Poly Tree and the Morph Fruit.”
“I’ve never heard of those.”
“Well, those trees don’t exist in the Empire.”
Esid spoke with unusual confidence.
Poly fruit and Morph fruit—names she had never heard in her life. Frea still looked unconvinced.
According to Esid, the Poly Tree and Morph Tree grew in different regions, and there had once been a case where someone’s appearance temporarily changed after accidentally eating both fruits together.
That incident had led to the creation of this medicine…
Throughout the explanation, Frea’s face remained full of suspicion.
It was hard to believe such an incredible concoction came from mere coincidence.
Of course, many things in the world were born by accident—but she still couldn’t believe it without seeing it herself.
“You look like you don’t believe me. I’ll eat one now, so watch closely.”
When Frea continued to doubt him, Esid opened the bottle with a determined expression and took out one of the candies.
Before Frea could say anything, he popped it into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
The loud sound of him biting the candy echoed.
As the bottle opened, a sweet scent drifted out. Judging by how easily he crushed it, it didn’t seem to be a hard candy.
After chewing for a while, Esid swallowed it completely.
A moment later, Frea’s eyes widened.
Esid’s black hair turned green, his brilliant golden eyes became a murky teal, and his pale skin darkened noticeably. Even his overall appearance changed into that of a middle-aged man.
Frea’s suspicion vanished completely, and she exclaimed in amazement.
“Wow, it’s real! You really changed, Your Grace!”
“So you didn’t trust me after all.”
Seeing her delighted reaction, Esid looked slightly hurt. Frea quickly averted her gaze.
Then she smiled sheepishly and changed the subject.
“You’ve totally turned into an old man, Your Grace.”
“Oh… I guess it turned me into an older man this time.”
Esid’s eyebrow twitched at the word old man, and he awkwardly scratched his cheek. The sight of the handsome young Esid—now a fully middle-aged man—touching his face felt extremely incongruous.
After hesitating a moment, he spoke with an awkward expression.
“There is actually one drawback.”
“What is it?”
Frea stopped marveling and looked at him.
“The transformation is certain… but the problem is that it’s random.”
“…What?”
“In other words, if you eat this, there’s no telling whether you’ll become an old man, a child, or an elder. Of course, your physical strength doesn’t decrease, so it shouldn’t matter…”
“Huh…”
Frea let out a small exclamation.
So it was random. She could become a beautiful young man—or an elderly person.
Apparently, he must have transformed into different forms before.
Well, however it changed didn’t really matter. It might feel a bit unfamiliar, but being completely different would actually be better.
“Still, the fact that you don’t look like yourself at all makes it a success. This is amazing!”
When Frea answered without hesitation, Esid’s face brightened. It was strange how he had been reacting so emotionally to her evaluation of the Poly Candy.
Then Esid spoke shyly, looking slightly embarrassed.
“…Actually, I made this.”
“Huh? You made it, Your Grace?”
He replied in a more excited voice than before.
“That’s right. In fact, you’re the first person I’ve ever shown this to. Don’t worry about side effects. I didn’t want to give you anything harmful, so I already finished testing it on my own body.”
At the mention that he had experimented on himself, Frea stared at him blankly.
What if something had gone wrong? Had he really intended to become his own test subject?
Just like a true mage—his experimental spirit was certainly strong. That must be how he created such fascinating items.
Whether he knew she was thinking he was foolish or not, Esid let out a carefree laugh.
“Next time, I’ll try to make a candy that transforms you into the exact appearance you want.”
“No, it’s already more than good enough.”
Frea smiled and quickly stopped the overly motivated Esid. If given time, he really looked like he might pull it off.
A little later, a maid brought in some light desserts. The meeting had gone on longer than expected.
The maid seemed startled to see a middle-aged man sitting where Duke Esid should have been, but she left the room without showing it.
Frea took a bite of the dessert the maid had brought.
As the sweet chocolate flavor spread through her mouth, her fatigue seemed to melt away. Watching Frea savor the cake with a satisfied expression, Esid spoke casually.
“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while…”
“What is it?”
Frea stretched her stiff body from sitting too long and asked back.
Staring intently at her, Esid asked in a very careful voice,
“When did you make your contract with the spirit?”
“Hmm… was it when I was ten? Honestly, I’m not sure exactly when I contracted with Toto. I just woke up one day and we were already contracted. But why are you curious about that?”
“…I was just wondering when spirit contractors usually form their contracts…”
Esid quietly murmured the words ten years old, as if rolling them around in his mouth—like he was trying to measure something.
Beside him, Frea simply tilted her head while chewing another bite of cake.
