IMIS 08

Chapter 08…

The tyrant obsessed with power stabbed the hero in the back, and the villainess obsessed with a man offered me as a sacrifice.

Inside the sealing magic circle, the Archmage and I slowly died.

I cried bitterly.

“Ugh… I trusted you as my brother. How could you do this to me?!”

“Hey, you brat of a Grimlore.”

“Why did the memories from before possession come back now… It’s too late to fix anything!”

“People call, you know. Foolish villainess.”

“Sniff… sniff…”

“Do you want me to show you how to escape this hell?”

“What is it?”

“You were listening.”

“What method? Is there a way to survive?”

The chained Archmage Zerodines gestured downward. Following his direction, my eyes were filled with the sight of his broad chest, bare skin filling my view.

“Touch here—”

Smack!

Fortunately, I still had the strength to slap. His head jerked sideways under my fearless hand.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“That’s my job. You talk grandly about being a hero, but in the end, you’re just an ordinary man.”

“What nonsense is this crazy woman talking? Does she only have filthy thoughts in her head? Look carefully!”

Upon closer inspection, something was drawn on his skin.

“This… isn’t a tattoo, it’s a magic circle?”

Maybe he still had a secret weapon left. I placed my hand on his chest.

Right after that, the magic he had set in motion activated. When I came to my senses, I had returned in time.

The mark on the back of my left hand was that same magic circle.

“Was it a return spell?”

—Yes.

A voice answered me in the empty room.

The mark on my hand glowed faintly, and Zerodines appeared before me.

He looked exactly as he did before.

Bright red hair, sharp eyes.
A clear and keen gaze, as if containing unknown power.
His face was small, but his tall, well-proportioned body made him handsome. No wonder he looked like a character from a novel—living all alone in his own world.

—Before we start explaining, I want your impression, Levieta Grimlore.

“You feel firmer than I expected. Have you been working out?”

—…I didn’t ask for impressions of your body; I asked how it felt to return.

“Enough talk, come over here for a moment.”

I reached out my hand. Zerodines didn’t dodge, yet I couldn’t touch him.

“Why is your body semi-transparent and my hand passes through?”

We returned together. But the only one who had physically become younger was me.

Let’s assume his age remains unchanged since he’s an immortal free from aging. But being a ghost is… definitely odd.

Not fully dead, but not alive either—what exactly is this? Could it be related to a world without the Archmage?

—The return was successful. The problem is that the sealing worked too.

“So… what you’re saying is, although you came to the past with me, your body was bound by the seal and couldn’t participate in the time reversal. Without a body, your existence as a soul cannot persist, so all memory of you in this world disappeared. Is that it?”

—Basically, yes. No one else can see me.

“Then why can I see you?”

—Because you’re the only one with memories from the past.

Hmm?
Ah, I shouldn’t be smiling… but things are going so favorably for me that a little chuckle escapes.

“Right. So that’s how it is. Earlier you asked how it feels? I like it.”

I licked my lips with my tongue. It might seem like I’m just being spoiled, asking for a treat, but knowing I returned in time would make it look different.

“This man… I want you.”

—…

He shivered from head to toe, like goosebumps ran through his entire body, then raised his sharply arched eyebrows.

—I think you’re mistaken. I dislike you. If you hadn’t foolishly become a sacrifice, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.

“I know. You didn’t return to help me; you returned to stop the First Prince.”

The First Prince will eventually become a tyrant who kills heroes. Cutting it off at the root in advance is wise.

But I wasn’t particularly anxious. No matter how much the First Prince rages, I know he will ultimately be dealt with by the youngest prince, the male lead.

“I’ll help you recover your body.”

I will help the Archmage in distress. Solve my own problems first, and later…

“So you should support me by my side.”

—Support is a term used for a wife helping her husband.

“Let’s overlook minor details. I’m the one outside, and you’re the one inside anyway.”

—Playing word games.

“I’m at the age for mischief.”

I spread my arms and spoke with a persuasive voice.

“Look at small, cute me. I can’t even drink coffee freely, let alone interfere in the succession battle. How could I find the Archmage’s body alone? Don’t you see helping me succeed is for your own benefit?”

—I get it.

“Really?”

A crooked smile spread across his lips.

—I suppose you think you can chain me with hope, but that trick won’t work.

“…”

—You don’t even need to take a position in the royal family. There are plenty of ways to intervene. You could do it right now if you wanted.

Of course. In a world where advanced magic sells for twenty million gold, carrying the Archmage on your back?
Arriving at the Magic Tower, you’d be queen in no time. Even the royal family would scramble to recruit you.

But if that happened, my revenge plan would be ruined.

“Negotiation failed. Sorry, but I have work to do. To you, defeating the Demon Lord and protecting the empire may seem trivial, but it’s very important to me.”

I lay down beside the wall, discouraged, but my attention remained on Zerodines.

—Levieta Grimlore.

“Will you help me?”

As soon as he spoke, I jumped upright.

But he didn’t answer me directly; instead, he gestured outside.

—Someone’s coming. Footsteps are getting closer.

“What? Who?”

He looked outside through the wall and informed me.

—The mare-haired maid.

Belladonna!

—She’s carrying a bucket, but it’s too far to see inside.

“Hopefully it’s just mud or waste.”

Belladonna had spread a rumor that I was sick. She’d been waiting for an opportunity, and today’s chaos after I collapsed was perfect for her.

“Let her do as she wishes for now. Even if I argue, she’ll just claim she came to the wrong room.”

Now is the time to set the trap. I cut a chunk of my hair without hesitation.

“[Illusion Weave.]”

As I cast the spell, the cut hair transformed into an illusion of myself.

“How’s my magic?”

—Clumsy and crude. If she wakes up, it’ll be obvious immediately.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Belladonna won’t wake me. What she intends is far worse than any childish prank—it’s a nasty act of sabotage.

Having finished my task, I quickly slipped into the secret passage, hiding just before the door opened.

I needed somewhere to stay for the night.
Hmm. There’s only one place, right?

Gilbert’s bedroom was dull. The walls were black, and the sparse furniture made it even more desolate.

“Sir.”

I shook Gilbert awake as if he were dead.

“Get up for a moment, sir.”

“…”

He groaned, then slowly opened his eyes.

“…You.”

“I can’t sleep because I had a ghost dream.”

“…Ghosts don’t exist. Those stories were made up to scare cowards like you.”

No, ghosts exist! And they’re very close.

“I absolutely can’t sleep alone. Can I stay in this room just for tonight? Please.”

“You really are a handful.”

Grabbing my clothes, he lifted me with one hand. Dangling like a keychain, I could see his suspicious eyes up close.

“See? I told you, you wouldn’t sleep. So are you going to drink coffee or not?”

“I won’t.”

I promised with my finger.

“If you break it, there will be consequences.”

Is he talking through his mouth but acting differently with his body? He seemed like he’d smack me, yet he moved to the edge of the bed.

“Do I sleep on top?”

“Of course. If I let a girl sleep on the floor, my son would look at me with admiration.”

Of course, that was sarcasm.

“Thanks for letting me sleep here.”

No reply came. My exhausted body, weighed down from the day’s events, followed Gilbert into dreamland.