Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 119: The Second Coming (5)

Henry returned to the palace again with Hector. As he looked at the egg in his hands, Henry realized something. ‘Now that Klever’s turned into this, I won’t be able to use the Chest for a while.’

It was quite inconvenient because Klever’s Chest was ten times more efficient than Subspace, the original form of magical storage, or even a magical tool like the Subspace Pouch.

This wasn’t the only problem. Most of Henry’s possessions were inside the Chest, and since Klever had entered an evolutionary state, all Henry could do was pray that they would still be in one piece after he evolved. When Henry frowned slightly, Hector looked apologetic.

Soon, one of the servants waiting at the palace spoke to Henry, “His Majesty told me to guide you to the place.”

“The place” was Janus’ temple. Henry followed the servant to the temple, where Herarion was still working on something. When the last door of the temple opened, Herarion greeted them. “Have you finished your business?”

“Yes, thanks to Your Majesty. Were you in the temple this whole time?”

“Haha, you asked for this favor personally, right? Of course, it takes priority.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. How far have you gotten?”

“The body is already ready. Right now, I’m just making other bodies as a backup.”

“Is that what those are?”

“Yes.”

The black armor would give Hector the tremendous power that Henry needed, but when one stood too long, one wanted to sit. Once seated, one wanted to lie down; and when lying down, one wanted to sleep. There was no end to the greed of the dead who had spent many years in the underworld.

Hector had just escaped from the underworld. Of course, he longed to fulfill the natural desires he’d possessed as a human, and he’d wanted to eat and drink as soon as he was resurrected.

Henry couldn't disregard his hope because although Hector was tremendously powerful, he was helping Henry out of his own will and not because Henry was forcing him.

“I had a hard time trying to find the most human-like creature, but I was able to capture one in the end. Take a look.”

The thing lying inside a coffin was about 160 cm tall and looked like an ordinary adult male who was on the slender side. Its skin was pale and clear like a girl’s. Overall, the creature was very similar to a human, and it even had ten fingers and ten toes.

If there was anything that was different…

“Just as I heard, they don’t have faces.”

“That's what makes the Korun different from humans.”

The Korun were rare monsters that only lived in the desert. They had a human-like appearance but without hair or a face. Herarion had inscribed countless Shahatra words on the body of this particular Korun.

“Sir Hector, due to ethical reasons, I cannot grant you a human body. Instead, I have prepared a very similar one.”

“Except for the face, he’s a pretty convincing human.”

“Right now, he’s technically alive, but he’s only an empty shell without a soul.”

“Did you remove his soul on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“Is your god called Janus? His power is very useful.”

“Power always comes with a price. Anyway, Sir Hector, you must take care of the Korun’s body as though it were your own. Otherwise, he will physically die.”

“What will happen to me if this body dies?”

“Your soul and the body will separate since this body was not yours in the first place. You will have no choice but to stay in this world forever unless there are some special circumstances.”

].

“I see…”

Herarion spoke in a serious tone, but it sounded to Henry like he was only explaining how to take care of a toy.

“But he doesn’t have a face. How am I supposed to eat?”

“Koruns have a hidden mouth in the same place as humans do. It’s just that the shape is a bit grotesque.”

“It’s a monster, so I guess that can’t be helped. How can I take possession of the body of this Korun or whatever it's called?”

“The same way you got into the black armor.”

“The same? Hmm….”

Hector stared at the Korun in silence.

Swoosh!

After Hector concentrated for a couple of seconds, his soul was sucked into the Korun’s body and…

Twitch.

The Korun lay in the coffin, still looking quite dead, when his fingers suddenly twitched.

“Huh?”

The Korun trembled and then stretched. “Ah…” Hector moaned awkwardly.

He managed to sit up. He clenched and opened his fists for a while, readapting to the sensations he had lost. “It feels awkward.”

Hector’s speech was now easier. He got out of the coffin, stretching to loosen up.

“How is it? This is my first time doing something like this, so I’m a little worried,” asked Herarion.

“It’s perfect, there’s no need to worry.”

It was hard to tell his emotions because he was faceless, but from the way his fingers were shaking, Hector was genuinely happy. “It’s the best! I’m very satisfied! Oh, how I missed this feeling.”

Hector was genuinely happy, but when he realized that Henry and Herarion were looking at him from above, he murmured to himself, “But…I’m kind of short.”

“I had no choice. This was the only guy who looked the most human.”

“I guess that can’t be helped. Thank you. I’ll say it again: call me if you ever need my help. I will help you until my body breaks.”

“Thank you, Sir Hector.”

In Hector’s previous life, he had been over 190 cm, a giant among men, so he wasn’t used to looking up at people. Henry tried to console Hector. “Let’s think positively. At least you can eat and drink, right?”

“That’s true.” Hector genuinely smiled. However, his smile made his face split in four directions in a truly grotesque manner. The others looked disgusted, and when Hector saw their frowns, he immediately closed his mouth.

“...Is it really that gross?”

“...I think you need to change your face in order to actually look like a human.”

“Change my face? What do you mean?”

“There’s a spell called Cosmesis that can change your appearance. It’s a very difficult kind of cosmetic magic. I can use it to turn you into a new person.”

“W-wait a minute! You can really change my appearance with magic?”

“Yes.”

“Then shouldn’t we consider it more carefully?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What I’m saying is that if you’re going to change my face, it’s better to change it to a more handsome one… Ahem!”

“...Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

As Henry listened to Hector’s endless desires, he was reminded of Von. ‘They’re both the same.’

But Henry could understand Hector’s motivation. “Let’s postpone Cosmesis for a bit. It’s a very difficult spell anyway, and I can’t do it properly right now,” said Henry.

“I agree.” After regaining his composure, Hector smiled brightly once again.

Henry frowned and waved his hand, leaving Hector no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

“Um… Sir Hector? Would you like to take a look at the other bodies I have prepared besides the Korun?” asked Herarion.

“Other bodies?”

“That’s right. I prepared backups because I wasn’t sure whether or not the Korun’s body would fit you.”

Herarion’s spare bodies included even dogs and birds. Henry picked up the body of a bird the size of a finger and said, “Maybe these bodies can be used as part of a strategy.”

“If they are compatible, it will be possible.”

At Herarion’s advice, Hector started testing the bodies. After a while, it became obvious that Herarion had successfully synchronized all of them.

“It almost looks as if he’s possessing them,” said Henry.

“Well, technically speaking, he is possessing them.”

The three of them decided to simply call Hector’s ability “possession.” After checking all the bodies, Henry bowed and thanked Herarion. “I really appreciate your hard work, Your Majesty.”

“No worries. Thanks to you, I got my country back, so I think this is nothing compared to what you’ve done for me. Now, shall we have dinner and discuss the details of the trade?”

“That’s a good idea. Hector, since you can’t leave with a face like that, why don’t you possess a dog first?”

“This will be my first meal in decades, and you want me to eat it as a dog? I’d rather wear a hood, bring one to me.”

“...Or we can do that.”

Herarion wanted to hold a grand party to celebrate the trade agreement. However, Henry refused no matter how many times the king asked and only asked for a large amount of food for Hector.

Delicacies unique to the royal palace were served on the longest table in Shahatra, and Herarion excused everyone so that Hector could eat comfortably. Thanks to this, Hector could take off his hood and enjoy his meal to his heart’s content.

“It’s good! It’s so good! This is exactly what it tasted like!”

Herarion and Henry didn’t eat much and finished their meal first. Herarion offered Henry a special cigarette available only in the palace of Shahatra. “Do you like cigarettes, Lord Henry?”

“Not in particular, but since Your Majesty is offering them, I’ll try them out.”

“They taste pretty good; they are one of our tributes.”

Since no one was watching, Henry lit the cigarette with the tip of his finger instead of a match.

‘Huh?’

He blew smoke into the air. Not long after, Henry's eyes widened.

“How is it?”

“It tastes… really good.”

He genuinely admired the taste. Shahatra’s cigarettes were clearly among the best goods on the continent.

“Is this also a trade item?” asked Henry.

“That would be nice, but it’s impossible to mass produce these cigarettes.”

“If money is the problem, I’ll give Your Majesty as much as you want.”

“Money isn’t the problem. It’s the manufacturing process.”

“If we distribute these cigarettes, I’m sure they will cause a sensation…” Henry smoked the cigarette in frustration.

Smoke dispersed in the air, and he felt calm as his mind cleared. He felt as if he had become the happiest person in the world. As soon as the pleasure was gone, Henry felt a strong desire to smoke once more.

‘Desire?’ The cigarette had just given Henry a good idea. “Your Majesty, then how about creating a new kind of cigarette that’s easy to manufacture?”

“A new cigarette?”

“Yes, I had a thought that we might be able to take Arthus down using these cigarettes.”

“...These cigarettes?”

“That’s right.”

Of course, Herarion was surprised; Henry had been quietly smoking his cigarette and then all of a sudden, he’d started talking about using the cigarettes to take down Arthus.

However, as Henry explained his plan, Herarion nodded without even realizing what he was doing. “Wow! I didn’t even think of that.”

“I will provide the materials, so why don’t you work on the new cigarette, Your Majesty?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to bring Arthus down.”

The two shook hands. Herarion accepted the new development as though it had been part of the plan all along. They chatted for a bit longer, and Henry fulfilled the goals of his first visit to Shahatra swimmingly.