I first called in the people who had been kicked out for being a disturbance.
Alios.
Hames.
Viol.
When I explained the situation to the three of them, each reacted differently.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Alios, like so many others, questioned my mental state.
“Trying to train instead of heal in your condition is just plain insane!”
“This is the only way.”
“Then I’ll find another way!”
Alios was firmly opposed and declared she’d do whatever it took to cure me.
“What about you, Ceres? What do you want?”
Hames quietly asked for my opinion first.
“What matters is your will. Do you want to train in that condition?”
“Yeah.”
I said it’s the only way, but honestly, I was intrigued.
They said if I completed the training, not only would I recover—I’d be much stronger. How could I not be curious?
Since I came to this fantasy world, I want to use mana and stand on the same level as all of you superhuman types.
Even if women here take on the ‘man’s role,’ there’s still a limit.
I didn’t want to keep living as a weakling, being tossed around and protected by women every day.
“I want to get stronger too.”
“Then I’ll support you.”
As soon as Hames voiced her support, Alios glared at her with terrifying intensity.
“Just like with Count Hurion last time. Are you planning to push Ceres too far again?!”
“I already said—the important thing is Ceres’s will. Not yours.”
“I’m saying this because I’m worried about him!”
Alios was particularly aggressive today.
First she snapped at Viol, now she was glaring at Hames like she wanted to kill her.
I appreciated her concern, but I never asked for this.
I was about to step in when Viol spoke first.
“If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then shut it, idiot.”
“Who the hell are you calling an idiot?!”
“You, obviously. I don’t want to put Ceres through hell either. But the problem is that he’s the one who came up with this method.”
She frowned and pointed at Sibellius.
“As far as I know, there isn’t a mage more skilled than that one. If she says there’s no other way, then that’s probably the truth.”
Alios didn’t respond.
She was from this empire too, so she couldn’t exactly deny it.
If a grand mage who’s lived for centuries says there’s no alternative, then that’s the truth.
“Don’t worry.”
I tried to reassure Alios, who was silently watching me.
“You know better than anyone how powerful my healing ability is. As long as I have it, I won’t die.”
“How can you be sure? Even if you don’t die, it’ll still hurt!”
Alios looked at me—still unable to get out of bed—with teary eyes.
“You can’t even move off the bed right now… how are you supposed to train like this?”
I lifted my arm toward her.
With effort, I managed to force my trembling hand to reach hers.
“It’s been a while since we got to know each other, huh.”
“Ceres?”
“I didn’t plan on it, but we ended up close.”
At first, I saw Alios as the same Alios from the original story.
So I treated her like an enemy—but after spending time together, I understood.
Maybe their origins were the same, but this was a different person.
How things unfold from here… it all depends on my actions.
“I may not love you, but I think of you as a friend. And I hope it stays that way.”
“Are you saying… you want us to only be friends forever?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just hope you don’t turn into the worst version of yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Of course, Alios didn’t understand what I was saying—her face was full of confusion.
I shook my head at her.
“You don’t need to understand it now. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t get it. But there’s one thing I do want you to understand right now.”
“What is it?”
“I want you—the person I consider a friend—to believe in me.”
Alios’s expression twisted at my words.
She opened her mouth like she was going to shout something but then bit her lip hard.
She didn’t say another word. And she stopped protesting.
“So, what do I actually have to do for the training?”
Leaving Alios alone for a moment, I turned to Sibellius for specifics.
“Do I need to channel your mana into my body?”
“It’s simple. Just like before—keep applying constant overload to your body.”
“So basically, exercise. That’s not so bad.”
“No. It’s not simple at all.”
Sibellius said darkly.
“Your body’s in a state of continuous damage and regeneration. Right now it’s better because you’ve been doing nothing.”
He warned that intense movement would cause unbearable pain.
“Let me be clear: I can’t block all the pain.”
“I know.”
It was my burden to bear anyway.
“Should I start now? Do something—anything?”
“You’re really a fool, aren’t you? Do you not understand that the reason you’re in this state is because you used some bizarre method to ‘heal’ yourself?”
Sibellius clicked her tongue at me, then turned to Viol.
“I’ll need some materials. Can you prepare them?”
“For Ceres? Anything.”
Viol answered without hesitation, impressively resolute.
“But if you fail to heal him, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Wow, terrifying. Anyway, bring me a few exercise tools or something.”
“What about assistants?”
“Those two will do.”
Sibellius pointed to the others, making Viol frown.
“You need those two idiots too?”
“To recover from this level of damage, I need help from a swordmaster and a high priest. They’ll be more useful than you, at least.”
“…Fine. I’ll inform the Gravius household and the Temple that they’re being borrowed for a while.”
Viol headed off to the palace.
Not long after, training equipment, medical supplies, and daily necessities began arriving at Sibellius’s place.
“Let’s start with this.”
Instead of the requested exercise gear, Sibellius picked up crutches.
“Before you work out, you need to practice walking by yourself.”
“You think I can’t even do that?”
I grumbled and tried to move using the crutches. But it wasn’t easy.
Even just taking a few steps made me stumble.
“Ceres!!”
Alios rushed in to catch me before I collapsed.
“You’ve always had weak arms, so even support tools were hard for you to use. You’re even worse now. Training like this—it’s just too much!”
The moment of silence shattered, and she let it all out.
“Sibellius, you’re a grand mage! Are you really telling me this is the only way?!”
“Unfortunately, yes. So it must be done.”
“…You’re really cold.”
“What’s the problem? I agreed to heal him for a price, and he agreed to the treatment. I’m simply teaching him the best method I know.”
“The problem is the pain!”
“And he accepted that. So it’s not my concern.”
“You heartless half-demon…”
Alios seemed ready to attack Sibellius, but I stopped her.
“Sibellius is right. What you’re doing now is only making things harder for me.”
“But—!”
“If you really want to help me, stay by my side and make sure I don’t move the wrong way.”
I asked her firmly, and she reluctantly agreed.
“Not like that. Move more gently. You’re wasting too much energy.”
Alios stuck close to me, correcting every motion.
“I’ll infuse you with divine power, even if it’s useless.”
Hames offered her power from time to time, even when she didn’t have to.
Just walking took several days.
Once we finally moved on to actual exercise, the difficulty skyrocketed.
‘Damn it.’
Even lifting a tiny dumbbell took forever.
My arms shook like I was lifting a sack of rice.
“No, not like that. Make it look more natural. Use strength, but not too much.”
Alios gave me vague advice as I struggled.
“How was today?”
Even during this grueling training, Viol visited daily.
Just like when I was locked up, she brought food.
“Don’t you have emperor duties?”
“I finished everything. Just eat.”
After working out, I ate what Viol brought.
After a while of this routine, Sibellius said:
“This is good progress. A few more months, and you’ll be fully recovered.”
“Months?”
“What’s the issue? It’s not like you’ve got somewhere urgent to be.”
True.
Time was on my side—so even if it took months, it didn’t matter.
…I let my guard down and thought that.
Forgot what kind of world this was.
****
About a month later.
I was recovering well, waiting for Viol to bring lunch like usual—when the atmosphere turned grim.
“Those lunatics!”
Viol burst in, cursing. Everyone was shocked.
She always seemed cheerful when visiting me.
“What happened?”
When I pressed her, she said something shocking.
“You know that neighboring country? Arsen? They asked to borrow you for a bit.”
“Me?”
“A plague’s broken out. Apparently they heard about you. Their envoys are practically begging for your help.”
Arsen?
A plague?
That sounds familiar…
“Don’t worry. What do they think I am, sending you to a place like—”
“Airan!”
“…Who?”
Viol looked puzzled at the name I shouted. But I couldn’t explain.
Wow, I really was sick.
I’d forgotten one of the major events from the original story!
Originally, they contacted me much later—but maybe my rising fame moved the timeline up?
In the story, a deadly plague hit the Kingdom of Arsen.
Even the clergy couldn’t fix it.
So they begged Ceres for help.
That was canon.
‘What do they think I am, sending you to a place like that?’
Viol rejecting the request without asking Ceres—that happened in the original too.
But the real problem comes after.
Since Ceres didn’t go, a woman named Airan shows up.
She doesn’t have divine power like Ceres, but she does have holy power.
And she cures the plague.
So the people of Arsen start calling her the saint instead of Ceres…
‘That woman’s a fake! I’m the real saint!’
She’s the one who falsely accuses Ceres of being an imposter!
Using her connections, accomplishments, and influence built from the plague—
And with people like jealous Hames and others bitter about not being healed—
She succeeds in branding Ceres as the fake.
That woman.
Or… man, now?
Anyway.
Airan slanders me—Ceres—so I need a way to stop them.
My idea was to steal their glory first.
Sabotage them before they can even act.
I had planned to go to Arsen myself when the timing felt right…
“…In this body?”
I was much better now—but still couldn’t move properly.
How could I travel to another country like this?