Are you trying to experiment with something? Could it be—!
Liyami immediately became excited when she heard Sifni’s words; there was a good chance Sifni had found a way to turn her back!
Thinking of this, Liyami wasted no time and asked Sifni directly.
Sifni glanced at Liyami and admitted frankly, “More or less, yes. I’ve found a feasible method, but it still needs testing. If it works, you should be able to turn back.”
Upon hearing this, Liyami dashed out excitedly and called over several Holy Knights who often helped her move ancient texts. But when she wanted to stay and watch, Sifni promptly shooed her away.
“What are you doing here? I don’t need you for this experiment. You’d better keep moving things. Once I have good news, I’ll come and tell you.”
Seeing herself being driven out, Liyami could only dejectedly return to her carrying work.
But because she kept spacing out during the tasks, the captain of the transport team noticed her. The captain told Liyami to go back and rest for a while and return once she’d recovered her state.
As she walked back to the tent, Liyami absentmindedly watched the scenery around her. The excitement inside her—over possibly returning to normal—was gradually cooling. Now, she could finally think about other things. For instance: did she really want to turn back?
That thought had just suddenly appeared in her mind. At first, she found it strange—why would she be thinking about this? But after some careful thought, she couldn’t help but pay attention to the question.
To be honest, it wasn’t as if she had just changed recently. She’d been like this for over a month now, no longer as flustered as before. On the contrary, she’d grown quite accustomed to this body, even developing a sense of dependence on it. If she suddenly turned back, she honestly wasn’t sure whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Staring at the uneven ground, Liyami felt her thoughts grow increasingly tangled. She didn’t understand why she would think this way—wasn’t returning to her original body the normal thing? Why did she want to stay like this? Why did she think this way?
As she walked, she suddenly spotted Captain Laryan ahead, trailed by a small group of Holy Knights. Among them, she was delighted to see Colin’s figure.
Seeing his tightly furrowed brow, Liyami could tell their investigation likely wasn’t going well.
She wanted to go up and greet him, but as soon as she took a step forward, she stopped.
Watching Colin’s figure slowly fade into the distance, a fearsome suspicion grew beneath Liyami’s calm face.
Could the reason she didn’t want to return to her old self… be because of Colin? Did she… have feelings for Colin…?
To her surprise, when she thought this, she didn’t really resist the idea. It felt as if she’d known all along, and didn’t find anything wrong with it.
This threw Liyami into instant confusion. She didn’t know how to avoid this thought, nor how to face Colin while carrying it.
Should she tell Colin about this? How would Colin feel if he knew? No, absolutely not! She couldn’t let Colin know! What if he ends up hating me because of it…
Rather than resisting the idea itself, Liyami was far more afraid of Colin finding out. She feared their relationship would change because of it—no matter if it got better or worse, she couldn’t bear that outcome, at least not right now.
So the question returned to its starting point: Should she just stay as she was, or choose to return? Which did she truly wish for?
Deep down, she already knew the answer—she just didn’t want to admit it yet. And now, another choice had appeared before her, the choice everyone wanted to see. She didn’t know how Colin felt, but he’d probably want her to choose that too: to return to her previous self.
But was that really the right thing to do? Should she follow everyone else’s wishes, or her own? Was this even what she truly wanted? What if it was all just idle fancy? What if she regretted it? What if… what should she do?
Staring at her slender fingers, recalling the past month spent together with Colin, Liyami couldn’t say exactly when these feelings had sprouted—was it from this past month of different interactions? Or had it begun even earlier…?
A shiver ran through Liyami, and she no longer wanted to think about it. She looked up at Colin’s gradually disappearing back, her heart tangled in confusion.
At last, when Colin’s figure had completely vanished from sight, Liyami finally turned and walked slowly toward her tent. She still hadn’t found an answer to whether or not she wanted to turn back. She couldn’t choose between the two, at least not yet.
But that was fine. She still had time. Even if Sifni had supposedly found a method, who knew if it would work? And conducting an experiment with ancient magic would hardly be simple—there would be failures and time costs. As long as she made her choice before Sifni finished, it would be all right. As long as it was before then…
Two days later, Sifni suddenly summoned Liyami and the others, including Captain Laryan, to her temporary laboratory, as if she had something important to say.
On the way there, Liyami was both curious and anxious about what Sifni wanted to announce.
After all, what could be important enough to gather everyone like this except for one thing—the method for turning them back?
Liyami no longer felt excited or thrilled about this possibility like she once did. Now she just felt worried and tense.
Ever since two days ago, she still hadn’t made her true choice! If Sifni suddenly announced a way to turn back now, she would be forced to choose—even if it might not be what she truly wanted.
With such a mixture of worry and nerves, Liyami entered Sifni’s temporary laboratory. She was the last to arrive, having been distracted by her thoughts; the others were already present.
Looking around, Liyami saw that not only was Colin’s whole team there, but even Captain Laryan and several Holy Knight team leaders. It showed just how important Sifni’s announcement was going to be.
The sight made Liyami even more nervous. Right now, she was really afraid Sifni would suddenly say she’d found a way to turn them back.
When everyone was assembled, Sifni didn’t waste any time and stepped up onto a makeshift platform, trying to appear imposing.
Even so, standing atop the platform, she was only about as tall as Colin—hardly an imposing sight.
But no one cared about that—they weren’t here for that, after all.
Once Sifni was set, she cleared her throat a few times, then, without any nonsense, loudly announced the reason for gathering them.
“Ahem! Everyone, rejoice! Thanks to this genius’s diligent research over the past few days, I’ve finally found a way for you all to turn back!”
Liyami & everyone: “!!!”