This morning at Fen’s home was not ordinary.
“How could this be…”
Erian murmured, having just wheeled the floor-length mirror from her room over.
She immediately leaned in to look.
As a knight, Erian dealt with all sorts of people every day.
She had seen countless women—like the knightesses of the order who fought with resolute courage, the pure and devout nuns praying earnestly in the church, the maids carefully tending to plants in the flower shop, the enthusiastic proprietress welcoming guests at the tavern, the maids serving nobles… or even… her own family members—the women she considered the most beautiful in the Holy City.
Compared to this body, they would likely pale in comparison.
The girl in the mirror was also slightly hunched over.
Her skin was fair, yet it held a healthy rosy glow.
Having just woken up, her silver hair was somewhat disheveled, but it still looked as soft as moonlight, with only a stubborn cowlick sticking up on top of her head.
Her face was like the stars surrounding the bright moon in the sky, fully displaying a maiden’s radiance and beauty.
Only between her brows, there was a hint less of a girl’s innocence and a bit more of Erian’s own heroic spirit.
Those eyes staring back at her—they weren’t the gray of the Valsir family, but a sacred gold.
Looking closely, the pupils were cross-shaped, very eye-catching, revealing this girl’s unusual identity.
When a soul wakes up one day in the fragile shell of a young girl, even the Holy City’s most renowned Paladin would panic—Erian frantically searched her entire body for differences from that tall, imposing physique, as if doing so could change her back.
‘My height has shrunk considerably… The muscles I trained are gone too…’
Erian lifted her wrist, looking somewhat disdainfully at her arm, which now wasn’t much thicker than a twig.
‘It feels empty down there… And these…’
Erian pulled open the oversized shirt, and the two evil mounds on her chest were immediately revealed—the massive fruits formed a stark contrast with her youthful body.
“Ahem… I’m still here…”
Fen walked in from the doorway.
He had just gone out to buy properly fitting clothes for the girl and seemed to have stumbled upon this… “self-appreciation” scene.
Hearing his voice, Erian immediately blushed like a child caught doing something wrong.
“H-here,” Fen also blushed, tossing the clothes onto the side of the bed.
“I bought ready-made ones from the nearest tailor shop.”
Taking the clothes, Erian’s expression was complicated—the shirt and pants were much smaller than before.
Rather, they were the clothes she herself had worn seven or eight years ago when she was a boy.
“The most suitable for this body of yours can only be boys’ clothes. Make do for now.”
“It must… it must be because of that Holy Water…”
Erian grumbled.
“This is just terrible… I must… I must! Find a way to change back quickly!”
“Should we go see Leor? He’ll definitely have a way.”
“See the Pope!? In this body?”
If she went over in this body, she’d bet that within half a day, the entire Holy City would be buzzing with the strange news that the famous Paladin Erian had turned into a frail girl.
How would the other Paladins view their colleague they interacted with daily?
How would the many friends she had attracted to her ideals, her many followers and supporters, view their role model?
Everything she possessed as Erian would be ruined…
“No! Ab-absolutely not!”
Her small head shook like a rattle drum.
“Calm down! Erian!”
Fen placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him.
“Huh…?”
She was stunned, looking at Fen’s sharp features.
“Even though I don’t know the reason, you definitely want to change back, right?”
The girl nodded in agreement.
“Since you don’t want others to know, I can go to the Knight Order first to ask for leave on your behalf, say you’re… feeling unwell.”
“If you don’t want to alert the Pope, I’ll go to the library later to research and help find the cause. Only as a last resort will we have to reveal your identity before the Pope.”
Hearing this, the silver-haired girl’s worries vanished.
She seemed to have grasped a lifeline, unable to hide the joy on her face.
“Yes, yes! And that Grand Magus Kelly from the Knight Order! Everyone says that woman is very knowledgeable. She should know the composition of the Holy Water! She might even have a way to change back!”
“Then I’ll be off first. I’ll be back tonight. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay home for a while.”
She nodded, watching Fen’s retreating back as he left.
The girl’s eager gaze was like that of a wife waiting for her husband’s return.
……
“Haa—”
The silver-haired girl let out a long sigh.
She had indeed been too irrational just now.
‘Is it because of this body…?’
Where had her usual rational mind gone?
Why had she acted so emotionally like a naive young girl?
Thinking of her flushed face earlier and how she had felt so reassured by Fen’s few words of comfort, she found it absurd.
But it didn’t matter.
She just had to wait for Fen to return, wait for him to bring back the method to regain her male body.
Tomorrow’s sun would rise as usual, and she, Erian, could once again stand shoulder to shoulder with Fen and the others, laughing and joking.
She would still be the Holy City’s most beloved and respected knight.
‘It really is a bit boring though…’
Erian picked up her Sword and headed into the courtyard—practicing swordsmanship to relieve boredom when idle was something her sister Nora had taught her as a child, and it was one of her habits.
The girl stood firm, somewhat clumsily swinging at the air, creating gusts of wind with her blade.
“Thud—”
After a few rounds of swings, Erian finally couldn’t hold on and placed the sword on the ground.
She lowered her head, panting unwillingly.
Due to the body’s change, the results of her practice were clearly unsatisfactory.
The strength of the girl’s body was too weak.
Some sword techniques that required a single hand now barely required both hands to execute.
And with each slash, she had to exert what felt like a hundred times more effort to generate power.
Her silver hair sometimes blocked her vision, affecting her judgment.
And what she was unwilling to admit—without proper undergarments for a girl, each time she swung the sword, there on her chest would rub against the fabric of her clothes… it was exceptionally sensitive…
‘This body is too frail, unsuitable for combat…’
She judged with a warrior’s eye.
Thinking of this, Erian’s desire to change back grew a bit more fervent, but it still couldn’t dispel her current frustration.
‘Let’s go out for a walk…’
Erian changed into the newly bought clothes.
A dark green tunic and brown trousers.
But without the protection of the knight’s armor she had worn for years, Erian still didn’t feel secure—she “borrowed” a brown cloak from Fen’s wardrobe and draped it over herself.
…
Although transforming into a petite girl wasn’t a pleasant experience for Erian, walking the familiar streets with a different identity was indeed a novel experience.
When she was a Paladin—the residents always looked at him with fond yet reverent eyes.
They would gratefully approach, excitedly telling Erian how much trouble his Second Squad had helped solve for everyone, even if it was trivial for a Paladin.
And he had to smile.
No matter how many worries he had that day, no matter if he had official duties to attend to, no matter what he was currently thinking about—he had to immediately respond with a smile, telling them it was his honor.
Was it tiring?
Of course it was.
But Erian had to meet everyone’s expectations.
He couldn’t let them down—because he was Erian.
He carried his father’s dying wish.
He wanted everyone to be happy.
When everyone smiled, he too felt an unprecedented joy.
Now, she acted as usual, nodding at passersby who looked her way, greeting everyone.
Although this body’s appearance was also eye-catching, the looks people gave her no longer held reverence.
The aunt at the flower shop thought she was some family’s daughter out for a stroll.
The old lady at the fruit shop waved as if to her own granddaughter.
Even the usually cold-faced butcher shop owner smiled and greeted her.
Everyone seemed to be genuinely appreciating a work of art, as if she really were just a girl from the neighborhood—with curiosity and care.
Erian stayed by the street for a long time—since she had nothing to do now, she wanted to hear the topics residents discussed when the Paladin wasn’t around, things she normally wouldn’t hear.
Erian eavesdropped for a long time.
These shopkeepers kept chattering about the mysterious silver-haired girl’s identity, guessing which family’s daughter she was.
‘They’d never guess I’m the Erian they know.’
Thinking this, she covered her mouth and giggled mischievously, like a real girl.
Once the excitement about the mysterious girl passed, they turned to the hottest recent topic—Voss and the Valsir family affairs.
Erian shook her head in the corner.
She had heard similar talk yesterday.
Although some parts might be exaggerated, most of it was fact.
“Have you heard? Paladin Erian—”
The flower shop aunt abruptly changed the subject.
Hearing her own name, Erian looked up in alarm.
“I heard from Jess in the south city—that guy saw Erian getting drunk at the Horn Tavern the night before last!”
“Hmph—the Valsir family is famous now. The woman messing around at home, the man getting drunk outside!”
“Didn’t he usually help us quite a bit? How could he be like this?”
“I also said Voss usually acted all righteous! Who knows what’s in those nobles’ heads? One face in front, another behind. How dare you assume he wasn’t just performing for us all along?”
“No, that’s not it—he.. he just…”
Erian couldn’t help it, running out from the shadows, completely forgetting her current identity.
But the words stuck in her throat—just what?
He just got dead drunk because he was depressed?
Even Erian herself found such words hard to believe, let alone coming from the current girl.
“Little sister? Ah—I understand.”
The flower shop owner spoke earnestly, as if admonishing her own daughter.
“At your age, when feelings first stir, it’s common to have admiration for those Paladins. But people’s hearts are hard to gauge. A young girl like you needs to be even more careful….”
Erian turned and ran away.
She didn’t consider whether those shopkeepers would be surprised by her sudden departure.
She walked dazedly back towards Fen’s home.
“Why… why… did it become like this…”
Weren’t they just talking about Voss?
How did it suddenly involve him?
Even if there were Rumors and Reputation about her, given her usual attitude towards the residents, shouldn’t they believe in her?
Erian couldn’t understand, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore—she only knew that if she didn’t clarify things in time, their affection for her would gradually disappear… she would drift further and further from the people…
‘Yes… clarify… must clarify…’
Hope reignited in Erian’s heart—as long as she changed back, as long as she could become that Erian again, she didn’t care how long it took to start over, but she could still find her way back into the people’s hearts!
“I’ll change back soon. Everything will definitely return to normal… definitely…”
She pushed open the door, her face pale, and anxiously looked towards a distant building with a domed roof—that was the Knight Order.
Fen would return from there tonight, bringing her the method to change back.
“It’s fine, it’s fine—”
“As soon as I change back, I can go clarify immediately…”
The silver-haired girl seemed bewitched, the light in her eyes gradually fading.
Only hollow words echoed in the empty house.
…