Lying still, Seo Jun-Ho only had a thin hemp blanket over his body. Sitting next to him, the Thunder God’s expression became serious. With his eyes closed, he quietly reached out and grabbed Seo Jun-Ho's wrist.

"Mmm…"

Seo Jun-Ho’s body was in a state that put even the Thunder God in deep contemplation.

‘I don't think it's possible to strengthen his veins in this state. Treatment comes first.'

How on Earth did he use his body to the point that his entire magic circuit, as well as all the muscles in his body, had ended up in such a mess? At this rate, no matter how much magic power he had, he wouldn’t be able to handle a wisp of magic properly. The Thunder God gently opened his eyes and looked at Seo Jun-Ho. 

‘What kind of hardships did this punk go through?’

Seo Jun-Ho’s magic power had dropped to the bottom, so low that it might as well be stuck underground. He had even used up the innate magic power even normal humans had, let alone Players.

‘Tsk tsk.’

Just what kind of situation he had found himself in that he had to exert himself until he became like this? No, even if he were in a situation where he was about to die, it would have been hard to bring out magic to this extent.

‘It must have been as painful as dying.’

Only those prepared to die could do something like this, and even then, it was only after they had tasted pain worse than death that they could do this. The Thunder God looked at the Player in front of him in amazement.

‘Brat, weren’t ya scared?’

Surely, Seo Jun-Ho was prepared to break his magic circuit and ruin all the muscles in his body. Moreover, there was no doubt that he had also thought of the future when his body had turned into nothing but a handful of ashes. The Thunder God was certain that his level wasn’t low.

‘If ya were goin’ to die, ya should have just died. It couldn't have been easy to think about breaking down the hard-built strength on yer own.’

That courage was admirable, and it was something to be proud of.

‘Ya suffered.’

Tak.

Thunder God let go of Seo Jun-Ho's wrist and got up. Seo Jun-Ho’s dumbfounded eyes followed him up.

"Is the treatment... over?”

"Try movin’."

"Ugh!"

Seo Jun-Ho tried to get up, then pleaded with tears forming. "Ah, it doesn’t seem to be over…?”

"Kik. That's right. Just looking at ya, ya can't be treated in a normal way.”

"Then how...”

"Just wait."

After leaving the room, the Thunder God appeared with a finger-sized gourd bottle.

Shocked, Seo Jun-Ho asked, "Is that perhaps alcohol?"

"Ya out of yer mind? A crazy patient looking for a drink."

Ppong.

When the Thunder God opened the gourd bottle, a deep and refreshing smell quickly filled the room.

'Sniff, I have definitely smelled this somewhere...’

He had smelled it once before. After diligently searching his memories, Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened.

"Wait. Is that an elixir?"

"What, ya a dog? So good at sniffin’ out the good stuff.” The Thunder God shook his head and lifted Seo Jun-Ho's head slightly. "If ya know, open up. The elixir’s goin’ in.”

"W-wait... Argh!"

An elixir was the best treatment, and it was said that just a few drops would heal most wounds. The Thunder God poured the elixir into Seo Jun-Ho's throat like it was rice wine.

"C-cough...”

"Throw up a drop of it, and I’ll kill ya. Ya know how expensive that is?"

"Ueup..."

Seo Jun-Ho had no strength to move, but he used all his strength to close his lips tightly. Just as the Thunder God had said, it would be a waste—even for him—to spill even a drop of such an expensive elixir.

‘But how can he be so brutish with an elixir as if he’s waterboarding me...’

Would something happen if he was fed slowly and kindly? The Thunder God smirked at Seo Jun-Ho's resentful eyes.

"Ya gonna die from resentment? What, I even fed ya sumthin so expensive that even I don't drink."

“…”

"What? Anyway, now that ya’ve had a bottle, go sleep. Won’t ya get better if ya keep taking it for a few days?"

"Uu, uuep?"

Seo Jun-Ho knew the concept of sleeping after taking medicine, but what did he mean by taking it for a few days?

'Don't tell me...'

No, it couldn't be. Even if it was the Thunder God, even if he was the strongest Player in the Player rankings…

'There’s no way elixirs are that common.’

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the Thunder God with half-curious and half-fearful eyes, but the Thunder God simply left the room with an amused smile.

"I’ll be back~"

He left with a friendly sentence.

***

"How was it?"

"Hmm... It was hard to breathe.”

"Hoh, so it was that tough of a treatment. But I think you are getting better," said Frost Queen, looking at Seo Jun-Ho's body. Certainly, the elixir’s effect was great.

'It's just the tip of my finger, but I can move.’

Until yesterday, he was like a corpse. He had a rebellious body that constantly refused the control of its owner. But now, even though it was only the tip of his finger, it was moving the way he wanted.

"If I drink a few more bottles of that, dreaming of a full recovery will be...”

"Huh? Drink? What did you drink? Did you have something delicious alone? What about me?”

The Frost Queen began to go mad when she heard the word, ‘drink.’ Come to think of it, these past few days, he was sick, so he couldn't feed her any tea and cake with Spirit Crystal shavings in it. Seo Jun-Ho looked at her with an apologetic expression before he suddenly realized.

"Wait… Spirits normally don't have to eat.”

"I saw it in a drama, but it said there's a separate stomach for food and dessert."

“No matter how much you think about it, I don't think the person who wrote the drama had the Spirits in mind."

Just what could he do if she had said so? Seo Jun-Ho had also promised her that he would make her delicious tea when he got better.

"Come to think of it, what kind of person is the disciple who brought me here?”

"Hmm, I haven’t seen his face either. However..." The Frost Queen looked a little reluctant. "Every night, I hear a scream from his place. Maybe the Thunder God’s training is too harsh?"

"Scream?"

“You cannot hear it from here. I think they have blocked the sound with magic. You can hear it when you get close."

Just what kind of training had the disciple been doing that he would always be forced to scream? Would he have to do a similar training in the future?

“Well, even if that’s the case, there's nothing I can do about it."

If he could become strong, he was determined to endure even the pain of bones being cut with his eyes wide open. However, if there was one thing he was worried about…

'She must be a bit bored.’

The Frost Queen had been taking care of him for several days now. Looking at her right now, she was in an empty room, blankly counting the number of stripes on the floor. And whenever she forgot the count, she would go back to the corner and count from the beginning like a kid. Looking at her concentrated face, she seemed to be more serious in counting the stripes on the floor than when she fought with him.

‘I can't even show her dramas because the tablet’s battery ran out...’

It had been a long time since it was charged, so it wouldn’t even turn on. Normally, he would have roughly charged it with his own magic, but of course, that was impossible now.

Seo Jun-Ho asked, "Frost, aren't you bored?"

“457, 458… Ahh! Why did you speak to me…!” Grabbing her hair with a tearful look, she gave a quick glare at Seo Jun-Ho. "And what, do you think I look like a child who’s going to die of boredom?"

The phrase 'you do look like it' came all the way up his throat, but Seo Jun-Ho held it in.

"Now that you mentioned it, look at how you have been treating me these days! You're treating me like a real kid just because my body has gotten younger."

Once again, he held back from saying, 'because it is very much like that.' It was a little hard to do so this time, but he managed to hold it in. The Frost Queen seemed like she had gotten exhausted from counting the number of stripes on the floor because she jumped up.

"I am going to get some fresh air."

Bang!

The door slammed so hard behind her that it created wind.

The Frost Queen’s voice sounded as small as an ant through the door.

- I-it closed hard because of the wind. I did not do that.

“…”

She really was a kid. Seo Jun-Ho revealed a wide grin.

***

"Ha-a..."

The Frost Queen sat on the wooden floor of the countryside house and sighed deeply. Her legs, which did not touch the ground, bobbed like a child’s.

"What is wrong with me these days…?”

Covering her face with her hands, she slapped herself lightly. Her cheeks still had baby fat, and they were as soft as sticky rice cakes.

"Is my mind getting younger as well since my body is getting younger…?”

She had recently encountered an issue she couldn’t tell anyone about. The issue was that she was feeling more and more like a child.

'I don't think I was like this when I first became a Spirit... I was elegant and cool...’

At that time, she was chic, cool, elegant, and anyway, she was perfect. She emitted a similar vibe as a demon king facing off against a hero. In fact, at that time, Seo Jun-Ho was always wary of the Frost Queen and was even a little afraid.

‘But now...’

How did she end up being like a pet?

"What should I do…?”

She would get bored when staying still, and she would even do childish things like counting the number of stripes on the floor. Even a few days ago, she was so bored that she watched ants move in a row for half a day.

‘Really! What do I do?!’

Her recent actions hadn’t been dignified acts befitting a person who ruled Niflheim and was respected by all.

"…What would the people think if they saw me now?"

She would never want to show this side of hers to her knights. Right before she died, even when she wanted to burst into tears, she had only showed them her cool side.

"Tea and cake… Was it after I started eating them?"

Yes, she felt like her mental age had gone down since she ate the devilish food her Contractor had offered.

‘Maybe not?’

Had she always been like this? She agonized over a vague memory.

‘So from now on, should I not eat what Contractor gives me at all?’

She pondered seriously and eventually made a decision.

'I will give up on that. I do not think it is the cake or the tea's fault.’

She concluded that it was uncharacteristic of a monarch to shift the blame to innocent cakes and tea.

‘Let's stay alert from now on.’

No matter how close she became to her contractor, she was still the Frost Queen. She was a respected queen who ruled all, and everyone had to kneel before her, as she could freeze the world.

"I will keep my mouth and eyes closed when I go in."

Determined, the Frost Queen opened the door. She put on a look so cold it looked like it could produce chilling winds. However, her expression cracked five seconds after she wore it.

"Frost, if you're bored, do you want to watch this?"

It was because the contractor gave her the Community window.

‘I… I want to watch...’

One couldn’t write posts or send messages outside the cities, but the video bulletin board[1] could be accessed and filming was also possible. After contemplating for a while, the Frost Queen tightly closed her eyes.

‘…Yes. If you think about it, suddenly behaving like an adult after seeming like a child could have a negative impact on my contractor’s mental state, who is still ill.’

Her self-justification had ended. Without hesitation, the Frost Queen smiled brightly and nodded.

"I want to watch!"

And thereafter, she would regret the choice she had made today for the rest of her life.

1. video forums ☜