Ch.53Chapter 53 – The Mechanic Faces an Unprecedented Challenge

In my previous life, I was someone who had no connection whatsoever with the so-called “people in high places.”

Throughout my life, the only time I had ever seen or met important figures was during election campaigns.

“I’m Kim Nakju, candidate number two. I’d appreciate your support. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha.”

At that time, I was working a temporary job at a factory, which is how I ended up shaking hands with the mayoral and congressional candidates who visited.

Needless to say, after the election ended, they never once came back to the factory.

So for me, important people were just figures I could only see on television or in news articles.

Even then, they rarely appeared in good news—it was all about embezzlement, breach of trust, tax evasion, bribery, influence peddling, and other serious crimes that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine committing. The news was full of them being arrested or investigated.

Seeing these people who normally lived lavishly shrink like mice before a cat when facing prosecutors or courts made me think that these “important people” weren’t so special after all.

“Welcome. As Emperor of the Gelebrio Empire, I extend my greetings to you.”

But now, the elderly man before my eyes…

With his lion-like abundant hair and a powerful charisma befitting a nation’s leader despite his age, he exuded an overwhelming presence.

“I-I’m Patos. It is an infinite honor to meet the Sun of the Empire.”

Following what I had learned at the academy, I bowed my head and knelt on one knee according to imperial protocol to greet the Emperor.

There’s a saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” isn’t there?

Since I’m currently living in the Gelebrio Empire, I should follow the laws of the Gelebrio Empire.

“Hahaha. Very good. I know you’re from the Eastern Continent, so there’s no need to be so formal.”

The Emperor laughed heartily and told me there was no need for formalities.

But judging by the atmosphere, he seemed pleased that I had observed imperial etiquette.

“Release your posture and stand. Our conversation might be lengthy, so come sit over here.”

“Thank you for your consideration. Then…”

Accepting the Emperor’s invitation, I rose and sat in one of the chairs around a round table situated in one corner of the office.

For reference, the Chancellor was sitting next to me.

The Chancellor’s position was between me and the office exit.

Damn, they’ve even blocked my escape route if things go wrong.

Though I’m not sure if I could safely escape from here with my abilities anyway.

“I apologize. After inviting a guest, I, the host, was too busy with work and neglected you.”

The Emperor finished about 15 minutes of work before finally rising from his seat and approaching the table where the Chancellor and I were sitting.

Looking closely, the Emperor’s build was impressive for an elderly man.

Even in his old age, he appeared to be over 180 centimeters tall, so in his youth, he must have been close to 2 meters.

I suppose an emperor who rules an empire needs exceptional physical presence.

“Sigh… I must be getting old. It’s becoming harder to handle daily affairs.”

“Your Majesty, I recall you saying the same thing 20 years ago.”

“Tsk, tsk… you always take my jokes so seriously.”

“Jokes have different effects depending on who tells them.”

“We’re both getting old, couldn’t you be a bit more understanding?”

Seeing the Imperial Chancellor and the Emperor casually dissing each other left me mentally dazed.

When the Chancellor said he had the Emperor’s trust, I was honestly a bit skeptical…

But if they can openly mock each other like this, they must genuinely be close.

“Tsk, you never want to back down. Ah, I apologize. I’ve shown unseemly behavior in front of our guest.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor ended his verbal sparring with the Chancellor and apologized to me.

By this point, I was starting to get nervous.

What could he possibly want to ask of me that warrants an apology?

“I’m sorry for taking your time, so let’s get to the point. Bergen, please activate it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor asked the Chancellor to activate something, and the Chancellor stood up and made a gesture in the air.

Then, some device began to make sounds, and changes started to occur, beginning with the Emperor’s face.

“…?”

When the Chancellor activated whatever device it was, the Emperor’s lion-mane-like abundant hair disappeared without a trace.

Now he had become a shabby old man with hair that had fallen out in many places, revealing bald patches.

When he had hair, he resembled a lion, but now he just looked like an ordinary neighborhood elder.

“What I want to ask of you is precisely this.”

The Emperor pointed to his now-empty hairline as he spoke.

When he pointed to his hair, I realized why he had summoned me here.

‘Hair loss.’

A long-standing human challenge, and one where finding a solution would practically guarantee a Nobel Prize.

“I heard you cured your master’s curse with your ability? Could you use that ability to cure this wretched curse on my head?”

As expected, the Emperor was asking me to cure his baldness with my ability.

I began to wonder if my ability could actually cure baldness.

But considering I had cured the Chancellor’s curse, I thought perhaps I could cure the Emperor’s baldness too.

However, the causes of baldness are not simple.

In my previous life, scientists identified various causes of baldness.

Genetic factors, stress, nutritional deficiencies, exposure to toxic substances, aging, diseases, and more.

The causes of baldness were extremely diverse, and consequently, so were the treatments.

Why do I know so much about baldness? Because the manager in the department next to mine at my old job was always taking hair loss medication.

He would even ask employees going on foreign business trips to buy hair loss medication for him—that says it all.

There’s a common belief that eating black beans can regrow hair and eliminate baldness, but honestly, it always seemed like a futile effort to me.

To treat baldness, rather than relying on superstitions or folk remedies, one should first visit a hospital for an accurate diagnosis of the cause.

However, I don’t know how far research on baldness has progressed in this world.

Moreover, in this world, when people get sick, they don’t go to hospitals or doctors—they visit temples or alchemists for treatment. That’s the lifestyle here.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Well, I should at least try… and honestly, I feel like I might be able to cure baldness too.

I don’t know why. I just had the feeling I could cure it when I thought about it.

It was the same with the Chancellor—I felt I could cure him, and so I was able to.

But just as I was thinking about treating the Emperor’s baldness, I ran into the biggest problem.

‘How do I use my ability again?’

The method for using my ability.

It was to hit the target I wanted to fix three times with a hammer.

Especially if the target was a person, I had to hit them on the head three times.

Hahaha. Where in the world would such a crazy idea work?

‘To cure baldness, I need to use my ability, which means I have to hit Your Majesty’s head three times with an iron hammer.’

If I said this, wouldn’t they consider me an assassin trying to kill him, arrest me, throw me in the imperial dungeon, and then publicly execute me?

Hey, everyone! Look here! There’s a way to cure the Emperor’s baldness!

All you have to do is hit the Emperor’s head with a hammer three times!

What would people say to that?

“Wow! That’s amazing! Please go to the palace right away and cure His Majesty”… definitely not that kind of reaction.

More likely: “What nonsense is this madman spouting?” or “Have you been drinking in broad daylight? Why are you talking such rubbish?”

‘To cure the Emperor’s baldness, I need to hit his head with a hammer…’

No matter how I think about it, I can’t bring myself to say these insane words out loud.

“With your ability, you should be able to cure my baldness, right? Right?”

“Hahaha…”

I could only respond to the Emperor’s question with an awkward laugh.

To speak or not to speak, that is the question.