Ch.54Chapter 54 – A Reckless Challenge, Its Outcome

When faced with a difficult challenge, people’s reactions generally fall into two categories:

Taking on the challenge to solve it, or running away without solving it.

And now, before me stood the greatest challenge of my life, including both my past and present lives.

“If you can heal a cursed master’s body, you can surely cure my baldness.”

“Ahaha…”

The condition for activating my ability is very simple.

Strike the target three times with a hammer.

Currently, I could only use my ability with a hammer that had an iron head, so without an iron hammer, using my ability was impossible.

‘And to cure baldness, I’d have to strike the Emperor’s head three times.’

The Emperor could certainly provide an iron hammer.

But would he allow me to strike his head with the hammer he provided?

‘No matter how desperately he wants to cure his baldness, it probably wouldn’t go that far.’

It would be better if he had a lame leg, or couldn’t use one arm.

Then I could just tap the injured part with the hammer, and the damaged body part would be fixed.

But what the Emperor was asking me to fix was his baldness.

‘I should explain my ability in detail first.’

If I were a madman, I would have told the Emperor I needed a hammer, and once he brought it, I would have struck his head without any explanation.

But I’m not a madman who suddenly strikes someone’s head with a hammer.

Even when I struck Reina’s head, it was all a desperate attempt to survive, not an intention to kill her.

“I will solve Your Imperial Majesty’s problem.”

“Oh! Do you truly mean you can cure my baldness?”

“Yes. But first, I need to explain my ability to some extent.”

“Ho ho, I can certainly listen to that. Go ahead, explain your ability.”

With the Emperor’s permission, I explained what my ability was.

“So, to use your ability, you need a hammer with an iron head?”

“That’s correct.”

“And to heal someone, you need to strike the problematic area with the hammer?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

After hearing my explanation, the Emperor groaned and fell into deep thought.

Yes, I understand why the Emperor would react that way.

He brought me here thinking I could cure his baldness, and what am I saying?

That I need to strike his head three times with a hammer to cure his baldness?

If a stranger heard this, they would rightfully curse me for such an absurd claim.

“I see. So there truly is no other way?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

The Emperor looked at me again after finishing his thoughts, and his eyes were filled with determination.

“Very well. Chamberlain, are you there?”

The Emperor called for his chamberlain.

The office door opened, and an elderly man about the same age as the Emperor appeared.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. I am here.”

“Go to the storage and bring an iron hammer.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Seeing that he ordered an iron hammer to be brought, it seemed the Emperor truly wanted to cure his baldness through my ability.

“I humbly ask, would it be permissible for me to lay hands on Your Imperial Majesty’s sacred body?”

After seeing how the chamberlain addressed the Emperor, I decided to adjust my speech pattern.

The chamberlain’s manner of speaking was similar to how ministers addressed kings in historical dramas, so I decided to imitate it.

I thought showing maximum respect might prevent any trouble later.

“Come to think of it, you don’t know, do you? Do you know how many methods I have employed to cure this baldness that torments me?”

“I apologize, but I do not know, Your Majesty.”

“Of course. You wouldn’t know. I’ve tried every medicine said to be good for baldness, tried every method recommended, but the effects were always temporary.”

The Emperor sighed and detailed how much effort he had put into curing his baldness.

I couldn’t help but be shocked by what I heard.

“You… applied fairy urine to your head to treat baldness, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. It would have been good if applying fairy urine to my body could have cured my baldness, but it only made it worse.”

“……”

“The person who suggested that method was acknowledged for their effort to solve my baldness, so I granted them beheading instead of quartering.”

“……”

Hmm. If I were the Emperor, I would have sentenced them to death too.

Rather than the painful quartering, giving them a quick death by beheading was actually a lenient punishment for making the baldness worse.

“Anyway, striking my head a few times with an iron hammer is certainly a better method than applying fairy urine to my head. So don’t worry. Even if the treatment doesn’t work, you won’t be punished.”

“I am grateful, Your Majesty.”

Wow, damn. So if I wasn’t as desperate as someone willing to apply fairy urine, I could have been killed?

‘Whoever you are, sir who suggested the fairy urine remedy, thank you very much.’

Thanks to you, I might escape a deadly situation.

“Your Majesty, here is the iron hammer you commanded.”

“Ah, good work. Leave it here.”

The chamberlain left the Emperor’s office and soon returned with an iron hammer.

As expected of an item owned by the imperial household, the hammer was in excellent condition.

“Now that we have the hammer, cure my baldness.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

I took a few deep breaths, stood up, and grasped the hammer the chamberlain had brought.

Now I had to strike the Emperor’s head with this hammer.

Who in the world would think of striking an emperor’s head with a hammer while in his presence?

If a third party saw this scene, they might think I was trying to assassinate the Emperor.

“Before curing your baldness, I must request one promise. Even if I fail to cure the baldness, please spare my life.”

“Hahaha! Why worry about such things? If even your ability granted by the Great Goddess cannot cure it, then I’ll accept it as fate bestowed upon me by the divine. So don’t worry and strike my head with the hammer. Of course, not hard enough to kill me. Hohoho!”

The Emperor leaned back on the sofa with a hearty laugh.

I carefully moved behind the Emperor.

“Lord Chancellor, if you think I harbor ill intentions… please subdue me.”

“You are a strange person indeed. If I thought you harbored ill intentions, I wouldn’t have brought you to the imperial palace in the first place.”

“Ahaha… I understand. Then, I will now proceed to cure the baldness.”

Standing behind the Emperor, I held the hammer in my right hand and placed my left hand on the Emperor’s head.

Focus, Pathos. You can do this.

The change occurs with the third strike.

The first two should be light taps, and the last one with a bit more force.

‘First, gently.’

I lightly tapped the Emperor’s head with the iron hammer a couple of times.

—Tok, tok.

The Emperor slightly flinched at the cold touch of the iron hammer making a small tapping sound against his head.

And now for the third and final strike.

‘The last one with a bit more force.’

For the last strike, I used about the same force as playfully flicking someone’s forehead.

—Tak!

Huh? What’s with that sound?

It didn’t feel like hitting soft skin, but rather like striking something hard like a stone.

I briefly turned my head to look down, and fortunately, just like when I healed the Chancellor, a white light began to envelop the Emperor.

The light grew larger, with a particularly large amount gathering around his head.

The light surrounding the Emperor lasted for about 5 minutes before gradually beginning to fade.

As the light disappeared from his feet upward, slowly revealing the Emperor’s body… something seemed strange?

‘Did my ability also include skin beautification effects?’

Since he was clothed, I couldn’t notice what changes had occurred from his feet to his torso.

But among the Emperor’s body parts, the only ones with exposed skin were his hands and face.

Since the light began disappearing from his feet, the first bare skin I saw was his hands.

‘I’m sure the Emperor’s hands had calluses and quite a few wrinkles?’

The Emperor’s hands I had seen before had calluses and wrinkles.

But now his hands boasted smooth skin without any calluses or wrinkles.

“Hmm, what has happened to me?”

“Y-Your Majesty.”

“Hmm? Why are you all looking at me with such surprised eyes?”

As the light disappeared, the Emperor opened his eyes, and seeing the Chancellor and me staring at him in shock, he brought a nearby mirror to check what had happened to his body.

—Crash!

The mirror the Emperor was holding fell to the floor and shattered, and his hands were trembling severely.

His head, which had been becoming bald with thinning hair, was now covered with thick hair like a lion’s mane.

The Emperor was caressing his newly grown thick hair with both hands.

“My, my hair… has grown back.”

The Emperor wore a bright smile as he touched his regrown hair.