"…Eh?" The voice was high. That's strange. It's not my voice. The third floor of the Tempest Palace, east wing, my private chambers. Morning sunlight streamed through the window. I could hear birds singing from somewhere. It should have been an ordinary morning. And yet. "…Why?" The moment I sat up, hair fell across my face. Long hair. Silver-blue. I walked slowly to the mirror. My feet felt light and unsteady. My balance was different from usual. Something felt… lighter. I looked in the mirror. Silver-tinged aqua-blue long hair flowed over my shoulders. Bright golden eyes. A pale, slender neck. A body that was slim but unmistakably feminine. A pure white mage's robe hung loosely over it. Cute. …No, wait. "Hold on, hold on, hold on!" I'm still me. Tempe Storm. The Sage, the Demon Lord, the sovereign of Tempest Kingdom. That hasn't changed. The knowledge in my head, the memories—they're all still there. But my body was completely different. I'd always had an ambiguous appearance, gender-wise. But now it was unmistakably different. Soft to the touch. My center of gravity had shifted lower. When I ran my hand across my back, I could feel the familiar sensation of dragon-scale-like patterns on my skin beneath the thin fabric—at least that part was the same. "Stay calm. Calm down, me." I took a deep breath. The hallway was loud. "Who am I?! Who the hell am I?!" "Who are you?! Don't come near me!" "Please help us, Lord Rimuru!" Multiple voices screamed through the door. Male voices, female voices, all jumbled together. I opened the door. Five palace guards stood in the hallway. All of them were staring at each other. All of their bodies were completely different. An orc soldier who should have been large was now in a small human body. An elf soldier who was usually slender was now muscular. Female soldiers had become male. Male soldiers had become female. "Lord Rimuru…?" One of them looked at my face and said that. The voice was definitely one of the soldiers I knew. But the body was that of an unfamiliar small girl. "Yeah. It's me. So you all…" So the entire castle was like this. More screams echoed from deeper in the hallway. From down the stairs too. The entire castle sounded like it was in panic. I tried to activate my Sage skill in my mind. "Analysis begin—" I was startled by how high my own voice was and stumbled over the words. "…Analysis. Begin." I got it right the second time. How pathetic. The Sage activated. Knowledge organized itself in my head. This sensation was familiar. The part of me that makes me me was still intact. That was the only thing that gave me some relief. The analysis results came back. An abnormal wave of magical essence was emanating from underground. --- Fifteen meters below the Tempest Palace. The ancient stone corridor was dim, and only my footsteps echoed. This palace, built in the center of the Great Forest Jura, stood atop underground ruins that had been discovered by chance during the kingdom's founding. The magical essence in the air—the energy called Magicule—was denser than on the surface. About ten times denser. My skin prickled from it. About two hundred meters from the entrance, I found a faintly glowing chamber. Stone floor. Stone walls. Stone ceiling. A room built in the style of the ancient magical civilization period. The Sage told me it was from about 1200 years ago. And in the center of it all, there it was. A jar. About forty centimeters tall. Made of what looked like obsidian, its surface glowed faintly. It pulsed slowly, slowly, like it was breathing. "…Is this it?" The Sage analyzed the jar's information. The Ura-Gaeshi Pot. An ancient medical magical artifact. Originally meant to be used in small amounts to convert the body's attributes. But this pot had been absorbing dense magical essence in the underground ruins for years, lost control, and gone haywire. Its effect covered a radius of about thirty kilometers—meaning not just the capital Rimurus, but all the surrounding villages were caught in it. Ancient characters were carved into the wall. Analysis. Translation. Reading. The Words of Reversal. A four-verse incantation to nullify the pot's effect. Each verse was hidden in a different location. The first verse was in a shrine in Verge Ravine—northeast of the capital, forty-five kilometers away. The second was in the underwater temple of Palmo Lake—seventy kilometers to the west. The third was in the ruins tower of Kagutsu Dunes—one hundred fifty kilometers to the south. The fourth was… within a heart of strong will. "…Within a heart of strong will? What the hell does that mean?" I found myself commenting normally. The high voice was annoying. Well, whatever. Three locations were identified. I could plan a route. I reached toward the pot. Maybe I could do something about it directly. That instant. The pot flared with light. I heard a pulsing sound. Something changed in my head. I pulled my hand back and looked at my reflection in the water—there was a small puddle nearby. My hair had grown even longer. It had reached my shoulders before, but now it extended to the middle of my back. My voice had gotten even higher. "…A follow-up attack?" The Sage continued analyzing. The closer you got to the pot, the more the changes became permanent. The longer time passed, the harder it became to reverse. If more than ten days passed—it would become impossible to change back forever. That information seeped into the quiet stone chamber. Ten days. Three locations with identified ruins. Calculating travel distance: Verge northeast forty-five kilometers, Palmo west seventy kilometers, Kagutsu south one hundred fifty kilometers. Even traveling by horse normally, three days wouldn't be enough. And it wasn't just me. All 220,000 people in the kingdom were caught up in this. Not just the capital, but the surrounding villages too. (I have to hurry.) Something tightened in my chest. The kingdom I created by my own judgment. The problem that came from my underground. It was throwing the residents into chaos. I had responsibility. I hurried back to the surface. --- The Round Table Council Chamber was on the first floor of the Tempest Palace. A large long table surrounded by twelve chairs. It was usually a place where a solemn atmosphere hung. Today was different. The moment I opened the door, it was pandemonium. "Where'd my body go?!" "Where did you pick up that body?!" "You're telling me to stay calm?! This isn't a situation where you can stay calm!" All twelve council members had changed bodies. Men had become women, women had become men, body types had changed, and some people's clothes no longer fit because of species-specific differences. Everyone was pointing at each other and shouting while bewildered by their new bodies. "Everyone, sit down!" My voice lost about thirty percent of its authority because it was so high. But everyone recognized it as the sovereign's voice, so it got a little quieter. That instant. Crash! The middle of the table collapsed. "…Ah." That low voice came from a council member who was now male-bodied and a head taller than me—Shion. Black short hair. Sharp eyes. The red horn marks distinctive to the oni race. Usually the dignified leader of the female guards, but now that her body had become male, her strength control had changed. "I will protect Lord Rimuru!" It was a powerful declaration. The declaration was fine. But startled by the depth of her own voice, she slapped the table again in the next moment and broke another section. Someone slid out of their chair. Their body's balance had changed and they didn't know how to sit anymore. Another council member kept making clattering sounds because the sword at their waist no longer fit their body. "Calm down! Just sit down!" I shouted. No one could sit. Ten minutes later, everyone finally settled into chairs. We decided not to use the broken part of the table. I explained the situation. The Ura-Gaeshi Pot, the four verses of the Words of Reversal, the ten-day time limit. Everyone listened quietly, and the moment I finished explaining, they all raised their hands at once. "I'll accompany you on the journey!" "No, I should go!" "I cannot leave the sovereign alone!" "Why don't we all go?!" It collapsed again. (…I can't take all twelve people on a journey.) I said it to myself in my head. It's uncool to complain about my high voice, and the discussion about who would be the right choice in this chaos didn't look like it would end today. "…I'm going to get some fresh air outside." Maybe no one heard me. But I stood up quietly and left the room. --- The roof of the Tempest Palace overlooked the entire kingdom. The sunset was beginning. The streets of the capital Rimurus were dyed orange. Neatly arranged stone-paved streets in a grid pattern. Buildings that mixed wood and stone in a unique way. From Galatea Plaza to the south—a market with two hundred shops—I could faintly hear the bustle of evening. I thought I could smell mead on the wind. I loved this city. Three years since its founding. Starting from a small goblin village, now 220,000 people lived here. Monsters, demons, and humans all lived together. A place protected by the Species Coexistence Decree—the highest law forbidding racial discrimination. And right now, all the residents of that city were in chaos. "Ten days…" I murmured toward the wind. The high voice bothered me a little again. But that wasn't the priority right now. (Will we make it in time?) Verge Ravine, Palmo Lake, Kagutsu Dunes. I knew the three locations. But there were monsters on the way. Sandstorms. Underwater battles might be necessary. The fourth verse was "within a heart of strong will." I still didn't understand what that meant. Normally I'd use the Sage skill to calculate, plan the optimal route, and identify all the risks. I should be able to do that. But right now, anxiety came before logic. It had been a long time since I felt this uncertain. When your body changes, your feelings change a little too. Strange. I placed my hand on the edge of the roof and looked at the sunset. The wind made my hair flutter. Every time my longer hair entered my field of vision, I was reminded of reality. I want to protect the kingdom. I want to restore the residents to normal. That's true. But at the same time, I genuinely want to return to my original form too. That's also honest. (Both are true. But rushing won't help either.) I took a deep breath. The sunset air filled my lungs. That's right. Don't rush. I have information. I can make a plan. I have allies. Ten days—I can do this if I move. I felt a little calmer. That's when a voice came from behind me. "Lord Rimuru. I shall accompany you." It was a familiar voice. But—why was it so high? I turned around. Standing there was an unfamiliar woman. Long red hair caught the sunset light and shimmered. Sharp, narrow eyes. A dignified expression. The body was slender but had a way of standing that suggested no openings. She wore clothes like those the council members of Tempest wore—practical and easy to move in. (Who is this?) I didn't recognize her face. But the voice was familiar. Yet I couldn't figure out who she was. "…Who are you?" When I asked, the woman's eyebrows moved slightly—just slightly. An expression like exasperation, like trouble, but also like she was holding back laughter. She hadn't answered yet. The sunset spread between us.