Chapter 1 (Part 1)

“Could you please get lost from my sight?”

“That is not possible.”

“Ah, damn! This really ruins my mood.”

Grace Lowell and Leonardo Fernandez were well-known adversaries.

Water and oil, dog and cat, someone who sold the country in a previous life, etc. There are countless ways to describe the relationship between the two.

“Right now, those eyes looking at me as if I’m pathetic. You’d better turn them away before I pluck them out, Sir Leonardo.”

“―Your frivolous tone remains unchanged, Sir Lowell.”

Even just meeting eyes, they would writhe in innate disgust.

Traditionally, the relationship between knights and mages was poor, but these two were exceptionally bad. Some cautiously speculated that it might be due to their master’s influence.

“If you hadn’t driven your words like a madman, none of this would have happened.”

When Leonardo spoke in a cold, subdued voice, Grace slammed the table with her palm as if in disbelief.

“Ha! Are you blaming me now? Who was it that disregarded the rule of following behind the knights and went ahead hunting like crazy?”

They had been like this since their academy days. As if dealing with an old enemy. When Grace sat down in annoyance, Leonardo responded in a calm voice.

“So, Sir Lowell, you mean this is my fault. You’re saying you have no blame at all.”

“Of course! It’s your fault for being unlucky enough to be there, not mine!”

At the absurd words, Leonardo glared at Grace. No, to be precise, he glared at ‘Grace Lowell’ in the form of ‘Leonardo Fernandez’.

‘Grace Lowell’ had a habit of biting her lips until they bled when things didn’t go her way, and she was doing just that now.

Despite being in someone else’s body.

“Are you behaving like this because this is not your body right now, Sir Lowell?”

At Leonardo’s reprimand, Grace flinched.

She looked down at her tightly clenched fist, which, to anyone’s eyes, looked distinctly like a man’s hand, and frowned in discomfort.

Seeing how much she had bitten her lips, which were now bleeding, Leonardo sighed. Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and tossed it over, saying,

“Since they’re my lips, I’d appreciate it if you handled them without damage.”

When the handkerchief flew straight to her face, Grace cursed under her breath and grabbed it roughly. Pressing her lips, which tasted of blood, with the handkerchief, she spoke as if chewing her words.

“To think I’m in Leonardo Fernandez’s body. It’s utterly unpleasant.”

“……Ha. Do you think I’m enjoying this?”

At his words, Grace smirked and said,

“Not only did you ignore the rules, but you can’t even solve this situation, making me wonder if the rumors about your skills being exaggerated are true. What kind of praise are you expecting?”

At her words, Leonardo’s eyebrows shot up.

His face clearly showed he was in a foul mood, but Grace shrugged her shoulders indifferently and continued to speak.

“If not, why don’t you explain when we can return to normal, and why we are still like this?”

At her words, Leonardo closed his mouth.

Seeing him unable to say anything, Grace smirked.

“Who would believe it if we said we ended up like this while catching a beast, especially a Pla?”

Her face, as if merely stating facts, was so annoying that Leonardo clicked his tongue unconsciously.

Then he asked as if genuinely curious,

“Then, what were you doing at that time, Sir Lowell?”

“……What did you say?”

“While we were catching that insignificant beast and ended up like this, meaning our bodies swapped, what were you doing, Sir Lowell?”

At his remark, Grace gritted her teeth.

It was true that she had recklessly charged, without thinking, fearing Leonardo might catch more beasts than her.

Seeing her face filled with frustration, Leonardo sighed and spoke.

“We were attacked while catching the beast, lost consciousness as the beast died, and were left here by our comrades. Let’s say that’s the case.”

“…….”

“After losing consciousness, we woke up to find our bodies swapped… that’s the current situation.”

At his words, Grace turned her head.

On the table her gaze landed on were numerous empty potion bottles. All of them were consumed by Grace alone.

Moving and talking in this body that wasn’t hers was just unpleasant, and she knew no solution.

As if reading Grace’s mind, Leonardo added,

“It seems certain that mere potions can’t solve this situation.”

Leonardo smirked as he tapped one of the potion bottles rolling on the table with his hand.

The empty potion bottle rolled across the table, fell to the floor, and made a sharp noise.

Watching the scene, Leonardo asked Grace,

“What exactly can you do to solve this here, Sir Lowell?”

“…….”

“Let’s say, as you claim, I’m an insignificant mage who can’t solve it. Then, as the great knight you are, can you solve it?”

At his words, Grace closed her mouth.

She had nothing to say.

After all, the result of ignoring Leonardo and consuming potions was just this.

“Anyway, it’s certain that you and I have swapped bodies, Sir Lowell, and without knowing the cause, we can’t find a solution. Moreover, in this body, I can’t even use magic.”

Mages use magic by materializing mana bound to the heart and ambient mana through a contract with the soul.

While the soul remembers the contract with mana, there is no mana bound to the heart. Therefore, Leonardo couldn’t use magic now.

At his words, Grace sneered.

“So, mages are useless. Unable to use magic when it’s most needed.”

“I’ll ignore the words of a knight who isn’t helpful in this situation.”

Unable to bear Leonardo’s cold words, Grace stood up with a clenched fist.

Knowing what her action meant, Leonardo narrowed his eyes and sneered.

“All you know how to do is resort to brute violence―.”

Before he could finish his words, Grace stepped forward and swung her fist, and Leonardo instinctively chanted a magic spell.

The natural action made their verbal exchange seem pointless.

But neither got what they wanted.

“Ugh, Ugh!”

Grace, swinging her fist with Leonardo’s unexpectedly large body, lost balance and tumbled backward.

“……Damn.”

Leonardo, in a body that couldn’t use magic, not only bit his tongue while chanting a spell but also vomited blood due to mana recoil.

Grace was the first to regain her senses.

Quickly righting her unsightly fallen body, she immediately swung her fist at Leonardo’s face.

With a thud, Leonardo’s face turned to the opposite side.

Her wrist tingled from hitting with all her might.

“Argh! What is this!”

Leonardo, unable to use magic, also swung his arm, but it didn’t reach Grace at all.

Instead, it was easily blocked.

Grace, who tightly grasped Leonardo’s swung fist, screamed in shock, seeing ‘her face’ covered in blood.

“Ah, damn! What is this!”

‘Grace Lowell’s face bore a distinct fist mark, not to mention the traces of blood vomited from mana recoil moments ago.

Realizing belatedly that she had struck her own face, Grace stomped her feet in frustration.

“Seriously, how are mages built that they can’t even dodge that?”

Blaming others for what she had done.

Leonardo, finding it absurd, raised one side of his mouth while placing a hand on his tingling cheek.

How good must her physical ability be to regain balance immediately and punch with a body she wasn’t familiar with after tumbling?

‘How could anyone expect to dodge that?’

Without thinking she was monster-like, she blamed the one who got hit. But thanks to that, perhaps, getting hit made him realize this situation was real.

Spitting out the blood pooled in his mouth, he spoke.

“It’s not my fault; it’s because of your brutish habit, Sir Lowell.”

At his words, Grace made a face of annoyance but didn’t retort.

It was true that she had hit her own face with her hand.

“I also want to resolve this wretched situation quickly, so let’s cooperate for now. We can’t go anywhere in this state anyway.”

At Leonardo’s words, Grace turned her head. Then, reluctantly, she sat back in the chair.

After all, she needed Leonardo’s help to end this wretched situation, as she knew no other solution.

Watching Grace, who wouldn’t even make eye contact, Leonardo sighed.

“Pla uses curse-type magic, but it’s a low-ranked beast.”

“Then why did we end up like this?”

Glaring at him as if challenging him to explain with his brilliant mind, he continued,

“It seems a flower nearby acted as a medium for amplifying or altering the magic.”