So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

"Mom, I mean Mother told me not to eat strange things!"

That was Phili's last words.

No, of course he didn't just die after drinking the elixir.

Rather, he started groaning in pain after drinking it.

We laid him on the sofa.

"Am I dying?"

Phili was crying as he said this.

Amain and Rania looked at me in panic.

Obern's gaze seemed to blame me.

And I looked at Pelerian.

"Don't worry, he won't die."

'...This was meant for Caspian, wasn't it, old man?'

"...Probably so."

The cube was found in Pelerian's safe deposit box.

And Pelerian had left a message for Caspian to open the box.

Probably something he intended to give to Caspian along with the staff.

I made a reasonable deduction.

'Did you mix in poison or something?'

Pelerian shouted at that.

"YOU FOOL! Who do you take me for! Would I, the heaven-defying grand magician, use poison just to harm one human magician?!"

He jumped up and down in his small body, throwing a fit.

'Well... you did prepare a cursed staff too...'

"...Hmph. That, that's because he couldn't possibly miss the curse on the staff... It wasn't hidden to harm him."

'And why do you always shout when things aren't going your way?'

Quite ear-piercing too.

Having spent a long time with Pelerian now, I knew this shouting was his repertoire whenever this happened.

"Anyway, there's no poison in it. The Small Giant's Elixir is an extremely precious item. Caspian's body was terribly weak, maybe that's why I gave it to him."

'Weren't you on bad terms?'

"...I don't know why I gave such a precious thing to that guy either. The Small Giant's Elixir strengthens physical abilities for a short period. It has almost no side effects. That's why it's precious. What's happening now is probably the elixir taking effect on his body."

That's when Rania shouted.

"Whoa!"

What!

I hurriedly approached Phili.

And confirmed the 'elixir's effect' with my own eyes.

'Hey, old man. Didn't you say there were no side effects?'

"When did I say there were none? I said almost none."

'But still, that's...'

Is this not... a side effect?

"W-what, why are you looking at me like that?"

Phili sat up on the sofa.

And the wooden armrest he grabbed broke.

Crack.

The startled Phili stared at his own hand.

His arms and legs had grown slightly longer.

But more importantly than length was the circumference.

His formerly thin arms were now covered in bulging muscles.

With protruding veins and all, he looked like a knight who had trained his body his whole life.

"What is this!"

Amain and Rania flinched back.

It became clear.

The Small Giant's Elixir's side effect was muscle growth.

'Well, it looks good, hahaha.'

There wasn't particularly anything to worry about.

While it was clearly a suspicious change, it would return to normal after a week anyway.

While I was thinking positively like this.

Right around noon, urgent news came for Phili.

'To congratulate your participation in the Solarian, Second Prince Leon and Third Prince Leon are to enter the palace by evening.'

It was a summons from the king.

This was an emergency.

==

The Second Prince of the Solion Kingdom.

Leon Adenes Solion.

While training in preparation for the upcoming Solarian, he received a summons from the king.

He had just recently obtained information that this finals' theme would be 'Bestiarium'.

Fighting monsters is an extremely difficult task, and while he was in the middle of important preparation time, he gets invited to dinner.

Being a royal command, he couldn't refuse.

But Leon wasn't too displeased with the current situation.

No, rather he was happy.

Leon wasn't the only one called to dinner.

All the princes and princesses would gather in one place. He knew this because the king often held such dinner gatherings.

And today he would be able to see his sister.

Leon held a bouquet in his arms.

It was a splendid bouquet hurriedly prepared by visiting the capital's best florist.

He planned to give this collection of various exotic flowers to his sister.

And ask for her blessing for victory in the Solarian.

Recently, after losing first place in the preliminaries, Leon's nerves had been on edge.

He would definitely take first place in these finals.

And he finally reached the front of the Lily Palace on foot.

Specially, Princess Lily had been assigned her own separate palace.

This was because she held the special position of Mirror Room Manager.

Even Leon, a prince, couldn't freely enter such a Lily Palace.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Tell her that her brother Leon has come to see her."

He commanded the servant thus.

The servant bowed deeply and went inside.

Leon, slightly nervous, dug at the ground with his toe while waiting.

It took longer than expected.

Just when he was starting to wonder if they were deliberately making him wait.

The servant returned.

"She says she does not wish to see you."

"..."

Leon's expression froze coldly.

The servant looked somewhat troubled, but wouldn't let the prince in against orders.

"Shall I at least deliver the flowers?"

That question seemed to hurt Leon's pride even more.

"Never mind."

In front of the servant, he began tearing apart the bouquet.

The flowers that couldn't be delivered were torn, petals scattering everywhere.

Leon roughly threw the tattered bouquet nearby.

Then he turned around, his cape fluttering.

Though the servant was flustered, Leon left without paying any attention.

While his expression was ice-cold, his chest was boiling.

He knew his relationship with his sister had soured.

But wasn't that in the past?

When the younger brother reaches out first like this, shouldn't she take his hand?

My sister who no longer has any value as royalty.

Just as his mouth was turning bitter and anger was welling up. Your journey continues on empire

Whether it was coincidence that he ran into his half-brother Phili at that moment.

Phili too was heading toward the Lily Palace with a bouquet.

Seeing Leon, he hurriedly hid the bouquet behind his back in panic.

That pathetic sight made Leon lose his composure.

"What business do you have here?"

Unlike usual, he couldn't hide his thorny emotions.

"I-I came to see Sister Lily."

"Ha! You really have no sense of propriety or shame."

"..."

Then Leon noticed something strange.

The clothes Phili was wearing were extremely odd.