There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 174

Philomel desperately wracked her brain.

‘Think! What exactly was in the closet!’

But her mind was as hazy as fog. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have glossed over it. She was filled with regret.

“Philomel.”

Just then, Nasar took her hand.

“Your fingertips are cold. Though all I can do is share my warmth.”

“Nasar….”

“Just know this. Blaming yourself won’t make the situation any better.”

“But I’ve caused such a big accident.”

“This is nothing compared to the time the world almost ended because of Ieries’ scheme.”

Holding Philomel’s hands like precious treasures, Nasar smiled gently.

“And you were the one who saved the world back then, Philomel. You can surely solve this too.”

The warmth conveyed through his fingertips warmed Philomel’s heart. Whenever Philomel was frustrated, he always gave her strength in this way.

The time spent with Nasar was an invaluable treasure to Philomel.

Yes, even this moment… would have been perfect if Nasar wasn’t naked.

‘Embarrassing!’

She felt truly sorry to him, as he was sincerely trying to comfort her, but in truth, Philomel hadn’t been able to concentrate on Nasar’s words at all.

His moderately tanned skin and unexpectedly substantial chest distracted Philomel.

Until just now, she had been overwhelmed by the series of unexpected events, but as she calmed down a little, she began to notice his appearance.

“…Haha, thank you, Nasar.”

Philomel answered awkwardly, and feeling guilty about looking at his face, she lowered her gaze involuntarily.

But there, an area even harder to face than his face was prominently displayed.

“I, I’m fine, so don’t worry!”

“Ah, ah! I see! That’s a relief!”

Nasar blushed, having roughly grasped her feelings as Philomel noticeably turned her head.

“Right, right! Jeremiah hasn’t had his tea yet! Wait a moment!”

Philomel made an excuse and slipped away, while Nasar sat rigidly upright.

“You’re really playing around, pyong.”

Jeremiah, who had been watching the scene, spat out.

“You leave me in this state and you’re dating, pyong?”

“Jeremiah, really! When did I ever date?”

“Shut up, pyong! I don’t care, just hurry up and find a solution, pyong!”

At his fierce tone, Philomel paused while boiling water with a magic tool and made a suggestion.

“How about going to Le Guin?”

“What, pyong?”

“The system might not come back, and we can’t just sit here doing nothing-.”

“Nonsense, pyong!”

Jeremiah slammed the table, looking like he could devour a person.

“I’d rather bite my tongue and die than let that human see me like this, pyong!”

“No, why are you thinking so extremely?”

“Imagine it, pyong! What that old geezer will say when he sees me like this, pyong!”

“As the situation is, Le Guin will also worry about Jeremiah and do his best to solve the problem….”

“Doesn’t that sound ridiculous even to you, pyong?”

It was true. She could only imagine the Archmage bursting into laughter upon seeing his third son.

“He’s the kind of person who wouldn’t be surprised if he told me to live like this forever, pyong!”

“Ugh, it’s hard to deny. Then, how about subtly informing Lexion and getting help-”

“Am I crazy, pyong? Do you think that guy would cooperate willingly, pyong!”

Certainly, Lexion would probably subtly mock Jeremiah and then demand a price.

Of course, it was hard to be sure that he would provide any real help even if he received a price.

“Then, Cardin-.”

“Would that idiot be of any help, pyong!”

“Certainly… it would be a bit difficult for Cardin.”

“Philomel, listen carefully… pyong.”

Jeremiah muttered grimly.

“Do you know how hard I tried to get here without being seen by anyone, pyong?”

Come to think of it, it had taken him a long time to find Philomel, considering they were in the same magic tower.

“I will never, no matter what, absolutely not show this form to anyone other than you, pyong! Especially not those three humans, pyong!”

“But it would be better in many ways to inform Le Guin-”

“I’d rather die, pyong! Just kill me, pyong!”

Jeremiah’s attitude was as firm as a huge rock. After more than ten minutes of arguing, Philomel gave up trying to persuade him.

‘I guess someone who shudders so much at just a nickname wouldn’t be okay after being seen in this state….’

Time passed like that. The three of them sat together and put their heads together, but no clear solution emerged. The system also didn’t return.

As far as Philomel knew, this was the first time the system had been down for so long.

Meanwhile, about four hours had passed since she had first manipulated the closet menu.

“It might never come back, pyong.”

Jeremiah, who had been silently meditating since earlier, quietly said.

“What? What do you mean-.”

He looked at his sister and her lover.

“Isn’t that what you two have been thinking all along, even if you haven’t said it out loud, pyong? The speculation that the system has disappeared altogether, pyong.”

“……”

“……”

It was a statement that hit the nail on the head, so Philomel and Nasar simply lowered their heads.

The system’s power had been gradually weakening since the preemptive strike incident.

It wouldn’t be strange if it disappeared from the world today or tomorrow.

“Wait a minute. That’s a bit strange.”

Philomel raised an objection as if something had suddenly occurred to her.

“Look. When you think about it, the two of your clothes are also part of the system, but they still exist. If the system had disappeared, everything would have returned to normal.”

First, Jeremiah readily admitted that his sister’s opinion made sense.

“But what if our condition is just fixed like this, pyong? What if the fixed state continues regardless of the system’s presence, pyong?”

“……Could that be possible?”

“It’s hard to rule out the possibility, pyong. Even now, the system has disappeared, but we’re still like this, pyong.”

Philomel, who was entirely responsible for this situation, couldn’t say anything.

What if Jeremiah’s hypothesis was true? Is there no possibility that the automatically fixed state will be released?

If so… will the four people whose clothes were forcibly changed have to live in those outfits for the rest of their lives?

Nasar’s appearance came into her view.

‘Not to mention Jeremiah, Nasar definitely wouldn’t want to keep being like that either.’

How can a person live half-naked for their entire life?

He was trying to appear calm for Philomel’s sake, but he must be feeling complicated inside.

Just then, Nasar opened his mouth.

“I think it would be best to tell Father [Le Guin].”

The father he was referring to was Le Guin.

“Let’s be honest and ask for help.”

“What, pyong? Who said you could-”

“If Third Brother doesn’t want to, Philomel and I will go alone.”

Even in front of the furious Jeremiah, Nasar calmly asserted his point.

“Anyway, I only need one person to explain the situation to Father, right? We’ll keep your matter a secret.”

“……”

“Don’t you know, Third Brother? The system has the same roots as Father’s power, Estellion. He might be able to solve the problem.”

Finally, Jeremiah relented.

“Tch, do as you please… pyong.”

In fact, he must have already had in mind what Nasar was thinking. However, his desire not to show his appearance to his father must have been stronger.

“Thank you for understanding. Now, Philomel, shall we go?”

“Ah, yes!”

It was then, as Philomel was about to follow Nasar to Le Guin’s room.

“Phil! Are you inside?”

Along with a thumping sound, the voice of the person they were about to visit was heard. Le Guin had come at just the right time.

Jeremiah, who had jumped up, whispered.

“Pretend I’m not here, pyong. Don’t even let him in the room, pyong…!”

“Of course. But just in case, would you like to go into the closet?”

Philomel led Jeremiah to the closet and shouted towards the door.

“Le Guin, please wait a moment! I’ll be out soon!”

A moment later, Philomel opened the door and realized that there was more than one person outside.

“Phil, hello!”

“Good afternoon, Phil.”

“Cardin, Lexion….”

The two brothers greeted Philomel.

“What brings you two here?”

At the question, the Archmage frowned.

“These guys followed me without permission.”

“I didn’t follow you! I just thought I should play with Phil today!”

“Come to think of it, it seems like it’s been a while since we all got together. I ran into the two of them in front and came together.”

“Ah, I see….”

To think they would come in such a large group.

However, when you think about it, even if Cardin is like that, the information that reaches Le Guin’s ears is highly likely to be known by his secretary, Lexion.

‘Since we’ve decided to reveal it, let’s tell them now.’

Having reached that conclusion, Philomel said in a serious voice.

“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you all. It’s a very important matter.”

Le Guin tilted his head.

“What is it?”

“I want to talk about the details in Le Guin’s room. Nasar will come too. Come on, Nasar.”

At Philomel’s call, Nasar appeared from behind Philomel.

“Father, how do you do. Actually, I am currently in a serious problem-”

But his words were swallowed by the shout that followed.

“You! You!”

Le Guin, in shock, pointed at him and shouted.

“Why are you naked! You pervert!”