âI thought you needed an explanation, so I came out to see your face and talk.â
âNo, I donât need an explanation. Since youâre a good alien who can cast magic with just one gesture, return me to my original body right now. Please. If you need a reward, Iâll do it.â
After a long silence at my request, he immediately bit his lip and avoided my gaze, as if he had difficulty speaking.
âThatâs not allowed.â
âWhy?â
ââŠYou can no longer live as Juliet Karenina.â
The alien spoke in a cold voice. That determination, for some reason, seemed to imply that no matter how hard I tried, I couldnât undo this reality.
My hand holding his neck lost its strength.
âI understand your confusion, but for now, calm down and listen to me.â
ââŠâŠ.â
I walked blankly and sat down on the other side of the bed.
The alien who followed and stood in front of me opened his mouth after remaining silent for a long time.
âMy name is Wisht. Iâm a spirit.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âHere, the Descartes Empire is a country that is protected by spirits, and most of those in power are elementalists who command the spirits. The Duke of Diollus, which Rubette belongs to, is also a long-established elementalist family, and I was a spirit belonging to her family.â
I donât know what he was talking about, but I nodded as if I were just reading a fantasy novel.
There were only two pieces of information I could understand.
Unlike on Earth, there are aliens who perform strange magic, and the name of the alien in front of me is Wisht.
âSpirits have various abilities, but first of all, I am, to put it simply, the âSpirit of Wishâ.â
âAn alien who grants wishes?â
âSimilar.â
âWait. Donât tell me the original owner of this body, Rubetteâs wishâŠâŠ.â
I asked, please, I hope not.
ââŠYou didnât mean to swap bodies with me, did you?â
ââŠâŠ.â
The alien was silent. It was probably an affirmation.
âDamn! Are you kidding me?â
âCalm down.â
âIf it were you, would you calm down? You didnât even ask about my intentions? Out of nowhere, I came into a complete strangerâs body, and as soon as I woke up, I was ridiculed by a bunch of kidsâŠ!â
âOkay. You must have panicked, so I apologize. However, since I am Rubetteâs spirit, I had no choice but to obey her orders.â
âIs that any of my business? Iâm going through this ridiculous situation. Oh my god, you have no conscience. Youâre stealing my life.â
I was so upset that I felt like I was going to cry. I pulled my hair and gritted my teeth.
âWhy me! How the hell did you know about me in this strange place thatâs not even on Earth?â
At that moment a memory flashed through my mind.
âPig, RubetteâŠ.â
An unknown fan who left weird comments on my SNS. Her ID was also Rubette.
(SNS- social media)
I remembered the last time I saw a comment that made me feel like I was going to die today, and I was convinced it wasnât a coincidence.
Wisht nodded as if he had recognized my expression.
âRubette wished to see a âperfect and wonderfulâ human life. Rubette knew that there were many other worlds as well as this one, and she who was disillusioned with this world wanted a glimpse into the lives of humans living in a completely different world.â
âSo I was the one you picked and you showed me to her?â
âYes, because I thought your life was the most similar to the life Rubette was longing for.â
âHaha⊠this is a hell of a situation. Itâs not unfair if Iâm guilty of committing a crime. Itâs just really unlucky, isnât it?â
Wisht went silent again.
This girl named Rubette not only secretly peeked into other peopleâs lives, but also stole my body with the help of an alien.
My heart started beating fast in anger.
âIs she an idiot? Why does she want my life when thereâs an alien who grants wishes? Make me slim, make me pretty, and punish the kids who bully me, wouldnât it be okay if she made a wish like that?â
âBecause I can only grant three wishes.â
âWow, that sucks.â
Wisht, who sighed and grunted at my sentiments, soon looked sad and added.
âFor a moment, listen to what I have to say. To explain the current situation, we must first talk about Rubette. So, RubetteâŠ, she was a very poor child.â
âI donât want to hear it.â
I crossed my arms sarcastically.
âIs she as pitiful as me, who lost everything in one day?â
âRubette lived in persecution for exactly 45 years and made her first wish to me right before she died.â
âI donât want to hearâŠâ
As I gritted my teeth, I suddenly noticed something strange and asked.
âShe lived for 45 years? Then why does she look like a middle school student?â
âAt the age of 45, she was declared terminally ill, and Rubette made me the first wish that she had saved all her life. She said she wanted to live her life again, which was only tragic.â
âAh, I get it. So she used her wish to turn back time? Like this?â
âYes, you are now 15 years old. I brought you back to the past 30 years ago when I first met Rubette.â
âThen she would have to live like a fool, or was she being stupid again? No, why didnât she make a wish to be slim in the first place? Looking at the comments on my SNS, she was jealous of me, who was pretty and skinny, so is that why she made a fuss? â
âI can only make three wishes, so I guess she didnât want to waste them by asking to be slimmer. In reality, Rubette wanted to lose weight on her own without the help of the wishes, but she always ateâŠâ
Wisht, who muffled the end of its words, snapped its finger, and something from the air fell onto my lap.
It was an old diary. I opened it up right away.
[Imperial year January 1, 1519.]
The new year has dawned. Starting today, I will only eat one meal a day. Iâm definitely going to be slim this year. I also want to get a dance request from Cedric.]
[Imperial year March 24, 1519.]
I ate it again. But the macarons at the Francois dessert store are so delicious. However, Iâm going to only eat until today.]
[Imperial year April 4, 1519.]
Why didnât I lose weight? I ran for half an hour yesterdayâŠ]
[Imperial year May 6, 1519.
Iâm really going to only eat until today. If I eat again tomorrow, Iâm not a human.]
[Imperial year May 7, 1519.
Iâm not a human.
May 31, 1519.
I canât be in despair. I will only eat until this month, and from next month, I will not eat and exercise hard.]
[Imperial calendar year.
I think someone is controlling my body. When I woke up, I ate it all. There are so many delicious things in this world. Still, from tomorrowâŠ.]
âUgh.â
I couldnât read anymore, so I threw Rubetteâs diary into the corner of the bed.
âOkay. So, Rubette begged you to grant the wish that she would live a wonderful life again, and she couldnât lose weight because of her weak will, and she begged you to give her a glimpse into the lives of others with her second wish?â
âYou got it right.â
âI was right!â
As I was annoyed, Wisht averted his gaze.
I had no idea what part of her life to feel pity for, even if she had a weak will and voyeurism.
(Voyeurism- an interest in watching unsuspecting people)
Iâm in a situation where Iâve lost my body to such a woman without even knowing whatâs going on.
I cried for a moment, ran like a madman, and grabbed Wisht by the neck.
âYou felt pity for her life? Is that a reason to steal my life? After doing something so shameless, you dare ask for my sympathy?â
ââŠâŠ.â
âYou idiot! Say something! Whatever life sheâs had, it has nothing to do with me! Sheâs like a thief to me!â
In an instant, Wisht, whose eyes were harsh, shook my hand and spun around.
âBe careful.â
âHa.â
âItâs as you guessed. Rubette used her last wish and begged me to switch bodies with you.â
I couldnât understand Wishtâs sad, shaking eyes. He added, with a look that seemed to blame me rather than Rubette.
âWith your body that only had 10 minutes to live.â
ââŠwhat?â
âForgot? The last time you were Juliet Karenina before you opened your eyes to Rubetteâs body.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âDonât you remember what your end was like?â
âMy end? What do youâŠâ
When I got back from my schedule, I just fell asleep at home.
At that moment, a piercing headache ran through my mind.
âOh, right.â
That memory was not the end.
âI woke up. I think I was strangled by someoneâŠ.â
For some reason, the memory of the whole thing came back to me.