Jobless Reincarnation: The King with a Mental Problem

Lately, I've simply not had enough energy—

In the morning, I learned the demon language from Lokishi; in the afternoon, Paul chased me all over the yard; and at night, I studied the Reality Marble until midnight. In between, I also had to squeeze in time to practice magic, record data, deal with Sylphie's "philosophical questions," and keep the witch company...

Every day is fragmented into countless pieces, and even breathing feels like a waste of time.

What's even more infuriating is that when I was researching the barrier, everyone else thought I was slacking off!

"Dad! Mom! That brat of a brother is slacking off again!"

"Is your older brother too tired lately?"

"What's there to be tired about at only six years old! When your dad was your age, he was doing all sorts of things!"

...Was I sleeping? No, I was constructing the underlying logic of magic deep within my consciousness! I was deducing the laws governing the movement of magical particles! I was preparing for future battles!

Although I really want to say this, ever since Loki arrived, the future apostle of God and Man has been living in the same room as me...

I hope I won't die from overwork...

This was my first thought after emerging from the enchanted barrier in the middle of the night.

I heard Rudius turn over nearby, followed by sleep talking.

"Luo...Luo Qixi...mua~~"

My temple throbbed.

I'm so angry!

I wish I could train for 48 hours a day! This guy was dreaming about being all lovey-dovey with Luo Qixi? And I like Luo Qixi too!

The king's mindset has become unbalanced.

I sat up and walked to Rudy's bedside, looking at his unguarded sleeping face in the moonlight. A suspicious trace of liquid clung to the corner of his mouth, and he wore a blissful smile that made me want to punch him.

I reached out with both hands and rubbed his stupid face hard.

"Are you asleep, Rudy?"

"Hmm...hmm?" He opened his eyes groggily, his pupils not yet focused. "Huh? What's wrong? Is there anything good to eat?"

"No," I smiled kindly. "I'm still awake, so I'm waking you up to go back to sleep."

"..."

Rudy's expression changed from confusion to bewilderment, from bewilderment to anger, and from anger to—a kind of despair that seemed to ask, "How much money did I owe you in my past life?"

"You can't sleep! What's it to me!"

Enraged, Rudy turned around and wrapped himself in the blanket to go back to sleep.

That feels so good~~~

I don't believe you can still dream about Luo Qixi.

Wang returned to his bed with satisfaction and lay down.

The king was pleased to tease Rudius.

...Then my stomach growled.

I'm so hungry...

The king had expended a lot of mental energy inside the barrier and now urgently needed to replenish his sugar levels.

You must take responsibility for your own body.

The kitchen was on the first floor, and there were a few apples in a basket next to the stove—Seneca brought them back from the clinic today, saying they were a gift from a patient.

Let's make a caramel apple.

Actually, I've never tasted a genuine caramel apple. I saw it on TV in my past life, and that's all I knew it was. Anyway, now that I have magic, fire, sugar, and apples, it can't possibly taste too bad.

I washed the apple clean, scooped out the core with a knife, leaving a cavity. Then I stuffed it with butter and breadcrumbs.

After stuffing it in, I stood in front of the fireplace and stretched out my hand.

I have mastered the control of fire magic. Temperature, range, duration—these parameters are automatically calculated in my mind, and then magic flows from my fingertips, forming a uniform heat field around the apple.

Perhaps I was too tired, so I sat on the ground roasting apples while staring out the window in a daze.

The apple peel slowly wrinkled, its color changing from bright red to dark brown. The butter melted and seeped into the bread crumbs, releasing a sweet aroma that blended fruit and wheat scents.

I don't know how much time passed, but I felt it was about right. I used a wooden spoon to scoop a spoonful of icing sugar and sprinkled it evenly on the surface, then heated it again at a higher temperature.

The icing melts at high temperatures, turning into amber-colored caramel that irregularly coats the surface of the apple, sparkling like a thin layer of glass.

This was just food that Wang probably imagined making when he desperately needed sugar.

It may look ugly, but as long as it's edible, it's fine.

Once the apples were almost baked, they were skewered on forks and enjoyed by Wang alone in the kitchen.

I took the apples down from the fireplace, stuck them on a fork, and baked three in total.

I myself will eat at least two. The remaining one—I can use it as an excuse to wake Rudy up again.

People who have just woken up are very likely not to eat, so in the end, I will probably eat it all and then go to sleep soundly.

Such things have happened frequently ever since Loki moved in and Rudy was forced to share a room with me. I'm already used to it.

I took a bite of the first apple.

It tastes better than I expected.

Perhaps I was too hungry, or perhaps sugar really does bring happiness. I stood in the kitchen, and by the moonlight, wolfed down the first apple.

Enjoy this one slowly~

Just as they were about to make their move on the second one, some noises came from upstairs.

I pricked up my ears.

……oh.

Paul and Senis.

They're trying to have another baby.

Although I am only six years old, I have lived two lives, and my reaction to such things has long passed the stages of "curiosity" and "embarrassment." However, since I am living under someone else's roof, I have to pretend whether I should or shouldn't.

Having a cute little sister is really nice, especially adorable little Aisha.

The problem is—Aisha is Lilia's daughter. And Lilia and Paul… well, according to the original story, they'll probably get together around the time Senis is pregnant.

Senis was a follower of the Church of Jesus and practiced monogamy, which Paul agreed to at the time.

For Senis's happiness... Paul and Lilia, I have to try to sabotage things.

Forgive me, Aisha. Let us be my sister again in the next life.

...For some reason, a voice in my head said, "Brother, I'm not that easy to kill."

He must be too tired.

I sighed, finished the second apple, wiped my mouth, and then carried the third apple upstairs.

The Lord of Shadows lurked in the darkness, tiptoeing up the stairs. Not out of fear, but simply because he didn't want to embarrass that foolish couple.

The corridor was dark, and footsteps were swallowed up by the carpet.

I turned the corner—

Then, someone unexpected appeared.

The king and the witch met in the darkness.

Luo Qixi leaned against the wall in the corridor, sitting on the floor in a duck-like position, her face flushed...

It wasn't just any red; it was a red that ran from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears, to her forehead, and to the roots of her hair. Like a cooked crab, like a ripe tomato, like—

I didn't have time to think about it, because our eyes met.

Luo Qixi's eyes widened, her pupils trembled violently, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish thrown ashore.

I'm not much better off.

My mind went completely blank at that moment. The majesty of the "Shadow Lord," the "words of the King," were all cast into the abyss.

I'm just a six-year-old kid who bumped into someone in the hallway in the middle of the night—well—pretty, cute, my ideal type, but in a rather unladylike posture, someone I liked...

Luo Qixi is so popular right now that she feels like she could explode at any moment, and she doesn't dare to look me in the eye.

Actually, I was too embarrassed to make eye contact with Luo Qixi.

My face was burning hot.

Neither of us made a sound, lest the situation become more awkward. Time seemed to freeze in the hallway—if one ignored the noises coming from inside the room.

Luo Qixi's lips were trembling.

What did she want to say? Did she want to explain? Did she want to run away?

I do not know.

All I know is that if we don't do something, this silence might continue until dawn.

We must try to break the deadlock.

Take a deep breath.

The Lord of Shadows handed over the fruit of knowledge, which was said to have enabled Adam and Eve to understand good and evil, and also led them to their downfall.

"The forbidden fruit." I heard my own voice, hoarse and stiff, but still relatively steady, "If you eat it, you can never go back to Eden."

Wang offered no explanation. He handed the treasure to the witch and left alone.

It wasn't until I entered the room, closed the door, and leaned against it that I realized how fast my heart was beating.

---------------------------

[Luo Qixi's Perspective]

I was woken up by the noise.

It's not the kind of drowsy state where you can just turn over and go back to sleep; it's the kind of... you know you can't sleep, but you don't want to admit it—that kind of clear-headedness.

The sounds from the next room came through the wall, faint and intermittent.

Mr. Paul and Mrs. Senis...

I rolled over and covered my ears with the pillow. It didn't work. I rolled over again, facing the ceiling, staring blankly at the indistinct beams in the darkness.

I'm almost forty. Not seventeen. In these situations... I'll still feel awkward, but not to the point of blushing like a young girl.

...Okay, it will happen.

What's even more awkward is that I know Trevor and Rudius live in the room next door.

In other words, the two children could probably hear it too.

Ludius is only four years old, so he probably doesn't understand.

But Trevor... that kid knows everything.

He always seems to know everything. Sometimes I even suspect that he understands social dynamics better than I do, a man in my thirties.

Thinking about this, my face burned even hotter.

Never mind, I'll go get some water.

I sat up, fumbled in the dark to put on my slippers, and carefully opened the door.

I'm so thirsty...

It's not a physiological dry mouth, but rather...

Mr. Paul and Mrs. Senis were making quite a fuss...

A single woman in her late thirties was staying at someone else's house when she heard the host saying something in the middle of the night... Anyway, she wanted to drink water.

But the closer you get to the master bedroom, the clearer the sound becomes.

A faint sweet smell wafted through the air.

I heard... during that time, if it's... you can smell a sweet smell...

Perhaps it's psychological. In any case, something inside my body was ignited.

If now... then...

The magic within my body is stirring.

I no longer want to use reason to restrain myself, but instead act on instinct.

Sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, he tried to begin practicing water magic without chanting.

I've been practicing this a lot lately, focusing my mind and feeling the magic flowing through the circuits...

Perhaps because they were too close to what they had gained and were too focused, they did not notice the subtle footsteps.

And when they came to their senses—

Trevor was standing in the darkness, looking at me.

He stood at the corner of the corridor, holding a plate in his hands. On the plate was something that looked like a twisted and rotten fruit of sin from the abyss.

No, that's not important.

The important thing is—he made eye contact with me for a moment, and then immediately turned his face away.

famous.

His ears turned red.

He's not some clueless little brat!

He knew what had happened!

The whole world is twisted and broken.

If there were a crack in the ground right now, I'd be willing to crawl into it, bury myself, and then dig another crack underground and keep crawling.

God, if you could, please just destroy this world...

This is how the girl prayed to the gods.

(The gods have actually been trying to do this all along.)

Calm down! Calm down! Rocky, calm down! Trevor's just a little kid, what if he doesn't even know what's going on? What if!

Use your clever brain to come up with a solution!

I've got it! Time for water! I was planning to go to the kitchen for a drink anyway!

She looked at Trevor, wanting to explain, "I just want some water..." But... she couldn't open her mouth.

Trevor is incredibly clever; there's no way he could be fooled by such a thing...

We need to think of another one!!!

But Trevor didn't give me a chance.

He took the initiative.

He handed me the plate he was holding.

I took the plate blankly. On the plate was something steaming, glistening, and smelling sweet—what was that?

So that's where the sweet smell I was smelling came from.

"The forbidden fruit. If you eat it, you can never go back to Eden."

Before I could ask what Eden was, Trevor turned and left.

He tiptoed around, without looking back, and without saying a word.

I sat on the floor, holding the plate, and didn't move for a long time.

It took me a while to come to my senses. I stood up, went back to my room, closed the door, put the plate on the bedside table, and then lay down.

The noise from the next room stopped at some point.

After lying in bed and taking a breath, my feverish body calmed down, and a cool sensation spread through my cold sweat.

After calming down, I started to think.

Why don't I have the magic of time travel?

I wouldn't ask for anything more, I just want to go back to an hour ago...

Forget it, destroying the world is much simpler...

I'll never get married in this lifetime...

Forbidden fruit...it's actually quite delicious...

Tears streamed down her face, mingling with despair, and carried the girl into her dreams.

But this is not the end.

Second day

Because she didn't know how to face him, Luo Qixi kept avoiding me.

During the morning class, she went to the clinic with Senis. In the afternoon, during her swordsmanship class, she used water magic to water the crops in the village. At dinner, she sat in the seat furthest from me, keeping her head down the whole time and only picking at the food in front of her.

This will... delay the teaching progress... This matter must be resolved!

I absolutely do not intend to see Luo Qixi blush.

Not at all.

Actually, I was more afraid that Loki would distance herself from me because of this.

After dinner, Luo Qixi made an excuse that she wanted to rest early, but I intercepted her in the corridor before she returned to her room and forcibly took her to the study where I was teaching.

"Witch who seeks the forbidden. I have something to say."

She froze. Her shoulders visibly trembled, then she slowly turned around, her eyes fixed on the floor, refusing to look at my face.

"...What is it?"

Her voice was trembling.

I took a deep breath, ready to end this awkward situation in the most formal and regal way.

"That...about last night—"

"I will not record this in the Epic of the Shadow King!"

Luo Qixi suddenly raised her head and stared wide-eyed.

"You actually wrote that kind of thing?! No! That's not what I meant!"

She waved her hands frantically, her face flushing red again.

"About last night... um... I..."

"Never mind!" I stood with my hands behind my back, trying to make my voice sound solemn. "I am the Queen of Shadows! You are the witch who seeks the forbidden! Seeking the forbidden is your duty! How could I ridicule my friend for this! Nor would I let my friend become a laughingstock because of it!"

Luo Qixi was stunned, and it took her a while to roughly understand what she meant.

"Although it's a bit nonsensical... does that mean the matter is over?"

"Yes!" Wang admitted.

"You're never allowed to mention it again! You're not even allowed to think about it!"

"Okay!" Wang agreed.

"But I'll probably remember this for the rest of my life..."

I, the King, am ending my transformation and returning to civilian mode.

"If the witch is tired, she should rest for the night."

She stood up and walked away quickly, her ears red-tipped, then suddenly stopped.

"Alright, let's continue with tonight's lesson. Also, the forbidden fruit was quite delicious, but what does the Garden of Eden mean?"

"...That is the knowledge of the Shadow Lord, which mortals cannot fathom."

Speak like a human.

"...I made it up."

Luo Qixi glared at me, then turned and left.

This time, he's really gone.