TMLOH 01

~ Prologue ~

My face grew paler and paler as I stared at the mysterious liquid sloshing around, about to spill over from the large cup.

Drip.

A thick, dark green liquid.

It was sticky and viscous, and I had the strong feeling that drinking it would destroy not only my sense of taste—but possibly my life, too.

But more than this strange liquid, what truly drove me mad was…

“Here you go.”

This guy.

“Drink up!”

This guy—Pession Allelemagne, who handed me the cup full of the mysterious liquid with a seductive smile.

“Ugh.”

I felt a pang in my pride realizing how easily I was swayed by the devilish charm of an eight-year-old boy.

His red eyes sparkled like gemstones as he looked at me.

“What’s the hold-up? You’re not going to drink it?”

I stayed silent and simply stared up at him.

Pession Allelemagne.

The crown prince of the Allelemagne Empire and heir to rule the great empire of Albrecht.

Also—the male lead of this novel.

That’s right. I was reincarnated inside a novel.

And not as anything important. Just an extra character who dies early because of frail health.

Just someone like the male lead’s childhood friend #1, doomed to die before playing any real role. Nothing more, nothing less.

That was supposed to be my fate…

“Arel, I went through a lot to get this. It was really hard. You’re not going to drink it?”

…How did it come to this?

The moment I hesitated, Pession caught on instantly and looked at me with teary, pleading eyes.

Whenever he did this, I felt like I was going insane.

Why is he doing this to me?!

“N-No, I didn’t mean I wouldn’t drink it…”

“Then drink it.”

“I mean…”

Would you want to drink it?!

Drinking something like this with your eyes shut and pretending it’s fine only works when the thing at least looks somewhat drinkable.

That thing was just… something you’d never want near your mouth.

As my face contorted in disgust, Pession’s expression turned even more pitiful.

Yep. Time to run.

Clack!

“Huh? Where do you think you’re going?”

…Caught in one second.

With this pathetic body of mine, even escaping properly wasn’t an option.

As I scowled, Pession, who had looked like a kicked puppy moments ago, suddenly launched into a melodramatic monologue.

“They said it’s good for your health, so I personally climbed to the very top of Mount Croan in Sihallen and hunted a monster just to get its core. Man, that monster was really strong. Its hide was tough too… I almost died. You can’t even buy this stuff with money… But you don’t care about all the trouble I went through… I even got Elond flowers from the White Witch’s Forest and elixirs that are good for your health…”

“Alright, fine! I’ll drink it! Okay?!”

In the end, my conscience pricked me so much I couldn’t take it anymore.

Suppressing every ounce of my revulsion, I reluctantly brought the cup to my lips.

Seeing how quickly Pession’s face lit up made me feel both furious and… strangely emotional.

I pinched my nose and forced the cup down. My stomach churned instantly.

…God, I want to throw up.

“Arel! You collapsed again yesterday, didn’t you? I told you to take care of yourself! Who said you could be this weak?! You need my permission to get sick!”

It was unfair. It’s not like I chose to be born in this body!

“Well, now that you drank that, you won’t collapse again today.”

That was… a heartbreaking sentence.

The taste lingering in my mouth…

It was something I never wanted to experience again. Oh Lord, why must You test me like this…

“From now on, don’t collapse unless I give you permission. Got it?”

Pession must’ve gone completely insane to say something that absurd with a straight face.

Be reasonable, will you?

And then came the question that shocked me back to full awareness.

“Did you do your cardio today?”

Flinch.

Of course I hadn’t.

For the record, this body was so weak that even standing up made my head spin.

“That’s weird. You’ve been exercising, but you’re still not building any muscle.”

“……”

“Once your digestion settles, let’s go out and work out together!”

“……”

This is tragic.

Just living in this broken body was already hell—but now my life was getting even worse.

And as if unaware of my despair, Pession kept spouting nonsense with a smile on his face.

“You need to get healthy soon so we can go hiking and monster hunting together. Right, Arel?”

Hike?! Hunt monsters?!

What the hell are you planning to do with me?!

I shuddered in horror.

I reincarnated into a novel—and the male lead suddenly became obsessed with my health.

“Don’t worry, Arel! Just trust me! I’ll definitely make you healthy!”

Ah, someone please take this male lead away from me.