The Antidote

“No!”

“Come on~”

“Absolutely not!”

“Just for a little while~”

“Not even for a little while!”

Ewan’s eyes were wide with righteous fury, his words sharp and unyielding, his expression as dignified as a hero facing a life-or-death crisis without a flicker of fear. And then he cowered in the corner, trembling. “A true man, with the body of a man and the heart of a man, would never do something so shameful!”

“Is that so?”

Anna put away the little dress in her hand with a look of disappointment. “Well, if you don’t want to, then I suppose we can forget about it.”

“Eh?”

Ewan blinked in confusion.

Since when was Anna so easy to talk to?

“What are you thinking?”

As if seeing right through him, Anna flicked him on the forehead with a gentle finger. “Am I the kind of bad senior who would force her junior to do something he doesn’t want to do?”

“…I suppose not.” Ewan scratched his head with a sheepish grin. “After all, you are so kind.”

“…”

“Hm? Is something wrong, Anna?” Seeing her somewhat dazed expression, Ewan asked.

“It’s nothing…”

Anna shook her head with a smile. “Oh, right. This is for you.”

She tossed Ewan a small bottle.

“What is this?” Ewan asked, curiously looking at the clear, pure liquid inside. “Another potion?”

“Mm. It is indeed a potion,” Anna said. “But to be more specific, it’s the antidote to the potion you drank.”

“The antidote?”

Ewan froze for a moment, then his face lit up with a look of pure, unadulterated joy. “Really?”

“No, it’s fake.”

Anna rolled her eyes, a gesture full of a playful charm. “In your eyes, am I the kind of woman who just spouts nonsense?”

“Er… sorry, Anna. I was just too excited.”

“Forget it. I forgive you. After all, I’m a magnanimous woman.”

“Anna, you are the best! You’re beautiful and kind! I like you the most!”

“Hehe, I’m not one of those little girls who can be swayed by your sweet words, Ewan,” Anna said, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her giggle. “So you can save it.”

“Sweet words? But I’m being sincere,” Ewan said with a straight face.

“I’ll just pretend you are.”

Anna combed through her long, messy hair with her fingers, casually tying the ends with a hair tie, and then let it fall over her chest. “Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Eh? You’re leaving already?”

“Why not? I’ve delivered the antidote and saved you. And someone else is taking care of those disgusting, bald, naked men. Why should I stay?”

“Or is it…”

Anna suddenly leaned in close, a faint fragrance from her body stimulating Ewan’s nerves. Her eyes, as clear as spring water, fixed on his, and curved into a captivating, crescent-moon-like smile.

“That you don’t want me to go, Ewan?”

“I…” For a moment, Ewan’s cheeks turned slightly red.

“Pfft. Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Before Ewan could react, Anna had already pulled back and, with her hands behind her back, she walked into the darkness.

“Well then, goodbye, Ewan.”

“Alright then. Goodbye, Anna.”

“Ah, right.”

Anna suddenly turned back. “There are some instructions for drinking that antidote.”

“Instructions?”

“That’s right.” Anna’s expression was unusually serious, like a doctor instructing a patient on their medication. “You must be completely naked when you drink it. Otherwise, something very terrible will happen.”

“Completely naked?” Ewan was shocked. “Is there really such a strange potion? You’re not tricking me, are you, Anna? And what is this ‘very terrible thing’?”

“That… is something you’ll have to find out for yourself, hehe.”

Anna gave him a wicked smile, then turned and leaped into the darkness.

“Wait…”

Ewan rushed to the broken window and looked out, but the night behind the dormitory was empty.

“She seems to be in a big hurry. Did she forget to turn off the gas at home or something?”

Ewan scratched his head.

Then he looked at the clear, water-like, and seemingly harmless potion in his hand.

A headache began to form.

“So… do I listen to Anna or not?”

Ewan swirled the potion in the bottle, thinking hard.

“With her personality, she’s definitely tricking me. There’s no way such a strange potion exists.”

He decided not to listen to her. He unscrewed the cap and prepared to down it in one go. But just as the bottle reached his lips, he hesitated again.

If anyone else had said it, he would have thought it was a joke.

But for Anna to say it…

Maybe she was deliberately making him think that. The real trap was in drinking the potion without taking off his clothes.

A trap within a trap?

Ewan couldn’t help but think.

But what if Anna had anticipated even that?

What if she just wanted to make a fool of him, and was hiding somewhere, watching him right now?

A trap within a trap within a trap?

“As expected of you, Senior.”

To think that a single sentence could throw my mind into such chaos. Only you could do that, Anna.

“Forget it.”

Ewan gritted his teeth.

“So what if she sees me? I’m a man. What’s there to be afraid of?”

He decided to play it safe. Better to be safe than sorry.

And so, Ewan took a deep breath and stripped off all his clothes.

“Nothing to see here, nothing to see here.”

Ewan closed his eyes and downed the potion in one gulp.

In an instant.

An intense, searing heat shot through him.

His skin turned a fiery red, as if he had been burned.

It was as if a high temperature was erupting from within his body. White steam began to rise from the top of his head.

“So hot!”

Ewan finally understood why Anna had told him to take off his clothes. She had been telling the truth. This potion couldn’t be drunk with clothes on. Because in this intense heat, his clothes probably would have just burst into flames.

Thankfully, the painful sensation was only for a moment. Soon, he felt as if something had been lifted from his body, and he felt much lighter.

He opened his eyes, and in the full-length mirror before him, the handsome, golden-haired, blue-eyed man was also smiling.

“Ah, my strong biceps.”

“Ah, my well-developed pectoral muscles.”

“Ah, my beautiful abs.”

“They’re back. They’re all back.”

Looking at the still-manly man in the mirror, Ewan couldn’t help but let out a happy sigh.

This is good. This is much better!

A beautiful woman was something to be held in one’s arms (or to be held in the arms of?). But to become a beautiful woman himself… no, he couldn’t handle that.

“Speaking of which, this probably isn’t the antidote to the transformation potion.”

Ewan stroked his chin, thinking. If it were an antidote, the process probably wouldn’t have been so violent. And from the sensation just now, it didn’t feel like it was dispelling the potion, but rather like it was forcibly burning off the disguise on the outside of his body.

“In other words, after seeing the effect of the transformation potion, Anna immediately concocted a counter-potion specifically for it?”

Ewan said with admiration, “As expected of my senior. The president of the Ancient Potion Club is not just a title.”

“I’ll have to learn a thing or two from her when I have the chance.”

“But that’s for later. For now…”

Ewan’s gaze swept over the room.

He definitely couldn’t wear the clothes from before. After all, he had already been seen by so many people in them. If he went out in them again, some sharp-eyed person might notice something and make some unnecessary connections.

He had to find some clothes to wear in this stranger’s dorm room.

Of course, he would be sure to provide the necessary compensation in a timely manner.

“The owner of this room seems to really like to work out.”

After a quick tour of the room, Ewan couldn’t help but smile, looking at the dumbbells, barbells, and other exercise equipment that filled the room.