I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 103

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Sadly, my premonition proved disturbingly accurate.
A booming lead voice.
“Military song, title—the magnificent Princess!”
An even louder chorus in response.
“The magnificent Princess!”
Captain Lucain shouted with unbridled pride.
“Military song begins! One, two, three, four!”
“Magnificent! Princess!”
As the soldiers continued their rousing chorus, I experienced profound embarrassment.
The content remained unchanged.
Something about being a magnificent warrior, a man devoted to the Princess, invincible in battle with passionate dedication, and praising the Princess—that sort of drivel.
It was the worst song I knew.
‘Sigh…’
I could feel countless hired hands and soldiers passing through the Base Camp, along with several Knights, all turning to stare.
My face burned with heat.
In contrast, Captain Lucain, who had performed the military song, looked immensely satisfied.
“Your Highness, is there any command you wish to give?”
From what I gathered, Captain Lucain had been reassigned here. His salary had increased considerably, and his treatment had improved.
“That military song is forbidden from now on.”
“…Pardon?”
“Forbidden! Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, understood.”
Captain Lucain clenched his teeth.
He looked deeply frustrated.
“I should have commissioned a more talented composer.”
“…”
He had actually commissioned someone to compose it?
That alone was absurd, but the soldiers behind him chimed in.
“Didn’t I tell you that excessive refinement was the problem?”
…Pardon?
“A military song that’s far too sophisticated, you see?”
…Was there some other world I didn’t know about? Had the concepts of refinement and sophistication been newly invented?
“My apologies. Next time, I shall present a more thunderous and rustic military song, Your Highness.”
…If it gets any more rustic, disaster will surely strike.
I decided to simply change the subject.
“…Captain Lucain. I have a favor to ask.”
Snap!
He snapped to attention.
“A favor? Simply give me an order!”
“Take me to my brother Kaman’s quarters.”
“I shall obey your command.”
I managed to arrive safely—though after hearing such a refined military song, I wasn’t entirely certain I was truly unscathed—at my brother Kaman’s quarters.
* * *
Captain Lucain, who had escorted Princess Isabel to Kaman’s quarters, held his head high before his squad members.
“Did you see that, men? The Princess remembered my name.”
“We saw it. So it’s true that you’re close with the Princess.”
The squad members gazed at Captain Lucain with envy.
They had all clearly witnessed it—the Princess remembering and calling out Lucain’s name.
Lucain boasted for a moment before sighing and revealing the truth.
“The truth is, that’s just how the Princess is. She didn’t remember me because I’m special.”
For royalty to remember one’s name was an extraordinarily honorable thing.
While some occasionally used the phrase “I’ll remember your name” as a compliment, few high-ranking nobles actually kept that promise.
Yet Princess Isabel truly did remember names. That alone was a profound source of joy for the soldiers.
“She bestows her sincere attention upon all things without exception. That is her nature. She showed consideration so that small fry like us could use the Transportation Gate, and her exploits in the Rahela Kingdom are beyond words. Moreover, look—she remembers my name and even addresses me with formal respect from time to time.”
“Captain, isn’t that praise?”
“She is worthy of praise!”
This was the sort of conversation that would make Isabel clasp the back of her neck in embarrassment if she heard it.
“But let’s think about why our ‘magnificent Princess’ didn’t sound quite right.”
“Because it was too refined?”
“A military song should have a rougher quality to it.”
“Is that truly the problem? Aren’t we overlooking something more important beyond that?”
They continued pondering deeply in their own way.
After thinking for a while, Captain Lucain slapped his palm with his fist with a sharp crack.
“I’ve got it!”
“Oh! What is it?”
“I think it’s because Princess Isabel’s name isn’t in the lyrics. Isabel isn’t mentioned at all.”
Now that he mentioned it, it seemed like a simple problem.
“Even a small fry like me feels joy and honor when my name is called and remembered, so how much more so for a noble Princess!”
“Ah…!”
“Of course her name should be in it.”
Only then did they find the answer.
“The next military song must definitely include the noble name ‘Isabel’!”
“We were overlooking that.”
“Captain Lucain, that was sharp. We have to acknowledge it.”
“I’d really like to include the words ‘noble’ and ‘praise’ in it.”
Lucain, their idea bank, came up with one more brilliant suggestion.
“How about we call the next military song 【The Hymn of Isabel】?”
Thanks to his excellent idea, Lucain received a round of applause from his squad members.
* * *
Kaman’s brief respite had been interrupted.
“Brother. It’s Isabel.”
“….”
Kaman found Isabel tiresome.
He took no pleasure in seeing her. It was the feeling of memories he had long since abandoned resurfacing unbidden.
“Why?”
“I heard this Base Camp is something the Empire takes great care with. That’s why the elite of the elite—the Black Whale Subordinate Unit—was dispatched here, and I understand all the princes have experienced this Base Camp.”
Michael was also scheduled to be dispatched here in a few months.
“Since this place is so important, I thought it was only natural for me as a princess to tour it.”
Kaman rolled over on his bed.
“Do as you wish.”
“But this place is so vast and the paths are so complicated. It was incredibly difficult just finding my way here.”
“….”
Kaman simply closed his eyes.
Conversing with Isabel felt like a waste of time.
Isabel chattered ceaselessly beside him.
“I’ve never heard of such a military unit in my life. I was so embarrassed I wanted to hide.”
“….”
“So I hid here.”
“….”
On the surface, Kaman was completely ignoring Isabel.
But Isabel did not interpret it that way.
She saw a young child who had endured much suffering to become this way.
‘I should comfort him.’
Before long, she had turned eight, and thirteen years of life remained.
She hoped to spend those remaining thirteen years with a bit more meaning.
‘Surely I can comfort at least one person?’
When you’re alone, it’s truly precious when someone extends their hand to you.
Isabel understood this fact all too well.
Isabel sat down on the edge of Kaman’s bed.
“Brother. Want to play hooky with me?”
“….”
“What do you think about breaking free from strict discipline and set routines?”
“….”
Kaman was irritated by Isabel’s incessant chatter.
‘How annoying.’
Still, he made no particular response.
“I want to become close with you, Brother. We’re family, after all.”
At those words, Kaman sat up irritably.
“Family, you say——”
“Ahhh!”
Thud!
Isabel, who had been perched on the edge of the bed, tumbled backward.
Kaman bit his lip slightly as he watched Isabel.
‘Can’t even control your balance to that degree!’
“Ow…”
Isabel rubbed the back of her head and sat up. Even as she fell backward, her mood remained quite pleasant.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I hit the back of my head and I’m fine.”
“Why is that something to smile about?”
“I’m grateful for having such a sturdy body. If it were an ordinary body, I might have been seriously injured.”
A sturdy body?
From Kaman’s perspective, it was truly absurd.
What was there to like about a body so clumsy it couldn’t even maintain proper balance?
“Were you worried about me?”
“I was contemptuous of you.”
“You… you actually showed contempt?”
Isabel’s eyes widened.
Her bright amber eyes were visible. They blinked as she gazed at Kaman.
“…”
“My feelings are hurt.”
“That’s not my concern.”
“But you’re answering me now? Does that mean we’ve become a little closer?”
“…”
Kaman felt displeased, as though he were being manipulated by Isabel.
“This won’t do. I need to use my secret weapon.”
“…”
Kaman turned away with an annoyed expression, pressing his head against the pillow.
Isabel sat back down on the edge of the bed.
“You said you’d use your secret weapon?”
Even after bothering him multiple times, Kaman no longer rose up sharply. He was being somewhat cautious.
From just that, Isabel had figured out something more about Kaman.
‘He has a cute side to him.’
Isabel pressed her lips together.
“I’m really going to bring out my secret weapon. Don’t try to stop me.”
“…”
“I’m serious. It won’t help even if you try to stop me.”
“…”
“No matter what you say, I mean it. Really, truly mean it.”
“I don’t think I’ve tried to stop you.”
“If my brother insists that much, then I suppose I could hold back.”
“….”
Kaman found the situation so absurd that he turned his head slightly to glance at Isabel.
Isabel was smiling brightly, and Kaman sensed something remarkably pure about that smile.
“You’re annoying. Get out.”
“But I’m not a candle, am I?”
“….”
“I’m sorry. I got so excited meeting someone I’m fond of. But it’s too harsh to speak to your only sister that way. I was hurt, so I decided to pull out my trump card.”
“….”
By that point, even Kaman had become curious about what this “trump card” of hers could be.
Isabel possessed a peculiar talent for making even the uninteresting seem fascinating.
“I know someone my brother is fond of.”
The kind of person everyone has—a first love or youthful infatuation from childhood.
Kaman had such a person too.
“And I’m very close with that person. They’re coming here at my request.”
She tapped a rhythm on Kaman’s back as he lay on his side.
Tap-tap, tap! Tap!
“Do you wanna, or rather, would you like to have a meal together?”

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————