I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 116

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

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“So you just need to ask. I am your brother, and I will not refuse anything you ask of me.”
I wish you would do that.
Thinking about it more, skill or lack thereof didn’t matter.
What mattered was one thing.
I wished Isabel hadn’t been hurt.
The moment Isabel tilted and fell, everything tilted with her, and I felt utterly terrible.
“So don’t overexert yourself.”
Isabel looked terribly fragile.
I wished she hadn’t lied about being good at swordplay, about finding hardship enjoyable.
I’m fine, I’m happy, I’m incredibly joyful.
I wished she hadn’t pretended everything was alright.
I wished she hadn’t lived so precariously.
Because I was Kaman, who had experienced that acutely, I wished Isabel’s childhood would be different from my own.
“I will be a good family to you, so rely on me. Please open your heart and be honest.”
“….”
“Thank goodness you weren’t hurt.”
Kaman set Isabel down with extreme care.
I could feel his trembling hands, anxious lest she shatter.
‘Anyone watching would think he’d just returned alive from a battlefield.’
Seeing him like that, I felt a little sorry for having fallen on purpose.
“Did you worry about me that much?”
“Yes.”
Isabel smiled brightly.
“See? You can speak tenderly.”
“….”
Kaman’s body froze.
Suddenly regaining awareness, he realized what he’d been saying.
‘What… did I just say?’
Kaman couldn’t quite remember what he’d said. It seemed he’d simply spilled out whatever words came to mind, speaking instinctively without thought.
Yet a dazed feeling lingered, and strangely, something soft and cushioned enveloped him.
It was a peculiar and strange sensation he’d never felt before.
But this feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“Thank you, Brother.”
“….”
He too had gained a family.
* * *
Having regained his senses, Kim Beolggol cautiously approached Isabel.
[Kim Beolggol, reflect on yourself.]
Then he moved toward the wall, knelt down, and raised his arms.
Thinking that Isabel had nearly been hurt because of him, tears welled up in his eyes.
[Kim Beolkkol, you’re bad.]
[Such a wicked nature, Kim Beolkkol.]
[I won’t do it anymore.]
I sighed and gently stroked Kim Beolkkol’s head.
Kim Beolkkol’s language was mana given form in human speech, and so the sincere apology contained within that mana reached me with perfect clarity.
Upon sensing Kim Beolkkol’s heart, I felt a little sorry toward him as well.
After all, it was true that I had neglected him since arriving at the Jirdel Base Camp.
‘Come to think of it, Beolkkot has been watching me quietly for days on end.’
Fragmented memories surfaced.
Waiting endlessly for when I might offer attention, when I might meet his gaze, when I might spend time with him—Beolkkot had been waiting for me all along.
Whenever our eyes met, even briefly, he would wag his tail like a puppy, only to grow dejected moments later.
‘I suppose I was rather indifferent under the pretense of being busy.’
So I offered a sincere apology.
“It wasn’t that I was unconcerned—I’m truly sorry. I apologize with all my heart. In exchange, today let’s take a walk together and have some refreshments. Does that sound good?”
[Kim Beolkkol, undeserving.]
“What qualification could you possibly need?”
I lifted Kim Beolkkol up into my arms, holding him high.
“You’re Kim Beolkkol, after all.”
[Kim Beolkkol, moved.]
[Kim Beolkkol, will listen well.]
[Kim Beolkkol, won’t cause trouble.]
I pulled my lower jaw up to my upper lip, holding back tears with all my might.
Witnessing this, Kaman found himself smiling softly without realizing it.
‘That’s right. In the end, that’s what I wanted to say.’
He had rambled on at length.
He couldn’t even remember exactly what he’d said.
Even now, his mind was too dizzy to organize his thoughts.
Though he couldn’t understand his own heart, Isabel had distilled it cleanly into just a few words.
“What qualification could you possibly need? You’re Kim Beolkkol, after all.”
What qualification could you possibly need?
Kaman turned the words over in his mouth repeatedly, savoring them.
Meanwhile, the now-docile Kim Beolkkol placed an invitation on Isabel’s hand.
[This. I’ll return it.]
I accepted the invitation and examined its surface.
‘The sender was said to be the supreme commander overseeing the Jirdel Base Camp, wasn’t it?’
Only his rank of general was known; his identity remained classified.
The commander overseeing the Jirdel Base Camp was itself a strategic asset and thus fell under confidential information.
Of course, if I had wished, learning his name would have been simple enough, but I had chosen not to pursue it.
Yet the invitation bore his name plainly written upon it.
[General, Armitel.]
‘Huh? Wait a moment. Armitel? Did you say Armitel?’
Armitel? Why is this name appearing here?
‘Was she the one in charge of the Jirdel Base Camp at this point in time?’
For the first time since my possession, a character related to the original heroine had appeared.
* * *
General Man Karp, who had once attacked Isabel, was a commoner by birth who had achieved remarkable feats and climbed to the rank of brigadier general.
Looking purely at ability, he was certainly an outstanding soldier.
Yet he had never received proper recognition.
Much of it was due to being born in the wrong era.
‘It just so happened that during General Man Karp’s lifetime, there was Major General Armitel….’
Armitel was nothing short of the idol of all commoners.
She had monopolized every single “youngest commoner-born” achievement.
Armitel enlisted in the military at merely eight years old, accumulated countless merits and outstanding military records, and eventually became a general—a major general.
The world only ever remembered first place, and so General Man Karp was constantly overshadowed by her brilliance.
‘At this point in time, she would be in her mid-twenties….’
Considering that the average age of major generals was around forty-five, she was an extraordinary figure who had reached that rank in her twenties.
Everything that could be criticized as lacking realism and plausibility if used as a novel premise, Armitel had actually accomplished.
‘Armitel is… supposed to be the heroine’s older sister, right?’
Since the heroine is originally a dragon, she probably isn’t her real biological sister.
However, the novel didn’t go into detail about that aspect. Armitel regarded the heroine as her real younger sister, and the heroine regarded Armitel as her real older sister.
‘Their bond is very tender and affectionate.’
The heroine was Armitel’s youngest sibling.
Since the heroine is the same age as me, there’s about an eighteen-year age gap.
Armitel felt great remorse for being too busy to properly care for her younger sister, and she harbored deep affection for the heroine.
‘And later, she ends up betraying Villorian by siding with Arun and the heroine.’
A magnificent blade is only magnificent when held in my hands; in another’s hands, it becomes a terrifying weapon.
‘I must prevent Armitel from betraying Villorian.’
Even if I depart when the time comes, I will leave my family with a new life before I go.
I had already changed much of the story’s content, but I still needed to do my very best with what I could.
Perhaps this encounter was an opportunity.
Isabel’s mind grew complicated.
‘The male and female leads meeting is an absolute setting of this novel, so there’s nothing I can do about that….’
A story’s content and settings are bound to change. The more trivial the setting, the less specifically the author defined it, the more flexibly it shifts.
However, absolute setting values are difficult to change.
‘For instance, my foreseen death….’
Narbidal’s Mark is an absolute setting value the author has firmly established.
So no matter how hard I try, I will die once I reach twenty-one years old.
Thinking about it that way, the love between the male and female leads was the most absolute setting value of 【The Villainess Dies After the Time Limit】.
‘Since I won’t torment Arun either, they probably won’t end up attacking Villorian…?’
Then again, who knows.
I had to keep in mind that some unforeseen event might occur, allowing the story to unfold according to the original narrative after all.
In any case, the character ‘Armitel’ was set to betray Villorian in the future.
Since it was quite a significant setting, it seemed wise to establish at least minimal safeguards beforehand.
For my family’s sake, who would remain in this land after I departed.
* * *
“I didn’t expect you to invite me, General Armitel.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Isabel. Please, have a seat here.”
I blinked my eyes.
‘Wow, she’s beautiful.’
Overall, she exuded an atmosphere quite similar to Kiruen’s.
Though she was shorter than Kiruen, her expression was sharper, making her more difficult to approach.
‘I do like short hair.’
A large scar was etched across Armitel’s cheek, yet such a mark had no effect whatsoever on her beauty.
Armitel poured the tea herself as she spoke.
“I apologize. The matter with General Man Karp was due to my negligence. I should have paid more attention to managing my subordinates. Unfortunately, I happened to be away at that time, which led to this grave incident. Regarding all related matters, as the person ultimately responsible for this place, I will certainly take full responsibility and bear the consequences. I sincerely apologize.”
“No, in a sense, General Man Karp was also a victim.”
I didn’t know the exact details, but I was aware it was somehow connected to Wilhelm.
It was likely he had fallen under dark magic or mental-type magic.
“…Do you truly believe that?”
“Yes. If we assume it’s genuinely related to Wilhelm, General Man Karp would have had difficulty resisting.”
Man Karp was certainly a capable soldier, but capability is always relative.
Wilhelm was none other than an Archmage of the Magic Federation.
“You certainly have great depth of character.”
After a brief tea time, I asked her a question.
“Why did you invite me to this tea time?”
“That is…”
At that moment, an unexpected story reached me, who had been preoccupied with Armitel’s character settings and the heroine.

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

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