I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 137

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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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Biatone recalled a conversation he had once had with Duke Robena.
‘When your master speaks, listen properly the first time.’
‘If I eat it, will you give me 500 Dileran?’
‘500 Dileran? Not a chance.’
‘Dileran’ was the currency unit of the Empire from five hundred years ago.
Yet Duke Robena had responded naturally, as if she were someone who had lived through that era.
Karin’s expression grew suspicious.
“You know about dragons?”
“Well, for now let’s focus on restoring your mana circuits, Karin. In your current state, you won’t be much help.”
And several days passed.
Biatone and Karin, with the help of Beksah’s research materials, created a single small pill.
It was a miraculous pill that could restore destroyed mana circuits.
“There’s just one more thing we need for this.”
“…Yes, indeed.”
Even Beksah had only completed this pill in theory.
There was a reason why this remained theoretically possible only.
“Extraordinarily powerful ice-attribute mana capable of freezing everything beyond the horizon. However, this mana must not be layered. At the same time, its destructive power must be remarkably low, and it must contain slight impurities.”
There was no contradiction quite like this one.
The requirement that it not be layered essentially meant one person had to generate the mana alone.
First of all, there are almost no humans capable of unleashing mana that powerful by themselves.
If anyone could, they would be an exceptionally skilled mage.
But a mage that strong would naturally possess pure elemental power, so impurities could never be mixed in.
Even if impurities were somehow mixed in, a mage capable of wielding such power would naturally possess tremendous destructive force.
It was nothing but contradictions.
Karin shrugged her shoulders.
“I think I understand why this only exists in theory. It’s impossible.”
“No. It is possible.”
“I appreciate you saying that, but impossible is impossible.”
Biatone spoke.
“You say that because you didn’t witness the miracle the Princess performed. I understand.”
“A miracle?”
“Yes. Arctic Glacial Water, I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it.”
Karin’s expression grew slightly puzzled.
She had never heard the term ‘Arctic Glacial Water’ before.
Even if such a strangely named spell existed.
“Why are you boasting, Viscount Biatone?”
“Am I boasting? Not at all. I’m someone who knows nothing of boasting.”
“….”
“Is it really something to be proud of that only I directly witnessed the Princess performing that miracle? Besides, she fainted right then—you can’t imagine how shocked I was. Of course, I caught her at precisely the right moment so she wouldn’t be hurt. Hehe.”
“And you don’t consider that expression right now to be boasting?”
“Aren’t you being modest?”
“I felt I should be modest, so I said that.”
No matter how I looked at it, I was being arrogant.
* * *
Biatone had found Sky Island.
In the center of Sky Island stood a massive mansion—this was Duke Robena’s residence.
“What brings you home?”
“Where else would a person be if not at home? And what brings you here?”
“Shouldn’t a teacher welcome her beloved student when he visits?”
“Shouldn’t a student bow his head first when he sees his respected teacher?”
“What era are we living in that you’re saying such old-fashioned things?”
“Old-fashioned?”
Robena frowned.
It was a word she’d never heard before, yet she disliked admitting she didn’t know it.
However, Biatone had always been quick to read the mood.
“Old-fashioned—you don’t know what that means?”
“I do.”
“Then what is it?”
“….”
“It’s fine. I understand not knowing modern slang.”
Biatone smiled meaningfully for a moment before broaching the main topic.
“I’ve had my suspicions for a while. I found something like this among my mother’s belongings.”
It was a very old portrait.
A portrait of the first Duke from five hundred years ago.
“Doesn’t he look far too similar to you, Master?”
“He’s my ancestor, so of course he’d resemble me.”
“But five hundred years have passed?”
Biatone’s eyes narrowed.
“Master, be honest with me.”
“About what?”
“You’re a dragon, aren’t you?”
“A dragon? What’s that?”
“It seems your ability to improvise has gotten worse.”
“….”
Not knowing what a dragon was seemed even stranger.
While some dismissed them as legendary beings and others claimed dragons didn’t exist, not knowing what a dragon was at all made no sense.
“….”
“….”
An awkward silence fell between Robena and Biatone.
Biatone carefully opened her mouth.
“The dragon will die, won’t it?”
“…I might just kill you instead.”
“I heard that dragons get angry when you reveal their identity like this. And they really do seem angry?”
“…”
“Or maybe you slaughter everyone who knows your true form…?”
“There’s no such law.”
Duke Robena exhaled a long sigh.
There was no law against revealing one’s identity during a game.
“So? If you’ve suspected since before, why are you pressing me like this now? My adorable disciple.”
“I need a dragon’s heart. Can you spare one?”
Crack-sizzle!
Lightning fell from the sky.
Biatone hurriedly threw himself aside to evade the lightning.
He managed to dodge only because he had been trained by his mother, Beksah.
“Are you planning to destroy the mansion?”
“Honestly, killing you seems more comfortable.”
“No, can’t you at least give me a heart? Don’t dragons have about a hundred hearts?”
“What are you talking about?”
Duke Robena unleashed lightning bolt after lightning bolt.
Biatone’s clothes were torn in several places and his face was slightly singed, but he suffered no fatal wounds.
“A dragon has only one heart.”
“So if you give me your heart, you die?”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
“Then is it acceptable for me to kill my teacher?”
“Do it if you can.”
Duke Robena smiled wickedly.
Biatone stepped back.
“I’ll give up for now. I don’t want to die first.”
“What a shame. I was hoping you’d come at me with full force.”
Duke Robena’s eyes narrowed.
‘His strength has grown tremendously.’
Normally, once someone reaches a certain limit, their growth slows considerably.
From Duke Robena’s perspective, Biatone was already a complete talent who had reached his limit.
She had thought further growth would be difficult, but that assumption appeared to be wrong.
Humans were creatures who, given the right opportunity, could surpass what they thought was their limit, and then overcome the next one. It seemed Biatone had been given such an opportunity.
‘This is why I love humans.’
When they think they’ve reached their ceiling, they break through it. When they encounter the next limit, they overcome that too.
Some humans seemed to have no limits at all.
She spoke.
“If it’s because of Narbidal’s mark, then give up.”
The smile vanished from Biatone’s face.
Robena continued without hesitation.
“It’s a curse from the gods that even dragons cannot undo.”
* * *
Villorian Imperial Palace, Serna’s bedchamber.
Serna gazed up at the moon.
‘I need to consult with Duke Bladok.’
A tradition that had continued for the past five hundred years.
Following this encounter with Sermon, Serna began to harbor doubts about that very tradition.
Unlike the excessively turbulent Villorian of the past, the present was now built upon a formidable centralized regime centered around Emperor Ron.
There had never been a Villorian as powerful as it was now.
In such circumstances, was the “First Shadow” truly necessary?
The Sword Forest Academy still insisted that the First Shadow was essential, but was it really?
‘Times have changed.’
She could sense it from observing Sermon.
Sermon was savoring that very moment of being scolded by Ron.
Like a child who had yearned to be disciplined.
‘His Majesty must understand that as well.’
Though taciturn, he was not a man lacking in perception.
Perhaps he had deliberately used excessive force for that very reason.
‘Could we not let go as well?’
For her too, the prosperity of the Vilotian Empire was the priority.
For it had been her beloved husband Ron’s first priority.
In those younger days, she had rushed breathlessly toward that goal.
Running swiftly forward, when she turned to look back, she had drifted far from her blood relatives.
Shortly after, Ron entered the chamber.
Serna continued to gaze up at the moon as she spoke.
“My love was genuine.”
“….”
Tears pooled in her eyes.
Ron simply approached quietly and embraced Serna from behind.
“But it was only in my heart.”
“….”
“Was that truly love?”
Before her husband, she began to lay bare the things she had hidden deep within her heart, the things she had to abandon and turn away from to become a mother to all.
“I knew how desperately Kaman longed for me.”
I could not have failed to know.
As a mother, I could not have helped but know.
“Yet I was far too occupied.”
I had to prevent war, bring prosperity to the Vilotian Empire, mediate trade disputes tangled in countless conflicting interests.
I didn’t say that.
It was just an excuse anyway.
“In the end, I couldn’t give her even a shred of love.”
“….”
“Lately, I keep thinking that love without action isn’t really love at all.”
“You did your very best.”
“Was it truly my best?”
“Absolutely. I guarantee it.”
“I used to believe that and turn away from reality, but I don’t think that’s true anymore. Our daughter has taught me so much.”
Looking at Isabel, I came to understand something.
Perhaps what I’ve done all this time wasn’t truly my best.
“Our daughter is far better than I am.”
Isabel wagered five years of her own life for her friend the Ratel, and fought the One-Eyed Giant to fulfill her duty as Princess.
She created the Teisabel Transfer Gate for the soldiers of the Erbe Mountains and developed instant noodles for the hungry and powerless.
She gave spring as a gift to Karin and made Biatone smell of humanity.
The people of the Kingdom of Alpea call Isabel “Sunshine.”
“No one can be perfect, Serna.”
“But I think we can at least try to make today better than yesterday.”
Serna fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
“I vaguely thought that the First Shadow might not be necessary in this age, yet I never made the effort to abolish that system. I simply conformed to the existing order, rationalizing it as the final bastion for the Royal Family. Perhaps I was just trying to avoid conflict with the Swordmaster Academy.”
I only grieved for the children sacrificed in that process, but I did nothing to help them.
I merely comforted myself by not scolding them, by treating them kindly.
“I thought I loved the children more than anyone else, but… the truth is I never loved anyone at all. I became a mother to all people, but I failed to be a mother to my own children.”
Serna wept for a long time, held in Ron’s embrace.
“I want to be a mother to my children. But is it even possible now? Isn’t it too despicable?”
“I have never once seen you fail at something you set your mind to.”
Ron tightened his arms around Serna.
Ron’s heart ached deeply.
‘She was a giant.’
That giant was now trembling in his arms in anguish.
Smaller than she had ever been.
That sight tormented and pained him.
‘It feels like she’s scolding me harshly.’
Serna called herself an unworthy mother.
Which meant Ron himself was an unworthy father.
‘How can I become a good father?’
Ron had never received such an education.
A good parent?
It was a concept that didn’t exist in the Vilotian Royal Family.
‘I have no idea.’
I wished someone could teach me, but he had no mother or father either.
And as time passed, Isabel’s ninth birthday arrived.

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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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