I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 145

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

Beolkkot was bewildered.
He had no awareness of opening a magic circle himself or leaping through space.
Where was he?
Who was he?
He didn’t understand it fully, but it seemed danger had befallen Isabel.
So he simply blurted it out.
[Hero, make your entrance.]
But as a hero, there was precious little he could do.
Beolkkot was always brimming with confidence, yet separate from that confidence, his swimming ability was abysmal.
He couldn’t breathe.
Still, he bit down on Isabel’s hair.
Unable to swim properly, he thrashed about desperately, trying to pull Isabel out of the water.
His limbs flailed uselessly, but he didn’t move an inch.
[Suffocation.]
His breath was being cut off. His head spun and his body had no strength left.
Yet that didn’t matter.
But Isabel dying was a serious problem.
[We made a promise!]
Long ago, he had made a promise with Isabel.
To die later than her.
But at this rate, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.
-Please, listen to me.
Suddenly, a strange voice echoed in his mind.
It was undoubtedly that peculiar creature he’d conversed with several times before.
-Who are you!
-You can’t swim. You won’t save Isabel that way.
-There’s nothing impossible for Beolkkot the badger.
-Stop being stubborn. Do you want to lose Isabel?
At those words, Beolkkot snapped to attention.
He was braver than anyone and feared nothing, yet the absence of Isabel terrified him.
-What do I do?
-Leave it to me.
-How do I do that?
-Remember your true self. You can breathe here. You’re a dragon. Remember. You are a dragon. Your name is Arun.
-Arun?
He’d heard it several times before, but he’d forgotten it immediately each time.
But this time, he tried to remember.
‘Arun.’
He repeated the name over and over.
‘Arun?’
Golden light began seeping from Beolkkot’s body.
‘Arun. Yes. My name is Arun.’
Recalling this eased my breathing.
Beolkkot’s form transformed into a human shape.
“Isabel.”
I could speak even beneath the water.
I instinctively invoked dragon language.
“Breath.”
The mana responded to my command.
A thin layer of air rushed forth, enveloping Isabel’s body.
I hastily embraced Isabel and swam toward the surface.
In the process, I also retrieved the troublesome seaweed-like thing (Sermon) that clung to me.
Mana gathered around my body, and I conjured a magic circle ahead of my swimming path.
As I passed through the magic circle, my body carrying Isabel suddenly touched solid ground.
“Isabel, please.”
I carelessly tossed aside the clinging seaweed and laid Isabel on the ground.
The beauty of the white sand beach gleaming in sunlight failed to register in my eyes.
‘She’s not breathing.’
This wouldn’t do.
I had to save her no matter what.
I opened Isabel’s mouth and brought my lips to hers.
I exhaled deeply, breathing life into her.
‘Please. Let me not be too late.’
Life-infused mana began settling into Isabel’s body.
* * *
Biatone cursed himself for his carelessness aboard the boat.
‘Damn it.’
In truth, there were few factors that could make Biatone careless.
One was Isabel’s cuteness, another was the cherished memories spent with that adorable Isabel, and the last was seeing Isabel smile happily.
All three had converged at once, causing me to lower my guard without realizing it.
‘I must detoxify.’
He desperately channeled his mana, struggling to purge the paralytic poison constricting his body.
Sermon had declared it would take ‘6 hours.’
Yet Biatone managed to recover some mobility in less than 30 minutes.
‘Just a little longer and I’ll be able to move.’
He focused desperately on detoxification.
Just as the detoxification neared completion, an eerie wind blew forth.
It carried the scent of a human body.
The wind was saturated with an ominous aura.
Biatone recognized this presence.
Duke Bladog.
As a former Sword Wraith, I had been Duke Bladog’s rival.
That rivalry began at the academy, where Duke Bladog was always relegated to second place behind me.
(Ron was overwhelmingly first in pure swordsmanship alone, but I consistently ranked first in overall scores.)
‘But something feels different from usual.’
There was an oddly unsettling aura about him.
It resembled the sensation I had felt when facing the One-Eyed Giant and when I encountered Lancer’s corpse.
It wasn’t an actual smell, but rather a peculiar wavelength emanating from mana itself—a strange characteristic that only those versed in mana could perceive.
‘Wilhelm’s aura!’
If Duke Bladog had conspired with Wilhelm?
Then targeting Isabel again made perfect sense.
Wilhelm had been relentlessly pursuing Isabel all along.
‘One minute. Just one minute and I can move my body.’
Then, a voice reached my ears.
“What a pathetic sight, Biatone. Collapsed and poisoned like this.”
Duke Bladog’s crimson hair came into view.
“If I’m going to leave anyway, it would be even better to take the life of the Empire’s second-in-command with me.”
“….”
Duke Bladog had positioned himself before me, looking down at my helpless form.
“My master will be most pleased. He finds you quite irritating, after all.”
“….”
Duke Bladog placed his foot on my cheek.
For the first time, he had me beneath his heel.
Please, move. Body, move.
I focused on my breathing.
“Do you remember what we learned together at the academy?”
Duke Bladog leaned closer to me.
In his hand was a short blade gleaming with a cold sheen.
“The greatest fear a person can feel is being slowly pierced before their very eyes. That’s how we were taught to eliminate our enemies.”
“….”
“I intend to put that lesson into practice.”
He raised the blade.
“Farewell.”
The moment he was certain of my death.
That was Duke Bladog’s greatest opening, and my opportunity.
Countless blades erupted from below.
Magical Swordsman—my weapon summoning magic.
“Wh-what—!”
I had become far stronger than Duke Bladog had anticipated or predicted.
This far exceeded his expectations.
He had never overcome the number one position until his final moment.
Splash!
His tilting body plunged into Glass Lake, and I paid him no mind.
What mattered to me was Isabel.
* * *
I rowed the boat frantically.
‘The traces are fading.’
Where could she be?
I rowed with desperate urgency.
There had been an incomprehensible surge of magical power moments ago.
It was unmistakably a magical wave of spatial displacement.
That wave had transported Isabel somewhere.
When I backtracked that surge and reached near the shore, I leaped into the water.
I swam toward the land.
“Ah…!”
Water dripped from my body.
My legs gave way and I collapsed.
“Your Highness.”
I saw Isabel.
Isabel was breathing.
With my legs unable to support me, I could no longer walk and crawled toward Isabel.
“Thank goodness.”
I pulled Isabel into a tight embrace.
She had merely lost consciousness; her breathing was completely normal.
Her magical power was also stabilized.
Strangely, not a single drop of water clung to Isabel’s body.
Water droplets fell from the tips of my hair onto Isabel’s cheek with soft taps.
“Mm.”
Isabel slowly opened her eyes.
The bright world began to come into view gradually.
And I saw that I was crying.
“Teacher?”
“….”
Though Isabel had regained consciousness, I did not release her.
I held her even tighter than usual, refusing to let go.
If I released Isabel now, it felt as though I would lose her forever.
“Thank you for staying alive.”
“….”
Through my magical power, my sincerity was conveyed to Isabel.
The depth of that emotion was so overwhelming that Isabel’s mind could barely bear it.
My heart grew heavy, and my mind became hazy as though intoxicated by medicine.
The emotions Biatone felt were so profound and immense that they shook Isabel’s already weakened spirit.
‘Everything’s spinning.’
Isabel’s consciousness grew slightly clouded.
As her eyes lost focus, she asked him the same question she had posed to Ron and Serna.
“Then… is it… is it alright if I say I want to live?”
“….”
“What if you hate me for lying?”
Biatone’s body trembled slightly.
Isabel’s body shook uncontrollably.
Realizing her condition, he carefully laid her down on the ground.
He noticed her eyes had lost all focus.
“Did someone hate the Princess?”
“Yes. Many people hated me. They pointed fingers and called me a liar.”
Biatone’s eyes narrowed.
“Who did that?”
“Everyone did. I’m apparently a liar.”
Biatone wanted nothing more than to embrace Isabel again and comfort her right then and there.
But he restrained himself.
Because accepting the torrent of emotions pouring from him would be too much for her to bear.
“No. You are not a liar, Princess.”
“….”
“Even if you were, it wouldn’t matter. There are countless people who love you regardless.”
Isabel’s eyes still lacked focus.
Yet she smiled faintly and spoke.
“There are so many people I want to love in return.”
“….”
“I love Viscount Biatonn too. In truth, I’ve wanted to love you for so long.”
Tears streamed down Biatone’s face.
Unable to touch Isabel’s cheek, he only clenched the sand around him in his fists.
“Please say you want to live. Ask me to save you. Even if it’s a lie, that’s enough.”
Never had a lie felt so desperately necessary.

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