I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 162

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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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Robena’s face scrunched up in displeasure.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Even the priests say there’s nothing they can do right now.”
I still couldn’t understand how Arun had restored Maria to normalcy.
The Imperial Palace’s finest minds were being mobilized to examine her, yet Maria remained trapped within the false world Akmon had created.
In fact, the situation was deteriorating by the day.
“A miracle is needed.”
And I know how to create one.
If I use a portion of my lifespan to awaken the priests’ healing power, I should be able to restore Maria’s mental world.
But Robena wouldn’t agree with my plan.
“You have no reason to go that far.”
“I heard news about Sermon.”
“….”
“You heard about it too, didn’t you?”
“Everyone was told to keep their mouths shut. Where on earth did this leak from?”
Maria wasn’t the only one in a critical condition.
Sermon, who originally met with me once a week, had apparently shown symptoms similar to Maria’s, suffered seizures, and then attempted self-harm.
They said that as time passed, Sermon was deteriorating further into madness.
“If he’d been discovered even slightly later, he would have died.”
“….”
“A simple potion made by Akmon won’t solve this.”
There are limits to what that can do.
Maria herself must exercise that healing power.
“That’s why I have to heal Maria. For Maria’s sake, for Sermon’s sake.”
And for the many people around me who will be left behind as gifts after I depart.
Watching Maria, I came to a clear realization.
In novels, such things are described in a single brief line, but the people within those lines live countless lives to explain that one sentence.
It will be the same for those around me.
I will leave this world in about nine years, but the people around me will continue living their own lives.
‘Maria was a companion of the male lead, after all.’
She was a hero whose abilities were guaranteed.
If such a person were to serve the Imperial Palace?
Then it would be an enormous help to my family as well.
“I tried so hard to become a useful child.”
“….”
“But I realized that being a useless child was fine too.”
I was certain that many people would love me, whether I was useful or not.
I was grateful for that, and it made me happy.
“Ironically, because of that, I want to become even more useful.”
Healing Maria would be far more worthwhile than me living a little longer when I’m destined to leave anyway.
‘If Yuri researches together with me, I can create potions of far superior quality compared to Akmon’s.’
Then the influence of Narmore Corporation would expand even further.
There could be no better gift for the family members I would leave behind.
“At that time, please arrange for me to meet that priest.”
“….”
“The Elder Priest who could perform miracles using Narbidal’s stigma.”
Once I had completely made up my mind, my heart felt strangely at peace.
I spoke with a light laugh.
“I need a miracle. For myself.”
* * *
“Greetings. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cadelinon, the Great Sage of the Sharp North Wind and the Fierce Bloodstream.”
The moment I heard that grandiose introduction, I burst out laughing—pffft!
And the Elder Priest reacted somewhat sensitively to my laughter.
“Why is that?”
“That’s not right.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s the Great Sage of the Sharp North Wind and the Cold Bloodstream.”
“….”
Robena, who had come with me, stared at me as if utterly flabbergasted.
“You actually memorized that useless thing?”
“It just stuck in my head somehow?”
The Elder Priest cleared his throat and corrected himself again.
“The Great Sage of the Sharp North Wind and the Fierce Bloodstream… wasn’t it?”
“No! The Great Sage of the Sharp North Wind and the Cold Bloodstream. Why can’t you remember your own epithet?”
It was as if he had hastily made it up on the spot.
Regardless, he was an amusing person.
“I memorized that name because I thought it was cool. But now that you yourself are confused about it, I’m a bit disappointed.”
Robena’s mouth fell open even wider in astonishment, and the Elder Priest’s eyes widened as well.
“You mean that wasn’t a lie back then?”
“I’m not good at lying.”
“Hehehehe.”
After laughing for a while, the Elder Priest looked at Robena and spoke with confidence.
“See? I told you? It’s real? The Princess truly meant what she said?”
“…Surprisingly, it seems so.”
“You… no, Duke, you were wrong. Apologize.”
“Perhaps you could clarify your identity, Priest Cadelinon.”
Robena let out a deep sigh.
To be honest, it was difficult to fully understand what they were saying, but since those two seemed to have a deep connection from before, I figured that was just how it was.
It must be some kind of conversation style only the two of them understood.
I spent about thirty minutes in conversation with the Elder Priest.
“That’s right. I needed a miracle. You see…”
I felt terrible for Maria, but she was currently asleep after taking a sedative.
To prevent any unforeseen accidents, a gag was placed in her mouth, and her entire body was bound tightly as she lay inside a coffin-shaped box.
“There’s someone who is very ill.”
“Let me take a look.”
The Elder Priest snapped his fingers with a sharp sound, and the lid of the box floated up gently.
Huh?
A priest who uses magic? I’d never seen that in the novel.
It seemed there was truly a world within the novel that I knew nothing about.
“Hmm.”
The Elder Priest silently examined Maria for another thirty minutes or so.
“The condition is more serious than I thought.”
“Can she recover?”
“Well, let’s discuss this a bit more, shall we?”
“We’ve already talked for an hour?”
“Let’s talk a little more.”
His expression seemed rather grave.
* * *
Before Isabel met with Cadelinon.
The young priest guiding them spoke.
“Only the Duke, the Princess, and the patient in need of treatment may enter. Others cannot.”
So Arun was guided to a different room for the time being.
There, Arun fell into meditation.
‘I sense a familiar magical power.’
A dragon can sense another dragon.
In particular, Arun could precisely perceive his mother Kadelina’s magical power.
‘I mustn’t reveal myself, must I?’
Right now, Arun was the Duke’s son and human.
Arun was still a young dragon, and he must not retain complete human memories.
Shortly after, Isabel entered the room where he was, accompanied by the priest Cadelinon.
Arun asked.
“Where did my mother go?”
“Your mother is here… no wait, what’s the name of this handsome young man?”
Arun nearly burst out laughing without meaning to.
His mother seemed rather careless.
But he steeled himself.
‘Mother couldn’t possibly be careless.’
A dragon is a being close to perfection.
She couldn’t make such a mistake, and this was likely still a way to test whether he remained her son.
“My name is Arun.”
“Oh, I don’t know whose son you are, but you certainly possess a brilliantly radiant appearance. Your eyes are so clear and pure. Your mother must be very pleased. Who is your mother?”
“Duke Robena.”
“Hehehehe. You’ve raised quite an exceptional son.”
For some reason, Cadelinon gazed at Arun with an expression of satisfaction and pride.
Arun glanced at Cadelinon with an impassive expression, then looked away.
“Won’t you spare me a warm gaze as well? The temperature difference between how you look at the Princess and how you look at me is quite stark, isn’t it?”
“Wouldn’t it be strange to look at you the same way I look at the Princess?”
“How disappointing.”
After some time had passed, Cadelinon explained the full circumstances.
“…Thus, I myself don’t know how much lifespan will be required. I’ll only know once I attempt it directly.”
“Can’t you estimate it, at least roughly?”
“It could be a day, or it could be a year. It depends on the magnitude of the miracle, and I may very well have to expend all my remaining lifespan.”
“….”
“Your expression looks quite poor. Prince Arun, are you alright?”
“…I simply support and respect the Princess’s wishes.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case, given how tightly you’re clenching your fists.”
Arun bit his lip.
In truth, he wanted to cry out “No!” right this very moment.
But Arun had no justification for such an outburst.
If he raised his voice too much here, Mother would certainly grow suspicious of him, and all memories related to Isabel might disappear.
Arun asked.
“Is that truly what you wish for, Princess?”
The time I could spend with Isabel would diminish.
For Arun, it was a punishment worse than death itself.
“Yes.”
“…Why would you go so far?”
“Because I want to leave gifts for the people I love before I depart.”
“For me….”
That’s not a gift to me at all.
I just want you to stay by my side longer—even for one more second, one more moment.
I barely managed to swallow those words.
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Cadelinon drew closer to Arun.
“Since we’ve met like this, it must be fate—shall we shake hands?”
“….”
The timing of the handshake was rather abrupt, but Arun extended his hand nonetheless.
In case Cadelinon tried to read his memories while he wavered, Arun reinforced his mental barriers firmly.
‘Hm?’
The Elder Priest applied considerable force to the grip.
Like mages clashing through their magical forces in combat, they were pushing an immense torrent of mana toward me.
‘What is he plotting?’
Arun hastily drew upon his own mana in response.
A battle of mana against mana.
As if an earthquake had struck, the surroundings trembled and reverberated with a deep rumble.
A vase on the table shattered against the floor, and a glass display cabinet burst into fragments.
And Cadelinon was taken aback.
It was far stronger than she had anticipated.
‘Why is she this powerful?’

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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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