I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 19

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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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Michael lowered his voice as if sharing a secret.
“I told you I’d introduce you to a friend, right?”
I couldn’t understand why he was lowering his voice when everyone could hear anyway.
‘He said it was a cute friend without manners… could that possibly be a ratel?’
It was a ratel, known in South Korea as a ratel.
Michael spoke.
“This little beast fearlessly went head-to-head with a lion.”
Viscount Lancer seemed intrigued.
“This tiny thing, you say?”
As Viscount Lancer approached, the ratel bared its small teeth and let out a sharp cry.
The ferocity was quite menacing.
“Yeah, it was fighting five lions at once.”
Michael seemed pleased by the ratel’s spirit and grinned, reaching out to touch the space between its brows.
Snap!
The ratel rejected my brother’s touch.
“Ow! You little beast, what if you’d bitten me!”
It seemed the ratel was fine with climbing on my brother’s body, but it didn’t like when my brother touched its own body.
“Almost drew blood. I’m only letting it slide because it’s cute.”
Though it seemed to have bitten quite hard, not even a small wound appeared on my brother’s finger.
I asked.
“What happened to the other four?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said it was fighting five lions at once, didn’t you?”
One had been brought here.
So what about the other four?
“What are you talking about? This one was fighting five lions!”
“….”
They say it’s the most fearless animal in the world, and that seemed to be true.
“They were cowardly enough to gang up on it, so I taught them a lesson.”
“…So, five lions?”
“Yeah.”
I was reminded once again that this was a fantasy world.
That little creature, who looked no different from me on the surface, had disciplined five lions.
“…How do you discipline a lion?”
“Well, I just made them kneel and raise their paws.”
“That actually works?”
Michael tilted his head.
Only then did he seem to notice something odd.
“Right. Does that actually work?”
Viscount Lancer chimed in from the side.
“Sometimes, ruthless violence transforms the impossible into the possible. Did you strike them many times?”
“I only meant to teach them a lesson, but they slapped my face and bit my neck. So naturally, I got angry.”
“And then? Surely you didn’t draw your sword?”
“Come now, just because they’re large doesn’t mean I’d use a blade on such timid, cowardly creatures.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I simply returned the favor, that’s all.”
It was truly an absurd story.
He had behaved exactly like a lion.
“I’m not so depraved as to draw steel against an animal companion.”
I discovered something rather amusing.
My brother was speaking to Viscount Lancer, but he seemed to be watching Servant Deilsa’s expression the entire time.
“I could have arrived on time, but I was delayed saving a poor animal friend caught in an unreasonable crisis. Since I was late displaying the spirit of chivalry, I ask that Viscount Lancer show me some consideration.”
“My, so you did display that spirit of chivalry I spoke of so earnestly. This deserves praise, not reproach! Ahahaha!”
What was even more amusing was that Viscount Lancer was also watching Servant Deilsa’s expression.
“Indeed, isn’t that so?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
What was most amusing was that both of them knew the other was watching Servant Deilsa’s expression.
It was like watching rabbits united in purpose before a lion named Deilsa.
I could see it clearly now.
‘The true power holder of this palace is undoubtedly Servant Deilsa.’
I should make a good impression.
I smiled brightly.
“Servant Deilsa. I’m hungry. Would you like to go eat with me?”
My tongue seemed to be slurring.
It must be my imagination.
* * *
Isabel did not lower her guard toward Karin.
‘She might be harvesting the mana contained in my breath.’
I couldn’t know how far the research on Narbidal had progressed.
‘It’s suspicious how she’s pouring such extraordinary effort into me.’
There had to be some hidden agenda.
While striving not to show any flaws, I studied magical theory diligently.
Karin’s magical skill, at least, was genuine.
“Teacher, I have a question.”
“Please speak.”
“Do you know about ratels?”
“I do.”
“How would you explain the strange distortion of mana I sense from ratels?”
“It’s rare, but it does occur. Usually, it happens when they’ve eaten a mana stone—a magical ore. This phenomenon is particularly common in fearless animals like ratels, since they eat practically anything they find.”
“But that distortion seems like it could be used for something. What do you think that might be?”
Karin observed Isabel.
She understood what Isabel was saying.
‘Magical intuition.’
Very rarely, there existed people who possessed an innate sense for grasping the flow of magic.
The world called them geniuses.
Isabel found Karin’s gaze terrifying.
Those indifferent eyes that seemed to read through every hidden thought.
Having one’s mind read by the final mastermind was deeply frightening.
“What specifically do you feel you might be able to do?”
“I’m not entirely sure. But I feel like I could become friends with a ratel.”
“Let us research that together.”
From that day forward, Karin increased the frequency and duration of her lessons.
* * *
Several days passed.
“Do you wish to become friends with a ratel?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s cool. My brother said it even fought a lion.”
“Is that what makes it cool?”
“Courage is cool. It seems to live so spiritedly, unbowed by reality.”
Again, several days passed.
Karin offered a small hint.
“If you use Droiwell’s theorem, that formula should be completed to a certain degree.”
She wouldn’t understand it anyway.
Yet Karin enjoyed watching Isabel become absorbed in magical theory.
‘When she concentrates, she always purses her lips.’
How adorable those small, delicate lips were.
So today too, she observed Isabel in secret.
Isabel read various symbols and formulas densely written on a sheet roughly the size of A4 paper.
Many of them were familiar.
Magical formulas had much in common with modern mathematics.
“However, there exist numbers that cannot be defined by the magical formulas the Princess has learned, so perfect completion is impossible.”
“Wow, what a cliché.”
Solving problems using knowledge from the modern world.
It was a very common cliché.
“Pardon?”
“What I mean is, the definition regarding the root of that squared number isn’t clear, is it?”
“…Then can the Princess express that clearly?”
Isabel was an exam student who had gone through the rigorous test-taking life of South Korea.
She quite enjoyed mathematics and had been accepted to a Korean university through the mathematical essay examination track.
In other words, answering the final antagonist’s test through mathematics was a rather common trope.
‘Since the final antagonist Karin is set up as a genius mage, her standards must be extraordinarily high, right?’
The knowledge of an ordinary(?) test-taker from South Korea would certainly not be particularly special even if I poured it out recklessly.
“The magical coefficient here is negative, but the problem is that it must take the form of a perfect square, correct?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“Since squaring a number to get a negative result doesn’t exist in the concept of real numbers.”
Karin was deeply shocked.
However, she maintained her composure outwardly. She had promised herself to become a strict teacher to Isabel.
She asked in a cold tone.
“Then what concept would you suggest applying to solve this?”
Watching her, Isabel misunderstood.
Of course. This is nothing to a genius mage.
I freely unleashed the knowledge from my past life.
“By applying the concept of imaginary numbers and drawing the complex plane like this, the z value can be viewed as a single point on the coordinate plane and corresponds to the sum of real number a and imaginary number bi. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
It was a very basic fundamental concept.
Isabel thought so too, and Karin’s demeanor clearly reflected that.
Karin continued asking in her calm manner.
“Then how would you find the value of r, the root that must be substituted into the final magical equation?”
Thump! Thump!
Karin’s heart felt like it would burst.
No matter how rapidly a Villorian bloodline grew, this was absolutely not something that should come from the mouth of a five-year-old.
Her understanding of magical formulas exceeded imagination.
“For that, if I set the angle between the planes as theta and calculate it, the z value can ultimately be found through trigonometric functions… like this… if I do it this way… it can be expressed as the sum of cosine and sine functions.”
Isabel looked at Viscount Lancer with bright, intelligent eyes.
She felt reassured that at this level, no fault could be found.
‘Thank goodness. I’ll get through today safely too.’
But then Karin asked another question.
“However, the equation is so complex that it cannot be solved by hand, correct?”
Wow, another test here?
Isabel tensed up again.
I thought for a five-year-old, this was quite good.
It seemed the genius final antagonist’s eyes were not satisfied.
Isabel had to answer even more earnestly.
“By using the concept of linear algebra and calculating with matrices, I think we can solve equations of this level. Since it’s a 4×4 matrix.”
A test-taker from South Korea.
Isabel, who had been accepted to Korea University’s mathematical essay admission and whose hobbies included algebra and various science and engineering studies, ultimately derived the final value.
And Karin spoke briefly.
“You did well.”
In truth, she could not say more, too busy concealing her astonishment.
A single word of praise was the best she could offer.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Still, it felt like the first time I’d heard someone say “you did well.”
Isabel felt a modest sense of pride.
“But then again.”
Karin looked at Isabel.
Her gaze felt remarkably sharp.
“…Yes?”
Isabel clearly saw it.
The flicker of pure desire burning in Karin’s eyes.
The corner of Karin’s left mouth twitched.
‘That’s definitely the dangerous gaze and gesture of the final mastermind, isn’t it?’

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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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