I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 47

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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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Dozens of exclamation marks materialized above Kim Beolggwol’s head.
They were mana patterns created in dragon tongue, invisible to human eyes.
[?!]
[!!!]
[!!!!!!!]
[?!!?!?!?!?!?!]
Countless patterns composed of question marks and exclamation marks materialized and vanished at lightning speed, like rays of light.
Kim Beolggwol seemed to have achieved a profound realization.
Just moments ago, through the window, I had seen Isabel’s face—and it was truly a face of happiness.
As a ratel, Kim Beolggwol had now begun to think on a higher plane.
[Isabel’s joy = Money]
Having attained this sublime enlightenment, the ratel returned to the Dragon’s Nest with heightened awareness.
Returning in Arun’s form, I walked briskly through the nest.
“Arun, you’re back?”
The black flame dragon Kadelina called out Arun’s name several times.
Arun shook his head a few times.
Now that his consciousness as a dragon had awakened, he recalled something.
“Mother. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“How do you become wealthy?”
“Wealthy?”
It was an oddly peculiar question for a dragon.
Dragons were creatures that could become the richest beings in the world if they so desired.
“Well, through cordial dialogue and mutual agreement, one could plunder….”
Ahem.
She cleared her throat.
“By human standards, you’d become wealthy by growing stronger, I suppose?”
“By growing stronger?”
“Yes, that should do it. Being good at fighting is the best way, after all.”
“That seems a bit odd?”
“No, Mother’s right.”
In truth, Kadelina knew no other method besides becoming stronger, so she couldn’t explain alternatives.
Besides, dragons had never really bothered trying to become wealthy in the first place.
“But why do you ask?”
Arun met Kadelina’s gaze.
At the same moment, I felt something.
‘It feels like I shouldn’t be honest about this.’
Now that my consciousness as a dragon had awakened, fragments of Kim Beolggwol’s memories remained scattered.
Though I lacked complete memories, one face—smiling brightly like sunlight—remained vivid in my mind.
“Well, I’m strangely feeling these desires. To possess things, to seize them, things like that.”
“That’s what we call greed. Or desire, if we want to be more refined about it. It’s a perfectly natural emotion.”
“But we can’t feel things like that, can we?”
“That’s precisely why you learn. By experiencing diverse lives.”
“Hmm, dragons don’t need to become wealthy, do they?”
“That’s right. What meaning would it hold for us?”
Despite saying such things, the Dragon’s Nest was scattered with all manner of treasures, yet Kadelina smiled softly nonetheless.
“Yes. By experiencing and feeling such diverse emotions indirectly, you can grow into a wonderful adult.”
“I understand. I’ll do my best going forward.”
Kadelina’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“But Arun, do you remember anything else, perhaps?”
“I’m not sure.”
I couldn’t afford to remember. My sense of self as a dragon might waver because of it.
I needed to retain only vague emotional impressions.
There were times when I recalled experiences that were far too vivid, and in such cases, mother dragons would erase those memories for me.
I pondered this.
‘I can’t be too honest, but I can’t be too dishonest either, can I?’
Deceiving Mother felt deeply uncomfortable, yet I had no choice.
I didn’t want to lose the memories of Kim Beolggwol. Those fragmentary recollections were so dazzling that merely gazing upon them filled me with happiness.
“Well, there seems to be someone who shines brilliantly like sunlight.”
“Is that so? What are they like specifically?”
“Um, I’m not sure.”
I clutched my head and pretended to think hard.
“I just can’t remember!”
I gazed at Kadelina with a worried expression.
“Am I a deficient dragon? A fool who can’t even remember things?”
“No, you’re not.”
Kadelina finally relaxed.
She embraced her son tightly.
“It’s proof that you’re having wonderful experiences. Don’t blame yourself—just live happily.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“It’s perfectly natural that you can’t remember. Don’t worry about it, understand?”
“Yes.”
Nestled in Kadelina’s embrace, Arun wore the smile of a schemer.
* * *
Meanwhile, Marco, the continent’s greatest emotion mage, discovered something remarkable.
“Oh!”
His research fervor ignited intensely.
One night, the Betrothal Stone suddenly bloomed with crimson light, and flowers burst into full bloom simultaneously.
“This can’t be—the legend is real?”
He examined the Betrothal Stone through his specially crafted magical spectacles. He couldn’t determine the exact nature of it, but some magical phenomenon was clearly occurring.
He found a relevant passage in his family’s secret records.
“When a marriage contract is successfully completed, such miracles occur…”
Of course, a marriage contract like that could never have actually taken place. There was no way someone had sworn marriage vows upon this betrothal stone.
Legends were merely legends, and this betrothal stone—a treasure—was simply a device that gave the artifact its story and history.
“Heh heh, in any case, how fascinating.”
The hundred million Ludens I paid to Servant Deilsa felt not wasteful in the slightest on a day like this.
“Let me see… ‘If both parties devote themselves sincerely, offer their lives to one another, and sacrifice for each other, diamonds will pour forth from the betrothal stone.’ I doubt it’s real, but still, what intriguing content.”
* * *
Before returning to Kim Beolggwol, Arun drew a deep breath.
‘Remember. Even if I can’t remember everything, I must remember. I am Arun.’
It was fine if I couldn’t remember everything. Still, I wanted to remember Isabel as my true self.
So I made the vow again and again.
‘I probably won’t be able to remember anyway.’
Yet I hoped that even the smallest fragment at the edge of my consciousness might retain some memory.
Soon, his form gradually shrank, transforming into the shape of a ratel.
He who had been Arun was now Kim Beolggwol.
Kim Beolggwol began to think in a more primitive manner.
‘What am I?’
When in the form of Kim Beolggwol, he could not recall the dragon’s consciousness.
The dragon was too vast an existence to accept as Kim Beolggwol. When something was too vast, nothing could be seen before one’s eyes.
Yet one thing was certain.
‘Isabel, I want to see her.’
I wanted to see that radiant form.
Kim Beolggwol slipped into Isabel’s bedroom and carefully burrowed under the blankets.
Isabel was sleeping soundly.
Kim Beolggwol carefully squeezed in and nestled into Isabel’s embrace.
‘Is there something I should remember?’
It felt as though I had lost something very important.
A sweet voice reached my ears.
“Mmm, did Beolggwol come?”
Isabel was still asleep, but unconsciously she pulled Kim Beolggwol close and held him tight.
Kim Beolggwol had to exercise extreme patience.
‘Kim Beolggwol. Endure.’
Against my will, my tail kept moving.
If I moved too vigorously here, Isabel would surely wake.
‘Stop. Tail.’
He had now become a ratel who could control even his tail at will.
The next day, Isabel set out from the Imperial Palace with Viscount Biatonn.
“You needn’t escort the Princess personally, Viscount Biatonn.”
“I’m eager to escort the Princess myself.”
Inside the carriage.
Biatone gazed at me with a gentle smile.
“I apologize for taking up your time.”
“I’m delighted to have been given this time.”
Even though I recognized his words as mere courtesy, I found it difficult to suppress the laughter bubbling up from within.
‘This foolish man! Stop laughing!’
I tried not to laugh.
Yet it proved impossible to obey myself.
My child’s body responded honestly, breaking into a wide smile once more.
My face flushed crimson. I felt somewhat embarrassed at how transparently I reacted to praise and kind words.
“Why were you laughing, Your Highness?”
Though mortified, I answered truthfully.
“Because Viscount Biatone spoke to me so tenderly, it made me happy.”
As I spoke, my voice grew progressively quieter. I felt ashamed, as though my entire heart had been laid bare.
I hastily changed the subject.
“Will Yuri and her mother arrive here safely?”
“Of course. My direct subordinates went to fetch them. They’ll bring them here safely.”
“Your direct subordinates went?”
This was the first I’d heard of it.
Biatone was the Emperor’s aide, and his direct subordinates were all renowned for their exceptional abilities.
Mobilizing such skilled individuals would require an astronomical sum.
“I… I don’t have that much money.”
“Don’t worry. We agreed on ten million Ludens.”
“…Pardon? Is that even possible?”
“Yes. It turned out to be possible.”
Though it did require considerable diplomatic finesse and negotiation.
I didn’t mention that part.
My eyes widened in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yes. Those friends of mine seem to have taken a liking to Your Highness’s warm heart. How could they not? When someone as lovely as you makes a request, how could they refuse?”
If they refused, they’d face hellish—no, rigorous training afterward. How could they possibly refuse?
Biatone, keeping that thought to himself, laughed brightly.
But then.
Crash!
The carriage shook violently with a thunderous sound.
Neeeeiiiigh!
The horses’ cries pierced the air.
Biatone quickly opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
“What’s happening?”
Biatone rapidly assessed the situation.
“…A traffic accident?”
The horses collided with a person.
Yet somehow, the horses seemed to be in more pain than the person.
The coachman hurriedly descended and apologized to Viscount Biatonn.
“V-Viscount, I sincerely apologize. It was my carelessness….”
“This is a pedestrian accident.”
Someone had been struck.
A woman.
He was telling the coachman to check on her first.
The coachman, terrified, nodded frantically.
He rushed forward in front of the horses to calm them. Then he asked.
“Are you alright….”
He should have asked that.
But….
“…You seem fine.”
She looked remarkably unharmed.
It was the horses that were in pain, while the woman simply stood there blankly.
She was a woman of considerable height with crimson hair.
The woman asked.
“Are you all right, you two?”
The horses whinnied and shook their bodies.
Fortunately, none of the horses were seriously injured.
“There, there, you must have been startled. Good ones.”
She gently patted the horses’ necks, soothing them.
It was Kiruen, commander of the Outer Castle guard.
Kiruen’s gaze shifted toward Viscount Biatonn.
“My, who is this mad nobleman riding a four-horse carriage on such a narrow road? Your face looks rather familiar, actually.”

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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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