I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 59
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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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Yuli was startled.
At first glance, there appeared to be at least ten or more of them.
‘So that many people teleported at once?’
This was an act that shattered conventional wisdom—extremely reckless and dangerous.
The Transportation Gate was the culmination of current magical technology and magical engineering. It was an advanced technique that simultaneously manipulated both the temporal and spatial axes.
Being such a sophisticated technology, it was inherently complex and perilous.
For this reason, it was customary to minimize the number of people who could teleport at once.
‘Are they people trained in mana?’
While those capable of wielding mana themselves could sometimes move together in groups, even then the limit was around five or six people.
That was common knowledge.
‘No. They’re just ordinary people.’
You could tell by looking at their appearance.
Most people trained in mana held high positions.
Except for a rare few geniuses, one could only learn to handle mana by following an elite path from childhood.
They wore tattered armor. Their bodies seemed well-trained, but they were absolutely not warriors versed in mana.
Yuli approached them and asked.
“Who are you?”
The man among them who looked the most intimidating and had the largest build answered.
“Ah, I’m Captain Lucain from the 7th Border Outpost of the Erbe Mountains. And who might you be?”
“I’m Yuli from the Whispers, currently conducting research related to the Teisabel Teleportation Gate.”
“The Whispers? Hey, you lot, do you know what the Whispers is?”
“We don’t!”
“We don’t!”
“We don’t!”
Though the Whispers was the most famous news publication on the continent, these men had never heard of it.
That wasn’t particularly surprising.
Publications like news journals were familiar only to nobility, not to commoners struggling to survive day by day.
Yuli answered calmly.
“It’s the largest news publication on the continent. By the way, you said you came from the Erbe Mountains?”
They began to explain.
After hearing their story, Yuli was taken aback.
“So you’re saying soldiers are volunteering to verify the safety of this Transportation Gate? Because one or two people at a time isn’t enough, you’re having multiple people teleport at once?”
It was more dangerous for ten people to teleport once than for one person to teleport one hundred times in separate trips.
Captain Lucain spoke bluntly.
“Those high-ranking lords kept spouting nonsense.”
“Pardon? Nonsense?”
“Something about how the new Transportation Gate is dangerous and shouldn’t be used. They kept saying we couldn’t use it for safety reasons—complete nonsense.”
He spat with a contemptuous attitude. Ptui!
He was quite angry.
“We couldn’t use it anyway. Isn’t that right, you lot?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
They were soldiers guarding the outpost at the Erbe Mountains. Most of them were poor commoners.
Therefore, they had never been given the opportunity to use advanced civilization like the Transportation Gate.
Yuli observed the soldiers.
All of them wore the same expression.
‘Ah…’
Though their features were rough, their faces were etched with longing.
They desperately wanted this Transportation Gate to become active.
‘Once it activates, they’ll be able to move freely with their families too.’
That desolate northern frontier.
Even those grim men who guarded the Erbe Mountains day and night must have people dear to them.
For those precious people, they didn’t shy away from this grueling work, standing guard over the Erbe Mountains.
Wearing such heavy, worn armor.
For them, new innovations they could use immediately were far more precious than the lofty theories of the Magic Tower’s renowned mages and the magical federation.
A seven-year-old Princess from the Imperial Palace was a greater magical engineer than the chief mages of Mirotell.
‘What have I come here for?’
The faces of the soldiers who had journeyed from the Erbe Mountains to the Imperial Palace wouldn’t leave her mind.
‘Why did I want to become a journalist in my childhood?’
Returning to her quarters, she began completely changing the direction and content of her investigation.
* * *
The weather was absolutely beautiful today.
With the window open, gazing at the blue sky, I was enjoying a sunbath.
Then, a loud voice rang out.
“Line up straight!”
Clack! Clack!
Thunderous footsteps. Followed by shouted commands.
“One! Two! One! Two!”
Startled by the booming cheer, I peered down from afar.
Though their appearance was worn, the soldiers were sharply disciplined.
“We’ll sing a marching song, the title is ‘The Magnificent Princess!’ The song begins, one, two, three, four!”
I shut the window firmly.
The soundproofing of the window was so perfect that outside sounds didn’t come through clearly, yet I had the illusion I could hear it anyway.
“The… Magnificent Princess?”
I crouched down beneath the window and hid, then soon lifted my head.
Stretching only my hand high, I carefully opened the window just a crack.
I became curious about what kind of marching song this “Magnificent Princess” was.
‘I feel like I shouldn’t listen to this.’
It felt like opening Pandora’s box that should remain sealed.
Just then, Yuri, who had come to my room carrying dessert, spotted me.
“Your Highness? What are you doing?”
“Sister, do you know what a guilty pleasure is?”
“A guilty pleasure?”
Yuri was as sharp as ever.
Ever since becoming my lady-in-waiting, she had been diligently studying various subjects to become a proper attendant befitting the Princess, and she was like a vending machine that dispensed ten answers for every one question fed into it.
“By definition, it refers to an action one enjoys while feeling guilty about it. It can also mean an illicit pleasure. In this context, the guilt isn’t so much moral as it is about doing something childish and absurd—the fear of being caught by others…”
“Exactly, that’s it.”
The window opened and singing drifted in.
From the lyrics, it went something like this.
“Magnificent! Your Highness! The one and only Princess!”
I quickly shut the window again and took a deep breath.
Oh, should I even be listening to this? I felt guilty. But I was also curious.
I was even seized by curiosity about just how bizarre this strange song could get.
I crept forward and cracked the window open slightly.
“That’s right! I am! Hot! A man~ like! Hot! A man for the Princess! Undefeated in battle! Devotion burns bright! Praise the Princess, magnificent! Your Highness!”
“Your Highness, your face is turning red.”
“Sister, I’m dying of embarrassment.”
It went beyond embarrassment—it was humiliating.
Goosebumps erupted all over me from head to toe.
If I could hide, I wanted to stay hidden for about three days.
“The song itself is embarrassing enough, but I’m even more ashamed of myself for listening to it all the way through. Everyone else in the Arena Palace must have heard it too, right?”
It was such a loud military march that it echoed throughout the entire Arena Palace.
Even Steward Dailsa, who typically disliked disturbances in the Arena Palace, was nowhere to be seen.
I peeked out the window to spy on the soldiers advancing(?) toward the Arena Palace.
“Those people… they’re so serious it’s scary.”
With those fierce faces and massive builds, marching with sword-sharp precision, singing at the top of their lungs about the “magnificent Princess.”
Thud! Thud!
The footsteps grew closer and closer.
They stopped in front of my room.
“Everyone, attention!”
Thud!
The sound of them standing at attention rang out.
I swallowed hard.
Yuri spoke.
“Should I chase them away?”
“Ah, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.”
If they were truly dangerous, they wouldn’t have been allowed into the Imperial Palace in the first place, nor would they be confidently marching around singing military anthems within it.
They were just overwhelming and intimidating, but I could tell for certain they weren’t bad people.
Knock, knock.
Along with the knocking came a booming voice.
It was plainly just a human voice, yet it resonated with such resonance as if infused with magic power.
“Captain Lucain of the 7th Border Outpost in the Erbe Mountains! I humbly request an audience with Villorian’s noble bloodline, Villorian’s one and only Princess!”
Then a small voice followed.
He seemed to be speaking quietly, but his voice was naturally so loud that I heard every word anyway.
“Hey, guys. What does ‘audience’ mean? Did I read that right?”
A faint murmuring sound drifted over.
It seemed someone had written that speech for him.
Yuri called out to me again.
“Your Highness? What should we do?”
“Open the door for now.”
When Yuri opened the door, a man of enormous build came into view.
He looked so intimidating that he resembled a bandit.
At first glance, his sheer size brought to mind a rhinoceros.
“Entire unit, attention! Salute to Her Highness the Princess!”
Snap!
They raised their right hands and saluted me.
I was startled by their overwhelming presence and the sharp precision of their movements.
Yuri asked on my behalf.
“What brings the soldiers of the Erbe Mountains to this place?”
“As those who have received profound kindness and grace from Her Highness the Princess, we have come to… uh… that is to say…”
The man who introduced himself as Captain Lucain wiped his palms furtively.
It appeared he had created something like a cheat sheet on his palm.
“You’re saying I’ve done you a kindness?”
“Yes, that is correct!”
Goodness, what a shock. I thought my eardrums would burst.
‘But when did I ever do them a favor?’
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t recall any such occasion. I found it difficult to understand what Lucain was even talking about.
“Please, come inside for now.”
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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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