I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 68

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

My initial assignment was to prepare simple meals for the volunteers in a designated area.
It was too ambiguous to call it a kitchen—more like a sprawling barracks of sorts.
Quite a few people were there, perspiring profusely.
They were boiling something in an enormous cauldron, and the heat was intense.
Everyone was too busy to pay attention to me.
‘Hmm… I feel like a forgotten sack of grain.’
I felt like a barley sack that had been set aside and forgotten.
However, I quickly grasped what I needed to do.
“It must be quite hot for you all, isn’t it?”
I retrieved my Siberun Mana Stone.
“I can cool things down for you.”
Adding one more pair of hands here didn’t seem like it would make a truly significant difference.
Instead, I thought it would be better to greatly improve everyone else’s efficiency.
“Cool air flows out gently.”
The Siberun Mana Stone absorbed heat and converted it into a cold property to release.
Bumblebee absolutely loved this, and with the inverter system applied, mana consumption was remarkably low.
‘At this scale, I can manage it.’
I wasn’t sure exactly how much mana I possessed, but I could sustain cooling this barracks.
In fact, it wasn’t just sustainable—I had plenty of capacity to spare.
As long as I ate well and slept properly, I could do this continuously without rest for a lifetime.
Hector, the work foreman, approached me.
“You’re actually a mage, aren’t you?”
“Of course. I’ve learned magic. Though it’s nothing particularly impressive.”
“Nothing particularly impressive?”
“Right. It’s really not that remarkable.”
I genuinely don’t consider myself particularly impressive.
Because the mathematical knowledge I possess comes from modern society, and it was created by countless geniuses.
I simply learned what they had already discovered.
“So this is what you consider unremarkable.”
“Yes. My teachers are far more impressive than I am.”
The mathematical knowledge was merely borrowed from the modern world, and in terms of magical understanding and application, Viscount Biatonn and Karin were far superior.
Compared to them, my magical control ability was crude.
I knew my place well.
“From my perspective, this seems impressive enough…”
That’s only because this world has no air conditioning. In truth, it’s not that remarkable.
“In any case, I apologize for my oversight. If you don’t mind, would you be willing to help in other areas?”
I suddenly felt delighted.
There’s a place that needs me? Where is it?
What should I do?
Am I really needed that much?
I carefully suppressed the urge to act foolishly and asked as calmly as I could manage.
“Somewhere else?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Ah, so I’m needed.
I spoke with refined composure, restraining my joy.
“Wherever I’m needed, I’ll go.”
“I’ll guide you there.”
“Ah, but wait a moment.”
Without me here, the cold wind from these Siberun mana stones will cease.
I decided to give a small gift to the Volunteers suffering in this oppressive heat.
I opened a subspace and retrieved a mana stone the size of my face.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah, this is what we call a mana storage stone.”
In Korean terms, it was a battery.
I didn’t possess much engineering knowledge about batteries, but in this world, mana storage stones that preserve “mana” had already been developed and commercialized.
They were far more effective than modern batteries.
“I’ll charge it with my mana.”
I closed my eyes.
I drew out as much mana as I could and stored it in the mana storage stone.
The greatest advantage of this battery was how incredibly fast it charged.
As I poured out my mana, it absorbed every bit, reaching full capacity in less than ten seconds.
“There we go. This should keep it running for the entire day. Volunteers, thank you so much for working so hard in this sweltering heat. Everyone, stay strong!”
* * *
The Volunteers working in the makeshift kitchen, as it was conveniently called, stood utterly dumbfounded.
“A real Mage?”
“A Mage came to volunteer?”
Mages are members of the privileged class.
They not only refrain from doing such menial work, but even if they did, they would never squander magic so freely.
“She left something so precious behind? For us?”
Mages are secretive beings.
They are extremely reluctant to allow their magical knowledge and creations to spread to the outside world.
A social atmosphere had formed where it was considered prudent to be cautious, since someone could steal or replicate their creations.
This was because magic in this era was a means of warfare, and such means of warfare had to be kept hidden.
“Was she a Mage dispatched from the Magic Federation?”
“No, she must be from the Magic Tower.”
Opinions varied among the people.
“But she looked incredibly young…”
“She must have used magic to hide her age. Magic is an extremely difficult discipline to master, and to wield such magic naturally, one would need to be at least forty years old, wouldn’t they?”
But then someone stirring a large spatula spoke up.
“No. That person is a Mage from the Empire. She’s exceptionally beautiful and possesses wonderful character.”
A handsome man with jade-green eyes.
The volunteers were startled.
“Oh, when did you get here?”
“What? I’ve been here the whole time stirring the ladle.”
“R-really? I’ve never seen your face before.”
“I tend to have a weak presence.”
A few of the volunteers approached him and stole a glance at his face.
“He looks like someone….”
He definitely resembled someone.
“Ah, I hear people say I look like Viscount Biatonn a lot.”
“Ah! That’s it! Viscount Biatonn! You really do look so much like Viscount Biatonn! How can you be so alike?”
“That’s quite the honor for me. Haha!”
The handsome man who joked around—his name was Biatone. In fact, it was Biatone himself.
There was a mole on Biatone’s cheek that hadn’t been there before.
It was a mole created by magic.
“But did you know? The principles of the Teisabel Teleportation Gate are applied there.”
“The Teisabel Teleportation Gate?”
“I don’t know the exact details, but there’s something called an inverter system built into it. Thanks to it, we can work so comfortably. And this inverter system is a most wonderful, brilliant, beautiful, and lovely technology created by Princess Isabel.”
“…Pardon?”
The adjectives used to describe a ‘technology’ seemed far too grandiose.
“Hm?”
“Huh? What? Where did he go?”
With those words, the handsome man who had been stirring the ladle vanished.
* * *
I had to experience a bit of cultural shock.
‘The wealth gap in civilization really is no joke.’
Many people were bustling about with earthquake damage recovery, and the first thing that caught my eye was a massive pulley system.
The kind you’d see in the medieval era.
‘They’re pulling the pulley by hand without even a crane. With this era’s technology, they could easily make things like cranes.’
“Heave! Heave!”
I could see a large stone being hoisted up.
About a dozen people were pulling the rope with all their might.
Hector, the work foreman, spoke to me carefully.
“It seems pulling that requires tremendous effort.”
“It certainly looks that way.”
“Is there… any way to help?”
I thought for a moment.
“If we make it rotate more smoothly, that should do it.”
“Oh, is that possible?”
“Of course.”
Magic in this era has advanced so much. But no matter how I think about it, something feels off….
‘They wage wars with cutting-edge fighter jets, yet they’re still out here farming with nothing but a hoe?’
I stood before a large pulley system.
‘Hmm.’
As always, magic required visualizing an image in one’s mind.
I conjured the image quite easily.
‘Just think of an electric bicycle.’
It was easier when I imagined a motor assisting the motion.
Hector asked carefully.
“Would it be alright if I asked how that’s possible?”
“Pardon?”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, no, I don’t have any ulterior motives. I have no intention of stealing the technique. It’s just that I’m extremely interested in magitech engineering, so purely out of curiosity….”
He apologized profusely for no reason.
It’s fine, really. I actually enjoy talking about this sort of thing.
“Of course. I’ll explain everything.”
Hehe, I get to be helpful again? Do I seem like someone who can actually contribute?
“When Princess Isabel of the Empire and Viscount Tesleron created the Teisabel Teleportation Gate, they published all the principles behind it. Are you aware of it?”
“Yes, I’ve read through all of it. It was quite fascinating.”
“Wow, do you usually take a lot of interest in magitech engineering knowledge?”
“Yes. I’m very interested in it.”
Hector’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
Seeing that made my heart race unexpectedly.
To meet someone I could actually have a conversation with here!
What luck.
“You know that a mana magnetic field is induced around mana conductors through which mana flows, right?”
“…Yes.”
“So when an external mana magnetic field is applied, that force and the induced mana magnetic field interact to generate power.”
“…Yes. I believe I saw that principle mentioned in the Teisabel Teleportation Gate documentation.”
“Using that principle, I’ll convert mana into rotational motion.”
Hector was undoubtedly deeply interested in magitech engineering, just as he said.
He listened intently to my explanation, and I continued with growing enthusiasm.
After hearing everything, Hector spoke with a skeptical expression.
“I understand the theory roughly. But does it actually work? Engineering knowledge and the practical implementation of magic are clearly different domains….”
Delighted, I smiled broadly.
“I’ll show you directly! But since this is my first time actually doing it, I might make mistakes. Please don’t laugh at me.”
I lowered my voice and whispered.
“If I fail, you have to keep it a secret. Understood?”

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