I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 78

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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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Duke Robena recognized the identity of the emotion swelling up in her chest.
‘Could it be… Am I finding her cute right now?’
This tiny human child, whose true form was the Ratel—a dragon—was throwing such a tantrum to protect it.
‘No, get a grip!’
She deliberately hardened her expression.
‘Have you seen what happened to Kadelina? The moment you feel cuteness, you’re done for.’
The Black Flame Dragon Kadelina still suffered from the “fifteen-year-old disease” that afflicted humans.
It was because five hundred years ago, she had felt “cuteness” toward a human.
That’s why she always said, as if it were a habit, that cuteness was the most terrifying thing of all, and Ravina, the Dragon of Wisdom, agreed with her.
‘I must be careful. I cannot find her cute.’
Yet the sight of that child kept catching her eye.
That yellow-haired girl, standing there terrified yet spirited, was more endearing than any creature she had ever witnessed.
‘I need to change the subject.’
She had no intention of interfering heavily in the human world.
But right now, the situation was somewhat dangerous.
If she allowed herself to be consumed by that cuteness, she would end up like the Black Flame Dragon.
Given the circumstances, she decided to discuss something else.
“Biatone. You felt it too, didn’t you?”
“Are you referring to the fact that it is not an ordinary One-Eyed Giant?”
“Yes. Let me examine it with you.”
“Suddenly so eager? How suspicious of you.”
“Come quickly. If I get distracted, an opening will form, and then you’ll have a better chance of protecting the Princess, won’t you?”
“Why aren’t you coming quickly then?”
Biatone stood before the fallen One-Eyed Giant first.
Robena examined the fallen One-Eyed Giant alongside Biatone.
‘Ah, how frustrating. If I actively used my dragon’s eyes, I could figure it out in no time.’
But right now, she was not Ravina, the Dragon of Wisdom—she was Duke Robena of the North.
If she used her power as a dragon too excessively, she would have to abandon her status as Duke Robena.
That was the unspoken rule among dragons.
“Do you notice anything?”
“Nothing certain, but there is something that stands out.”
Biatone infused mana into his voice and transmitted it directly to Robena’s ear.
He did not want Isabel to hear this information.
[I was recently tracking a certain human.]
[And?]
[That man’s name is Wilhelm. You know him, don’t you? Wilhelm, the Founding Mage of the Mirotell Magic Federation.]
[I know the name, at least.]
[There’s a peculiar scent of Wilhelm emanating from this One-Eyed Giant’s body.]
[Is that so?]
[And look at its shoulder area. There’s a strange marking that resembles a skull. It’s a marking not found on ordinary One-Eyed Giants.]
[I see.]
Robena withdrew her gaze as if she had little interest.
In truth, she had little interest at all.
What mattered to her was simply ignoring the cuteness she sensed from Isabel.
Having turned her attention away adequately, she decided not to look at Isabel anymore.
“Well, I don’t really care, so do as you see fit. What matters to me is that the Princess keeps her promise to me. Five days remain. I’ll return in five days. See that you protect the Princess well until then.”
Robena delivered her ultimatum and vanished from that place.
Isabel was startled.
“She… she disappeared, Teacher.”
“Indeed. She must have been in quite a hurry.”
“What?”
“She doesn’t usually use magic in front of others. Publicly, she’s known as a swordmaster.”
Isabel tilted her head in confusion.
“What do you mean by ‘publicly known as a swordmaster’?”
“In truth, she’s closer to a mage than a swordmaster. Though her swordsmanship is stronger than mine, I’ll admit.”
“What are you saying? I understood Duke Robena to be a swordmaster powerful enough to rival my Biological Father.”
“Well, that’s how it’s known, certainly.”
Biatone chuckled softly.
“So she never used magic in front of me either, but today she did. And such difficult, high-level magic at that—teleportation magic, no less. She cast it without even an incantation. How peculiar indeed.”
Biatone seemed to know something about Robena.
* * *
Yuli, the chief correspondent of the Whisper, witnessed an astounding sight.
A seven-year-old Princess, who could have remained safely hidden in the Royal Palace, had ventured out through the North Gate herself and held back the One-Eyed Giant.
Yuli drafted the article for the newsletter right there on the spot.
[The Princess, working together with her teacher Viscount Biatonn, bought sufficient time until Duke Robena’s arrival…]
Yuli could not take her eyes off Isabel.
‘So Villorian has a Princess like this…’
The people of the Villorian Empire were fortunate.
Yuli genuinely thought so.
While drafting the article in admiration of the Princess, she spotted a face that was hardly welcome.
‘What’s she doing here again?’
The Whisper was the continent’s largest newsletter, with a total of twelve chief correspondents.
Yuli was the eleventh chief correspondent, with one junior colleague directly beneath her.
The twelfth chief correspondent’s name was Lsalin.
Yuli’s colleague and rival, and they did not get along well.
“I simply can’t trust what you do, Senior.”
“What do you mean?”
“The manuscript you sent last time was rejected by the higher-ups.”
“What?”
Yuli had recorded the events that occurred in the Linta region and submitted them to the newsletter.
Isabel was undoubtedly the protagonist of the article.
The piece was quite favorable toward the Teisabel transfer gate, and it featured many of Isabel’s accomplishments in the Linta region.
“Have you become some kind of Princess devotee, senior?”
“….”
“Did you forget what our job is? We’re journalists.”
“Yes. We’re people who need to report the truth.”
Lsalin shook her head vigorously.
“Do you read fairy tales these days? Or have you suddenly become an idealist? That’s nonsense. Journalists aren’t people who report the truth. We’re just employees hired by the news agency.”
“….”
“So all we need to do is give the people who pay our salaries what they want and take the money. Did you forget who’s paying us?”
The Whisper’s largest patrons were the Mirotell Magic Federation and the Magic Tower.
“You should step back now, senior. All your manuscripts will be destroyed. From now on, I’ll be handling the coverage.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Here. I brought the order too. Michael. Give her the order.”
Behind Lsalin stood a man of considerable size.
His name was Michael.
His position was trainee journalist, and he was learning the trade from Lsalin.
Though in practice, he was mostly assigned escort duties rather than actual journalistic work.
“Oh my, what a predicament. With performance reviews right around the corner, it looks like my senior will be working under me. Hehehehe!”
* * *
A day had passed.
There were no casualties from the One-Eyed Giant.
‘Thank goodness. I’m truly relieved.’
This was indeed a land ruled by the ‘Holy King’ who was celebrated throughout the Alpea Kingdom.
The consensus was that without the Holy King Rahela, there would have been significant damage to this place.
However, Isabel’s accomplishments were not particularly publicized.
It was inevitable.
For some reason, chief journalist Yuli had disappeared from the scene, and instead, another journalist who was not favorable toward Isabel had been dispatched.
‘From the way she’s asking questions, it seems she wants to find fault with me.’
The journalist named Lsalin had asked me several questions.
‘Why did you leave the Royal Palace and head toward the north gate?’
‘Because of that, there was a gap in the Holy King’s administrative capacity, and the damage on the south gate side was slightly greater—what do you think of this?’
‘It’s fortunate that the Duke of the North arrived in time, but did you consider that without her, greater damage would have occurred?’
‘Did you also anticipate that if something terrible had happened to the Princess there, the Holy King would have found herself in a very difficult and troublesome situation?’
And so on.
I didn’t particularly answer those questions.
In a sense, I was far more familiar with the media than journalist Lsalin, so I could read her intentions.
In situations like this, it was better not to answer.
‘It’s not that I don’t understand….’
I could fully comprehend in my mind why journalist Yuli had disappeared and why journalist Lsalin had taken her place.
But it was true that I felt upset.
Biatone, who came to tuck me in today as well, spoke in a gentle voice.
“Your Highness, your expression seems dark.”
I’m a little sad.
I almost said that, but barely held back.
‘Biatone is on vacation.’
Strangely enough, he was clinging right beside me, but in any case, Biatone was on vacation.
I thought I shouldn’t burden someone who needed to rest comfortably.
“Did something happen during your volunteer work today?”
“The volunteer work was enjoyable.”
“Was it?”
“It’s nothing.”
I deliberately smiled brightly.
Viscount Biatonn stared at me intently with that smug face of his.
I smiled awkwardly and spoke.
“You’re embarrassing me by staring like that.”
I pulled the blanket up over my head and hid.
The embarrassment was half true, and I also didn’t want to show my upset expression.
‘There’s nothing about me in the breaking news related to the One-Eyed Giant. That means my story is being processed in a different way, doesn’t it?’
I could tell without seeing what kind of story would be published about me.
In my past life, I had experienced similar situations many times.
The most common tabloid was “She’s not actually hurt at all, just putting on a show to beg for money,” and there were many other absurd rumors besides that.
‘Surely something like that will happen again.’
This must be the “narrow and difficult path” that Karin had mentioned.
It was something I was quite familiar with, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
‘But this hasn’t even happened yet, and I’m already getting depressed like this. It’s also a burden on Biatone who’s on vacation.’
I didn’t want to become a child who caused trouble.
Receiving help and causing nothing but trouble was enough for my past life.
‘Huh?’
But something felt strange.
I didn’t feel any presence, so I lowered the blanket.
Viscount Biatonn, who had been here just moments ago, had disappeared.
There was a small note on the table.
‘What is that?’
It seemed to be a note left by Viscount Biatonn.
[I will find Your Highness’s true smile.]
Viscount Biatonn knew that I had been smiling falsely.

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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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