Limited Extra Time - Chapter 114

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

—— Page 1 ——

“I’ve never tested this on humans before, and the prerequisites are so demanding that I can’t even predict what might happen afterward.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind. So please, speak freely, Periel Kalos.”

Carina Leopold offered a faint smile as she observed Periel Kalos, whose tension was unmistakable. Millaiyen Pestellio, arms folded across his chest, regarded him in silent contemplation.

‘…These are people I simply cannot bring myself to hate.’

Periel Kalos offered a wry smile. No matter how hard I tried to dislike them,

I found it impossible. They were beings I could only love. My Close Friend, and the tender, compassionate woman to whom I had given my heart.

“I’ve formulated several hypotheses using Haron. Typically, I tested them on beasts, and for hypotheses with manageable risk, I used myself as the medium to verify them all.”

“What?”

“Among them, several hypotheses succeeded, and several failed.”

—— Page 2 ——

“…You used Periel Kalos as the medium?”

“To verify the hypothesis….”

“Are you insane, Periel Kalos?”

“What? Insane….”

“Did you think there would be no consequences….”

Carina Leopold drew a sharp breath, her exasperation evident as she fell silent. Her contorted expression laid bare her displeasure entirely. At her harsh words, Periel Kalos found himself involuntarily clamping his mouth shut.

‘He must have learned that from Millaiyen Pestellio.’

Periel Kalos’s gaze turned toward Millaiyen Pestellio, brimming with disbelief. Upon meeting that gaze, Millaiyen Pestellio casually averted his eyes.

“My body isn’t precious while yours isn’t. I’m grateful that you care for me, but I don’t want something built upon your sacrifice.”

“I understand. I was simply attempting some rather specialized experiments. I won’t do it again.”

Beneath Carina Leopold’s piercing gaze, Periel Kalos nodded without resistance.

He had never been fond of courting danger, and Carina Leopold withdrew gracefully in response to his acquiescence.

“In any case, among all the experiments I conducted, there is precisely one hypothesis that could be applied to the Creators.”

“Just one?”

“Yes. The Creators pay an irreversible price in exchange for miracles. It is fundamentally different from restoring faded eyesight or recovering dulled senses.”

Carina Leopold nodded in understanding at Periel Kalos’s explanation.

This was not like diminished vision or the numbness creeping through my right arm. Each time I drew, it felt as though someone had suspended me somewhere and was slowly, methodically shaving away my fingertips, bit by agonizing bit.

“You both understand that this differs fundamentally from other artistic afflictions, don’t you?”

—— Page 3 ——

Periel Kalos spoke. He paused several times, then resumed his careful selection of words.

For someone who was always confident and spoke without hesitation, this was a remarkably rare occurrence.

“Through several hypotheses and experiments, I have been able to roughly deduce how Magical Beasts bearing Haron are born in this place.”

After considerable deliberation, Periel Kalos continued.

“In my opinion… the Magical Beasts that bear Haron may have already died once.”

“I suspect those Magical Beasts were originally supposed to die only once.”

“You’re saying he’s dead?”

“Literally. Haron was the source of life.”

Carina Leopold’s brow furrowed at Periel Kalos’s words.

Before her head could even tilt in confusion, Periel Kalos opened his mouth again. “What on earth does it mean to be the source of life?”

“The Magical Beasts in this territory must have consumed something and accumulated Haron in their bodies,”

I continued. “And when a Magical Beast that has accumulated enough Haron dies, it resurrects.”

“…What did you just say?”

It was Millaiyen who questioned me, his expression one of utter disbelief as he stared at me.

I shifted my gaze toward Millaiyen.

“Haven’t you found it strange? Every year, despite conducting Subjugation operations that pile corpses high, the Magical Beasts return in nearly identical numbers.”

Didn’t that strike you as odd?”

“…”

“According to my conclusion, the Magical Beasts infused with Haron are resurrecting.”

“That’s absurd. How can the dead return to life?”

Millaiyen’s face contorted in frustration. It was utterly incomprehensible.

“I didn’t believe it either. But I forced an animal to carry Haron and killed it.

Then I kept it confined. The corpse didn’t decay, and after one

—— Page 4 ——

week, it moved again—alive.

You’re not asking me to kill her, are you?”

A harsh voice cut sharply toward me.

I shook my head silently. I could never ask for something so horrific. Besides, I never believed he could kill her in the first place.

The first test subject was a rat. I didn’t tell the two of them, but I killed the rat several times.

And when I killed it the fifth time, it didn’t come back to life.

…Did he die?

Yes. The corpse rotted, and the rat died. There was no coming back alive.

As Periel Kalos fell silent, a heavy curtain of tension descended. Even breathing became cautious. Carina Leopold slowly unclenched the fist she had been gripping tightly.

And when I dissected it, the Haron that I had forcibly harbored was nowhere to be found.

…Just tell me the conclusion.

Pressed by Millaiyen Pestellio’s urging, Periel Kalos opened his mouth. His parted lips moved slowly, laden with tension. Millaiyen Pestellio shot up from his seat and seized Periel Kalos by the collar.

Are you joking?

Does this look like a joke to you right now?

At his growling voice, Periel Kalos responded quietly with a rigid expression. Millaiyen Pestellio, his face contorted wretchedly, clenched his teeth.

Millaiyen.

Carina Leopold reached out and grasped his arm. At that, the strength drained from Millaiyen Pestellio’s hand that had been gripping Periel Kalos’s collar.

Carina Leopold patted Millaiyen Pestellio’s hand soothingly, then turned her gaze toward Periel Kalos. Receiving her stare, he stood silently in place, his fists clenched tightly.

Periel Kalos, that’s the best you could do for now, isn’t it?

…Yes, it is.

—— Page 5 ——

“Periel Kalos did his best, so why are you hanging your head?”

“….”

Periel Kalos did not answer. He did not raise his head, nor did he look at Millaiyen Pestellio or Carina Leopold.

Carina Leopold approached Periel Kalos and pressed both hands against his cheeks, lifting them up. Periel Kalos’s eyes widened.

“I’m fine. But I’ll give some thought to what you’ve told me. There’s a possibility of failure, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“If I happen to fail, that will be the end for me, won’t it?”

“….”

Faced with her frustratingly pointed question, Periel Kalos found himself unable to offer any response. Yet both Carina Leopold and Millaiyen Pestellio could discern his thoughts with little difficulty.

A bitter smile formed at the corner of Carina Leopold’s lips.

“Periel Kalos. Ever since I met Winston, met Millaiyen, met you, and met the people of the Northern Territory, I’ve been living a life that couldn’t be more blessed.”

“….”

“Coming here, I learned what warmth is, what kindness means, what gentleness feels like. I discovered what respect truly is, encountered a proper adult, and made my first real friend.”

Carina Leopold met Periel Kalos’s gaze directly, her eyes crinkling as she smiled softly. She tried to appear as composed as possible, though she wasn’t certain if her smile came across as genuine.

“Things I’ve only ever dreamed of my entire life have become reality.”

“Yes.”

“I’m so happy right now, it feels like a dream. I don’t have the confidence to challenge your hypothesis just yet.”

“I understand.”

Periel Kalos nodded calmly. He had never expected her to agree easily in the first place. After all, this was clearly an undertaking fraught with tremendous danger. Yet still, it seemed something that had to be conveyed.

—— Page 6 ——

A suffocating silence descended once more, heavy enough to steal one’s breath.

As Carina Leopold remained frozen, caught between impossible choices, Millaiyen Pestellio extended his arm and wrapped it around her waist from behind.

“Carina Leopold.”

“Yes?”

“Yes?”

“How long do you intend to keep holding that filthy creature? You’ll dirty your hands.”

With that, he casually lifted me up and placed me in a chair, then meticulously wiped his hands clean with a handkerchief. Watching him scrub away with such fastidious care, my expression twisted into undisguised irritation.

“…I assure you, I’m far cleaner than you are.”

The words emerged through gritted teeth, and Millaiyen let out a derisive snort, turning to face me.

“I bathe daily.”

“I bathe morning and evening.”

“Don’t I bathe three times a day?”

“Of course. Shouldn’t any civilized person bathe four times daily? Washing every six hours is the bare minimum.”

Carina Leopold blinked at the childish bickering between Millaiyen and me, her gaze growing weary.

Millaiyen opened his mouth to respond to my words but promptly closed it upon catching the slight furrow of Carina Leopold’s brow.

He spoke.

“In any case, those were the matters I needed to convey.

And one more thing.”

My gaze shifted to Millaiyen. He raised one eyebrow slightly.

“I mentioned it before, didn’t I? The prerequisites are quite stringent.”

Millaiyen nodded at my words.

He was clearly referring to when I first broached the subject near the Encampment roughly two months prior.

—— Page 7 ——

He still remembered those days vividly.

“After analyzing Haron, I discovered that Haron itself has grades. If the one that created Carina Leopold’s bracelet ranks at Grade 3, then this one is Grade 2.”

Periel Kalos withdrew something from his embrace and set it upon the table.

It was a small Haron, no larger than a fingernail, yet its luster bore no resemblance to ordinary Harons. It gleamed like a gemstone of exceptional purity rather than mere stone.

“And this is Grade 1.”

Periel Kalos opened his palm to reveal what he held. It was, quite literally, a jewel. More beautiful than diamonds that scattered light into a thousand prismatic hues, it refracted the sun’s rays in a breathtaking cascade of radiance.

“It resembles an aurora.”

“An aurora?”

“A phenomenon occasionally visible in the skies above the End of Winter. Thin veils of countless colors seem to dance and ripple across the heavens

like gossamer curtains.”

Carina Leopold’s eyes gleamed with wonder. Millaiyen Pestellio smiled warmly and continued.

“This year proved too mild for such displays, but even by Northern Territory standards, it appears only rarely during the harshest winters.”

As I listened to Millaiyen’s explanation, her gaze returned to the Haron.

Such an exquisite phenomenon—one worthy of being preserved in paint. Carina Leopold’s

expression brightened considerably.

“I have never encountered a Haron of this caliber before.”

“It was extraordinarily difficult to detect due to its diminutive size. I myself nearly discarded the creature’s corpse, only to discover it by fortunate chance.”

Periel Kalos shrugged in response. Millaiyen Pestellio exhaled softly while keeping Carina Leopold seated upon his lap, and she reached up to gently stroke his hair.

—— Page 8 ——

“And there was one more superior-grade Haron. It was considerably smaller than this one. Yet the beast that harbored it resurrected more than twenty times over.”

“Is that sufficient?”

“The experiments thus far have focused primarily on smaller creatures. Should I attempt to apply this method to humans, I would require a Grade 1 Haron—far larger than this one.”

“How much larger?”

Millaiyen narrowed his brow as he spoke. What lay in Periel’s hand was a Haron of a purity and form he had never witnessed before. The fact that Millaiyen had never seen one meant their numbers were extraordinarily scarce. Even accounting for the possibility that they had gone undiscovered due to improper extraction of hearts until now.

“The larger, the better. It needs to be at least the size of a fist.”

Periel spoke while gazing down at his own hand. Even as he spoke, his expression remained far from bright.

“To be honest, I doubt one even exists. I’ve sifted through countless corpses you’ve brought back, and I’ve only found two of this caliber.”

“Suppose you managed to capture and bring one back. If we proceed according to your theory and it succeeds?”

At Millaiyen’s question, Periel’s lips sealed shut. There was no sweeter prospect than that. He seemed frustrated, tugging at the fabric near his neck before parting his lips.

“Carina Leopold would recover. The Haron would halt the progression of the art sickness, so she wouldn’t suffer as she does now.”

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