Limited Extra Time - Chapter 152

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

—— Page 1 ——

“Ah, Millaiyen.”

“Tsk, I thought you might be taking an afternoon nap, but here you both are, wide awake.”

Millaiyen Pestellio shrugged his shoulders and strode into the room with measured steps.

With practiced ease, he unfastened his cloak and draped his jacket aside, then slowly extended his hand toward the child.

Seren’s nose twitched and quivered a few times before the child stretched both arms toward Millaiyen.

“Dada!”

“Hello, Seren.”

At his soft voice, Seren burst into delighted laughter.

Millaiyen approached Carina Leopold and bent at the waist, greeting her with a kiss upon her lips. His gaze then swept slowly across the table.

“Did we have a visitor?”

“Um… yes.”

Carina Leopold averted her gaze slightly and laughed awkwardly. Millaiyen observed her troubled expression in silence, and his

—— Page 2 ——

expression grew peculiar, his brow furrowing.

“It wasn’t Periel, was it?”

“…”

“Carina, did Periel come here?”

At Millaiyen’s question, Carina Leopold simply laughed without answering.

If she answered “he’s still here” instead of “he was here,” it seemed Millaiyen’s blade would come crashing down upon Periel Kalos’s neck as he bathed.

“Because Seren wanted to see me.”

“…I’ll kill him and come back.”

“No, but Periel gave Seren that name—why won’t you let him see her?”

“He’s a pervert.”

Millaiyen answered firmly.

It was clear that Peng and Winston looked at the child with nothing but the affection of grandparents.

They weren’t being overly physical, nor were they frustrated at not being able to hold her.

But Periel was different.

Of course, Peng seemed utterly smitten with Seren.

But Periel… I could feel an overwhelming desire to ‘hold her in my arms, pinch her cheeks, touch her, and play with her.’

“A… pervert?”

“I don’t know. That guy’s been shameless since way back. Who knows when he’ll sneak off with Seren.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

Carina burst into laughter at Millaiyen’s childish words.

Either way, the two of them had a good relationship.

Perhaps when facing difficult circumstances, Periel would be the first person Millaiyen would rely on.

“Would you get angry if I said you’re fortunate to have a friend like Periel?”

“What are you talking about?”

Millaiyen settled across from Carina, cradling Seren in his arms—

—— Page 3 ——

she said.

“Having someone to lean on is important, isn’t it?”

“Speaking of which, Marin Aerial has been making quite a fuss about coming to the Capital.”

“Marin? Why?”

“She says she misses the child.”

“Ah….”

Now that I thought about it, I had left far too abruptly.

Without any contact or warning, I had been transported to the Capital using

Ajidahaka’s ability…. I imagined she must have been quite bewildered.

“How will she get here?”

“I told her not to, but…. With that personality of hers, she’s probably already on her way.”

Millaiyen Pestellio shook his head with an exasperated expression.

Seren blinked and turned her head toward the door. Judging by her perked-up ears, it seemed Periel Kalos had returned.

At the knock on the door, Carina Leopold

stiffened rigidly. Millaiyen Pestellio’s eyes narrowed.

“…Yes, come in.”

The moment permission was granted, the doorknob turned.

“Carina Leopold, I’ve retur….”

Periel Kalos stepped into the room, his expression brimming with anticipation.

“….”

“….”

“….”

“Kyaaaaa!”

Except for Seren, a cool silence descended upon the room.

Millaiyen Pestellio glanced at Carina Leopold once before turning his gaze toward Periel Kalos.

The corners of his eyes softened gently.

He lightly covered the child’s ears with his large palm and opened his mouth to face Periel Kalos.

“You crazy bastard, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

The words that spilled from his lips, delivered with an impossibly gentle smile, were utterly menacing.

—— Page 4 ——

That.

With his ears covered, Seren’s eyes could only see his father’s affectionate face.

…What in the world are you doing here? Oblivious fool.

You’re the one who barged into someone else’s home uninvited.

What can’t I do? You’ve barged into my place whenever you felt bored too.

Periel Kalos shrugged his shoulders and answered matter-of-factly. Of course, both their faces were nothing but kind.

Judging by their expressions alone, they appeared to be having an affectionate conversation.

Well, it’s fortunate timing then. I’m planning to stay here for a few days.

What…? Have you lost your mind? Won’t you leave?

…Carina Leopold, I really think Millaiyen Pestellio’s words are too harsh. My heart aches.

Periel Kalos made a gesture as though wiping away tears with the back of his hand. A grinding sound escaped between Millaiyen Pestellio’s teeth.

Would it be so terrible, Carina? I was thinking of playing with Seren when Millaiyen isn’t around….

Periel Kalos spoke in a dejected voice.

Or if we could play today instead, that would be fine too.

At Periel Kalos’s words, glancing sideways at Carina Leopold, Millaiyen Pestellio let out a hollow laugh. I could feel that he had made up his mind about this.

‘He was like this even when we attended the Academy.’ Whenever he couldn’t get what he wanted, he would pursue it relentlessly until he did.

That.

It wasn’t just toward Millaiyen Pestellio or me. Periel Kalos was remarkably tenacious in many ways.

He would openly engage in knowledge battles with professors over grades he didn’t understand. To that extent, he had drawn a line he would not cross, and he never retreated beyond it.

He would yield freely up until that line, but not beyond. And Millaiyen Pestellio now realized that this was Periel Kalos’s final line.

—— Page 5 ——

‘…This is going to become troublesome.’

Driving him away from here would be simple, but everything after that would only become more troublesome. Millaiyen Pestellio gazed at Periel Kalos for a long moment before exhaling a sigh.

“Are you going to fight me?”

Periel Kalos tilted his head at Millaiyen Pestellio’s question.

“If it’s a battle of patience, I’m confident.”

At Periel Kalos’s slight smile, Millaiyen Pestellio finally sighed and relented.

As he held Seren forward, Periel Kalos approached and carefully took the child into his arms.

“Why didn’t you want to show me?”

“…Ah.”

“What?”

“Seren is just too adorable. And you’re the type who can’t resist anything cute.”

Periel Kalos, who had been gently swaying Seren in his arms, went rigid.

He could scarcely believe what he was hearing, and with difficulty, he lifted his head.

Periel Kalos’s eyes began to tremble ceaselessly, as if an earthquake had struck them. His lips quivered for a moment before he slowly lowered his head.

“You’ve really changed, haven’t you.”

It was a remark he’d heard countless times before—not just from Periel Kalos, but from Peng and Winston as well.

Millaiyen Pestellio cast a displeased glance at Periel Kalos, then crossed his arms.

“What’s the problem?”

“Nothing.”

Periel Kalos’s lips curved into a gentle arc.

Millaiyen Pestellio’s gaze grew somewhat bitter at that smile, as if he were watching over a promising child. He exhaled a long sigh.

“I’m just happy. I honestly couldn’t believe you’d become a father.”

—— Page 6 ——

It hadn’t truly sunk in until I held the child in my arms.

As if to prove that Carina Leopold’s words were true, Seren didn’t let out a single whimper even while cradled in Periel Kalos’s embrace.

He simply tugged at the hem of my clothes with curiosity at this unfamiliar embrace, making soft babbling sounds.

“I’ve truly become a father.”

Periel Kalos pressed a reverent kiss to Seren’s forehead as he spoke.

The child, bearing the unmistakable features of both close friends, was utterly precious. The love I could not convey had ultimately withered away, yet I harbored no regrets.

My own happiness mattered far less than theirs—as long as these two were content, that was enough.

“Congratulations.”

Periel Kalos finally spoke the words he had long held back, releasing them from his lips at last.

My Close Friend, who had always preferred solitude and possessed a sharp, fiery temperament, had already begun to walk far ahead into the distance.

It has begun.

“I’m glad to see you both so happy.”

At Periel Kalos’s sincere words, Millaiyen Pestellio pressed his lips firmly together. Light returned to Periel Kalos’s gaze, which had drifted distant as though recalling some ancient memory.

Not long after, Periel Kalos returned the child to Millaiyen Pestellio’s arms.

“I’ve held the child once, so that’s enough. I should be heading back now.”

Periel Kalos shrugged his shoulders lightly.

He had intended to stay and play a while longer, but the moment he cradled the child in his arms, such thoughts melted away like snow.

Only a faint pang of envy rose within him.

“Periel Kalos.”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t have to make it frequent, but you’re welcome to visit often.”

At Millaiyen Pestellio’s words, Periel Kalos bared his teeth in

—— Page 7 ——

a broad grin.

With a mischievous smile as though he had reverted to childhood, he nodded his head.

“That’s quite the honor.”

Periel Kalos turned to slip away, but paused at the threshold, his hand falling slowly to his side.

The warmth of her touch lingered at his fingertips, as did the echo of her heartbeat. His own heart ached as though struck by lightning.

“…Am I growing up?”

The days at the Academy felt distant now, almost like another lifetime.

He was aware, to some degree, that time was passing and age was catching up with him, yet seeing that child stirred something unfamiliar within him.

His friend, once consumed with merely surviving the path ahead, was now advancing steadily forward. He was still far behind, perhaps hopelessly so.

Periel Kalos gathered his thoughts, drew a deep breath, and descended the staircase of Leopold Manor.

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