Limited Extra Time - Chapter 178

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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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—— Page 1 ——

Seren began reading the letter again.

[Of course, not everyone in this world is good, so when you venture into society, you might face disappointment. Friends can betray you, and they can lie.

But Seren, while there are bad people like that, there are also good ones, so don’t give up. Never forget that you are your mother and father’s precious and beloved daughter

.

There are so many people in this world who love you. Those who hurt others are simply people lacking confidence in themselves.

Seren, become someone kind to the weak and courageous before the strong… like your father. Your father is the strongest and most gentle man your mother has ever known.]

Seren exhaled slowly.

The letter was nearly at its end

—— Page 2 ——

now.

Reluctant to finish reading these words so quickly, the child lingered over the passages already read, savoring them once more before letting her gaze drift downward.

[Seren, I love you always. Wherever you are, whatever you become, no matter what failures you face. I miss you, my daughter. I love you.]

On the next page was a drawing not yet fully colored.

Seren now skillfully picked up a colored pencil and carefully filled in the colors, making sure not to stray beyond the lines.

It was a strangely shaped creature. It resembled a rhinoceros with its horn, yet also looked like an enormous hippopotamus.

Once the colors were completely filled in with the prepared colored pencils, a small Magical Beast no larger than a child’s palm materialized with a brief flash of light.

“Huh? What is this, Father? Is it a Magical Beast?”

“…Yes, it’s a Magical Beast.”

Herta let out an adorable cry and bounced across the diary page, then gently tapped Seren’s finger with her horn.

When Seren gently stroked her head, Hertalara bounced again with a soft patter.

“This is… Hertalara, a Magical Beast.”

Millaiyen’s face contorted as though he might weep.

Hertalara could no longer be seen in the Northern Territory. The Hertalara that Carina Leopold had created had returned to the earth—that was the last time.

As Ajidahaka absorbed Haron, Hertalara vanished completely from the Northern Territory, and seeing this again after so many years felt surreal.

Where the drawing had been, words now revealed themselves.

—— Page 3 ——

[This child is a Magical Beast called Hertalara. She was Mother’s dear friend. Perhaps she will appear very small… but she was a brave Magical Beast who guarded the Northern Territory alongside Mother. I so wanted to show Mother’s friend to Seren.

Now it is time. Do not forget to visit Mother next year as well. My beloved Serenus, may happiness always fill your heart.]

The child slowly closed the notebook.

As he extended his palm, Hertalara bounded

with light steps onto Seren’s open hand.

Watching Hertalara dance this way and that, Seren laughed with pure delight. But Hertalara soon became nothing but a shimmer of light and vanished before his eyes.

“Ah…”

The meeting had been far too brief.

When reading the words, there was happiness. When seeing the drawing, his heart swelled with emotion.

But once that moment passed, loneliness inevitably rushed in to fill the void.

Seren slowly nestled into Millaiyen’s embrace.

“Father.”

“Yes, my dear.”

“…I miss Mama.”

Millaiyen pulled Seren close, his face contorting with anguish.

He clamped his mouth shut. There were no words to offer. The one thing his child yearned for most was something Millaiyen could never give.

“Yes, Papa… Papa misses Mama too.”

He slowly closed his trembling eyes.

I longed for her, yet I would never see her again.

Sometimes I wondered how joyful this moment would have been had she lived. How blissful it would have been for the three of us to sleep together on the Bed.

No matter how many tens or hundreds of times I yearned for her, Carina Leopold never returned. How utterly powerless humanity proved to be.

—— Page 4 ——

It wasn’t there.

That was why I despised the gods. They dared to sever our happiness with blessings beyond my reach or control.

“After Seren’s birthday party ends, shall we visit Mama before the memorial service?”

“Yes….”

Millaiyen carefully laid Seren down and drew the blanket up to the child’s neck.

“You must sleep now. Mama will surely visit your dreams tonight

too.”

“Yes…!”

Seren’s voice brightened slightly.

Millaiyen tidied the books and extinguished the candle.

Once Seren fell asleep, he would open the journal given to him at his desk.

I decided to open it only twice a year—on Seren’s birthday and my own. That way, I could read her letters for fifty years.

I slowly patted the child’s back.

Once the child’s breathing had settled into an even rhythm, Millaiyen carefully rose from the Bed, took up the candle, and sat at the desk.

I exhaled a shallow breath.

My heart always quickens before I open this diary.

Wondering what feelings you left behind for me.

Wondering what story you’ll tell me this time.

Realizing again and again that you truly are no longer by my side.

So when Millaiyen opened this page, my hands trembled terribly.

Yet I could not contain my anticipation. My heart, which had never faltered even before countless Magical Beasts, now raced of its own accord.

As I turned several pages, unfamiliar handwriting caught my eye.

The earlier pages, worn thin from being read countless times, had to be handled with such care now that the letters wouldn’t fade further—I could only grasp the very edges.

—— Page 5 ——

It was at the point where I had to catch Riman.

[Hello, Millaiyen. Good morning. No, wait—you’re surely reading this at night, so good evening instead. Am I right?]

As I quietly read the greeting, I let out a low laugh and ran my finger across the handwriting I had come to know so well.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Technically it was past midnight, well into the early morning, but such details hardly mattered. If you called it night, then even this dawn hour could be nothing but night.

[How have you been? Are you eating well? Do you still miss me? I can’t quite gauge how much time has passed, but knowing your nature, I’m certain that aside from the beginning, you decided to read these only two or three times a year. So it’s probably been seven or eight years now, hasn’t it?]

She understood me with an accuracy that was almost astonishing.

Precisely, except for the first year, Millaiyen had only opened the diary on his birthday and Seren’s birthday.

Millaiyen swallowed a hollow laugh and gently swept his palm across his face. Every time he was reminded that he could no longer touch or see her—someone who understood him so completely—

it was utterly devastating.

There was only one person in this world who knew him so well.

“I’m doing well.”

Even if he weren’t doing well, whenever he opened this diary, it felt as though he had to say he was.

Just as she had shown him only her best self, he wanted to show her only his best self.

—— Page 6 ——

[I’m fine now. I’m not lonely, not suffering, and I’ve grown accustomed. By now, you must surely be watching me from somewhere, so please don’t worry about me anymore. Seren has grown so much, hasn’t he? Have you gotten a few more wrinkles? I can vividly picture Millaiyen watching the child with such warmth. You’re not overexerting yourself hunting Magical Beasts anymore, are you? Now that Seren is here, please don’t do anything too dangerous.

If you’re ever struggling, you can look at this diary anytime. I’ve cast magic on it—magic that makes you happy just by reading it. So soothe your longing with the diary, and I’ll come to you slowly, very slowly. Let Seren grow into a wonderful lady, find a man she loves, marry him, have children, and enjoy life until that child grows up too. You can forget me. It’s okay to find a new love. I only ever wish for your happiness.]

Whenever you’re going through a hard time, feel free to look at this diary anytime. I’ve cast a spell on this diary. A spell that makes you happy just by looking at it. So comfort your longing with the diary, and I’ll come to see you slowly, very slowly. Seren will grow up splendidly and become a wonderful lady, meet the man she loves, get married, have children, and enjoy life until that child grows up too. You can forget about me. It’s okay to find a new love. I just always wish for your happiness.

Carina Leopold spoke harsh words without batting an eye. Millaiyen smiled bitterly. How could he possibly forget? Her—the most intense, the most beautiful, the one who pierced straight through the center of his being in an instant, incomparable to anything else, Carina, who had become the center of his life.

—— Page 7 ——

—— Page 7 ——

She lightly brought her forehead to his and rubbed it against his forehead in a childish, affectionate manner.

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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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