Limited Extra Time - Chapter 203

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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 ——

Millaiyen walked down a very long and dimly lit path.

It was an incomprehensible space where he couldn’t even fathom the dimensions around him, with only the road stretching endlessly before him.

He walked, and walked, and walked again.

How many days had he been walking?

It felt as though it might have been over a month.

Countless thoughts and worries drifted through his mind.

Yet as the walking continued, neither tedium nor wandering thoughts came to him. His body, which had been gravely wounded and on the brink of collapse, strangely felt no pain—as if he had returned to the height of his prime.

The moment he finally cast aside all idle thoughts and realized he was thinking of nothing at all, Millaiyen understood his own death.

—— Page 2 ——

This space could not exist, and this situation could never be real.

And the instant he grasped this truth, Millaiyen discovered an exit radiating brilliant white light.

As he walked toward the end of the path at last, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“….”

The one he had longed for so desperately, yearned for even in dreams, and then yearned for again—until at last he could no longer even draw her image,

and had fallen into despair again and again—there she stood, her colors now faded.

“…It’s been a long time, Millaiyen.”

The moment Carina Leopold took a step forward.

Millaiyen reflexively stepped back instead. His face twisted as if gripped by fear, retreating backward.

“…Don’t look at me, Carina Leopold.”

Millaiyen covered his face with his hand.

“Why are you doing that?”

“You’re still beautiful, but I’ve grown old and ugly.”

Carina Leopold’s eyes widened at his words, and she carefully removed the hand covering his face.

Then she reached up and gently cradled both his cheeks in her palms.

His face bore the marks of time—wrinkles deepened, scars more numerous than when she’d last seen him—the weathered traces of a life fiercely lived. And yet,

to Carina Leopold, he remained as beloved as ever.

The warmth beneath her fingertips made her eyes crease at the corners without her realizing it.

The warmth she had yearned for so desperately, the person she had longed for—was here before her eyes.

“Millaiyen, look at me. You’re still magnificent. You haven’t grown old or ugly—you’re still handsome, still striking.”

Besides, this was the Spirit World, so age held no meaning here.

—— Page 3 ——

One could alter their appearance however they wished in this realm.

Millaiyen simply retained the form he’d worn at death, having only recently experienced it.

“Carina Leopold….”

“Yes, Millaiyen.”

“Carina Leopold, Carina Leopold… Carina Leopold.”

“Yes, Millaiyen.”

Millaiyen called her name over and over, as if confirming her presence, and then his face

crumpled with emotion.

“At last, we’ve met.”

He murmured softly.

“As time passed, I felt you growing distant in my memory. I thought I had become numb from yearning for you so desperately. It had been such an eternity that I feared even in death, when I saw you again, I would feel nothing at all.”

Even love that burned so fiercely once seemed powerless before the ravages of time.

I trembled as I anticipated that moment of reunion, yet dreaded it.

Afraid I would discover myself changed, no longer as I once was.

Afraid I would disappoint her.

But it was a foolish worry. The very fact that I feared disappointing her meant I was already undone.

Millaiyen clenched his fists tightly.

“But I was wrong. I still…”

love you. Though I have neither body nor heart now, seeing you fills me with the relief of finally coming home. I’ve finally found you again…”

“…I have too. I’ve missed you so, Millaiyen. Countless times I wanted to find you, embrace you, tell you I love you, whisper my affection, kiss you.”

Yet she was undeniably dead, and he was undeniably alive.

“…I missed you. Over and over, I missed you so much that

—— Page 4 ——

I thought I would die from the longing.

…Thank you for not dying. For staying by Seren’s side until the very end. Oh, how I missed you. For so long… we were apart.

Carina Leopold clung to Millaiyen, pulling him into her embrace.

Millaiyen’s form was slowly returning to what it had been during the time they spent together. His spirit was reshaping itself to the most vivid moment of his life.

“There’s so much to say. So much I want to tell you. So much I want to do.”

“…I’ve been quite busy myself.”

“Then let’s each share our stories.”

“I’d like that. Time is something I have in abundance now. We could wait for Periel to arrive as well.”

“Why would we wait for something like that?”

At Millaiyen’s disgruntled grumbling, Carina Leopold burst into laughter.

Carina Leopold and Millaiyen tilted their heads toward each other.

Their lips slowly met.

“…I love you, Carina Leopold.”

“I love you too, Millaiyen.”

“…How shameless. Absolutely shameless.”

Ajidahaka let out a hollow laugh, arms crossed as he interrupted them.

Unable to fathom where he had appeared from, Millaiyen’s brow furrowed.

“What?”

“Ah, this is Ajidahaka’s domain. We’re borrowing it.”

“I see. Why don’t you two go into a room and have your conversation.”

“Just conversation?”

“…There are many kinds of conversation. Some done with words, some done with the body—they’re all forms of communication. Since we’ve accumulated quite a lot, you should prepare yourself.”

—— Page 5 ——

The two of them held hands and giggled, clinging to each other like newlyweds just beginning their marriage.

“Hey, all of you—get out of my domain.”

“My room is this way.”

“Fine, let’s go.”

“Hey! Aren’t you listening to me?!”

“Forgive us, Ajidahaka.”

“You two are absolutely hopeless…!”

The pair, turning their backs squarely on Ajidahaka,

began walking slowly with their hands clasped together. Their tightly joined hands showed no sign of parting anytime soon.

“…Good heavens, I’ve been sitting here for years waiting for this moment.”

The time it took for a person to die and arrive in this place ranged from mere minutes to tens or even hundreds of years.

To escape the pitch-black path, one had to cast aside their thoughts and come to realize their own death—

a necessary process.

Only those who fully comprehended and accepted their own death could pass through that path and cross over to this place.

It had taken Millaiyen a full five years in this world’s time to cross over.

Carina Leopold had sat here like an unmovable stone for those five years, waiting only for his arrival.

Every day, every single day, every day.

Enduring the unbearably tedious passage of time with steadfast resolve.

Without shifting an inch from her place. She had said that if she weren’t here when he arrived, he would surely be disappointed.

“…There’s no point in trying to stop that.”

Getting angry seemed rather pathetic in comparison.

Ajidahaka sighed and returned to his Study.

Because this was his domain, everything that happened within it was relayed to his ears in real time—

—— Page 6 ——

except for that, everything was peaceful.

“Damn it, take it easy! I’m going to lose my mind at this rate! How many months has it been now!”

…Perhaps.

All the funeral rites had ended. Serenus placed Millaiyen’s body beside Carina’s. Many came to pay their respects and departed. Only Serenus remained standing before the grave until the very end. For a time, he wept inconsolably and refused all sustenance, and after regaining his senses, he prepared for the funeral, and time slipped away in an instant—

The funeral was over. Everything had rushed by in a blur, and only standing alone before the grave did I truly realize I was left alone in this world. Serenus leaned against the grave with a bottle of liquor and opened the final page of the notebook containing his mother’s letter. The page she had written for when an unexpected parting would come.

[Hello, Serenus.

The fact that you’ve opened this page means you’ve experienced an unforeseen parting. Perhaps it was Father’s death?

I imagine your sorrow is great. Tender as you are, you must have grieved deeply. Perhaps you resembled Father and hid it outwardly, pretending to be strong. I know this—no one can remain unmoved by someone’s death. Especially not when it’s someone precious.

—— Page 7 ——

But Seren, you will overcome this better than you think. In truth, both Mother and Father experienced childhood together with you before we became parents. But Mother and Father had so little time to spend together that we had to grow up quickly. So Father must have worked desperately to ensure you wouldn’t have to do the same. He gave you all the love he could possibly give. So I hope you won’t grieve too much.

Right now, you’re surely crying in the sorrow of being alone. Even if you grew up strong, I know you became a tender child who loves family deeply. You won’t pass by someone in pain, and you’ll reach out to an injured animal. Just like your father. Seren, though this parting feels immense right now, in time it too will become a cherished memory. It may not be much comfort, but Mother and Father will always be by your side. Truly. You’ll be alright. Someday, someone will appear beside you—like Father was to Mother—someone with whom to share both sorrow and joy. When you cry, they’ll come running, clumsily and desperately trying to comfort you, and when you’re in danger, they’ll come flying with fire in their eyes, sword in hand.]

Serenus sniffled.

Once I entered the Duke’s Estate, there would be too many eyes watching to cry easily, so I had planned to weep freely here. No matter how many times I read it, only my longing grew. In the moment I rubbed away the flowing tears with the back of my hand—

“Seren! Gasp, huff, huff….”

“…Haran?”

“Ah, ah… Why, why are you crying… Wait, just a moment. I have a handkerchief here… Huh? Where did I put it? I’m sure I had it, just a moment!”

—— Page 8 ——

As Haran frantically rummaged through his pockets and bag, Serenus’s expression twisted slightly before breaking into a small laugh.

“What are you doing right now… You’re not being very gentlemanly, are you?”

“Oh, no! I’m here. Right here… Why, why are you alone?”

“What if everyone laughs at me? I’m the Duke.”

“…Who would dare laugh? I’ll knock them all down.”

“My own servants? You would?”

“…No, then please call for me instead. I’ll come running anytime. Don’t cry alone. If Seren cries alone, I don’t know what I should do.”

Haran’s lips trembled as his face grew restless and anxious.

Serenus’s eyes widened.

[If such a person appears, you won’t be lonely.

I wish such a day would come soon for my precious Seren.

May you always be happy, right until the moment you draw your last breath and depart this world.

May all the world’s fortune pour down upon you. May every path you walk be filled with nothing but blessings.

Your mother has always dared to wish for this.

I love you, Seren.]

Serenus slowly closed the notebook.

She picked up her drink and rose from her seat, exhaling a long sigh.

“You’ve completely ruined the mood.”

“…I’m, I’m sorry. What did I do wrong? I only wanted Seren not to cry alone…”

Serenus glanced at Haran, whose face was on the verge of tears.

“Whenever I’m crying, come running—”

—— Page 9 ——

“…will you bring it back?”

“Of course. I will erase every trace, including the reason for your tears.”

“How extreme.”

Serenus chuckled softly, then gradually shed something from himself.

As Serenus walked back toward Leopold Manor, no shadow fell across his path any longer.

Time flows on, and the seasons turn without pause. For everyone,

equally and endlessly. Thus the world continues to move forward.

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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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