Limited Extra Time - Chapter 66

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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 ——

Yet when I first met him, Herta was already there.

“Your eyes are blue now.”

“Yes.”

“…That can’t be right.”

Carina Leopold rummaged through her sleeves in bewilderment.

Having left in such light attire, I didn’t even have a small hand mirror to check, leaving me helpless.

“Not golden—they’re truly blue?”

Carina Leopold pointed to her own eyes as she asked. Goreden nodded in confirmation.

When Carina Leopold turned her head, she saw Herta with blood smeared across her mouth, wiping it away with her front paws.

“…Then how does she even exist?”

She murmured in a dazed voice.

Golden eyes were proof of a miracle—their absence meant the time of miracles had ended.

When a miracle ceased, the gold that had colored the eyes would fade away.

– Master, I’m exhausted. Go rest.

Herta, who had drawn close enough to brush against me, exhaled a warm breath. At the telepathic voice that echoed in my mind, Carina Leopold’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…You didn’t hear that voice just now, did you, Goreden?”

“What voice, my lady?”

“No, never mind.”

Only I could hear it, as always.

Earlier, the situation had been too urgent to think things through, but the magical beast was actually speaking.

Of course, until now I had been able to discern what those creatures born of miracles were thinking. I could infer their intentions to some degree through vague images and actions that surfaced in my mind.

But never had they spoken so directly, so clearly before.

– Master, I dislike this.

Herta spoke again, her expression brimming with displeasure.

Before Carina Leopold could even respond, the creature lowered herself and hoisted her onto her back, then leaped skyward in one powerful bound.

The creature that had stepped on the castle wall once and climbed to the top quickly moved to a secluded area.

—— Page 2 ——

I rolled my eyes under the weight of his piercing gaze.

The oppressive air made even breathing difficult. I had certainly wanted to see him, but perhaps… it would have been better if he had arrived just a little later.

“Carina Leopold.”

“Yes!”

“I made it perfectly clear to you—”

As I answered with visible tension, Millaiyen’s low voice resonated in my ears.

He looked ready to raise his voice at any moment. More precisely, he seemed to be suppressing considerable irritation.

“—that you were never to do something like this again.”

“…”

“And you agreed to that, if I recall correctly.”

Under his piercing stare, arms crossed, I swallowed hard. His crimson eyes burned with an icy intensity.

Herta, who had brought me to the Leopold Manor yesterday—to the Terrace of the shattered Studio—had simply sprawled out in the Studio as though it were her own personal chamber.

Perhaps it was a problem that I felt my strength draining away and ended up falling asleep somewhere beside Herta. Perhaps it was a problem that I couldn’t open my eyes early in the morning.

“…This wasn’t for Millaiyen’s sake.”

“What?”

“I just suddenly felt like drawing something.”

“Suddenly felt like drawing a demonic beast?”

It wasn’t as though I could help what came to mind.

I felt somewhat wronged, but I didn’t have the eloquence to convince him otherwise.

Carina Leopold bit her lower lip firmly.

“And what exactly were you doing that you let her rampage about like an unbridled colt?”

“I was shut up in the Basement because I had an experiment to conduct.”

Periel Kalos shrugged his shoulders with his arms crossed, offering a perfectly natural response. Carina Leopold glanced at him sideways.

Unlike herself, who was tense, he appeared perfectly composed, even letting out a scoff.

“And what were you doing that you couldn’t subjugate the demonic beasts before they invaded the Territory?”

“They have a leader. Above all, he’s intelligent. It was like watching a seasoned veteran who’s been through every trial.”

I had never heard anywhere that demonic beasts possessed intellect. They had instinct, but not intelligence.

Yet this new species of demonic beast, Herta, was different.

“It was like an army.”

They obeyed the commander’s orders unconditionally. They repeated attacks, defenses, and retreats according to orders.

I never imagined they would come to the Territory.

“And they were learning.”

After her weakness was exposed, the second time Herta’s pack encountered her, they no longer raised their front paws.

—— Page 3 ——

Thanks to those creatures that only charged forward with their bodies lowered, even the Scout Expedition ended up with casualties.

I turned my horse’s head back earlier than planned to devise new countermeasures, and that’s when I discovered the partially collapsed Castle Wall and soldiers working to clear the debris.

“It would have been much simpler if you’d been there last night too.”

“I really didn’t know. If I had, I would have stepped in.”

Periel Kalos added with a sigh.

It was truly a blow to the back of his head.

The Basement was a place where news rarely reached, and sound didn’t carry either—it was so quiet that there was no way he could have noticed.

“It was my mistake for making Carina Leopold move.”

“I know that much.”

Millaiyen Pestellio let out a scoff at Periel Kalos’s self-reproach and added his words.

“So, are there any injuries or places where your body isn’t well?”

Millaiyen Pestellio shifted his gaze back to her.

In an instant, his palm brushed across Carina Leopold’s forehead. She tilted her head back, her cheeks flushed crimson.

“No.”

“Then when will that disappear?”

He pointed with the tip of his chin toward the enormous Herta standing on the Terrace, tail curled, sleeping in the sunlight.

“…I’m not sure either.”

“Can’t you get rid of it like last time?”

“I can’t… do that.”

She wondered why she hadn’t simply told Herta to leave.

The problem was that Herta didn’t respond to her commands at all.

Her eyes had already returned from golden to their original color, and because of that, my orders no longer worked on her.

‘Yet she still calls me her master. How strange.’

If Herta had truly slipped from her control, she should have vanished by now. If she hadn’t vanished, she should have at least run wild on instinct.

But Herta was none of those things. She still obeyed my commands, and even now, after a full night had passed, she hadn’t disappeared.

Of course, if one measured by the twenty-four-hour mark, it was only natural that she remained intact.

“What do you mean it can’t be done?”

“As you can see… she seems to have slipped from my control.”

Carina Leopold pointed to her own eyes with her fingers as she spoke. They were blue. Periel Kalos’s eyes widened considerably.

Golden eyes were proof of a miracle. The fact that the golden radiance had drained from her eyes meant quite literally that the miracle had ended.

If that were the case, then naturally, the beast should have already vanished.

“Is she dangerous?”

Carina Leopold shook her head.

“She still listens to me.”

I couldn’t bring myself to mention that I had no idea when Herta might change her mind.

If that happened, Millaiyen would have only one course of action.

“Setting that aside for now.”

Millaiyen’s gaze returned to Carina Leopold.

“You—what on earth were you doing rolling around on the Studio floor

—— Page 4 ——

like that? Your body isn’t even well, so why are you thrashing about so recklessly? Are you some sort of broom?” Carina Leopold blinked. She lowered her gaze slowly and swallowed hard. That was the problem. Millaiyen had been the first to discover her disappearance. The Leopold Manor was in complete chaos, and Periel Kalos had been away on an investigation from the night before. When Millaiyen returned early and noticed her absence, he’d searched everywhere until he found her. Rolling about on the Studio floor alongside brushes, palettes, paint, and the enormous Herta. “Mm…” Carina Leopold offered an innocent, harmless smile, but Millaiyen’s expression only grew more severe. She clamped her mouth shut and rolled her eyes nervously. Her tense face looked as though cold sweat might break out at any moment. Millaiyen gazed at her transparent thoughts written plainly across her features and sighed inwardly. In truth, all of this was his responsibility. The responsibility for the ones he hadn’t exterminated. “I should have killed them all,” Millaiyen muttered, cradling his jaw. “Is your body truly all right?” Millaiyen suddenly leaned his face closer. His complexion seemed flushed, and he appeared to have a slight fever. As Millaiyen’s face drew nearer, Carina Leopold’s head drooped lower and lower, heavy as ripened grain. “This won’t do. Go rest in your Room.” “…Pardon?” “Yes, don’t move from your Room for the rest of the day.” Carina Leopold shook her head from side to side while remaining seated. There was nothing wrong with her, and she wasn’t tired—why should she be confined to her Room? With her lips pressed firmly together, she opened her eyes wide and earnestly demonstrated her good health, swinging her arms back and forth. Seeing her flail about, Millaiyen rose from his seat, bent down, and lifted her effortlessly into his arms. “Ah! Millaiyen…!” As she struggled, Millaiyen laughed with genuine amusement at her futile resistance, then lowered his head until his lips were nearly brushing her ear. “Shh, go rest now.” “…Ugh.” Carina Leopold’s face flushed crimson in an instant, and she found herself unable to speak. Startled, she could only hide her thundering heart as best she could, her body stiffening rigidly as he carried her away.

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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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