Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 65

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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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Three hundred? That’s ridiculous.
He had never liked having someone fussing about annoyingly at his side, not since long ago. So of course, he’d always entered the Conference Hall alone, every single time.
“So you’re blaming me for that now?”
“That’s not what I’m saying! I’m talking about the current situation!”
“What? You think I’m a thief? I’ve said all there is to say!”
“Was anything I said wrong?”
The Conference Hall was already in chaos. Split into two camps, the delegates were shouting at each other, pointing fingers accusingly.
How strange that decades could pass and the scene remained utterly unchanged. Part of him found it almost nostalgic.
“Our territory suffered losses precisely because your side failed to mount a proper defense!”
“How was anyone supposed to predict this would happen? Next you’ll be blaming me for the rain!”
“Now you’re finally starting to understand.”
“You bastard——!”
Footsteps.
“Ah, that——!”
“Oh——!”
“Hmm, ahem… I see.”
The uproar died instantly. It took nothing more than Kainel’s entrance.
‘Still the same as ever.’
It had always been this way. The moment that man appeared, everyone clammed up like fish.
‘He’s certainly good at commanding a presence.’
Several of the delegates who had been on their feet hurling accusations fell awkwardly silent and rushed to their seats as Kainel passed.
“…….”
But Kainel, having taken his seat, paid them no attention whatsoever.
He closed his eyes without even glancing their way.
Clearly he had no intention of speaking until the Emperor or Crown Prince arrived.
“So what exactly are you proposing?”
“You still don’t understand? With such poor comprehension… no wonder you can’t govern your own territory and end up destroying everyone else’s.”
“Kid, are you finished?”
“Finished? Why must I repeat myself endlessly? How many times do I have to say it before you grasp that we need soldiers sent to our region, not yours?”
As Kainel remained silent, voices began climbing again.
The delegates who had initially deferred to Kainel’s presence quickly reverted to crimson-faced fury.
Without needing to hear the earlier arguments, the pattern was predictable enough.
As they clawed desperately to keep what little they possessed, a faint smirk played at the corner of Seres’s lips where she stood quietly behind Kainel.
“If you don’t come up with proper defenses this time, I won’t sit idle either!”
Pathetic.
“Then don’t sit idle! Take responsibility for defending your own territory instead of constantly harassing us!”
Infuriating.
“The imperial court sends more support to your region than ours! Naturally we should receive more!”
The audacity.
Their bowls were already so full, yet they whined endlessly that what they received wasn’t enough. Remarkable.
‘Beggars would have more shame.’
Why did they constantly screech for more? It was exhausting.
‘Hmm?’
Suddenly the nobles’ gazes shifted as one toward Seres.
‘Did I just speak my thoughts aloud?’
Even if she had, it wouldn’t have been particularly loud.
Caught off guard, Seres had begun an awkward smile when she realized the stares weren’t directed at her at all, but at Kainel instead, and she tilted her head in confusion.
‘What?’
Wasn’t he asleep?
From where Seres stood, she could find nothing remarkable about him. Kainel remained exactly as before, chin resting on his hand.
But the nobles viewing him from the front found their eyes could scarcely believe what they witnessed.
‘Right now…….’
‘…Is he smiling?’
Eyes still closed, a gentle smile played across his features.
Chapter 18. Corpse Ravaged by Beasts
Jingle.
“……? We’re closed.”
It was already nearly midnight, that late hour when the day surrendered to darkness.
Seres, who had stopped by the Shop for the first time in ages, waited under a single dim lamp, hoping to meet with Ben from the Sky Organization.
Because I’d been staying close to Kainel for a while, I hadn’t been able to properly oversee Antonien and the other children’s training.
Instead, I’d sent Ben there to keep watch, and today I was supposed to hear a report on how the children had progressed during that time.
“Ah… the shop’s closed… Cough.”
But just then, someone stepped into the closed shop.
He wore a gray robe pulled deep over his head, making it impossible to see his face properly, though his voice sounded quite young.
“Cough… cough!”
“…?”
“Cough, cough… cough-cough-cough-cough-cough……!”
Look, if you’re going to die, could you please do it outside?
Seres made no effort to hide her exasperation as she watched the man coughing incessantly.
‘What is this?’
Was he really going to make her clean up a corpse in someone else’s shop?
Seres let out a short sigh, rose from her seat, and headed into the kitchen. She immediately opened a Subspace, pulled out several medicinal herbs that worked well against coughing, and brewed them into tea.
“Cough, cough!”
“Drink this.”
“What? Oh, thank you… *gulp!* Cough.”
Seres watched intently as the man accepted the warm herbal tea.
Though she couldn’t see his complexion clearly, the depth of his cough told her everything—this wasn’t a simple cough. He had a deep-seated illness.
“Ah.”
A long, relieved breath escaped the man’s lips as he drank. His breathing already sounded far easier than before.
He set down the teacup and slowly removed the robe he’d been wearing.
‘…Beautiful.’
So this is what they meant by a beautiful face?
Why did this man look so extraordinarily pretty?
His pale purple hair, cascading down to his shoulders, and his skin—so translucent and alabaster white—complemented each other in an almost impossible way.
“What kind of tea was that? It’s wonderful.”
“Since you’ve finished it, you should get going. The shop’s closed for the day.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize business ended so early.”
“Can’t you read a clock?”
“Pardon?”
Seres pointed to the clock hanging on the wall of the shop.
The man’s eyes widened as he saw the hour hand pointing at twelve, and he let out a small, embarrassed laugh.
“I suppose I did arrive rather late, didn’t I?”
Seres shot him a look that said *now get out* and returned her attention to the shop ledger she’d been reviewing.
Since Kainel had vanished from the shop, business had proceeded as smoothly as always.
Just recently, the Black Mercenary Group had held a group dinner here, she recalled.
‘Though I’ve heard the mercenaries under their command all looked dismayed at having to hold the gathering here, apparently.’
That wasn’t her concern.
‘The point is, their captain is a genuine loyal customer of ours—that’s wonderful.’
I hope he never steps down from that position and stays attached to it forever.
“Thank you for the tea.”
At the man’s polite farewell, Seres lifted her head and saw him flash a bright smile as he walked out the door.
But something had been left on the table where he’d been sitting.
A single gold coin, glinting in the light.
He must have left it as payment for the tea.
“If you’re going to pay, at least pay properly.”
Did he not know how much those medicinal herbs cost? The raw cost alone was over two gold coins.
I was just being kind because I didn’t want to clean up a corpse in my own shop. He should be grateful.
“Where did this gold coin come from?”
The moment Seres picked up the gold coin, a familiar voice spoke from behind her.
It was Ben, a member of the Sky Organization whom she’d been waiting for.
“How are the children?”
“They all returned home safely.”
“Were any of them injured?”
“I’m genuinely curious about this—what exactly is that place they train at?”
Ben asked the question that had been nagging at him.
Ever since he first set foot there, he’d sensed something odd about the training ground.
No—not just odd. Very strange!
‘Wounds just healing up like that!’
One child had taken a fall and gotten hurt, and blood seemed to well up, but then the wound just sealed itself before his eyes!
The children seemed already accustomed to such sights, but Ben, encountering the spectacle for the first time, could only stand there with his mouth hanging open.
“That place… it really is just an ordinary Training Ground, right?”
“Yeah. Nothing special.”
“It’s not an ordinary Training Ground, is it? Right?”
I should have figured it out the moment I saw that snow mountain swirling with flurries!
Ignoring Ben, who continued to press the same question, Seres turned her gaze toward the direction the man had disappeared.
‘Maybe I should have told him to visit the Elrsian Count’s house.’
Though perhaps that was overstepping.
Surely he wouldn’t just collapse and die as he walks away like that?
‘That would be inconvenient.’
If he died around here, it would be nothing but trouble.
The last place he visited was our Shop, and I was the one who pressed those Medicinal Herbs into his hand. That’s exactly the kind of thing that invites suspicion.
“Excuse me, are you listening to me?”
“Yeah, I’m not.”
There was something about his pretty face that reminded me of someone.
“That Training Ground is strange!”
“Quiet.”
* * *
“So that woman is someone the younger brother has been taking an interest in lately?”
A soft voice emerged from the lips of the man in the gray robe, now some distance from the Shop.
“Yes. Recently they’ve been inseparable.”
At that, as if he had been waiting, a figure emerged silently from the darkness—a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties.
“Chaien even personally hired her as a temporary secretary, and she’s said to visit this Shop almost daily.”
“Hmm.”
Alax, who gazed toward the Shop where a faint glow spilled from the distance, wore a faint smile on his face.

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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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