I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 148

Chapter 148

The mound of earth that had been bulging was completely gone.

“Your Highness?”

“Yuri, summon Ttangttangi.”

Yuri has a contract with the earth spirit Ttangttangi in addition to the water spirit Bangwool.

A mole-shaped spirit appeared.

“Ask it to carefully dig up this area.”

“Alright.”

Ttangttangi began to dig up the surrounding soil. And it became clear.

‘Honey is gone?’

Did someone steal the body?

Why?

There’s no reason to.

There can’t be such a petty thief in the Imperial Palace.

“It says there’s nothing buried in the ground.”

“……Okay.”

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Yuri gently wrapped her arm around my shoulder to support me.

“I’m fine. Just a little surprised.”

“Let’s go back to the palace. I’ll make you some barley tea.”

My mind became complicated.

“No, let’s go to Father.”

I headed to Father with Yuri.

Actually, I wanted to go to Mother, but Mother was much busier than Father.

Most of the work as the Empire’s de facto leader was concentrated on Mother.

Father will probably be at the training grounds.

Of course, the role of the Bilotian Emperor itself is to be the Empire’s strongest sword when a great crisis befalls the Empire, but it was also true that he seemed more relaxed than Mother during peacetime.

“You say Kim Beolkkul is gone?”

“Yes.”

Father was training with the Black Whale Knights, but he stopped when I arrived at the training grounds.

I’m not sure, but the expressions of the knights brightened considerably.

They looked like they were finally relieved, but this was a matter between Father and them, so I decided to ignore it.

We sat on a bench and talked.

It was a situation I had become very accustomed to over the past year.

Father was a very awkward person when it came to one-on-one conversations, but he’s gotten much better these days.

“There’s no way a thief could have entered the Imperial Palace, right?”

“That’s right. Even if there was a thief, they wouldn’t steal something like that. If a beast had dug it up, there would have been traces left.”

Father looked at Yuri.

Yuri flinched again.

She doesn’t have to be so surprised, but Yuri always freezes up when she’s with Father.

“You handle the earth spirit, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Did you find any traces of a beast?”

“I didn’t find any, I apologize.”

“I never told you to apologize.”

I discreetly nudged Father’s thigh.

I know Father is a much kinder and warmer person than people think, but others don’t.

Even when saying the same greeting, it sounds threatening when Father says it.

So I’ve asked him to speak more kindly to those around him, at least.

“It’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize.”

“Th, thank you.”

Their conversation was very unnatural, but I decided to be satisfied with this for now.

It seemed impossible for the two of them to become close.

“It really wasn’t a thief, right?”

“If it was, I’d have to reprimand Viaton.”

“T, Teacher? Why?”

“Why? You don’t want Viaton to get scolded?”

“Sir Viaton isn’t in charge of security.”

“Doesn’t matter. I just want to reprimand him.”

“……Is that okay?”

“It’s okay with Viaton.”

I’m not sure if I should be relieved that Sir Viaton and Father are close.

Eventually, Father spoke again.

“Of course, there was a time when a thief broke into the Imperial Palace. They broke into the secret vault and stole gold bars.”

“……Ah!”

I remembered.

Honey once stole gold from the Imperial Palace’s secret vault and gave it to me as a gift.

“Maybe a thief broke in again.”

“What do you mean?”

Father stood up.

And he said something a little strange.

“I really hate thieves. I loathe them extremely. In many ways. If I see one, I will never forgive them.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

About a year ago.

The dormant volcano ‘Magrot’ erupted violently, causing people from nearby villages to evacuate.

The volcano, which had been dormant for 500 years, erupted.

The reason for the eruption was simple.

It was because the freaking Black Flame Dragon was angry.

“Stop it, are you going to drive the world to the brink of destruction again?”

“Why not?”

“Get a grip. It wasn’t Arun who died, it was Kim Beolkkul.”

Originally, when a dragon dies after transforming into another creature, the dragon’s main body also dies.

Adult dragons don’t find this strange.

However, a different standard is applied to children.

“He’ll wake up in a few days.”

Baby dragons must be protected and receive the protection of countless dragons until they become adult dragons.

Even if the transformed creature dies, the soul does not shatter and returns to a special space to reconstruct its body.

It was a privilege given only to baby dragons.

Kadelina abruptly stood up.

“I’m going to wipe out Bladock or whatever it’s called.”

“It’s already been wiped out.”

Ravina sighed and told the story of the human world.

The Bladock Dukedom, one of the two great dukedoms of the Empire, had attempted a rebellion, and in the end, Emperor Ron personally eradicated the Bladock Dukedom.

“The forests around the Bladock Dukedom are still burning.”

“That’s not enough. I need to get rid of everything related to Bladock.”

“If you rampage like that again? Do you think the ancient dragons will just stand by?”

“What if they don’t?”

Kadelina scoffed.

“I’m a better fighter, so whatcha gonna do?”

“Whatcha gonna do? What is that?”

“I don’t know. Arun taught me.”

“It sounds really weird.”

“So, I’m going to go on a rampage now? Can I just wipe everything out? Can I show them how freaking strong I am?”

“You’re already doing that, so please. It’s hard enough to control just Ron.”

“Ron? That Emperor?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you controlling him? Just let him rampage.”

“We have to prevent the world from ending.”

“If he rampages, the world will end?”

“He’s almost as strong as your main body.”

Kadelina was momentarily speechless.

“Don’t lie. There’s no way a human can be that strong.”

“Humans are creatures that constantly surpass common sense.”

“Even so, that’s……”

Kadelina looked at Ravina in disbelief and asked again.

“How does he compare to Grand Duke Rovena?”

“In the past, he could somehow manage to compete if he used both magic and a sword.”

“But?”

“I don’t know when it started, but he’s become excessively strong. As strong as the strongest Black Flame Dragon on earth.”

Kadelina’s anger subsided a little.

Ravina knew how to handle Kadelina very well, and Kadelina had already begun to show great interest in Ron.

“Is he that good at fighting?”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The eruption of Mount Magrot stopped.

The volcano, which had been spewing volcanic ash to the ends of the sky, calmed down as if nothing had happened, and Kadelina took a walk with her son in the crater, which had not yet completely cooled down.

“Is your body alright?”

“I’m fine. My head feels a little dizzy and aches, but……”

“You’ll be fine in a few days. It seems you lived a very happy life as a honey badger.”

“I guess so.”

“Memories?”

“I don’t remember anything. It feels like I experienced something very precious, but……”

It was a lie.

Arun wanted to run out of the lair and go to the Imperial Palace of the Bilotian Empire right away.

He was afraid he might forget everything if time passed.

He had an obsession that he had to meet Isabel before that happened.

But he didn’t show it.

Young dragons were not supposed to have memories of their time as other creatures.

A few more days passed.

“This time, I think I’ll try living as a human.”

“That’s a good idea. There aren’t many races that have thoughts and experiences as diverse as humans.”

“What kind of setting do you want?”

“Wouldn’t the hidden son of the Northern Duke be enough?”

“Not a bad idea.”

“I wonder if the Dragon of Wisdom will approve.”

“She’ll probably say it’s a bad idea. But I don’t think it matters.”

Arun and Kadelina had various conversations.

There were also areas where their opinions clashed.

“Why do you want to use the name Arun? It’s usually common to change it.”

“Because it’s the proud name you gave me.”

“Now that I think about it, using that name is an excellent choice.”

“I can come up with the detailed settings myself, right?”

Kadelina felt a little hurt.

It felt like her son was leaving her embrace.

He was a little more independent than before.

However, she reassured herself that this was also a natural part of growing up.

“Sure. I’ll talk to my sister.”

“Thank you.”

Arun hugged Kadelina once.

That alone made Kadelina chuckle and let down all her guard.

At least, that’s how it seemed on the surface.

‘No matter how much you try to hide it, I can see it all.’

He must have all the memories of his time as a honey badger.

There must be a reason why he wants to become the son of Grand Duke Rovena.

‘He must have thought that he needed that level of status to be worthy of Isabel.’

He was a very cunning son.

‘Why is he doing the same things I did when I was young?’

He tried not to show it, but his steps seemed very light, which made her feel a little hurt again.

It was clear that he was crazy about Isabel.

“I’ll be back.”

Arun left the lair.

Shortly after, Rovena contacted her immediately using the communication device.

She was angry that she suddenly had a hidden son, but Kadelina replied as if she didn’t care about such trivial matters.

“I know I did something to deserve being scolded. But if you scold me, I won’t let it go.”

Of course, what she wouldn’t let go of was the ‘world’.

The freaking Black Flame Dragon was still suffering from the same illness as the 15-year-old Kaman.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Rovena, who was eventually defeated（?） by Kadelina, visited the Imperial Palace with Arun.

“This is my hidden son, Your Majesty. I’m late in introducing him, but what do you think? Isn’t he handsome?”

But Ron’s reaction was very different from usual.