I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 70

Chapter 70

‘The smell of honey?’

I felt something soft and fluffy.

I heard a familiar sound, “Bbyung-bbyung.”

“Honey?”

Bbyung-bbyung━━━

It was Honey, who preferred the nickname “Kim Honey Badger” to just “Honey,” but I didn’t mention it today.

He just hugged me, making “Bbyung-bbyung” sounds.

It was a strange feeling.

It was like a huge, scary, black hand was reaching out, but Honey seemed to have chased it away.

‘It’s cozy.’

I hugged Honey tightly.

Honey’s fur was soft and fluffy, as always.

Bbyung-bbyung━━━

Honey lifted his front paw and stroked my head, as if telling me not to worry about anything.

Strangely, my fear subsided a lot.

I buried my face in Honey’s chest and breathed for a long time.

An inexpressible sense of security made me feel at peace.

‘It’s amazing.’

It was so amazing.

Even though I still felt achy, I wasn’t as scared as I was before.

I wasn’t alone anymore.

“I’m not scared anymore. Thank you, Kim Honey Badger.”

Magic letters appeared above Honey’s head.

『Kim Honey Badger = Icon of Courage.』

『Sharing Courage.』

『Isabel is now brave.』

I chuckled lightly.

‘But was Honey always this big?’

I hadn’t noticed it until now, but he seemed much bigger than me. He felt like a very, very large body.

‘No, he’s not.’

When I came to my senses, it wasn’t like that.

Honey was Honey as he always was.

About 70 cm long.

“Hey, Honey. I just felt like you were much, much bigger than 70 cm?”

『Kim Honey Badger’s presence is huge.』

Honey giggled like a person.

It was so fascinating.

“Honey is definitely not an ordinary honey badger.”

No matter how much I used the Interpretation Magic, there would be no honey badger that could express its intentions like this.

He was definitely a genius among honey badgers.

『Yep! Kim Honey Badger is powerful.』

“Right. Kim Honey Badger is a powerful honey badger.”

I hugged Honey tightly again.

He didn’t feel as big as before, but his body temperature calmed me down.

Perhaps thanks to my Bilotian body, my aches were already gone.

“You’re a powerful honey badger.”

Bbyung-bbyung?

I suddenly wondered what would have happened if Honey hadn’t been here today.

Perhaps I would have been consumed by an intangible fear and trembled in terror all night long.

I whispered my true feelings to Honey.

“Honey badgers are so precious to me.”

Bbyung-bbyung!

Honey seemed pleased.

『Agreed.』

『Isabel is precious.』

I like Honey, and Honey likes me.

I don’t know how we met, but I’m glad Honey is here.

“Since you’re a powerful honey badger, you have to make a promise with me.”

Bbyung-bbyung?

“It’s a selfish and bad request, but can you grant it?”

Bbyung-bbyung!

He acted as if it didn’t matter how bad the request was.

“I’m going to die before you.”

The average lifespan of a wild honey badger is 8 years. However, the average lifespan of a captive honey badger is about 24 years.

Since I gave him a name, Honey will be cared for by the Imperial Family, which means he could live for 24 years.

‘I have 14 years left.’

So I want Honey to live longer than me.

Being left alone like today was too scary.

“I want you to live longer than me.”

Bbyung-bbyung.

Honey’s fur drooped.

“Promise?”

Bbyung-bbyung.

Honey seemed to be holding back on the magic letters today.

“Thank you for promising. You have to stay by my side until then. Okay?”

Bbyung-bbyung!

I hugged Honey again.

It felt good to be warm all the way to my toes.

‘Even if he’s a genius honey badger, he wouldn’t really understand the meaning of death, right?’

Surely not.

Honey is very sensitive to my feelings, so he must be a little down right now.

‘But I feel so at ease.’

Even if it’s a slightly selfish promise.

Even if it’s a promise Honey won’t fully understand.

Still, an inexplicable feeling of comfort washed over me.

“I think I can sleep now. Thank you for coming.”

Actually, I should have had a ‘natural suspicion’ at this point.

How could a honey badger get to my room in the royal palace?

And how could he find me so accurately?

And why was the end of the blanket warm, even though Honey was clearly small?

I didn’t realize it then, but the end of the bed was warm.

As if Honey had grown huge.

Lost in the sense of security, I failed to think about these obvious things and fell into a deep sleep.

Arun said,

“I’m back, Mother.”

“You’re very late. You have no idea how worried I was.”

“You were worried?”

“Of course. You chose to be a honey badger, of all things.”

Dragons store the life experiences of other creatures in their subconscious.

If they transform into a honey badger, they have to live as a real honey badger.

Honey badgers are fearless and very brave, so they often find themselves in danger.

If they are killed in the form of a honey badger, the actual Arun also dies.

Dragons rarely die, but the transformation into a ‘honey badger’ is the most likely cause of death among dragons.

“I like being a honey badger.”

“It seems like you have a lot of good memories. What do you like so much?”

Arun didn’t miss the glint in Kadelina’s eyes.

‘If I reveal anything here, Mother will erase all my memories.’

He had fragmented memories of his time as a honey badger.

In fact, these memories shouldn’t have existed. They could shake his identity as a dragon.

If any memories remained, it was customary for the guardian to erase them.

‘Thank you for promising. You have to stay by my side. Okay?’

Not all of it, but he remembered bits and pieces.

The honey badger, Kim Honey Badger, had someone very precious to him.

Someone who hides under the covers when I’m not there. Someone who needs me to be by their side.

That’s why Arun didn’t want to lose his memories.

‘I’m sorry, Mother.’

He lied.

“I don’t remember. I just have this exhilarating and refreshing feeling in my heart.”

“Really?”

Kadelina smiled gently, seemingly relieved. She was happy that Arun seemed to be growing well.

“That’s because the power of emotion is stronger than the power of memory.”

Arun widened his eyes, pretending to be clueless.

“Really? Is the power of emotion stronger than the power of memory?”

“Yes. Everything you experience is stored in your subconscious in the form of emotions. It becomes the source of your growth into a righteous dragon. It seems like Arun is having very good experiences.”

The Great Sage of Sharp North Wind and Cold Blood Flow smiled kindly. And then she subtly continued,

“Then, shall Mother see what kind of experiences my son has had?”

“Sure!”

Arun tilted his head forward, acting as if he didn’t know anything.

But Arun already knew. That his mother was still suspicious of him.

That she would immediately tamper with his memories if she noticed anything strange.

Kadelina’s hand touched Arun’s head.

‘I can’t overcome Mother’s magical power yet, but……’

He couldn’t defeat his mother in a head-on fight. But he could hide things secretly.

‘Mother is not hostile towards me.’

It would be a different story if Kadelina tried to dissect Arun’s memories with all her might. But Kadelina was merely trying to read Arun’s experiences with a light heart.

Arun coated a part of his memories with dragon power （龍力） and hid them deep within his heart.

After a while, Kadelina said,

“You’re having diverse experiences that you wouldn’t be able to have as a dragon.”

There seemed to be no problem.

Arun, who had been a little nervous, smiled brightly.

“Yes. I will definitely grow up to be a great dragon like you, Mother.”

Having safely passed Kadelina’s test （?）, Arun lay down on his bed.

‘I have to remember Kim Honey Badger. For Isabel.’

Kim Honey Badger had to be by Isabel’s side. Arun clenched his fists.

‘I will make sure my identity as a dragon doesn’t waver.’

Arun steeled his resolve.

He would live as Kim Honey Badger, but he also had to solidify his identity as a dragon.

There were limitations to helping Isabel as a honey badger. He had to be a dragon to truly help her.

‘I will be both Kim Honey Badger and Arun, protecting Isabel’s side.’

As Arun drifted off to sleep, Kadelina slowly got up.

“My son is now using tricks on his mother?”

Arun seemed to be using his head quite well, but in fact, Kadelina had experienced all of this herself.

Kadelina understood her son’s heart better than anyone.

“Like mother, like son.”

Because she was just like that when she was young.

She was a dragon who was too immersed in her experiences as a human, and that was the background of the birth of the ‘Great Sage of Sharp North Wind and Cold Blood Flow’.

She could see right through Arun’s actions.

“I understand, but it’s not pleasant.”

The Great Sage of Sharp North Wind and Cold Blood Flow’s eyes narrowed like a reptile’s.

There was something she needed to look into.

“Teleport.”

Kadelina warped somewhere.