Tether muttered in disbelief. She was so shocked that her eyes looked bigger
than her glasses.
Of course, she wasn't the only one. The entire surroundings were in an
uproar.
"Activating the stone tablet engraved with the ancient incantation?"
"If it activates, it would be a sight never to be seen again!"
"I can't wait to see it!"
It was already a major event with the spirits going berserk, and now the
Princess and the dragonborns had also appeared.
One uproar after another.
But it didn't stop. Not only had he fought and defeated a dragonborn, but
now he was going to activate the ancient stone tablet right there…
"The spectacles just keep coming today."
"We're lucky! It was worth coming!"
With one exciting spectacle after another, the crowd didn't thin out. Instead,
more people gathered.
Meanwhile, Hedera asked Jaekiel.
"Auditor, what are you thinking?"
The Princess's eyes, visible above her mask, showed rare confusion.
"I still haven't mastered the ancient incantation. It's a difficult task that
requires careful and slow effort."
"There's need to do it slowly. Let's finish it today."
Hedera's eyes widened even more.
"…Do you really mean that?"
"What could be impossible for the 2nd Princess?"
Jaekiel closed his mouth after saying that, leaving the remaining confusion
to Hedera alone.
Just then.
"Auditor, Princess."
A dragonborn approached confidently.
"Are you ready?"
It was Gromon, the dragonborn with the thick white mustache.
"There are too many people gathered now to back out. When will you
proceed?"
"Let's do it right now. However, the Princess's power cannot be easily
exposed. I'll set up a barrier to hide the interior until just before the stone
tablet is activated."
Jaekiel answered calmly, but the dragonborn sneered.
"A barrier… a barrier…"
It seemed he was sure they would fail, seeing that they even set up a barrier.
"Well, a human magician's barrier can only last three hours at most, right? It
doesn't matter. Just try your best to decode it."
Gromon's tone was blatantly dismissive.
"…"
And Hedera was struggling to hide her anxiety.
Hooo.
Jaekiel leisurely exhaled the smoke from the Sun Grass.
The decoding of the stone tablet began.
Hedera and Jaekiel stood near the stone tablet.
"There is no time limit. Just focus comfortably and display your full skills."
Hedera felt dizzy to the point of feeling faint.
Time wasn't the issue. Decoding the ancient incantation required skill, not
time.
"…What are you thinking?"
She asked the same question again.
She still couldn't understand Jaekiel's intention.
"Princess, you should focus on this."
Jaekiel drew a thin ice line over the stone tablet, dividing it into exactly five
sections.
"Auditor, what are you talking about…?"
"Then let's begin."
Sssssshhhh.
Jaekiel created a cubic ice barrier that enclosed only Hedera and the stone
tablet. The inside and outside were completely isolated, so the outside
scenery was no longer visible.
Hedera urgently sent a telepathic message.
─Are you serious? Suddenly asking me to decode this?
─It's too late to back out now. Hurry.
"What a reckless thing to do…"
Hedera muttered softly, gathering her magical power.
The die was already cast. Hedera wasn't foolish enough to cling to an
unchangeable past, so she had no choice but to really decode it now.
First, she tried the same method she had attempted before.
In the past, the stone tablet had reacted when she concentrated and infused
her power. Hedera planned to use the same method to overcome this crisis.
But.
Did she infuse this much power back then…?
No, she had to clear her mind first…
"Princess, are you doing well?"
Just then, a voice from outside the barrier seeped in. A word that shot
straight into her ears.
Hoo.
The power she was infusing into the stone tablet scattered immediately.
She even felt a tingling in her hands from the rebounding force, furrowing
her brows.
"…Damn it."
Come to think of it.
This barrier didn't block sound.
Hedera tried to concentrate again.
No, she tried to concentrate but failed.
"The Princess is inside this narrow barrier?"
"I'm curious! I want to see her!"
"Maybe if we put our ears to it, we could hear something?"
Suddenly, Hedera felt suffocated.
The cubic barrier wasn't very spacious and only served as a screen. In fact, it
felt like many people were pressed close to Hedera.
Her head began to throb slowly.
It had been a long time since she felt this tense.
Nevertheless, she tried hard to focus.
But.
"That's strange; it's already been two hours…"
"…!"
Hedera was startled.
Had it already been two hours?
As Gromon said, a human couldn't maintain a barrier that consumed such
immense magical power for long. Especially a barrier this intricate.
Moreover, Jaekiel, the caster of the barrier, was in terrible physical
condition. Naturally, she began to feel anxious.
Hoo.
But she failed again.
The stone tablet pushed back as if rejecting Hedera's power, and her
concentration waned. Her breath quickened with impatience, and her
confidence waned.
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Isn't this going to fail?"
"I'm getting anxious."
Each word struck her ears.
She needed to concentrate, but she couldn't.
Her magical power began to scatter, and suddenly everything was confusing.
Suddenly.
Her inner voice started whispering.
…Hedera, you knew this yourself, didn't you?
…You're not talented enough to handle ancient incantations, are you?
You've already tried, already hit your limit, and given up. You kept avoiding
it and kept putting it off. Now that you're facing it, how do you feel?
Each word tormented Hedera, causing her once-steely expression to
crumble.
"Ugh…"
The 2nd Princess clutched her head.
Thinking back, it was true.
Did Hedera gain her dragon blood through effort?
Did Hedera master the incantations through effort?
No.
She accepted that she was untalented and lived lagging behind, and then one
day, it just happened.
In other words, if she wasn't given the talent, Hedera had never
accomplished anything. She had no talent for ancient incantations.
"I don't have it. I don't have the talent…"
Hedera clutched her head.
How much time had passed? She didn't know.
The voices from inside gradually decreased.
From a hundred words to fifty, from fifty to ten, from ten to one… Of
course, Hedera still hadn't achieved anything.
Finally.
All the sounds subsided.
"…"
Hedera wiped her face in despair.
The inside of the barrier was very quiet.
Suddenly, Hedera felt as if she had fallen into some remote world. She even
thought she would rather be trapped here forever than go outside.
It was fear and self-loathing.
She knew it herself. She shouldn't engage in soul transactions, but she also
knew she couldn't decode the ancient incantation through her own efforts.
"Ah."
That sound, close to giving up, was the last.
She couldn't possibly decode this.
She had no talent right from the start.
The 2nd Princess sent a telepathic message to Jaekiel.
─I failed. It's no use.
─Take your time. You can do it.
─No, I can't. I can't…
Come to think of it, Jaekiel hadn't hurried her at all.
No, since it was Jaekiel's idea, of course. This wasn't Hedera's fault. It was
Jaekiel's fault for suddenly forcing her to decode it. Hedera was blameless…
"Ugh…"
It really felt like laying her neck on the execution block.
She was afraid of how people would react to her failure. The 2nd Princess
was terrified.
─How many people are gathered now?
─No one. You can do it comfortably.
…No one?
Well, it did feel like quite a bit of time had passed.
Wait, then how was the barrier being maintained?
─Release the barrier. The mana consumption must be enormous.
─I'll release it once you finish decoding.
"…I said no."
But Jaekiel didn't budge.
In the silence, Hedera tried again.
Her entire arm felt numb. Even lifting it was difficult.
Thud!
She struck the stone tablet in frustration.
It felt like someone was choking her. She was just frustrated.
More time passed like that.
─How much time has passed?
─Since your last message, only 10 minutes.
…10 minutes?
─Time isn't passing as quickly as you feel. Take your time. You can do it.
In the silence, Hedera tried again.
She tried and tried again.
─How much time has passed now?
─5 minutes. You're sending telepathic messages too often.
…Am I really just being impatient?
The moment Hedera felt that.
"…?"
Suddenly, she felt like she understood why Jaekiel had divided the stone
tablet. It was a sudden realization, like a light bulb turning on.
Stroke.
Technique.
System.
Attribute.
Harmony.
─Auditor, I think I can do it.
This time, there was no response.
Instead.
The barrier melted away.
"…"
The moment Hedera unintentionally turned her gaze.
"…!"
Hedera's eyes widened. Her mouth, hidden behind the mask, unknowingly
opened.
The moon hung proudly in the sky; it was night.
'Night? When did it become…?'
She understood. Jaekiel had lied.
At the same time, Hedera felt another uneasiness.
There were so many people that they filled the surrounding area. Countless
eyes were on her.
"Shh…"
It was Jaekiel.
He was silencing her with his finger on his lips.
He looked like he was about to collapse, with traces of blood on his lips, yet
he had maintained the barrier, deceiving time.
And even now, he just turned his gaze to Hedera with a relaxed expression.
"What…?"
…Hedera had seen this situation before.
A familiar scene. She had definitely experienced it before.
In the distant past, Hedera often couldn't even touch the tasks Jaekiel
assigned. They were just too difficult.
─Teacher… It's too difficult; I can't do it…
─No, you can do it.
When she had to demonstrate in front of the Emperor without making any
progress. Yes, this was just like that day.
Jaekiel turned to face the audience.
─Emperor, you have waited long.
"You all have waited long."
A cracked voice, but one filled with joy.
─Once again, the Princess has made an excellent achievement. You can look
forward to it.
"The Princess is finally ready. Wake up the person next to you and pay
attention."
The time was different, the place was different.
The people in front of the Princess were also completely different.
However.
A man who believed in Hedera without doubt.
That one thing was the same as it was years ago.
Thump. Thump.
Suddenly, her heart began to beat loudly.
Hedera's tasks. The result was always success.
─Princess, surprise the Emperor.
"Princess, surprise everyone."
Though much time had passed, Jaekiel's back was still the same.
Like a spot-the-difference puzzle.
The moment that scene overlapped with a past scene.
Hedera's heart no longer wavered.
─Right now.
"Right now."
This moment.
Thump. Thump.
Something that had been frozen began to thaw.
It was regeneration or birth.
Thump. Thump.
The time that had stopped for Hedera finally began to flow again.
As always, or perhaps already…
And now.