The Response to my Drunken Proposal was Surprisingly Good

Tether muttered in disbelief; her eyes widened to the size of glasses, showing how surprised she was.

Of course, it wasn’t just her. The entire surroundings were in an uproar.

“They’re going to activate a tablet inscribed with ancient dragon language?”

“They say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle if it’s activated!”

“I can’t wait to see it!”

The rampaging elementals was already a major event, and now the Princess and even a dragon-person had appeared on top of that.

Chaos after chaos.

But it showed no signs of stopping. Not content with just challenging and defeating the dragon-person, now they were going to activate an ancient tablet right here and now…

“The spectacles today are endless, aren’t they?”

“We’re so lucky! I’m glad we came!”

With one sensational sight following another, the crowd wasn’t diminishing at all. If anything, it had grown even larger with more people rushing in.

Meanwhile, Hedera asked Ezekiel,

“Inspector, what on earth are you thinking?”

The princess’s two eyes, visible above her mask, were filled with an uncharacteristic sense of bewilderment, “I haven’t mastered the ancient dragon language yet. It’s a challenge that needs to be learned slowly and with great effort.”

“No need to take it slow. Let’s graduate today.”

Hedera’s eyes widened even further, “…Are you serious right now?”

“What could be impossible for the Second Princess?”

Ezekiel closed his mouth tightly after that, leaving Hedera alone with her bewilderment.

Just then,

“Inspector, and Princess.”

One of the dragon-person approached them.

“Are you ready to begin?” It was Gromon, the dragon-person with the thick white mustache, “The crowd has grown too large to back out now. When do you plan to proceed?”

“Let’s start right away. However, we can’t casually reveal the Princess’s power. I’ll set up a barrier so the interior isn’t visible until just before the tablet is activated.”

Ezekiel answered calmly, but the dragon-person scoffed.

“A barrier… A barrier, you say…”

It seemed he was certain of their failure, given the need for a barrier.

“Well, a human mage’s barrier can last three hours at most, right? It doesn’t matter. Just make sure you decipher it properly.” Gromon’s tone was laced with blatant disrespect.

“…………..”

And Hedera’s face, trying hard to hide her anxiety.

Huff─

Ezekiel leisurely exhaled sunweed smoke.

And so, the tablet interpretation began.

~~••~~••~~

Hedera and Ezekiel stood near the tablet.

“There’s no time limit. Just focus calmly and demonstrate your skills to the fullest.”

Hedera felt a dizzying sense of disorientation.

Time wasn’t the issue now. Deciphering ancient dragon language required not the time of the person involved, but their ability.

“…What on earth are you thinking?” She repeated the question she had already asked.

She still couldn’t understand Ezekiel’s intentions.

“Princess, you should focus on this part.”

Ezekiel drew a thin ice line across the tablet, dividing it precisely into five sections.

“Inspector, what are you saying…”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Swoosh─!

Ezekiel created a cubic ice barrier enclosing only Hedera and the tablet. The interior and exterior were completely cut off, obscuring the outside view.

Hedera hurriedly communicated telepathically.

— Are you serious? Suddenly asking me to decipher this?

— It’s too late to back out now. Please hurry.

“How dare you do something so reckless…”

Hedera muttered softly as she summoned her magical power.

The die was cast. Hedera wasn’t stupid enough to cling to an unchangeable past and prolong the situation, so now she had no choice but to decipher it.

First, she tried the same method she had used before.

In the past, the tablet had responded when she focused her mind and infused it with her mana. Hedera was hoping to use the same method to get out of this crisis.

But.

Was this the amount of power she had poured in back then…?

No, she had to clear her mind…

“I wonder if the Princess is doing well?”

At that moment, someone’s voice leaked in from outside the barrier. It was a single word that flew like an arrow and pierced her ears.

Whoosh─!

Instantly, the mana she had been channeling into the tablet scattered; in fact, the recoil even caused some mana to bounce back, making Hedera frown as she felt a tingling in her hands.

“…Damn it.”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

This barrier doesn’t block sound.

Hedera tried to focus again.

Or rather, she tried but failed to concentrate.

“To think the Princess is inside this small barrier!”

“I’m curious! I want to see her!”

“Maybe if we put our ears to it, we could hear something?”

Hedera suddenly felt suffocated – the cubic barrier wasn’t very large and only served as a screen. In reality, weren’t a lot of people practically pressed up against her?

Her head gradually began to throb.

For the first time in a long while, she had felt such tension.

Even so, she tried her best to concentrate.

But then.

“Strange, it’s already been two hours…”

“………..!”

Hedera was startled.

It’s been two hours already?

According to Gromon, the time a human could maintain a barrier that consumed so much mana was not long; and this was especially true for such an intricate barrier. Moreover, Ezekiel, the barrier’s caster, was in terrible physical condition. Naturally, she became anxious.

Whoosh─!

But again, another failure.

The tablet seemed to reject Hedera’s mana, pushing it back, and her concentration began to waver. Her breathing quickened with urgency, and her confidence gradually dwindled.

“How much longer do we have to wait?”

“Is this going to fail?”

“I’m starting to get worried.”

Each word drilled into her ears.

She needed to focus, but there was no way she could concentrate.

Her mana began to dissipate without being properly gathered, and suddenly everything became confusing.

Suddenly.

A voice within her mind began to whisper.

…Hedera, you’ve always known, haven’t you?

…You don’t have the talent to tackle ancient dragon language, do you? You’ve already tried, already hit your limit and given up, right? You’ve just been avoiding it all this time, haven’t you? Just putting it off? Now that you’re facing it head-on, how does it feel?

As each word tormented Hedera, the Princess’s once-ironclad expression gradually crumbled.

“Ugh…”

And the Second Princess clutched her head.

Come to think of it, it was true.

Had Hedera obtained dragon blood through effort?

Had Hedera awakened the Dragon Speech through effort?

No.

She had simply lived behind, accepting her lack of talent, and then one day, it had just appeared. In other words, if she hadn’t been given the talent, Hedera had never accomplished anything. She had no talent whatsoever for ancient dragon language.

“No. I don’t have the talent….”

Hedera clutched her head.

~~••~~••~~

How much time had passed? It was impossible to tell.

The voices coming from outside had gradually diminished.

From a hundred words to fifty, from fifty to ten, from ten to one… Of course, Hedera had still not achieved anything.

Finally.

All sounds faded away.

“…………..”

Hedera rubbed her face with a dejected feeling.

….

….

The inside of the barrier was completely silent.

Suddenly, Hedera felt as if she had fallen into some isolated world. She even thought she’d rather be trapped here forever than go outside.

It was fear and self-loathing.

In truth, she had known. She knew she shouldn’t make a soul trade, but at the same time, she also knew that she couldn’t decipher the ancient dragon language through her own efforts alone.

“Ah…”

That was the last sound, close to giving up.

She simply couldn’t decipher this.

From the very beginning, from the moment she had no talent, it had been this way.

The Second Princess communicated telepathically with Ezekiel.

— I’ve failed after all. It’s impossible.

— Take it slowly. It’s possible.

— It’s not. It’s not possible…

Come to think of it, Ezekiel hadn’t rushed her at all.

Or rather, since this was Ezekiel’s doing, was that natural? It was not Hedera’s fault. It was Ezekiel’s fault for forcing her to decipher it when she didn’t want to. Hedera was blameless…

“Ugh…”

It truly felt like laying her head on the executioner’s block.

Hedera feared how people would react when they learned of her failure.

— How many people are gathered out there now?

— No one. You can relax.

…No one?

Well, it did seem like quite a bit of time had passed.

Wait, then how is the barrier being maintained?

— Release the barrier. The mana consumption must be enormous.

— I’ll release it when you finish deciphering.

“…I told you it’s impossible.”

But Ezekiel wouldn’t budge.

….

In the silence, Hedera tried again.

Her entire arm felt numb; even lifting it was difficult.

….

Thud!

Out of anger, she slammed her fist on the tablet.

It felt like someone was strangling her. She just felt suffocated.

….

And so, more time passed like this.

— How much time has passed?

— Only 10 minutes since your last communication.

…10 minutes?

— Time isn’t passing as quickly as you feel. Try at your leisure. You can definitely do it.

….

In the silence, Hedera tried again.

She tried and tried again.

….

— How long has it been now?

— 5 minutes. You’re communicating too frequently.

…Am I really just being impatient?

The moment Hedera thought that.

“………..?”

Suddenly, she seemed to understand what Ezekiel meant by dividing the tablet. It was a sudden understanding, like a light bulb had gone off.

Stroke.

Technique.

Series.

Attribute.

Harmony.

— Inspector, I think I might be able to do it.

This time, there was no response to her telepathic message.

Instead.

The barrier melted away.

“………..”

It was the moment Hedera’s eyes wandered aimlessly…

“…………!”

Hedera’s eyes widened. Her mouth, hidden behind her mask, opened involuntarily.

The moon hung prominently in the sky; it was nighttime.

‘Night? When did it become…’

She understood. Ezekiel had lied.

At the same time, Hedera felt another sense of dissonance.

A large crowd filled the surrounding area. Countless eyes were fixed on her.

“Shh…”

It was Ezekiel.

With a finger on his lips, he was quietly shushing the crowd.

Looking as if he might collapse at any moment, with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth, he had maintained the barrier all this time, even deceiving her about the passage of time.

And even now, he merely wore a relaxed expression as he turned his gaze towards Hedera.

“What…”

…Hedera had seen this situation before.

A familiar sight. She had definitely experienced it.

In the distant past, Hedera often couldn’t even start the tasks Ezekiel assigned her. They were just too difficult.

— Master… It’s too hard, I can’t do it…

— No. You can do it.

When she had to demonstrate them in front of His Majesty the Emperor without any progress. Yes, this was undoubtedly very similar to that day.

Ezekiel turned towards the audience.

— Your Majesty, you have waited a long time.

“Everyone has indeed waited a long time.”

A hoarse voice, yet tinged with joy.

— Once again, the Princess has achieved something remarkable. You can look forward to it.

“I see that the Princess is finally ready. It would be best for everyone to wake up the person next to them and pay close attention.”

The time was different, the place was different.

The people before the Princess were completely different as well.

However.

One man who had unwavering faith in Hedera.

That one thing alone was the same as years ago.

Thump─ Thump─

Suddenly, her heart began to beat loudly.

Hedera’s assignments. The result was always success, wasn’t it?

— Princess, let’s surprise His Majesty.

“Princess, let’s surprise everyone.”

Though many years had passed, Ezekiel’s back remained the same.

Like a spot-the-difference game.

The moment that scene overlapped with a scene from the past.

Hedera’s heart ceased to waver.

— Right now.

“Right now.”

At this moment.

Thump─ Thump─

Something that had been frozen all this time began to thaw.

It was regeneration, or perhaps birth.

Thump─ Thump─

Hedera’s time, which had been at a standstill, finally began to flow again.

As always, or already,

And now.