Today, I rode a small boat, enjoying the sea while eating ice cream and playing with water.
The ocean was so beautiful! The night sky was really pretty, too… Ah, when I get back, I’ll show you the photos I took; you’ll like them.
The kids were already tired and have gone inside to sleep.
Everyone seemed to be having so much fun, even Dayton.
Hehe, sometimes Dayton seems like a wonderful dad, but at times like this, he really looks like a child.
As Yerna excitedly recounted the day’s events over the phone, her voice was filled with joy.
It might be that this trip is even more enjoyable because she hasn’t had a proper vacation in a while due to work.
Regardless, just hearing Yerna’s cheerful voice made Luke, who had planned this itinerary, feel a sense of pride and a slight smile crept onto his lips.
“I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying the trip. I hope you enjoy the remaining schedule as much.”
“Yeah, I will. Thank you for creating such a wonderful trip, you must have wanted a lot of things as rewards too…”
Luke answered, pushing aside a slight guilt.
“Ahahaha, not at all…”
Yerna was completely unaware that she had spent almost all her rewards on things she wanted.
Yet, despite that, she still had some desires.
Ah, the greed of one who knows—how terrifying it is!
Modern experimental tools, state-of-the-art production facilities, new alchemical processing methods, and the new materials derived from them!
When she did not know about these things, she could remain detached, but now that she was aware of them, letting go of that greed was not easy.
No, it wasn’t just difficult—it was nearly impossible.
Luke currently lacked the self-control to refrain from such things.
As a mage, he had always been one to splurge on magical items, and due to the influence of the Dragonheart, his body was infused with the greedy tendencies of dragons, making it very difficult to resist such impulses.
If more money came in, he would probably spend it all quickly, just as he did now.
That’s why Luke needed to earn a lot of money.
For his future self.
While Luke was lost in these thoughts, Yerna asked him a question.
“So, I’m planning to take a shower and go to bed soon, but what have you been doing?”
“Huh? Ah, right now? I was tinkering with the computer you gifted me for Spirit Day.”
Luke looked down at the scene in front of him.
What lay before him was a half-disassembled computer, a smartphone, and various components that were in the midst of assembly scattered around.
The work Luke had been engaged in was the modification of the portable computer Yerna had bought.
It was a synchronization task to ensure that this computer could connect with Arinseia’s supercomputer from anywhere.
No matter how high-performance a computer may be, it would be useless if it couldn’t handle input and output.
This massive computer, utilizing all of Arinseia’s resources, undoubtedly boasted incredible computational power, but at the same time, it was so large that carrying it around was completely impossible.
Furthermore, having to open a gate with a “key” and step into Arinseia every time a calculation was needed was not only tedious but also dangerous.
Therefore, a type of communication terminal that could connect without any issues from the outside was essential.
And that role would be fulfilled by this underperforming portable computer that Yerna had bought.
Once outside, real-time lossless information exchange with the otherworldly Arinseia would be difficult, so modifications were necessary to ensure input and output synchronization using the “key” in the communication core.
Once that synchronization task is completed, this small portable computer will possess computational power almost identical to the massive Arinseia, aside from input and output delay.
However, Yerna had no idea that such an outrageous task was happening.
She simply assumed that Luke was leisurely admiring cat pictures on the computer while lying on the bed.
Yerna lightly laughed and asked, “So, how’s the computer? Do you like it?”
Luke replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “I’m very satisfied. Really.”
“Phew, I’m glad to hear that.”
Spending too long on the computer could strain his eyes, and even if being a chimera meant that wouldn’t affect his vision, it was still not good to disrupt a regular lifestyle.
Even though Luke would take care of himself without her needing to say anything, she couldn’t help but give a little nagging.
Because, obviously, she loved him.
Isn’t it said that if someone doesn’t care, they wouldn’t nag at all?
Now, she thought she understood why her mother used to nag her about everything when she was little, and she said, “But don’t stay up too late, okay?”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
Luke responded cheerfully to Yerna’s nagging.
“Well then, good night.”
“Yeah, sleep well.”
– Click.
“Haah.”
After confirming that the call had ended, Luke let out a deep sigh.
Even without Yerna’s nagging, he was already thinking of taking a break.
What had felt like just a day or two for Yerna had surprisingly turned into over half a year in Arinseia.
This was also the result of having played with time using the Hourglass of Reversal.
It couldn’t be helped; Arinseia was enormous.
No matter how rigorously Luke pursued efficiency, half a year had become unavoidable.
That meant, unfortunately, Yerna’s nagging had already lost its purpose.
Thanks to the absence of “night” and “lateness” in Arinseia, Luke’s biological clock had long since broken, and he had gotten used to that lifestyle.
“Haah…”
Luke flipped backward and lay down on the grass.
He closed his tired eyes and raised his arm to shade his eyelids from the sunlight.
This was the first rest he had taken after experiencing six months of perceived time, and it was incredibly sweet.
“If only the Hourglass of Reversal hadn’t broken…”
The Hourglass of Reversal.
Originally, it contained the power to literally “reverse the heavens.”
If that were the case, there would be no restrictions regardless of which time period was set, but now that it was broken, that was no longer possible.
There wasn’t enough determination over time.
“Haah, truly an amusing irony.”
Even the hourglass that could turn the sky upside down couldn’t escape the ravages of time.
Isn’t that quite an amusing story?
Just as amusing as the tale of elves fishing.
Luke briefly smiled, recalling the moment when Shirud was fishing.
“Hahaha.”
Those were such fun times.
They had teamed up together to catch the Tigalon (though it was indeed not a Tigalon, Luke still decided to refer to it as such), and, for the first time in all of his memories, he had fallen into the water.
Shirud had to pull him out of the water just in time, but thanks to that, he got to see Shirud’s new heroic side, which made Luke proud as a mentor.
Moreover, thanks to that experience, he had quickly improved his swimming skills.
“Kayle, as you said, real-world experience is the best.”
Lost in those memories for a moment, Luke lifted his head and got back on his feet.
The work on the computer was nearly completed.
Although there were still a few more processes to finish everything, this much would suffice for now.
There were no more issues concerning the computer.
However…
“Ah.”
– Rustle.
Luke carefully stood up while avoiding the flowers and herbs spilling next to him.
And there, sprawled on the pile of grass, was Liv, looking worn out.
A quick glance revealed that those were surely the materials for the “Fatigue Recovery Potion” he had grown earlier.
Luke asked upon seeing that, “Why on earth did you bring this here? Didn’t I designate a separate place for the herbs?”
“……”
Liv lifted the sunglasses received from Luke slightly, shook their head, and waved their hands a few times.
Luke, thinking he had no idea what that meant, gestured to Kate, the golem whose language module was functioning properly.
Although Luke had designed the golem, he was currently too mentally fatigued to deduce the sign language derived from all the algorithms.
Kate then adeptly analyzed Liv’s actions and provided her interpretation.
“Interpretation: These herbs are said to be just before their efficacy is lost. She is asking for your opinion on whether to process them or simply discard them.”
“Ah, I see.”
Under the influence of the Hourglass of Reversal, these herbs could be stored almost permanently.
However, that was no longer the case.
Because the Hourglass of Reversal was not functioning normally, it was difficult to pinpoint the desired targets.
That being the case, if he turned back time, the overall timeline would reverse, effectively undoing the progress of the computer that was being developed.
In other words, saving the herbs meant having to repeat actions similar to what he had just done.
Moreover, repeatedly overusing the Hourglass of Reversal would complicate the process of aligning it with the external time.
Weighing various factors, it was unreasonable to turn back time for the sake of the herbs.
But…
“Ugh, I suppose I’ll have to process them. After all, how much effort went into growing these herbs.”
It felt too wasteful just to throw them away.
Luke scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.
“I guess I’ll have to ask Serena to expedite the commercialization of the drink.”
However, Luke was still unaware.
He was completely oblivious to the fact that Serena hadn’t made any preparations for the commercialization of the fatigue recovery potion.
No, she didn’t even understand that there was such a thing as a product in Luke’s mind…
