The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Wants to Retire – Chapter 72

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Of course, Hans hadn’t planned to send Clara alone.

He had intended to divide the team into a group to guard the fortress and a group to follow Cluna.

He thought it was a perfect plan.

But what was this?

It ended up being just Clara and Hans chasing after her.

The rest of the members refused to go along.

They said there must be some circumstance behind this incident.

So, their opinion was that it was right for as few people as possible to go.

But then, what about emergency situations?

The answer to that question was…

“The Commander is there!”

“Th-That’s right! If the Commander goes along, it will surely be helpful!”

“I’ll act as the deputy commander.”

“…If Teacher wishes it… I have no choice but to endure…”

Wasn’t their trust level too high?

Damn it!

Of course, Clara wasn’t weak, but she was relatively weaker compared to the other members.

Right?

Moreover, I was even weaker than Clara!!

Damn it!!!!

However, he couldn’t say that outright.

How could he say that fact right next to the person in question?

Moreover, Clara was giving off a very serious vibe, unlike her usual self.

Even Ruby was encouraging Clara, which showed how bad it was, but how could I oppose?

That action would be no different from pouring dozens of cans of oil on a burning house.

In the end, I had to go along with just Clara and me chasing after Cluna, crying while eating mustard.

Damn it.

“I found Mother’s traces. Let’s hurry and follow.”

“Let’s hurry.”

The hopeful observation was that tracking would take some time, and by then Clara might have calmed her anger, but of course, that didn’t happen.

Clara had learned a lot from Cluna.

Although not as much as her mother, Clara also had considerable skills, including tracking techniques.

Moreover, although Cluna had erased her traces as she was in a hurry, Clara was able to find and track Cluna’s traces without much difficulty.

I couldn’t see anything even if I looked.

Clara moved almost non-stop.

As a result, I was dying trying to keep up behind her.

In the end, I barely managed to keep up by using time stop.

“Wait a moment…”

“Even at this moment, Mother is… No, no. I shouldn’t think like that.”

“Uh…”

“What’s wrong, Commander?”

“Let’s go as fast as possible.”

I wanted to rest in the middle because it was too hard, but how could I suggest resting in such an anxious situation?

Especially when it was about the safety of someone’s mother.

Thanks to that, Clara and I were able to reach Lamiart Forest in just 3 days.

The Lamiart Forest was a vast forest located just before entering the Alex Mountains in the central region.

Considering it usually took more than two weeks on horseback from Lionheart Fortress to Lamiart Forest, Clara and I were moving at an incredible speed.

Of course, this was possible thanks to Clara knowing shortcuts, allowing us to go straight without detours.

Soon night fell, and Clara and I sat around a campfire.

“Here’s some simple food I brought.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think.”

“Eat a little. That way you’ll have strength to follow tomorrow.”

“…Thank you.”

Clara had her legs folded in her arms.

She looked like a child unable to bear the anxiety.

For a while, Clara and I sat quietly without saying anything.

“I didn’t know there was a race that could keep up with elves in the forest.”

Perhaps unable to bear the long silence, Clara slowly opened her mouth while chewing her food.

I thought it was amazing aswell.

I really thought I was going to die in the middle, damn it.

It was only thanks to the time stop ability and diligent training in between that I could keep up.

If it weren’t for both, I wouldn’t have been able to catch up with Clara at all.

It was that difficult.

“I wonder if I’m lacking in many things compared to other elves after all?”

“?”

Huh, wait a minute.

Is this suddenly self-blame time?

I looked at Clara in surprise.

However, Clara had her head bowed low.

I instinctively sensed things going wrong.

“I always had overflowing confidence. Looking back, there were only failures.”

“Wait a moment.”

“If it were another elf, could the Commander have kept up? Was I caught up to because it was me?”

“Clara.”

“Someone like me is really hopeless after all. That’s why Mother abandoned me and left.”

“Clara!!”

“…!!!”

Just before she fell further into the pit of self-blame, I grabbed Clara’s shoulders and shook her.

Only then did Clara barely come to her senses.

There were tears in her eyes.

I managed to stop her, but what more should I say here?

I couldn’t just comfort her with empty words.

If I made a mistake and touched a sore spot or gave her the impression of empty consolation, in the worst case, it could worsen our relationship, but I couldn’t ponder for long either.

In a short time, squeezing out my thoughts as much as possible, I let the most plausible words flow from my mouth.

“Nothing is certain yet.”

“Then why did Mother leave me behind? Isn’t it because I’m not trustworthy?”

“Then let me ask you the opposite. How can you be so sure about that?”

“Don’t change the subject. I don’t need such pathetic consolation!”

A more intense reaction than expected came back.

Damn, I didn’t mean to provoke her like this.

I desperately racked my brain.

Right now, the priority was to calm Clara down somehow.

So, instead of answering, I hugged Clara.

I was worried she might reject it, but fortunately she didn’t push me away at least.

Clara seemed flustered by the unexpected situation.

“I’m certain. Your mother isn’t ignoring you. Rather, she loves you.”

“That’s…”

“Think about when she first joined the Royal Knights. How was it then?”

“…”

“Because she was worried about you. Because she loves you. Didn’t she come all the way here from the forest herself?”

What was important now wasn’t telling the truth.

It was important to somehow make Clara shake off her negative thoughts.

So, I needed to say the best things possible.

Even if those words weren’t related to the current situation.

Clara, who had been listening quietly in my arms, quietly hugged my back.

I was startled for a moment because she put in too much strength.

The soft touch of elven arms… hell no, I barely held back a scream because she hugged too tightly.

W-Wait a moment. If you hug me too tightly, I can’t breathe…!

“I became a knight because I wanted to be acknowledged by Mother.”

“I see.”

“So, I absolutely can’t show any weakness.”

“More than that, your hands…”

“So, just let me be like this for a moment. Please.”

Damn it.

In the end, I managed to calm Clara down at the sacrifice of my waist.

As time passed and her emotions seemed to have settled, Clara was blushing with embarrassment.

I barely got up, clutching my aching waist.

Night had already passed and morning was approaching, but my waist that had been strained last night still hurt.

Would I be able to keep up with Clara today?

As I was worrying about this in advance, Clara, who had cleaned up the campfire, stood up.

I barely stood up while hiding my pain.

Looking at me, Clara slowly opened her mouth.

“Let’s chase after her right away.”

“Don’t we need to rush?”

“Yeah, we still have time.”

“That’s a relief then.”

If we had to run recklessly like yesterday, I felt like my waist would really break.

This was at least fortunate in the midst of misfortune.

Then, Clara, who had been making eye contact with me, suddenly looked away in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing! I’m just going to wash my face for a moment!”

“Take your time coming back.”

Please.

Because my waist is killing me.

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At first, Clara had only thought Hans was an amazing person.

After all, he had easily subdued her and Ruby’s combined attack.

Rather, she had felt frustrated.

She also had something like an inferiority complex… But it wasn’t a bad feeling.

It was strange.

When they were in the Royal Knights, she and Ruby had been competitive rivals, but even though she was surpassed by a human, not even another race, she found herself acknowledging him.

Even when her mother came looking for her, even when they faced the demons again, she strangely didn’t feel afraid.

She had faith that with the Commander, they could somehow win.

Before she knew it, she was following behind the Commander.

Looking at that unwavering back, she overcame her past fears and was able to come this far, and she thought it was the same now.

Cold water wet her face.

Her face, which had been burning hot, cooled down a little.

However, that was only a temporary measure.

When she thought about going back and facing the Commander again, her face unknowingly turned red.

She didn’t know why this was suddenly happening.

Could it be… No, no way.

It couldn’t be.

Clara erased the thought that had briefly crossed her mind.

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