How to Save a Time-Limited Heroine

In the legends of the northernmost snowy mountains, there is a tale of a .

This spirit is said to reside in a frozen lake at the highest peak of the snowy mountain and is responsible for creating the mountain’s snow. The barbarians revere this spirit as a guardian deity and hold it as their spiritual anchor.

At first, the expedition members considered it to be mere folklore, but further investigation revealed a peculiar detail in the legend.

When the barbarians of the snowy mountains select a new chieftain, they go to the frozen lake to receive the mark of winter.

The requested item is called the .

The expedition believes that the requested item is related to the mark received by the chieftain of the barbarians.

Further investigation is impossible.

The snowy mountain barbarians are reclusive, and their barriers are impenetrable even with the skills of the expedition members.

The client will likely have to visit the snowy mountain personally.

Deltain read the letter with a calm expression.

It was the fifth time already. He had read the letter repeatedly, trying to deduce any additional clues, but there was nothing more he could figure out.

There wasn’t even an alert notifying him of a quest.

This wasn’t to say that it was a waste of time, but rather that it was impossible to determine its authenticity based on this alone.

‘A spirit, huh…’

Deltain recalled the characteristics of spirits he knew.

‘Non-physical entities. Impossible to see with the naked eye without sensory abilities and bound to their place of birth due to their inherent connection to nature.’

There were other traits he knew as well.

Of course, when he first arrived in this land and had to raise a body named Deltain Hebron, he had considered the path as one of his options.

In [Evil Lore], the spirit master class was classified as high-value due to its ability to perform wide-area bombardments and defend against mental contamination.

The reason Deltain hadn’t chosen that path was simple.

While spirit master could perform wide-area attacks, their single-target damage was poor, and Deltain didn’t need contamination defense because his mental barrier was already strong.

‘If I’d known this would happen, I might have dipped my toes into that.’

Deltain regretted his decision belatedly.

Since he hadn’t expected to need the help of spirits while playing this game, he hadn’t invested anything in spirit sensitivity.

Moreover, investing in it now would be difficult.

He had thoroughly modified this body to specialize in magic sensitivity, and during that process, other sensory abilities had been reduced to near-zero.

It was impossible for Deltain to detect the spirit of the frozen lake with his own power.

‘Things are getting complicated again.’

Deltain frowned deeply.

He considered finding another spirit master, but spirit masters were rare, and most of them lived in seclusion, cut off from the world.

Even the ones living in the city were eccentric types who wouldn’t move for threats or bribes, making it an unexpectedly difficult situation.

‘What should I do…?’

As Deltain mulled over his options, he took another bite of his leftover sandwich.

‘Should I just have one of the hounds switch classes to spirit master?’

… that thought crossed his mind.

But Deltain knew it was nonsense.

The Hebron hounds were already perfectly tuned, and changing their growth paths now would degrade their performance.

Considering that he didn’t know what kind of battle awaited in the DLC, that was out of the question.

‘Stealing the token from the barbarians without meeting the spirit…’

That was also a bad idea, as it would only cause unnecessary trouble if the token wasn’t the quest’s target material.

Deltain’s expression turned sour.

He sighed deeply and tossed the report onto the table.

‘I’ll deal with this later.’

Unlike the Magic Flower Actrias quest, this one didn’t have a time limit.

Since the spirit wouldn’t run away even if he delayed his plans, there was enough leeway to continue asking around for a spirit master.

“Have you finished your meal?”

Gerhart had returned.

Deltain glanced at him, then nodded and stood up.

“Yeah, let’s head to the ducal residence.”

“Wasn’t today supposed to be a day off?”

“Something seemed off with the princess yesterday. Since it’s still not long after her surgery, I need to confirm her condition.”

“… understood.”

Gerhart bowed his head, thinking that perhaps his master was being too overly cautious.

*

When Deltain arrived at Duke Levadine’s mansion, he raised an eyebrow.

The maid was leading him in a direction that wasn’t toward Agnes’s bedroom.

“This isn’t the right way.”

“Oh, she’s in the garden today. She wanted to get some fresh air.”

“What the… how long has she been up and about already? This is absurd.”

Deltain was irritated.

Just the day before, Agnes had suddenly left the banquet hall, claiming something was wrong with her heart, yet now she was wandering around unnecessarily.

“Maybe she needs to fall ill again to learn her lesson.”

Deltain clicked his tongue, and the maid gave a nervous smile.

They arrived at the garden about five minutes later.

“My lady, Count Hebron has arrived.”

A small tea table sat in the middle of the rose garden.

Agnes, who was seated there, turned her head.

When she saw Deltain, her expression momentarily wavered but quickly returned to its usual calmness as if nothing had happened.

A smile appeared on her lips.

“What brings you here today?”

“Supporter check.”

“Not because you wanted to see my face?”

“Seeing that your sharp tongue is still intact, I’m starting to think this is a waste of time.”

“Now that you’re here, want to take a seat?”

Agnes gestured to the seat beside her.

Deltain scoffed and walked over.

By now, the maid had quietly left.

“How are you already walking around on your own?”

“I danced, didn’t I?”

“And it was during that dance that your heart started acting up.”

“It was just a mistake. My heart was startled because I hadn’t been active in a long time.”

Agnes’s face, for some reason, showed satisfaction, as if she was pleased with what she had just said.

“… fine, whatever. Give me your hand; I’ll do the check.”

“Wooof.”

“Stop that.”

Deltain frowned as Agnes burst into clear laughter.

“You just looked like you wanted to joke around.”

“Is it my fault?”

“Who told you to be so cute?”

“Save the cheap lines.”

“They’re fine because I’m a luxury item. Or should I say, a prized possession…”

Deltain held her wrist, feeling her pulse, and sent a flow of mana through her veins to assess her blood flow and tension.

This was a special technique only he, with an anatomical map of the human body ingrained in his mind, could perform.

“You’re healthy.”

There were no issues.

The heart support device had settled in perfectly, as good as it could possibly be.

Realizing this once more, satisfaction spread across Deltain’s face—until Agnes lifted her skirt.

Thud!

Deltain flinched.

Caught off guard by the sudden movement, he accidentally found himself staring straight at what was under her skirt.

“You crazy…!”

She wasn’t wearing any underwear.

What he saw was Agnes’s bare body, and it reminded him of the events of that night.

When he looked up at her in shock, Agnes mischievously tapped her lips with a wicked smile.

“…”

Click.

Deltain snapped his fingers.

“How was it?”

“Is that the kind of question you want to ask?”

“Yeah.”

“Truly disgraceful. I’m fed up with this subhuman intelligence that doesn’t even grasp the concept of wearing clothes. It’s embarrassing to be the same species as you.”

“Pretty harsh, aren’t you?”

“Do I not look harsh? Why on earth don’t you wear underwear?”

“What’s the big deal? It’s my house.”

“We’re in the garden. That’s outside the house.”

“There’s no one around to see. Besides, my skirt goes down to my calves, and unless I lift it up, who could see? Relax. You’re the only one who can see under my skirt.”

Deltain was at a loss for words.

Agnes glanced at Deltain’s blank expression, then tilted her head and asked.

“Want me to show you again?”

“Get lost!”

“Just let me know if you ever want to see it. Oh, I can let you touch it too…”

“Shut up before I silence you again.”

“Chee-”

Agnes pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, but Deltain remained resolute.

No, it would be more accurate to describe him as desperate rather than resolute.

Deltain felt a throbbing headache coming on from her incomprehensible behavior.

The only natural response was to rub his face wearily.

‘What the…’

It didn’t make sense.

She wasn’t lacking in manners or intelligence, yet she kept doing these absurd things, and it was making him feel sick to his stomach.

“Ugh…”

“After all that sucking, kissing, and screwing, now you’re acting innocent.”

“… I really should record this and play it for the duke.”

“Hmm, I don’t think it would be ethical to tell my father, .”

“And your actions were ethical?”

“That was an expression of love.”

“Just die already. Forget the treatment, just hang yourself and be done with it.”

“I still have six months left. I’m going to enjoy it while I can.”

Agnes’ laughter grew louder and brighter.

It seemed like she was overjoyed now that her health was returning.

Deltain thought again.

He knew he shouldn’t have treated her.

If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had to witness this nonsense.

“But. hey.”

“What now?”

“Do you have something on your mind?”

Deltain lifted his head.

He frowned as he looked at Agnes.

“What are you talking about?”

“You have that kind of look. Ever since you got here, you’ve been lost in thought.”

Deltain’s fingers twitched slightly.

She had hit the mark.

No matter how much he tried to push thoughts of the spirit master out of his mind, they kept creeping back in, so even on his way here, Deltain had been thinking about it.

“What is it? Come on, tell me.”

“Why would I…?”

“I suddenly feel like taking my clothes off.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

“I thought you’d hate it. It’s like a threat instead.”

Deltain glared at Agnes with bloodshot eyes.

The more he glared, the wider Agnes’s smile grew.

In an instant, Agnes placed her hand on her skirt.

Without realizing it, Deltain blurted out.

“Spirit master.”

“Huh?”

He instantly regretted it, but the words had already been spoken.

Deltain’s fists trembled with frustration.

With a deep sigh, feeling defeated, he spoke in a weary tone.

“… I need a spirit master, and I’m trying to figure out how to find one.”

“Aren’t there a few in the capital? Can’t you just meet with one?”

“I need to take them to the snowy mountains. There’s a spirit I need to find there.”

“Oh, the thing you were discussing with Marquis Montbert.”

Agnes nodded her head, then fell silent, deep in thought.

After a moment, she asked.

“But the snowy mountains are pretty far, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a two-month round trip.”

“You’re going without me?”

“If necessary.”

“What about the treatment?”

“I’ll continue my research during the trip. When I return, I’ll try out the methods I’ve thought of over those two months.”

“Hmm…”

Agnes tapped her cheek with her index finger while staring intently at Deltain.

Deltain felt uncomfortable under her gaze, and after a while, Agnes finally spoke.

“Hey. You said you need a spirit master, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I become a spirit master?”

Her question was full of genuine curiosity.

Deltain cut her off sharply.

“Do you think you can?”

“Why not?”

“Do you think anyone can become a spirit master? Even the smartest and strongest person can’t do it if they don’t have sensitivity.”

“In other words, you’re saying that as long as I have sensitivity, I could become one too?”

“…”

Agnes’s eyes sparkled.

Deltain felt uneasy.

For some reason, the vitality shining in her cherry blossom-colored eyes felt eerie.

That anxiety became reality.

“Can you check if I have sensitivity?”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because she might actually have it.

That thought suddenly crossed Deltain’s mind, and he was startled.

‘… if she does, it would actually be a good thing.’

It would solve the problem of finding a spirit master to bring along, and it would help with the research on the magic flower, so if Agnes could see spirits, it would open up the best possible option.

But why was he so averse to the idea?

Deltain felt a brief pang of confusion within himself.

Even so, Agnes continued to lean closer to him.

“See? There’s no reason not to, right? So just do it.”

“… you really think you have it?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. But it would be nice if I did.”

Deltain’s face twisted with reluctance.

For some reason, the idea filled him with hesitation.

But that feeling wasn’t logical, and Deltain was a person who valued logic and rationality.

“… don’t get your hopes up.”

Snap.

Deltain snapped his fingers.

A target marker appeared on Deltain’s retina, pixelated like a dot.

Deltaine aimed the marker at Agnes’s face.

And then.

“How is it?”

“… why is it real?”

He felt utterly dumbfounded.