Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“What kind of young lady has nothing but school uniforms in her wardrobe!”
“That is because I am a student.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes! Where are your casual clothes? Your casual clothes!”
“I have a burlap sack Mother made for me and work clothes I wear during market activities.”
“What are you, a construction site worker!”
Leri hurled a magnificent windbreaker at me—the back emblazoned with “Integrated Market” and the chest embroidered with “Ilram Market Evan Laef”.
Leri had been fuming ever since. He didn’t seem this angry when he dragged me here and came all the way to my room, but the moment he opened the wardrobe, his fury intensified dramatically.
“I’m going to borrow clothes from Wenri, so don’t you dare move!”
Since Leri told me not to move, I stayed still. Before long, the man returned with several dresses, matched them with my school uniform cape, and tossed me a coordinated set.
“Put it on right now and go on a date!”
“I have work today.”
“I’ll handle that, so go play with him!”
Here was someone determined to push things forward with even a kiss, yet every time we met, all I did was work and exercise, work and exercise. Leri threw a fit about how this made no sense, his eyes gleaming with madness as he spoke to me.
“Go and make real progress! I’m going to devour this man whole! If you don’t show this kind of resolve, that wooden blockhead won’t even blink!”
“Leri. I am not a cannibal.”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Hmm….”
I dislike Leri when he’s angry. It frightens me because it feels like being scolded by Mother.
Even growling at me despite being just a horse, I hurriedly changed clothes, briefed Leri on the details of today’s tasks, and returned to the Final Boss Hall from earlier. There stood Gerth, looking just as worn out as I felt, dressed in fine clothes.
“Your Highness. Darling. Don’t you two have anything to say to each other?”
Was I supposed to make a comment? Gerth and I looked at each other, then realized we’d both changed into new clothes, and opened our mouths.
“Gerth is wearing clothes I’ve never seen before.”
“Those are clothes Wenri has worn before.”
Hubert fell to his knees and desperately appealed to the heavens. Leri took several deep breaths, then pushed both Gerth and me from behind.
“Fine, I don’t care anymore. Get out. Don’t come back until sunset. Don’t even think about coming back until the next day. You can stay out overnight if you want!”
“Why should I sleep outside when I have my own home?”
“If you’re going to stay out, you need to tell Mother.”
“Enough! Both of you, out!”
With Leri’s shout, Gerth and I were expelled from the Tower. We took the elevator all the way down and walked through the Tower’s courtyard, only then realizing we had nowhere particular to go.
“Gerth.”
“What is it?”
“Do we have a destination?”
“Hubert did specify a location for us.”
That’s a small mercy at least. So our outing did have a clear objective after all.
“Where should we go?”
“Somewhere dark, deserted, and good for causing trouble, he said.”
“That’s difficult.”
“Philosophical.”
What does it mean to cause trouble? It surely doesn’t mean committing crimes like Titi does.
“Did you receive orders too, Evan?”
“Mine are philosophical as well.”
“What is it?”
“I was told to devour Gerth.”
“That’s difficult.”
“Philosophical.”
It probably doesn’t mean to eat him literally, right? Just to be safe, Gerth thought it best to at least taste him, so he extended his arm. I bit into it with my teeth and sampled the flavor.
“How is it?”
“Just soft and smells like flesh. I don’t taste anything.”
“Shouldn’t that be normal—no taste?”
“Humans have sweat glands, so different areas taste salty.”
“I want to taste it.”
“By all means.”
Thinking my palm would probably be salty, I offered it to him. Gerth licked it and spoke with fascination.
“It is salty.”
“It is.”
“Can humans produce salt this way?”
“It’s waste matter, so it’s not good to consume.”
“Is what I just licked the taste of waste?”
“Yes.”
“Fortunately, it’s not unpleasant.”
Well, I only tasted a little. If he licked me while I was dripping with sweat, it would certainly be unpleasant, wouldn’t it? At my words, Gerth pondered for a moment, then offered a confident answer as if he’d imagined it.
“It’s fine. Not unpleasant.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange.”
“It is strange.”
There’s much about a lizard’s nature I cannot comprehend. Though I suppose when he licked me just now, I found his cool skin pleasant rather than unpleasant.
“When I tasted Gerth’s flesh, it wasn’t unpleasant either. His coolness felt nice.”
“Am I cool?”
“It’s winter, so your body temperature would be lower than a human’s, wouldn’t it?”
Gerth extended his hand as if considering this, and when I grasped it, he said he’d never thought about it before but my body temperature did seem higher than his.
“Would it be alright if I embraced you?”
“Of course.”
An embrace would let us truly feel the difference in body heat. Since we were outside where heat transfer was difficult, we held each other for a long while. At first, pressing against Gerth felt cold, but as my warmth transferred to him, he gradually became warmer.
“You’re definitely warmer than me, Evan.”
“Humans are warm-blooded animals.”
“Your warmth makes me drowsy.”
“You can’t sleep on the street.”
Now that I thought about it, White One and Gerth were lizards, yet they didn’t hibernate. Perhaps it was because they weren’t ordinary lizards.
I must have clung to him on the pavement for another ten minutes or so. Gerth began walking with me cradled in his arms, moving in an unsteady gait.
“I thought of a place that’s desolate, empty of people, and perfect for causing trouble.”
“Where?”
“It’s a secret until we arrive.”
Gerth smiled wickedly, which made it clear he wanted to surprise me. I decided to look forward to it and followed his lead.
“I’ll rest for a moment.”
So the human furnace had grown quite fond of me. I surrendered myself to Gerth and braced against the winter wind blowing directly at us. The air was already frigid, and with Gerth’s speed added to it, my face felt like it might split open. Thank goodness I had cold resistance; without it, my ears would have fallen off by now.
“We’ve arrived.”
Gerth had brought me to a cove located a short distance from Ilram Port. Positioned beneath a sheer cliff, it seemed ordinary people wouldn’t even be able to approach it. And bringing a boat seemed impossible either, given the jagged rocks jutting up everywhere that would prevent us from getting close.
The point was that this untouched place had allowed extraordinary things to grow in abundance.
“Wow! Oysters!”
How much were all of these worth in the world!
There were many, and each one was plump and meaty. At this quality, these wild oysters would truly fetch whatever price one asked!
“I knew you’d like them.”
Gerth set me down and smiled with satisfaction. It was certainly worthy of being kept secret, bringing me to a place like this.
“But are you sure? This must have been your secret trump card location.”
“You’re different.”
How romantic. My heart raced so much that I clutched my chest and drew in a sharp breath.
“Evan. Are you alright? Your face is flushed and your breathing is rapid.”
“I’m just so happy.”
“Is that so.”
“I’m really so happy.”
“I see.”
“I’m truly so very happy.”
“Calm yourself then.”
Thanks to Gerth patting my back soothingly, I managed to steady my breathing and hiked up my skirt.
“Tonight is an oyster feast.”
Since we’d come all this way, I figured we might as well harvest plenty of oysters. Gerth extended his claws, but I quickly stopped him.
“No. I’ll harvest them all. Don’t touch them.”
“It will be difficult. I’m faster.”
True, with those hard claws, he could harvest oysters at an incredible speed. But just as Gerth had his secret trump card location, I had a secret skill of my own. I raised my hand dramatically and made a sound effect with my mouth.
“Super rare! Hands of the Magnificent Worker!”
“Hands of the Magnificent Worker?”
That’s right. The Hands of the Magnificent Worker were magical hands that unconditionally upgraded gathered items to premium quality. I hadn’t properly tested it yet, so I didn’t know the exact effects, but if I harvested oysters of this caliber with my own hands, they’d become incredibly delicious.
“It’s a newly acquired skill.”
“You’ve got this.”
So that’s how Hubert says it. Encouraged by Gerth, I found a sharp stone and struck the rocks, harvesting several oysters. Then I split them open with an ice pick, rinsed the shells in seawater, and shared them with Gerth one by one.
“Then, a toast.”
“A toast.”
We each picked up an oyster shell and clinked them together before slurping the contents straight into our mouths. The savory richness, the briny essence of the sea, and an umami so intoxicating it seemed to detonate across my tongue—all of it rushed down my throat in an instant. Delicious. Impossibly delicious. In all my years, I’d never tasted oysters this exquisite.
“Evan! In five hundred years, this is the first oyster I’ve ever eaten that tastes this good!”
“Same here! But what’s even more surprising is how long Gerth can talk while explaining things!”
We each savored our own moments of delight before shifting the conversation through a division of tasks.
“I apologize, but I’ll leave the harvesting to you, Evan.”
“That’s fine. I want to share something delicious with my friends and the Tower residents anyway.”
“In the meantime, I’ll craft some baskets.”
Gerth could make large baskets? I asked in surprise, and he answered matter-of-factly that five hundred years ago, everyone knew how to do such things. Of course—in that era, weaving baskets and knitting were survival skills. I’d always bought my large baskets from the Market with coin. This was a good opportunity to learn the craft from Gerth.
“And.”
Gerth extended the pinky finger of his right mechanical arm toward me. No matter how I tried to prepare myself, I couldn’t help but feel flustered at the sight. Why was he suddenly giving me his pinky finger?
“The Machine King attached it, saying I’d need it someday, but I never expected to use it so soon.”
What Gerth had given me was a multi-purpose pocket knife. Since it extended all the way to the base of the finger, it looked incredibly sturdy.
“I’ll be going then.”
“Y-yes, okay.”
Gerth mentioned that the bamboo grove was quite far from here, then bounded up the Cliff with powerful leaps and vanished from sight. Standing alone on the windswept winter Sea, clutching a single severed mechanical finger, I felt utterly ridiculous.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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