Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 105

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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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I was diligently digging for oysters when Gerth arrived with a bundle of finely split bamboo and settled into place. He seemed quite practiced at twisting the bamboo strands and shaping the frame to weave a basket.
“Gerth. Why are you doing that thing that looks like drawing thread from a spinning wheel?”
“Smoothing the surface.”
“Planning to sell it?”
“You’ll get hurt.”
Splinters that small wouldn’t cause serious injury, and besides, I’d be carrying it anyway, so there was no need to worry—or so I’d said. But Gerth insisted there was always a chance, and he meticulously smoothed the bamboo stems with his fingernails.
In the process, considerable fuzz accumulated, so I fashioned a convex lens from ice and started a fire. When I tossed the wood scraps Gerth had discarded into the campfire, they burned brilliantly.
“Worry about yourself.”
“I have cold resistance.”
“Even with resistance, you still feel the cold.”
“Perceptive.”
“I’ve lived a long time.”
So this is what happens when you reach five hundred years old—you accumulate knowledge about all manner of things. But I couldn’t very well carry the campfire around while digging for oysters. Besides, having fire nearby would compromise the freshness of the catch.
“There’s no help for it.”
“Indeed, there’s no help for it.”
We had no choice but to dig quickly and return. With that compromise made, we both accelerated our work.
Since my hands were inevitably slower than Gerth’s, I even employed superhuman skills to gather the oysters, when I suddenly realized why Leri had sent us out together and let out an “Oh!”
“What’s the matter?”
“I just remembered why Leri drove us out.”
“Why?”
“He told us to go on a date.”
“What is a date?”
Gerth certainly had many questions. His demeanor reminded me of a child asking why the sky is blue and mailboxes are red, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s when two people in a romantic relationship go around eating delicious food and enjoying entertainment together.”
“We are not in a romantic relationship.”
“That’s right.”
“Evan, you are a minor.”
“That’s right.”
To summarize Gerth’s position: he ultimately wanted to mate with me, but we weren’t at the stage of romantic involvement, and even if we were to date, I was a minor and he was an adult, which would be improper. I was grateful that my friend Gerth was so ethical and well-grounded in propriety.
“Leri is impatient by nature.”
“For mating to occur, you must grow considerably more.”
“Not that much. I’ll be an adult in two years.”
“Your stamina is also insufficient. Evan, you would surely die.”
….
I knew snakes did it all week long, but what about lizards? I considered asking Gerth, but the thought of being asked about my sex life to my face made me too embarrassed, so I decided to ask Leri about it later instead.
“Even without dating officially, you can date during the flirting phase, right?”
“Flirting?”
“It’s like the warming-up period before a romance.”
“Warming up.”
Gerth nodded at my words as though he’d grasped something profound, muttering that preheating the oven was crucial even when baking bread.
“Bread transforms its shape depending on the degree of fermentation and whether preheating occurs.”
“I see.”
“Let’s go on a date.”
“Since we’ve already eaten oysters together, all that’s left is to see something entertaining.”
“What do you find entertaining, Evan Laef?”
“I find continuing life itself entertaining.”
“Likewise.”
Gerth smiled brightly, as if delighted that we shared the same thoughts. We engaged in a thoughtful discussion about how continuing life was fundamentally the most joyful thing, and how joy could only be found because life existed—ultimately concluding that Leri certainly wasn’t hoping for this answer.
“If we just keep going like this, I have a feeling Leri will hit my back again.”
“I have a good idea.”
If it was Gerth’s good idea, it was worth trusting. As I sent him a look of confidence, Gerth charged forward with momentum and dove headfirst into the Sea. I was concerned about a lizard man diving into the winter Sea, but since it was Gerth, he surely had a plan.
I turned up the firepower of the bonfire and waited for Gerth to return. After about ten minutes had passed, just as I was marveling at how exceptionally well the man could hold his breath, he emerged with jellyfish writhing in both his hands.
“Look.”
“!”
Gerth spoke proudly, but I couldn’t look at him directly. To put it plainly, everything was visible. His clothes were soaked through and transparent, and since he was from an older era, his undergarments were old-fashioned too, so everything—ahem!—was completely exposed.
If he were a complete stranger or Eugene, I would have whistled loudly without hesitation, but since it was Gerth, I couldn’t bring myself to look freely.
I shouldn’t look. It wasn’t proper. At the very least, I should be the one to protect Gerth’s modesty. While I was thinking such things, Gerth, oblivious to my inner turmoil, urged me forward.
“Evan Laef.”
“Yes.”
“You won’t be able to see this unless you turn around.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t turn around.”
“Why not?”
“Your clothes are completely transparent.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“It is a problem.”
I became flustered because Gerth wasn’t taking this situation seriously at all. He’d made an issue of how I looked when I was drenched in sweat before—why couldn’t he show the same consideration now?
“This jellyfish changes color depending on its surrounding environment.”
With those words, Gerth placed the jellyfish on my shoulder with a soft plop, and when I turned my head, the jellyfish was already blending in with the color of my cloak.
“It’s certainly fascinating.”
“I brought many.”
“Dry your clothes first.”
“There’s no time. Jellyfish die quickly when they dry out.”
“Return them to the Sea.”
Let’s not kill innocent marine creatures. Besides, my shoulder is tingling—these jellyfish aren’t venomous, are they?
“Evan Laef. I don’t understand.”
I can’t understand you for not understanding me. Hearing the splash-splash sounds, it seemed he was releasing the jellyfish, so I made an effort to convey my feelings and spoke calmly.
“Gerth. You shouldn’t show your bare body to others so carelessly.”
“Evan is not a man.”
“Sometimes one simply crosses the line.”
“Evan, you are a minor.”
“That has nothing to do with it. People can act on impulse regardless.”
“I do not comprehend.”
What do you mean you don’t understand? Is it that you lack desire? Does it relate to spending five hundred years alone? As these questions swirled in my mind, I suddenly recalled something Gerth had brought up before. Hadn’t he said something about casting aside the seven emotions and five desires? Surely one shouldn’t discard those things?
“Gerth. I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“What would you think if I suddenly stripped naked?”
“….”
“….”
“You would be cold.”
It seemed Gerth had indeed discarded something he shouldn’t have on my account. He’d said he couldn’t completely let go because of lingering attachments to mating, but reproductive desire and that were entirely different categories.
“I’m sorry, Gerth.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I will do my very best.”
“Fighting spirit.”
He did like that phrase after all. Though if I used it in front of others, I’d surely be scolded by Leri and certainly by Hubert. Since Gerth showed no intention of drying his clothes, I squeezed my eyes shut and unwrapped my cloak to drape it around his waist.
“Evan. What is the meaning of this?”
“I have nowhere else to look.”
“One conducts conversation while meeting the other’s gaze.”
“You speak truth.”
Fine, you’re right about everything, so cover yourself. At first glance, it looked so different from a human’s that I wondered if it was some new species of sea creature.
“We’ve seen enough entertainment. Let’s dig up the oysters and head back quickly.”
“Very well.”
I spent the next hour harvesting oysters while Gerth completed six large baskets. We divided the load between us and merrily made our way back, but the moment we warped to the Tower, Hubert and Leri discovered us and gave us a thorough scolding.
That night, under Gerth’s direction, a grand petrified oyster feast was held, but Hubert and Leri were bedridden and unable to attend. The food was so delicious—truly a delicacy of this world—that I carefully selected one of each dish to bring to Leri’s bedside, only to receive nothing but complaints about whether it would even go down his throat.
Gerth, who had gone to visit Hubert with dishes of his own, must have heard the same reproaches, for he was wandering about near the Staircase leading up to the Boss’s Room.
We took the remaining food to the Dining Hall and savored every bite. I won’t be able to eat this again until next winter. I lamented for Leri and Hubert as I squeezed lemon juice over the fresh oysters and slurped them down with relish. They were absolutely exquisite.

◇ ◆ ◇

The next day, after receiving muscle training from Gerth, I asked Hubert to gather everyone below him, including Bicure. The bat-kin Bicure, perhaps because it was bedtime, had brought a pillow and buried his face against the round table. It was adorable.
“A request? If the Serpent King’s Consort commands it, everyone would obey!”
“I am not the Serpent King’s Consort.”
It was something I heard often from the tiger-kin Magania, so I gave the standard response. But Wenri, a sheep-kin who had been gauging the mood around us, quietly raised his hand and threw out a direct jab.
“The Serpent King’s Consort would surely understand what Magania means, so why do you keep denying it?”
Leri and Hubert shot a look at Wenri, who was timidly protesting. To the sheep-kin female, who was trembling as if she’d said something tactless again, I answered honestly.
“Because it is not yet confirmed.”
“But the Serpent King will not abandon his resolve.”
“That is Gerth’s matter.”
At my response, Hubert and Leri widened their eyes, this time looking at me.
“W-wait, Mother, you knew about this?”
“Dear! You had that kind of perception?”
What do they take me for? I have already received a mating proposal from Gerth, I have ears to hear with, and I possess the intelligence to understand words—so of course I understand what it means when they call me the Serpent King’s Consort. Gerth intends to build a household with me in the future. His subordinates want to call me the Serpent King’s Consort beforehand and make it a fait accompli, don’t they? It was rather I who found the attitudes of the others peculiar. Despite my denials, why do they persist in calling me the Serpent King’s Consort? Even that Peter denied it three times before the rooster crowed.
Gerth is thinking about building a family with me in the future. His subordinates keep calling me “Your Highness, the Serpent King’s Consort” as if trying to make it a fait accompli. What was strange to me was rather the attitude of others. Despite my denial being this firm, why do they persistently call me “Your Highness, the Serpent King’s Consort” to the very end? Even Peter denied three times before the rooster crowed.

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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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