Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 143

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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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#At this point, authors should be fined every time they quote Nietzsche and Demian.

Gerth, carrying White One swaddled across his back, approached the information desk at Bunny Land to request a meeting with the Machine King. Initially, he ran slowly out of concern for White One’s condition, but since the creature had lost consciousness partway through the journey, Gerth abandoned caution and sprinted at full speed.
The Serpent King’s Tower had individuals with veterinary credentials, but White One’s condition appeared far too grave for ordinary treatment, leaving Gerth no choice but to seek out Makina. Beyond White One’s ailment, there were other matters he wished to address as well.
「You need only wait at the very pinnacle of the Tuxedo Bunny Castle Spire.」
“Understood.”
It was the standard procedure Gerth had followed each time he met with Makina. As he waited atop the Spire, dark cumulonimbus clouds approached from the distance, and an extraordinarily elongated warp device descended sharply. Gerth was drawn upward through the warp like debris sucked into a vacuum cleaner nozzle, arriving instantly in the space where Makina existed, and immediately began tearing apart the tangled cables within reach.
「Kyaaaaaaah!」
“Why did you try to kill Evan Laef?”
「They started it by calling me an old woman!」
“You’d be justified in being called a grandmother rather than merely an old woman.”
「Shut it, you fresh-faced little lizard!」
If I’m fresh-faced and young, then the Dragon Triplets must be pale blue specks. Muttering such thoughts, Gerth decided to handle urgent matters first. He could extract an apology for the attempt on Evan Laef’s life whenever he pleased.
“Examine White One. Something is wrong with its condition.”
Rather than Makina’s usual polished reception demeanor, those round eyes—Makina’s bare face, so to speak—blinked rapidly before mechanical arms extended from various points throughout the room. Blood was drawn from the unconscious royal monitor lizard, and a comprehensive search through all existing diseases was conducted, yet the results yielded nothing whatsoever.
「This is a new strain?」
“By new strain, you mean?”
「If it’s not Mother’s doing, has the Underworld King already broken free?」
A spherical eye larger than Gerth’s entire body rolled about before mechanical arms extended a monitor. For a time, the loud sound of modem connection filled the air, and the Underworld King appeared on screen. The young Underworld King wore an oversized white coat far too large for his frame, sleeves folded up, while sucking on coffee held in one hand.
“Has the coffee tree gone extinct?”
「The earth-scented variety hasn’t been produced for some time now.」
“Why’d you call? I’m busy.”
Busy while sleeping all day—Gerth thought this internally while lifting White One high and displaying it to the camera.
“Is this your doing?”
“Oh! A Lace Royal Monitor Lizard!”
Upon seeing the Underworld King remark that the creature still hadn’t died, commenting on its stubborn vitality, the culprit became unmistakably clear. The Underworld King had used his specialty to unleash a plague upon the Surface World.
“You can’t kill the ones you actually want dead, yet you kill innocent creatures instead?”
“No, see, I’ve got circumstances now!”
“What circumstances could possibly arise while you’re constantly sleeping?”
“You really know how to get under my skin!”
The young Underworld King, huffing indignantly at Gerth’s poor manners, fidgeted with his fingers while explaining his circumstances. Creating a plague devastating enough to bring catastrophic death to Humanity remained beyond his current capabilities, and a preparatory stage had emerged that needed completion before bringing Humanity forth.
“It’s just that Evan Laef apparently keeps a Lace Royal Monitor Lizard, and the Butler mentioned that girls these days like coffee, so….”
“Evan Laef?”
That shouldn’t be possible, yet why does the Evan he’s describing sound like the Evan I know? In such situations, the standard approach would be to assume they’re different people with the same name and discuss their respective Evans, but Gerth was a man unfamiliar with such conventions, so he proceeded directly.
“If you’re referring to Evan Laef—the one who keeps a Lace Royal Monitor Lizard, has blue hair, and favors Academy uniforms—then I know of them as well.”
“Oh! You know Evan Laef?! No wonder your speech patterns seem similar!」
“I’m planning to mate with her.”
Gerth proudly straightened his shoulders while displaying a ring—the kind worn to signify being taken. Meanwhile, the Underworld King child spat out the coffee he’d been drinking as though expelling sewage water.
“Hey! Why would you mate with that little blood clot!”
“I’m waiting until she reaches adulthood.”
“That’s not the issue here!”
The Underworld King child grabbed the monitor and shook it violently, throwing a tantrum. Don’t mate! Don’t you dare mate! Listen to what adults say! The Underworld King railed against mating with absolute opposition, but Gerth responded calmly.
“However, Evan Laef seemed interested in mating as well.”
“That little thing is so loose!”
The furious Underworld King child recalled Evan Laef, whom he’d met half-awake from sleep. In appearance, she was neither superior nor inferior compared to ordinary humans, but her personality was remarkably sociable, and she seemed to have many friends.
The Panda Butler had said such people were “social butterflies.” Unlike them—who were trapped underground with no human interaction, only creating new diseases in their gloomy, introverted otaku manner—they lived in different worlds.
And what was it he’d said? That despite still being a blood clot, she held the position of Market Administrator. The Underworld King, who knew all of human history, also knew that such humans were rare throughout all of human civilization. Since she was completely exceptional, he vaguely anticipated that he wouldn’t be the only one harboring affection for Evan Laef.
But he never dreamed that the one who liked Evan Laef would be his brother figure—created by Mother.
“So you… do you like Evan Laef?”
“I like her. I like her very much.”
“Ugh…!”
But I like Evan Laef too! Struck by this thought in his anger, the Underworld King was so startled by the realization of how much he actually liked Evan Laef that he smacked his forehead repeatedly.
Of course, he was researching a plague to annihilate humanity with tremendous dedication in order to meet Evan Laef. The thought of living together with Evan Laef in the underground gave him strength. Thanks to this newfound driving force, the research that had been progressing sluggishly had made tremendous progress over the past few months.
“Evan Laef! Even if you like her, what about Evan Laef’s own wishes!”
“As I said, Evan Laef seems to be quite anticipating mating with me.”
“Why are you thinking about mating with a blood clot!”
“But Evan Laef will be an adult next year.”
“Think about your own age!”
“Evan Laef didn’t seem particularly concerned about the age difference.”
“Oh… really?”
That was welcome news. If she thought a five-hundred-year difference was nothing, couldn’t a ten-thousand-year difference perhaps be overcome? Harboring a glimmer of hope, the Underworld King pulled out his trump card to discourage his brother. In situations like this, pressing down with age usually resolved things.
“W-well, Evan Laef likes me too!”
“I see.”
While I was burning down the Beast-Human Village thinking Evan Laef was dead, she had apparently visited the Underworld, Gerth thought simply. That must have been when she met the Underworld King and built their rapport.
“So you, being younger, should give up!”
“Why?”
“Because Mother said younger siblings listen to their older siblings!”
The Machine King and Serpent King had been born to create human subjects for the Underworld King, so his words held considerable merit. However, Gerth fundamentally could not understand the Underworld King’s perspective.
“The Underworld King likes Evan Laef. I also like Evan Laef. Why must one of us give up?”
“It’s common sense and courtesy to like only one person at a time!”
“At least in the animal kingdom, that’s not common sense.”
That beast king, truly a beast through and through—his words make no sense. The Underworld King fumed, but Gerth calmly turned the child’s insides out.
“You like Evan Laef. I like Evan Laef. If we both like the same person, we can be considered allies.”
“What are you talking about, you madman.”
“It’s something Eugene said. It left an impression and I remember it.”
His brother had been an incomprehensible existence from birth, but now he seemed to have grown into a monster of incomprehensibility itself. Like an abyss. The Underworld King felt as though he were having a conversation with an abyss right now.
“Regardless, Evan will come to like me! From now on, you’ll only like me!”
“That’s impossible.”
Was he saying he wouldn’t give up until the end? At this rate, should I ask Mother to annihilate the Serpent King Gerth? The Underworld King was already preparing to contact Mother immediately when Gerth unfurled a collection of Evan-related merchandise from his bundle.
“Evan is popular nationwide. He’s the guitarist of a famous band, after all.”
“What? I want those too!”
The Underworld King urged the Machine King to send them quickly, but the Machine King replied that with current technology, it was difficult to create a properly functioning record player in the deep underground.
Nothing in this Underworld worked properly. The child Underworld King’s eyes, large as marbles, glistened with tears.
“Evan, Evan photo books—I’m going to have them too, waaahhhhh!”
「I think I could scan them and send them as data.」
“No! I want the real thing!”
As the Underworld King burst into tears, Makina grew flustered. He said to stop crying and promised to create a storage container that wouldn’t be crushed even under extreme heat and pressure, but the child Underworld King’s anger didn’t subside.
“I hate all of you! Just wait! I’ll create a plague that brings Evan here soon, and I’ll wipe out every last human!”
With a bang, the communication cut off. The Machine King deduced that the Underworld King had smashed the communication device and began planning to send repair robots.
“Even if he were to exterminate humanity…”
Evan wouldn’t be able to go to the Underworld. After all, Evan was a demon now. Gerth realized this thought suddenly, but he didn’t mention it since it was Evan’s personal information. He couldn’t speak of anything to others without Evan’s consent. That was how Gerth respected and loved Evan.
“By the way, where’s White One?”
「Oh, we can create antibodies with nanorobots.」
While other Race Kings and lizards were unavoidable, if it was just White One, the Machine King could somehow prevent the disease. Since White One was an animal Evan cherished, Gerth finally felt at ease and poured out the scolding he’d been holding back.
“Makina. We need to talk about your petty nature.”
「Ugh.」
Just because children said something rude, was it something an adult should do—try to kill them? With the massive eyeball before him, Gerth continued his lecture for some time. The Machine King simply waited for Gerth to tire out. He had no intention whatsoever of calming the Machine King’s anger.

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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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