Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 144

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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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#To be or not to be

I was eating lunch when 10,000 development points suddenly arrived, and I nearly jumped out of my seat. Free points were welcome, but not knowing the reason filled me with unease. What on earth had happened? Had Sera done something foolish again? Or had Cecilia made a move on Seian Crowell?
“….”
No, I didn’t like free points at all—they only brought worry. I’d rather forgo those 10,000 points. But since they’d already arrived, I decided to invest them in skills. Evan Laef reached Blade Mastery Sprout Level 5. Mitchell Neftis reached Superhuman Level 3.
“H-hey, Evan, listen.”
Was Kanna about to cause trouble again? I looked at her in alarm, and the girl met my gaze with a bewildered expression.
“…Why, why are you like that?”
“It’s nothing. Go ahead.”
In just a few days, I’d suddenly become a demon, become Cecilia’s subordinate, nearly been killed by the Machine King, and dealt with White One’s illness—my nerves had grown frayed. I was startling at the smallest things.
“S-somewhere quiet, I, I have something I want to say.”
“Understood. Should we go to your room?”
“N-no, not quite that far….”
After finishing our meal, she suggested grabbing a cup of coffee, and I agreed.
Post-meal coffee was a fine custom. I sat waiting on a bench in the Walking Path—which had been completely cleared of trees during the last magic practical due to a student’s carelessness—when Kanna arrived with two cups and settled beside me. I took a sip and let out a satisfied sound, when Kanna began speaking with unusual seriousness.
“You know, Evan, there’s something I’ve kept as a s-secret from you.”
“Everyone has secrets.”
This was a novel, and I was in a possession state with two status windows, racially not human but a demon, and once the Eldest Daughter of Neftis. Everyone carried secrets. There was nothing unnatural about it.
“It’s, it’s a pretty b-big secret, and, um….”
“Tell me. I won’t be surprised.”
As I continued to reassure Kanna, she took a deep breath, gulped down her coffee, and clenched her fists as though steeling herself for something momentous.
“I, I…, ah, I’m from an Assassination Family!”
“I see.”
I wasn’t surprised in the slightest, and I found myself uncertain how to express that emotion.
“Y-you can despise me if you want. I, I, a-accepted it, that’s what I m-meant.”
“Hmm….”
She spoke as though she’d cry if I actually despised her. Since she seemed unwilling to believe my denials no matter how many times I said them, I asked her in return.
“When I’ve called you the pride of the Assassination Family before, how did you interpret that?”
“Th-that was, a j-joke, I thought….”
“No. I was half-serious.”
Kanna’s surprised expression was rather amusing. The truth was I’d been entirely serious, but I kept quiet about that—I didn’t want to get assassinated for saying it so bluntly.
“B-but, the pride isn’t, ah, not me. The house just, h-has Hashashin under its c-command, that’s all.”
If you’re not the pride, what kind of monster does the Sabah Family actually harbor? I asked out of genuine curiosity, and Kanna continued with a darkened expression.
“Th-the next generation, my, m-cousin will, will s-succeed it.”
“I see. Are you a branch family member then?”
“No!”
Kanna burst out shouting and explained the convoluted family tree of the Sabah Family. Apparently, five years ago, the head of the Sabah Family died. He was Kanna’s biological father, and by natural succession, Kanna’s Brother should have inherited the family. Kanna mentioned there were complicated reasons why her younger brother inherited instead of her, the eldest daughter, and she promised to tell me about it later.
“B-but, um, M-Mother…”
It turned out that Kanna’s Mother had married Kanna’s Uncle—her late husband’s brother. So from that woman’s perspective, she’d married her dead husband’s sibling. Because of that, the family tree had become hopelessly tangled.
Originally, Mother was supposed to serve as acting head and hand over the position to Kanna’s Brother once he came of age. But that damned woman transferred her acting authority to Kanna’s Uncle, and he declared that his own biological son would become the next family head.
In other words, because Kanna’s Uncle took the acting authority that Mother held, Kanna’s Cousin was set to become the master of the Hashashin.
“U-until now, I j-just… w-waited…”
Due to the petty discord within the family and her own powerlessness to seize the position by force, she’d fled to the Academy. But recently, an event had unfolded that would drastically change the course of Kanna’s life.
“B-because of Gerth and Evan, I…!”
Having consumed the human-faced fruit and experienced skill jumping, Kanna had resolved to challenge her Uncle to a duel. And since this duel would be to the death, she was giving me advance notice before stepping into danger.
Yes, telling a friend beforehand before something major is the right thing to do. If she suddenly disappeared and I received news of Kanna’s death, who knows what I’d do by the time I traced the incident.
But, friend. Did you really have to tell me this the day before the exam?
“Friend.”
“H-huh?”
“The exam is tomorrow?”
“I-if I d-die, grades and s-such won’t m-matter anyway, r-right?”
“Don’t speak of death so carelessly.”
First, we need to cool down. Calm yourself, Kanna. I understand the feeling of being incredibly strong after skill jumping, but reckless charges aren’t the way.
“Don’t go alone. Postpone your plans.”
“B-but, the s-saying goes…”
“Is there any guarantee that your Uncle will accept your challenge just because you issue it honestly? What’s the likelihood that those bastards won’t resort to tricks during the duel? What if the Hashashin make their move before you even get to the duel?”
“Ugh, u-ugh…”
“That’s exactly why you’re not acting like an assassin!”
“Y-you’re being too m-mean…!”
The experience of a woman who was deceived by her aunt and lost everything—that’s the advice of someone who’s been through it. Listen to me, and even dreams will turn sweet, friend.
“How far can you reveal this fact? Is it okay to tell the Club members?”
“U-um, the R-Royal Family is a b-bit…”
While I owed Reina much help, the nobility would eventually become valuable clients, so Kanna answered that she could reveal the situation to Letem and Brandenburg. In that case, the members for Kanna’s House infiltration were narrowed down to Eugene, Reina, and myself.
“Prepare detailed plans for infiltrating your house. We’ll observe the duel.”
“If it’s a presentation, leave it to me!”
Our Kanna really loves presentations. She’s speaking so passionately that she’s not even stuttering anymore.
I contacted Sera to reserve one of the meeting rooms in the Club Building from 6 PM tomorrow onward, and I bought snacks and beverages. Reina could be informed once she returned to her room, and I’d see Eugene anyway during the combat practical exam, so I could tell him then.

◇ ◆ ◇

I finished organizing the Conference Hall table and set out drinks and snacks when Eugene and Reina walked in side by side. During combat training, those two had paired up to prevent others from getting injured, engaging in a fierce hand-to-hand match that was absolutely worth watching.
In the end, Eugene grabbed Reina by the hair and slammed her to the ground, barely winning. When Reina was carried to the Infirmary, she threw a tantrum about shaving her head completely bald—I barely managed to calm her down. A shaved-head Reina might be pretty too, but her long hair suits her so incredibly well that there’s no reason to make herself less beautiful. When I threatened her by saying I had no sympathy for anyone who wasn’t pretty, she finally settled down.
“So why did you call us here?”
“Because of what happened earlier, I’m being cautious too, Evan.”
If Eugene was being sincere, he was an idiot; if he was doing it on purpose, he had a genuinely terrible personality. At the quip Eugene threw, Reina exploded in anger and shouted that she’d shave his head bald. I snapped my fingers together to get both their attention.
“The reason we’re gathered today is this.”
Just then, Kanna walked in with the documents. Looking at her, I laid out the facts plainly to the two of them.
“Kanna was Hamlet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Evan. Can you explain in detail?”
I told them about Kanna’s family situation, explaining the whole damned affair with her uncle and mother—the to-be-or-not-to-be circumstances. After listening intently to the end, both of them finally understood.
“She was Hamlet.”
“Kanna was Hamlet.”
“Yeah. In fact, that bastard might’ve even killed Kanna’s father.”
“That, that’s not, confirmed yet!”
Circumstantially, that uncle bastard is 100 percent the culprit—and even if he isn’t, who cares? Let him drop dead.

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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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