Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 158

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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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“There’s no need for Evan to take on such risk.”
“I can’t send Reina and Kanna into danger alone.”
“I like that about Evan.”
Gerth nodded as though proud of me. The Department Head Professor narrowed his brow at Gerth, muttering something about shamelessness.
“If it’s a selection, then I have no choice. I’ll accompany you.”
“Gerth. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“What is a selection?”
“I’ll tell you once it’s over.”
Gerth laughed with the straightforward clarity of a hinoki forest on a summer night—the kind of laugh that made you want to breathe in the phytoncides. There was no point in telling me after it was all over, but his smile made it impossible to complain.
“Perfect! Then we can head out while eating the meals Gerth prepares!”
“I… I really… really love the food that comes from the Serpent King’s Tower.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
With all the hitting and fleeing, hitting and fleeing, who knew how long this would take. Having Gerth’s meals would be reassuring. As I began to anticipate the dining hours he’d oversee, the man shrugged his shoulders and secured his apron properly. Perhaps wearing it had been destiny.
“But since the old lady found out we’re going there, she won’t just let us waltz in.”
While the Department Head Professor sang about how there was an item somewhere that let us force our way in without the Machine King’s permission, opening and closing drawers, I recalled the stamp rally completion commemorative item I’d obtained from Bunny Land last time.
“Is it perhaps a necklace with the Bunny Land crest that emits light in a specific direction?”
“You know well.”
If that was it, then Kanna, Reina, and I all had one. It was a special memento only we three had earned by clearing all the nighttime attractions.
We all cheered excitedly at the convenient timing, but then it occurred to me—wasn’t our sudden time limit because of that very item?
“Who suggested this ridiculous stamp rally in the first place!”
Naturally, Reina was furious. We’d all agreed back then to ride everything and collect all the stamps, but this young woman wanted to shift blame onto someone else.
I struck first, worried the arrow of blame might turn toward me for sneaking out at night to complete the remaining attractions.
“Sera suggested it.”
“Damn it! If only she weren’t royalty!”
Thank goodness that idiot’s head is defective. She’s brilliant, but her judgment is terrible—thank goodness for that. More importantly, what does being royalty have to do with anything, you lunatic.
“B-but… we can’t spend our whole lives… bearing the Machine King’s wrath…”
“That’s a fair point.”
Kanna made a logical argument, and I agreed it was right. Now no one would point out that I was the root cause.
“Still, who knows how Bunny Land merchandise circulates.”
The great noble Reina mentioned that bribes pour into House of Letem daily, making it a job just to sort through them. As I was organizing my thoughts, the conversation I’d had with Eugene this morning came to mind.
“I promised Eugene we’d have an end-of-semester party. We can meet there before we leave.”
Gerth would have to stay at Eugene’s place anyway, so we could all host him together.
We decided to meet at Eugene’s tomorrow and handle our personal affairs today. The Department Head Professor said he’d report our absence to the Academy Headmaster, Kanna needed to send a letter home, and Reina said she’d prepare what she needed and inform Sunbird. Come to think of it, there was the Dekarucha concert schedule—this was a problem.
“Life comes first, so I’ll ask if the concert can be postponed.”
“Sunbird will handle the refund, but what about our grades if everything gets pushed back?”
“We’re just going to the Homeless Settlement, friend.”
No way! Absolutely not the Homeless Settlement! I’ll throw a fit with Cecilia and demand she build me an Official Residence!
I resolved to cling to Cecilia if necessary and left the Academy. When I arrived at Eugene’s house, he welcomed Gerth warmly and expressed regret that they couldn’t go to Bunny Land together. He said he had much to do in the Northern Region during this break.

The next day, at the Brandenburg Townhouse where a small party was held, Reina drank and cried herself to sleep. That bastard claimed to have bought fruit juice, but it turned out to be alcohol. The moment the oak barrel opened, the smell of liquor spread everywhere—there was nothing fruity about it.
Understanding Reina’s state of mind, having even updated her will, we pushed her into a corner and continued the party.
“The Dragon King tends to keep his promises. What urgent business requires him to leave so hastily?”
“Ah, I’m trying to receive my peerage early.”
So Sera was pushing for him to inherit his father’s position ahead of schedule, and he was putting it into action immediately. The Department Head Professor nodded and told him to speak to him if the Dragon King broke his promise.
Eugene didn’t know Ilyong’s true identity, so he just said he understood and whispered to me that the professor seemed quite drunk, giggling. He did look thoroughly intoxicated, so I laughed too.
“Gerth.”
Now that I thought about it, I had something to tell Gerth as well. It wasn’t particularly important to him, but it was quite significant to me.
As Gerth approached with a plate piled high with festive dishes he’d prepared for when I returned to Ilam, I first revealed my current status to him.
“I’ve become a baron.”
“Is that so? Congratulations.”
Gerth, not fully understanding but knowing that becoming nobility among humans was difficult, was proud of me. Because he was the type to celebrate my successes as if they were his own, it made this next part hard to say.
“And due to the complicated circumstances among humans, I’ve received an order to subjugate the Serpent King’s Tower.”
“It’s not designed that way. Why must people follow the orders of others?”
“Dr. Bruno would like that sentiment.”
That’s how Royal Family orders work. If I don’t comply, not only I but also my Mother, Thomas, and other villagers would suffer consequences, so I have to at least go through the motions of subjugation. When I explained this, Gerth, though not fully understanding, reached his own conclusion.
“I will do my best from the Serpent King’s position. You should do your best from yours.”
“Understood.”
“The food is getting cold.”
Gerth said the roasted duck was cooling and tore off a large leg, placing it on my plate. Eating alongside the professor made it feel like we were sitting on a pavilion by a valley stream.
“Old friend. I like the leg too.”
“I see.”
Though he said so, Gerth detached another leg and placed it on Kanna’s plate. Eugene had said he liked wings and breast meat, so there would be no conflict.
“Um, but… isn’t the luggage, um, too light?”
That was certainly something I found strange too. We were about to go fight, eat, sleep, eat, and sleep, yet Gerth, responsible for meals, hadn’t stockpiled any ingredients, and the dapper professor hadn’t even packed a change of clothes. At our concern, Gerth and Ilyong laughed and overestimated the Machine King.
“We can procure provisions from the amusement park hotel.”
“That woman may be called the Machine King, but she won’t be petty to those coming to challenge her.”
If it were me, I’d lay a minefield at the entrance for anyone coming to kill me. Kanna also offered that if someone came to harm her, she’d poison the river first, but those two, firmly believing the Machine King had a generous heart despite her petty appearance, raised their glasses.
Gerth normally didn’t touch alcohol, but perhaps because he was with the Department Head Professor, he set down his burdens and enjoyed the party. These were people who had known the Machine King for long years, so naturally they understood her better than we did. We may have hastily judged her as petty, seeing only her surface. If the Department Head Professor and Gerth trusted her that much, perhaps I should too.
Reassured that lodging and meals would be handled at Bunny Land’s hotel, I packed only essentials into my backpack. I also added snacks and drinks for the train ride. I prepared emergency funds and, in case I lost my pass necklace, packed motion sickness medicine to quickly get stamps and move on.
Once I had everything, it looked like a picnic bag.
“It, it looks like we’re going on a picnic.”
So you think so too, Kanna. Though your picnic bag has those pointy things sticking out, making it look scary at first glance.
After enjoying our last night in the Capital, we saw Eugene off the next day as he headed to the Northern Region, and under the Department Head Professor’s guidance, we boarded the train with our picnic bags. There was a dispute with the conductor about not being able to take Gerth, a beast-man, but when Reina Letem pulled out her Count’s card and settled it, we were able to board the mage car.
Power was magnificent.

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Upon arriving near Bunny Land, we stood gazing at Gerth and the Department Head Professor, our picnic bags slung casually across our shoulders.
“Wasn’t that a bit petty?”
“P-petty indeed.”
“What can we do! The entire fifty-meter radius must be a minefield!”
A temporary closure sign hung at the entrance of Bunny Land, and the landscape before us bore no resemblance whatsoever to what we’d seen during our last field trip.
Steel fencing, tracking lasers emitting obvious electronic beeps, and minefields. The once-crystalline river now churned a sickly green, bubbling ominously, and the cheerful staff members who once recited amusement park safety rules now shuffled in mindless circles along predetermined routes, groaning incessantly. It was indistinguishable from a zombie apocalypse.
「Fuhahahaha! Foolish humans! Did you truly believe entry would be so simple?」
That familiar mechanical voice crackled from a speaker fifty meters ahead. The Machine King. He fired emoticon fireworks into the air, taunting us with his antics, and Gerth hung his head in shame while the Department Head Professor’s coat fluttered magnificently in the wind. I’d seen him use that coat during his teleportation earlier—it must be an all-purpose defensive artifact.
“I’ll go have a word with him.”
“I’m coming too.”
“If the old man goes, he’ll only irritate her.”
That was fair. People who conversed with Gerth generally ended up frustrated. As the Department Head Professor and I both moved to stop him, the man’s expression shifted to one of mild shock.

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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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