Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 183

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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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“Why is that?”
“This one went through a lot of trouble escaping an almost-marriage with the Sung King.”
Ah, right. Skill-wise, if those two had a child together, they’d be unbeatable. The original Apet couldn’t say harsh words to anyone, so she might have suffered even more.
Of course, I can’t trust the original source material one hundred percent. The fact that Reina Letem’s personality turned out like that already destroyed the original’s credibility entirely.
“If it’s something that could help Evan…”
He drew out whatever important thing he was about to say with such dramatic flair that when I clenched my fists, Bruno started making ridiculous noises, teasing me about wanting to beat up my adoptive father like that.
Now he finally seemed like his usual self, and I felt relieved. I hated myself for finding relief in witnessing such a pathetic display.
“Where the Sung King’s words end in truth and where they begin in lies—Apet would know.”
If it’s about communicating with the divine, she’s skilled enough to rival the Sung King herself. Bruno waved the photograph back and forth, as if to say I should hurry and take his hand if I wanted Apet.
“What’s the condition?”
“What condition do you need between father and daughter? It’s just a gift♡”
“What’s the condition?”
“Now you won’t even call me Dad anymore.”
Even I have moments when I’m tired. Don’t take my goodwill for granted.
I wanted to hit Bruno once, but I barely restrained myself and listened to the man’s condition. Bruno glanced at Evan’s Father, then spoke his purpose with candid honesty.
“Things have tilted quite a bit toward Sera’s side, so I’d like to balance things out, you see?”
So he planned to make them fight each other and ultimately weaken imperial authority. I’d thought something was off from the moment he suddenly appeared saying he’d support Sera’s side. At first, I wondered if he was scheming a thirty-year plan by controlling the Ministry of Education, but seeing how much effort he’s putting in, Bruno seems prepared to wait another hundred years or so.
Of course, I’ve supported Sera’s efforts and Cecilia’s efforts too, so regardless of who becomes Emperor, I won’t compromise on securing the Minister of Education position and indoctrinating the children.
“You won’t see the outcome you want in your lifetime.”
“Ha, the Sunbird said the same thing.”
“Even if a republic is established, the beginning will be no different from monarchy. A man who seized power through the people’s nomination will declare himself emperor and cause chaos.”
This is what happened after the French Revolution succeeded and Napoleon Bonaparte came to power. America’s early presidents were no different from kings, and the people accepted it that way. That probably continued until Lincoln’s time.
In any world, the same history will repeat itself as long as human nature doesn’t change. When I advised Bruno not to dream too big, he looked at me like I was something utterly repulsive and patted Evan’s Father’s back repeatedly.
“How on earth do you raise a child to turn out like that, sir?”
“I don’t know. Mitchell raised herself.”
Evan’s Father, who said he’d only ever prevented Mitchell from dying at her mother’s hands, spoke only facts, then munched away and stole Bruno’s peach sherbet. And here he was, a Duke, not even ordering another one.
“I understand your intention. Where can I meet this Apet?”
“Ah, well, I’ve already brought her to our house.”
If I could meet her right away, I had to go immediately. A world-class beautiful youth like this—I wouldn’t see one twice in a lifetime. When I said this, Evan’s Father also got up from his seat to prepare to follow. Of course, he wanted to see a beautiful youth too.
“Everything’s fine, but there’s this thing…”
Why does he keep dragging out his words like that? So annoying!
When I slammed the table and cursed, Bruno whined that I only hated him, then whispered a top-secret matter into my ear.
“You see, it’s like this…”
“…?”
“That bastard’s insane.”
Hearing “insane” from an insane man—doesn’t that come full circle to mean normal? Would this bastard be so utterly insane that even Bruno would call them insane, or would they come full circle to being normal? I headed toward the Zibenstein Townhouse filled with anticipation.
Of course, since the gentlemen would have fought over which of the two carriages to take, I ran instead.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Apet, a healer.”
A strikingly beautiful boy of about twelve years old offered me a handshake with a pretty smile. I shook his hand warmly, then whispered to Dr. Bruno.
“He seems fine to me.”
“Wait for it. He’ll show his true colors soon enough.”
Maybe he really was just going through a phase and was actually normal? While I was thinking this, the twelve-year-old boy with striking blonde hair finished greeting my father, then said, “Oh my, how troublesome,” and began tapping his lower back before leaning back in a rocking chair.
“My apologies. I think rain might be coming.”
Hmm. This one was definitely strange. On the surface, it sounded like something sentimental, but considering it together with the way he’d been tapping his back earlier, his behavior seemed like that of an old man.
Moreover, the boy—who was drinking steaming leaf tea despite the weather not being cold yet—looked at me with a wistful expression, as if reminiscing about half a century past.
“That troublesome Sung King has caused you no end of grief, I hear.”
“Ah, yes, y-yes.”
Wait, did he just speak formally to me? No! I’m a Mana Master who absorbed half the Machine King’s power—I’ve undergone complete transformation! Why are there so many people stronger than me everywhere?! What is this power creep?!
“Sigh, if one must grow old, one should do so gracefully. That girl was undisciplined even as a child.”
The Ganymede-like boy clicked his tongue and shook his head, and I could understand why Dr. Bruno called him crazy. This guy was absolutely insane.
“This guy really is crazy.”
“See? Told you he was crazy, right?”
Why did Zibenstein bring in someone this crazy? When I asked, curious, Dr. Bruno said it was beyond his control. Each house’s successor is chosen by the current head of the family, and apparently the previous charity director brought Apet here about ten years ago and made him the head of the house out of nowhere.
“Ten years ago would have been when you were in the Priesthood.”
“Right. That’s why I couldn’t object.”
While we whispered to each other, Apet laughed and drank his leaf tea loudly. Whether he knew we thought he was crazy or not, he said it was inevitable that he wouldn’t gain our trust, and simply stated his purpose.
“I’m just here to harvest the seeds I planted. Hehe, that little one who follows me around so adorably—I taught her all sorts of things.”
Wait, is the little one he’s been talking about this whole time referring to the Sung King of Sungkuk Kingdom? Based on that guess, I voiced what Dr. Bruno had told me earlier. If it’s the Sung King, he said Apet had suffered because she kept pestering him to marry her.
“Hehe, I did have some trouble prying her off back then. Goodness, just how much of an age difference do you think there is between us?”
Um… about forty years? Of course, I meant it in the sense that the Sung King appeared older, but Apet took it differently.
“Oh dear, if the gap is too awkward, it’s even more problematic! I’d be the one getting taken away, young lady.”
What age had he decided he was? In the original work, he had somewhat of a precocious quality, but his manner of speech was never quite this grandfatherly.
“So then. What kind of help can you offer me?”
However, whatever character setting Apet had established for himself wouldn’t actually help me. Of course, I was curious. Very curious, in fact, but that wasn’t the important thing right now. Though I really was dying to know.
“Ahhh, this is complicated to explain.”
The boy, leaning back in the creaking rocking chair that swayed back and forth, asked us a question with all traces of humor gone from his face.
“Do you believe in eternal life?”
“No.”
“No.”
“House Neftis doesn’t believe in cults, little one.”
Since gods actually exist in this world, practically every religion is a cult anyway. The Priesthood isn’t really a religious organization so much as it is like the Adventurer’s Guild—more of a labor cooperative.
The gods created all things and grant foresight of the future. The Priesthood listens to the gods’ voices, counsels people on their paths, and predicts the nation’s future and such. There’s no room for faith to develop or idols to worship.
“But you see, according to divine will, there is theoretically a way to achieve eternal life.”
The phrase “divine will” appearing alongside the word “theoretically” was as strange as it could be.
“Did you know that when surface-dwelling creatures go extinct, they’re transferred to the Underworld?”
Oh, now that I think about it, there were mammoths in the Underworld. I nodded because I’d seen them myself, but Evan’s Father and Bruno exchanged peculiar glances before refuting Apet.
“Isn’t that just a fairy tale?”
“The little one must have read a storybook about the underground kingdom recently.”
“No. It’s the truth. To be precise, the concept transfers in order of arrival, starting from the last individual to go extinct.”
Bruno and Evan’s Father looked at Apet as if he’d lost his mind. Bruno even bore the expression of someone regretting having introduced Apet in the first place, so I raised my hand enthusiastically to bolster the elder’s argument.
“There really are extinct animals in the Underworld. I went there and saw mammoths myself.”
“Daughter! Why did you go to the Underworld!”
“Adopted daughter! Did you die once?!”
That wasn’t quite it—I’d accidentally fallen into a well and warped to the Underworld. When I stated this matter-of-factly, Elder Apet’s eyes widened in shock.
“You’re not in your right mind.”
“I am perfectly sane.”
I declared my soundness of mind with pride.
“In any case, the representative specimens of remaining species transfer to the Underworld and persist there eternally as concepts. But what if… this applied to humans?”
Ah? If the previous premise holds true, then when humanity perishes, those who die last would live eternally in the Underground. I see. Depending on one’s perspective and approach, the Demon Race’s cherished dream of humanity’s extinction could become a method guaranteeing certain humans eternal life.

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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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