Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 198

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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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“Yay! I’m marrying Evan!”
Cha Cha was jumping around in celebration, but Gerth picked up the ladle again. The man, radiating murderous intent as if he’d split me in half with that ladle, spoke quietly to both Cha Cha and me.
“I received the proposal first. Evan will marry me, so the Underworld King should step aside.”
“Hey! That’s not how it works!”
When Gerth scolded him, Cha Cha headbutted Gerth. As I ate the japchae and braised short ribs, I suddenly noticed there was no white rice on the table. Even with tteokguk available, Gerth hadn’t brought any rice?
“Gerth.”
“What is it, Evan?”
“Where’s the white rice?”
“There’s tteokguk, so it’s unnecessary.”
“How could you!”
What was to become of my life, where I’d mixed rice into tteokguk all these years? Unnecessary? There had never been a situation where white rice wasn’t needed. When eating ramen, I’d mix rice into the leftover broth. When eating jjajangmyeon, I’d stir rice into the remaining sauce. Tteokguk was no different. Once I’d eaten all the rice cakes, wouldn’t I mix rice into what remained?
My common sense was being completely denied, and I sat there trembling with my spoon in hand when Gerth quietly opened his mouth.
“Evan.”
“Yes.”
“Eat what you’re given.”
“Okay!”
But if I complained now, I’d lose everything. The situation called for restraint. My survival instinct, honed through countless terminal conditions, was desperately sounding alarms. If I pouted now, I’d have to listen to the same nagging for the next hundred years.
“Hehe, slurp the japchae!”
「Master, do you realize how annoying you’re being right now?」
What can I do? This is my survival strategy. Gerth’s type is terrifying once angered. As I pretended not to notice the staring contest between Cha Cha and Gerth and ate my rice happily, Samryong stepped forward this time.
“You’re both wrong! Ice Heart will marry Void Heart!”
Hmm, that doesn’t seem right. What I need right now is Cha Cha or Gerth. I need to be recognized as a daughter-in-law.
“Void Heart—you mean Lemon Pie? I’ve listened to the Dekarucha album. There were many good songs.”
“Oh, I know that one too! According to the setting, that’s the keyboard player who’s less than a lover but more than a friend with Evan, right?”
“If you know that much, this will be quick!”
Samryong puffed out his chest and shrugged his shoulders, then used metalcraft magic to create figures of me and Seian. I’d been noticing for a while now that Samryong had an exceptional artistic sense.
“Listen carefully! Void Heart and Ice Heart are in love! Especially Ice Heart cares deeply for Void Heart! This is mentioned a total of 56 times in the Band’s setting collection and takes up 33 pages! It’s not just the setting collection! The love story between Void Heart and Ice Heart’s true forms—Neftis Duke’s Daughter and Seian Crown Prince—is famous in society! Neftis Duke’s Daughter followed Seian Crown Prince around and courted him relentlessly, didn’t she? This is mentioned in the setting collection too. The Ice-Void Faction’s analysis states that the setting collection is essentially the true forms’ personal accounts. Where else would the motif for such a grand and detailed love line come from? Obviously from the true forms! What?! And look at their face combination—this pairing works! Silver and black! Silver and black hair have been beloved since ancient times and will flourish for a thousand more years! Silver and white hair? The colors are too similar, so it’s rather minor. Silver and pink hair? If it’s a hat relationship, I’ll accept it. But silver and black hair? This is a 100% guaranteed couple! The color combination alone creates plausibility! How sweet are an obsessive madman and a moody brat! What do you all know!”
There was resentment in Samryong’s cry, as if he’d been through countless battlefields. Probably because the most major couple in the Band was Ice and Fire, so he’d been beaten down from all sides, had his hair pulled, fought in fandom wars. By the way, did that bastard just curse at me calling me a madman?
“That was a well-delivered presentation. Your eloquence has improved, Samryong.”
“Hey Evan, give me the metal statue.”
“Listen seriously! I’m telling you, she should marry Void Heart!”
At Samryong’s earnest plea, Gerth became serious. And as if to reassure him, he soothed the dragon.
“Don’t worry. I was prepared to allow even Lemon Pie from the start.”
“Why is Void Heart called Lemon Pie?”
“Evan said she’d eat both Lemon Pie and Strawberry Cake.”
“Ah, Gerth is definitely Strawberry Cake.”
Samryong, who had praised how Seian and Lemon Pie were perfect together—not overly sweet but with a refreshing taste, crispy on the outside yet soft and moist inside—now asked whether this was an officially recognized statement, saying he needed to share this fact with the Ice-Void Faction members.
Dekarucha may be in a state of temporary dissolution, but if I’m the official leader, then I’m the official leader. When I said it didn’t matter to me, Samryong became absolutely delighted and carefully asked me for a handshake.
“What? Only he gets a cute nickname! What about me, Evan? What food am I?”
I was just speaking off the cuff, but how did it come to this? Gerth showed tremendous pride in being a strawberry cake, and Cha Cha, apparently envious of that, pestered me for a nickname too. Hmm… we’ve already covered pie and cake, so maybe a tart? And since Cha Cha is the Underworld King…
“…Radioactive pomegranate tart?”
“Yay! I’m a pomegranate tart!”
Cha Cha confidently declared that pomegranate seeds sparkle like jewels and are the prettiest to look at, so Evan must like him the best—but Gerth immediately objected.
“Strawberry cake is a classic. A classic is eternal.”
Well, that’s true. The world constantly sees new confections born, but when you talk about the basics of sweetness, it’s strawberry cake. The advantage of strawberry cake is that it’s been consistently beloved across every era.
“But if it’s only sweet, you get tired of it. People need variety. Lemon pie is something you’d never tire of, even eating it for a lifetime.”
That’s also true. Desserts loaded with sugar eventually become cloying, but lemon pie is wonderful because its tartness cleanses the palate.
“Of course what looks good tastes good! Evan loves pretty things, so she’d definitely like the pomegranate tart the best!”
I really can’t argue with that. Pretty things are the best!
As Gerth, Samryong, and Cha Cha each spoke their piece, I nodded along with them—and suddenly all three fixed me with sharp, piercing gazes. I felt the pressure mounting. Surely they weren’t about to ask me which of the three tastes the best?
I suddenly recalled the tale of the golden apple. My position was exactly like Paris. Come to think of it, did he give the golden apple to Aphrodite? By that logic, I should support Cha Cha’s claim that the pomegranate tart is the prettiest—but in the end, didn’t Paris meet a dog’s death and bring ruin? Well, he deserved it anyway. And personally, my favorite figure from the Trojan War is Achilles.
「Master! I did it! I fixed the device!」
“Excellent work, Makina!”
I offered Makina my sincere gratitude and decided to test the device. The golden apple debate ends here. Let’s just say strawberry cake, lemon pie, and pomegranate tart are all delicious. Each dessert has its own merits.
「Here we go! Switch on!」
At Makina’s cry, I made a big fuss and applauded loudly to redirect everyone’s attention. I was going on about the radiation levels, but strangely, the needle was pointing to the left.
“The readings are low, aren’t they?”
「At this level, it’s similar to the natural state.」
That’s strange. Why? Is it because of Cha Cha’s shield? Now that I think about it, if this place were contaminated with radiation, then eating the food we prepared would be a problem too. Wouldn’t we have ingested a ton of carcinogens?
“…”
Surely the warning not to eat food from the Underworld isn’t because of carcinogens. I’d like to test it, but that’s the kind of experiment that requires someone to risk their life, so I decided against it. If I tried it myself, there’s a high chance it wouldn’t work since I’m immune to all poisons.
In any case, when I asked Makina to turn off the shield he’d been using, Cha Cha said from the start that he hadn’t used any skills on the Machine King. Well, since it’s a machine, a little radiation exposure shouldn’t hurt it.
“Is it because we’re indoors?”
「Is this some kind of lead-lined bomb shelter?」
The Underworld King can’t be harmed by radiation, so living surrounded by lead should be perfectly feasible, right? Makina agreed with my reasoning and suggested we go outside. When we all exited the Underground Tomb, the readings did increase somewhat, but according to the data, it was still not at a level lethal to humans.
「This is strange. Should we go back to that spot from before?」
There might be a point where the radioactive material is concentrated. I agreed with Makina, and we moved to where the machine had exploded earlier. But the radiation meter’s needle was still pointing to the left.
“?”
「?」
Why? What’s the reason? Makina and I formulated several hypotheses and tried distancing ourselves from Gerth and Cha Cha. The needle shot wildly to the right.
“Cha Cha. Come here.”
“Okay!”
Cha Cha approached. The radiation readings gradually decreased.
“But what are we doing?”
We continued monitoring the meter. The needle swung sharply to the right, then back to the left, then right again, then left again. The readings were changing constantly. After continued observation, we discovered that the needle’s movement was related to Cha Cha’s breathing.
“It goes up when he inhales.”
「And it goes down when he exhales.」
There seemed to be some connection between the radioactive materials in this place and Cha Cha’s breath. Now that I thought about it, this Starving Child had mentioned feeling phytoncides in the Green Rock Field not long ago.
“Cha Cha. That place where I coughed up blood—where the green glow shimmered. It was around here, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah! Want me to show you the way?”
“Please do.”
It was dangerous, so I insisted on leaving Gerth and Samryong behind. But both of them refused to listen, insisting they’d follow me even unto death, so I relented and let them come along. Since I’d reached the level of a Demon King, I wouldn’t die anyway. And even if I did, Apet could simply resurrect me with a snap of his fingers.

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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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