Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 210
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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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So there have been personnel changes this time around, and some new Demon Kings have emerged. I was being honest about it when Eugene, swinging a rubber mallet without a shred of focus, smashed one of the pool table’s legs. Seian shoved the snacks he’d brought into a cupboard, then looked at me with a tilted head. Like brother and sister, he and Cecilia were doing exactly the same things.
“…What are you trying to say?”
“I became the King of the Demon Race with 71 percent support.”
When I proudly announced my approval rating, Seian looked ready to collapse again. I’d need to prepare some restorative medicine and feed it to him—if he passed out, it would be a real problem.
“Why did you become the King of the Demon Race?”
“It just happened.”
Since it genuinely happened by chance, I had nothing more to say to Eugene. At my candid answer, Eugene grabbed his head in distress and brought up our previous fight. He’d been quiet about it, but it seemed he’d been speculating on his own about secrets regarding my birth.
“Right, so Duchess Neftis was a dragon. Were you always part demon from the start? Half-human, half-dragon or something?”
“No. I was 100 percent human originally. And that woman didn’t give birth in dragon form either, so how could I be half-human, half-dragon?”
“Then why did you become a demon!”
Eugene finally got angry. Why had I even tried to find peace of mind when I could’ve just lived as I was? I explained the method—that one could become a demon by consuming precious medicinal materials with concentrated mana, like demon cores or thousand-year ginseng—and then introduced my subordinates in order: Poison King Kanna and Salt King Reina.
Eugene picked up the rubber mallet and hit me.
“You madman! Hey! You absolute madman! No, this crazy bastard!”
“Your vocabulary is lacking, Eugene. Fighting all day is why you end up like this.”
“You’re really insane!”
The rubber mallet struck the crown of my head with a sharp crack, and a pain like my skull was splitting in two assailed me. I’d been careless lately, thinking nothing hurt anymore, but my opponent was a professional at murder. Taking a direct hit to a vital point, I couldn’t even cry out in pain as I collapsed to the floor, clutching my head and writhing.
“Hey, isn’t he dying?”
“If he dies from that, he’s human.”
“Fair point.”
Damn gorilla and pig-muscled murderer.
Only Kanna showed concern for my pain, so I crawled over and threw myself into her embrace. When I asked her to let me use her lap as a pillow and blow on my wound, Kanna laughed brightly and blew on the hurt spot.
“Disgusting.”
“I’m not jealous. I have a fiancée.”
That’s how the shallow alliance between demons and humans breaks apart. When Eugene boasted about his fiancée after seeing Kanna and me being affectionate, the unattached Reina got annoyed and started bare-knuckle fighting with Eugene.
“Hey, that’s not the problem right now, you crazy bastards! If you’re a Demon King, don’t you have some kind of instinct to kill humans or something?!”
Oh, Seian is making a sensible statement for once. But this was a distorted rumor born from human prejudice. If I correct it with the facts, it goes like this.
“That’s not it. Demon Kings and the King of Ten Thousand Demons have the mission of humanity’s destruction. It’s different from instinct.”
“What’s the difference in the end result?!”
Well, if you only look at results, you could say they’re the same. Anyway, kids these days only care about results—it’s a real problem. The effort and process matter.
“You heard the process of how a human becomes a demon just now, right? I’m currently seeking a way to distribute that to all of humanity.”
Now that I’ve become the King of Ten Thousand Demons, there’s no more ad-hoc problem-solving. I made this intention known to the humans, and Seian and Eugene acknowledged that my idea was reasonable.
“If it could be achieved, it would certainly be the most ideal solution.”
“But how would you do that? There are so many humans—you can’t possibly take care of each one individually and feed them demon cores.”
“That’s why I decided to hold a conference!”
My inauguration as King of Ten Thousand Demons and the first Demon King Council will be held soon. When I announced this, Eugene and Seian pondered for a moment before offering their thoughts lightly.
“Can humans observe that?”
“If it’s on a holiday, I’d like to go too.”
There’s no particular reason to stop you. Besides, I have lectures during the week, so I’ll make a trip to Serpent King’s Tower on the weekend and come back.
“Since there’s warping, you’ll only have trouble on the return trip.”
“So that’s why you’ve been so diligent laying railroad tracks all this time.”
“I, I, can I really attend without any, uh, preparation?”
The other Demon Kings will probably come without much thought anyway. The Puppet King and Professor Ilyong know my stance, so they might do a bit of investigating.
“What’s this about the Puppet King?”
“It’s Sunbird.”
“That bird was a demon?”
“Yes. And based on measurements from half a year ago, he was stronger than me.”
“Wow.”
Reina and the Northern Region’s killer had whispered that they couldn’t read that bird from the moment they first saw him. Everyone had refrained from saying it aloud, but they’d all suspected that bird was sinister. Truth be told, I’d been suspicious of what that bastard was doing ever since he bowed his head to me.
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Two weeks after the ceremony celebrating the new Club Room’s opening, we gathered in front of the old East Wing on Friday afternoon, setting aside the piling assignments as we prepared to head to Ilam.
“So, shall we go pick up the Puppet King!”
“Oh my! I’ve been waiting for this day!”
“O, oh my!”
Since it was a Demon King Council, the Puppet King naturally had to attend. United in purpose, Seian, the Salt King, and the Poison King stormed into the old East Wing and forcibly separated Sunbird from Sera’s side.
“Evan! Are you trying to steal Sunbird from me again!”
“But Sunbird likes playing with us more, so what can we do!”
“Oh my! If you feel wronged, Your Highness Sera, why don’t you join us too!”
“O, oh my!”
Sera cried out sadly for Sunbird to come back, but Sunbird, as if he’d abandoned everything, surrendered himself to us with an expressionless face.
As Reina, Kanna, and I carried Sunbird like luggage while making gorilla calls, Eugene and Seian—wearing expressions similar to Sunbird’s—said something as they watched us.
“I’m embarrassed to be friends with those guys.”
“I’m not your friend anyway.”
“If you’re not a friend, are you something like a soul companion?”
“You’ve been getting cocky lately.”
“Even without getting cocky, I can see the top of your head just fine, Your Highness Seian.”
The dark-furred weasel shrieked and clawed at Eugene. Eugene took the hits while looking oddly pleased. That bastard’s become a complete deviant too.
“Let’s go, hold hands, return!”
Worried Sera might chase after us, I hugged my friends in a bundle and returned to Serpent King’s Tower. On the Boss Floor where I usually saw things, Gerth was sitting on the throne, dressed up handsomely for some reason.
“Gerth! It’s been a while!”
“Evan. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Happy to see him, I should give him a joyful hug, but first I had something to show Gerth. I set down my friends and pulled out a honey jar from the pouch tied at my waist.
This was the copied honey I’d received from the Mecala Estate before. I hadn’t forgotten to bring it.
“This is…!”
“The bees collected only honey from the copied flowers, they say. I received just one of the items they don’t sell.”
“Can I really accept something this precious!”
“Of course. I’ll enjoy some myself, but I thought Gerth would find the most use for it, so I brought it along.”
He was delighted, as I’d expected. Gerth set down the honey jar momentarily, lifted me up in a reverse Lion King pose, and spun around gleefully. Then he tied an apron over his smartly dressed clothes.
“Wait just a moment. Before we leave, let’s at least taste it first.”
Gerth returned shortly with roasted garaetteok on a plate. We each grabbed one and dipped them generously into the honey he’d set aside separately. Sweet. Wonderfully sweet, with a delicate floral fragrance rising up. Not just any flower—peach blossom. The aroma was absolutely exquisite.
“Oh my, oh my, something so precious, like this, so precious…!”
“Use it freely. It’s yours now.”
Gerth was so overwhelmed that he lifted me up again and spun around, but this time it wasn’t a reverse Lion King pose—he held me in a tight embrace, which prompted Seian to scold us relentlessly.
“Hey, let go! Both of you, let go right now?!”
I briefly regretted not leaving it behind, but Gerth seemed unbothered as he set me down and led the way forward.
“Evan’s House has been completed. It should serve well as a stronghold for humanity’s destruction going forward.”
Wow, our home finally finished after nearly three years! I was thrilled that Mother, Titi, and I could finally stretch out and sleep comfortably in our own place, and Seian, his friends, and even Sunbird congratulated me.
The old house with the great hazelnut tree. I was excited to show off our small, modest, humble green-roofed home, when Kanna squeezed my hand tightly.
“I, I want to see it quickly. I, I, this is my, first time, going there.”
That’s right—among my friends, Kanna had visited Ilam first, but that was after our house had already burned down.
Hand in hand, we left the Serpent King’s Tower and headed toward our home with the great hazelnut tree. As we approached the site of our old house, the first things that came into view were a massive drawbridge and a crimson river flowing like blood.
“…?”
There stood something that looked more like a Demon King’s Castle than any other demon lord’s residence. What on earth was this?
“Hubert designed it, Makina’s technology was incorporated, and the workers of Ilram Territory assisted. It is the Demon King’s Castle, built for Your Majesty Evan, the King of Ten Thousand Demons.”
Before the castle gates, the officials of the Serpent King’s Tower were applauding, while Titi, Mother, and Thomas—all wearing expressions identical to mine—stared blankly up at our home.
“Oh dear, oh dear…, my home….”
“I only signed off on expanding Eleanor’s house so it could be merged with mine, but…”
“Eeeek….”
Jet-black marble gleamed brilliantly, and thirteen towering spires pierced the sky.
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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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