Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 244

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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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“Evan….”
A man with bloodshot eyes lay cradled in my arms. I yelped in shock—what the hell, Mother!—and hurled him across the room.
“It hurts, it hurts, Evan.”
Resilient creature, surviving even after crashing into the wall. The man with his gravelly voice—whether from puberty or some other cause—wore nothing but a bathrobe that didn’t fit him properly, hanging loose and open.
Everything that should have been hidden was exposed.
“I haven’t slept a wink. How do you manage to sleep so soundly?”
“….”
As I searched for Cha Cha, I suddenly noticed the man before me had pink hair and eyes that glowed like a radiation warning symbol.
Ah… so that’s what this was. A common trope. A child growing into a teenager or adult overnight. The kind of development that appeared frequently in novels.
“Are you Cha Cha?”
“What are you talking about?”
I calmly concluded the figure before me was Cha Cha. But Cha Cha, upon examining his grown body, was anything but calm.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
His shock resembled Kevin from Home Alone. If he’d still been small, it would have been cuter, but this wasn’t bad either. His face and body, newly adult yet retaining boyish features, resembled Renaissance marble sculpture—and I felt guilty admiring it. The guilt stemmed from the fact that his behavior remained childish, making my wrists feel heavy with shame.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
“Calm yourself. Your body has simply grown.”
“Ahhhhhhhhh! How am I supposed to stay calm about this?!”
Certainly, the child who once reached my chest was now a head taller than me—surprising, yes. But narratively, it was permissible. Though the loss of his former cuteness might strike as shocking… well….
To be honest, it was grotesque.
“Put on some clothes. Your current state is grotesque.”
“I’m… grotesque?!”
“Your body has grown, yet your speech and mannerisms remain childish—that’s what’s grotesque. And that thing dangling below is grotesque too.”
“Ahhhhh! This is so grotesque!”
Cha Cha expressed profound disgust. Fearing he might actually tear something off, I hastily uttered something more unsettling.
“Don’t worry. Gerth’s is more grotesque. Compared to that, you’re on the cute side.”
“Really? This counts as cute?”
“I haven’t seen much, but you’re on the cute side.”
“Phew.”
Only after hearing he was cute did Cha Cha pat his chest in relief. He pinched his own cheeks to compose himself, then called for the Panda Butler. The Panda sauntered in, then sauntered back out, returning with a bathrobe tagged as “Panda exclusive.”
“Okay, let me calm down, and let’s go for a walk.”
Muttering something about needing green light exposure, Cha Cha flapped his arms and forced me to hold his hand. The sight of an adult male taller than me, with a gravelly voice, acting coy was hardly pleasant to witness.
“Cough!”
“Oops.”
Unable to bear the sight, I punched Cha Cha in the solar plexus without thinking, and the Starving Child burst into tears. He wailed miserably about how he was no longer cute, rolling across the floor.
“Waahhhhh! You were so affectionate just yesterday! Now I’m not cute anymore! Waahhh! Sniff! Sob!”
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stand the sight.”
“Waaahhhhhhh!”
Cha Cha was rolling around on the ground like a propeller, and watching him made my heart ache far more than before. I extended my hand to him and suggested we take a walk.
“You’re still not used to that form. While we’re out, I’ll try to grow accustomed to your cuteness as well.”
“…Really? Am I cute right now?”
“Yes. Your appearance is conventionally adorable.”
Cute and popular enough that there’s an entire category for it. What was that term again? Something about an adult man with a child’s heart—I couldn’t quite recall the exact word, but it was something along those lines.
“If I’m cute, then kiss me.”
Truly a grown child. As Cha Cha offered his cheek, I had no choice but to plant a kiss on it.
Energized by the affection, Cha Cha quickly scrambled to his feet, stretched his body, and then asked for permission to touch me.
“I’ve always wanted to try this when I got bigger! Carrying Evan Laef and running!”
“I am heavier than you might think.”
“Over a ton?”
“Not quite that much.”
“You’re super light!”
Cha Cha explained that a human body naturally weighs around a hundred kilograms with all its bones and organs, then lifted me as effortlessly as a feather. Despite his soft appearance, he possessed surprising strength. Perhaps it was the effect of the deep underground—living here might be equivalent to constantly wearing weighted vests due to the gravitational differences.
“Those green rocks—are they easy to find all over this place? Since they’re in different locations than before, and apparently near our walking route.”
“They’re harder to spot these days. But back then, there were sooooo many!”
“When you say ‘back then,’ how many years ago exactly?”
“Um, like… ten… ten thousand years… ago?”
Earth had experienced nuclear war. Nuclear weapons were launched, nuclear power plants exploded, and the land became a radioactive wasteland where humans could no longer survive. And Cha Cha was the first human created by the artificial god Ursula, possessing the ability to purify radiation. Had this child spent ten thousand years cleansing vast territories?
“Yay! We’re here!”
Since I had vomited blood last time, I pushed Cha Cha away to keep distance, but he approached the pile of green ore and took deep breaths. The man explained that being here not only improved your body but also refreshed your mind and relieved stress—then three seconds later, he coughed up blood and collapsed.
“Bleeegh!”
“Cha Cha! Are you alright!”
I had become immune to this place thanks to my Eternal Fortress, so why had he ended up like this? When I told Cha Cha to regain consciousness, he only repeated that this shouldn’t be happening, then hung his head and lost consciousness.
“Panda! Healer!”
I called out to those I needed and ran while carrying Cha Cha. When I reached his home, Panda was already waiting at the entrance. I entrusted Cha Cha to him and decided to fetch Apet. Panda Butler wrote out a message reminding me to watch my step in the darkness.

The Neftis Townhouse remained crowded with people, and by asking around, I managed to locate Apet and bring her to the Well. One advantage of merging Zibenstein’s estate with ours was that finding necessary people became considerably easier.
“That starving child in the space suit back then—the Underworld King?”
“That’s right. He’s grown now, so he’s no longer a child. That one is the Underworld King.”
“Heh heh, living this long has taken me to the Underworld and back.”
Having already climbed the Serpent King’s Tower, visited the Dragon’s Lair, and explored the Underground Tomb, the old woman seemed to think she only needed to visit the Machine King’s Sky Island to complete her collection—until I delivered the cruel truth.
“You can’t go to the Sky Island. I destroyed it.”
“Oh my.”
Apet clicked her tongue, remarking that it made sense now why the Machine King lurked so gloomily in a foreign noble’s estate—there was quite a story behind it.
“Normally Cha Cha casts defensive magic, but you have that auto-recovery skill, so you should be fine.”
“You mean it’s dangerous just standing there?”
“If I had to compare it, it’s like the Land of Death Exgis.”
“Goodness.”
Apet chuckled, remarking that she could truly feel the prestige of the Underworld, then without being asked, she hopped right into my arms and used me as her personal transport.
“Let’s go, my former wife. Let’s see what this Underworld King looks like.”
“We’re departing. Hold on tight.”
I dove into the Well, passed through the warp with a whoosh, and landed safely in the Underground. As I absorbed the impact of the landing through bending my arms and legs, Apet patted my shoulder with a wry expression.
“My goodness, you’re so considerate about every little detail like this—no wonder men can’t get enough of you.”
“What do you mean, considerate?”
“Nothing much, just that I’m happy our former wife is so popular.”
Being a member of Dekarucha certainly did make me popular. When I said this proudly, Apet sighed and struck her chest as if to say what kind of conversation was she supposed to have with me.
“Is it over there?”
“It is.”
“I can sense technical prowess comparable to the Machine King’s.”
Both had technical skill, but their approaches differed somewhat. Makina specialized in mechanical engineering, while Cha Cha worked in bioengineering—or whatever you’d call it.
After some casual conversation, we encountered the Panda Butler and followed his guidance to Cha Cha’s bedroom. Apet marveled at the sight of an intelligent spotted bear walking on two legs, but truthfully, the Panda had always been intelligent and bipedal. Having the ability to write didn’t make him particularly special. The Panda was special simply by existing.
“You, cough cough, you!”
Cha Cha, lying in bed, spotted us and shed tears of blood. If he was in pain, he should just rest, so why was he pushing himself like this?
“You, hack, you said I’m not cute, ugh, you went and picked another child!”
“Is that the Underworld King?”
“That’s the Underworld King.”
“He looks easy to tease.”
“He actually is.”
“Don’t, cough, don’t tell anyone except me, hack hack hack!”
Even though I could have healed him immediately, Apet’s mischievous side awakened, and instead of treating the child, she brazenly revealed our relationship.
“Did you know I married this woman?”
“Argh! You, you’re that person from back then!”
“Strange. When you were wearing that space suit, you were as tall as me, but now you’ve suddenly grown.”
“Get away, from Evan, cough, get away!”

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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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