Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 245

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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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Cha Cha was spitting blood onto the blanket he’d brought when Apet examined the Underworld King from every angle, remarking on something that struck him as odd.
“Why did his body suddenly grow? And when he had a child’s form, he could walk through the Land of Death without issue—in fact, his body was purifying it. But now that he’s grown, that function doesn’t work anymore?”
Apet had grown close enough to flip through the Machine King’s translation notes, so he must have gleaned quite a bit of information from Makina. He even knew about the time he’d wielded that radiation measurement gauge.
“If I could revert his body age to a specific time period, there’s an experiment I’d like to try. Health is my specialty, after all.”
My curiosity couldn’t be satisfied. The regretful old man used a skill to restore the Underworld King’s body to its peak condition, before he’d started coughing blood.
“Since we don’t know what state he’s in, be careful with yourself. I’ll need to have a word with the Machine King about you.”
With his body restored, the old man said he’d be on his way, so I tried to escort Apet to the staircase. But Cha Cha gripped my hand tightly and looked up at me with watery eyes.
“Right now… can’t you stay by my side? I’m really struggling.”
Well, I should still respect my elders. I said I’d be back soon, but Cha Cha kept whimpering, and Apet assured me he could find his way back the way he came.
That’s when the Panda stepped between us.
[I shall guide you.]
That Panda’s script style never gets old. Apet seemed pleased with the offer and followed the Panda, remarking that he was having many precious experiences today.
“I’m sorry, Evan. I’m being so difficult… Do you hate me?”
“No. When people are in pain, they naturally want someone close by. Today’s quiet, so I can indulge you a little.”
“Hehe, I love you so much, Evan!”
Though Apet had used a healing skill, the truth was Cha Cha’s body still wasn’t in great condition even after growing this morning, so I stayed by his side, comforting him.
I put the Starving Child to sleep, ate the food I’d brought from the Surface World, felt drowsy myself and took a nap, and when I woke, I had no sense of how time was passing.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Phew! I’m stuffed!”
Thanks to Panda Butler’s peculiar sewing prowess, Cha Cha’s outfit was complete. In such a short span, Panda Butler had washed clothes, sewn a garment, and prepared a meal—how had he managed it all? More importantly, how had he accomplished it with those paws? Weren’t those bear paw pads? Was this Panda really not a person? Was he someone wearing a panda suit?
“How do you manage to eat so quickly, Evan?”
“It’s the pace I developed eating school lunches. When I worked for the Market or the Village Chief, I had to eat fast and leave quickly to get back to work, so it became second nature.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. I really think that’s one of your coolest qualities, Evan.”
It was nothing special, but being admired like that made me feel bashful. I thanked Cha Cha for the compliment, then told Panda Butler the meal was delicious. The Panda nodded respectfully, then bent at the waist, expressing his joy at the praise with his entire body.
There’s definitely a person inside that suit, isn’t there?
“But I should probably head back soon. How much time has passed?”
Cha Cha looked disappointed, but perked up when I promised to visit again whenever I had free time.
“It should still be fine! I told Panda Butler to let me know one hour before you leave!”
It must be hard for him not to see many people, yet he’d given me plenty of time before I had to go. He was such an honest, unpretentious child.
I was so fond of Cha Cha that I gave him the Lion King move I’d learned from Gerth. Though the move was too long and his legs dragged, he seemed to enjoy it in his own way.
“Squawk!”
What was that sound? I heard what sounded like a steel beam falling at the construction site, so I looked around and saw Panda standing there with his mouth agape, looking shocked. Could that squeaking sound actually be the Panda’s cry? Did pandas originally make sounds like that? I’d never dealt with pandas before, so I didn’t know.
The squeaking Panda brought over a clock with an alarm and showed it to Cha Cha. It looked like an ordinary timepiece, but looking closer, while the second hand was moving, it was only spinning in place.
“Ahhhhh! Get another clock! Bring a different one! Did you only set the alarm on this one?!”
“Squawk! Chirp! Squawk!”
So the Panda makes chirping sounds too. How fascinating. The Panda is quite a remarkable creature.
One person and one creature rummaged frantically through the room, their screams and the Panda’s chirps overlapping. Cha Cha suddenly scooped me up in alarm.
“Twenty-four hours have passed! What do I do! Evan, don’t die! What do I do! Waaahhh!”
With tears streaming down his face and looking ready to cry, Cha Cha bolted barefoot from the room. Though it was partly because he had no shoes that fit, he seemed too panicked to care, and his tender feet pounded the ground as he urgently pushed me toward the staircase leading to the Surface World.
“Nooooo! I can’t get out! What do I do! It’s the same as me! I hit an invisible wall! Waaahhh!”
“Calm down. There must be a way.”
“How can I calm down?! You eat so much, Evan! At this rate, you’ll starve to death!”
Don’t subtly insult me while crying so miserably.
I stepped down from Cha Cha and placed my hand against the transparent barrier blocking me. If I turn back while climbing the stairs, I’ll wander the Underworld forever. I’d heard that staying in the Underworld for more than twenty-four hours meant death, but I’d never heard of a rule that said you couldn’t leave after twenty-four hours.
Besides, why am I still alive when I’ve already exceeded my allotted time? Maybe those old legends about the Underworld aren’t actual rules at all—just precautions written down because of radiation?
For example, let’s apply radiation to the claim that staying in the Underworld for more than twenty-four hours causes death. In this radiation paradise, thirty minutes would be fatal, not twenty-four hours. When I was still a purely human body, I only survived because Cha Cha put up a barrier for me.
And if we apply radiation to the rule about dying from eating Underworld food—well, humans die from consuming irradiated food.
Finally, regarding the door closing if you look back while climbing the stairs—perhaps it’s because the passage connects to the Surface World while you’re ascending, allowing radiation to leak outward? So if you delay, the passage automatically seals itself.
Every ghost story about the Underworld could be explained entirely by the effects of radioactive materials. So why couldn’t I leave?
“….”
I could survive here even if I stayed a long time. Thanks to my Immortal Body skill. Someone like me shouldn’t have existed before. That meant I was outside the standard parameters. Was it to prevent me from going to the Surface and spreading the Underworld’s secrets? Or was I being processed as dead from staying here too long, making me unable to use the warp?
“The latter seems more plausible.”
Mother Goddess is an artificial satellite and a product of science. A computational error from mechanical processing is far more likely than any superstitious reason.
Considering how the boundary beneath the Land of Death that Apet and I explored had deteriorated and leaked radiation, there was a high probability I could destroy this barrier with my magic. With the shield having operated for over ten thousand years and in a tattered state, my legendary ice magic would shatter it.
But I couldn’t use it here. If I destroyed this barrier, the Stalactite Cave beneath the Academy would become a radiation cavern. I couldn’t destroy an entire nation’s capital in a single day. Cecilia would be sad. Though I couldn’t quite imagine what her sad expression would look like.
“Cha Cha. Let’s move. We’ll go to the place where you managed to escape before.”
“Oh right! The gap there still hasn’t been sealed, so we can get out!”
Cha Cha bounced excitedly, delighted that I could survive, but I noticed his feet were red. The ground here was covered in sharp stones, and running barefoot, he’d clearly injured himself.
“Come here. When we get back, I’ll make you some shoes first.”
The moment I mentioned that blood was dripping from your feet, Cha Cha let out a shriek. I scooped up the startled child effortlessly and trudged back home.

“Butler! We’re home!”
As I stepped into the Underworld King’s sluggishly moving underground tomb, Cha Cha called out to the Panda Butler in a bright voice. Then, chuckling to himself, he buried his head against my chest and grew bashful.
“Evan, did you hear what I just said? I said ‘we’?”
Cha Cha, delighted at the experience of returning home with someone for the first time, asked the Panda to bring the first aid kit, then sat down in a chair and dangled his feet.
“We still have the provisions you brought, Evan. Let’s make do with those.”
“Cha Cha. I’m talking about food from the Underworld.”
I shared my hypothesis with Cha Cha. When I suggested that the Thousand Poison Immunity skill might protect him even if he ate Underworld food, the child’s eyes lit up brilliantly.
“Huh? Evan. You have a skill like that?”
“I had Heaven Poison Immunity before, but I obtained a higher-tier skill recently. That’s probably why I’m still fine even after spending time in the Underworld.”
“Huh? Huh huh?”
The child reacted oddly. After Cha Cha washed his feet clean, received proper treatment, wrapped bandages around them, and pulled on socks, he excitedly announced that we should explore the moving underground tomb.
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I’d seen this dwelling move. When I asked if I could visit the place where the underground tomb was being operated, Cha Cha told me to wait a moment, then made some clanking and clattering sounds before leading me to the engine room.
“Ta-da! This is the control room and engine room!”
Wow! While the Machine King was steampunk-styled, this place was diesel-punk! The space was filled with metal chunks and instrument panels, emanating a mysterious oily scent. I’d assumed it naturally ran on nuclear power given the radiation-soaked land, but it uses fossil fuels instead. Come to think of it, there were dinosaurs on this land.

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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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