Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 247

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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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“Your friends informed me you hadn’t attended lectures. Has something happened?”
“I lost track of time here and ended up staying for over twenty-four hours, so I couldn’t leave.”
“Good heavens, you reckless child….”
Apet pressed his forehead with his palm. Having grown close over the past few days, he’d asked Reina to lift him up, and now he glared down at Cha Cha’s crown before flicking it with his finger.
“This brat’s liver swelled up from his cowardice!”
Cha Cha would normally talk back, but oddly he just took the hits. When I asked if he’d been caught doing something wrong, Apet answered instead of Cha Cha.
“This punk cut off the Machine King’s transmission signal!”
So when Makina couldn’t communicate, it was because Cha Cha had rejected the connection.
“You, you, you! Ten thousand years old and your tricks just keep multiplying!”
“Ow! Why do you keep hitting me, you little thing!”
“If our former mistress disappears, do you think only one or two would lose their minds? Even now, that red-haired one pretends otherwise but has gone mad, and the busty one has gone mad too! If the Emperor hears about this, it’ll be a death match between you and humanity!”
“Then we fight!”
“You foolish child, you don’t know fear of the abyss!”
So Apet calls Cecilia the abyss too. Indeed, there’s no other way to describe that abyssal, vertiginous quality. In cosmic terms, there’s the word black hole, but Cecilia only pulls things in and never releases them, so there really is no better alternative.
“Waah! Evan! This little thing keeps hitting me!”
“You deserve it, so accept your punishment.”
“Waaaah!”
He’s obedient at least. While Apet flicked Cha Cha repeatedly, the Dragon Marquis—who possessed nothing but large breasts, a slender waist, plump thighs, strength, a chick-like fiancé, beauty, wealth, power, and friends—pointed out the path he’d taken.
“If it’s a barrier, I think I could break it. Should I?”
“The Underworld is teeming with deadly toxins. If you break it, everyone in the Capital dies.”
“Ah. So that’s why you couldn’t escape.”
Looking at the barrier’s state, I could have broken through and escaped with power to spare, so he’d worried whether I was injured somewhere.
“S-so, now, um, w-what do we, Evan, are we, stuck, here, forever?”
“There’s a place near Sungkuk Kingdom where a rift has appeared, transforming it into the Land of Death. I was trying to escape through there, but the transport equipment broke down.”
As I spoke calmly, Eugene, who’d been listening carefully, cautiously broached a question.
“Do you really need transport to get there? Couldn’t you just run there yourself?”
“….”
“….”
“Gasp!”
I was startled, and Eugene, Reina, Kanna, Apet, and even Cha Cha all looked at me with pitying eyes.
“Former mistress, you seem quite intelligent at first glance, but fundamentally you’re remarkably foolish.”
“I, I, even that side of you, Evan, I, I like it. It’s fine.”
“If you keep living so absentmindedly, you’ll end up trapped in the Imperial Palace alongside the Transparent Crown Prince.”
“Evan, that, um…, no. Never mind.”
“Only act that way in front of me, alright? Don’t go around being so careless elsewhere.”
Stop pitying me. I’m reflecting on it. But since my foolishness was genuine, after being thoroughly mocked, I resolved to punish the gorilla who’d overstepped his bounds and leave this place.
“The Underworld’s food was delicious. Now then, let me depart. Where should I go to find where the barrier’s rift has appeared?”
“W-well, if I tell you now, you might not believe me anyway. Since it’s on automatic navigation, I don’t know the walking route. I really don’t know!”
If Cha Cha says he doesn’t know, then he truly doesn’t. It seemed the only option was to repair Cha Cha’s moving Underground Tomb.
“Should I call the Machine King’s wife too?”
“It’s fine. I already know the cause clearly.”
It was a simple job—just replacing the battery and engine oil. Cha Cha had prevented me from entering the Engine Room before, but once I actually started the repairs, it would be done quickly.
I brought my friends and Apet to Cha Cha’s place to rest, then got to work in the Engine Room. Despite the reputation for being grimy, the equipment was in excellent condition. The oil had been changed regularly, and outdated parts had been upgraded and replaced as needed—I could clearly see how much care the owner put into maintaining it.
This Underground Tomb was well-loved. After making some additional adjustments and creating rotating ice chunks in the cooling chamber, I headed to the Engine Room. When I started it up, the motor roared to life with a satisfying purr.
“But if it goes on automatic, it’ll take over a day. Wouldn’t it be better if you all just went back up?”
“If you’re lying again, Starving Child, we can’t go.”
“I-I agree.”
“Wouldn’t manual driving be faster?”
“Hmph.”
Cha Cha had been thoroughly branded a liar. Besides, I was eager to drive faster myself, which is why I’d come back from doing additional maintenance. With the cooling system upgraded, it should be fine.
Probably.
I shifted into first gear and pressed the clutch and accelerator. Once the Underground Tomb started moving sluggishly, I rapidly shifted through second, third, fourth, and fifth gears in quick succession. Those watching my flashy gear-shifting technique muttered that something seemed wrong.
“Hey, I don’t know much about machines, but what’s the point of waving that stick around?”
“It’s called a transmission—as the numbers go up, the vehicle’s speed increases!”
“Can you really shift like that so suddenly?”
“No way, you can’t!”
“Then isn’t that not working?”
“….”
Right. Normally, you shouldn’t shift gears like that recklessly. It could endanger the passengers with sudden acceleration.
As expected, the Underground Tomb’s speed increased abruptly and it nearly crashed into the cave wall. The Engine Room made loud banging sounds, and the humans inside were thrown backward.
“Legendary Frost Shatter! Drill Mode!”
Forget the path—if I just drill straight through the ground, we’ll get there in no time! As I unveiled my miraculous logic, Reina screamed in exasperation.
“This lunatic was pretending to be calm the whole time, just waiting to pull something crazy!”
“Evan! What are you doing! What are you doing to our home!”
“Overclock!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
When I mentioned that I’d removed the speed limiter from the Underground Tomb—which had been driven carefully for 10,000 years—Cha Cha screamed and rushed into the Engine Room, only to emerge with an even louder shriek.
“It’s incredibly hot in there! Evan, what did you do!”
“Overclock!”
“You just said that a moment ago!”
As I pressed the accelerator and pushed the speed even higher, Cha Cha came out of the driver’s seat with tears streaming down his face and grabbed me. But I didn’t budge an inch.
“Wahhh! Why is this person so strong! My home is falling apart!”
The Underground Tomb won’t fall apart. I’m protecting the outer walls with magic, and my friends—now accustomed to the speed—are securing the interior furnishings. A driver must always be aware of their surroundings through the rearview and side mirrors. I’m currently aware of everything and driving safely, so there’s nothing to worry about.
While Cha Cha wailed, Apet, having regained his composure, sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt securely. Then, with a look of exasperation, he said something to Cha Cha.
“Our ex-wife hasn’t been like this for just a day or two. If you’re surprised by something like this, you won’t be able to live together, you little one.”
“Why are you two acting like a married couple who’s seen it all since earlier! You said your marriage only lasted a day!”
“Even if we only lived together for a single day, there exist bonds in this world where it feels like a hundred years of facing each other.”
“That’s right.”
I’d found Apet oddly familiar from the moment we first met, too. Seems like we’re on the same wavelength. When I said this and laughed with a hearty “wahaha,” Apet also chuckled in agreement, saying I was right.
“You lunatics, aaahhh! You’re all insane!”
Cha Cha spiraled into panic, tearing at his hair, but Apet calmly adjusted our direction while checking the navigation. The sound of the Underground Tomb drilling through earth was violent—*crack-crack-crack-boom*—but we were heading the right way. The old man must have been riding in a car for the first time, yet he knew exactly how a passenger should conduct themselves.
“Goodness, don’t you have any music in here?”
“Makina said he’d pass along a Dekarucha album.”
“Children! Bring me the record!”
The old man had everyone running errands—they brought records and snacks. Only Apet, Kanna, and I could eat and drink Underworld food, but regardless, we made swift progress toward Sungkuk Kingdom while listening to a love song by me and Seian. The engine overheated once we arrived, causing Cha Cha to cry again, but I had to accept it as karmic retribution for everything he’d put me through. Dwelling on resentment would only bring stress and sleeplessness.
I had to accept it as karmic retribution for everything he’d put me through. Dwelling on resentment would only bring stress and sleeplessness.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way. I feel like there was something important I needed to deliver. But if I’ve forgotten it, it probably wasn’t that important anyway.”
“You’re mean, Evan! You’re mean!”
Cha Cha called me mean even as he asked when we’d see each other again. I promised to call frequently this time and said we’d meet again depending on circumstances, then slowly squeezed through the gap in the barrier. I’d thought the opening Cha Cha had used would be tiny, but by pushing my body through and wriggling, I managed to get out. Had the gap somehow grown larger in the meantime?
“Since I’m already nearby, should I go see the Sung King and the Starving Child?”
“We’re going to the Academy. If the old man gets caught, there’s no one to rescue him.”
“Excellent point! I should go straight with you all!”
A wise decision. We took turns carrying Apet on our backs as we ran, arriving at the Capital before sunset. Only as we entered the Dormitory did I remember—I’d never told Cha Cha about the intention to turn Humanity into the Demon Race and destroy them.

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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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