Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 300

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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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Caesar was a gorilla with decent fashion sense and an unexpectedly handsome face, so I’d been observing him with interest. Hubert had apparently already concluded negotiations, gesturing for me to follow. When Caesar proposed visiting some gorilla settlement to establish friendly relations, a few couples raised their hands, and he selected one pair to guide us to a quiet location.
“Friendly greetings, friendly greetings indeed.”
“They say it’s Augustus and Claudia who graciously permitted us to use the map.”
“Thank you, Augustus and Claudia. I’ll learn much from this.”
As I expressed my gratitude, both of them gave me a thumbs up as if it were no great favor at all.
The instruction took less than twenty minutes, and we expressed our thanks to Caesar on behalf of everyone, promising to send a gift next time.
Cha Cha, who had remained silent all the way back to the upper level, only turned pale once he confirmed that only Gerth, Hubert, and I were nearby.
“That’s gross. I don’t want to do it.”
Perhaps the stimulus had been too intense for Cha Cha. I’d thought direct education would be better than beating around the bush, but it seemed I’d only cultivated resistance instead. There was nothing for it then—I’d have to wait for Cha Cha to mature.
“You’ll enjoy it once you actually try.”
“No! I don’t want to do gross things with Evan!”
Though I’d decided to wait for Cha Cha, how could anyone live on reason alone? I still harbored hopes and attempted to coax him, but Cha Cha remained obstinate.
“Evan, that’s enough. The Underworld King dislikes it, doesn’t he?”
The Serpent King pretends to be concerned for the Underworld King’s sake, but I can see him smiling. Unable to give up, I decided to spend the night in the Underworld today. Cha Cha was thrilled, but Gerth seemed displeased, crossing his arms and speaking in a threatening tone.
“Evan. If you proceed like this, I’ll be upset.”
“Hmm….”
I couldn’t let Gerth’s feelings be hurt just for my sake. And if Gerth became upset, there was no telling what might happen. I approached the matter with trepidation.
“What will happen to me if Gerth becomes upset?”
“I’ll season your rice with soy sauce alone for a week.”
“If it’s rice made by Gerth, I could eat it deliciously even if it were mixed with plain water!”
Gerth’s cooking was that exceptional. As I proclaimed this proudly, Gerth laughed helplessly.
“If you’re good, I’ll even cook you eggs.”
Gerth is the best! I love you! Overcome with fervent affection, I dove straight at him, and Gerth caught me in a reverse Lion King hold, spinning me around in circles. Hubert, unable to bear the sight any longer, returned to finish his threshing.
“Wait, so Evan’s staying the night in the Underworld today?”
“That’s right.”
“I need to ask Mother for a travel pass!”
True enough—I couldn’t afford to mismanage time again and breach the barrier. Repairing that would drain all my mana.
When Cha Cha made a direct request to the Mother Goddess, a status window appeared with a cheerful ping, and a free pass to the Underworld was added to my status. Having a mother-in-law who’s a goddess is incredibly convenient and wonderful.
“Come on, let’s go! Evan!”
“Where’s the nearest entrance?”
“Wait a moment, let me pull up the navigation for you.”
Cha Cha pulled out something resembling a dragon detector from his luggage and showed it to me. Given this terrain, it must be near Academy Lake. So the Stalactite Cave there also connected directly to the Underworld.
“Then I’ll be going!”
“Don’t forget you have a lecture tomorrow.”
“Eek!”
Right, I was in the middle of the semester. Still, I didn’t need to raise my grades and could manage my studies leisurely, so I could always extend through the full fifth year if needed.
Thinking optimistically, I flew to the Academy and found the well inside the Stalactite Cave. As I descended with a whoosh, the futuristic city I’d glimpsed before spread out before me.

“Evan! Come quickly! I really wanted to show you my country!”
Cha Cha’s residence appeared to repurpose the Underworld King’s sluggishly moving underground tomb as-is. After unpacking at an enormous mobile structure situated on the city’s outskirts, Cha Cha ventured into the brightly lit town center—a place that never slept—and boarded the magnetic levitation train. The Underworld’s residents seemed indifferent to everything except their own lives; even when the Underworld King boarded, no one paid attention.
“I survived thanks to you, Evan! When I showed them something scary that one time, everyone became well-behaved and listened so well!”
They weren’t truly indifferent—they were simply pretending not to see. When I brought up the story of how I’d subdued those who were fighting over the underground territories, the passengers on the train flinched simultaneously.
“Let’s go eat the most popular dish in the Underworld these days!”
“So restaurants have opened here. What’s the most popular dish?”
“Trilobite tempura!”
Trilobites were edible? My expression soured at the very thought of their appearance, so Cha Cha tried to reassure me.
“It’s really delicious! Even better than crab or lobster!”
Well, judging by their appearance, I could see how they’d taste that way. Cicadas taste like shrimp, so trilobites could certainly taste like crayfish.
Cha Cha and I gazed out the train window, then disembarked and stood before a shop with an extraordinarily long queue. I was about to join the line when Cha Cha puffed out their chest proudly and shouted.
“Make way!”
Hisses erupted from all directions. These people were clearly holding back their resentment, afraid Cha Cha might become troublesome. I was genuinely concerned whether we’d receive proper service after cutting in like this.
“One regular tempura and one spicy tempura!”
This fellow had ordered the spicy version separately, thinking of me. I gazed around the familiar interior and felt a sense of warmth. While the outside was a futuristic city, the inside was relatively modern. It was far more primitive than the era I’d lived in, but still far more advanced than the Surface World.
There’s even a water purifier, and though there’s only one channel, the television is broadcasting. If I ask Makina to create a device that picks up the Underworld Broadcasting Station’s signal, could I watch television too?
“You’ve developed this place quite far on your own.”
“Hehe, it’s not all my doing alone. Strangely, there are many intelligent people among those who came to the Underworld.”
That’s right. I’ve heard many famous names, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Nikola Tesla or Ada Lovelace were here.
“Wow, even the regular spice level is quite peppery.”
We chatted comfortably while eating the trilobite tempura we’d ordered. Even with the most brilliant geniuses, there had to be a secret to manufacturing mass-produced goods like this, so I first asked about the source of the disposable gloves on my hands.
“How did you manufacture the vinyl gloves? Can you already produce plastic goods?”
“Oh, those? They’re made from cornstarch.”
Eco-friendly!
As the first new humanity created from Old Humanity’s genes, did Cha Cha have a special mindset about environmental protection? When I asked if there was a particular reason for using cornstarch, Cha Cha answered as if it were nothing special.
“Well, corn grows in huge quantities, and it’s not just corn—there are many crops that come from the earth, so we just found ways to use them.”
“Crops grow in huge quantities?”
Just as the Underworld’s animals regenerate and come back to life after a day passes, do crops also regenerate? If so, that makes sense, I said, but Cha Cha shook their head.
“We farm normally.”
“Underground?”
“Sunlight isn’t necessarily required.”
“That’s true, but constantly moving to different lands to farm would be tedious.”
Gerth takes great interest in farming, and in my territory of Ilram, Gram is thriving in Seo Ilram, which is an agricultural region, so I kept bringing up farming topics.
When I mentioned fallow periods, the most common farming method on the Surface World, Cha Cha looked at me strangely and spoke as if saying, “If there’s no bread, eat cake.”
“If you use fertilizer, you can keep farming in the same place, right?”
“Are you using natural fertilizer like Gerth does?”
“Ch-chemical fertilizer… we use chemical fertilizer…”
Cha Cha shrank back, sensing my profound disapproval. I experienced tremendous culture shock.
“You use chemical fertilizer?”
“Yes….”
“Nitrogen-based chemical fertilizer?”
“That’s right…?”
“How?”
“By utilizing electrochemical reduction reactions of nitrogen…?”
Well, I didn’t fully understand the specifics, but I knew one thing for certain—being in Ilram Kingdom right now was an absolute jackpot opportunity.
I sucked on a trilobite shell, peeled off my cornstarch gloves, and immediately threw myself into a handstand to bow to Cha Cha.
“Sell that fertilizer to my country!”
“Whoa! Evan! Stop that! The people are watching!”
“What does it matter what others think when I’m showing respect to Cha Cha!”
“That’s not the issue—your underwear is showing!”
Oh right, it was my school uniform skirt. I stopped bowing and sat back down in my chair. With just that fertilizer, Ilram Kingdom could monopolize the agricultural markets of the Crowell Empire and neighboring nations, not to mention help Eugene.
“I’m asking you seriously now. Sell that fertilizer to my country. I’ll pay fairly, of course.”
“Hmm, if I sell it, what will you do for me?”
“I was planning to force you into practical training tonight for that disgusting thing you mentioned, but I’ll cancel it.”
“Ugh….”
I promised Cha Cha I’d wait a hundred years, two hundred years—however long it took until he was mentally prepared. The moment I made that pledge, Cha Cha jumped up and insisted we write a contract right then and there.
“Let’s pack up the food and go home to write a proper contract. Mother always said it’s important to document these matters in writing.”
Ha, of course. I’m not the type to joke around with important contracts like some street swindler.

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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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