Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 4

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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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I’m in agony. After nearly an hour of the procedure, my face is swollen and blotchy red all over, but once the puffiness subsides, I’ll have adorable freckles that I’m quite pleased with. On top of that, I washed my hair with blue shampoo—the kind that leaves a subtle blue tint when you use it—put on a pair of unfashionable glasses, and braided my hair into two pigtails in the most gauche way possible. And just like that, I’ve become the quintessential countryside girl.
For the record, I specifically chose the blue shampoo because my mother Eleanor has deep blue hair. This way, we’ll look even more like mother and daughter.
“Miss, you’re absolutely the best at looking like a country bumpkin!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Of all the young ladies I’ve seen, you’re the most rustic! You practically smell like chicken droppings!”
Hmm… Mother, let’s not take this any further. I think my feelings are about to get hurt.
I applied the healing salve the Emperor gave me to my back and dabbed it all over my face as well. Seeing how much my back wound had improved in just a day, it seemed to be remarkably effective medicine, so I figured the swelling on my face would go down quickly too.
“Mother, tell me about your hometown. What kind of countryside village is it?”
“Hehe, it used to be just a tiny hamlet with barely a few dozen houses, but it’s been developed quite a bit these days.”
Hahaha, it’s still a backwater village no matter what. I covered my mouth delicately with my hand and laughed in an affected manner, and Mother clenched her fist, deciding not to argue with me any further.
Growing up getting beaten by Mother and struck on the back, it’s remarkable that despite being called Duke Neftis’s mad dog, I’ve turned out so well-mannered and upright.
Most importantly, I didn’t take Seian Crown Prince’s words about doing whatever I want with my body at face value. Instead, I maintained a certain restraint and consideration, stepping back from the line.
I’m truly proud of myself. That was such a mature attitude. Anyway, I’m the best.
Sigh… I miss him. Seian Crown Prince. Will I ever get a chance to see him in my lifetime? If I enter the academy, there’s at least a possibility. The Third Princess and Seian Crown Prince are the same age, and they both enrolled in the academy.
“Hmm…”
I really need to go to the academy. If I don’t get in, I might as well die, but I want to see Seian Crown Prince from afar at least. Setting aside the matter of money, for a commoner to enter the Imperial Crowell Academy, you need to be exceptionally intelligent, an excellent fighter, or possess magical skills… those are the only ways.
The only option I can attempt is enrolling in the Magic Department. Since I’m not smart, that’s the only path available to me.
“Mother, what’s the name of your hometown?”
“It’s the port city of Ilam. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it, Miss.”
Haha, does Mother really think I’m that ignorant? That place is near the Beast King’s Tower—
Beast King
the city where Titi, a sparrow beastkin, got caught in a trap and sold to the Black Market in Chapter 123. By the way, Titi comes from a “beastkin village friendly to humans,” and the bear beastkin Menhil, one of the main characters, goes to the Capital to find Titi and becomes the connecting link that joins him with the Princess’s party.
Speaking of the bear beastkin Menhil, he was an absolute powerhouse as a supporting character for the main couple. Of course, the Princess and all her bird-like companions were equally overpowered.
Reina Letem, who wielded Ultra Rare-grade inferno magic; Apet, born with the passive Saint skill, whose healing abilities were so extreme that she could drag people back from the brink of death; and Menhil, a bear beastkin friendly to humans and considered the strongest among his kind.
These were the heroes who defeated two Demon Kings. Even after Seian died, they must have continued their hellish march to crush the remaining Demon Kings. I wanted to see the ending. I really did. Not seeing the conclusion was my eternal regret. Where else could I possibly find a novel that suited my tastes so perfectly? The author’s writing was terrible, but the genius was undeniable.
In any case, the sparrow beastkin Titi fulfilled her noble mission of strengthening the bonds between the protagonist’s party and helping the bear beastkin Menhil awaken his rage, and died in Chapter 301.
This damned book taught me never to grow attached to characters easily. Because there’s a high probability they’ll die. The empire is vast, and everyone eventually dies. That was the motto posted on our café’s notice board, and everyone just prayed that their favorite characters would at least die gracefully.
I wouldn’t have felt so wronged if Seian had died fighting somewhere or fallen victim to some conspiracy. But he caught some mysterious plague and died from pneumonia complications in the end—I absolutely lost it.
I have zero regrets about dragging an excavator to the author’s house in the middle of the night to demolish it. If things were going to turn out this way, I should have destroyed that devil’s house from the start.
“Ah, so it’s been developed recently. Isn’t that near the Beast King’s Tower?”
“Yes. The Beast King’s domain has expanded, so now they can even mine magic stones near Ilam.”
Right. Villages grow because there’s money to be made. The domain of magical beasts centered around the Beast King’s Tower has expanded, and the land where magic stones can be mined has grown as well. Unlike humans, magical beasts are creatures of mana. Simply by existing there, they make the surrounding environment ideal for magic stones to grow.
“Magic stones, huh…”
“Miss, don’t get any strange ideas.”
“Okay…”
“No good, you’re already thinking something strange.”
Mother knows me too well. Why does she even bother asking?
Titi had gone out and gotten caught in a trap at a location near human settlements but with few monsters. That settlement was likely Ilam, my mother’s hometown. There were only a handful of villages where people could live near the Beast King’s territory. While searching for Titi, I could harvest magic stones as a bonus and sell them at fair prices through the Adventurer’s Guild.
It’s a survival strategy I couldn’t use when I had no status, but thanks to my mother, I now have a path forward—I had to make the most of it. Besides, the idea of rescuing Titi before she was sold to the Black Market wasn’t driven by sympathy alone.
On the first day my consciousness merged with this body, I remembered that notification precisely.

The plot has changed slightly. Granting 1,000 experience points.

It’s confirmed that I’ve entered the world of “Twilight’s Repentance.” I know the story’s progression up until Seian Crown Prince’s death, and that notification message said I’d receive bonus experience points whenever I change the plot’s direction.
Then I had to change the plot drastically. That was the only way to survive. I could level up and gain experience through regular training and consuming refined monster cores, but if an easier, faster, more convenient path existed, it was natural to take it.
I could gain experience just by changing the plot, and use those points to swap the Freezing skill for ice magic. Then earn money to pay for the academy’s tuition. That was my immediate goal.
Once I’d set my goal, moving forward was better than overthinking. Opportunities open up when you take action.
If you have work to do, don’t think—just start. Those were the grateful words of the site manager who hired me despite ignoring child labor laws.
“Mother.”
“Yes, miss.”
“Let’s go buy a pickaxe.”
“I knew you’d say that.”
Mother wore the same expression as when I was a child and insisted we needed to buy a young drake. For the record, after raising it for about a year, it destroyed its cage, escaped, killed twenty villagers by biting them, and was hunted down by the Capital’s guards.
I remember getting beaten bloody by Duke Neftis that time. Children make mistakes with animals—what’s the big deal?

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After sleeping rough and resting in villages along the way, Mother and I arrived at our destination in a week. Ilam was more developed than Mother expected and far larger than I’d imagined. Despite being called a complete backwater, the population appeared to exceed ten thousand. The advantage of being able to mine magic stones and transport them directly by sea seemed to have grown the town this much.
As Mother had said, the house left behind by her older sister was empty, located on the outskirts slightly away from Ilam’s center, and covered in dust from years of disuse. It was full of furniture too worn to use.
On our first day, we couldn’t even unpack properly before we had to clean. Mother and I went around introducing ourselves to the neighbors. To survive in the countryside, connections with those around you are crucial. Mother understood this and sought out the elderly who’d lived in Ilam since old times, giving them modest gifts.
Between Mother’s money and my jewelry, the budget would be tight after fixing the house and buying furniture and tools, but earning the goodwill and protection of the village leaders was important. Especially with just two women living alone in such an isolated house.
Because of this, there were those who viewed our sudden arrival in Ilam after fleeing the Capital unfavorably.
“Seeing her come back with just one brat in tow, she must’ve caused some trouble in the Capital, huh? Living in that dilapidated house, she’ll probably die screaming!”
I was about to throw whatever I could grab at him when Mother stopped me, saying he’d always been like that and I should bear with it.
That bearded man, drunk and laughing about how he wouldn’t care if two women living alone suffered something terrible—I swore I’d repay him properly. I made that vow to myself.

While Mother slept, I picked up my pickaxe and went to find that man’s house, the one I’d met that morning. I planned to handle it without Mother knowing. The Bearded Middle-aged Man’s house was close to ours. Since he spouted such nonsense all the time, he’d be the first to retaliate anyway. I couldn’t let anyone threatening my peace and Mother’s peace go unpunished.
Mitchell had killed people before, and I’d beaten someone. As the complete merged entity, this meant I could beat someone to death. I’d smash his head with this and freeze him, then dump him in the sea.
As I carefully approached the back of his house with that thought, I heard cursing through an open window.
“Damn it! If you’re going to live, at least find a decent house in town! With that woman’s personality, you definitely got backstabbed somewhere and came home broke!”
The man was frantically shoving household items and preserved food into some kind of sack. I gripped the pickaxe tightly and crouched down, using it as a support.
After watching for a while, the man cursed and left the house, threw the sack in front of our place, then huffed back to his own house.
“….”
He was just a normal tsundere.
I’d almost caused unnecessary trouble. Internally apologizing, I returned home and lay down sideways next to Mother. My back still hurt too much to lie straight.

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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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