Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 43

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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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The contract has been renewed. Death upon Reina Letem’s death. D-1.

That bastard probably wouldn’t die even if I killed them. But seeing them show up with the Third Princess makes me think this asshole abandoned me in a pile of assignments and went off to play with Sera? Well, let them suffer for once. I’m going to grab some late-night snacks with Kanna instead.

The contract has been renewed. Death upon Seian Crowell’s death. D-1.

“….”
Is this bastard messing with me? This isn’t even a test of nerve—what kind of game is this? And why is Seian mixed up with that group anyway? Given Seian’s personality, I wouldn’t expect them to go out alone. Sera must have seduced them, right?
Could it be because of me? Did I end up playing matchmaker between Princess Sera and Seian, turning them into the kind of pair that goes to the Crown Night Market together?
I grumbled endlessly about my rising frustrations, but my body honestly went about arming itself with a harpoon and a gun. My revolver holster was packed with six bullets and one spare round. If I walked around the Market with a harpoon in hand, I’d probably get arrested by the guards before I even found any suspicious characters, so I wrapped cloth around the blade portion.
Once I finished preparing to leave, I headed toward the Academy’s main gate and mentioned I’d be going into Town Center for a bit.
“Student, what time do you think it is? The regular ferry has already stopped running.”
I know that too. That’s probably why Reina abandoned me and left in such a hurry. They must have planned to spend the night outside and return to school tomorrow morning.
“I’ll rent a rowboat.”
“Are you really going to row it? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for the morning ferry?”
It’s fine. I have something—a family heirloom that came to me by chance.
I sat in the rowboat, balanced myself, and turned the ring backward on my finger. Then I plunged my hand into the water and opened the gate. Seawater bubbled up, and the rowboat made a roaring sound as it shot across the Lake like a motorboat.
“Oh my, you’ll cough up blood at this rate.”
“Don’t worry about it, old timer.”
The uncles’ concern was appreciated, but since I was using an artifact, there was no risk of coughing up blood. I arrived at the dock at nearly the same speed as the regular ferry and bounded off toward the Night Market.
“….”
Crownpolis, boasting a population of five million, had already become a city that never sleeps, but the Crown Night Market, being a tourist destination, felt even brighter as it drew in crowds. And truly.
There’s nothing special here, but there are so many people!
What is this—there aren’t even this many people at Myeongdong! I’m getting dizzy! All there is are food tents and street shops, so why are there so many people? Why!
“Hey there, pretty girl! Come try this!”
“I’ll take it!”
This is direct-flame skewered meat! I’ve been dying to eat this! What kind of magic does every protagonist possess that they all end up eating this?
“How much?”
“Five thousand Crown per skewer!”
“That’s a ripoff. I’ll find another shop.”
“Tch. One thousand Crown.”
Overcharging tourists is the same everywhere. If the price were fair, I’d let myself be fooled, but not five times the actual cost. Since I’d worked part-time at a Market before, I knew the going rate for most goods. I handed over a one-thousand Crown note and grabbed the skewer.
“What kind of meat is this?”
“….”
“What kind of meat is it?”
“Oh, handsome young man over there! Come try this!”
What the hell kind of meat is this!
I hesitated for a moment, then sniffed at it cautiously. Since the smell wasn’t particularly unpleasant, I opened my mouth and took a bite. The taste was….
“Hmm….”
Just ordinary. The spices didn’t seem particularly special either. It was simply adequately salted…, frog meat.
Right, this was frog meat. Similar to chicken, but with a slightly fishier smell that confirmed it was definitely frog. So they hid what kind of meat it was, only for it to turn out to be frog meat. How disappointing.
“Hey, beautiful young lady! Try this!”
At the word “beautiful,” I reflexively turned my head, and there awaited a deep-fried starfish. Hmm…, I’d actually wanted to try that once.
“Give me one.”
“Yes, three thousand Crown!”
“Do you want to die?”
“Tch, five hundred Crown.”
These were discarded seafood picked up and fried, yet three thousand Crown? I took a bite of the starfish and discovered it tasted like fried sponge. After that, I wandered through the Crown Night Market, sampling various unfamiliar foods and thoroughly enjoying the sightseeing, before I suddenly remembered the real reason I’d come to this place.
“Oh right, Seian!”
I finished eating all the skewers I held between my fingers on both hands and headed toward the tallest Spire. If I looked from above and went roughly to where the fighting was, the Third Princess’s group should be there. If not, there was nothing I could do about it anyway. I’d have to conduct an investigation through someone I knew at the Market.
“Is it over there?”
Not far away, people had gathered in a circle around something. Seeing several people at the center, it was almost certainly a fight being watched. When I pushed my superhuman skill to its limit to enhance my vision, I could roughly make out one side in a victim’s posture and the other in a thug’s posture.
The one picking a fight, and the one being picked on. Where I needed to land was clear.
I jumped over the railing of the Spire and used a harpoon as a springboard to leap far. Whoosh, the sound of wind grazed my ears. Enjoying the sensation of falling, I headed toward the ground and cast magic toward an empty space.
“Skill. Ice Throw.”
The recoil from the Ice Throw spell slowed my falling speed, and I spun in midair before using the skill once more to land on the ground. Dust scattered everywhere, but I didn’t have a single injury. It felt good that my body moved freely as I thought. Magic was nice, but superhuman skills were the best.
“P-please save me!”
As the dust settled, I heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice behind me. She seemed to think she was wearing ordinary clothes, but the fabric clearly showed quality, and her hair and skin care were maintained so perfectly that she looked every bit the noblewoman. She clung to me with tears glistening in her eyes.
So this was the one I’d seen earlier, the one getting bullied. And the other side was….
“Hey, you woman! Our Sunbird got hurt—how are you going to pay for it!”
“N-no, I…, Princess Sera, I….”
“Look at this! Your clothes got all torn when you fell! You know how expensive Academy uniforms are, don’t you!”
Princess Sera and Reina Letem were chewing gum and harassing her delinquently.
“Hmm….”
My landing direction had been a mistake. Should I switch sides to the Princess now? The noblewoman in commoner’s disguise didn’t matter to me either way, so I was about to turn around when the woman emphasized what she’d said before and shoved something into my pocket.
“Please save me!”
It was a bundle of bills. I wanted to ask what teenager walks around at night carrying this much cash, but now that I’d received money, the woman was my client. Teenagers do sometimes end up carrying around a million Crown in cash late at night, after all.
“Don’t bother innocent people. Go back to school, you thugs.”
“Evan! Isn’t your shift in position a bit too fast just because you took money!”
“No! It’s fine, Your Highness! This actually works out perfectly!”
Yeah, now you’ve got a reason to fight me—you must be thrilled, you gorilla. I countered Reina’s flames with ice and swung my harpoon. When I didn’t hold back and swung my blade around, causing fine lines of blood to rise on Reina’s face, Sunbird let out a scream and uttered a self-conscious remark.
“P-please don’t fight because of me!”
I’d thought he was ordinary, but you’re still a punk if you can run with the Princess’s group. I made it clear that I wasn’t fighting because of you. Since I’d been paid for this job, I was fighting for the money, not because of Sunbird—I drove the point home, and the man seemed slightly shocked.
“W-wait, Evan! Isn’t that a bit harsh! Since my Sunbird was injured and Miss Reina Letem stepped in, one could say this is ultimately a fight for Sunbird’s sake!”
“No, Your Highness! I just wanted to fight with Evan anyway!”
The way you play dumb while subtly needling Sunbird—you must have been annoying normally. You really do use your image well. Is it because you entered the political arena early as the Letem heir?
“Wait.”
Something felt off. I realized the most crucial person was missing from this group, and I paused the commotion for a moment. Then I spoke the important person’s name aloud with genuine concern.
“Where is Seian Crowell?”
“Huh? The Transparent Prince is right—”
Reina Letem turned around abruptly, confirmed that Seian Crowell wasn’t there, and stared at me with wide eyes. It seemed they’d grown quite close during my absence. The cute nickname she’d given him was proof of that.
“Oh no! Where did the Transparent Prince go?!”
That’s what I wanted to know. But just how close have they become? Closer than with me? Reina, if you flirt with Seian Crowell, I’ll kill you.
“Your Highness! Something terrible has happened—the Transparent Prince has vanished!”
“What?! That bastard Seian Crowell has no presence anyway, so I didn’t notice!”
No presence? Seian Crowell is the most beautiful person in the world. He’s at least eleven billion two hundred million times more beautiful than that Sunbird clinging to the Third Princess.
These fools were only making a fuss about Seian Crowell’s disappearance, so I decided to take action myself. Just as I was about to stand up, the woman who’d paid me a million crowns grabbed my arm firmly and widened her eyes.
“How can you take payment and act like this? I’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”
What nonsense was this? As I tried to find someone to translate this animal language, the surprisingly perceptive Third Princess pulled Reina Letem and me together and whispered.
“That young lady is right, Evan. If a Noble Young Lady and a young man encounter ruffians at the Night Market while dressed as commoners—that’s not just a fantasy scenario, it’s a debutante disaster. We can’t ruin her coming-of-age ball.”
“Oh right, I think I’ve heard about that from my Mother too. Apparently, getting into a scuffle while dressed as a commoner is like winning the lottery in high society—it’s the stuff of legendary tales.”
The fact that they knew they’d been playing the role of ruffians made the whole thing utterly ridiculous. I wanted to ignore it, but the memories of Mitchell stirring within me screamed that I couldn’t crush a Noble Young Lady’s expectations.

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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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