Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 54

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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 slurped down the cold noodle broth mixed with raw fish, then extended my hand to Gerth. He stared at my palm for a long moment before his expression brightened with recognition, and he grasped it firmly with evident pride.”I know what this is. It’s called a handshake.”
“I know. This is a handshake.”
“I’m glad you do.”
“And Hubert—you get a stomachache whenever you eat thin noodles.”
So he can’t digest wheat flour? At Gerth’s observation, I added my own comment, and the white fox man set down his chopsticks with a pouty expression. Ah, so he can’t eat it, not that he dislikes it. This must be what parents feel when they forbid their children from eating instant noodles.
“You old fool. You’re holding our young lady’s hand for far too long.”
“Is that not acceptable?”
“Usually it isn’t.”
“I’ve learned something valuable. Thank you.”
At Gerth’s gratitude, Mother’s expression softened into acceptance. Right, good thinking, Mother—I’ll just have to get used to the Serpent King’s manner of speaking. Overthinking it only brings stress, as that famous saying goes.
Mother ate a few slices of the sashimi Gerth had prepared, then summoned the tiger man Magania and demanded he bring alcohol, behaving quite tyrannically. Does Mother plan to drink tonight and suffer tomorrow? Even with the bean sprout soup remaining, there’s no need to go through the trouble of drinking it away.
When I mocked Mother’s foolishness, Gerth too expressed bewilderment at why she would invite such hardship, and went to prepare appetizers. The squid stir-fry Gerth brought back was inexplicably delicious, so Mother, exasperated, began pouring alcohol directly into Thomas’s mouth and urged him to drink along with her.

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The next morning, Mother, Thomas, and Magania were passed out from drinking, so I had to go out on the fishing expedition in Thomas’s place and serve as acting captain. The crew handled the steering anyway, and I used my Premonition skill to roughly pinpoint where the squid would be, allowing me to return having accomplished something resembling a captain’s duties.
Upon arriving at the Harbor, I waited until the Blacksmith Shop opened, then went to meet the Village Chief. When I broached the subject of needing to step down from his position to explain my business, he nearly poured molten metal on me, so I had to spend considerable time fleeing.
“Huh? You want to become Village Chief?”
“I do.”
“You rotten bastard, this job’s neither fun nor profitable.”
“Mother told me so.”
“The more I look at you, the more you seem like a madman.”
But I wanted to ease Gerth’s burden while conveniently making my own commute to the Academy easier. When I explained my grand plan and mentioned that I could secure cooperation from the Third Princess and Gerth the Serpent King, the Blacksmith’s face twisted into a grotesque expression as he questioned me.
“Hey. How do you know the Serpent King and Her Highness the Princess?”
“It just happened that way.”
“And you can even conduct business with them?”
“It just ended up that way.”
“Are you really a bastard born of bastards?”
The Blacksmith gripped his enormous hammer like a walking stick and pondered for a while. Then he spoke with reluctant resignation.
“If a railway station gets built, that’d be good for us. Bring me consent forms from one thousand residents registered in Ilam, and I’ll hand over the position.”
“Understood. I’ll bring them within a short time.”
“Hey, take it slow. You’ll ruin your health. You haven’t even recovered from your travels, and your house caught fire. Being too diligent will make you sick.”
“My physical condition is fine. I think it would be more constructive to look after your aging body than mine.”
“Even when you’re worried about me, you’re insufferable!”
The Blacksmith tried to spray molten metal again, so I bolted straight for the Plaza. At least I now knew how to become Village Chief. To gather consent forms from a thousand villagers, distributing flyers explaining my vision would be the best approach.
Writing by hand would take too much time… and now that I think about it, weren’t there pamphlets in the entrance of Beast King’s Tower? The lettering looked uniform, as if mass-printed—how were those made?
“Oh my, was there a plan to bring in such a large ship?”
“Some rich nobleman playing around, I suppose. Leave him be.”
“But if we leave him, the dock’s going to get destroyed!”
What? The dock destroyed? That would be a disaster!
At the commotion from the villagers, I turned toward the harbor to see a luxury cruise ship that made the Titanic look modest sailing into Ilram Port. Was the captain insane? A ship that size couldn’t dock at Ilram’s harbor. Both the vessel and the dock would be destroyed.
“I’ll go handle it.”
“Oh, Evan, thank goodness you’re willing to help!”
“Be careful, Evan! Those people look completely unhinged!”
They certainly seemed unhinged. The way they refused to slow down despite being so close was proof enough.
I gripped the harpoon tightly and rushed to the dock, shouting for them to stop, but the ship showed no signs of slowing, and instead, something peculiar caught my eye.
Standing at the bow with an elegant parasol was a noblewoman. Dressed in a dark gown, she possessed the most beautiful face I’d ever seen in this world, her long silver hair flowing like silk as she looked down at me coldly, her expression twisting into a scowl.
The moment I recognized her as Duchess Neftis, I could only mouth a curse thirty-three times before bolting like a madwoman.
“You weren’t dead?”
You wish I were dead, you insane woman?!
Instead of answering, I cursed three more times and tumbled across the ground. I’d been careful watching where I stepped, but something like a stone suddenly jutted up. It had to be her magic.
“If you’re alive, there must be a reason.”
The woman conjured transparent crystals that rose from the sea, and she bounded down them with elegant hops toward where I stood. The sight of her flying through the air with parasol in hand was pure Mary Poppins.
“You’re still weak.”
“Aaah!”
Don’t test my weakness by hitting me!
As sharp crystals erupted from the ground, a burning sensation shot through my shoulder. I’d been pierced. My arm wouldn’t obey me, and blood streamed down without stopping.
“Ugh! Aaah!”
“Quiet.”
If you don’t want to hear it, stop hitting me, you lunatic!
Using ice projectiles, I shattered the crystal and barely managed to get to my feet. My shoulder was still impaled, blood pouring out and the pain was excruciating, but I could move my legs enough to escape.
“Did Philat lie to me? How dare he?”
Now my legs. Crystals erupting from the ground pierced my thigh, leaving me immobilized. Thinking I might at least put up some resistance, I used an ice projectile skill toward Duchess Neftis, but she dismissed it as pathetic, casually flicking away the ice spike with her hand before kicking me.
“Aaah!”
“Weak. Irritating. A failure. Already past adulthood too.”
Past adulthood? I’m still a minor, you insane woman! A strong premonition told me I needed to clarify this, so despite the searing pain as my thigh tore open, I gasped out the words.
“I’m not an adult. I’m still a minor.”
“Is that so? Not yet fully grown?”
“Two more years.”
Under Crowell Imperial law, adulthood is defined as twenty years old! When I emphasized this, the woman’s expression shifted, and she dispelled her magic, the crystals vanishing.
“Nothing will change, but I suppose I can wait a bit longer.”
With that, she used magic as gracefully as before to bound back onto the ship.
Damn it, my luck today is absolutely wretched. What brought that woman to this backwater village anyway?
“Evan! Are you alright?!”
Obviously not, can’t you see?
A few villagers who’d been cowering in fear of my biological mother, along with the Blacksmith, burst from the bushes. The Blacksmith had a serious expression and was holding a few branches in both hands as camouflage while lying on the ground, which somehow made it even more ridiculous.
“Get it together, man! You’re bleeding heavily! Someone call a doctor!”
“…Squawk.”
“You crazy bastard, you’re scaring me half to death!”
The Blacksmith reacted exactly like Thomas—both ridiculous men, really. Finding their panic amusing, I chuckled softly, which only made the Blacksmith fret even more about the blood loss, insisting I’d lost my mind. My memories grew hazy after that point.

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When I opened my eyes, I was in the Beast King’s Tower. The ceiling rippled like exposed muscle and sinew, contracting with each breath.
Titi had nested on my stomach in sparrow form, dozing peacefully, while beside the bed sat Gerth, Mother, and seemingly every other person I’d ever known.
I felt like a fish in an aquarium.
“Evan. You’re awake?”
“Miss! Miss, are you with us?!”
Why did I always end up in bed whenever I came home? Still, somehow the Blacksmith had managed to contact the household staff.
When I tried to sit up, the room spun violently, so I collapsed back onto the pillow. Gerth let out a low sigh.
“The Tower’s healers have closed your wounds, but you’ll need a blood transfusion. I’ve contacted the Machine King.”
So the Machine King had transfusion capabilities too. Fascinating. I tried to say as much, but my mouth was parched, leaving me only gaping uselessly until Leri quickly brought a patient’s water pitcher and pressed it to my lips.
“You’ve been lying here for a full day. That woman who destroyed the Dock—Fox’s master is chasing her down to kill her.”
“That woman is my biological mother.”
“Your Majesty, the Serpent King!”
“I’ll contact Hubert at once.”
While Gerth left to communicate with Hubert through his animals, Leri threw a fit about what kind of mess this was—wasn’t Mother supposed to be Eleanor? Mother remained silent.
“Mother is the one who raised me. That woman is merely the one who gave birth.”
“What, are you the tragic protagonist of some story?! How does something like this even happen?!”
My life is tragic enough without having to explain why that woman is my biological mother.
When I was younger, I’d wondered why she was so unhinged. But once I attended the Academy, I realized it was a chicken-and-egg problem—whether she’d become a mage because she was insane, or become insane because she was a mage.
“Do you have a bad relationship with your biological mother? Why is she trying to kill you?”
“She probably doesn’t actually want to kill me. Since childhood, she’s done nothing but harp on why I’m weak, why I get hurt.”
“What, she’s completely mad!”
“I agree.”

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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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