Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 56

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Kanna swept aside her retainers’ protests about the accumulated work during her Academy attendance and bolted toward the train station. Along the way, she stabbed any retainers who blocked her path and cut down her younger siblings if they got in the way.
Having rushed to purchase a train ticket in her black dress, Kanna arrived at Ilam Port, located in the far east of the Crowell Empire, after a week of travel.
Before reaching the town center, she checked Evan Laef’s address first, and as the postal office had explained, the house had burned down completely with not even a pillar remaining.
“Uh, um?”
Upon arriving in Ilam Town, Kanna found her eyes darting in every direction at the bizarre spectacle unfolding from the plaza entrance.
Strange murals resembling labor rights posters were painted everywhere. Peculiar emblems with overlapping pickaxes and hammers adorned the streets, and a massive red banner reading “The Iron Horse Wants to Run” hung from the top of the bell tower.
What on earth was this red collective? Her good friend Evan Laef had grown up in a place like this? She’d always known Evan to be diligent, but she never imagined such a proletarian-friendly disposition. The thought made her shudder.
Kanna forced a smile and nervously sought out only the most ordinary-looking people, avoiding the atmosphere of joyful labor surrounding her. Passing a sign reading “Building Ilam’s Future City Through Labor,” she arrived at a blacksmith shop filled with the sound of clanging metal.
The shop’s owner wore a perpetually scowling expression and seemed deeply dissatisfied with the world. Since he clearly hadn’t surrendered to this dystopia, Kanna approached him hopefully.
“Um, excuse me.”
“What is it! Did you come here to pursue an ideal society too?!”
“Oh, no, I’m, um, Evan’s friend.”
“What?! You’re friends with that crazy bastard?!”
“Um, Evan isn’t, isn’t crazy.”
“That lunatic turned the whole neighborhood into this mess in just two weeks as Village Chief!”
Evan had become Village Chief? Why? Why would she take on such a troublesome position? Kanna felt a disconnect from the Evan she knew at the Academy and tried to argue that her friend wasn’t the type, but the Blacksmith kindly gave her directions to the Temporary Chief’s Office instead.
As Kanna dragged her luggage along, the number of large red letters increased as she approached the office. Though the style of writing varied, careful observation revealed they conveyed only a few distinct messages.
In essence, there were just three: new harbor construction, attracting a train station to Ilam, and support for your labor. What could a harbor and train station possibly mean to Evan? How had her friend changed during their time apart?
Suppressing her anxiety, Kanna called out “Is anyone here?” in front of the tent marked with a sign reading “Temporary Chief’s Office.” Fortunately, she was able to meet Evan Laef herself. She wore a strange sash reading “Ilam Village Chief Evan Laef,” but this woman was definitely her friend.
“E, Evan!”
“Kanna? What brings you here?”
“I, I sent a letter, but it all, all came back.”
“Ah. I forgot to update my address.”
Evan grumbled that since it was addressed to Evan Laef, the postal office could have sent it to the office, but those bureaucrats lacked flexibility. She pulled out a newly made business card and handed it to Kanna.
“Welcome to Ilam, my friend. I am Evan Laef, an enlightened Village Chief who watches over my wonderful citizens.”
“H, how did you, become Village Chief?”
“I received petition signatures from a thousand residents and inherited the position.”
“Why, why?”
“To reconstruct the harbor and attract a train station.”
She’d seen that message a hundred times on the way here. Though questions lingered, seeing Evan in good health put Kanna at ease. Everyone tries their hand at being Village Chief at some point in life, after all.
Moreover, Evan still called her a friend and kindly explained various things about the village. Contrary to her worries, Evan hadn’t been brainwashed, remained warm and genuine, and even apologized for not informing her of the address change.
Reassured on all fronts, Kanna reaffirmed that she’d come to visit her friend in her friend’s hometown, and her mood suddenly brightened. The scenery she’d passed through now appeared in a new light.
Those large red letters now seemed vibrant and full of energy, and the laughter of passersby seemed to overflow with happiness and sincerity.
This wasn’t a dystopia. Wherever her friend Evan was, that place was an ideal world and utopia.
“Haven’t you eaten lunch yet?”
“Y, yes!”
In truth, before entering Ilam, she’d eaten heavily in preparation to go days without food in order to focus on finding Evan, but that was easily solved with a few digestive tablets, so Kanna nodded happily.
“Perfect timing. I was about to eat anyway.”
Evan mentioned that Mother had set up a buffet behind the tent for the office workers, then grasped Kanna’s hand firmly and led her forward. Kanna followed along with delighted giggles, thrilled to be holding her friend’s hand while visiting her home.
While Evan wasn’t looking, Kanna quickly swallowed a family antidote pill, then spotted the Fox Demi-human wearing a white headscarf at the buffet counter on the blue grass lawn. She immediately pulled out a wooden stick and began chanting a protective spell.
A demi-human descending all the way to a crowded village—this was an emergency. The Capital of the Crowell Empire permitted only demi-humans with verified status and non-aggressive temperaments to roam freely, so there were no issues there. But the Countryside was different. Perhaps it was this demi-human’s gang that had burned down Evan’s house.
Kanna, who had been about to eliminate the Fox Demi-human in one strike with her poisoned wooden stick, suppressed her killing intent when she saw the white-furred figure waving cheerfully at Evan.
“Mother!”
“Huh? Mother?”
Kanna’s eyes widened at the unexpected title as she looked at Evan, but Evan explained matter-of-factly.
“She always makes that slip. He’s my friend’s son.”
“Y-your friend’s son?”
What? Is this friend more precious to you than me? Kanna wanted to complain but held it back instead, asking who this friend was whose son turned out to be a demi-human.
“Hubert is the son of Serpent King Gerth.”
“?”
“Hubert is the son of Serpent King Gerth.”
So that white-furred figure was Hubert. And the Serpent King—was that one of the Four Demon Kings? Surely not. Yet as Kanna recalled the information that a white fox demi-human who was the Serpent King greeted visitors at the top of the Serpent King’s Tower, she gripped her stick tightly.
Even if there were demi-humans friendly to humans, their fundamental nature was demonic, and demons were humanity’s sworn enemies. Especially the Serpent King, rumored to capture and kill all humans who entered his tower. Whatever means they’d used, it was clear they had thoroughly enchanted her friend Evan.
“Friend. Here’s your meal.”
But such minor concerns didn’t seem worth pressing right now.
As Evan handed her a bowl with a radiant smile, Kanna’s hostility toward the demi-human melted away like snow, and she found herself thinking that her friend seemed to glow with an aura, emanating a sweet and savory fragrance that tickled her nose.
In truth, it was only because a hearth sat behind Evan, glowing softly, and a dessert corner nearby wafted sweet aromas—but regardless, Kanna savored this moment.
This moment, right here, right now—the moment she had desperately longed for—Kanna needed to spend her youth together with Evan.
The summer of eighteen came only once in a lifetime, and once it passed, it would never return.
“Are you Mother’s friend?”
“Yes. My friend Kanna. And I’m not your mother.”
“If you’re a friend, I should give you extra generous portions!”
“What service is there at a food tent?”
“I’ve been curious—what exactly is a food tent?”
And this Serpent King’s son had recognized at a glance that she was Evan’s friend. He was clearly a good demi-human. To call such a kind fox demi-human family blood-hungry monsters—the world’s people truly lacked discernment.
“H-hehe. Y-yes. I-I’m Evan’s friend.”
“I see! Please take plenty of stir-fried squid!”
As Hubert generously served portions of food he’d made himself, Kanna twisted her body with delight.
“Any word from Gerth yet?”
“No. It seems he’s gone into a remote area where even ravens can’t reach.”
“That worries me.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. When he went to find rice seeds, he was silent for half a year before suddenly reappearing.”
“Still, I worry. No one could defeat Gerth, but he could fall ill from bad food or injury, couldn’t he?”
“Father must be so grateful that only you worry about him like this!”
“I’m not your mother.”
So they’re carrying some burden too, Kanna thought with slight sympathy, feeling the food digest smoothly. She sat at the table and tapped the seat beside her. She needed to make her move first—otherwise Evan might sit across from her instead.
“W-what’s wrong?”
Spending mealtime with a friend was important, but Kanna needed to understand the current situation first. How could her kind and sincere friend go home for break, only to embark on this arduous journey to build a utopia? And why was the Serpent King’s son wielding an iron pot with such fervor while wearing a white apron and white headscarf?
“It’s a long story.”
“I-I’ll listen, no matter how long.”
“So… it was when I returned to Ilam after a week-long carriage ride.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I wished a railway station would come to Ilam.”
“Hmm… yes?”
“This is the process toward that goal.”
“I see…”
Could you explain it in more detail?
At Kanna’s request, I reluctantly decided to give her the full version.
During break, commuting to my hometown by carriage was exhausting, so I wished a train ran through Ilam. But as a mere village resident, that was like throwing an egg at a stone. So I became Village Chief first. Now that I hold this position, I’m constructing a new harbor in Ilam to accommodate many ships, and through negotiations with the Serpent King, I’ve secured a portion of his territory so humans can mine magic stones. All of this will serve as supporting evidence when I propose the railway station project to Princess Sera.
To elaborate further: as magic stone mining sites increase and extraction volumes grow, the floating population will expand and the village will develop. When more ships dock at the new harbor, distributing magic stones becomes convenient, and those using sea routes will arrive early to establish themselves, increasing the regional population.
Attracting a railway station hinged entirely on population density. Once I compile the profits and population concentration data from Ilam and present it, the tracks will be laid before the second semester begins—I was certain of it.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————