Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 57

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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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Summer retreats by the sea are all well and good, but if you’ve grown tired of it, the mountains make for a pleasant change of pace.

Kanna had visited yesterday. Today, Hubert and Mother engaged in a culinary competition in the kitchen. I sampled each dish from the lavishly spread table that had been prepared since morning, and I gave my vote to the fragrant rice noodle soup infused with aromatic herbs. Mother promptly yanked off her apron and hurled it aside.
“Miss, you love spicy, salty, and sour foods! Why on earth would you prefer such bland broth!”
“But Mother, eating numbing spice broth first thing in the morning would burden my stomach.”
“Hehehehe. Even food has its proper timing, Grandmother.”
“Why am I your grandmother!”
Ever since Gerth had packed his belongings and departed from the Tower, Mother had been on a losing streak in her weekend battles with Hubert over the right to manage my meals. Though she consistently prepared food to my taste, there was no way to defeat Hubert, a hundred-year-old fox demi-human who had spent a century researching cooking alongside Gerth in the Tower.
One cannot ignore the seasoning that comes with time. I wish Mother would simply surrender and enjoy the food others prepared for her.
I slurped down the rice noodle soup Hubert had made and picked up the cucumber kimchi that Gerth had left behind. This household truly excels at preparing side dishes with care.
“H-hey, Evan! Catch!”
So you’ve been stealing my harpoon since dawn, Kanna, and you’ve transformed it into a weapon sharp enough to pierce steel.
From how much sharpening she’d applied, the harpoon’s blade gleamed with a keen edge, and Kanna had already coughed up blood, which she wiped away with the back of her hand. I’d intended to take it to the Blacksmith Shop for repairs, but thanks to Kanna, that won’t be necessary.
“Drink some water. Why did you push yourself so hard that you’re coughing up blood?”
As I offered her a glass of water and breakfast, Kanna laughed bashfully and reminded me of a fact I myself had forgotten.
“H-hey, Evan. Your birthday… it was today. I-I sent you a letter asking what you wanted…”
You sharpened my harpoon as a birthday gift? More importantly—my birthday was today?
“Gasp.”
That’s right—Evan Laef’s birthday is July seventh!
“Huh? Miss’s birthday is in December.”
“Mother! Evan Laef!”
“Oh! Evan Laef’s birthday is July seventh!”
“Oh my! How could you forget your mother’s birthday, Grandmother!”
“I’m not your grandmother!”
Everyone made a fuss over the fact they hadn’t known, and even Leri came up to the Dining Floor, joining Hubert in the commotion. Upon hearing the news of my birthday, Leri calmed down the panicked Hubert.
“Wait a moment, young Master Fox. We already made that thing, didn’t we?”
“That thing?”
“The one the Serpent King ordered us to make.”
“Oh my, is it really all right to give that away!”
“Since the Serpent King gave the order, we should present it. Give it a proper justification before he says something nonsensical.”
The two of them whispered in a way I could hear perfectly, told me to wait a moment, then descended downstairs before returning with a flourish.
“Master Evan! The Serpent King’s Tower Staff presents this to you as a birthday gift!”
“Honey, you’ve struck gold with this one—you can’t buy this anywhere for money!”
Really? Is it some kind of specialty product from the Serpent King’s Tower? If it’s something as exquisite as the fabric from last time, I could have another school uniform made.
It’s customary to open a gift on the spot, so I undid the ribbon on the box and could see the tense expressions on Leri and Hubert’s faces. What on earth could it be that has them so anxious?
Besides, since I didn’t know it was my birthday, they must have just put something lying around the Serpent King’s Tower inside. I’m sure it’s the same exquisite fabric as before…
“….”
I pulled a piece of fabric from the box and held it up to the light, watching it flutter. The material was identical to what I’d received before, but the scale was far smaller. Or perhaps, since something had been completed, it had grown in size? In any case, it seemed to drape across my body reasonably well, though I found myself deeply curious about whether it would actually serve its intended purpose.
“Hubert.”
“Y-yes, yes, Evan!”
“I have no intention of appearing in a lingerie show.”
“I’m so sorry! I suppose I did go overboard!”
Indeed. Overboard. Undergarments were meant to serve as a foundation beneath one’s clothes, providing support and structure. If I wore this beneath my uniform, the excessive embellishments would bulge outward and utterly ruin the silhouette of my outer garment.
Excessive floral decorations, excessive shirring, excessive sewing technique. If I were to model this in a fashion show, it would have been perfectly suited, but it possessed virtually no practical utility.
“I apologize. I can only wear this as sleepwear.”
“I’d be grateful if you wore it at all!”
At Hubert’s words about how Lakne and Father would be delighted, I suddenly grasped the true origin of this creation.
“Was it Gerth’s order to make the undergarment?”
“Eh, eh-huh?”
At his gesture, so foreign and bewildered, I mirrored his sound and nodded in agreement.
“Gerth told me that black was premature for me. You must have gone through considerable trouble, Hubert.”
It must have been that time—when I was cleaning Seian’s house, drenched in sweat, and my undergarments had become completely visible through my clothes. I had felt apologetic toward Gerth and White One for showing them such an unsightly sight.

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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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