Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 60

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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’d heard the story—a con artist caught running a scam had impersonated the local Lord’s daughter. But whether that con artist was truly the Lord’s daughter or merely a fraud, the Lord could only claim ignorance.
If she were his real daughter, he would lie to protect her. If she were a stranger, he genuinely wouldn’t know her, and that was all he could say.
“Move aside, Titi. If you wish to be exposed alongside me, so be it.”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Wait! Please wait! Why are you doing this! I’ve lived an honest life!”
“People who live honestly don’t usually find themselves in situations like this.”
“That’s precisely why I don’t understand what’s happening!”
Hmm… when I asked for his reasoning, I found myself at an impasse. No matter how differently humans and demons might view things, the culprit behind this incident was unmistakably clear.
“Honest people don’t typically break into others’ homes, steal their belongings, or kill living creatures.”
“I’ve never done such things! I swear it!”
“What happened at Serpent King’s Tower. You and the Delan Guild Master orchestrated it.”
“That’s a demon den! How is that wrong!”
“Well…”
It was a matter of cultural differences. Those who couldn’t understand wouldn’t grasp it in a lifetime, so there was no point wearing my mouth out explaining.
“Skill. Ice Projectile.”
I flicked my fingers and conjured two ice spears, driving them into the Lord. The man who had screamed at first fell silent after bleeding profusely, his eyes losing their light as his body went limp. He was dead.
“Next.”
Now for his sons. They had neither approved nor disapproved of their father’s actions. They had simply remained silent, and had they inherited his position, they would likely have followed in his exact footsteps.
“P-please listen! We, we kept quiet, and yes, that was wrong. But we’re remorseful now, so from this point forward—”
“You needn’t repent.”
“What?”
“You’re dying because cleaning up after you would be too troublesome.”
Some might have charged them with the crime of negligence, but truthfully, if I let them live and they returned seeking revenge or some such nonsense, only Gerth would suffer for it. This was more akin to nipping the problem in the bud.
“You’d kill the Lord and sever his entire line! Do you think that’s forgivable!”
“Killing people is a bad thing.”
I used the skill once more, eliminating what appeared to be the eldest son. If I let him speak, he’d likely launch into more pathetic excuses about how they struck first.
The next son trembled without protest, so I ended him quickly. The last son cursed loudly, which was irritating, so I killed him too. With that, I’d completed all my tasks for the day.
“Do the spiders eat humans?”
“They do.”
“Let’s not tell Gerth about today’s work.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Learning that multiple people had died over the Serpent King’s Tower incident would only hurt his tender heart.
I decided to conceal this fact out of concern for kindhearted Gerth’s suffering, and announced to the village that the Lord and his entire family had died suddenly, with responsibility for the territory passing to me. Through the castle windows, I watched the fires outside gradually extinguish as night approached, and a cool breeze began to blow.
Now that Delan wouldn’t be dispatching adventurers, Gerth’s burden would lighten. Having done a good deed, I felt genuinely satisfied.

◇ ◆ ◇

The consolidation of the Lord’s Territory, the deaths of the Delan Lord’s family, the acquisition of a railway station, and the formal permit to operate the Horse Racing Track—I had sent all my requests to Princess Sera by post, and considerable time had passed since then. During the break, I had planned to repay Gerth the hundred million I had borrowed through Titi, but as I busied myself with various matters, only two weeks remained before I had to return to the Academy. With a week needed for carriage travel, my actual time here was merely seven days.
Kanna, who had been helping me manage Ilam throughout the consolidation, departed as the break drew to a close, saying she ought to at least show her face at her family home. When I apologized for having nothing to offer her during her visit, Kanna insisted it had been genuinely enjoyable and asked that I visit her home next time.
To think I made such a kind friend at the Academy—perhaps I truly am blessed. Honestly, I had done nothing with her, arranged nothing, and there was scarcely a moment of excitement, yet she said she had fun simply spending time with me.
Whether it was Gerth or Kanna, they treated me far better than I deserved and were remarkably kind, so it seems I unexpectedly possess good fortune with people.
“Mother! Mother, Mother, Mother! Come out quickly!”
And except for constantly calling me Mother, Hubert is truly a kind friend. Each time he addresses me as Mother, I increasingly suspect it is no accident, but aside from that, he is an adorable and kindhearted companion.
“I am not your mother. What is the matter?”
“Father has returned!”
Hubert knocked twice and burst through the door, announcing that Gerth—who had been missing for over a month—had returned, then lifted me effortlessly and rushed toward the hall on the highest floor.
Gerth stood motionless before the Serpent King’s personal throne, his face clean, yet his clothes were in tatters, making it easy to infer what hardships he had endured all this time.
“Gerth!”
“You are still here.”
Yes. A home does not materialize in a month or two, after all. Of course I was still relying on his hospitality.
When I explained that I had been dependent on him until now and would need his assistance until I had a place of my own, Gerth exhaled with relief, pressing his hand to his chest, and offered me a bundle.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“You will understand once you open it.”
If Gerth said so, then opening it would reveal its nature.
I unwrapped the silk cloth and examined the contents within. Inside lay a clump of earth, covered with moss, and upon that, delicately placed, was something—whether a wild ginseng or cultivated ginseng, I could not say—but remarkably, its leaves were white.
“What is this?”
Still unable to discern it even upon seeing it, I asked Gerth once more, and kind Gerth, without reproaching my ignorance, graciously revealed its name.
“A Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.”
Surely that strains the logic of this world.

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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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