Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 66

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

The Professor escorted Seian Crowell to the Academy gates as Evan Laef had requested, then returned home.
Seian Crowell lingered in the house garden for a while, then turned back just as he was about to step beyond the gates. He could have contested the matter with the Academy Headmaster, proven himself a victim, and had the community service punishment reversed. But the thought occurred to him—if he could enjoy such hearty meals without spending money each time, wasn’t that rather convenient?
“It’s the food! It’s because of the food!”
It’s not like today was particularly fun working with Evan Laef or anything! It’s the money! Purely the food!
The Department Head Professor, who found great amusement in Seian Crowell’s voice crying out passionately in the dead of night, picked up the newspaper and turned to today’s culinary section. Starting tomorrow, the dining hall staff who had been hospitalized would return, so he could experiment with all manner of dishes.

◇ ◆ ◇

Reina Letem, who had returned after completing arduous martial training during the break, could not accept the current situation. She had clearly given her address, yet not a single letter had come from Evan Laef during all this time. That girl Kanna had subtly boasted about visiting Evan Laef’s home during the break, turning her stomach inside out. And despite preparing all the necessary documents for a work-study scholarship or whatever, Evan Laef was working in the dining hall alongside the Crown Prince.
Nothing was going her way. Starting second semester, only students with inter-departmental exchange permits could attend general education courses in the General Studies Department, so she had tried to stalk Evan Laef to discover which classes she intended to take, but failed. She had wanted to orchestrate a fateful confrontation by coincidentally overlapping their schedules, but it all came to nothing.
Reina was forced to accept the truth. She had no talent for surveillance. All she could rely on was the rotting wealth of House of Letem.
Passing through the Course Registration Plaza, which resembled a battlefield, Reina clutched the checkbook issued by House of Letem. She had no choice but to bribe the Academy Headmaster with this to arrange for her to attend the same classes as Evan Laef.
Just as she was thinking this way, a voice like salvation rang out in the Course Registration Plaza.
“Glacial Binding!”
“Ahhhhh!”
“You lunatic! Magic is forbidden during course registration!”
If she pretended to stop that bastard Evan Laef and extracted information about which general education courses she was taking, she could leave a good impression and strengthen the antagonistic concept all at once. Reina’s mind spun rapidly.
“Wait! Evan Laef!”
Reina’s eyes swept across the scene. The remnants of magic that had been skillfully dodged to avoid casualties, Seian Crowell clinging to Evan Laef’s side like gum, the crowd reluctantly parting. She understood the situation, and now it was merely a matter of opening her mouth.
“Stop it! People are getting hurt!”
“This is none of your concern.”
Evan Laef’s cold words pierced her heart like a dagger, resonating with a sharp ring. Evan, you’re the best. How can you so effortlessly deliver villain dialogue that seems designed solely to elevate me?
Blue, cool, glasses, ice, villain, antagonist—the budding friendship behind it all, the happy ending. As various keywords flooded her mind, Reina internally gave Evan Laef three cheers and pointed dramatically.
“Evan! Open your eyes! This isn’t like you!”
Reina desperately hoped Evan Laef would tell her what being “like herself” meant.
“What is being like myself.”
Reina thought she might die from how beautiful Evan Laef was. Right now, she could even kiss her.
“At least you weren’t someone who would commit fraud just to be charmed by some man!”
As Reina clenched her fists with a regretful expression, screams erupted from the Evan Laef and Reina Letem fan community, while jeers burst forth from Evan Laef’s individual fans.
“Open your eyes, Evan Laef!”
“Evan Laef, we feel for you!”
“What’s so great about that pathetic scarecrow!”
The students who had used the crowd as a shield to spout insults against the Royal Family fell silent and held their breath as Seian Crowell’s eyes widened like a resentful maiden ghost.
“Stop. Give me that. I’ll do it myself.”
“But without my help, Seian, you’ll never attend Introduction to International Diplomacy for the rest of your life.”
“Not for the rest of my life!”
“Face reality, Seian. You can’t push through these people and move forward. Not ever.”
“So don’t you dare make a sound about this for the rest of your life!”
Evan was taking Introduction to International Diplomacy. Since Reina had reasoned that if Seian Crowell took it, Evan Laef would automatically enroll as well, she’d made her choice of elective courses with confidence.
“Besides, nobles hire proxies to register for courses anyway. Consider yourself as having hired me.”
“What? No wonder there were so many old-looking people!”
“Seian Crowell, you have no prejudice and no intelligence. It’s actually quite endearing.”
“Shut your mouth!”
This is infuriating. How did those two become so close? I never imagined that arriving merely two days later than Evan Laef would create such a distance in friendship. I should be the one bickering beside her right now. All of Reina’s accumulated frustration poured out through magic.
“Skill! Inferno Blaze!”
“That crazy bastard!”
Evan Laef was shocked. She had barely obtained a high-tier skill after doping herself with Gerth during the last break, yet Reina had acquired Inferno Blaze despite living like a complete fool. With a premonition that it was likely a super-rare skill like hers, the woman tried using formal speech in a low voice, and she clicked her tongue at how respectful language flowed naturally, just like last semester.
“Guided Frost Binding!”
“Cancel! Inferno Blaze on my fist!”
“Go fight somewhere else, you crazy maniacs!”
Seian Crowell’s scream was swallowed by the storm of ice and flame. Reina’s Inferno Blaze was neutralized by Evan Laef’s ice, and Evan Laef’s spinning kick was narrowly dodged by Reina.
A bead of sweat rolled down Evan Laef’s forehead from the intense heat. When she wiped it away with her sleeve and adjusted her glasses, her eyes sharpening, Evan Laef’s personal fanbase squealed with excitement.
Frost clung to Reina’s cloak from Evan Laef’s magic. When she brushed it off elegantly, Reina’s personal fanbase let out breathless sighs.
Enrolling at the Academy was truly the best decision. Reina felt like she might die from excitement. Without Evan Laef, she would have had to completely rework her concept for solo activities. And that concept would likely have been far more taxing, given how it clashed with her true nature.
Idol work really is better as a duet. If Reina and Evan Laef, with their distinct characters, joined forces, they could aim for the world stage. As Reina grinned, her head full of dreams and hopes, Evan Laef, whose mood had become utterly foul, unleashed everything she had.
“Guided Frost Binding—Limit Release!”
In a sudden surge of irritation, Evan Laef created ice larger than when she’d fought the dragon in the Dining Hall. Her mental strength had reached its limit, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Reina, in turn, squeezed her magic to its maximum threshold and poured it into her fist.
“Uuuaaahhh!”
When Reina’s fist met Evan Laef’s magic, steam billowed and salt crystals sparkled brilliantly. At that beautiful sight, the fanbase stood slack-jawed, while everyone else fled.
“Ugh!”
Just as Reina had nearly melted Evan Laef’s ice, her mental strength bottomed out. The bleeding woman’s bare fist pierced through Evan Laef’s ice, which shattered into fragments, destroying surrounding objects and wounding Reina.
“Cough!”
Yet it was Reina who remained standing until the end. From the backlash, Evan Laef spat blood and tumbled forward, and though Seian Crowell tried to catch her, it was futile. Evan Laef slipped from his arms far too easily and smashed her face against the Plaza floor. Reina, struggling with each step, approached Evan Laef. Her target was the course registration form Evan Laef held.
“Huff, huff. How presumptuous.”
Reina pondered only one thing: how to make the finale most moving. She quickly scanned the registration form and memorized all the courses. This Evan Laef had apparently set her career path as a negotiator—every elective she’d chosen was purely diplomacy, rhetoric, and negotiation-related subjects.
“You’re still… far behind.”
It would have been a better image if Evan Laef were lying on her back rather than face-down, but spilled water couldn’t be recovered. Reina clenched her fist and pressed down on her head with a force so gentle it was like a feather settling. Then she collapsed beside the fallen Evan Laef and sprawled out on her back.
“Kyaaaah! Lady Reina!”
“Lady Reina! You’re so cool!”
“I think I’m going crazy—save me, I love this too much, what do I do!”
Good reactions. Cheer louder for me, my little chicks. As Reina murmured softly, even in her unconscious state, Evan Laef’s mood soured and her body flinched.
After Reina’s choreographed show ended, school staff came out to impose sanctions, but Reina blocked them with money. Desperate to avoid another demerit—which would send her to Starlight Village alone—she instead found herself delighted at the prospect of doing Dining Hall service alongside Evan Laef.
Indeed, heaven helps those who help themselves. With a bountiful harvest from today, Reina felt absolutely wonderful as she wrapped bandages around herself in the Infirmary.

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