Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 78

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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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Our band’s concept is that we seek hope in the face of natural disasters—situations where we can only suffer passively—and set out on a journey. We support one another as companions and inspire those we meet in unknown lands through our music.
And this damned band, Band Dekarucha, each member possesses a supernatural ability. When their emotions explode, Reina’s Heart of Fire or whatever illuminates the world with warmth—that sort of setting exists.
For reference, Reina has the Heart of Fire, Third Princess has the Heart of Earth, Eugene has the Heart of Wind, and Sunbird has the Heart of Love. I have the Heart of Ice, so in this world facing annihilation due to water, I’m apparently quite rejected. Or so they say.
“Kyahahaha! Kyahahaha! I’m rejected! The ice heart!”
Rejected and chewing on solitude alone, I spout self-deprecating remarks about being the harbinger of disaster, and all manner of wounded-wolf-like settings pour out. Because of this, Reina bursts into laughter like that whenever she gets the chance. It’s embarrassing to listen to, but fortunately, I had a secret weapon of my own.
“Quiet, you fool. Love blazes in the eyes that hold fire, and tomorrow sparkles like a star in your gaze.”
“Ah, stop it! My eyes already sting!”
Reina is a radiant flame that illuminates everyone, and her gaze is always fixed on the future like the morning star—that’s her setting, with stars embedded in her eyes. That’s why she wears star-shaped contact lenses. I’m grateful I don’t have to wear any.
“Your Highness, Third Princess. Do I really have to lower my pants?”
“You must! You are the free wind!”
Showing a bra is better than showing panties anyway. I achieved mental victory.
“Next! Band Dekarucha, prepare yourselves!”
I wish we could do something about that band name. But since everyone except me seemed pleased with it, they all took on solemn expressions and picked up their instruments. We took the stage at the Academy festival, finished setting up the amplifiers and other equipment, and then the stage lights suddenly went dark. One by one, small lights began to flicker on in the audience.
“Evan! They were handing these out for free!”
Thanks to Hubert’s booming voice, I looked toward Third Princess, and she gave a thumbs up as if to say these were surprise gifts for the band members. Third Princess was truly first-rate when it came to throwing money around.
But thanks to that, I could focus entirely on the performance without worrying about the audience. All I could see were the lights.
“We are Band Dekarucha from the What Should We Do Next Club! Today we’re missing Seian, who handles keyboards, but we appreciate your support! The song is called ‘The Rain Never Stops’!”
After Third Princess finished her introduction, I gave Reina a signal, and she struck her drumsticks three times before launching into the performance.
Since our band consists of nothing but individual personalities, as long as we start cleanly, everything else falls into place.
A heavy bass line created a barren sense of dread, and Third Princess began singing softly.
“The rain never stops. Not until a new day comes.”
Following her mournful, almost dirge-like vocal tone, I grasped the guitar strings. It was a folk song, but with Band Dekarucha’s vocalist interpreting it as post-apocalyptic, I had no choice but to follow along.
“In this land where blood never ceases to flow, when was the last time I saw a vast wilderness?”
No matter how many times I hear it, it still sounds like a protest song that activists would sing while wearing red headbands and linking arms, but I decided to play along with Third Princess’s interpretation. After the narrative-like verse ended, the drum tempo accelerated, and my guitar layered on top, adding a sense of momentum.
“The rain never stops! Not until morning comes! You who bind me are a vampire!”
That vampire surely refers to the Crowell Empire. But it doesn’t matter. In an apocalypse, you could have one, two, three, or even a hundred and fifteen vampire lords doing a night walk.
“I will not become your slave!”
“I will not become a slave!”
Now people were singing along with the chorus. Excited by their response, Third Princess bounced up and down despite her small stature, drawing cheers from the audience. She tore off her accessories and threw them into the crowd, and when the interlude began, she even shouted this:
“Guitar!”
She was telling me to do a guitar solo. Since I’d been warned during practice not to show off alone, I first turned to Reina to ask permission. When I signaled her with a glance, I heard what sounded like a collective scream of people fainting from somewhere in the audience, but that was none of my concern—only Reina’s approval mattered.
Reina, as if she had no choice, raised the pitch and nodded to indicate she’d follow my lead.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
I drew attention with a sharp twang, then skillfully played a rapid guitar passage. Calls of “Evan Laef!” erupted from various parts of the audience, and I heard the damned “Heart of Ice” being shouted. It seemed Third Princess had distributed both glow sticks and worldview interpretations along with them.
“We adventurers must run paths that aren’t meant for us!”
The lights were hot, and the flames blazing in front of me were scorching. Everyone was drenched in sweat, but from the audience’s perspective, the sight was magnificent, and the cheers grew louder.
Third Princess, who had been darting across the stage, was breathing heavily, and she took a deep breath to deliver the final lyrics. I matched her pace by holding a long note, creating space for her, and Third Princess barely managed to shout the last line from her lips.
“I will never be your slave.”
This was the finale. As I struck the final key to signal the end, Reina launched into the last section and hurled her drumsticks away. Even that monster of a bird had pounded those drums with everything he had for five straight minutes—he was clearly exhausted.
The Third Princess and Reina were gasping for breath when Sunbird, who had been entrusted with the crucial role, struck the triangle with a clear ring, announcing the perfect conclusion of the song. In that same instant, screams, cheers, and shouts for an encore erupted from the crowd.
To everyone else, that was all they heard. But for me, there was something additional.

The progression has changed slightly. Awarding 10,000 experience points.

I had no idea what this status window was thinking.
“Encore! Encore!”
Not only the crowd, but even Hubert, who stood in the front row holding a recording device and filming intently, was half-crying as he shouted for an encore. But we had only practiced this one song, so we had nothing more to perform.
I was apologetic to the audience, but as we prepared to leave the stage, the stage director who had introduced us earlier negotiated with the Third Princess to perform just one more song. She looked at us with eager anticipation, but there was no way the members would suddenly know another song so readily…
“….”
And yet, there was.
Now that I thought about it, Reina and I had one song hammered into our ears so thoroughly. I took the microphone from the Third Princess and called out to one person.
“If the Village Chief comes out, we can perform the magical cardio workout.”
And so, before the eyes of ten thousand people, we shouted: “May the Crowell Empire fall! Huu!”

◇ ◆ ◇

Naturally, we were disciplined. I had grown accustomed to the taste of tea served in the Dean’s Office. The Dean ranted that if the Academy weren’t extraterritorial, we would all have been arrested by the authorities, and he particularly reproached Princess Sera for not feeling a sense of responsibility as a princess of the realm.
“Of course I feel responsible!”
“Well, thank goodness you have such a strong sense of responsibility!”
The Dean was so furious that he punched the wall with his fist, creating a crack in it. Even Sera Crowell herself couldn’t help but flinch at the sight. I had bowed my head when I first saw this man—he was incredibly powerful.
“Evan Laef!”
“Yes.”
“Exercise some restraint!”
“I am exercising restraint.”
“Right, you’re from a bloodline of madmen, so of course you are!”
Why was this man suddenly cursing my mother? My mother wasn’t a madwoman. If anything, the Neftis side—those were definitely madmen.
“Reina Letem!”
“Yes!”
“I’ll inform Count Letem that your donation funds were all spent covering the damages from your incident!”
“Gasp! It’s already come to that?!”
I didn’t know how much she had donated upon enrollment, but she was definitely dead to her mother now. Unable to contain my amusement at her misfortune, I burst out laughing. The Dean glared at me, his fists trembling. He seemed to want to say something, but the man held it back and turned his body toward Eugene.
“Eugene Brandenburg.”
“Yes. I apologize.”
“No. That’s not it. A message came from the Northern Region.”
It must have been urgent, as the communication had come through the telegraph machines—one in each department head’s office and the Dean’s Office throughout the Academy. “Northern damages increasing. Return requested.” The brief message was ordering Eugene Brandenburg, who despite not yet being of age was already called a serial killer, to return to his hometown.
“A leave of absence request would be… already too late, wouldn’t it?”
“Exactly. The midterm exams have already passed.”
This would count as an academic warning. Not only that, if Eugene left like this, there was a real possibility he might never return.
“I’ll acknowledge your attendance through my authority. Resolve this as quickly as you can and come straight back.”
“Thank you.”
Time being of the essence, Eugene hurried out of the Dean’s Office to prepare for departure. The rest of us had to endure the Dean’s endless lecturing.
The Sunbird, who’d been singing from the start, and if this had been recorded—what would we do then? How would we explain it to His Majesty the Emperor? And so forth, the complaints poured out, but Princess Sera went out of her way to scratch an itch that didn’t need scratching.
“His Majesty is not the sort to grow angry over such trivial matters!”
“Then why doesn’t Your Highness take the video and ask for his forgiveness yourself?”
“….”
“….”
“Please make requests within the scope of my authority to answer!”
“May the Crowell Empire crumble, truly!”
The Dean, pounding his chest and blaming it all on the Former Dean Dr. Bruno, said he’d deduct the demerit points due to his promise with the Student Council, but he’d increase the disciplinary action.
Oh, so we’d gotten past the crisis of our club being dissolved? At that thought, I opened my status window, and the time limit wasn’t stacked—only a single one remained. So now I just needed to prevent Eugene’s withdrawal.
“Princess Sera and Aten Polat will also do dining hall service. And all four of you here will be assigned to the construction project for the new student cafeteria building.”
“If it’s about hard work, I’m confident!”
“Yes, go ahead and use all that strength you’re so fond of.”

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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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