Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 80

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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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“H-hey, Evan. Are you alright?”
As I rolled a raw egg across my head to prevent a bump from forming, Kanna brought me a cold iced tea and pressed it to my lips. My mind cleared a little.
“Honey, your head is seriously hard. How did the metal plate get dented?”
That was probably because I was thick-skulled. There were no statistics to back it up, but I said that people with poor intellect usually had harder heads, and Leri laughed and told me not to joke around.
“You have the face of the top student in the entire school, yet you say such things. Those thick glasses, the freckles, that provincial twin ponytail hairstyle.”
“Is that an insult?”
“Not at all! People like you have what we call nerd charm! How rare and precious a type that is!”
It sounded like an insult, but being praised so enthusiastically made it ambiguous. Moreover, when Kanna and Hubert chimed in to say that every aspect of me was precious, I couldn’t help but be convinced.
“Well… thank you. I’ll continue to preserve my nerd charm going forward.”
“Y-yes, that’s right. Evan, the way you are now, is the most… cool!”
“Indeed, if you were to remove your glasses and dress up, people of all ages would not leave you alone… ah… ah… abracadabra!”
When Hubert chanted the spell, Leri smacked her back, asking if she wanted to block the Serpent King’s wedding procession, and Kanna joined in, also smacking her back, asking what she’d do if she suddenly gained a hundred friends.
Hmm… even back when I was an absolutely pitiful beauty, I never gained a hundred friends. Even as a Duke’s heir, marriage proposals never came. It was probably because I was a useless wreck.
“It’s not like people’s attitudes change drastically just because I become more beautiful.”
“No!”
“That’s not true! You just haven’t lived enough to know!”
“That’s absolutely not it!”
“Hmm…”
They kept insisting I hadn’t lived long enough, but I’d already lived a long time as an absolutely pitiful beauty. However, since I was outnumbered, I decided to concede.
“Fine, let’s say that’s the case.”
Finally, they looked satisfied.
“Anyway, what is this method to stop the Dragon King?”
When I brought up the topic I’d temporarily forgotten about due to my headache, Hubert said she’d ask the Machine King and send the method via crow once she confirmed it. I still found it suspicious that she consulted the Machine King whenever something happened. Perhaps the Machine King’s name, Machina, really did come from “deus ex machina.”
“The Machine King can access the Akashic Record!”
Wow, suddenly the genre turned occult.
Hubert herself had only heard a rough explanation, so she could only explain it roughly. Apparently, there exists something called the Library of All Humanity in this world, and by accessing it, one can examine any record desired. Based on tens of thousands of records from the past, one can simulate and predict the future.
That said, what the Machine King says isn’t always correct, and variables can occur in any situation, so there are more cases where predictions fail. However, at least it can determine whether this method is possible or completely impossible.
By the way, that book the Dragon King read—the one whose full title cannot be mentioned due to copyright—was also retrieved from the Akashic Record by searching based on the Dragon King’s tastes. The more I learn about the Machine King, the more impressive she becomes.
“We can talk about this stuff later! Let’s have fun today!”
Hubert’s body was practically itching to play.
After that, we went around playing every possible game for Hubert, who had been cooped up in the Tower for over a hundred years. We rode a merry-go-round powered by manpower, and we also rode a teacup ride powered by manpower. These manual rides were mostly works submitted by the Combat Techniques Department.
And finally, we headed to the place I’d been most looking forward to. It was a makeshift food stall that could only be seen during the Academy festival, and a tavern with the rumor that it would grill green onion pancakes on the grass for drunk people.
Given the nature of this world, it was called a pub instead of a tavern, and instead of green onion pancakes, they were grilling potato pancakes, but I was still quite excited about it. Our school pond has water lilies growing in it. If we run out of ingredients, could we eat lotus root pancakes?
“I want to try beer! That barley drink called beer!”
“How about you have a drink too? On a day like this, it’s fine to have one. There are adults here with us anyway.”
“I can’t. I’m a minor, so I shouldn’t drink alcohol.”
“W-wait, if Evan isn’t drinking, then I…”
Leri looked at me again and lamented that I lived such a boring life, just like the Serpent King.
However, minors shouldn’t drink alcohol. This is also for their protection. Elderly people naturally restrain themselves after drinking because they suffer terribly the next day, but if a healthy child falls into the grip of alcohol addiction, there’s no saving them. It’s far easier to become an addict.
The food prepared by Academy students was nothing special, but intoxicated by the atmosphere, I managed to enjoy it well enough. I would have gone to the Common Professor’s tavern if he were running one, but unfortunately today was apparently when some luxury brand was selling limited products, so he said he had to stand in line.
Well, even the Department Head Professor needs time to breathe. If people work every day, they wither away and die.
Whooosh.
After Hubert and Leri finished their beers refreshingly, fireworks burst across the sky. The sun had set and it was the festival’s final day, so they were apparently putting on fireworks as the finale. Somewhere I heard what sounded like a flamethrower rather than fireworks, and I caught what seemed like Reina Letem’s screams, but I decided to ignore it.
“Woof, woof.”
I was mesmerized watching the beautiful fireworks when I heard a dog-like sound from somewhere. When I looked at Hubert, I saw the lady-like man with tears streaming down her face.
“I wish today wouldn’t end. Woof, woof!”
Stop barking—people are staring. When I offered a handkerchief asking if she was alright, Leri took it and explained on Hubert’s behalf that she had never gotten to play freely when she wanted to, which is why she was acting like this.
Hearing that made me feel sympathetic. With humans constantly attacking, she must have worked without a single day off. Leri could at least take vacation as a subordinate, but Hubert—with the Serpent King as her father and serving as his regent—probably never had a day of rest.
“If… if you hate the family business, you can… you can quit. I did.”
“Woof, woof! Then what about our poor father!”
“Um… I’m sorry, I… I wished my father were dead, so… I won’t be much help.”
The pride of the Assassination Family speaks such brutal words without hesitation. Leri and I did our best to comfort Hubert, but the young fox lord, intoxicated by both atmosphere and alcohol, couldn’t shake off her melancholy.
Even as the stage in the Plaza announced the festival’s closing and the visitors boarded the last regular ferry to leave.
“I don’t want to! I’m not going! I’m going to live with Mom!”
“Hubert. I am not your mother.”
“I’m going to live here forever with Evan!”
Hubert clung to my waist and refused to let go. Leri apologized and tried hard to pry Hubert off, but there was no way to match the strength of a demon serving as the Serpent King’s regent. Because of that, I felt like my waist was about to snap.
“Calm yourself, Hubert. I’m going home during winter break.”
“That’s too far!”
“Hmm…”
My spine was starting to feel like it might actually break, so I had to find some solution. I paid close attention to the creaking sounds coming from my lower back as I devised a plan.
“Then how about getting Gerth’s permission to prevent the Dragon King, and coming north with me? If someone who knows the Dragon King is involved as an intermediary, it’ll be easier for me to persuade him.”
“Huh! Right, there’s that way!”
“That’s our darling for you! Don’t let anyone call you blockheaded! You’re incredibly smart!”
“Y-yes! Evan is smart! She… she was top of the class last semester too!”
“You were top of the class?! How can you not mention something like that! Your mother must feel so left out!”
“We would have thrown a celebration if you’d told Father!”
The feast I received when I first returned home was more than enough.
I finally managed to pry Hubert off and saw the two beastfolk off. With all those people gone and the night growing late, Kanna apparently felt anxious and asked me to hold her hand, so I held my friend’s hand and headed toward the Dormitory, humming cheerfully.
After escorting Kanna to her room, I returned to mine. I’d pushed myself to match Hubert’s energy, so I was tired. Thinking I’d just wash my hands and feet before collapsing into bed, I sat down on the mattress, only to find Reina Letem on the opposite bed making choking, gasping sounds as she slowly died. I didn’t even get to wash up—I just carried Reina on my back and ran to the Festival Emergency Medical Team to call for a healer.
Later I heard that Count Letem had come looking for her because all the donation funds had been depleted, and he’d swung his fists in anger. That family really does raise their children tough. For some reason, it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

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Perhaps today would bring good news. Crows had been cawing since morning—an inauspicious omen, yet I chose to interpret it otherwise. Reina was swaddled in bandages from head to toe due to her burns, but since the Third Princess had promised to summon a dedicated healer, this pitiful sight would be a rare spectacle to behold only until today.
“Third Princess! Go fetch bricks! Cement isn’t mixed by brute strength!”
“Understood!”
I stopped the Third Princess from splattering cement chunks everywhere and reassigned personnel to their proper stations. After yesterday’s leisure, being thrust directly onto the construction site today left my entire body creaking in protest. More troubling was the question: had I come all the way to the Academy only to abandon my studies and labor every single day?
“Hey there, Evan—could you come check the level for us?”
“On my way.”
I grabbed the spirit level and rushed over to the construction supervisor. On a job site, nothing mattered more than proper leveling. I adjusted my hard hat firmly and inspected both floor and ceiling. The first level would house kitchen facilities, so the drainage system had to be constructed with precision. Concealing the gradient adjustment required the finesse of a true mason.
“Well, I’ll be! When the Headmaster said he’d send students, I thought we’d get dead weight. But these folks are absolute professionals. We should be paying them, not the other way around!”
The construction supervisor praised me, asking where I’d learned masonry at such a young age. The Third Princess was commended for her tremendous strength—equivalent to ten grown laborers. Reina was delighted that no separate glass-shaping specialist was needed, saving considerable expense.
“That boy over there… well… he’ll find some use eventually, I suppose.”
As for Sunbird, he proved largely useless, though it mattered little since the Third Princess was working so diligently. That’s what I told myself, yet Sunbird seemed troubled, his head hanging low as he labored. If only he’d reveal that short-range teleportation ability of his—it would be tremendously helpful. I couldn’t fathom why he insisted on keeping it hidden.

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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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