The Status Effect Count - Chapter 7

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

Abnormal Status: Count, Episode 007
Anne questioned it without realizing, but the strange phenomenon would not wait for her.
[Time remaining until selection: 10]
[9]
Wait, shouldn’t you at least explain what this is?
[8]
[7]
[6]
From somewhere far away, the head maid’s voice rang out.
“Move quickly! We’re the only ones who can save the Count!”
The voice, now grown so distant it sounded like a dream, snapped her back to reality.
[5]
[4]
Even as Anne tried to move, gripping Sol, a white tray blocked her vision.
Anne grew frantic. The Count’s rigid body was growing colder by the moment.
‘Get out of the way already!’
She shook her head violently to try to brush it away, but the white tray clung stubbornly to her eyes with no sign of disappearing.
And it was even expanding!
So persistent, like some obnoxious customer who demands just one more drink right at closing time!
The type who throws themselves on the floor threatening a scene if you don’t comply!
[3]
[2]
“I’ll do it! I don’t know what it is, but I’ll do it! Restart!”
At her urgent cry, the numbers descending in rapid succession jerked to a halt.
[Request received from ‘ ‘.]
[‘ ‘ has selected Restart.]
[Saving all records up to this point.]
[≫ Restarting.]
[An error occurred!]
[≫ Restarting.]
[An error occurred!]
[≫ Restarting.]
:
:
Countless trays burst forth.
Soon the entire world flashed white.
* * *
When her eyes opened, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
……No, truly, an unfamiliar ceiling indeed.
The sight of this expensive, ornate ceiling — one she’d never seen in her life — made goosebumps rise across her skin. How could she be lying peacefully in such a place!
By reflex, Anne rolled from the bed and scrambled away. The room was very luxurious, very expensive.
‘Why am I here?’
Just moments ago, she’d been bathing the Count.
His body had hardened like stone, growing strange and rigid as some peculiar fluid leaked from him……. And then suddenly…….
‘I saw something strange.’
Strange words moving rapidly.
Numbers falling as if urging her on, and those incomprehensible snow-white trays. Content that made no sense whatsoever.
“I do remember shouting that I’d do it, though…….”
After that, she remembered nothing.
What on earth was that? Had some acrid smell caused her to hallucinate? And had she fainted?
“Or maybe it was a dream…….”
Anne mumbled vacantly. Nothing felt real to her at all.
The fluids seeping across the floor…….
The Count, rigid and stiff…….
And the way he’d grasped her hand, making a firm resolve…….
“The bonus!”
It struck her like lightning.
He’d promised to give her a bonus!
That alone was what had driven her up those stairs.
‘Surely he wouldn’t renege on his word just because I lost consciousness in the middle.’
No way. Ann shook her head.
If it were someone else, perhaps—but Belentse is a rather generous employer. She’d mentioned a promotion, hadn’t she? But that was probably just talk.
Ann grasped the doorknob with an anxious heart.
In that instant, a clear, crystalline chime rang out. She’d heard that sound before.
And then——
[Hello there. What a pleasure to see you again!]
Something suddenly burst into view right before her eyes. To her astonishment, a white rectangular panel appeared and spoke to her.
“What—what is that?”
[Thank you for logging back in. I’m so delighted to meet you again, Protagonist!]
Poof—a shower of flower petals scattered across her vision. But the moment she blinked, they vanished.
“Um, excuse me? Are you… talking to me?”
Ann glanced about uncertainly.
But there was no one around. Only this panel.
The panel, speaking in an oddly over-bright but subtly rigid tone, continued addressing her.
[Due to an extended absence, identity verification is required. Please tell me your name, Protagonist!]
“What are you saying——”
[Please tell me your name, Protagonist!]
“Look, I——”
[Please tell me your name, Protagonist!]
“Stop—stop growing! It’s Ann. Ann Marita!”
Shooosh—
Only then did the panel, which had been inflating like a balloon, shrink back to its normal size.
[Ann Marita. Welcome! Please come into the world of _____!]
Whoosh—a gust of wind blew through.
As Ann’s hair whipped about, colorful panels bloomed like flowers, flashing brilliantly before her eyes.
So overwhelming was the commotion that Ann’s wits were scattered clean away. She finally lost her temper.
“Listen! I don’t know who you are, but stop playing games and show yourself!”
Ding—ding—ding—!
Ignoring her words, the panels continued to rise higher and higher.
Ann stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the bed, and finally squeezed her eyes shut.
[7-Day Attendance Check! Here’s a special reward!]
[Phantom Spring. Check out your new package!]
What good was closing her eyes? This time the noise was deafening, chaos erupting all around.
Why are you doing this to me!
[Return Welcome—Day 1 reward granted!]
Clink-clink.
‘Money!’
At the familiar sound, Ann’s eyes snapped open.
Among the shower of countless things still pouring down, something in the corner of her vision caught her eye.
[Held Currency: 100 Gold.]
“100 Gold?”
Ann let out a sharp cry.
The colorful panels continued erupting before her eyes. Growing and multiplying, they soon blocked her view entirely.
Unable to bear it any longer, Ann shoved open the door and dashed out—and in an instant, all the maddening panels vanished.
“What on earth?”
Not everything that had been visible was gone.
What remained had shrunk to tiny size. They lingered at the edge of her vision, barely noticeable unless she focused.
The most prominent was at the very top—
[Lv. 1 Ann Marita]
An odd symbol and her name. Just beside it, a date was written.
‘How strange……’
Next to that were an envelope shape, three small marks, and her held currency.
Every time her gaze fell upon that sum, her heart began to race.
100 Gold.
‘For what it’s worth, it’s not real.’
The 100 Gold had no substance—a cruel irony to her tearful demand. No matter how much she rifled through her pockets, no satisfying clink of coins rewarded her. The wretched numbers simply hovered, leaving her rich in spirit alone.
At least something made her wealthy—or was there any consolation in that?
None whatsoever. Her excitement deflated entirely.
‘Who is doing this to me?’

No matter how she thought about it, it felt like someone’s prank. A particularly spiteful magical prank, at that.
But who in their right mind would waste such an expensive joke on a lowly maid?
And there was something else strange as well.
“Ann Marita.”
“Head Maid!”
At the sound of Belentse’s voice from the far end of the corridor, Ann’s head snapped up.
The head maid looked utterly exhausted—like someone who hadn’t slept a wink and had worked all night long.
“Yesterday was quite the ordeal. I thought we’d be holding a funeral by now without any way around it. It’s thanks to you, Marita.”
Despite her haggard expression, Belentse spoke in a gentle tone.
“Once the Count regains consciousness, I’ll make sure to convey your service and see that you receive a proper reward. Remember that.”
It was considerable praise.
She ought to have been delighted at the prospect of the reward that would follow…….
Ann hesitated before asking.
“Thank you, Head Maid. But how……was it all resolved?”
“You don’t remember? Surely you and I were the ones who took the Count from the bathhouse……to pour water…….”
The head maid’s words trailed off and became sparse. Belentse’s face grew increasingly vague.
“……That’s strange. I do remember that it was all resolved somehow…….”
Ann felt a kinship with her and lifted her head with sudden vigor.
“Exactly, right? The liquid on my clothes yesterday, and everything in the corridor—it’s all been cleaned up perfectly.”
“The corridor?”
As if only now realizing, Belentse looked around at her surroundings.
The viscous fluids that had occupied the second-floor corridor and run down the stairs had vanished without a trace.
In a single night. Like magic!
‘Did I really dream the whole thing?’
Now she was beginning to doubt herself.
“Is that really so……? Why am I only realizing this now?”
The head maid furrowed her brow and tilted her head.
It seemed Ann wasn’t the only one who couldn’t quite remember yesterday’s events clearly.
“Never mind. Let’s go see the Count instead.”
Yet Belentse spoke in a tone that made it sound trivial. Her voice carried something otherworldly, as if she were entranced.
Hm?
Ann, sensing something off, looked at Belentse, but her face seemed no different from usual.

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