Chapter 103 – The Harvest Festival Begins (5)

Morning of the 268th day of being stranded.

As soon as Se-jun woke up, went outside, and spotted Cuengi playing alone in front of the house, he tried to interrogate him about yesterday’s event.

However,

“Mmp mmp?! (Cuengi, did you know that the medicine you gave me yesterday smelled like poop?!)”

“President Park, shut your mouth, meow! The poop smell is still there, meow!”

“Mmp?! (Still?!)”

Theo quickly blocked Se-jun’s mouth, and Se-jun was confined to his house again. He could not cause harm to the animals with sensitive noses.

Fortunately, the bad breath completely disappeared by the afternoon. Of course, to remove the bad breath, Se-jun had to consume an immense amount of green onions and water.

“Phew. Now I feel like I can live.”

Se-jun went outside the house and said as he exhaled deeply.

“Cueng…”

As Se-jun came out, Cuengi, who had been guarding the front of the house, hovered around Se-jun. Daddy was angry…

“Cuengi, come here.”

“Cueng…”

At Se-jun’s words, Cuengi approached cautiously, reading his expression.

“Cuengi, why are you so downcast?”

Was this the heart of parents? Se-jun did not feel good seeing Cuengi reading his expression. He wondered how much the child must have suffered mentally to be so downcast.

“Cueng.”

Sensing that Se-jun’s mood had softened, Cuengi rubbed his face against Se-jun’s leg.

Rub, rub.

“Cuengi, are you going to give Daddy something that smells like poop again or not?”

As Se-jun stroked Cuengi’s head and spoke,

“Cueng!”

[I won’t give you anything that smells like poop anymore!]

Cuengi answered, shaking his head violently.

“Okay. Then let’s go eat.”

“Cueng!”

Cuengi cheered at Se-jun’s words.

Going to the kitchen area like that, Se-jun began cooking. Today’s dish was rice cake soup. There was bar rice cake, and the harvest festival gave off a somewhat holiday-like feeling.

“Iona, please slice this rice cake diagonally like this.”

“Yes. Wind Cutter.”

Iona began to diagonally slice the bar rice cake that had been put out to dry with magic.

“President Park! I can slice rice cake too, meow! Why don’t you give me work, meow?!”

Shing!

Theo extended his sharp claws and protested to Se-jun about why he was not given the task.

“President Theo, rest. A president doesn’t step up at any random time.”

Although he didn’t assign it because he was worried Theo’s flying fur would stick to the rice cakes if he moved to slice them, Se-jun spoke in a way that wouldn’t hurt Theo’s feelings.

“Was that so, meow?! Understood, meow! Then, as the president, I will rest even harder, meow!”

Although he didn’t fully understand Se-jun’s words, Theo, who regarded Se-jun’s words as truth, decided to rest again as Se-jun instructed.

‘Puhuhut. Now, even without doing these chores, I, President Theo, would occupy Park Se-jun’s lap, meow!’

Thus, Theo happily clung to Se-jun’s lap and began to rest. And while Iona was slicing the rice cakes, Se-jun made the broth for the rice cake soup.

Sizzle.

After putting the Purple Locust meat into the pot and stir-frying it, he poured water and kept boiling it along with the Detoxifying Green Onion. Now, the broth only required waiting.

Chop, chop, chop.

Se-jun sliced the green onions while waiting for the broth to be completed. It was for decoration to put on top of the rice cake soup.

“Kyut kyut kyut. I sliced it all!”

“Yeah. Good job.”

“Yes. Is there anything else you want me to do?”

“No. Nothing more now.”

“Yes!”

At Se-jun’s words that there was no more work, Iona ran to Theo, wrapped her body in Theo’s tail, and took a rest.

“Is it done?”

Se-jun ladled some broth and tasted it.

“Mhm. Now I just need to put the rice cakes in and season it.”

Se-jun put the sliced rice cakes that Iona had cut into the pot and seasoned it with salt.

“Cueng! Cueng!”

Cuengi danced, wiggling his butt in anticipation.

“Wait just a little. It’s almost done now.”

“Cueng!”

A moment later,

[You achieved the feat of making the first Purple Rice Cake Soup in the tower.]

[The recipe for Purple Rice Cake Soup was registered to Cooking Lv. 4.]

[The proficiency of Cooking Lv. 4 increased significantly.]

The rice cake soup was completed.

“Shall we see what effects it has?”

Se-jun checked the options of the rice cake soup.

[Purple Rice Cake Soup]

By adding the meat of the Purple Locust and the Detoxifying Green Onion and boiling at a high temperature, the nutrients of both ingredients were sufficiently extracted into the broth.

The Detoxifying Green Onion detoxified the extreme poison in the Purple Locust meat, preventing the dish from spoiling easily.

The taste improved slightly.

Satiety was maintained for 1 hour.

Cook: Tower Farmer Park Se-jun

Expiration Date: 10 days

Grade: D+

“There are no effects other than satiety?”

Perhaps because there were no crops included other than the Detoxifying Green Onion, there were no options attached to the dish.

“Well, as long as it tastes good. Here.”

Se-jun scooped the rice cake soup into Cuengi’s bowl and filled his own bowl to the brim. Then he placed the sliced green onions on top and sprinkled pepper.

“Here. Let’s eat now.”

“Cueng!”

When Se-jun scooped the rice cake soup along with the broth with a spoon and put it in his mouth, Cuengi also hurriedly began to drink the rice cake soup.

“Keuu. It’s delicious!”

Along with the well-seasoned chicken-flavored broth, the rice cake slices cut to an easy-to-chew thickness were chewed. Thanks to the dried bar rice cake, there was more texture when chewing.

Slurp.

Se-jun ate the rice cake soup with his head buried in it.

“Cueng!”

Cuengi, who finished a bowl in an instant, scooped the rice cake soup from the pot with a ladle, filled his bowl, sat in his spot, and ate.

However,

Slurp.

Cuengi repeated returning to his seat to eat the first few times and then going back to the pot to scoop, but later, he just stood in front of the pot, scooped it into his bowl with a ladle, and began drinking the rice cake soup.

Just as Se-jun finished one bowl like that,

“Huh?! You already ate it all?”

Cuengi also finished a pot.

“Kkuhehehe.”

Cuengi patted his belly and laughed happily.

At that moment,

“Sigh… now Cuengi became older than me. What to do? Now Cuengi became a grandfather.”

Feeling mischievous, Se-jun began playing a prank.

“Cueng?”

Cuengi was flustered when Se-jun suddenly called him grandfather. Why did he suddenly become a grandfather?

“Sorry. I should have told you that you gain a year of age every time you eat a bowl of rice cake soup…”

“Cueng?!”

Cuengi was flustered by Se-jun’s words. Cuengi hurriedly began to calculate the number of bowls of rice cake soup he had eaten.

Looking at the size of the pot, it was roughly 200 bowls. In an instant, he had become a Crimson Giant Honey Bear who had lived for 200 years and 198 days.

“Cueng…”

Cuengi collapsed in despair. Now he was older than Daddy. Now Theo hyung, Black Rabbit hyung, and Ppyuppyu nuna were all younger than him.

At that moment,

“Cueng?”

At a sudden thought, Cuengi raised his head. Then was he the oldest hyung?

“Meow?!”

Thud, thud, thud.

Cuengi snatched Theo and ran outside. He was trying to reorganize the hierarchy again.

“Huh?! Cuengi!”

Just as Se-jun was about to follow Cuengi out,

[A quest occurred.]

[Quest: Serve 175 bowls of Purple Rice Cake Soup that grants one year of age per bowl to the great Black Dragon, Aileen Pratarani.]

Reward: You can meet me!!!

Upon Rejection: Rejection was rejected!!!!!

Aileen, who took Se-jun’s playful words as fact, issued the quest.

“Ai… Aileen, that was…”

Se-jun hurriedly cleaned up after the words he spoke.

***

“Cueng! Cueng!”

[Now I’m the oldest hyung! Because I’m 200 years old!]

Cuengi gathered Theo, the Black Rabbit, and the Golden Bat in the cave and declared that since he was the oldest, he should be the oldest hyung.

However,

“What are you talking about, meow?! How does Cuengi suddenly become 200 years old, meow? And I am 250 years old, meow! Stop talking nonsense and go to President Park’s lap, meow!”

For Theo, Cuengi was still not there yet in terms of age.

At that moment,

“Pyak! Pyak! (Being old doesn’t make you the hyung! We should decide by the order of arrival here!)”

“What are you talking about, meow! We must decide the hierarchy in the order of bringing things helpful to President Park, meow!”

At the Black Rabbit’s words, a debate arose again regarding the criteria for deciding the hyung hierarchy.

“We must bring things helpful to President Park, meow!”

“Pyak! (We must decide the hierarchy in the order of arrival here!)”

“Cueng! (No! Let’s decide by size!)”

(I don’t mind either way.)

Since the Golden Bat had no possibility of becoming the oldest hyung anyway, it just watched from behind.

At that moment,

[Then I’m the oldest hyung. Or rather, the oldest nuna.]

Flamie cut into their conversation.

“What are you talking about, meow?”

[I came here first, and I’m the biggest.]

Since she was planted first and also had a giant root under the ground, Flamie’s words were correct.

[Besides, I can also give Master things that are helpful.]

“I cannot accept that, meow!”

At Flamie’s words, Theo shouted. Even if he could accept everything else, he could not accept the third point.

At that moment,

[Even with this?]

Along with Flamie’s words, a yellowtail fish over 10m in size appeared in the pond. It was a fish Flamie had caught herself from the Sea of Dimensions using her roots.

“It’s a huge fish, meow!”

Theo hurriedly ran toward the yellowtail.

[How about it? Do you accept?]

“Meow! Still, I cannot accept it, meow! The hierarchy must be decided by age, meow!”

Theo, who could not yield the highest rank in the hierarchy to Flamie, shouted while hugging the yellowtail.

“Cueng! (I agree!)”

[I agree too.]

Thanks to Cuengi and Flamie agreeing, Theo maintained his position as the oldest hyung.

“Cueng!”

Cuengi was happy that he had now become second in the hierarchy.

However,

“Cuengi. What I said earlier was a joke.”

Se-jun, who came back after explaining to Aileen with difficulty, told Cuengi the truth.

“Kwe-e-eng!”

Cuengi looked at Se-jun with a resentful gaze. What was he supposed to do if Se-jun said that now!

“Pyak!”

“Ppyok! Ppyok! Ppyok!”

The Black Rabbit was glaring at Cuengi while swinging his hammer with an angry look.

***

“Kehehehe. Eating a bowl of that rice cake soup makes you one year older?”

Aileen, who had become able to hear even voices through the crystal ball as her magic power increased, became excited upon hearing Se-jun’s voice.

“Kehehehe. If I just eat 175 bowls of that, I can meet Se-jun too!”

It was Aileen, whose Dragon Heart condition was improving thanks to eating honey jelly every day.

Aileen quickly gave Se-jun a quest.

“Quickly make 175 bowls of rice cake soup for me!”

However,

-Aileen, sorry, it was a joke to Cuengi. In the place where I used to live, there was a custom of gaining a year of age only by eating rice cake soup…

Se-jun said that his words were a joke. Of course Se-jun boiled fresh rice cake soup for her, but there was no way Aileen’s mood would improve with just that.

“Khinghinghing. I’m sad, but it’s delicious.”

While Aileen was eating the tear-soaked rice cake soup deliciously,

-Wait. Why is our princess crying?!

Kaiser, who noticed Aileen’s abnormality, hurriedly asked.

“Khinghing! Grandfather! I want to polymorph and meet Se-jun!”

Aileen, who burst into tears at Kaiser’s words, spoke tearfully.

-Alright! Since my granddaughter wants it so much! This grandfather will help!

Kaiser grew to want to keep Se-jun, who was suitable as a drinking partner, a bit closer.

“Really?!”

-Of course! Instead, do not block me while talking with your grandfather in the future. Got it?

“Yeah!”

Kaiser will be able to brag to Aileen like this was thanks to the Blessing of Mana spread on the 99th floor of the tower as the harvest festival began.

Due to the Blessing of Mana, the mana concentration on the 99th floor of the tower was gradually rising.

By around the last day of the festival, the mana concentration on the 99th floor of the tower would rise to its peak, and it felt as if Aileen could stay in her polymorphed state for a few minutes if Kaiser assisted her from the side.

-Since I will teach you polymorph from now on, you must listen well.

“Yes!”

Kaiser began to teach Aileen polymorph magic in a crash course.