Chapter 146 – Then Let’s Start the Bargaining, Meow!

“Just go. This is not a place to do draws.”

Taru, the guard of the lost-and-found warehouse, tried to persuade this cat merchant with kind words and send him back gently.

However,

“Then let’s start the bargaining, meow!”

“I said no!”

This cat merchant had no intention of listening.

“How about 1 Tower Coin for one draw, meow?!”

On top of that, such an absurd price?!

‘Look at this guy……’

Tight.

Taru felt strangely offended by the price Theo called, and unconsciously gripped his spear harder.

Even if there was no useful item in the lost-and-found warehouse, 1 Tower Coin?! Then what about him, who had guarded this place for over 100 years?

While Taru was feeling displeased like that,

‘I must buy as cheaply as possible to become a good merchant, meow!’

Theo, who believed that buying good items as cheaply as possible to maximize profit was the virtue of a capable merchant, only thought about doing the draw as cheaply as possible.

Wish as he might to just go in for free and bring out everything he liked, Theo still had a conscience.

“I said this is not that kind of place.”

Taru held back the anger rising from his chest and refused with kind words again.

However,

“Then 1.1 Tower Coins!”

Theo’s bargaining was just beginning.

“No.”

“Then 1.2 Tower Coins!”

“I said no!”

“1.3 Tower Coins!”

“I said no!”

Theo bargained, refusing Taru’s continuous refusals.

‘What a persistent fellow!’

Taru grew fed up as he watched Theo raise the price bit by bit. He had heard that the best traveling merchant was cheap, but he did not know it would be to this extent. He was far too stingy.

Several hours passed like that.

“10 Tower Coins!”

“Hey! That’s too cheap!!!”

In the end, Taru, enraged by the bargaining price Theo called, shouted.

“You startled me, meow! If it was because it was cheap, you should have said so, meow! How about 20 Tower Coins for one draw, meow?”

Theo generously doubled the bargaining price.

“1,000 Tower Coins. Otherwise, you cannot enter.”

Taru spoke firmly. If it was a place he guarded, it had to have at least that much value.

Taru thought that Theo was definitely hoping for a stroke of luck again after luckily drawing the item Leken was aiming for last time. Thus, he intended to teach this cheeky cat a lesson.

‘If he pays 1,000 Tower Coins to draw a useless item, he’ll snap out of it quickly.’

If he paid 1,000 Tower Coins this time and drew a useless item that didn’t even make money, he probably wouldn’t come back asking to do a draw in the future.

“Give me a discount, meow!”

When the other party presented a price, Theo attempted to ask for a discount three times. However, Taru had no intention of bargaining, so he stood firm.

“Then I will just do it, meow! Here is 3,000 Tower Coins, meow!”

Theo’s purpose was to do what Se-jun ordered.

‘I asked for a discount three times just as President Park ordered, meow!’

Theo confidently handed over 3,000 Tower Coins to Taru. There were three items he couldn’t catch last time. He intended to bring all of them out today.

“Three?!”

Rather, Taru was flustered by Theo’s response.

“Three is not allowed. You can only bring out one, no matter what.”

Although he wanted him to suffer a loss, the amount was too large for that. Taru, worried about Theo’s loss, returned 2,000 Tower Coins.

And,

Thud.

He opened the door of the giant lost-and-found warehouse.

Whoosh.

When the door opened, the torches inside the lost-and-found warehouse, which had been submerged in darkness, lit up.

“Why are there so many things that aren’t allowed, meow?!”

As Theo grumbled,

“If you don’t want to, just go back!”

“No, meow! I will enter then, meow!”

When Taru tried to close the door of the lost-and-found warehouse again, Theo hurriedly entered the lost-and-found warehouse.

10 minutes later.

“Meow! Meow!”

Theo carried out a shabby box, groaning under its weight.

“Will you go with that?”

Taru naturally thought he had chosen an item inside the box and looked inside.

However,

Empty.

The inside was empty.

“Are you seriously choosing that box?!”

“That’s right, meow! I’ll come again next time, meow!”

Theo put the box in his bundle and left with a proud expression.

“Come again? He won’t be coming back ever again……”

Taru was certain that Theo had chosen garbage.

***

The land of the Golden Dragon.

Thud. Thud.

Kaiser and Kellion arrived. As they entered, golden, red, blue, purple, green, and brown dragons had already arrived.

“Now everyone has gathered. Well, let’s start the meeting.”

As the two entered, Artemis Yul, the golden dragon and family head of the Yul Family who hosted the meeting, announced the start of the meeting.

However, due to the nature of dragons not interfering with each other, there was not much to talk about. A meeting simply instructing them to wake up sleeping dragons and fight hard in preparation for the Black Moon proceeded formally.

And when the meeting ended and the dragons were about to leave,

“Eat some of this before you go. It is food made with crops harvested by our Golden Tower’s tower farmer.”

Artemis treated the dragons to food. The intention was obvious. ‘I have a capable tower farmer.’ He was trying to show this off.

“Hahaha. It’s embarrassing to only be treated, so I should take out something as well. This is alcohol brewed by our Red Tower’s tower farmer.”

“Ahem. This is……”

Other dragons also began boasting by taking out things made by the tower farmers of the towers they managed.

However,

“……”

“……”

Kaiser and Kellion silently ate the things the other dragons took out. Kaiser did want to boast of Se-jun’s crops, but he held back for Kellion, who was feeling hurt in his pride next to him.

Although he was like an enemy normally, Kaiser did not want to hurt Kellion’s pride by boasting about his crops as well in this situation.

At that moment,

“Kaiser, Kellion, why aren’t you taking anything out? How delicious is the thing you have that you’re hiding it so tightly? Let’s eat together. Right? Hahaha.”

Tier Peten, the purple dragon and family head of the Peten Family, spoke with a laugh. His eyes were full of a looking-down gaze.

……

At Tier’s words, the atmosphere of the conference room cooled down icily.

The family heads did not leave the home of the dragons, but because other dragons interacted with each other, they knew the general situation of the other towers, even if not precisely.

The Black Tower did not have a tower farmer because of Kaiser’s granddaughter Aileen, and in the White Tower, farming was not working at all because Kellion’s grandson Ajax had suddenly become the tower farmer.

Tier had spoken despite knowing all of that.

“……”

“Eek!”

Kaiser stared at Tier silently, and Kellion swallowed his anger and endured.

‘Hehehe. Go ahead and get angry.’

Tier, who held a grudge against the two normally, secretly hoped they would get angry. If Kaiser and Kellion got angry here, he would step back saying he didn’t know, making only the two of them look ridiculous.

At that moment,

“Tier, they might not want to take things out if they don’t wish to. I don’t think there is any need to force them.”

Brachio Iolg, the green dragon and female family head of the Iolg Family, spoke to Tier in a cold voice and defended Kaiser and Kellion.

Because her granddaughter Ophelia was also a tower farmer, Kellion’s situation did not feel like someone else’s business. Of course, the green dragons were the most nature-friendly race among dragons. Among dragons, they were farming elites.

However, Brachio was greatly surprised upon seeing the Black Tower’s crops received as a reward at the harvest festival recently held in the Green Tower.

She was surprised that a tower farmer had appeared in the Black Tower, and she was surprised once more by the crops harvested by the Black Tower’s tower farmer.

The crops of the Black Tower’s tower farmer, Park Se-jun, were still low in grade, but they were perfect. They caught two rabbits at once, whether it was taste or effect.

Thus, she had planned to have a separate conversation with Kaiser after the meeting ended… but Tier was ruining the atmosphere.

“Ahem. I was too rash. I’m sorry. If you don’t want to take things out, you don’t have to…… well, if you two had nothing to take out, I was planning to share some.”

Tier smirked until the very end.

“Let’s disperse for today and meet again in three months.”

Since the atmosphere was bad, Artemis hurriedly stepped forward and ended the meeting. Once dragons began meetings, starting with the Yul Family, they held a meeting in each family’s land once every three months. That was the law of the dragons.

***

Night of the 301st day of being stranded.

“The rabbits, poison honeybees, and mushroom ants have all gone inside their homes……”

Se-jun prepared for the 11th Blue Moon which would begin soon.

[The administrator of the tower says she is sorry for not being able to help.]

Aileen diligently charged magic power into the searchlight Kaiser had made, but the searchlight needed two bars to operate. With Aileen’s magic power, it was difficult to charge even one bar.

“It’s fine. Because I have prepared sufficiently today.”

Se-jun said as he looked at the farm guarded by the Pink Bear and five Black Minotaurs. Just looking at it made him feel reassured.

In the meantime, every time Flamie became able to use the Flame of Purification, Se-jun had used it on a Black Minotaur. As a result, five of them became unaffected by the Blue Moon.

Additionally, since Cuengi was also here, this much was enough to guard the farm.

At that moment,

Cueng!

[Dad, there is no abnormality!]

(Bat-bat. Se-jun, there’s no abnormality!)

Cuengi and the Golden Bat returned after patrolling to check if there were any fire ants or poison honeybees invading the farm.

“Good job. Let’s eat a late-night snack then.”

Se-jun prepared a late-night snack for the animals who were staying up late and working hard.

Cueng!

[I like it!]

At the mention of a late-night snack, Cuengi cheered with his short front paws and grew excited.

“I’ll make you Garae-tteok today.”

Yesterday, money came in again as the wizards of the Magic Tower, who could not come outside during the Blue Moon, bought snacks.

And with that money, he put money into the Relic: Rice Dough that Swallows Wealth, obtained rice flour, then made Garae-tteok dough and put it into the treasure warehouse of the Red Ribbon Kingdom. While doing so, he realized.

“A! I’m rich……”

Selling just one gold bar in the treasure warehouse would easily yield dozens of coins… Se-jun had completely forgotten about the treasure in the treasure warehouse.

‘I should buy an authority with this later.’

Se-jun closed the treasure warehouse, resolving to buy a new authority with the wealth in the treasure warehouse.

After a day passed like that,

[Current list of items that can be released from the Red Ribbon Kingdom’s treasure warehouse (total of 23,918,120 items)]

Sticky Dough 1 kg x5

…

..

.

The dough had changed into sticky dough. The Black Rabbit had pounded it diligently and put it back in.

“I’ll take out five 1 kg packs of sticky dough.”

[Releasing five 1 kg packs of sticky dough from the Red Ribbon Kingdom’s treasure warehouse.]

“Now. Press slowly and gently!”

Se-jun said as he put the dough into the manual Garae-tteok machine held by Cuengi.

Cueng!

Having already done it several times, Cuengi began to skillfully extrude Garae-tteok, and

[You have completed the chewy Garae-tteok.]

[The proficiency of Cooking Lv. 4 increases slightly.]

[Due to the effect of Cooking Lv. 4, the taste and effect of the chewy Garae-tteok increase slightly.]

The Garae-tteok was completed. As the Black Rabbit’s skill improved, the word ‘a little’ that had been attached in front of Garae-tteok also disappeared.

“Here. Let’s eat!”

Se-jun cut the Garae-tteok into bite-sized pieces and gave them to the Pink Bear, Cuengi, and the Golden Bat. Of course, since Garae-tteok could not go without honey, he also brought out a lot of honey.

“Here. You guys eat this.”

Mooo!

(We will eat well!)

The Black Minotaurs did not eat because they disliked the texture of the rice cake. Instead, he gave them a lot of cut cherry tomato stems.

When Se-jun and the animals had finished eating the late-night snack harmoniously like that,

“Huh?! It’s the Blue Moon!”

A blue moon rose in the sky.

“Let’s work now.”

Se-jun said as he stood up. They had to disperse and grasp the positions of the crops imbued with the energy of the Blue Moon.

At that moment,

“President Park! I have come, meow!”

Theo, who arrived just in time, threw himself toward Se-jun.

“Oh! Vice President Theo, welcome!”

“Meow?!”

It was Theo, who ended up working as soon as he arrived.