Chapter 153 – You Must Be Very Hungry, Right

Kkosi! Kkosi!

[Here it is! I specially brought the most delicious head!]

By the time Cuengi filled his snack pouch full of chestnuts, Godori proudly brought a snake’s head about the size of a fist to Se-jun. Blood was dripping from it, perhaps because it had just been hunted.

“Ah! Sorry… I forgot that I just ate a meal a moment ago.”

Kkosi… Kkosi!

[Oh dear… then take it and eat it when you are hungry!]

Godori pushed the snake’s head toward Se-jun.

“No! That will absolutely never happen!!!”

Se-jun stepped back and shouted.

Kkosi…?

[Could it be that our hospitality is not to your liking…?]

Godori asked, feeling anxious.

“Ah… no, it’s not that…”

Se-jun was in a difficult spot, unable to speak the truth, and

“Se-jun-nim, I… I am sorry!”

Hegel and the Black Wolf wolves, who had run over quickly, knelt down and apologized. They were on their way back after hurriedly finishing their conversation with the waypoint boss of the 83rd floor of the tower upon hearing the news from the golden bat that Se-jun was looking for them.

Such hedgehogs surrounding Se-jun came into Hegel’s view.

‘There were monsters?!’

“Se-jun-nim! Please let me take responsibility with just my life!”

Since he had not known there were monsters hiding, Hegel was restless with his mistake. Even if he had ten mouths, he would have nothing to say. No matter what happened, he had to wrap things up with his single life.

“It’s fine. Still, please be a bit more careful next time.”

Honestly, it was fortunate they were hedgehogs; if another monster had appeared, it might not have ended this well.

“Yes! Thank you for forgiving me! I will engrave Se-jun-nim’s words into my bones!”

“Right. By the way, Hegel, you look very hungry? You must be very hungry from running over, right? You’ll be very hungry? Right? Eat this.”

Se-jun persistently forced the hunger on Hegel, pointing at the snake’s head.

“Yes?! Se-jun-nim…”

Although Se-jun had said it desperately just to dispose of the snake’s head somehow,

‘To give this delicious thing to me, who made a mistake!’

Hegel was said to have been deeply moved that day.

“Now! Let’s work!”

Having handed the snake’s head over to Hegel, Se-jun hurriedly began the chestnut harvest.

Kkosi!

When the hedgehogs climbed the trees and dropped the chestnut burrs, Cuengi and Se-jun pried open the shells of the chestnut burrs to take out the chestnuts.

Cueng!

Cuengi sat plop on the ground and easily peeled the chestnut burrs brought by the hedgehogs with his hands, but

“Ground Moving!”

Se-jun used the skill, resorting to the cumbersome method of putting 100 chestnut burrs into the ground at a time to peel them. It couldn’t be helped. Since he couldn’t peel them with his hands.

By the time they had cleanly cleared the chestnut burrs from about half of the chestnut trees like that,

Growl.

Cueng!

[Dad, I’m hungry-da-yo!]

Cuengi’s belly clock rang. It was time for dinner.

Kkosi!

[We will go hunt the dinner for Cuengi-nim to eat!]

As if a major disaster had occurred at Cuengi’s words of being hungry, Godori fussed and stepped forward.

“No! You guys worked hard too. Let’s eat something else today.”

Kkosi…

[No, but still…]

Godori walked on eggshells, feeling anxious.

“No! Stay still! Or I will kick you out of the farm!”

Se-jun spoke firmly, even threatening the hedgehogs. The snake’s head was simply too unappealing.

Kkosi!

[We will stay still!]

The hedgehogs froze at Se-jun’s words. No, guys, that’s not what I meant. Se-jun explained that it meant they didn’t have to fetch dinner again, and then started preparing dinner.

Dinner was chestnut porridge and roasted chestnuts using the chestnuts harvested today.

Rattle, rattle.

Se-jun went to a stream near the farm and washed the chestnuts diligently. The chestnuts harvested today were almost 100,000. Among them, he washed 5,000.

“Now! We wash them diligently!”

Kkosi!

Of course, he did it with the hedgehogs. Since there was a large number of hedgehogs, even if they only washed one each, 5,000 was done in no time.

Having washed the chestnuts like that, he put 3,000 of them into a pot and began to boil them.

And,

“You guys make incisions in the chestnuts.”

(Yes!)

“Yes! Please leave it to us!”

He had the golden bat and the wolves make incisions in the remaining 2,000 chestnuts for roasting. That way, the shells could be easily peeled later.

Swish.

Next, using the Wealth-Swallowing Rice Dough, Se-jun poured rice flour into the pot, added water, and boiled it while continuously stirring with a stick.

At that moment,

Cueng?

[Is there nothing for Cuengi to do-da-yo?]

Cuengi, who usually just slept in the back, asked if there was nothing to do today of all days.

“Of course there is. Here, you just have to keep stirring this.”

Se-jun did not miss the opportunity and passed his work to Cuengi.

“Hegel, find out the path to the waypoint. Because we will harvest the chestnuts and go straight up to the 99th floor of the tower.”

Utilizing the brief remaining time, Se-jun instructed Hegel to find out the path to the waypoint in advance. It was for a quick return to the 99th floor of the tower.

The return time to the 99th floor of the tower was being delayed because the chestnut harvest volume was larger than expected.

“Yes! Even without that, I finished talking with the boss guarding the waypoint.”

When Hegel said that the Great Black Dragon would visit the waypoint soon, the boss Black Mongoose guarding the waypoint,

Mong!!!

upon hearing the news that he could receive the Great Black Dragon, ordered his subordinates to prepare a grand party, Hegel said.

‘Surely it’s not a giant snake’s head?’

Leaving the ominous feeling behind, Se-jun took out a chestnut to check if it was boiled well.

Slice.

When he cut the chestnut in half with a dagger and ate the contents inside, it was crumbly.

“It is boiled well. Everyone, peel this this time.”

Se-jun entrusted the peeling of the boiled chestnuts this time to the golden bat and the wolves who were resting after making incisions in the chestnuts.

Kkosi!

[We will do it too!]

Godori stepped forward, perhaps anxious about playing around by themselves.

“How are you going to peel this?”

Ting!

At Se-jun’s question, Godori plucked out one of his steel spikes.

And,

Kkoshushushuk.

taking a fencer’s fente posture, he stabbed toward the boiled chestnut.

Kkosi?

[How is it?]

Godori asked with a confident face.

“I heard all the sounds you made with your mouth. And I told you to peel the chestnut shells, who told you to make holes?!”

Kkosi…

[I’m sorry…]

“No, there’s no need to be sorry…”

Although Se-jun said something to Godori, who couldn’t do the job properly, he couldn’t scold him severely either.

‘What if he gets annoyed while being scolded and stabs me?’

The power of Godori’s stabbing attack was extraordinary. A hole could have been made in Se-jun’s bone armor.

“If it’s hard to stay still, go pick chestnut burrs.”

Kkosi!

[Yes!]

Like that, the hedgehogs picked chestnut burrs again until dinner was completed.

And,

“Now! Let’s eat dinner!”

Se-jun and the animals ate their fill of roasted chestnuts and chestnut porridge, and fell asleep.

***

‘There is no way the box he took last time is a decent item…’

Taru was confused as he looked at Theo, who proudly presented 1,000 tower coins.

‘Does this mean he is not a gutless fellow who gives up after failing just once?’

Although Theo had succeeded in the draw and came to draw again, Taru thought that Theo was a cat merchant with grit.

“What are you doing, meow? Take the money quickly, meow!”

Theo urged Taru to take the money. Theo wanted to do the draw quickly and go to Se-jun. To be precise, to Se-jun’s knees.

“Alright. Keep in mind that you can only bring out one this time too.”

Thud.

Taru opened the door to the lost-and-found warehouse.

“I know, meow! Then I will enter, meow! Meow-meow-meow!”

Theo entered the lost-and-found warehouse while humming. The lost-and-found warehouse had a total of eight rooms, four on the left and four on the right, centered around a middle hallway.

“It’s this way, meow.”

Theo stretched out his front paw and moved following the pull. The place he moved to like that was the third room on the left. Inside the room, there was a giant pile of junk created by simply stacking up lost items whenever they appeared.

On the pile of junk, even white dust was accumulated, showing how long it had been neglected. To find an item, he would have to be covered in dust.

Originally, it was the place where the pull of his front paw was the strongest, but it was a place Theo had passed by because he hated getting his body dirty.

“In the end, the time has come to rummage through here, meow!”

Theo began to rummage through the junk pile diligently. Although the remaining one pull was also inside a junk pile in another room, the pull was weaker than here.

Like that, Theo rummaged through the junk pile for an hour.

“Found it, meow!”

Theo, covered in lots of dust, picked up and lifted a black stone fragment that fit snugly in his front paw.

“But what is this, meow?”

Theo spoke while examining the stone fragment closely. No matter how he looked at it, it was just a stone. However, this was the end of his role.

“Aileen sister will appraise what this is, meow!”

And when the appraisal was finished…

“Puhuhut. It is an extension of Vice Chairman Theo’s term, meow!”

Theo left the lost-and-found warehouse majestically.

“You really want to take that?”

Taru asked as he looked at the grubby Theo, who had come out of the lost-and-found warehouse carrying a single black stone fragment. Since he had been in there for over an hour, Taru had thought he would bring out something grand…

“Yes, meow!”

However, while coming out with a single stone fragment, Theo answered so brightly again. His appearance was such that sympathy couldn’t help but well up naturally.

Taru increasingly felt like he was committing a sin. Last time it was a shabby box, and this time, a stone fragment that one could probably pick up dozens of while walking on the road.

‘If you wanted such a stone fragment, just search the streets! Don’t make me feel guilty for no reason!’

“Then I will go, meow!”

“Sure.”

As Theo turned and left, Taru barely held back his desire to call Theo and return the money.

‘Since he took such a stone fragment, he really won’t come again now, right?’

Taru felt a bit regretful at the thought that Theo would never come again.

Thud!

Taru closed the lost-and-found warehouse, feeling a sense of regret.

***

The next morning.

“Heave-ho!”

Se-jun woke up from sleep in optimal physical condition. It was only natural since he had slept on the fluffy belly of Cuengi, who had grown to a size of 3 meters.

Se-jun carefully came down from Cuengi’s belly and prepared breakfast. He decided on honey siruttek as the breakfast menu.

Adding a little water to the rice flour and filtering it through a fine sieve, he put half into the steamer first, sprinkled honey in the middle, and then added the remaining rice flour and steamed it, so it didn’t require much effort.

When about 20 minutes passed and it was time for the siruttek to be completed,

Sniff, sniff.

Cueng?

[Is this the smell of honey siruttek nearing completion-da-yo?]

Cuengi woke up, catching the scent like a ghost. Having eaten breakfast with honey siruttek like that, they started the chestnut harvest again.

At that moment,

“Se-jun-nim, leave it to us now! We will do it all!”

Hegel spoke to Se-jun, who was taking out chestnuts from the chestnut burrs using the Ground Moving skill, showing him how skillfully he could peel chestnut burrs.

The wolves had been whining in the corner since yesterday practicing something, and it seemed they had practiced peeling chestnut burrs.

“Good work. But I also need practice… so let’s just do it together.”

“Yes!”

Se-jun was practicing the Ground Moving skill while harvesting chestnuts. Thanks to that, there was progress. Yesterday, he had taken out chestnuts from about 100 chestnut burrs at a time, but today he took out chestnuts from about 120 chestnut burrs.

Thanks to the wolves also joining the peeling of chestnut burrs, the chestnut harvest ended faster than expected.

“Godori, keep guarding the chestnut tree farm well.”

Kkosi!

[Leave it to us! I will sacrifice my life!]

At Se-jun’s words, Godori answered with a solemn face.

“No. If it is too dangerous, you can run away. Since you just need to convey the news to the 99th floor of the tower. Got it? Don’t risk your life.”

Se-jun advised Godori and set off for the waypoint.

“Let’s go!”

When Se-jun rode the wolves for about an hour and arrived at the waypoint,

[The Boss of the 83rd Floor of the Tower, Black Mongoose Mong-gu]

Mong-mong!

The boss of the 83rd floor of the tower, Black Mongoose Mong-gu, who was about 1m in size, and other black mongooses who were Mong-gu’s subordinates, bowed to Se-jun.

‘As expected…’

Just as Se-jun had expected, behind the black mongooses, a giant snake’s head was being roasted for Se-jun.

“I am not hungry, so you guys eat cleanly without leaving anything, even my portion!”

Before Mong-gu could offer the snake’s head, Se-jun made the first move and spoke.

“Yes! Guys, let’s go!”

Mong?!

The black mongooses were bewildered at the instruction to eat the snake’s head, but when the wolves ate the snake’s head, the black mongooses also hurriedly began to eat the snake’s head.

Cueng!

“Not you, Cuengi!”

Se-jun stopped Cuengi, who was trying to run after the wolves.

And,

[The waypoint of the 83rd floor of the tower has been saved.]

[Loading the saved waypoints of other floors.]

[Saved other floor waypoints (2)]

-99th Floor of the Tower

-77th Floor of the Tower

He registered the waypoint.

“Let’s go now. Cuengi and the golden bat, enter the void storage.”

When Se-jun was about to move to the 99th floor of the tower through the waypoint,

“Huh?! Theo is nearby?”

Sniff, sniff.

Bat-bat…

At Se-jun’s words, Cuengi and the golden bat concentrated on the scent and sound.

After a while,

Cueng!

[I smell big hyung-da-yo!]

(I hear big hyung-nim’s footsteps!)

The two looked at Se-jun with wonder, feeling that Theo was close. The same went for Se-jun.

“But how did I feel it?”

It seemed that just as Theo had a Se-jun detector, Se-jun had also gained the ability to detect Theo.

After waiting for about 30 minutes like that,

“Chairman Park, I have come, meow!”

The grubby-looking Theo appeared and clung to Se-jun’s knee. Thanks to that, they were able to return to the 99th floor of the tower together.

And,

“Chairman Park, this is not right, meow! As Vice Chairman Theo, I refuse the bath, meow!”

“I refuse too.”

Splash.

As soon as he arrived, Theo went straight to the fountain for a bath.