In the administrator’s area of the Black Tower.
-Ahem… Aileen, please let go of Ajax’s collar for now.
Kellion coughed awkwardly as he spoke, looking at Ajax who had been knocked unconscious after being struck by Aileen.
His own grandson was 300 years older than Aileen. Furthermore, it was widely known that Aileen suffered from a disease where her Dragon Heart was hardening, thus diminishing most of her magic power.
However? Seeing his grandson being dragged around by the collar, unconscious, by such an Aileen made him uneasy.
-Yes, Aileen. Let go of his collar and explain why Ajax is here.
Kaiser chimed in, agreeing with Kellion’s statement. While he wanted to first inquire about the Dragonheart, he gave way for Kellion’s sake.
The sheer magnitude of magic emanating from Aileen made it evident that her illness had been cured.
“Yes, actually…”
Aileen began explaining, releasing Ajax’s collar, how she came to hold him in such a manner.
“I was talking with Sejun when suddenly an alarm signaled Ajax’s unauthorized entry. So…”
-That bastard…!
-Drat…
The more Aileen spoke, the angrier Kaiser got, glaring at Ajax, and Kellion swallowed hard. The secret passage Ajax tried to use was the one Kellion had found and informed Ajax about. Kellion was speechless.
Furthermore, because Kellion hadn’t told Ajax about the contract with Sejun and exclusive cultivation rights, Ajax unknowingly planted the seed and ended up serving under Sejun for 100 years.
Of course, even if informed, there was a high chance Ajax would’ve breached the contract. But Kellion felt highly responsible for the mess.
‘Ajax mustn’t find out about this, right?’
Kellion decided to handle it so that Ajax would never discover his mistake.
Then,
Thump!
“Ugh!”
To ensure Ajax wouldn’t get up, Kellion kicked the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Any unnecessary outburst from Ajax could jeopardize his plans.
‘So, this is what that means.’
[Second Commandment – A tower farmer can command other tower farmers from different towers.]
Kellion finally understood the true meaning of the second commandment, and also how to recruit a Tower Farmer.
‘This could come in handy later.’
Kellion felt satisfied with the information he’d gleaned.
Then,
-Ahem… Given this is clearly Ajax’s fault, how about forgiving him with a contract stating he cannot disobey Sejun’s orders for 100 years?
He intended to resolve this with a new contract, essentially covering up the old facts with new ones, thereby burying his own fault.
-Hmm. A contract seems fine. What do you think, Aileen?
Kaiser asked Aileen for her opinion.
However,
“Please make it 200 years instead of 100. The original was for 100 years, after all.”
Aileen wasn’t content with just 100 years.
From Sejun’s perspective, he would’ve happily signed a contract that allowed controlling Ajax without any threat to his own life, but for Aileen, Ajax was already akin to a 100-year slave. The contract offering restricting him from disobeying orders for just 100 years was not appealing to her.
-Ugh… Fine.
Kellion drafted the contract and,
Stamp.
Affixed Ajax’s stamp to it.
Then,
“Please hand it over. I’ll send it to Sejun.”
As Aileen began to send the contract to Sejun,
“Just stamp it here, right, meow?”
Theo, an expert in obtaining stamps without a hitch from unconscious beings, pressed Sejun’s thumb on the contract. Thus, unbeknownst to the contracting parties, the contract was concluded while Sejun and Ajax were unconscious.
With Ajax’s matter settled,
-Aileen, by the way, what happened to the Dragon Heart?
Kaiser asked what he had been curious about. Aileen, who had been equated with a newborn dragon in terms of magic power due to her illness, now had almost the power of a mature dragon.
“Hehehe! A very old grandmother helped!”
-A very old grandmother?
“Yes! Grandma Kai-ra!”
-What? Kai-ra helped you?
Hearing Aileen’s words, Kaiser exclaimed in surprise. Ten dragons were first created by the creator god over a million years ago.
Among them, Kai-ra Pritani was called the strongest dragon. She was the pride of all black dragons and a subject of admiration. When he was young, Kaiser always pestered adults to tell him stories about Kai-ra.
“Grandma Kai-ra’s thoughts were left in the fragments of the Dragonheart.”
-Really?! Where’s that Dragon Heart fragment?
Kaiser asked urgently.
“Now the memory of my grandmother is gone now.”
-That’s unfortunate… Still, it’s fortunate that Kai-ra helped!
“Yes! Can I go see Sejun now?”
-Hmm… that might be difficult.
“Why?! I’ll call Sejun to a place without crops.”
-Well…
Kaiser began to explain to Aileen in a way that would not disappoint her.
“Because my power has become too strong, it’s dangerous for Sejun if I get close?!”
At Kaiser’s words, Aileen was greatly shocked.
“Then there’s no point in fixing the Dragon Heart! I promised to appear at Sejun’s birthday party.”
-For now, let’s try to increase Sejun’s ability in the remaining time.
Knowing that there was no way to reduce Aileen’s increased power, Kaiser suggested they strengthen Sejun. But he knew it was a vain hope.
If it was possible to become strong enough to withstand Aileen’s power in less than two days, Sejun wouldn’t have remained the weakest on the 99th floor of the tower. It was a temporary solution to console Aileen.
“Really? Then I’ll make a tonic to make Sejun stronger! Grandpa, you help too!”
Although Sejun told her not to, Aileen believed that this time, her cooking full of love was needed.
-What?! You’re even cooking for that guy Sejun?!
But Kaiser, who knew nothing, was busy being jealous of Sejun. He didn’t even consider the feelings of the one who had to eat the food.
***
The Black Orcs began to move south again!
The news quickly spread through hunters hunting on the 40th floor, and the hunters in the camp hurriedly moved.
But,
Thud. Thud.
Black Orc troops surrounded the camp.
Then,
“I am Ulrich, king of the Black Orcs, a subordinate of Theo Park!”
Ulrich stepped forward and spoke to the hunters.
“We are looking for the one who stole Lord Theo Park’s belongings. Cooperate!”
The hunters reluctantly cooperated with the Black Orcs, fearing death. But they also held hope since he mentioned being Theo’s subordinate.
“Women, go that way; men, line up here!”
The Black Orcs took the female hunters to a tent and the male hunters to a large open area and lined them up.
Cat intern Bill, who had been learning about human culture by trading with the hunters beside Ulrich, gave appropriate advice to avoid the hunters’ resentment.
“Strip down to your underwear.”
“What?!”
The female hunters were startled by the Black Orc’s statement. Take off their clothes and do what?
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of! We are also women!”
“What?!”
Pointing to the clothes draped over their muscular chests, the Black Orc explained. The Black Orcs have a culture where only females wear tops. With only the upper body visible, it was impossible to differentiate between genders.
The Black Orcs then meticulously checked each hunter, now in their underwear, for a three headed snake tattoo.
About half of the hunters in the camp had been inspected when,
“Let go of this!”
A commotion broke out among the male hunters as one was subdued by a Black Orc. Torn from the hunter’s shirt was a tattoo of a three-headed snake forming a circle that was visible.
“Tell us everything you know.”
Luken, the Black Orc tribe’s shaman, said as he shook his skeletal staff.
“What are you saying?!”
“I don’t know. But eventually, you’ll talk.”
Thwack!
When Luken struck the man’s head with the skull staff, the souls bound to the staff seeped into the man’s head.
A moment later,
“Cough! Please! I’ll tell you everything I know about the circle! Just take these monsters away!”
The man pleaded to Luken.
“Speak, and I’ll take them away.”
“Yes! What I know is…”
As soon as the man finished speaking,
Thwack!
Luken hit the man’s head again with the skull staff, retrieving the souls, and went to Ulrich.
“I found out.”
“Really? As expected, Luken’s magic is always reliable!”
“Hehehe. The grudge of the Black Orc maiden ghost is indeed fearsome.”
Just then,
“Your Majesty, the inspection is over.”
A Black Orc soldier reported.
“Good job. Prepare to move! Luken, where should we go?”
“The place he mentioned is the 38th floor of the tower. We should head there first and gather more information.”
“Understood! All troops, move to the 38th floor of the tower!”
Ppoooooo.
With the sound of the horn, the Black Orc forces moved to the 38th floor.
***
“Umm…”
Sejun, who had fainted after being exposed to Aileen’s magic power, woke up.
“Chairman Park! Are you okay, meow?”
Krueng?
[Dad, are you alright?]
“Yeah, I’m fine. But why did I faint?”
“I don’t know, meow! Suddenly, an immense magic power appeared and then vanished, meow!”
“Magic power?”
Was that what it was? Sejun recalled the suffocating feeling he had just before he fainted.
“But what time is it now?”
Gurgle.
In response to Sejun’s question, Cuengi’s belly clock sounded.
Krueng!
[It’s dinner time!]
“What?! Already?!”
Rushing to the kitchen, Sejun found that all the water in the pot had evaporated, and the rice cakes had hardened like bricks.
“Looks like I’ll be working late tonight.”
Given his schedule, he would have completed the rice cakes by tomorrow morning, but now, given the current situation, he would have to pull an all-nighter.
Krueng! Krueng!
[It’s a late-night snack! Let’s have honey popcorn!]
Misinterpreting ‘working late¹’ for ‘late-night snack,’ Cuengi cheered. Seeing Cuengi, a smile naturally formed on Sejun’s face.
“Right. What’s so hard about working late? Just have a few snacks, and I’ll be done.”
On second thought, it really wasn’t a big deal.
Sejun hurriedly started steaming new rice cakes and preparing dinner: spicy squid soup. After smelling the steaming rice cakes, he craved something spicy.
“Cuengi, can you get some squid from the storage?”
Krueng!
[Got it!]
As Cuengi fetched the squid from the storage,
Chop chop chop.
Sejun chopped onions and green onions, adding them to a large pot. The pot was so big that he had to add a lot.
Krueng!
[Dad, here you go!]
Cuengi returned with a box of cleaned squid, which Sejun poured into the pot. He seasoned it with red pepper flakes and salt, and finally adding green chili.
“Perfect! Let’s eat, everyone!”
Satisfied with the seasoning, Sejun called the animals. He served the white rabbits a clear version of the squid soup before adding the seasoning since they couldn’t eat spicy food.
Ook!
On the other hand, the monkeys enjoyed the spicy soup, even though it was their first time trying it.
After dinner and preparing the rice cakes, while taking a break,
“Chairman Park, Take a look at this, meow!”
At the perfect moment for Sejun to praise himself, Theo handed him a contract.
[Absolute Command Agreement]
– For 200 years, the party of the second part cannot refuse the commands of the party of the first part.
Special provisions.
…
..
.
First Party: Park Sejun (Human)
Second Party: Ajax Mamebe (Dragon)
The special provisions stated that the second party cannot be commanded to give up their wealth or life.
“But when did I put my thumbprint on this contract?”
Sejun looked at his clear thumbprint on the contract, puzzled.
“I stamped it when you were unconscious, as Aileen gave me the contract, meow!”
“Aileen? Ah!”
Sejun then remembered Aileen saying she would bring Ajax and have him not bother Sejun anymore.
“So Aileen really brought Ajax and got him to sign an agreement to leave me alone.”
Hehehe. So does this mean Ajax can’t refuse my orders?
“Ajax, come here right now!”
Sejun summoned Ajax.
*****
TL Notes:
1) Both “야근” (working late) and “야식” (late-night snack) have the same starting words and sounds and can be misunderstood if someone is not paying attention while listening or if someone is like Cuengi, who only hears everything in food terms ?.
