“Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-”
Iona was on the verge of exploding.
“Iona, calm down, meow!”
Theo called out to Iona, gently wrapping his front paws around her, who was coiled around his tail, and brought her in front of him.
Iona, now just a few centimeters away from Theo’s face, met his eyes.
“Kyup?!”
Confused by Theo’s sudden action, Iona made a strange sound, unable to express either laughter or anger.
Then,
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
“Iona, it’s okay if you’re not friends with Mimyr, meow!”
Theo stroked Iona’s head as he spoke.
“Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-Kyoo-”
Iona’s anger somewhat subsided with Theo’s comforting touch.
“Come to think of it, Mimyr is all fur, meow!”
Mimyr’s appearance was a mess, not suitable for following Theo around as a subordinate. Of course, Mimyr’s disheveled state was due to Theo’s terrible grooming skills.
Mimyr would have felt incredibly wronged if she had heard this, but there was no one here to tell her that,
“Kyoo-Right! Mimyr does have quite the fur.”
Thanks to this, Iona’s anger level dropped significantly.
As the atmosphere lightened,
“Iona, but where is your Theo Ball?”
Sejun changed the subject. The ever-present Theo Ball was nowhere to be seen.
“The Theo Ball? Kyek-kyek. It… got taken by the Apostle of Destruction…”
Iona became gloomy at the mention of the Theo Ball.
“That’s good. I made a new Theo Ball to give you.”
“Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Really?!”
Iona was overjoyed at the prospect of getting a new Theo Ball.
“Yeah. Here.”
Sejun took out the newly made Theo Ball 2.0 and handed it to Iona,
“Kyoot-kyoot-kyoot. Thank you. I’ll give you this in return.”
Iona handed Sejun 50 white coins she had obtained from the fragments of the Apostle of Destruction and put the Theo Ball in her spatial pocket.
Then,
Swoop.
Iona once again clung to Theo’s tail. Even though she liked the Theo Ball, it couldn’t replace the real thing.
“Shall we explore the city?”
As the mood improved, Sejun quickly suggested this before Theo could ruin the atmosphere again with his nonsense.
Krueng!
[Cuengi wants to explore the city too!]
Cuengi immediately clung to Sejun’s leg in response to his suggestion.
“If Chairman Park goes, I’m going too, meow!”
Theo hurriedly clung to Sejun’s leg as well.
“Let’s go.”
“We’re off, meow!”
Krueng!
[Let’s go have fun!]
Sejun and the animals left White Castle and headed towards Rabbit City.
***
Ppyak?
[How can there be no trace at all?]
Arriving at the crime scene, the Black Rabbit couldn’t find any evidence. The missing person had disappeared as if evaporated. There were no records of them leaving the city, nor was there a body.
Moreover, nothing seemed to have been stolen. If it weren’t for the report from their companions, no one would have known about the disappearance.
Ppyak?
[But why?]
The sudden disappearances were perplexing.
If this got out, the Red Ribbon Kingdom would gain a reputation for poor security right at its founding, a critical blow to the kingdom. The case had to be solved before the founding ceremony and wedding. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the fate of the nation depended on it.
But there were no clues. There was no common link between the missing people, no shared characteristics.
Then,
Peep?
[Did any items disappear along with your father?]
The black rabbit overheard a soldier asking the son of the first reported missing person.
Ook. Ook!
[No. Ah… the land deed!]
Peep? Peep?
[The land deed? What land deed?]
Ook.
[The deed to the grapefruit farm on the 73rd floor of the tower, managed by our family for generations.]
Ppyak?!
[The land deed?!]
The black rabbit’s mind lit up upon hearing this. That’s it! He thought there were no stolen items, but perhaps the criminal had stolen the land deed.
Ppyak!
[Find out if the other missing people had land deeds too!]
Peep!
[Yes!]
The black rabbit quickly instructed the nearby soldier.
And then,
Ppyak?
[Speaking of which, Uncle also has a land deed, doesn’t he? Will he be okay?]
The black rabbit was worried about Sejun.
***
As Sejun left the castle and took a few steps,
Kyoorong.
Iona’s snoring could be heard. With the perfect conditions for a good sleep – Sejun’s lap and Theo’s tail – Iona fell asleep almost as if she had taken a sleeping pill.
Walking towards the city while listening to Iona’s snoring, they started to see shops one by one.
“Wow! Weapons! Clothes!”
It had been almost a year since Sejun entered the tower. This was his first shopping experience there, and he was excited.
“This sword looks cool.”
Ppyas! Ppyas…
[You have a good eye! This sword, to speak of it…]
A grey rabbit merchant selling swords began to enthusiastically explain as Sejun showed interest in a sword.
Krueng!
[Cuengi wants to see the sword too!]
Cuengi showed interest in the sword Sejun was holding.
“Do you want to try it?”
When Sejun handed the sword to Cuengi,
Krueng!
[Cuengi will test if it’s sturdy enough for Dad to use!]
Cuengi bent the sword in half to test its durability.
Tinggang.
Krueng!
[This sword is too weak!]
Cuengi easily snapped the sword in half and commented. It wasn’t that the sword was weak, but that Cuengi was just too strong.
No matter what sword you bring, it probably won’t pass Cuengi’s strength test.
Ppyas… Ppyas…
[How can this be… It was made from very expensive materials…]
The grey rabbit merchant was shocked to see his sword broken so easily.
“Sorry about that. I’ll compensate for the sword.”
Sejun felt bad for crushing the merchant’s hopes and dreams and paid double the price of the sword.
Ppyas! Ppyas!
[Thank you! I’ll make an even stronger sword next time!]
Encouraged by this, the grey rabbit regained his enthusiasm for making better swords.
Ppyas! Ppyas!
[Goodbye! Come again!]
After being seen off by the sword merchant, they entered another shop.
“Wow! This armor looks cool!”
“If Chairman Park is going to wear armor, I, Vice Chairman Theo, will test it, meow!”
Swoosh!
This time, Theo shredded the armor with his dragon claws.
“Wow! A shield!”
Krueng!
[Cuengi will check if it’s sturdy!]
The shopping spree continued with Theo and Cuengi destroying the items Sejun was interested in, to test their durability. At each shop it always ended with Sejun paying for the destroyed items.
Since the items cost about 10,000 tower coins, which weren’t too expensive, Sejun just thought of it as playing around and continued browsing the shops.
As he paid compensation in the shops and entered the bustling area,
Moo!
“Woahhhh!”
The roar of a Black Minotaur along with tremendous cheers were heard.
***
“That’s an intense signal!”
Reto, who was searching for a new target after dealing with the previous one, was surprised to see the signal on the land deed detector.
It was the largest signal he had ever seen on the detector, indicating someone possessed numerous land deeds.
“Where is it?”
Reto hurried towards the location of the signal.
And then,
“Huh?”
Reto spotted Sejun with animals hanging around his body while browsing the shops.
“But who has the land deeds? The cat? The bear? The hamster? The bat?” (TL: Sejun the walking Zoo)
Reto was confused as he observed the animals.
Moreover,
“They’re all too strong…”
Each one of them was a formidable being.
“This won’t work.”
Realizing he was outmatched, Reto quickly retreated.
Sejun remained unnoticed by Reto due to his Talent: Insignificant Presence and overshadowed by the other animals’ overwhelming presence.
***
“What’s that?”
Sejun walked towards the source of the noise but couldn’t see anything due to the crowd.
Just then,
“Sejun~nim! Hello!”
Someone called Sejun from behind.
“Huh? You guys are”
Turning around, Sejun saw the Black Orcs. They too had come for the black rabbit’s wedding.
“If you want to watch the contest, we’ll guide you to a good spot! Make way! Sejun~nim is here!”
A contest? The Black Orcs led Sejun towards a gathering of Black Minotaurs and Black Orcs.
As they reached the front row,
Moo?!
“Sejun~nim?!”
There, Minotaur King and Ulrich were sitting together amicably.
“What are you doing here?”
Moo!
[We are eating.]
Minotaur King answered Sejun’s question and pointed ahead.
“Over there?”
When Sejun looked where Minotaur King was pointing,
Munch, munch.
Black Minotaurs, Black Orcs, and many others were voraciously eating dishes made of carrots,
“Yes! Contestant number 128, almost finished with the 101st plate! Staff, please bring the next plate quickly.”
Pigs were busily carrying food around.
And in front of them hung a huge banner.
-Food Fighter Selection Contest.
The Black Minotaurs and Black Orcs were using the Food Fighter Selection Contest as a restaurant. Saving even one meal in this way could save a substantial amount of food, so it made sense.
“A Food Fighter Selection Contest?”
Upon hearing the term ‘food fighter,’ Sejun immediately thought of one being: Cuengi.
Krueng!
[Daddy, Cuengi wants to eat that too!]
As expected of a food fighter, Cuengi was already drooling with enthusiasm.
But the contest was already underway.
“It might be too late to join now…”
As Sejun worried while looking at the eagerly shining eyes of Cuengi,
Peep!
“The third preliminary round has ended! The fourth preliminary round will start soon. Those who wish to participate, please come forward!”
Fortunately, the announcer stated that the next preliminary round was about to begin.
Moo!
“Wowwww!”
Along with the announcement that the preliminary had ended, the successful contestants cheered. This must have been the noise Sejun heard earlier.
“Let’s go, Cuengi!”
Sejun, eager to participate in an eating contest, detached Theo, who was clinging to his leg, and said,
“Meow? Aren’t you taking me, Chairman Park?”
“Just wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
To avoid being accused of cheating by bringing Theo into the competition, Sejun detached him and took a place beside Cuengi.
A short while later,
“We will now set up the food.”
Following the announcer’s instructions, dishes of food started being served.
“Then let’s start the fourth preliminary round! Begin!”
With the signal from the announcer, the participants began to eat quickly. Sejun and Cuengi also hurried to eat.
However,
Kuehehehe. Krueng!
[Hehehe. Delicious!]
Unlike Cuengi, who kept enjoying the food as if eating it for the first time,
Burp.
Sejun quickly reached his limit.
“Vitality.”
[You have used Vitality Lv. 1.]
[Quickly digest the food in your stomach.]
[All stats increase by 1% for 30 minutes.]
Sejun used his skill to digest the food.
Thanks to that, Sejun felt hungry again and started eating once more.
As Sejun picked up his pace again,
“Those who have passed the preliminaries, please collect your tickets for the finals after the end. You must have these tickets to participate in the finals tomorrow at noon.”
The announcer explained the schedule following the preliminaries.
“In the finals, Legendary Merchant Uren will participate personally. The winner who defeats Uren will receive a tremendous reward, so please make sure to participate.”
Uren? Was this the pink piggy Uren that Theo mentioned? Since there were only three legendary merchants, it seemed likely.
As Sejun ate and heard Uren’s name, Theo also heard it.
“Puhuhut. As expected, Uren is unlucky, meow!”
Even in the food fight contest, Uren would lose to Cuengi, and if Uren met Sejun, Uren would be robbed even more than when he met Theo.
“How did such an unlucky guy become a legendary merchant, meow?”
Thinking of the always unlucky Uren, Theo commented. For Theo, who was always lucky, Uren’s status as a legendary merchant was a mystery.
*****
TL: Some AI-generated Images of Iona and Theo
*****
