Black Tower 1st Floor.
Kim Dong-sik hurried to the 1st floor of the tower to convey Park Sejun’s words to Sejun’s mother, Kim Mi-ran.
At that moment,
“Dong-sik!”
Someone called out to Kim Dong-sik. It was a familiar voice.
“Master?!”
It was Han Tae-jun, who had just heard about it from Lexton who was sent by Kim Dong-sik and was about to leave for the 4th floor of the tower.
“Dong-sik, have you not found Sejun~nim?”
“Well, I did meet with Sejun~nim, but…”
Kim Dong-sik spoke about what happened with Sejun.
“You mean you fainted because you couldn’t withstand Sejun~nim’s energy?!”
“Yes. Even though I was more than 1km away from Sejun~nim, I fainted after suffering internal injuries due to his energy.”
“Sejun~nim is that powerful…”
Han Tae-jun was greatly surprised upon hearing Kim Dong-sik’s words. It had been roughly a year since Sejun entered the tower. In such a short time, he had reached an overwhelming realm that no one could approach.
Han Tae-jun, who had been thinking of asking Sejun for a sparring match, quickly dismissed the idea.
He would faint even before getting close… Let alone sparring, even a face-to-face meeting seemed difficult.
“Anyway, it turns out that Sejun~nim has secluded himself in the tower to avoid harming others…”
“Master, we must help ensure Sejun~nim doesn’t have to leave the tower! If Sejun~nim leaves the tower…”
“Yes. We must help him.”
Han Tae-jun responded, recalling how the Three-Head Society had once targeted Sejun’s family.
If the Three-Head Society had not been stopped and Sejun’s family had been killed or kidnapped… Sejun would surely have left the tower, and humanity would have faced a tremendous disaster.
‘It’s a huge relief.’
Han Tae-jun felt relieved that such an incident didn’t occur.
And then,
“Did Sejun~nim need anything?”
He asked, looking to take care of Sejun’s needs.
“Ah. Actually, Sejun~nim…”
Kim Dong-sik told Han Tae-jun what Sejun had requested.
“Of course, a Korean needs kimchi!”
Han Tae-jun was extremely pleased to hear that Sejun had requested Kimchi stew and kimchi.
“Dong-sik, quickly convey Sejun’s message to Mi-ran~nim and then come to me.”
“Why?”
Feeling a sense of foreboding at Han Tae-jun’s instruction to come to him, Kim Dong-sik asked in a quiet voice.
“Why?! It’s obviously for special training!”
“Special training, all of a sudden?”
“We need to become stronger quickly so that Sejun can comfortably talk with us!”
“Comfortably talk…?”
‘That seems impossible even in the next life…’
Kim Dong-sik, who had directly experienced Cuengi’s energy, thought to himself. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. His master was the kind of person who would say, “Then let’s die and be reborn,” and push him even harder.
“Give me five hours.”
“Stop talking and hurry up and go!”
“Yes!”
Thus, Kim Dong-sik, with a special training session reserved for him in five hours, quickly headed to Sejun’s house.
‘At least I’ll get to see my family’s faces before I go.’
Kim Dong-sik thought it was really fortunate that his house was next door to Sejun’s family’s house.
***
On the way from the room to the dining area.
Sniff sniff.
Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi smell something delicious over there!]
Cuengi, who had been clinging to Sejun’s left leg, got excited upon smelling food.
“Let’s go quickly, meow! I’m hungry too, meow!”
(Pip-pip! Me too!)
The other animals also got excited. It made sense they were hungry since they had gotten up and even taken baths. Especially Cuengi, who had really been patient.
And Sejun felt the same way. He was very hungry after bathing the animals.
“Let’s go quickly.”
Sejun hastened his steps toward the dining area.
As the hungry Sejun and the animals arrived at the dining area,
Slurp
“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Good morning, everyone!”
Iona, who had already finished her meal and was drinking coffee, greeted Sejun and the animals.
Iona was adorably dressed in a pumpkin-colored dress, wearing a red ribbon around her neck.
At the wedding, the dress code was black neckties or ribbons for the groom’s side, and red for the bride’s side.
At that moment,
Rumble rumble.
Krueng!
[Cuengi’s hungry!]
Cuengi grumbled, clearly hungry.
“Let’s have whatever comes out the fastest for now! Cuengi, eat this first.”
While Sejun was stalling time by giving honey to Cuengi to prevent him from turning from a cute animal into a fierce beast, the servants quickly started bringing out the food.
Shortly after the hectic breakfast ended,
“Now, let’s go to the wedding venue.”
Sejun, with the animals, headed to the wedding venue of Black Rabbit and ChuChu.
Thud, thud.
On Sejun’s shoulder was the golden bat, and clinging to his leg were Theo, Cuengi, and Iona. As long as Sejun walked, everyone could move together.
Arriving at the wedding venue.
There was a grand stage with hundreds of tables arranged on either side of the aisle through which the bride and groom would enter.
The venue could accommodate about 3,000 people. Of course, there would be more than 3,000 guests for a royal wedding.
This place was for important figures only, and outside the city, in several squares, there were spaces capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands more.
“So many have already arrived.”
Although there was still quite some time left before the wedding, more than half of the tables were already filled.
As there hadn’t been such a large-scale event in the Black Tower recently, many emerging forces seeking to expand their networks were participating.
“Where is our table?”
“I’ll guide you.”
At Sejun’s words, Coco, the leader of the hidden guard, appeared and guided Sejun.
As Coco led Sejun to the table at the very front,
“How dare a blacksmith of your kind come here?!”
A loud voice reached Sejun’s ears.
“Huh?”
Turning towards the sound, Sejun saw crocodile-headed monsters harassing a penguin.It was a small penguin with a bag and a blue back.
“Huh?! Vice Chairman Theo, isn’t that Kona?”
Sejun recognized Kona and asked Theo.
“Meow? Right, meow! Who dares to harass Kona, the subordinate of Vice Chairman Theo, meow?! Chairman Park, let’s go and teach them a lesson, meow!”
Theo, having spotted Kona, got excited and waved his front paws.
And then,
“Got it!”
Sejun hurriedly ran towards Kona.
***
“Honey, I’m back!”
Kim Dong-sik, who had just conveyed Sejun’s message to Kim Mi-ran, hurried back home.
“Honey, I have to go out soon, so could you please prepare some food?”
“Okay.”
Kim Dong-sik asked his wife to prepare a meal before heading into special training and quickly took a shower.
Since he wouldn’t be able to leave the tower for at least a month, this was his last shower for a while.
After showering and heading to the kitchen, his wife was preparing food, and his daughter Serang was sitting at the dining table.
“Serang, no schedule today?”
“Yeah. It’s my day off…”
While speaking, Kim Dong-sik’s daughter Serang looked intently at his face.
“Why? Is there something on my face?”
“Yes. There’s handsomeness on your face, Dad.”
“Hahaha. What? Serang, are you trying to make your dad feel good? Are you short on allowance these days?”
Feeling pleased by Serang’s comment, Kim Dong-sik laughed and took out his wallet.
“No. It’s not just to make you feel good, Dad. You really look more handsome. Mom, look at Dad’s face! Did Dad secretly go for a cosmetic treatment somewhere?”
Serang, being a celebrity, immediately recognized the professional touch on Kim Dong-sik’s face.
“What?! Oh, really! Honey, which clinic is it?”
“Huh?”
The atmosphere turned somewhat strange.
“Honey, are you really not going to tell me which clinic it was?”
“No, I didn’t go to any clinic.”
“Dad, if it’s hard to tell, just tell me secretly!”
“Really, it’s not that.”
Unaware of why he looked more handsome, Kim Dong-sik was relentlessly questioned by his wife and daughter. He barely managed to escape, using his special training as an excuse.
***
Kona, representing the Blue-Backed Penguin Tribe, attended the wedding to present a gift they had crafted for the new king of the Red Ribbon Kingdom.
“Peng! This is delicious!”
Kona was having a good time eating the exquisite food set up on the tables for the guests waiting for the wedding ceremony.
Then,
“Peng peng. I should try that too.”
Kona slightly stood up to reach for some food placed far away, inadvertently pushing the chair a bit,
Thud.
A huge hammer leaning against the chair fell over.
And then,
“Who dares? Who dares to block the path of Elge Caiman, the Third Prince of the Cayman Kingdom?!”
The handle of the hammer had fallen, blocking the way of a group of crocodile-like people, and their leader, Elge Caiman, began to scold Kona.
“Peng?! I’m sorry…”
Kona immediately apologized but seemed puzzled as to why the other party was reacting this way.
After all, there was a distance of about 5 meters between where Elge Caiman was passing and the end of the hammer’s handle.
Even if the hammer had fallen, it wouldn’t have affected Elge Caiman’s path.
Despite Kona’s apology,
“How dare a blacksmith of your kind come here?!”
Elge Caiman’s voice grew louder and more disdainful.
“Peng… Sorry… I just came to deliver a gift and then I’ll leave…”
Kona, feeling overwhelmed and apologetic, tried to defuse the situation. Though he had entered the venue under the kingdom’s guard’s guidance, he felt as if he had done something wrong.
However, Elge Caiman wasn’t causing this commotion just to receive an apology.
“Fine. If you’re truly sorry, I, Elge Caiman, the third prince of the Caiman Kingdom, will forgive you by accepting that hammer which blocked my way.”
From the beginning, Elge Caiman’s target was the hammer that Kona had. He decided to seize it the moment he saw the hammer emitting an extraordinary aura.
“Peng?! No… I can’t! This hammer is a gift for the king of the Red Ribbon Kingdom!”
Kona, momentarily flustered by Elge Caiman’s words, hurriedly grabbed the hammer and protested.
“Hmph! What kind of hammer is this to be presented as a gift?! Isn’t it too big for His Majesty the Black Rabbit who’s becoming king?!”
“That’s…”
Kona, feeling indignant as the hammer crafted by all the master artisans of the Blue-Backed Penguin Tribe was being belittled, tried to respond earnestly.
“There’s no need to listen. Seize that hammer.”
“Yes!”
Before Kona could even finish his sentence, Elge’s subordinates moved to snatch the hammer away.
It was an incredibly rude act for a prince from another kingdom to try to steal a gift meant for a king.
However, all the guests nearby turned a blind eye to Elge Caiman’s actions.
The Caiman Kingdom, located on the 84th floor of the tower, was one of the top two military powers among the kingdoms in the Black Tower.
If they recklessly intervened and caused trouble, leading to the mobilization of the Caiman Kingdom’s military, their own forces could be completely wiped out from the Black Tower.
‘Hehehe. Who would dare to mess with me?’
Elge Caiman thought smugly. The real powers that could dominate the Black Tower would only arrive just before the ceremony starts, so for now, this place was like Elge’s own playground where he could do as he pleased.
He had already stolen dozens of gifts meant for the Black Rabbit, and nobody dared to oppose him.
“Peng… this isn’t right…”
As Kona helplessly watched the hammer, meant to be a gift for the Black Rabbit, being snatched away,
“Stop!”
Sejun, who had hurriedly come over, shouted at Elge Caiman.
‘What kind of bullying is this? And to dare steal something meant for the Black Rabbit?!’
As Sejun fumed with anger,
“How dare such a lowly creature raise his voice at me?! Do you know who I am?!”
Elge Caiman arrogantly scolded Sejun with a domineering voice.
‘This guy!’
Infuriated by being called lowly, Sejun’s anger blazed even more.
But contrary to his burning heart, his mind became colder,
“No. I don’t know who you are. But do you know who I am?”
Sejun asked back, his voice cold and composed, facing Elge Caiman.
*****
