Chapter 45: Showing the Dignity of the Great Black Dragon
TL: Hanguk
Sejun’s dinner was postponed due to Theo’s arrival. It was because of the wolves that Theo brought.
“Theo, why did you bring these wolves?”
“I’m going to make these wolves pay for threatening my life, meow! But I’m not sure how much I should take, meow! President Park, you decide, meow!”
Theo took out the contract signed by the wolves and handed it to Sejun.
“Ah, that’s not hard.”
Sejun nonchalantly wrote the reward Theo would receive on the contract.
“10,000 Tower coins.”
“Oh! Is my life worth that much, meow?!”
Theo was moved by Sejun’s words. He couldn’t believe Sejun valued his life so highly.
“Of course. You are the representative in charge of our farm’s distribution.”
‘Hehehe. As expected, Park Sejun can’t do without me, meow!’
Theo hurriedly emptied his bag because there was only about a month left for his representative time.
Thud.
From the bag, poured out the money he received from the trade, the glass bottles he acquired from running errands, and the seasoning and coffee mixes he received after taking pictures. This time, he took a lot of pictures, so he had about 30 hours’ worth of goods.
“… 2,870 Tower coins?”
“How many more hours do I get as representative, meow?”
Theo asked Sejun, who was counting Tower coins, with a voice full of anticipation. The sales were at an all-time high, so he had high hopes.
“There will be no more additional hours for you as a representative from now on.”
“What do you mean, meow?!”
Theo was shocked at Sejun’s words. He was not going to give him additional hours as a representative!
“Are you trying to kick me out, meow?! President Park, that’s mean, meow! I work well, meow!”
Sob.
Theo cried out sorrowfully, hugging Sejun’s leg. You’re kicking me out?! What about my knee?! He had to be with Park Sejun’s knee.
Without Park Sejun’s knee, he would be nothing more than a lowly wandering cat merchant. The thought of having to work as a wandering merchant alone again made everything go dark.
Meow.
Theo’s ears drooped in sadness.
However… it was a misunderstanding on Theo’s part.
“What are you talking about? Why would I kick out a capable wandering merchant like you, Theo? You’ll continue being the representative, so there’s no need for additional hours.”
“…!”
“I appoint you as the official representative of our farm’s distribution. Here’s your incentive.”
Sejun handed 145 Tower coins to Theo.
“Th…thank you, meow! I’ll work harder from now on, meow!”
Theo wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes and cried out.
“And to celebrate your promotion to representative, I’ll make you president for a day.”
“President… President Theo?! That sounds enticing, meow!!!”
Even though he just became representativ, Theo found himself more attracted to the title of president.
‘I’ll become president, meow!’
Theo, who started to aim higher as soon as he was promoted to representative.
“But what’s this smell, meow? It smells delicious, meow!”
The ambitious Theo, dreaming of greater power, sniffed the scent, nose twitching. As expected, Theo, a fish lover, could not miss the smell of grilled eel.
“Let’s handle the rest tomorrow and eat dinner now.”
Sejun, who hadn’t eaten dinner, was hungry. He tightly tied the front and hind legs of the unconscious wolves with ropes made with green onion leaves.
And then,
“Tell Woocheon Sam (Minotaur 1003) and Woocheon Sa (Minotaur 1004) not to go back today and to watch the wolves here. Tell them I’ll provide snacks and tomorrow’s breakfast.”
The reason he asked them to stay behind was that he also wanted to bring them along when he went to get the reward from Minotaur King tomorrow.
“Understood, meow! Leave it to President Theo, meow!”
When Theo loudly conveyed Sejun’s message to the Black Minotaurs,
Moo! Moo!
Woocheon Sam (Minotaur 1003) and Woocheon Sa (Minotaur 1004) accepted Sejun’s proposal with joyful sounds. They had no reason to refuse when they would continue to be fed.
“Okay. Let’s eat now. You guys can eat the leaves from the green onion field.”
Moo. Moo.
Woocheon Sam (Minotaur 1003) and Woocheon Sa (Minotaur 1004) carried the wolves on their shoulders and moved to the green onion field. Sejun and Theo also went down to the cave for dinner.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The rabbits, who had been waiting for Sejun, urged him to hurry up due to their hunger.
“Sorry. Did you wait a lot? Let’s first eat the detoxifying green onion.”
Munch, munch.
Sejun, Theo, and the rabbits each ate a grilled detoxifying green onion. There might still be poison left in the eel.
“Done eating? Then enjoy.”
As soon as Sejun’s ‘enjoy’ finished, the rabbits began to eat the eel hurriedly.
“Theo, wait a little.”
Sejun put an raw eel on the fire for Theo.
“Understood, meow. I can wait, meow!”
Theo, mesmerized by the sight of the eel cooking, wiped the drool flowing from his mouth and responded.
Sejun ate one detoxifying green onion and picked up a piece of grilled eel seasoned with salt. The skin was well cooked and the flesh was glistening and golden brown.
“It cooked nicely.”
Sejun put the well-cooked grilled eel in his mouth.
[You have consumed the flesh of the poisoned giant electric eel.]
[A small amount of poison remains in the flesh of the giant electric eel.]
[You are poisoned by an E-grade paralysis poison.]
[Detoxified.]
[You are poisoned by an E-grade acid poison.]
[Detoxified.]
E-grade?
Sejun, who had eaten a D+ grade detoxifying green onion, saw the message and felt relieved. Then he closed his eyes and savored the taste of the eel.
Crunch.
The eel’s skin broke with a crispy sound, first waking the taste buds on his tongue with the salty taste of the salt sprinkled on the skin, and then the eel’s flesh powerfully swam between Sejun’s teeth, providing a chewy texture.
And then,
Gulp.
The more he chewed, the rich and heavy umami taste of the eel dominated his mouth.
Gulp.
Sejun hurriedly took another piece of grilled eel and put it in his mouth. He didn’t want to break the flow of this rich and savory taste.
So, while Sejun was flipping Theo’s grilled eel so it wouldn’t burn and eating salted grilled eel in between, Theo’s grilled eel was completely cooked.
“Now, enjoy.”
“I will enjoy it, meow! Hoo! Hoo!”
Theo blew on the grilled eel to cool it down quickly. It seemed like it would take a while for Theo, with his cat’s tongue, to eat.
In the meantime,
Choo choo.
Sejun sprinkled a pinch of pepper on the eel he was going to eat. The salted grilled eel was delicious, but Sejun needed pepper to reduce the greasiness of the eel.
Sejun and the animals, having eaten their fill of grilled eel, sighed.
“Ah, I can’t eat anymore…”
“I’m full, meow…”
Squeak…
Squeak…
Squeak…
Everyone’s lips were glistening with oil from the eel.
“Let’s have dessert.”
Everyone, feeling lethargic from the greasy meal, hurriedly ate sweet and sour cherry tomatoes for dessert and went to bed.
And,
Lick. Lick.
The sounds of the rabbits and Theo licking the oil from their fur around their mouths could be heard throughout the night.
***
Elka, who had been knocked unconscious several times, quietly opened his eyes.
“……”
Sororong.
Sororong.
He could see two Black Minotaurs dozing in front of him.
‘I need to escape now!’
Nibble. Nibble.
Elka carefully gnawed the rope binding his feet.
And when he hurriedly tried to wake his colleagues and escape,
Roar!
A giant shadow loomed over them.
***
The next morning.
Roar!
Whine!
Whimper!
The roar of Mother Crimson Giant Bear and the howling of the wolves woke Sejun from his sleep.
“What’s going on?”
As Sejun hurriedly ascended to the surface,
Groan.
The Mother Crimson Giant Bear was suppressing two wolves with her front paws and
Roar!
One was being held down by the baby bear, who had climbed onto the wolf’s back and was strangling its neck. It was a demonstration of overwhelming physical strength.
“What’s going on?”
Umm…
Umm…
Woocheon Sam (Minotaur 1003) and Woocheon Sa (Minotaur 1004), who had let the wolves escape, approached, scratching their heads.
“We dozed off for a bit, meow.”
Theo, hanging onto Sejun’s legs, replied. It seemed that while the two were sleeping, the wolves had chewed the ropes and tried to escape, but Mother Crimson Giant Bear and her cub caught them.
Grrr?!
Baby bear was drooling, looking at the wolves. Can I eat them?!
“No.”
Sejun had to collect the money for targeting Theo’s life from the wolves.
Growl…
The Baby bear looked greatly disappointed when Sejun told him not to eat the prey he had hunted. It’s what I caught…
“Instead, let’s have grilled eel.”
Growl!
At Sejun’s call to ‘eat,’ The baby bear’s head turned quickly. Food!
Sejun had the rabbits bring over the leftover grilled eel from the previous day, and the baby bear started eating it with relish.
And,
Sigh.
Sejun’s back of the head felt hot. It seemed like he would have to prepare eel for Mother Crimson Giant Bear to eat for lunch as well.
Thump. Thump.
Mother Crimson Giant Bear quickly went on patrol to return for lunch while the rabbits, Theo, baby bear, and the Black Minotaurs surrounded the wolves.
“Did you attack our representative Theo?”
“We apologize! Oh great black dragon! We did not know that the cat wandering merchant was a subordinate of the great black dragon! Please quell your anger with my life, the chief of the Silver Wolf tribe!”
In response to Sejun’s question, Elka prostrated himself and cried out, misunderstanding Sejun’s identity.
Sejun nonchalantly issued orders to the monsters on the 99th floor of the tower, and the monsters, who should be fighting each other, were getting along well. Elka thought that this was impossible unless the existence in front of him was the Great Black Dragon.
‘The Great Black Dragon?’
As Sejun was about to deny it,
[The tower’s administrator says it will allow you to impersonate the Great Black Dragon.]
[A quest has been generated.]
[Quest: Show the wolves of the Silver Wolf tribe the dignity of the Great Black Dragon.]
Reward: Aileen is happy
If declined: Aileen is disappointed!
[The tower’s administrator cheers you on to show the dignity of the Great Black Dragon.]
Aileen, who had not yet shown herself as the Great Black Dragon, wanted to vicariously enjoy it through Sejun.
“What are you talking about, meow? Our President Park is… Ah!”
Sejun quickly covered Theo’s mouth.
He would have to benefit from Aileen’s favor soon, so he couldn’t afford to upset Aileen. Although he had gotten close to Aileen, surprisingly, a relationship could be bent from a small disappointment.
Sejun decided to do the quest. And he was not a fool to throw away this opportunity when the tower’s administrator gave him permission to impersonate themself.
“Yes. You should know how great a crime you’ve committed by obstructing my work as the Great Black Dragon since you are aware of my identity.”
“Great Black Dragon! We are truly sorry. We really didn’t know.”
“Ignorance does not excuse you from guilt. Guilt is guilt whether you are aware of it or not. But I will specially give you the opportunity to be forgiven.”
Sejun held out a contract.
“The cost of targeting our representative Theo’s life is 10,000 tower coins. If you repay this money, you will be forgiven.”
“What? 10,000 tower coins?! How can we repay such a large amount of money…”
“If you don’t have it, repay with your body, meow!”
From behind, Theo, who had been figuring out the situation, quickly shouted. He wanted to say this for sure! Theo thought Sejun looked cool when he said that to Woo Cheon Sam (Minotaur 1003).
“Repay with our bodies?!”
Elka’s head spun at Theo’s words to repay 10,000 tower coins with their bodies. The commission with Grid was postpaid, and there was no particular disadvantage to canceling the contract.
But while he was paying off the debt with his body, the young wolves of his tribe who were in the village…
“Sir… Great Black Dragon. We dare to ask. Our entire tribe will repay the money. Just please don’t let us starve to death!”
Looking at the crops growing in the fields, Elka thought that if they worked under Sejun, they would not starve to death.
“Good. From now on, President Theo’s will manage you.”
“You guys, from now on, you need to listen to me well, meow!”
At Sejun’s words, Theo shouted at the wolves. Even though Theo had wondered what was good about becoming a president, he had already conquered Sejun’s lap. He didn’t want anything more.
But
“Puhuhut. It seems becoming a president means getting subordinates!”
Theo was delighted to have his own subordinates.
“We understand. We will follow President Theo according to the command of the Great Black Dragon. Thank you very much, Great Black Dragon!”
[You have completed the quest.]
[The tower’s administrator is overjoyed at the Great Black Dragon being praised.]
Sejun established the status of the Great Black Dragon, recruited the entire Silver Wolf tribe, and expanded his power.
*****
Another Chapter in few hours!!!
***