Chapter 246: I Don't Fall for Such Marketing Tricks
"I have some preparations to make. You go ahead."
"Really? Alright then."
Responding to Uren's words, Sejun left the tent with the animals.
At that moment,
"Participants of the Food Fighter Selection Contest finals, please come up to the stage now!"
The staff of the Food Fighter contest began to guide the participants.
"Cuengi, fighting! Eat a lot!"
Sejun cheered on Cuengi, who was holding a ticket to the finals and heading towards the stage.
Krueng! Krueng!
[Got it! Cuengi will eat a lot and win!]
Buoyed by Sejun's encouragement, Cuengi confidently gave a thumbs-up, as if to say he had everything under control.
"Khwahaha! The little guy has big ambitions."
"Right. He'll probably end up crying after biting off more than he can chew. Kek kek."
The large participants scoffed at Cuengi's declaration, but then,
Moo?!
[What did you just say to our Cuengi?!]
"Huh!"
"Ah... nothing."
Their derision was quickly quelled by glares from the Black Minotaurs participating in the contest.
Soon, all 100 participants had found their spots, and Sejun, with the animals, took their seats in the audience.
Krueng!
[Dad, Cuengi is here!]
Cuengi, who had momentarily lost sight of Sejun and became anxious, spotted Sejun sitting in the audience and waved his paws.
"Yeah. Cuengi, fighting!"
Sejun responded by waving back and cheering for Cuengi.
"I wish I had a camera."
Sejun lamented. Cuengi, squeezed among the huge participants and waving at him, was just too cute.
Sejun watched the adorable Cuengi while waiting for the contest to start.
"But what did Uren mean by saying he had something to prepare? Why hasn't he shown up yet?"
Sejun became curious about Uren, who hadn't yet appeared on the main stage. Surely he hadn't encountered any life-threatening situations?
Sejun, who was as weak as a sunfish, worried about Uren.
Then,
"Now, the host of the Food Fighter competition and undefeated champion of the Food Fighter Contest, Legendary Merchant Uren, will make his entrance!"
Bam bam bam!
With the announcer's introduction and the sound of fanfare,
Click.
The floor of the main stage's highest seat opened.
And,
Thump.
Uren jumped up from below, wearing a golden crown and a golden cloak.
Oink!
When Yuren let out a roar filled with the will to win,
"Wow!"
"The legendary Food Fighter Uren!"
"The great pig Uren!"
The audience cheered for Uren. He waved back at them and took his seat. It seemed this was the "preparation" he mentioned.
"Wait, Uren was the organizer of this contest?"
What kind of person was he really? Sejun was astonished. Given what Theo had told him and his actions, it seemed impossible for him to make any money.
"How does he make money?"
As Sejun pondered how Uren became a legendary merchant,
"Alright, now that all participants are in place, let me explain the rules of the Food Fighter Contest. The contest will..."
The explanation was long, but in summary, since it was held in the Red Ribbon Kingdom, all dishes used carrots as the main ingredient.
The contest involved eating five appetizers and then the main dish. The winner would be whoever ate the most of the main dish. Essentially, the appetizers were just a warm-up, and the main dish was the real game.
"Let's prepare the first appetizer!"
With the announcer's cue, dozens of pigs began placing almost small car-sized bowls of carrot soup in front of each participant.
"That's an appetizer?!"
The scale of the Food Fighter Contest's appetizer was extraordinary.
Once all the participants had their food in front of them,
"Please enjoy the first appetizer, carrot soup!"
With the announcer's signal, the participants began eating the carrot soup.
And,
Slurp.
Slurp.
Bang!
Bang!
Uren and Cuengi impressively finished their carrot soup at a pace that overshadowed the other participants, placing their bowls down almost simultaneously.
Krueng?!
"Uh?!"
Hearing each other's bowls being placed down, Cuengi and Uren looked at each other.
Krueng!
[Cuengi is still hungry!]
"I feel the same! It's like I haven't eaten anything."
Uren responded to Cuengi's provocation without backing down.
Zap.
Cuengi and Uren eyed each other, their competitive spirits flaring.
"Oh? Participant number 7, who finished the carrot soup at the same speed as Uren! This competition is getting exciting!"
The announcer highlighted Cuengi's impressive eating skills, setting up a rivalry between Cuengi and Uren.
Usually, Uren's speed was so overwhelming that it was hard to make the competition exciting, but today, it seemed there would be some tension in the contest.
Then,
Krueng!
[My name is Cuengi Park!]
Cuengi appealed to the announcer to call him by his name, as the announcer hadn't mentioned it.
"Ah. Yes. Participant Cuengi Park, right. I will refer to you by your name from now on."
As time passed,
"Let's prepare the second appetizer!"
After the participants finished their carrot soup, the announcer called for the second appetizer. Pigs brought in gigantic plates of carrot salad, heaped up like mountains.
***
In the King's Office at White Castle.
Ppyak?!
[Did Uncle ask you to deliver this?!]
Ppak!
[Yes, that's right!]
Black Rabbit was surprised to see the land deeds Sejun had sent over.
'Solved in just a few hours.'
He hadn't expected the issue to be resolved so swiftly. Sejun, his uncle, was impressive!
He had received reports that Theo, Cuengi, and Golden Bat played key roles in solving the case, but he believed it would have been impossible without Sejun as the focal point.
Ppyak. Ppyak...
[This is the land deed of the 25th floor of the Black Tower, reported missing by the Radson family... This one is...]
The Black Rabbit was checking if the land deeds matched the reported losses when
Ppyak?! Ppyak?
[Wait, this isn't a Black Tower land deed?]
He found a land deed from a different tower among those of the Black Tower.
[Purple Tower 80th Floor Land Deed]
It was an unreported land deed. This meant the criminal possessed it. It seemed to hint at the mastermind behind the scene. Was it the Purple Tower?
Ppyak!
[Pass this on to my uncle!]
Ppak!
[Yes!]
Coco, holding the Purple Tower land deed, rushed to where Sejun was.
***
"Now, let's prepare the third appetizer!"
Announced the announcer, and this time, pigs brought out huge glasses filled with carrot juice and set the food.
During the setting of the food,
"Viewers must be tired just watching the participants eat. From now on, the dishes being eaten by the participants will also be sold to the audience. If you want to order, please raise your hand."
Following the announcer's words, the audience began ordering the same dishes as the participants.
"I'll have the carrot soup!"
"Six carrot salads here!"
Hungry from watching the participants eat, the audience quickly ordered food.
"Oh. This is a pretty good marketing strategy."
Sejun thought it was a decent marketing tactic.
But,
"Hmph, I don't fall for such marketing tricks."
Determined not to be swayed by the sales tactic, Sejun refrained from buying anything.
"Now, please enjoy the third appetizer, carrot juice! Audience members can also order carrot juice starting now!"
As the carrot juice was set up, the participants began to drink it.
Gulp. Gulp.
Bang!
Again, Cuengi and Uren impressively drank the carrot juice at an incredible pace, placing their glasses down simultaneously.
Krueng!
Oink!
Zap.
As the two glared at each other in a standoff,
"For...ugh... I give up..."
"Ugh!"
Some participants started to drop out.
Soon after,
When the remaining participants finished their carrot juice,
"Now, only 75 participants remain. Let's prepare the next appetizer!"
As the announcer announced, pigs brought out plates with the fourth appetizer.
Then,
"Huh?!"
Spotting the fourth appetizer, Sejun's eyes lit up, and he began to take out money.
And,
"Now, participants, please enjoy the fourth appetizer! The audience can also order carrot cake starting now!"
Upon the announcer's announcement,
"Here, ten carrot cakes!"
Sejun placed an order.
'I wanted to eat it anyway, so it's not like I'm falling for the marketing.'
Sejun convinced himself that he wasn't swayed by the marketing.
***
In the Black Tower's Administration Area.
"How dare you tell my Sejun to get lost?! Huh?!"
Kwoong!
Aileen, transformed into her true form, stepped heavily on the white sacred stone with her right foot as punishment for speaking rudely to Sejun. (TL: Sejun will have a difficult time in future 🤣🤣)
- Aaagh! Lady Aileen, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!
The sacred stone screamed, begging for mercy.
"Then, you'll listen to Sejun from now on, right?"
Aileen eased the pressure on her foot while talking to the sacred stone. She wanted to resolve it peacefully, as it was an item requested by Sejun.
But,
- How can I... listen to such a weak being...
The sacred stone, still not comprehending the situation.
"What?! You called Sejun weak?! You dare disrespect Sejun?!"
Squeeze.
Aileen intensified the pressure on her foot, angered by the sacred stone's words.
Crack.
As the pressure exceeded the sacred stone's threshold, it started to crack.
-Eek! Save me, I'm breaking!
"Aha! Break then! Those who disrespect Sejun deserve to be crushed!"
Squeeze.
Aileen put more weight on her foot, pushing the sacred stone to its limits.
A sacred stone that doesn't obey its owner is dangerous, especially for Sejun who can't subdue it by force.
Thus, if the sacred stone couldn't be tamed, Aileen planned to destroy it without hesitation for Sejun's sake.
"Obey Sejun!"
Crack.
Despite Aileen's efforts to tame the stone,
-Eek! But still...
The stone stubbornly resisted.
'No good, huh? Can't be helped.'
Aileen gave up on taming the stone and prepared to put her full weight on it to destroy it.
Then,
- Aaagh! I surrender! I will obey Sejun from now on!
Finally, the sacred stone declared surrender.
"Really? You'll obey Sejun?"
Aileen reduced the pressure while asking for confirmation.
- Yes!
"Then swear your allegiance to Sejun."
- Do I really need to swear...?
"Still not getting it, huh?"
As Aileen began to increase the pressure again,
- No, I'll swear! I, the Sacred Stone Piercing, swear to obey Sejun for the rest of my life!
The stone finally made an oath of submission.
"Should've done that earlier. Repair."
Aileen used magic to repair the cracks on the sacred stone.
Then,
"Kehehehe, Shall I appraise this now?"
Feeling good after subduing the sacred stone, Aileen started to assess the black coal brought by Theo to appraise it,
- Who is it?! Who dares to awaken me, the heart of Dark, the god of darkness?!
A majestic voice emerged from the coal, which turned out to be the heart of Dark, the god of darkness, not just coal.
"Heh! Again?!"
Seeing the power emanating from the heart, Aileen realized it would take much longer than the sacred stone to make it manageable for Sejun. Aileen sighed in annoyance.
"Argh!"
Bang!
Annoyed, Aileen threw the heart of Dark onto the ground, trying to assert dominance.
But,
- What?! Who dares...
The heart remained undaunted.
Kwaang!
Aileen stomped on the heart with force.
-Eek! What's happening?!
The heart was confused,
Kwaang! Kwaang!
But Aileen kept stomping on the heart without response. After dealing with the sacred stone, she realized such beings cannot be reasoned with. Aileen had learned that some entities only respond to force.
*****