Chapter 391: I'm Canceling This, Meow!

Minnesota, USA.

"Father, it would have been better if you had just handed over the chairman position obediently."

Michael said as he entered the huge house's foyer.

"Michael, you're insane. Killing a dragon that doesn't even exist? Get a grip!"

Gagel's chairman, William, shouted at Michael in an angry voice. Hundreds of hunters were surrounding Michael.

A few days ago, Michael had started acting strangely after coming out of the tower.

He began killing people.

Not just a few, but hundreds.

When William found out, he sent hunters to subdue Michael and asked him why he killed people.

"Kukukuk. To kill the dragon and rule the tower, I need power. Give me your chairman position as well, Father. Then..."

Michael, who was talking nonsense, was confined to a hunter-only mental hospital.

However, Michael managed to kill all the hunters guarding and hunters admitted inside the hospital and escaped to show up here.

"It's okay to kill him. I have plenty of sons anyway."

"Yes."

At William's words, the head of the security team responded and signaled the other hunters.

The hunters then quickly rushed at Michael.

"Kukukuk. That's how it should be. Then I will take the chairman position with my own power."

Michael laughed sinisterly and charged at the approaching hunters.

"This can't be..."

The fight ended in an instant. With Michael's massacre.

No one could properly see Michael's movements.

"Then, goodbye."

"Michael, spare—kuk!"

Michael became the new chairman of Gagel.

***

99th floor of the Golden Tower.

Inside a cave.

Boom!

Thanks to the massive lightning striking the ground, the inside of the cave was bright as day.

The cave housed residential facilities and vast fields where thousands of elves lived.

Usually, the elves quietly farmed, but now,

"Cecilia, fighting!"

"Cecilia, you can do it!"

All the elves were standing around the cherry tomato field, cheering for the blonde elf who was diligently harvesting cherry tomatoes in the field.

Cecilia, the tower farmer of the Golden Tower, was participating in the first event of the harvest festival, the cherry tomato harvesting competition.

Not long ago, while harvesting cherry tomatoes, an elf had harvested the High Elf's cherry tomato altar.

Cecilia had offered 15 different crops she harvested to the altar and held the harvest festival.

As a result, the first event of the harvest festival, the cherry tomato harvesting competition, was held, and Cecilia participated in it.

The outcome was...

[Cherry Tomato Harvesting Competition Rankings]

1st - Cecilia (13,172 tomatoes)

2nd - Panelli (2,300 tomatoes)

...

..

.

Naturally, Cecilia took first place with an overwhelming score.

"Cecilia-nim, that's unfair!"

"Cecilia-nim is greedy!"

She received some complaints from the young elves.

As a reward for first place, she received five A-grade magical cherry tomatoes.

[Magical Cherry Tomato]

Unlike the regular cherry tomatoes they ate, these were items.

The producer was the Black Tower's tower farmer, Park Sejun, who was also a tower farmer like her.

"It increases magic power by 10 for 10 minutes?!"

While 10 magic power was not very useful, the fact that eating a crop could increase magic power was amazing.

'However, since they didn't focus on taste, it would not be as delicious as my cherry tomatoes.'

According to Cecilia's common sense, it was natural. It's obvious that the taste would be inferior if some of the nutrients go to magic power.

"Still, I should try it. Kids, each of you have one."

"Thank you!"

Nom.

Cecilia offered the magic cherry tomatoes to the young elves and picked one up herself, putting it in her mouth and biting down.

But then,

Splat!

The moment the cherry tomato juice burst.

···!!!

Cecilia realized that these cherry tomatoes were entirely different from the ones she used to grow. So delicious?!

They're incredibly tasty!

The phrase 'bursting with juices' naturally came to mind.

As Cecilia savored the flavor of the cherry tomato,

she looked at her hand to grab another one, but

"Wow! This is really delicious!"

"Is this really a cherry tomato?!"

The other elves had already taken them all.

'Cecilia, you fool! Why did you offer them?!'

While Cecilia was berating herself for more than a day for not being able to forget the taste of the cherry tomatoes,

[The second event of the harvest festival, the cherry tomato eating contest, will begin shortly.]

[Participants who wish to join the contest, please gather in front of the High Elf's giant cherry tomato altar.]

The second event of the harvest festival had begun.

"This time, I won't give any to anyone!"

Cecilia firmly resolved as she participated in the contest.

***

On the way down the tower.

"Puhuhut. Where do you think we should go to find the land deed for the 75th floor of the tower, meow?"

Theo asked his companions. They had already visited every possible place.

So, he was asking his companions where to go next.

"Hehe. If we just ask a passing merchant, they might tell us, right?"

Uren replied with a slightly dazed look on his face.

His expression naturally made one want to scam him.

At this point, isn't it Uren's fault rather than the scammer's?

With that dazed look, and having a lot of money... he had the kind of face that made even an ordinary person want to scam him.

As Theo pondered the topic of 'whose fault it is that Uren gets scammed, meow?'

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. I contacted the association and found out that the land deed for the 75th floor of the tower is with the Wandering Merchants Association, and the land deed for the 68th floor of the tower is held by the Lizard King of the Lizardmen."

Iona answered, opening her eyes.

Though it seemed she had been sleeping, she had made the vice chairman of the wizard's association find out the location of the land deeds. The information power of the Wizard's Association was impressive.

"Meow?! Is that true, meow? Iona, thank you, meow!"

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. I'm happy to be of help to you, Theo~nim!"

"But where is the Lizard King, meow?"

Piyo! Piyo!

[I know! The Lizard King is on the 69th floor of the tower!]

Piyot, eager to share what he knew, raised his wings and answered quickly.

"Puhuhut. Then we'll stop by the 75th floor first, then head to the 69th floor, meow!"

Thanks to Iona's information, Theo and his companions headed straight to the 75th floor without any detours.

Then,

Piyo!

[Theo~nim, there's a fork in the road!]

A fragment of Jǫrmungandr, brought on by Uren's misfortune, appeared.

"Puhuhut. Uren, which way, meow?"

"Hmm... I want to go left."

"Got it, meow!"

Hearing Uren's answer, Theo swung his front paw toward the left path.

Then,

Crack.

The left path, no, the fragment of Jǫrmungandr, split into six pieces.

Clink.

Piyo!

Piyot quickly flew over and picked up the falling white coins.

After dealing with the fragment of Jǫrmungandr and moving a little further,

"Kukukuk. Lucky me, finding three newbies here. I, the life-draining wizard Roku, will take your life force. And of course, your belongings..."

A green goblin in a black robe appeared, but

"I don't like your laugh, meow!"

Whack!

He was knocked out by Theo's punch to the back of his head.

Piyo!

[Stamp it!]

Thump.

In the meantime, Piyot took out a slave contract, got Roku's handprint on it, and looted his belongings.

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Theo~nim, please leave Roku to me. He's a wanted criminal by our Wizard's Association. In return, I'll give you the reward money."

"Puhuhut. Got it, meow! By the way, how much is the reward, meow?"

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. It's 5 million tower coins."

They also got an extra reward too.

'Puhuhut. As expected, there's always much to gain when traveling with Uren, meow!'

Theo walked confidently with a bright smile towards the 75th floor of the tower.

A little while later.

When Theo and his companions arrived at the office of the Wandering Merchants Association,

"Welcome, Chairman Iona of the Wizard's Association, Legendary Merchant Uren, Diplomat Piyot of the Kingdom of Kov, and Theo~nim. Nice to meet you all. Then, it seems Theo~nim has passed the first stage of the Legendary Merchant promotion test."

Mason greeted the group and informed Theo that he had passed the first stage of the Legendary Merchant promotion test.

"Meow?! What do you mean, meow?!"

Theo was flustered by Mason's words. He planned to take the promotion test with Chairman Park! He didn't want to pass it now!

"Didn't you know? The first stage of the Legendary Merchant promotion test is to bring three reputable figures from the Black Tower to verify the merchant's connections. I assumed you all came together because Uren-nim informed me beforehand..."

"No, meow! I'm canceling this, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, am not taking the promotion test yet, meow!"

Theo, who wanted to pass the promotion test together with Sejun, shouted.

"Ah... I see. Then, if you're not here for the promotion test, why have you come...?"

Mason asked the reason for their visit.

"Puhuhut. Chairman Mason, sell me the land deed for the 75th floor of the tower, meow!"

"The land deed for the 75th floor of the tower? One moment, please."

Mason instructed a subordinate to bring the land deed for the 75th floor of the tower.

But,

"Uh... Chairman..."

The subordinate returned empty-handed and whispered to Mason.

"Hmm. If only you had come a little earlier... It was sold 10 minutes ago."

It was already sold.

"Meow?! To whom did you sell it, meow?!"

"We don't know. We received five times the market price in exchange for not asking for their identity."

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Theo~nim, let's hurry! If it's only been 10 minutes, they might still be nearby!"

"Got it, meow!"

With that, Theo stepped outside.

Where could the land deed for the 75th floor be?

Theo stretched his front paws forward and called out earnestly for the land deed for the 75th floor. I, Vice Chairman Theo, have golden front paws, meow!

Then he felt a pull.

But,

"Meow!"

There wasn't just one pull. I'll check them all, meow!

"Let's go, meow!"

Theo grabbed Piyot and Uren with his front paws and disappeared using Meow Step.

Theo moved quickly, checking everything he felt a pull towards, but they were all other items, not the land deed.

"Only one left, meow!"

Theo headed towards the last pull.

And then,

"Stop right there, meow!"

Theo called out to a brown orc he felt the pull from.

"What do you want...? Wait. Who is this?!"

The brown orc turned around at the call and, upon seeing Uren, smiled brightly.

"Baka?"

On the contrary, Uren's expression was not good. It was natural.

Baka was the one who had taken a commission of 300 billion tower coins to find treasure for Uren, only to abandon him in a maze and run away.

Thanks to this, Baka held a proud spot as the tenth name on Uren's blacklist.

Just when he thought he could settle down and quietly live on a farm, was this a divine revelation telling him to pull one last big job?

Baka's eyes gleamed as he looked at Uren.

"Uren, I'm sorry about that time. I got lost myself..."

Baka hurriedly started preparing his next scam.

"What?! You didn't abandon me?"

If Uren were alone, he would have the misfortune of being scammed, but the moment he is with Theo, Uren's misfortune disappears and turns into Theo's luck.

"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Theo~nim, this is Baka, a client-killer who deliberately abandons clients in dangerous places and runs away! With the Mercenary Association's bounty of 15 million Tower Coins and other bounties combined, it exceeds 100 million Tower Coins!"

Thanks to Iona, who could provide real-time information from the association, they could collect a hefty bounty as well.

"Puhuhut. Let's get the stamp from him first and talk later, meow!"

Theo smiled as he approached Baka.

Puhuhut.

Piyot took out a slave contract and prepared to stamp it.

"Hehehehe."

Uren, thinking of hitting Baka, pulled out some money from his pocket.

*****