Chapter 84
Chapter 84
TL: Hanguk
67th floor of the tower.
"Hurry and collect them!"
"Yes!"
At the command of Borori, the wolves and the cat interns quickly answered and began to put the carcasses of the Red Locusts into their bags. Before they knew it, they were moving like a pack.
The wolves did not ignore or ruthlessly boss around the cat interns. They worked together, and Borori even shared a portion of the rewards Sejun gave to the wolves with the cat interns.
Touched by the wolves' attitudes, the interns didn't complain and worked hard.
Then,
"Huh?"
Intern Larry, who was collecting the Red Locust's carcasses, felt something strange when he looked at one of the carcasses. The blue color that was starting to show on the Red Locust's body was not visible at all. The signs of degeneration were gone.
"Mr. Borori, something's strange."
Larry called Borori.
"Intern Larry, what is it?"
"This Red Locust's carcass doesn't show any blue color at all. It could be a sign that the number of Red Locusts is increasing again."
"Is that so? Hmm... We need to report this to Sejun. Larry, good job. I will suggest to Sejun to shorten the contract period by 5 days."
"Thank you!"
At Borori's words, Larry was touched and thought that it would be alright to continue working here, where he was appreciated.
***
"Ah! In fact, the Black Rabbit is actually..."
Sejun was about to turn around and talk about the hastily fabricated identity of the Black Rabbit on their way to the farm when
Kreoung!
Cuengi suddenly started running, holding a beehive to his side with his left hand and holding Sejun's left hand. It was to prevent Sejun from looking behind.
"Huh?! Cuengi , what's wrong?"
Kreoung!
[I want to go back and eat honey quickly!]
"Just wait a moment! I'm going to tell the Black Rabbit that there's a secret to its birth and help him with his love."
It was Sejun's intention to create a sense of mystery around the black rabbit.
But
Kreong!
[The best help is to leave them alone!]
Sejun was cut off by Cuengi.
"Huh? What does that mean?"
Kreong!
[You are so clueless!]
Thus, Sejun was treated as clueless by Cuengi, and they arrived at the farm.
And
"Here's the honey."
Sejun filled Cuengi's snack bag with two glass bottles full of honey.
And when he was looking to see if there was any remaining work on the farm,
"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Sejun, there's a sweet smell here, what is it?!"
Iona was excitedly pointing at the peanut field.
"Oh. This is the peanut field. It's about time to harvest, shall we dig some up?"
Thunk.
When Sejun pulled a peanut stem,
[You have successfully harvested 36 peanut hulls at once.]
[Your job experience significantly increases.]
[Your Harvesting skill Lv. 4 proficiency significantly increases.]
[You have gained 1080 experience.]
Yellow peanut hulls with a clear net pattern along the stem, came up.
"Wow!"
"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Sejun, could you give me just one of those peanuts!"
Iona, forgetting her dignity as the chairman of the wizard's association, clung to Sejun's leg and whined for a peanut.
"Just a moment."
Pop.
Sejun harvested one peanut hull from the stem. He then took out two peanuts from inside the hull.
[Magical Peanut]
→ A peanut grown in the tower, it is delicious because it has absorbed enough nutrients.
→ It has been cultivated by a tower farmer who is skilled in farming, improving its taste and efficiency.
→ Upon consumption, it breaks down 15g of body fat and increases magic power by 0.25 for 10 minutes.
→ The effect can be stacked up to 20 times within an hour.
→ When consumed by a non-awakener, it breaks down 15g of body fat and enhances brain activity.
→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
→ Expiration date: 90 days
→ Grade: C
One hull is considered one fruit, so the effect was half for a single peanut. However, the effect could be stacked up to 20 times.
"It's a shame. If I had this when I was in college, I would have gotten good grades."
Sejun regretted after seeing the brain-boosting effect of the peanuts.
"Here you go."
"Kyoot, Kyoot, thank you!"
When Sejun gave a peanut to Iona,
Crunch, crunch.
Iona started to peel the peanut shell and ate the peanut eagerly.
'She's really enjoying it.'
Seeing Iona eating so deliciously, Sejun also wanted to eat. He put the remaining peanut into his mouth.
When he bit into the peanut, perhaps because it was raw, it had a similar texture to the beans, which are soft and crunchy, rather than the hard texture of roasted peanuts eaten outside.
The taste was fresh, but the unique savory taste of peanuts remained.
"It's good."
Sejun, surprised by the better-than-expected taste, harvested five peanut hulls and stuffed ten peanuts into his mouth all at once.
Munching on peanuts, Sejun started to seriously harvest peanuts.
Thud.
[You have successfully harvested 40 peanuts at once.]
...
..
.
When he had harvested about half of the peanuts,
Sizzle.
"Huh?"
Sejun felt a burning gaze towards him.
"What is it?"
When Sejun looked at the entity casting the heated gaze at him, it was Iona, staring at him with a desire to eat more peanuts.
"Do you want more peanuts?"
"Yes! Can I?"
Iona, who had been waiting for the right time to ask Sejun, quickly replied.
"Sure."
Sejun took out two peanuts from a peanut hull and handed them to Iona.
"Kyoot, Kyoot, Thank you!"
Crunch, crunch.
Iona hummed a little tune and started munching on the peanuts again.
At that moment,
Kreoung?
Cuengi, who smelled a delicious aroma from afar, started lurking around the peanut field.
"Do you want some peanuts too, Cuengi?"
Kreong!
At Sejun 's words, Cuengi nodded vigorously.
Tap. Tap.
Sejun peeled off some peanut hulls and placed 100 peanuts in Cuengi's hand.
"Make sure to chew it well. These are not for filling your stomach, understood?"
Kreoung!
Cuengi answered and started munching on the peanuts.
Munch. Munch.
Kreong!
Enjoying the savory and sweet taste, Cuengi started dancing his own joyful dance.
"So cute..."
Sejun watched Cuengi's dance and went back to harvesting peanuts.
While harvesting the peanuts, an obstacle appeared that interfered with his work.
"Ugh!"
There was a peanut stem that wouldn't come out no matter how much force Sejun put into it.
"Ah! Ugh!"
Even with all his strength, the peanut stem didn't budge an inch.
Kreung!
Cuengi, who had been watching from the side, got frustrated and grabbed the peanut stem from behind Sejun and pulled together.
"Pull!"
Kreong!
With Sejun's signal, they both pulled on the peanut stem together and then...
Crack.
Swoosh.
A giant peanut stem, 3 meters long, was pulled out as the ground split apart.
[You have harvested a Giant Peanut hull.]
[Your job experience increases slightly.]
[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 4 increases slightly.]
[You have earned 30 experience points.]
"A giant peanut hull?"
When Sejun cut the giant peanut hull with his dagger, there were two giant peanuts inside.
[Giant Peanut]
→ A peanut grown inside the tower. Although it's taste is good due to sufficient nutrient intake, but all nutrients have been used for growth.
→ There are no effects when consumed.
→ It will not sprout when planted.
→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
→ Expiration date: 45 days
→ Grade: C
Although it had no effect as an item, it was the best when looking at its size.
"Cuengi, take this to your mom."
This was a size that even Cuengi's mother, the Crimson Giant Bear, could fully enjoy.
Kreong!
Cuengi, in his giant form, picked up the two giant peanuts and went to his mother.
And Sejun continued harvesting the peanuts,
"Phew. It's done."
Sejun harvested 3481 peanut hulls. He also leveled up in the process, becoming level 32.
"Cuengi, carry these."
Kreong!
Sejun took 200 peanut stems separately and gave them to Cuengi, who had returned from delivering the giant peanuts to his mother, the Crimson Giant Bear.
And then,
"Iona, could you move this?"
He pointed to the remaining 500 peanut stems and asked Iona.
"Yes. Float!"
Iona, who was eating the peanut crumbs that had fallen into her fur after finishing her peanuts, stood up and used a floating spell.
The harvested peanut stems floated into the air.
"Wow."
Kreong!
Sejun and Cuengi stared in awe at the peanut stems floating in the sky. The peanut stems floating in the sky were a spectacle in their own right. It was truly a magical ability worthy of a great mage.
"Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Where should I move them?"
Iona, who saw Sejun and Cuengi's reactions, asked with a cheerful smile.
"Shake off the dirt and lay them out over there without overlapping."
Sejun pointed to a piece of land where a field had not yet been created. He planned to spread the peanuts out widely to dry them.
"Okay."
While Iona moved the peanut stems to where Sejun had indicated, Sejun instructed Cuengi to place half of the peanut stems in front of the house and move the rest to the storage.
And then,
Whoosh.
Sejun took the peanut stems that Cuengi had placed in front of the house to the faucet to wash off the dirt that was attached to the peanut stems.
The faucet was a facility made by installing a thin wooden tube that came down vertically from the Fountain Tower, and a lid that could be opened and closed.
Glug glug.
After washing the peanut stems cleanly in the water, he detached the peanuts from the stems and put them into three pots, and started boiling them. Boiling or steaming fresh peanuts is a delicacy in itself.
"This is best enjoyed in autumn."
He felt a bit regretful that there were no seasons here. After about 10 minutes of boiling, Sejun periodically checked the peanuts' condition. If undercooked, they would taste raw, and if overcooked, they would be mushy.
"Good. They're done."
As soon as the peanuts were well cooked, Sejun lifted the pot from the stove.
Then he said,
"Hey guys! Let's have a snack!"
Sejun called the rabbits on the farm.
"Aileen, try this."
Sejun sent a pot full of boiled peanuts to Aileen, who was able to eat crops that boost magic as her skills grew.
Since becoming an Mid-level Administrator, Sejun was able to send items without a quest.
[The Tower Administrator says thank you.]
[The Tower Administrator asks you to wait a little longer.]
[The Tower Administrator is excited and says that we can meet in about 250 more years.]
"Yeah."
Sejun barely held back the words, 'By then, I'll already be dead.' He refrained because Anton and Kaiser asked him not to say anything that would make Aileen anxious.
But the waiting time was reduced from 300 years to 250 years since the Dragonheart's condition improved.
'If things go well, I might be able to see Aileen while I'm still alive?'
To be honest, he didn't have high expectations. The other party was a dragon. What would he do when he met it?
'Should I ask her to let me ride on her back?'
As Sejun pondered what to do when he met Aileen,
Munch, munch.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Pi Ppi!
The rabbits began to eat the boiled peanuts. ChuChu, the princess of the Red Ribbon Kingdom, quickly became friends with the other rabbits and fit in well.
And then,
Squeak!
Seeing the black rabbit sitting on his lap and enjoying the boiled peanuts, Sejun felt a pang in his heart.
"Eat a lot, black rabbit."
Squeak!
Sejun continued to worry about the black rabbit, not realizing that feelings had already begun to develop between them.
***
"Argh... this isn't right..."
Iona, who had taken a spot on the sleeping Sejun's lap, was in deep thought.
Iona, who had suffered from insomnia for hundreds of years, fell asleep as soon as she laid down on Sejun's lap at the Zenka Lake on the 75th floor of the tower, for the first time in hundreds of years.
So, she thought that Sejun's lap was the cause of her good sleep...but something was lacking. She could fall asleep quickly, but she couldn't sleep deeply.
'The bottom is perfect, but the top doesn't feel perfect. I feel like I need to cover myself with something...'
So she tried covering herself with Sejun's blanket and her own expensive bedding, but she still couldn't sleep deeply.
Then, Iona remembered how she had slept well at Zenka Lake.
And she remembered that she had slept covered with Theo's tail.
'Ah! I can only get a perfect night's sleep if I have Representative Theo's tail blanket!'
However,
"Argh...I guess I can't have a deep sleep tonight."
It would still be a while before Theo arrived.
"It can't be helped."
Iona slept fitfully, waking up and falling asleep again.
"Zzz."
Still, Iona did not have nightmares while sleeping on Sejun's lap.
*****
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