Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 103

Morning of the 268th day of being stranded.

Sejun woke up. He went outside. Kkuenge was playing alone in front of the house. Sejun wanted to ask Kkuenge about yesterday, but—

However,

“Mmph?! Kkuenge, did you know the medicine you gave me yesterday smelled like poop?!”

“President Park, be quiet, nyaa! I can still smell poop, nyaa!”

“Mmph?! Still?!”

Theo quickly covered Sejun’s mouth. Theo made Sejun go back inside. He couldn’t risk harming animals with sensitive noses.

Fortunately, the bad breath disappeared completely by the afternoon. Of course, Sejun had to eat a huge amount of green onions and drink lots of water to get rid of the smell.

“Ah, fresh air!” Sejun breathed deeply, stepping out of the small house. The morning air filled his lungs, washing away the last of the bad taste.

“Kkuenge?”

As Sejun came into view, Kkuenge, who had been standing guard, shuffled closer. *Papa is still mad,* Kkuenge thought, his little body tense.

“Kkuenge, come here, little one.” Sejun spoke softly, his voice gentle now.

Kkuenge hesitated for a moment, then slowly crept forward, his big eyes fixed on Sejun’s face, trying to read his mood.

“Kkuenge, why are you so down?”

Is this how parents feel? It pained Sejun to see Kkuenge so wary of him. He couldn’t help but wonder how much the little one had suffered to be so dispirited.

Kkuenge.

Sejun’s anger faded. He looked at Kkuenge’s sad face and felt a pang of guilt. Kkuenge rubbed his face against Sejun’s leg.

Scritch. Scritch.

“Kkuenge, are you going to give Papa something that smells like poop again, or not?”

Sejun stroked Kkuenge’s head as he spoke.

Kkuenge!

“[I won’t give you anything that smells like poop again!]”

Kkuenge shook his head so hard his ears flapped.

“Good. Then let’s go eat.”

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge cheered at Sejun’s words.

And so, Sejun went to the kitchen and began to cook. Today’s dish was rice cake soup, a special dish often eaten during festivals. He had rice cakes, and the Harvest Festival felt like a holiday.

“Iona, slice these rice cakes diagonally like this.”

“Yes. Wind Cutter.”

Iona used magic to slice the rice cakes, which had been left out to dry, at an angle.

“President Park! I can slice rice cakes too, nyaa! Why aren’t you giving me any work, nyaa?!”

Scratch!

Theo took out his sharp claws and protested to Sejun, demanding to know why he wasn’t being given any tasks.

“President Theo, you should rest. A president doesn’t just step up at any time.”

Sejun didn’t want Theo’s fur in the food. So, he spoke kindly to Theo.

“Is that so, nyaa?! I understand, nyaa! Then, as president, I will rest even harder, nyaa!”

Theo believed Sejun. So, he decided to rest, just like Sejun said.

*Puhu! Now I am President Theo, who can occupy Park Sejun’s lap without having to do these chores, nyaa!*

And so, Theo purred loudly and nestled into Sejun’s lap, his sharp claws kneading gently. While Iona sliced the rice cakes, Sejun made the broth for the rice cake soup.

Sizzle.

He put Purple Locust meat into the pot and stir-fried it, then poured in water and continued to boil it with detoxifying green onions. Now, all that was left was to wait for the broth. The kitchen filled with the sizzle of meat and the fresh smell of green onions. Steam rose from the pot, carrying a rich, savory aroma.

Chop chop chop.

Sejun sliced green onions while waiting for the broth to be ready. They were for decoration on top of the rice cake soup.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. I’m done slicing!”

“Okay. Good job.”

“Yes. Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“No. That’s all.”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing Sejun say there was nothing else to do, Iona ran to Theo and wrapped her body around Theo’s tail, taking a rest.

“Is it ready?”

Sejun scooped up some broth and tasted it.

“Hmm. Now I just need to add the rice cakes and season it.”

Sejun put the sliced rice cakes into the pot and seasoned it with salt.

Kkuenge! Kkuenge!

Kkuenge wiggled his bottom in anticipation, dancing.

“Just wait a little bit. It’s almost done.”

Kkuenge!

A moment later,

[You have achieved the feat of making purple rice cake soup for the first time in the tower.]

[The recipe for purple rice cake soup is registered at Cooking Lv. 4.]

[Skill in Cooking Lv. 4 greatly increases.]

The rice cake soup was complete.

“Shall we see what effects it has?”

Sejun checked the options for the rice cake soup.

[Purple Rice Cake Soup]

The Purple Locust meat and detoxifying green onions are boiled at a high temperature, allowing the nutrients of both ingredients to fully infuse into the broth.

The detoxifying green onions neutralize the potent poison in the Purple Locust meat, preventing the dish from spoiling easily.

The taste is slightly improved.

The feeling of fullness lasts for 1 hour.

Cook: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration Date: 10 days

Grade: D+

“It has no effects other than fullness?”

Perhaps because there were no crops included other than the detoxifying green onions, there were no special options attached to the dish.

“Well, as long as it tastes good. Here.”

Sejun ladled rice cake soup into Kkuenge’s bowl and filled his own bowl as well. Then, he added the sliced green onions and sprinkled pepper.

“Alright. Let’s eat.”

Kkuenge!

Sejun scooped up the rice cake soup with a spoon and put it in his mouth, and Kkuenge hurriedly began to drink the soup as well.

“Kuh. Delicious!”

The well-seasoned chicken-flavored broth and the rice cake slices, cut to a good thickness for chewing, were delightful. Thanks to drying the rice cakes, they had a more satisfying chew.

Slurp.

While Sejun was engrossed in eating the rice cake soup,

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge slurped the soup loudly, his little body shaking with happiness. He licked his bowl clean in seconds, his eyes wide with delight. Then, he took the ladle and scooped rice cake soup from the pot into his bowl, sitting down to eat.

However,

Slurp.

Kkuenge returned to his spot to eat for the first few times, then went back to the pot to scoop more, repeating the process. Eventually, he just stood in front of the pot and began to drink the rice cake soup directly from the bowl.

By the time Sejun finished his first bowl,

“Huh?! You’ve already finished it all?”

Kkuenge had finished the entire pot.

Kkuhehehe.

Kkuenge patted his belly and laughed happily.

At that moment,

“Haa… Now Kkuenge is older than me. What to do? Kkuenge is a grandpa now.”

Sejun, in a playful mood, began to tease.

Kkuenge?

Kkuenge was taken aback when Sejun suddenly called him grandpa. *Why am I suddenly a grandpa, yo?* He didn’t understand Sejun’s joke at all.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you that you gain a year every time you eat a bowl of rice cake soup…”

Kkuenge?!

Kkuenge was flustered by Sejun’s words. Kkuenge hurriedly began to calculate the number of bowls of rice cake soup he had eaten.

Judging by the size of the pot, it was roughly 200 bowls. He had suddenly become a Crimson Giant Honey Bear who had lived for 200 years and 198 days.

Kkuenge…

Kkuenge despaired. Now he was older than Papa. Now Theo hyung, Black Rabbit hyung, and Ppyu Ppyu noona were all younger than him.

At that moment,

Kkuenge?

A sudden thought struck Kkuenge, and he raised his head. *Then am I the oldest hyung?*

“Nyaa?!”

Tap tap tap.

Kkuenge snatched Theo and ran outside. He was trying to reestablish the hierarchy.

“Huh?! Kkuenge!”

Sejun realized that something was going strangely and was about to follow Kkuenge when—

[A quest has been generated.]

[Quest: Serve 175 bowls of purple rice cake soup, which makes you age one year per bowl, to the great black dragon, Eileen Platani.]

Reward: You can meet me!!!

Rejection: Rejection is rejected!!!!!”

Eileen, who had taken Sejun’s joke as fact, issued a quest.

“E… Eileen, that’s…”

Sejun hurriedly tried to clean up the mess he had made.

***

Kkuenge! Kkuenge!

“[Now I’m the oldest hyung, yo! Because I’m 200 years old, yo!]”

Kkuenge gathered Theo, Black Rabbit, and Golden Bat in the cave and declared that he was the oldest and should be the big brother. The cave was dark, damp, and filled with the scent of various animals.

However,

“What are you talking about, nyaa?! How did Kkuenge suddenly become 200 years old, nyaa? And I’m 250 years old, nyaa! Stop talking nonsense and go to President Park’s lap, nyaa!”

Theo was still ahead in age.

At that moment,

Squeak! Squeak! (Being old doesn’t make you the hyung! We should decide based on who came here first!)

“What are you talking about, nyaa! We should determine the hierarchy based on who brings the most help to President Park, nyaa!”

The Black Rabbit’s words sparked a debate about the criteria for determining the hyung hierarchy.

“We should bring something helpful to President Park, nyaa!”

Squeak! (We should determine the hierarchy based on who came here first!)

Kkuenge! (No, yo! Let’s decide by size, yo!)

Chirp chirp (I don’t mind either way.)

Golden Bat simply watched from behind, as there was no possibility of him becoming the big brother no matter what.

At that moment,

[Then I’m the big brother. No, the big sister.]

Bulkkot joined their conversation.

“What are you talking about, nyaa?”

[I came here first, and I’m the biggest.]

Bulkkot’s words were correct, as she was planted first and had enormous roots in the ground.

[Besides, I can give something helpful to the master.]

“I can’t accept that, nyaa!”

Theo shouted at Bulkkot’s words. He could accept everything else, but he couldn’t accept the third statement.

At that moment,

[Even with this?]

With Bulkkot’s words, a 10-meter-long amberjack appeared in the pond. It was a fish that Bulkkot had caught directly from the Sea of Dimensions with her roots.

“That’s a huge fish, nyaa!”

Theo hurriedly ran towards the amberjack.

[How about it? Do you accept it?]

“Nyaa! I still can’t accept it, nyaa! The hierarchy should be based on age, nyaa!”

Theo shouted while hugging the amberjack, unable to yield the position of the highest rank to Bulkkot.

Kkuenge! (I agree, yo!)

[I agree too.]

Thanks to Kkuenge and Bulkkot’s agreement, Theo maintained his position as the big brother.

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge was happy to be the second-in-command now.

However,

“Kkuenge, what I said earlier was a joke.”

Sejun, who had barely managed to explain himself to Eileen, told Kkuenge the truth.

Kkweeeh!

Kkuenge looked at Sejun with resentful eyes. *Why are you telling me that now, yo!*

Squeak!

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

The Black Rabbit glared at Kkuenge, swinging his hammer with angry eyes.

***

“Khee hee hee. If you eat a bowl of that rice cake soup, you gain a year?”

Eileen, who could now hear voices through the crystal ball as her magic increased, was excited to hear Sejun’s voice.

“Khee hee hee. If I eat just 175 bowls of that, I can meet Sejun!”

Eileen’s Dragon Heart was improving thanks to eating honey jelly every day.

Eileen hurriedly gave Sejun a quest.

“Quickly, make 175 bowls of rice cake soup for me!”

However,

-Eileen, I’m sorry, I was just joking with Kkuenge. Where I lived, there was a custom that you gain a year when you eat rice cake soup…

Sejun said that his words were a joke. Of course, Sejun made new rice cake soup for her, but that didn’t make Eileen feel any better.

“Khing hing hing. It’s sad but delicious.”

While Eileen was eating the tear-soaked rice cake soup,

-No. Why is our princess crying?!

Kaiser, realizing something was wrong with Eileen, hurriedly asked. Kaiser was in a grand dragon cave.

“Khing hing! Grandpa! I want to polymorph and meet Sejun!”

Eileen, bursting into tears at Kaiser’s words, sobbed.

-Alright! Our granddaughter wants it so much! This grandpa will help!

Kaiser wanted to keep Sejun, a suitable drinking partner, a little closer.

“Really?!”

-Of course! But promise me you won’t block grandpa while talking in the future. Got it?

“Yes!”

The reason Kaiser could be so assertive with Eileen was thanks to the blessing of magic that had spread to the 99th floor of the tower as the Harvest Festival began.

Due to the blessing of magic, the magic concentration on the 99th floor of the tower was gradually increasing.

By the last day of the festival, the magic concentration on the 99th floor would reach its peak, and if he assisted her from the side, Eileen would be able to stay in polymorph form for a few minutes.

-I’ll teach you how to polymorph from now on. You have to listen carefully.

“Yes!”

Kaiser began to teach Eileen polymorph magic in a crash course.