“But how did you end up collapsed on the floor?”

Sejun asked the fully recovered Theo.

To which,

“It’s all Chairman Park’s fault, meow!”

Theo immediately blamed Sejun.

“Me?”

“Yes, meow!”

“Why me?”

“It’s because Chairman Park sent me away, and I was away from Chairman Park’s lap for too long, so I lost my energy, meow!”

Ah… Sejun had forgotten that this was Theo’s usual behavior. So, he changed his question.

“Did anything unusual happen?”

“Yes, meow! The members of the Three-Headed Society tried to kidnap me, meow!”

“The Three-Headed Society? Don’t tell me one of Hydra’s heads appeared?!”

Even if hundreds or thousands of regular hunters from the Three-Headed Society attacked, they wouldn’t be able to bring down Theo due to magic depletion. The only remaining possibility was the appearance of one of Hydra’s heads.

“Yes, meow! The blue snake appeared, but I defeated it easily, meow!”

There were some ups and downs in between, but Theo boldly skipped them to show off his competence to Sejun.

“Vice Chairman Theo, you?!”

Sejun was astonished by Theo’s words.

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, take this, meow!”

Feeling pleased by Sejun’s surprised expression, Theo took out a bronze coin from his bag and handed it to Sejun. On one side, there was an image of Hydra and on the other, the number 4.

[Hydra’s 4th Bronze Coin]

???

“What kind of snake was it?”

“It was a blue snake that created ice, meow!”

“Vice Chairman Theo, you really are strong.”

Sejun had to admit it. He had somewhat underestimated Theo… but Theo was evidently much stronger than he’d thought.

“Puhuhut. I’m super strong, meow! I even developed a new skill this time, meow!”

Feeling happy from Sejun’s praise, Theo lazily sprawled across Sejun’s lap.

Then,

“But there’s been a weird smell coming from my mouth since earlier, meow! Quickly give me some of Chairman Park’s homemade churu, meow!”

Theo demanded the homemade churu. Sejun was annoyed thinking about how he had fed elixirs to recover quickly, and now he’s complaining about a weird smell? Sejun felt a bit upset.

However,

“Here you go.”

Regardless of his feelings, Sejun naturally handed Theo the homemade churu.

Slurp, slurp, slurp.

While Theo was enjoying his second mouthful of the homemade churu,

“Right, meow! I have one more thing to give to Chairman Park, meow!”

Theo remembered the bronze plaque he got from the lost and found storage’s draw and took it out from his bag.

“Chairman Park will be very pleased with this, meow!”

“Really?”

Curious from Theo’s confident demeanor, Sejun looked at the bronze plaque.

[Bronze Mirror]

???

Usage Restrictions: None

Grade: D

“It’s a mirror?”

The flat object he thought was a paddle turned out to be a mirror.

Swish, swish.

Sejun tried cleaning the bronze with his clothes, but it didn’t become clear enough to reflect his face.

“Aileen, can you appraise this?”

[The Tower’s Administrator says leave it to her.]

“Alright, thanks. And isn’t this too little? Take more.”

Sejun sent Aileen the bronze mirror along with 1,000 elixir-grade cherry tomatoes. That morning, he transported 5,000 tomatoes from the temporary storage in the White Tower, so he had plenty.

[The Tower’s Administrator says thank you].

A moment later,

[The Tower’s Administrator says she senses a powerful divine power from the item Theo brought.]

[The Tower’s Administrator says she needs to appraise it with her grandfather and needs more time.]

“A divine power? Okay, take your time. There’s no rush.”

After entrusting Aileen with the appraisal,

“You really did great, Vice Chairman Theo.”

“Of course, meow! I am amazing, meow!”

When Sejun praised him, Theo beamed and presented his belly even more, as if to say, ‘Now, rub this splendid belly of mine, meow!’

Pat, pat.

Sejun affectionately stroked Theo’s belly, appreciating his accomplishments.

“Puhuhut… feels good, meow…”

Purr.

After enjoying a tasty churu and Sejun’s undivided attention, Theo contentedly fell asleep.

“He really isn’t leaving.”

When even his last attempt did not succeed, only then was Sejun able to shake off his last remaining regret.

Just then,

Gororong.

Kurorong

Theo’s snoring made Cuengi think it was nap time, and he immediately snuggled against Sejun’s back and fell asleep.

“That’s right. Because I have Theo on the Left and Cuengi on the Right.”

Once he gave in, everything felt easier.

Snore.

Gororong.

Kurorong.

Holding Theo and Cuengi, Sejun fell asleep.

Two hours later,

“Ugh.”

Sejun stretched as he woke up.

“Hey guys, wake up.”

Rub. Rub.

Sejun began massaging Theo to wake him up.

“Puhu… Chairman Park, did you sleep well, meow?”

Theo opened his eyes with a pleasant smile from Sejun’s massage.

“Yes. Did Vice Chairman Theo sleep well?”

“Yes, meow… Chairman Park’s lap is always so cozy, meow…”

As Theo replied, he was drifting back to sleep.

“But did the auction go well?”

Sejun initiated a conversation to wake Theo up again.

“Yes, meow! It was another complete sell-out, meow!”

The mention of the auction made Theo’s eyes gleam. No matter how sleepy he was, boasting about his achievements to Sejun was more important.

“That’s good. You did well.”

“Of course, meow! I worked extremely hard, meow! Look at this, meow! This is the money I earned, meow!”

Theo boasted, taking out 6.75 million Tower coins he earned from this auction. Puhuhut. Chairman Park, praise me and hand over my incentive, meow!

“Vice Chairman Theo, good job. Here’s your incentive.”

Sejun handed over 750,000 Tower coins as an incentive to Theo. The vice chairman’s incentive rate was 10%. But lately, Sejun had been rounding up and just giving the last six figures as the incentive.

“Puhuhut. Thank you, meow!”

Feeling satisfied, Theo put the coins Sejun gave him in his bag.

At that moment,

Roll. Roll.

Cuengi rolled over in front of Sejun and

Plop.

Lay down flat in front of him.

Krueng…

[Cuengi wants a massage too…]

“Alright.”

Stretch. Stretch.

Sejun earnestly stretched Cuengi’s legs for him.

Then he woke up the animals and went outside,

“Lord Sejun, are you awake?”

Ulrich greeted Sejun.

“Yes. How’s the Sky-Reaching Bean? Is it growing well?”

The Sky-Reaching Bean, described as reaching the sky in 7 days after planting, was planted 6 days ago.

But since Sejun initially accelerated its growth for 24 hours using magic seed sowing, it would probably reach the sky even faster.

“It looks like it’s almost fully grown. We had the soldiers climb the beanstalk and received reports that there’s a massive land floating in the sky.”

“A massive land?”

What on earth did Theo’s front paw find?

Looking at Theo,

“Meow meow meow.”

Feeling refreshed from his sleep, Theo was humming a tune and grooming his front paws.

“We aren’t sure since the beanstalk hasn’t reached it yet, but it seems there are no living entities.”

“I’ll need to go and check.”

“We’ll follow you.”

“No, you guys wait for me down here.”

In case of any unforeseen situation, Sejun and the animals could escape using the precious Bracelet of the Dragon’s Return given by Kaiser. So Sejun planned to inspect it first with the animals.

With that, Sejun moved to where he planted the sky-reaching bean.

***

99th floor of the Tower, Administrator area.

-Hmm… Theo, how does he always find stuff like this?

-Right? How does he always pick things like this?

Kaiser and Kellion were amazed and discussed, appraising the bronze mirror at Aileen’s request. Even more astonishing was that no matter how closely the two dragons looked, there was nothing particularly unique about Theo.

“Don’t just talk among yourselves; tell me too!”

Aileen got upset with Kaiser and Kellion because she often needed their help to assist Sejun when she should have been the one helping Sejun.

-Hahaha, my granddaughter is upset because we were chatting amongst ourselves? Let this old man explain quickly! This is a relic containing the power of the space god, Dimena.

“A relic?”

-Yes, a relic…

As Aileen showed interest, Kaiser excitedly explained about the relic.

“Grandpa, tell me about the other gods’ relics too.”

-Oh, my!

My granddaughter is so interested in my stories! Thanks to that, Kaiser became so elated that he enthusiastically started talking about all the gods he knew who had divine powers.

However,

‘I’ll learn from Grandpa, so later I can appraise Sejun’s items with my own ability!’

Aileen only had one thought in mind: to appraise Sejun’s items on her own.

-Idiot.

Kellion looked disdainfully at Kaiser, who was doting on his granddaughter. Yet he was no different, being just as doting on his grandson…

***

“Wow!”

Sejun exclaimed as he saw the enormous beanstalk. It was about 30 meters in circumference, and its top couldn’t be seen. It truly seemed to reach the sky.

“Puhuhut. How is it, meow?”

Theo began to feel proud again, tightly holding onto Sejun’s knee with his front paws, so as not to be pulled into the sky.

“Excellent.”

This amount was more than enough, even if all the rabbits and Black Minotaurs ate it.

“Cuengi, stay inside the void storage for now.”

Concerned that the beanstalk might collapse due to Cuengi’s weight, Sejun made Cuengi wait inside the void storage.

Krueng!

[I’ll wait without eating this time.]

Which meant, waiting without eating but filling up his snack pouch.

“That’s right. Our Cuengi is so well-behaved.”

Clank.

Sejun praised Cuengi as he put him in the void storage and closed the door.

“Let’s climb.”

“Got it, meow!”

Sejun began climbing the beanstalk with Theo.

[Farmer’s Touch Lv. 4 is activated.]

[While your hand is in contact, the growth of the Sky-reaching Beanstalk accelerates slightly.]

[The lifespan of the Sky-reaching Beanstalk extends a bit while being touched.]

Naturally, as Sejun held onto the beanstalk, his skills activated on it.

“Golden Bat, let’s sing while we climb.”

(Yes!)

Sejun called out the Golden Bat hanging on his back. If his skills were effective, surely the bat’s song could prolong the life of the beanstalk.

(There’s a beanstalk, tall and high~)

After listening to the Golden Bat’s original song for about an hour,

They arrived at a vast land in the sky. It was surprising that such a massive land in the sky wasn’t visible before. The land seemed barren, with only one dazzlingly white building visible in the distance.

“Let’s head over there.”

“Understood, meow!”

Theo, who was just clinging onto Sejun’s knee, responded quickly. He wasn’t planning to move on his own anyway.

(I’ll scout ahead!)

The Golden Bat quickly flew around the building and returned.

(The building seems clean, but there’s no one inside!)

“Really?”

Sejun approached the building.

“Huh?”

As he got closer, he noticed crops surrounding the building.

“Are those Magical Cherry Tomatoes? Wait! What’s that?”

Sejun recognized some crops, but there were others he had never seen before.

“I should gather some.”

As Sejun approached to harvest the crops,

[You have entered Emila’s Garden.]

-It’s remarkable that you managed to find this place. However, I cannot allow thievery. Black Tower’s tower farmer, Park Sejun. And it’s not time for us to meet yet.

A voice echoed in Sejun’s head.

And then,

“Huh? Where am I?”

Suddenly, Sejun found himself transported to another location. A familiar location. He was at the base of the Sky-Reaching Bean, back on the ground.

-It was nice meeting you.

With that, the voice vanished.

“What just happened? Vice Chairman Theo? Golden Bat?”

Feeling bewildered, Sejun first checked if the animals were okay.

Gororong.

Baerorong.

Thankfully, both were fine.

“Ah! What about Cuengi?”

Clank.

Sejun quickly opened the void storage to ensure Cuengi was safe.

Krueng?

[Are we going out already?]

Cuengi, who was busy filling his snack pouch, asked with a disappointed expression.

“No, fill your pouch first and then come out.”

Krueng!

[Okay!]

Upon hearing Sejun’s words, Cuengi eagerly resumed filling his snack pouch.

“Phew. What just happened?”

As Sejun was contemplating the recent events,

“Huh? When did I put these on?”

Sejun realized his shoes had changed. Instead of his worn-out sneakers that were about to tear, he was now wearing golden leather shoes.

“What’s this?”

Sejun examined the shoes.

*****

5/5

*****