The 268th day of being stranded, morning.

As soon as Sejun, who had just woken up and come outside, found Cuengi playing alone in front of his house, he tried to question what had happened yesterday.

However,

Euh-euh?! (Cuengi, you knew your medicine you gave me smelled like poop, didnt you?!)

President Park, shut your mouth, meow! The smell of poop is still lingering, meow!

Euh?! (Still?!)

Theo quickly covered Sejuns mouth and Sejun was once again confined to his house. He couldnt harm the animals with sensitive noses.

Fortunately, by the afternoon, the smell from his mouth completely disappeared. Of course, to get rid of the smell, Sejun had to eat a lot of green onions and water.

Phew. Now it seems a bit more like living.

Sejun came outside the house and said this, taking a deep breath.

Kreong

As Sejun came out, Cuengi, who had been guarding the front of the house, loitered around him. Dad, Im sorry

Cuengi, come here.

Kreong

Cuengi cautiously approached Sejun at his words.

Cuengi, why are you so down?

Is this how parents feel? Seeing Cuengi looking at him cautiously, Sejun felt bad. How much stress must the kid have gone through to be so down? He thought.

Kreong.

Seeing that Sejun seemed to be in a better mood, Cuengi rubbed his face against Sejuns leg.

Swipe. Swipe.

Cuengi, are you going to give me something that smells like poop again?

When Sejun petted Cuengis head and asked,

Kreong!

[I wont give you anything that smells like poop anymore!]

Cuengi responded by shaking his head vigorously.

Alright. Lets go eat then.

Kreong!

At Sejuns words, Cuengi cheered.

In this way, Sejun started cooking in the kitchen. Todays dish was rice cake soup. There were rice cakes and the harvest festival gave it a holiday vibe.

Iona, please cut these rice cakes diagonally like this.

Yes. Windcutter.

Iona began to slice the dried rice cakes with magic.

President Park! I can cut the rice cake too, meow! Why dont you let me do anything, meow?!

Swish!

Theo unsheathed its sharp claws and asked Sejun why he wasnt being asked to do anything.

President Theo, take a break. A president doesnt always have to step in.

Sejun was worried that Theo moving around to cut the rice cake might cause his fur to stick to the rice cake, but he spoke carefully so as not to hurt Theos feelings.

Is that so, meow?! Got it, meow! Then, as a president, Ill take my rest even more seriously, meow!

Theo, who didnt quite understand Sejuns words but took them as the truth, decided to take a rest as Sejun suggested.

Puhuhu. Now I, President Theo, dont have to do such chores and can still have Sejuns lap, meow!

In this way, Theo happily started resting on Sejuns lap. While Iona was cutting the rice cakes, Sejun prepared the broth for the rice cake soup.

Chiiick.

He put the Purple Locust meat in the pot, stir-fried it, poured water, and kept boiling it with detoxifying green onions. Now all he had to do was wait for the broth.

Slice slice slice.

While waiting for the broth to be ready, Sejun chopped some green onions. They were for garnishing the rice-cake soup.

Kyoot Kyoot Kyoot. Ive cut them all!

Yep. Good job.

Yes. Anything else you want me to do?

No. Thats all.

Yes!

Hearing from Sejun that there was no more work, Iona ran to Theo, wrapped herself up with Theos tail, and took a rest.

Is it ready?

Sejun tasted the broth.

Hmm. Now I just need to put in the rice cakes and adjust the seasoning.

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

Kreong! Kreong!

Cuengi danced around in anticipation, shaking his butt.

Just wait a little. Its almost done.

Kreong!

A little later,

[You have achieved the achievement of making Purple Rice-cake Soup for the first time in the Tower.]

[The recipe for Purple Rice-cake Soup will be registered in cooking Lv. 4.]

[Your proficiency in cooking Lv. 4 greatly increases.]

The rice cake soup was ready.

Shall we see what effects it has?

Sejun checked the options of the rice cake soup.

[Purple Rice Cake Soup]

The meat of the Purple Locust and the detoxifying green onion were boiled at high heat, allowing the nutrients of the two ingredients to permeate the broth.

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

The taste is slightly improved.

A feeling of satiety is maintained for an hour.

Chef: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration Date: 10 days

Grade: D+

There are no effects other than satiety?

Perhaps because there were no crops included except for the detoxifying green onions, there were no options attached to the food.

Well, as long as it tastes good. Here.

Sejun filled Cuengis bowl with rice cake soup, and then filled his own. He topped it off with chopped green onions and sprinkled some pepper.

Lets eat now.

Kreong!

As soon as Sejun scooped some soup into his mouth, Cuengi also hurriedly started drinking the soup.

Ah, this is delicious!

The soup had a well-seasoned chicken-flavored broth and the rice cakes, sliced to a perfect thickness, provided a nice chewy texture. Thanks to the dried rice cakes, there was an additional crunch when chewing.

Slurp.

While Sejun was immersed in his soup,

Kreong!

Cuengi, who had quickly finished a bowl, ladled more soup from the pot into his bowl and sat down to eat.

However,

Slurp. Slurp.

At first, Cuengi would return to his seat to eat, then go back to the pot for seconds. But later, he just started drinking soup straight from the bowl in front of the pot.

By the time Sejun finished a bowl,

Huh?! You already finished?

Cuengi had finished the entire pot.

hehehe.

Cuengi patted his stomach and laughed in satisfaction.

Then,

Sigh Cuengi is now older than me. How does it feel? Youve become grandpa Cuengi.

Sejun started to tease with a mischievous smile.

Kreong?

Cuengi was puzzled when Sejun suddenly called him grandpa. Why am I suddenly a grandpa?

Sorry, I should have told you for every bowl of rice cake soup you eat, you age a year

Kreong?!

Cuengi was startled by Sejuns words. He quickly started calculating how many bowls of soup he had eaten.

Judging by the size of the pot, he must have had around 200 bowls. He suddenly became a 200 year and 198 days old Crimson Giant Honey Bear.

Kreong

Cuengi was devastated. He was now older than his dad. His brothers Theo and Black Rabbit, and sister ChuChu were all younger than him.

Then,

Kreong?

Suddenly, an idea popped into Cuengis head. Am I now the eldest brother?

Meow?!

Swoosh.

Cuengi grabbed Theo and ran outside. He was trying to re-establish the hierarchy.

Huh? Cuengi!

Sensing that something was off, Sejun tried to follow Cuengi, but then,

[A quest has been generated.]

[Quest: Serve 175 bowls of the purple rice cake soup that makes you one year older per bowl to the Great Black Dragon, Aileen Pritani.]

Reward: A chance to meet me!!!

If refused: Refusal is rejected!!!!!

Aileen, who took Sejuns joke seriously, gave out a quest.

Aileen, that was just

Sejun hastily tried to correct his joke.

***

Kreong! Kreong!

[Im now the eldest brother! Because Im 200 years old!]

Cuengi gathered Theo, Black Rabbit, and Golden Bat in the cave, announcing that he was the oldest and should therefore be the big brother.

However,

What are you talking about, meow?! How did Cuengi suddenly become 200 years old, meow? And Im 250 years old, meow! Stop talking nonsense and go to President Parks lap, meow!

Theo wasnt yet ready to accept Cuengi as older.

Then,

Squeak! Squeak! (Being older doesnt make you the big brother! We should decide it by who came here first!)

Thats nonsense, meow! We should establish the hierarchy based on who brought the most help to President Park, meow!

Black Rabbits words sparked another debate on the criteria for deciding the brotherly hierarchy.

We should decide based on who brought the most help to President Park, meow!

Squeak! (We should decide by who came here first!)

Kreong! (No, lets decide by size!)

Screech! (Im okay with anything.)

Even if Golden Bat tried, he could never be the eldest brother, so he simply watched from behind.

Then,

[Well then, Ill be the eldest brother. No, eldest sister.]

Flamie interrupted their conversation.

What are you talking about, meow?

[I was the first one here, and Im the biggest]

Since she was the first one planted, and she had a gigantic root underground, Flamies claim was valid.

[Moreover, I can give assistance to the Master.]

I cant accept that, meow!

Theo yelled in response to Flamies words. He could accept the rest, but not the third claim.

Then,

[How about this?]

Along with Flamies words, a amberjack fish over 10 meters long appeared in the pond. It was a fish that Flamie had directly caught from the Sea of Dimensions with its root.

Thats a huge fish, meow!

Theo quickly ran towards the amberjack fish.

[What do you think? You agree?]

Meow! I still cant accept it, meow! The hierarchy should be determined by age, meow!

Theo, who could not concede the highest rank to Flamie, shouted, hugging the amberjack fish.

Kreong! (I agree!)

[I also agree.]

Thanks to Cuengi and Flamies approval, Theo managed to maintain the position of eldest brother.

Kreong!

Cuengi was happy to become the second in command.

However,

Cuengi, the thing I said earlier was a joke.

Sejun, who had just finished explaining to Aileen, told Cuengi the truth.

Kreong!

Cuengi glared at Sejun with resentment. How could you say that now!

Squeak!

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

The Black Rabbit was glaring at Cuengi, swinging the hammer with angry eyes.

***

Kehehehe. If I eat one bowl of rice cake soup, Ill age one year?

Aileen, who was now able to hear voices through the crystal orb as her magic power increased, was excited upon hearing Sejuns voice.

Kehehehe. If I eat only 175 bowls of that, I can meet Sejun too!

Thanks to eating honey jelly every day, Aileens Dragon Heart was in a better condition.

Aileen quickly gave Sejun a quest.

Quickly make 175 bowls of rice cake soup for me!

However,

-Aileen, Im sorry, I was joking with Cuengi. In the place I lived, theres a custom that you age a year if you eat rice cake soup

Sejun said that his words were a joke. Of course, Sejun cooked the rice cake soup for her, but it didnt improve Aileens mood.

Kuhuhuhu. Im sad, but its delicious.

While Aileen was eating the rice cake soup with teary eyes,

-What? Why is our princess crying?!

Kaiser, noticing something was wrong with Aileen, quickly asked.

Kuhuhuhu! Grandfather! I want to polymorph and meet Sejun!

Aileen, who burst into tears at Kaisers words, spoke while sobbing.

-Okay! If our granddaughter wishes for it! This old man will help!

Kaiser, somewhat wanted to keep Sejun a little closer, accepted her request.

Really?!

-Of course! But dont block me while talking to your grandpa from now on. Okay?

Yes!

The reason Kaiser could make such a bold promise to Aileen was thanks to the blessing of mana that spread across the 99th floor of the tower as the harvest festival began.

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

By the last day of the festival, when the mana concentration on the 99th floor reached its peak, Kaiser thought Aileen could stay in polymorphed form for a few minutes if he assisted her.

-From now on, Ill teach you polymorph. Listen carefully.

Yes!

Kaiser started to teach Aileen the polymorph magic.

*****

TL Notes:

1) You can read more about the Joke MC makes here > https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180219-in-south-korea-age-is-measured-in-bowls-of-soup