In the Administrator Area of the Black Tower.

Grandma Brachio, Im only forgiving you just this once.

Hohoho. Alright. Ive stamped this, so you can stop being angry.

Brachio pointed to the contract that stated she wouldnt harm Sejun as she replied.

Alright. You can choose from here.

Proudly, Aileen handed over a paper she had written herself, listing Sejuns crops along with their options and prices.

Oh. There are so many types?!

Having only thought about Black Beans and Samyangju, Brachio was surprised by the dozens of crops available and soon became excited.

If you like sweet things, I recommend the sweet potatoes or corn. If you like something nutty, peanuts are also good

Aileen recommended various crops to Brachio from beside her.

Really? Can I try some?

Thats difficult. But if you buy a lot, Ill throw in a little extra service.

Though the conversation sounded like one between Earthly aunties, it was actually a dialogue between dragons.

A short while later,

For now, Ill take one Black Bean and 10,000 bottles of Samyangju, and 10 of each of the other crops?

Brachio decided to buy different types of crops to try and judge them.

Yes! Just a moment! Sejun, we have an order!

Aileen hurriedly conveyed Brachios order list to Sejun.

A short while later,

Here you go. These 100 honey jellies are a service bonus.

Having received the crops from Sejun, Aileen passed them to Brachio.

Thanks. Heres 120 billion Tower Coins. Keep the change to buy something delicious.

Thank you! Have a safe trip home! Grandma, come visit again!

Hohoho. Sure.

Brachio smiled warmly at Aileen as she saw her off. Indeed, theres nothing like pocket money to get on good terms with kids.

After Brachio left,

Kikiki. Sejun! I sold a lot!

Aileen proudly boasted to Sejun about her sales performance.

***

Slurp.

Kuh.

Good. Very good. After lunch, Sejun sipped his own brewed coffee, smiling contentedly.

Then,

[You have consumed a medicine that tastes bitter.]

[Talent: A Medicine Thats Bitter is Good for Stamina has been activated.]

[Stamina increased by 3.]

A message appeared.

Heheh. I can totally handle this level of bitterness. Im an adult, after all.

Ultimately, Sejun failed to make tasty coffee but got used to the bitterness.

While enjoying his coffee,

[The Towers administrator informs you that your crops were sold for 120 billion Tower Coins.]

Aileen filled up Sejuns previously empty storage, boosting his mood further.

120 billion? Wasnt it 115.5 billion?

[The Towers administrator says Grandma Brachio told her to use the change to buy something delicious.]

The scale of dragons was indeed massive. Giving 4.5 billion Tower Coins just to buy some tasty treats.

Really? Then Aileen can keep the change.

[The Towers administrator says since its earned from your crops, its also yours.]

Such honesty, not pocketing even a single Tower Coin.

Excellent. Very excellent.

Aileen, is there anything youd like to eat?

Touched by her diligence, Sejun asked Aileen.

[The Towers administrator says shes happy if youre happy, so its fine.]

Even her words were too lovely.

[The Towers administrator has contacted hatchlings through magic to come and browse at the Dragon Market, so there might be an increase in customers.]

Moreover, her promotional skills were incredible. She was bringing hatchlings?

Of course, hatchlings have no money. They barely go out yet.

But if hatchlings move, their parents or other adults must move with them to protect them.

And parents have money.

So, if the hatchlings that come with their parents throw a fit once they are on the ground?

Hehehe. Game over.

Should I later create a book for the hatchlings called 54 Ways to Open Your Mom and Dads Wallet and send it to them?

Chairman Park! Your face is getting very rotten, meow!

Sejun, with a wicked smile at the thought of duping the parents of hatchlings, was immediately noticed by Theo, who started kneading Sejuns face.

This little brat!

Even Sejun had to admit he looked a bit rotten just then and couldnt get mad.

But this is outrageous.

How dare someone who cleaned out my storage call me rotten. This calls for retribution!

Bu-bu-bu.

Sejun put his mouth on Theos belly and blew raspberries on Theos belly.

Meow! Stop it, meow! Chairman Park, Ill cure that rotten face of yours, meow!

As Sejun played with Theo,

Kuehehehe.

Eheheh.

Cuengi and Ajax sneaked up, baring their bellies, waiting for their turn.

Then,

Kking!

Hey! You should only swear loyalty to me!

Fenrir mistook the belly raspberries for a pledge of loyalty.

A little later,

Our Blackie is getting belly raspberries too! Bu-bu-bup.

Sejun made his way from Theo, through Cuengi and Ajax, to finally Fenrir, giving each a raspberry on the belly.

Kikihit. Kking! Kking!

Heheh. Good! Since you pledged loyalty to me last, youre my underling now!

While Sejun was busy giving belly raspberries to Fenrir,

Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Hello, Sejun~nim!

Iona flew in and wrapped herself around Theos tail.

Puhuhut. Ionas here, meow?

Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Yes! Theo~nim, why didnt you take this?

Iona pulled out a small pouch slightly larger than her hand.

Meow? What is that, meow?

Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Its the golden statues we picked up from the Caiman Kingdom.

Meow? Right, meow! I forgot about this, meow!

When Theo opened the small pouch that Iona handed him,

A huge amount of golden statues poured out of the pouch.

Puhuhut. Chairman Park, meow! Its the gold you love, meow!

Thanks to this, Sejuns void storage was filled with even more wealth than before.

And Theos treatment significantly improved.

Hehehe. Our Vice Chairman Theo, is there anything youd like to eat?

Sejun massaged Theos legs and asked.

Puhuhut. Im full, meow! But I want something else, meow!

Oh? What?

I want to massage Chairman Parks rotten face, meow!

Is my face that rotten?

Puhuhut. Yes, meow! Freshly rotten, meow!

What does freshly rotten even mean?

Alright, go ahead and massage.

Got it, meow!

Sejun lay down and entrusted his face to Theos front paws.

Kkuk. Kkuk.

Cant tolerate the rotten face, meow! Theo massaged Sejuns face with a solemn expression as if vanquishing a mighty evil.

While Theo was diligently massaging Sejuns face,

Chairman Park, can I burn some of the wealth, meow?

Seeming to lack power, Theo considered burning the wealth to gain more power.

However,

No.

There was no way Sejun could allow it, having seen Theo burn away all the wealth in one go.

Understood, meow

Theo was disappointed by Sejuns answer.

A little later,

Kurrurr.

As Sejun fell asleep,

Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot. Theo~nim, you can burn this instead.

Iona handed over her own money to Theo.

Puhuhut. Thanks, meow!

Burning 10 billion Tower Coins, Theo kneaded Sejuns face with his shining golden paws.

***

99th Floor of the Brown Tower.

Great Brown Dragon, the land is starting to rot at an accelerated pace!

Orik, the Tower Farmer of the Brown Tower, shouted towards a statue of the Brown Dragon made of stone.

How far has the rot spread?

A firm voice emanated from the Brown Dragon statue. It was Grave Renma, the leader of the Great Brown Dragons.

The rot has currently reached the 61st floor of the tower.

What?! Its already at the 61st floor?!

Grave, who had received a report just a few hours ago that the 60th floor had started to rot, was greatly shocked.

A whole floor has rotted in just a few hours?!

This was faster than he had anticipated.

As the flustered Grave hurried to observe the situation on the 61st floor through a crystal orb,

Huh?

The rate of rot on the 61st floor gradually started decreasing.

***

Underground of the Towers land.

[Hoo. Now that Ive rested, maybe I should get back to work!]

Flamie started her work with a shout.

Red Tower, Blue Tower, Green Tower, Brown Tower, Purple Tower.

Flamie started transferring energy through the roots connected to the five towers once again.

[Hehe. Thanks to Theo~nim, the roots have fully recovered and I feel so energized! Transferring energy has become much easier.]

Thanks to Theo burning all of Sejuns wealth to heal her roots, the damage that had unknowingly accumulated in the roots was completely healed.

[I think I can extend the roots a bit more.]

Crack.

Flamie connected one more gigantic root to each of the five towers.

***

Umm.

Sejun opened his eyes. As he slightly lifted his head,

Kurorong.

On his chest, Fenrir, tucked in the sling bag, was sleeping while licking his lips dreaming of eating something.

Gororong.

Kyurorong.

On his knees, Theo, who was making biscuits in his sleep, and Iona, who was wrapped around Theos tail, were also asleep.

And,

Kurorong.

Aarorong.

On either side, Cuengi and Ajax were cuddling up to Sejuns sides, sleeping. Just hearing their sounds conjured images of them in his mind.

I slept way too deeply.

Sejun lowered his head again as he spoke.

Then,

Huh?

Sejun felt something was off with his senses. Everything felt too cool and clear?

He was breathing more freely, and things in front of him appeared more distinct. Sounds were clearer too.

Kkwek.

He could even hear the Mushroom Ants working outside, and he seemed to know how far away they were.

He opened his status window to check if anything had changed, but nothing was different.

Whats going on?

Is my face really rotten? Did Vice Chairman Theo cure it so it improved? Sejun wondered as he looked at Theo, who was snoring away.

No.

Sejun shook his head in denial. He couldnt accept that his face was rotten.

Kurrurr.

Firmly denying it, Sejun fell back asleep.

An hour later,

Kiiiiing.

Fenrir stretched lazily as he emerged from the sling bag and

Ddangddang.

Stepped on Sejuns chest as he made his way to Sejuns face.

Kking! Kking!

Hey! Wake up! Im hungry!

Fenrir climbed over Sejuns face, demanding food.

Ugh!

Sejun woke up to a pungent smell.

Kking? Kking!

Youre awake? Hurry up and give me food!

Fenrir, having caught Sejuns eye, hurriedly sat on his face, making Sejun inhale an even stronger stench.

Come to think of it, have I ever given Blackie a bath?

Holding his breath, he pondered whether he had ever bathed Fenrir and realized.

I havent

Fenrir had never taken a bath.

Grab.

Blackie, lets take a bath today.

Sejun grabbed Fenrir by the scruff of the neck and declared.

Kking!

Let go of me!

Instinctively sensing he should escape, Fenrir struggled to break free from Sejuns grasp.

Of course, it was futile.

Puhuhut. Chairman Park, taking a bath, meow?

Kyoot, kyoot, kyoot! I love bathing with Theo~nim!

Kueng!

[Cuengi is good at playing in the water!]

Cuengi, too excited, ended up combining bathing and playing in the water.

I dont need to bathe because Im clean, but if its with Sejun hyung!

I read in a book that giving each other back scrubs while bathing makes you closer!

The group, including Sejun holding Fenrir, headed to the bathhouse.

Come to think of it, its my first time actually using the bathhouse.

Since the dragons had taken over the fountain, Sejun felt pressured and built a separate bathhouse.

Upon arriving at the bathhouse,

Kuehehehe.

Cuengi was the first to enter the tub and soaked himself in the warm water.

Slap.

Theo clung to Sejuns knees. Naturally, Iona was with him, as it was a package deal.

And,

When will I get to scrub Sejun hyungs back?

Ajax was only looking for an opportunity to scrub Sejuns back.

Of course, if Ajax used his strength to scrub Sejuns back, it would likely peel off the skin, so Sejun would never entrust his back to Ajax.

Splash.

Sejun entered the water first,

Kking! Kking!

No! I dont want to!

He scooped water with his hand and splashed it onto Fenrirs body, who was resisting.

Then,

Kking?

Its warm and nice?

Fenrir calmed down.

After a while, as he overcame his fear of water,

Kikihit. Kking! Kking!

Heheh. Hey! Look! Behold the noble swimming of this noble wolf!

Thump-thump.

Fenrir began to dog paddle.

*****

2/5