“You should have said it sooner! Huh?!”

“Vice Chairman, made a mistake, meow!”

Even though he had a solution, he spoke too late, and Theo had to endure the punishment of having his cheeks stretched by Sejun like Chapssaltteok.

Thanks to this, Sejun was able to both punish and heal simultaneously.

“Vice Chairman Theo, so what’s pulling you?”

Theo pointed to his bag when asked what was pulling him.

“It’s this, meow!”

Theo pointed to his bag again.

“Yeah, I know it’s in the bag. So what’s exactly pulling you inside it?”

“Meow? It’s not inside the bag, meow! It’s the bag itself, meow!”

“Huh?”

What does that mean?

While Sejun was puzzled,

“Try holding this, meow!”

“What?”

Theo handed his bag to Loon, who hesitantly put his hand on it.

···!

The moment Loon placed his hand on the bag, he felt a slight tingly coolness flowing through his fingertips, and his head became clear and refreshed.

Simultaneously, something emerged in his mind.

I think I know who I am!

Though it wasn’t clear enough to explain in words, and everything felt hazy, Loon could grasp one characteristic of his true form.

I had dark brown fur!

Ssssh.

“What?!”

Sejun noticed Loon’s fur, which had turned into a blue-furred baboon, changing to a black sugar color.

What’s going on?

Sejun knew it was because of Theo’s bag, but… was it a good thing?

While Sejun was watching Loon,

“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, I now know that my original fur color was brown!”

Loon smiled brightly and expressed his gratitude to Sejun and Theo. He was happy just to know his fur color.

But,

“Meow···.”

Watching Loon, Theo was deeply disappointed.

Even though the person person was happy, why?

“I can’t get his stamp, meow···.”

Because Loon hadn’t returned to his true form.

Our determined Vice Chairman Theo still couldn’t give up on the idea of making Loon a slave by getting his handprint.

So, when Loon, who had thanked them, removed his hand from the bag,

Ssssh.

Loon’s fur quickly returned to its original blue color.

Huh?!

Loon knew his fur was brown in his mind, but it wasn’t on his body, an odd experience.

It was like knowing how to walk but not having legs.

Ah···

Loon was disappointed by the vague sense of loss.

While both Theo and Loon were disappointed for different reasons,

What made Loon change?

Sejun carefully reviewed the description of Theo’s bag, the ‘Bag of the Legendary Merchant Wandering the Nine Towers’.

The ability to move to another tower wouldn’t matter…

Sejun thought for a moment.

“Then, is it the ingredients?”

He reviewed the five materials used to make Theo’s bag.

The great black dragon’s scale, a branch of the World Tree, red bone club, the staff of disaster, and the phoenix’s tail feather.

One of these might have caused Loon’s color change.

It probably isn’t the great black dragon’s scale…

If it were, Kaiser would have smugly handed it over right away.

Red bone club, the staff of disaster, and the phoenix’s tail feather wouldn’t have much to do with finding Loon’s appearance…

“Then, is it the branch of the World Tree?”

“What?! A branch of the World Tree?! Is this bag made from the World Tree’s branch?! Do you know where the World Tree is?!”

Excited by Sejun’s muttering, Loon bombarded him with questions.

Before Loon was captured here, the key ingredient in the potion recipe he developed to return to his true form was the branch of the World Tree.

The tremendous restorative power possessed by the World Tree’s branch.

Loon thought it would help him find his true appearance.

It was indeed thanks to the branch of the World Tree that Theo’s bag had changed Loon’s fur color earlier.

“World Tree? Of course, I know. It’s right there.”

Sejun pointed to Podori, who was the World Tree.

“What? That’s just a grapevine, isn’t it?”

Loon said, looking bewildered as he saw where Sejun pointed.

“Yeah, it’s a grapevine and also the World Tree.”

“…What?!”

Loon was shocked at Sejun’s words.

The ten-volume encyclopedia on the World Tree he had read clearly stated that raising a World Tree was extremely difficult. The World Tree was very sensitive, requiring attention to soil, water, air, and sunlight, and its temperament was said to be very finicky.

Thus, obtaining its fruit was considered impossible…

But the grapevine before his eyes… was laden with bountiful grapes.

It was growing well!

It didn’t seem picky at all.

Typically, World Trees have a temperament even more finicky than described in books. Podori wanted to act difficult with Sejun too, but with Flamie watching with a fiery gaze, it didn’t dare to show any attitude.

And Sparkie, having grown up under Flamie’s care since childhood, grew into a World Tree that knew nothing of complaints.

Of course, Sausage was soon to grow up the same way.

While Loon was confused by the discrepancy between the World Tree he learned about in books and the reality before him,

“I’m going to take a few branches.”

[Yes! Of course!]

Sejun approached Podori and cut a few branches.

And,

A World Tree gives its branches that easily?!

Loon was once again astonished.

In the World Tree Encyclopedia, the section on obtaining branches alone spanned nearly three volumes.

The book stated that to obtain a branch from the World Tree, you had to cater to its whims for about ten years to become friendly, and then, with about twenty years of sincere dedication, you might get a chance to obtain a branch.

But Sejun cut the branches too easily. Five of them, no less.

There were only two possibilities.

The book was wrong, or the Sejun before him had an incredibly close relationship with the World Tree.

Of course, the book couldn’t be wrong. The World Tree Encyclopedia was written by the great sage, Wikis.

So, the remaining conclusion was one.

Sejun~nim must have built a relationship with the World Tree over hundreds of years.

While Loon was looking at Sejun with admiration,

“Podori, thank you.”

[You’re welcome! Bye!]

Meanwhile, Sejun, having cut five branches from Podori, thanked it and returned.

However, Loon’s admiring gaze cooled down when he heard the World Tree’s name.

Did he name the World Tree ‘Podori’ just because it was a grapevine?!

It was because of Sejun’s naming sense.

Loon couldn’t have imagined at that moment that he would be the next victim.

“Here, hold this.”

Sejun handed one of Podori’s branches to Loon.

“Yes.”

Loon cautiously took the branch.

Then,

···!!!

This time, the tingly cool sensation from the World Tree’s branch was so strong it almost numbed his fingertips.

The power of the freshly cut World Tree branch was vastly different from the branch that had lost much of its nature when it became part of the bag.

A clear image of his true form emerged in Loon’s mind.

Squirm.

Loon’s form began to transform into the image in his mind.

Loon’s body gradually shrank, and he turned into a small, palm-sized brown hamster.

Loon was originally a hamster, the same species as Iona.

“How…?”

Despite transforming thousands of times, he had never found his true form…

While Loon held the World Tree’s branch tightly with his right hand and felt his body with his left hand in amazement,

“Puhuhut. As expected, Chairman Park is great, meow!”

There was one more being who was deeply moved.

I can’t miss this chance Chairman Park gave me, meow!

Theo hurriedly took out a contract.

“Sejun~nim, thank you! Thanks to you, I found my true form! I’ll never forget this favor. I will serve you for the rest of my life!”

“Puhuhut. Then stamp it, meow!”

Stamp.

He got Loon’s handprint while he was thanking Sejun.

I did it, meow!

With a satisfied look, Theo gazed at the contract.

[You have acquired 1 slave.] [All stats increase by 0.01 due to the effect of the <Title: Slave King>.]

Thanks to this, Sejun’s stats also increased.

A moment later,

“Puhuhut. Loon, what are you good at, meow?! Tell us quickly, meow!”

Theo asked Loon, who was standing in front of Sejun.

“I’m good at stealing, escaping, and infiltrating!”

In response to Theo’s question, Loon answered earnestly, gripping the branch of the World Tree with both hands as if he were an applicant in a job interview.

Loon thought he had to prove his worth here to continue holding onto the branch of the World Tree.

Of course, Sejun had no such intention, but for Loon, who had lived alone in a harsh world, it was only natural.

A fitting answer from Loon, the faceless thief.

However,

······

No one showed any interest in Loon’s answer.

This is bad!

“I also know a lot about transformation magic and can write in 100 different scripts! And I can make simple magical equipment too!”

104.28.193.250

Panicking, Loon started to hurriedly list anything he could do, hoping something would catch their interest.

And then,

“Oh. You can make magical equipment too?”

“Yes! I made these as well!”

As Sejun showed interest in magical equipment, Loon quickly took out the equipment he had made from his vest to show them.

However,

“Is this all you’ve got?”

None of the magical equipment Loon had made caught Sejun’s interest. Most of it was gear for escaping from locked rooms.

“Can’t you make something like super-strong healing magic equipment, super-strong defense magic equipment, or equipment that can withstand super-strong energy?”

If I could make such things, I wouldn’t have been caught by Sejun~nim!

“My magical skills are lacking…”

Loon swallowed the retort that was on the tip of his tongue and answered rationally.

“Well, it’s alright. You can improve your magical skills from now on. Iona will teach you well.”

Sejun planned to send Loon to Iona.

“What? You don’t mean Iona who is the Chairman of the Wizard’s Association, Iona~nim?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I don’t think this is going to be alright…

While Loon was flustered by the sudden news that he would be learning magic from Iona,

“Now, there’s something really important left. Everyone, listen up.”

Sejun spoke with a serious expression.

“Speak, meow!”

Kueng!

[Cuengi will listen well!]

Kiheet. Kking! Kking!

[Heehee. Good! Wise Blackie will make the judge…!]

Blackie, forgetting that Theo and Cuengi were present, spoke arrogantly but quickly changed it to respectable language at the end, noticing their eyes. (TL: It might not make much sense in English, but Blackie switched from speaking informally to formally to show more respect.)

As everyone’s attention focused on Sejun,

“Since Loon has found his true form, we need to give him a name that suits that form, don’t we? I’ve thought of a few names, so tell me which one you like.”

Sejun got to the main point. Loon was a name for the criminal. Now that he had found his new form, he needed a new name.

Thus, Sejun’s naming shop opened.

“Blackseol, Blacktang, Blackham, Blackster. Choose one of these.”

Sejun, inspired by the brown sugar hamster, came up with four names.

[TL Note: Before reading further, let me explain a bit about the names and how Sejun came up with them, i.e., how they are inspired by ‘brown sugar hamster’. The Korean Hangul for brown sugar is ‘흑설탕’, which when romanized will be ‘Heugseoltang’. The first part (흑) if translated individually means ‘Black’. What Sejun has done is to keep the ‘black’ part constant and combine it with other parts like:

– the first name, Blackseol (흑설), which is basically 흑 (black) + 설 (seol), the first two characters from 흑설탕 (brown sugar hamster).

– the second name, Blacktang (흑탕), which similarly is 흑 (black) + 탕 (tang), so the first and last character from 흑설탕 (brown sugar hamster).

– the third name, Blackham (흑햄), where Sejun has taken 흑 (black) from 흑설탕 (brown sugar hamster) and combined it with ‘ham’ of Hamster.

– in the last name, as you can guess by now, 흑 (black) from 흑설탕 (brown sugar hamster) and ‘ster’ from Hamster, making it Blackster (흑스터).]

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park, which one do you like, meow?”

“Actually, I like Blackster.”

“Puhuhut. Then I vote for Blackster too, meow!”

In response to Sejun’s answer, Theo quickly raised his paw and shouted. It was natural since Sejun was the best namer Theo knew in the Black Tower.

“Um… I think the name Loon is still fine…”

Loon hurriedly tried to expressed his opinion, but

Kueng!

[Then Cuengi votes for Blackster too!]

His voice was drowned out by Cuengi’s shout. Naturally, the best namer Cuengi knew was also Sejun.

“Alright. That’s more than half the votes. Blackster it is! Blackster, let’s do well from now on.”

When Sejun extended his pinky finger to Blackster,

“…Okay…”

Loon, now renamed Blackster, grabbed Sejun’s pinky with both hands, wearing a gloomy expression.

Meanwhile, he looked at Blackie with pleading eyes, seeking help.

Please say something.

Seeing that Blackie hadn’t cast a vote, Blackster thought Blackie agreed with him about Sejun’s poor naming skills.

However,

Thump! Thump!

Kking! Kking!

[Blackster, I can’t forgive you! Your name is cooler than my name, Blackie!]

Blackie was stomping the ground with his front paws in frustration.

*****