Chapter 619: Heh heh heh, Then I Can Stay Weak, Right, Dad?

99th Floor of the Black Tower.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Mrow…"

Pii…

When Sejun stepped outside with his companions,

Gororong.

Pink Fur appeared quietly, carrying the still-sleeping Kuengi in her mouth.

"Good morning, Pink Fur!"

Roar, roar, roooar.

[Sejun-nim, please keep it down. You’ll wake up Kuengi. Good morning to you too.]

At Sejun’s cheerful greeting, Pink Fur hushed him in a gentle tone.

Then she calmly placed Kuengi in Sejun’s hands. Today, she seemed even more confident than usual.

Leaving Kuengi with Sejun, Pink Fur turned to head not westward toward her den but northward, where Umo King resided.

Is she going to confront him for hitting her yesterday during her rampage?

"Pink Fur, where are you going?"

Worried they might quarrel, Sejun quickly asked.

But such trivial concerns were Sejun’s alone.

Roar, rooar.

[Strong bodies hold strong minds. I’m going to train with Umo King to become stronger. I want to be a mother that Kuengi can be proud of.]

Pink Fur intended to train under Umo King to strengthen herself.

As she departed north, Sejun was struck by her profound maternal love.

Moms are truly strong.

Feeling inspired by Pink Fur’s dedication, Sejun thought wryly to himself.

Heh heh heh, then I guess Dad can stay weak, right?

Knowing Pink Fur might smack him if she heard that.

"Right, Kuengi? Dad doesn’t have to be strong, right? Brrrrp."

Sejun pressed his face against Kuengi’s belly and blew a raspberry.

Hehehe. Pii.

[Hehehe. Good morning, Dad.]

Kuengi beamed as he opened his eyes, his smile brighter than usual, perhaps due to the events with Pink Fur yesterday.

"Heh heh heh, did my Kuengi sleep well?"

Seeing Kuengi’s radiant smile lifted Sejun’s spirits, though he had no idea that Kuengi had been to Pink Fur’s mental realm yesterday since he’d been unconscious.

Pii, pii.

[Dad, do it again. Kuengi’s still sleepy.]

Closing his eyes, Kuengi requested another raspberry.

"Alright, brrrrp."

Hehehe.

As Sejun played with Kuengi, Theo and Kamangi, who had woken up, complained.

"Mrow?! Great Hybrid Chairman Park, why are you leaving me out of the belly raspberries?"

Pii! Pii!

[Master is mean! Do it for me too!]

Sejun, grinning, gave Theo and Kamangi raspberries on their bellies as well.

And so began another peaceful morning. While Sejun prepared breakfast in the kitchen,

"Hmph."

Hehehe.

Snicker.

His companions sat at the table, savoring the aroma of the food they’d soon enjoy.

"Kuengi, can you light this fire for me?"

Needing an extra grill, Sejun asked Kuengi for help.

Pii… Pii…

[Kuengi can’t use fire… Mom said I can’t for a week…]

Kuengi’s voice was unusually subdued.

"What? Why?"

Pii, pii.

[I don’t know. Mom said not to use it.]

"Really? So, Kuengi, who do you like more, Mom or Dad?"

Sejun’s playful side got the better of him as he asked the question.

Pii!

[Kuengi likes both Mom and Dad!]

Kuengi responded without hesitation.

"Oh, come on. Surely you like one more than the other. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom. Just whisper it to Dad."

Sejun tried to coax Kuengi, hoping for a less diplomatic answer.

At that moment,

"Mrow?! Chairman Park, my fish is burning!"

The smell of burning fish caught Theo’s attention, and he cried out in alarm.

"Oh no!"

Sejun quickly refocused on cooking. Naturally, the burnt fish became his portion.

After finishing breakfast, Sejun took everyone to work on the farm.

"Hmph, I’m glad I’m staying home today instead of going to work with you, Chairman Park!"

Hehehe. Pii!

[Hehehe. Kuengi feels the same!]

Having worked hard yesterday, Theo and Kuengi were taking the day off.

Snicker. Pii!

[Hehehe. The Great Kamangi Chief likes it too, being with my big brothers!]

Seeing the joy of his companions, Sejun cheerfully finished the farm work with them.

"Summon gate."

Summoning a gate to the 10th Tower floor,

Clank.

Sejun opened the door and stepped through.

Upon arrival, Kamangi’s family immediately gathered.

Snicker. Pii!

[Hehehe, guess what! Yesterday, Master was so silly…]

Gathering his underlings, Kamangi started bragging about escorting Sejun to Pink Fur’s mental realm and standing guard.

[You Are the Field (Master) has activated.]

[You have planted a Destruction Pioneer Seed in the body of the 12th Apostle of Destruction, Leviathan, the Serpent of the Tides.]

…

…

Sejun planted seeds in Leviathan’s body.

After several hours…

"Let’s go home and eat."

Once he had planted all the seeds, Sejun announced.

"Hmph, good idea!"

Pii!

Theo and Kuengi cheered, excited.

Snicker. Pii!

[Hehehe. Master, let’s go eat!]

Kamangi trotted over, tail wagging with excitement.

"Oh? I thought the Great Kamangi Chief wanted to stay here and keep talking about me?"

Sejun couldn’t resist poking fun at him.

Pii…

[Master is so mean…]

Kamangi grumbled but didn’t give up easily. As a once-mighty wolf feared by the gods, he was not about to surrender.

Alright, time for the cute card.

Pii! Pii!

[Master! Feed me!]

Kamangi stood on his hind legs, waving his paws at Sejun adorably.

"Alright, I’ll let it slide this time."

Sejun, swayed by Kamangi’s cuteness, pretended to relent, slipping Kamangi and his family into the sling bag.

And so, they returned to the Black Tower.

 

Upon their return,

—Brother-in-law~!

Ace’s dragon statue flew over to Sejun.

"Hey, little brother, did you sleep well?"

—Yes!

"Little brother, did you eat? We’re about to have lunch. Want to join us?"

—Hehehe, yes! I’d love to!

"Alright, just a moment."

—Okay!

Sejun finished his conversation with Ace, then spoke to Aileen.

"Aileen, anything you’d like to eat?"

[The tower administrator says she wants spicy tteokbokki.]

"Spicy, huh?"

[The tower administrator says, of course! Spiciness is the essence of tteokbokki!]

"Seriously?! Hahaha!"

Hearing a dragon talk about the "essence" of tteokbokki made Sejun laugh heartily.

"Haha, Aileen, today I’ll make you a big pot of stir-fried tteokbokki."

He decided to introduce Aileen to more varieties of the dish.

"Aileen, hang tight."

Sejun gathered the ingredients for the tteokbokki and began frying some dragon-finger chicken for Ace.

Soon…

"Aileen, here you go."

He ladled some freshly made tteokbokki into a bowl for Aileen.

Tteokbokki was best when shared.

[The tower administrator says it’s delicious, expressing excitement in her voice.]

"Glad you like it. Let me know when you want more. And we can stir-fry some rice in this sauce later too."

He told her about stir-frying rice in the leftover sauce, as though it were a grand culinary secret.

[The tower administrator says she’d love to stir-fry the rice.]

"Heh heh heh, alright."

[The tower administrator says there isn’t enough ramen in there and requests more.]

"Okay."

Kuengi had already torn open ten packs of ramen noodles on his own.

Hehehe.

Apparently, Kuengi had also taken a liking to the ramen in the tteokbokki.

While Theo munched on grilled fish, Kamangi’s family enjoyed roasted sweet potatoes, and Ace devoured dragon-finger chicken, Sejun, Aileen, and Kuengi happily slurped their tteokbokki.

—Brother-in-law, I want to try that too!

Ace, betraying his beloved chicken, eyed the tteokbokki.

"Alright."

But there’s no need to abandon your chicken for it. Tteokbokki is as generous as I am, able to embrace all.

Sejun added some dragon-finger chicken to the tteokbokki, stewing it before offering it to Ace.

—Hehehe. Brother-in-law, it’s delicious!

Ace was delighted, savoring the tteokbokki-flavored chicken.

"Alright, let’s stir-fry the rice."

Sejun added rice, seaweed flakes, and other ingredients to the now-empty pot, creating a flavorful fried rice.

[The tower administrator says it’s delicious.]

Pii!

[Dad, this is tasty too!]

—Hehehe, Brother-in-law, you’re the best!

"Haha, eat as much as you like."

Everyone tucked in with as much enthusiasm as if it were their first bite.

After lunch…

[The tower administrator says Ace should stop playing and help her.]

—Yes… Brother-in-law, I’ll be going.

"Alright. Go help your sister."

Ace was summoned by Aileen.

Sluurp.

"Ahh. Ku Barista, today’s coffee is even better than usual. Is it a different blend?"

Hehehe. Pii, pii.

[Hehehe. That’s right! Park Chairman really knows his coffee! This blend is a special grade from across the sea.]

Sejun sipped the coffee Kuengi had brewed, acting out a little scene.

"Hmph. Vice Chairman Theo is very familiar with those waters! There’s a massive giant fish there that I’ll someday turn into a grilled feast!"

Theo joined in, adding to the scene.

Snicker. Pii!

[Hehehe. Actually, the Great Kamangi Chief already ate that fish!]

Kamangi abruptly ended the scene with an unexpected twist.

Then…

Snore.

Purr.

Snore.

Sejun and his companions took a short nap.

Just then…

—Sejun.

A quiet voice called Sejun’s name.

"Hmm? Lady Crisela?"

Awakening, Sejun found himself looking at a silver dragon statue.

—Yes, it’s me.

"Ah. How can I help you?"

—I heard that you helped the Violet Tower grow into the Violet Great Tower two days ago. Could you help us grow the Silver Tower into the Silver Great Tower?

The chief of the Silver Dragons, Crisela Hiseron, asked in a sincere tone.

Currently, only three towers remained as regular towers, turning it into a competition to avoid last place.

If the Silver Dragons fell too far behind, they’d end up in last place, so Crisela had come to Sejun in secret.

"Hmph. Show me your sincerity, then!"

Awoken by the conversation, Theo stretched out a chubby pink paw.

—I have it right here.

Crisela handed over a box she had prepared.

"Hmph. Chairman Park, Lady Crisela’s sincerity is more than enough!"

Theo examined the box, nodding approvingly.

"Lady Crisela, please check the requirements for the Silver Tower’s growth and let me know."

—Certainly. One moment.

Crisela quickly began jotting down the conditions after checking the Silver Tower’s crystal.

Pii?

Pii?

Meanwhile, Kuengi and Kamangi awoke, curious about the commotion.

—Sejun!

A golden dragon statue flew in from afar. It was Artemis Yul, the leader of the Golden Dragons.

Artemis had been hesitating but, upon spotting Crisela with Sejun, hurried over.

Luckily, Gravos was nowhere to be seen. That likely meant they weren’t dead last.

—Sejun, I also request help in growing the Golden Tower. Here, take this.

Artemis handed over a box.

"Hmph. Lady Artemis’s sincerity is more than enough as well!"

"Lady Artemis, could you also check the requirements for the Golden Tower’s growth?"

—Of course!

Now, Sejun had received requests from both the Silver and Golden Towers.

Then…

—What?! When did you two get here?!

Gravos, the leader of the Brown Dragons, arrived belatedly, spotting Crisela and Artemis by Sejun’s side.

—Gravos, you’re late.

—You should’ve arrived sooner, Gravos.

It seemed the Brown Dragons were destined to remain in last place.

"Hmph. Lord Gravos, show your sincerity as well!"

Theo brazenly extended his paw toward Gravos.

"Unless you want to be the only regular tower left…" Sejun added nonchalantly, his tone slightly mocking.