The base of the Kamo Pirates, <Grondra>.

“Communication with the ships in the 375-Dimensional Waters has been cut off?”

“Yes. They only reported leaving for a rescue mission before we lost contact.”

The subordinate’s voice was filled with urgency as he answered the question posed by Kamous, the leader of the Kamo Pirates, whose expression was steeped in boredom.

Every time Kamous became weighed down by boredom, he would take action himself, and each time he did, bloodshed followed.

“Interesting. This might be fun. I’ve been bored lately, so this is perfect. Prepare the ship. We’re leaving immediately.”

“Yes! The preparations are already complete. Let’s go right away!”

“Good.”

Kamous smiled wickedly at the subordinate’s words, already anticipating this turn of events.

Slash.

Without warning, Kamous decapitated the subordinate.

“Trying to predict me? I don’t like that. Let’s move!”

“Yes!”

And so, the Kamo Pirates set sail from their base, heading toward the 375-Dimensional Waters, where Earth resided.

Kamous, the Grand Pirate and leader of the Kamo Pirates, was also known by his unofficial title: The Mercurial Butcher, Kamous.

 

Early morning on the 99th floor of the Black Tower.

Snore. Purr. Growl. Gurgle.

Sejun and his companions were sleeping peacefully together.

Meanwhile—

Tiptoe... Tiptoe...

Baektang carefully approached Sejun’s lap, moving slowly and cautiously.

Almost there! Just one more step!

Sejun, sound asleep, didn’t stir. Even Theo, usually so vigilant, hadn’t opened his eyes. Baektang, confident, stretched out a paw to climb onto Sejun’s lap.

Success—!

Thwack.

“Roar!”

Theo, still asleep, instinctively swatted Baektang’s paw away and delivered a precise slap to his head.

Purr.

Even while sleeping, Theo’s reflexes were like a fortress, perfectly guarding Sejun’s lap.

“Scary big bro...”

Dejected, Baektang abandoned the lap and curled up at Sejun’s feet, closing his eyes.

 

A little while later—

“Alright, let’s get up!”

Sejun stretched as he woke, unaware of the battle for his lap that had taken place.

“Huh? Baektang?”

He noticed Baektang sleeping soundly with his face pressed against Sejun’s feet.

Why is he sleeping here? And at my feet, no less? I even gave them rooms.

Sejun had provided rooms for the Guardians, specifically placing Baektang near Sippyot and Yuren. The idea of Baektang deliberately choosing his feet as a resting spot was puzzling.

Baektang had settled for Sejun’s feet after failing to claim his lap, but Sejun remained oblivious to this truth.

Not even Theo, Baektang’s rival in the battle for the lap, realized what had occurred. The secret of the “Lap War” was Baektang’s alone.

 

After getting up, Sejun tended to Theo’s couple and the Kamangi Family.

He carried the sleeping Baektang to a proper bed where the other Guardians were resting and stepped outside.

Clang.

Entering the subspace warehouse, Sejun inspected his Calamity Farm while hunting the final evolution forms of the White Locusts and other calamities.

“I hope Flame is doing well.”

Sejun thought aloud, his voice tinged with worry. Flame had left for the World Tree School the previous day.

As a newly established World Tree, Flame’s strength had grown too prominent to use “resting” as an excuse to stay near Sejun.

Flame needed a new reason to explain their absence.

Thus, they came up with the idea of attending school. It wasn’t entirely a lie—

[“The World Tree School will open tomorrow! World Trees, prepare to enroll!”]

The school truly existed, and Flame had personally founded it, unwilling to outright lie to Sejun.

Though technically the principal, Flame had only told Sejun they were going to school, avoiding the full truth.

[“Podori-nim, what should I do? I don’t want to go to school!”]

Podori, having faced similar struggles in the past, gave the reluctant Sausage Tree a dose of harsh reality.

[“You have to go. If you don’t, the pain you’ll face will make school seem like paradise.”]

Later, Flame gathered the World Trees for the opening ceremony.

[“Heheht. Is everyone here? Let’s begin!”]

Flame, still in high spirits from meeting Sejun, led the ceremony while mentally noting to ask him for a name for the school later.

[“Heheht. Just a little more, and we’ll be done.”]

Meanwhile, Flame #290 continued transforming <Eraiel> into a land brimming with life. They were nearing the end of the fourth trial to become a Tree of Creation.

 

After completing his hunting at the Calamity Farm, Sejun wandered the 99th-floor farm.

Pink Fur approached, carrying Queng in their mouth.

“Good morning, Sejun-nim.”
“Morning, Pink Fur.”

Pink Fur handed Queng to Sejun, and the two naturally headed to the kitchen together.

Inside, Sejun replicated a batch of Choco Pies using Sejun #12’s recipe, filling Pink Fur’s snack pouch.

“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”

Pink Fur, now smiling contentedly, slung the snack pouch over their shoulder and went off to train.

Sejun returned to cooking, preparing seaweed soup and more Choco Pies to send to Aileen.

 

After some time—

“Puhuhut... Park Chairman, I’m hungry, nyang...”

“The fish is grilling. Wait a bit.”

“Khehehe... Queng!”
[“Hehe... Dad, I’m hungry too!”]

“Wait until the fish is ready.”

“Kihiht. Butler! Feed me now!”

As one by one his companions woke up, they all began clamoring for food.

“It’s ready. Queng, go get everyone.”

“Queng!”
[“Got it!”]

Queng quickly flew off and returned with the Guardians, who had been playing on the bed.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Sejun and his companions gathered for breakfast, enjoying the meal together.

“Eat as much as you like.”

“Roar!”
“Nyon-nyon!”
“Bok-bok!”
“Tweet-tweet!”

For now, the Guardians would remain at the Black Tower until Sejun found them a suitable home.

The plan had initially been to find a suitable place for the Guardians to live in <Eraiel>. However, Iona and Pink Fur determined that the Guardians were too weak to survive there. Krishunak’s concerns about their safety had not been misplaced.

After breakfast—

Slurp.

“Ah, this is great.”

Sejun sipped the coffee brewed by Queng, feeling a sense of contentment.

“Puhuhut.”
“Khehehe.”
“Kihiht.”

Theo, Queng, and Kamangi took their usual spots, their faces glowing with happiness.

The Guardians also huddled together, resting peacefully, though Baektang alone stared intently at Sejun’s lap, filled with determination.

“Hiss!”

Theo, noticing Baektang’s intent, hissed threateningly.

“Roar…”

Baektang quickly shrank back, averting his gaze. Despite his usual goofy demeanor, Theo’s menacing aura when defending the lap was terrifying.

 

A little while later, Sejun addressed the group.

“Alright, we’re off to work. You all rest here.”

Leaving the Guardians at home, Sejun and his companions headed to the 10th tower, where Sejun planted crop seeds.

“Done! Let’s eat!”

After finishing lunch, he moved on to Kamyeol Daeseong, where he planted seeds for Destruction Pioneers and Destruction Predators.

At that moment—

[You have completed a quest.]
[As a reward, you have received 1 million drops of the Elixir of Great Growth.]

A message appeared before Sejun, followed by the appearance of 5,000 glass bottles filled with a red liquid.

This was the result of Emila completing her assigned task.

“Alright, let’s store these in the subspace warehouse.”

After organizing the bottles in the warehouse, Sejun surveyed the shelves filled with 20,000 bottles of the elixir, each containing 200 drops.

“I really should drink this…”

Even though he now had 4 million drops of the Elixir of Great Growth, Sejun hesitated.

No matter how tired he was of the strawberry flavor, he could always mix it into juice and gulp it down.

What held him back was another issue.

“I still need to visit home…”

If Sejun’s stats increased after consuming the elixir, his cost of staying at the tower would rise. While this cost was insignificant compared to that of his companions, Sejun tended to overestimate himself.

 

After finishing the tasks at Kamyeol Daeseong, Sejun returned home, only to be greeted by a group of black bears from Queng’s faction.

“Greetings to Boss and Sejun-nim!”

The black bears bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.

“Queng?”
[“What brings you all here?”]

“Sejun-nim’s friend, Oh Kyungchul, asked us to deliver this to you.”

“Kyungchul?”

The lead black bear handed Sejun an elegant envelope made of high-quality paper.

This feels ominous…

Sejun’s brows furrowed as he examined the envelope. Kyungchul wasn’t the type to send anything so fancy—he wouldn’t even bother with envelopes.

Opening it, Sejun unfolded the letter inside.

“Two who walked separate paths will now walk together. Please join us to bless the journey of Oh Kyungchul and Choi Mina as they set off on this new chapter.”
Date: 2024...
Location: Seoul, Gangnam District, Nonhyeon-dong…

Suddenly, Sejun understood the ominous feeling.

It was the result of his own actions as Santa Sejun—Kyungchul had successfully gotten married thanks to a Christmas wish.

“Kyungchul… is getting married?”

Sejun’s face contorted with jealousy.

Kyungchul? The guy less handsome than me? Getting married? And before me?!

As jealousy filled Sejun’s face, Theo immediately leaped onto his lap and began stomping on his cheeks.

“Nyang?! Park Chairman’s face is rotting, nyang!”

Tap. Tap.

Queng and Kamangi quickly joined Theo, stomping on Sejun’s face to “restore his inner peace.”

 

Having calmed down, Sejun glanced back at the invitation.

“Well, I needed to visit Earth anyway…”

Checking the date of the wedding, Sejun’s eyes widened.

“Wait, what?! Tomorrow evening?!”

Why would you send the invitation so late?!

Sejun fumed, though the delay wasn’t Kyungchul’s fault. The black bears had received the invitation three months ago but got sidetracked countless times before finally delivering it.

 

“Well, I’ll pay the wedding gift in tower coins… and give the Elixir of Great Growth as a present…”

Then, realizing something, Sejun frowned.

“Ah. I don’t have anything to wear to the wedding.”

He still had the suit from Black Rabbit’s wedding, but it didn’t match Earth’s style.

“Guess I’ll have to buy a new outfit on Earth… I’ll leave early tomorrow morning.”

Grinning, Sejun turned to Queng.

“Queng, let’s have Grandma’s kimchi stew for breakfast tomorrow on Earth.”

“Khehehe! That sounds great!”

Queng cheered, raising his little paws in excitement.

“Puhuhut. Park Chairman’s lap shall be mine again!”

Theo, already imagining himself boasting on Sejun’s father’s lap, was brimming with excitement.

“Kihiht! Tomorrow, the Great Kamangi will charm Butler’s mom into submission!”

Kamangi, determined to win over Sejun’s mother with his antics, was equally fired up.

 

While Sejun and his companions prepared for their unexpected trip to Earth, another group was already en route.

“How much longer until we reach Earth?”

“At this rate, we should arrive in ten hours.”

“Uheheh. I can’t wait to eat Sejun-nim’s cooking again!”

“Moheheh. I’m excited to feast on Sejun-nim’s misfortune!”

Sippyot, Yuren, and Poyo were aboard a pirate ship heading toward Earth.

At this pace, they would arrive before Sejun—if everything went smoothly.

 

“Enemy ships spotted! Ten vessels… no, twenty! Thirty! They just keep coming!”

Of course, with Yuren, the King of Misfortune, aboard, a smooth journey was out of the question.

It was a stroke of luck for Earth that Theo would arrive first.