Chapter 21: Making Dried Sweet Potatoes

TL: Hanguk

“Line up, meow!”

Theo had the female hunters line up and took a picture with each of them.

“Give me my reward, meow.”

After taking the picture, Theo stretched out his front paw and said.

“Oh my! Look at this pink paw.”

Catherine was mesmerized as she gently touched Theo’s front paw. Theo was a bit uncomfortable, but he waited because he had to receive compensation from this human.

“Here.”

Catherine handed over a bag containing white powder.

“What is this, meow?”

“It’s salt.”

“Good, meow.”

Theo quickly put the salt in his bag.

‘Puhuhut. With this, I secure one hour of Theo’s representative time, meow.’

At that moment,

“Theo, take this too. I feel healed thanks to you.”

Catherine handed Theo a packet of Churu that she had brought with her.

“You’re giving this to me for free, meow?”

“Yeah, you let me touch your paws.”

“Gasp! Was that it, meow?!”

Theo was greatly shocked by Catherine’s words.

‘Humans give food even if you let them touch your paws, meow.’

“Next human, come, meow.”

Theo took a picture with the next human in line.

Click.

While taking the picture, Theo subtly placed his front paw on the female hunter’s hand.

‘Hurry up and touch it, meow.’

Following Theo’s intention, the female hunters who took a picture with him couldn’t help but touch his front paw as if they were bewitched, and they offered Churu just as Catherine had done earlier.

“Puhuhut. Are my paws that attractive to humans, meow?”

Theo licked his front paws clean and said.Rêạd new chapters on no/v/e/lbin(.)com

‘Puhuhut. With this, Park Se-jun’s lap is mine, meow.’

Thanks to the female hunters, Theo had a huge misunderstanding.

“My status...”

Kim Dong-sik, who had loudly claimed he would take 200 Magical Cherry Tomatoes home, had his shoulders slumped.

At that moment,

“Is there any human from Korea here, meow?”

Theo, who had finished the photo time with the female hunters, shouted.

“Korea?”

“The leader is Korean.”

The hunters looked at Kim Dong-sik.

“Human, did you come from Korea, meow?”

Theo approached Kim Dong-sik.

“Yeah, I came from Korea. Why?”

“I have something to talk about alone, meow. Follow me, meow.”

Theo took Kim Dong-sik to a secluded spot where other hunters couldn’t eavesdrop.

***

Morning of the 160th day of being stranded .

“Yawn.”

Se-jun yawned as he woke up. He didn’t sleep well last night. The rabbit couple had finally done the deed last night.

Swoosh.

He added a mark on the wall and started his day.

He scooped some water from the small pond, washed his face quickly, and added 2 tablespoons of honey into the tumbler to make honey water.

Since flowers had started to bloom on the 732 Cherry Tomato trees a few days ago, the number of flowers from which the bees could suck honey had increased.

Yesterday, five new baby honeybees were added, and the amount of honey production increased dramatically, so there was more honey being produced than consumed even when drinking it daily.

Sigh...

Sigh...

The baby rabbits came out of their burrow and greeted Sejun with a weak voice in the morning.

“You guys couldn’t sleep either? Let’s just let us singles drink the honey water.”

Yay!

Yay!

The baby rabbits handed over the carrot cups they had prepared beforehand.

Gulp gulp gulp.

“Really, you must not betray. Got it? You lifelong singles are my only hope.”

Sejun poured honey water for the rabbits while saying this. However, the rabbits seemed to feel burdened by Sejun’s words, and left with only their honey water.

Yuck!

Only the black rabbit remained, taking a sip of honey water and performing a bottoms up with the cup before offering the carrot cup again.

Theo’s heart was beating intensely.

“Phew. I did it, meow.”

Sejun had instructed Theo to haggle at least three times as a minimum precaution against being a sucker.

As soon as the opponent quotes the price, ask for a discount, and if they refuse, leave without hesitation. If they hold you back, haggle more and buy after a total of three discounts.

Following Sejun’s instructions, Theo went to the blacksmith and also tried haggling three times, eventually buying a 20 Tower Coin dagger for 13 Tower Coins.

“Puhuhut. Now I’m a wandering merchant who knows how to haggle, meow.”

As Theo was about to head to the 99th floor, feeling proud,

“This is an item from outside the tower.”

“From outside?!”

“Yes. If you take this to the upper floors...”

He heard a familiar voice.

When Theo turned his head, there was the goblin wandering merchant Skaram trying to cheat another rookie fox wandering merchant.

‘That bad guy...!’

“Don’t believe Skaram’s words, meow. That guy is a scammer, meow.”

Theo interfered with Skaram’s scam to prevent the new wandering merchant from being fooled like he was. Sejun had prevented Theo from being a sucker in their transactions, but he hadn’t anticipated Theo’s meddling.

“What?! Do you have any evidence that I’m a scammer?!”

Skaram looked at Theo with momentary confusion, but quickly raised his voice and yelled.

“He must have said that the tumbler had preservation magic on it, right? Don’t believe him. This tumbler only blocks contact with the outside and prevents heat transfer, causing the temperature to drop slowly.”

Theo recalled Sejun’s words and spoke confidently.

“Prove it...”

As Theo’s words were correct, Skaram backed off, thinking the deal was off this time.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I didn’t fall for the scam. What’s your name?”

“My name? I’m Theo.”

“Oh, so you’re Theo. Thank you so much for your help.”

“Yeah, be careful. Don’t be a sucker.”

“Okay. Goodbye.”

Theo saved a potential victim and happily went up to the 99th floor.

In the merchant area where Theo disappeared, the rookie fox wandering merchant entered a store in a quiet alley.

“Welcome. What can I get for you?”

“Eternal Gold.”

The rookie fox wandering merchant bypassed the store owner and pressed a shield hanging in the corner.

Clink.

The shield slid back, revealing a staircase leading underground.

As they went down the stairs, they saw bustling merchants.

“Agent Jeras, how did the operation to arrest Skaram go?”

“I’m sorry. It failed.”

Jeras, a member of the secret inspection bureau of the wandering merchant association, was on a mission to capture Skaram, who was scamming rookie wandering merchants, by disguising as a rookie merchant and catching Skaram in the act.

‘If it wasn’t for that guy!’

Gritting his teeth, Jeras thought of Theo.

“Hehe. Just thinking of Skaram’s embarrassed face makes me feel good.”

Unknowingly, Theo had ended up helping Skaram.

***

A luxury foreign car arrived in front of an apartment in Bucheon.

“Is this Sejun’s house?”

Kim Dongsik recalled his conversation with Theo.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?”

Theo took out a contract. The contract made in the Tower was also enforceable outside, making it a commonly used method of trading.

Kim Dongsik examined the contract, which contained content Sejun had already prepared.

“Deliver 50 million won to Park Sejun’s family at New World Apartment 305, Building 701 in Sosa-gu, Bucheon...?”

“That’s right. And you have to tell Sejun’s family that he’s doing well. The reward is 200 Magical Cherry Tomatoes and 50 Tower Coins.”

Theo took out the cherry tomatoes he had set aside.

“I’ll do it!”

Kim Dongsik, who needed 200 Magical Cherry Tomatoes, shouted.

“But who is Park Sejun?”

“Park Sejun is an amazing man! He saved my life on the 40th floor. That’s why I’m running errands for him.”

Theo’s conversation was scripted with Sejun.

“What?! The 40th floor?”

Thus, the rumor of an unofficial genius hunter who reached the 40th floor was created.

‘If I become friends with such a hunter’s family... it will be helpful later.’

Kim Dongsik took out a Korean beef set from the trunk and entered the apartment.

And then

Ding-dong.

Kim Dongsik pressed the doorbell of Sejun’s house.

*****