Chapter 15. Name Not Revealed

Chapter 15. Name Not Revealed

After eating honey in Sejun's cave for the first time, the venomous bee realized that her body was beginning to change. After that, every time she ate honey, her body started to emit a stronger scent, and she gradually became plumper.

At first, she didn't know what was changing, but when the queen bee in the hive began to guard her, she realized what was happening. She could now lay eggs. So, the venomous bee decided to become independent.

The place for independence was naturally Sejun's cave, close to the food source. Soon, a large number of cherry tomatoes would bloom, so even if she increased her family, there would be enough food.

Buzz, buzz.

To achieve this, she showed affection to the cave owner every day by rubbing against him, signaling that she was not an enemy and asking (or rather, begging) for permission to live in the cave. Of course, Sejun would never know when he had given permission.

Rub, rub.

Today, the venomous bee started her day by rubbing against the cave owner.

And then,

"Let's work."

Squeak!

Beep!

Whoosh!

Crack!

Sejun and the rabbits started their morning by each doing their respective tasks.

"Hmm... about 70%?"

Sejun said, looking at the carrot sprouts that had grown to about ankle height. He had continued to water them without giving up, waiting for them to sprout, but out of the 1,000 carrot seeds he had bought from the seed shop and planted, only 700 sprouted.

And out of the 1,200 cherry tomato seeds he had planted from the magic cherry tomatoes, the germination rate was about 10% lower, at 61%. 732 out of 1,200 had sprouted and were growing.

The germination rates of the corn seeds he had bought from the seed shop and the sweet potato sprouts he had planted himself were also around 70% and 60%, similar to the carrots and cherry tomatoes.

"Hehe. Thank you for growing."

Although about 1,000 of the seeds he had planted had died, making his efforts seem futile, seeing the new sprouts that had survived and grown made his complaints disappear, and a smile appeared on his face.

At that moment, a message appeared in Sejun's eyes.

[A new quest has been triggered.]

[Quest: Give 10 magic cherry tomatoes to the tower manager!]

Reward: None

If refused: Disappointment

The tower manager, who had been continuously putting Sejun's quests on hold and watching the trade between Sejun and Theo, did not make excessive demands.

The threats of "sacrifice" or "kill if refused" had disappeared.

Instead, he showed disappointment. Seeing how pitifully Theo acted, Sejun couldn't help but give in.

"Take them."

Ten magic cherry tomatoes from Sejun's storage disappeared.

[Quest completed.]

[The tower manager is grateful for your kindness.]

Now even grateful. Sejun felt pleased that the other party was grateful.

"Huh?!"

Sejun quickly erased his pleased smile.

'I just looked a bit like a pushover.'

He had to be careful. Sejun gathered his thoughts and focused on farming again.

But seeing the fresh green waves in the field, a pleased smile quickly appeared on his face.

It wasn't that he had become a pushover, but that his heart had become broader, though Sejun didn't realize it.

***

Day 143 of the ordeal.

"I'm back, nya!"

Theo announced his return by jumping down from the ceiling hole, his voice full of energy after a successful sale.

But

"You?! What?!"

Sejun's voice rose, surprised by Theo's earlier-than-expected return. Sejun was scolding him for not selling everything before coming back, but Theo interpreted it differently.

"I was wrong, nya. From now on, even if I sell everything, I'll come back immediately without playing on other floors, nya."

Theo immediately confessed his mistake.

"What?! You played? For how many days?"

"Four days, nya. I was wrong, nya..."

As Sejun's voice softened, Theo, who had been watching his reaction, quickly grabbed Sejun's leg and begged for forgiveness.

But Sejun's serious expression didn't change. He was calculating in his head based on what Theo had said.

Theo had said it took about 10 days to make a round trip to the 30th floor, where the hunters were.

'But you had four days to play even after selling everything?'

Considering Theo had returned after 14 days, it meant he had sold everything as soon as he arrived.

"Explain in detail. Or I'll show you the fear of the boss."

Sejun intimidated Theo, though it seemed unnecessary since Theo was already watching him closely.

"Alright, nya..."

Theo, who had shrunk, began to explain.

"It happened like this, nya... I just said a few words, and the humans bought everything, nya."

Theo, who still had some sense, didn't mention that he had discouraged purchases.

"Really? You didn't even use your special move?"

"That's right, nya."

Sejun realized that the response to the magic cherry tomatoes was hotter than he had thought, based on Theo's words.

"Here are 50 tower coins, nya."

"Good job, Theo. Here's your incentive."

Sejun handed Theo 2 tower coins, which was 4% of the sales amount.

"Huh? I'm not the representative, nya?"

"You've been demoted. How can a representative take four days off? If you work hard, I'll make you the representative again. And when you become the representative, I'll raise your incentive to 5%."

"Alright, nya! I'll work hard to become the representative, nya!"

Theo answered enthusiastically.

"But your speech...?"

"I decided to live like this, nya."

After realizing that the dialect had given humans a good impression, Theo's inferiority complex about the dialect disappeared.

"Hehe. Now my name will be known."

"What do you mean, nya?"

"The magic cherry tomatoes show the grower. So, people will know that I grew them."

"...!"

Sejun's words made Theo fidget.

There are several systems for wandering merchants, one of which is to hide the origin of items sold by beginner wandering merchants with low sales, such as the maker or grower.

You can't even tell them verbally; it gets bleeped out. The only way to reveal it is to take them to the location.

This policy prevents wealthy wandering merchants from taking over the trading partners of beginner wandering merchants.

In other words, the magic cherry tomatoes Theo sold would not show that Sejun had grown them.

The only way to remove this restriction is to achieve 1,000 tower coins in sales and become a mid-level wandering merchant.

'This is a big problem, nya.'

Theo felt that if he revealed this fact to Sejun, he would be demoted further and his incentive would be reduced to 3%.

But he couldn't hide it, as his courage was too small.

So, there was only one way out: to leave this place!

"Give me the magic cherry tomatoes, nya. I'll leave immediately, nya."

"Already? Take a few days off. You need to get your weekly pay too."

"No, nya! I'll take it later, nya. I want to make money quickly, nya!"

Theo hurriedly filled his bot's bag with magic cherry tomatoes and left.

"The kid is eager to make money."

Sejun, unaware of Theo's true intentions, misunderstood.

***

While Sejun firmly believed that his name would spread with the magic cherry tomatoes, the hunters who had bought them were experiencing their effects.

"Dad! Dad! We need to buy more of these next time. Got it? Definitely! I love them so much!"

Kim Dong-sik, the leader of the Phoenix Guild, had bought 20 magic cherry tomatoes to satisfy his daughter, who was on a diet and often skipped meals.

After eating the magic cherry tomatoes, his daughter no longer complained about her diet, and peace returned to the house.

At first, she ate three a day, but now she says she's saving them and only eats one in the morning.

The option to break down 10g of fat and give the body vitality.

The vitality effect lasted for a long time, and even with a small amount, she felt energized and moved more, which helped her burn additional calories and aid her diet.

'I should have bought more.'

He didn't expect her to like them so much. He had only bought 20 because other team members were buying them, but now he regretted not buying more.

"Got it. Trust me. I'll definitely get them for you."

It had been a long time since his daughter had asked for something. Kim Dong-sik really wanted to get the magic cherry tomatoes for her.

- Entering the tower in 3 days.

Kim Dong-sik sent a message to gather his team members to enter the tower earlier than planned.

He expected complaints from his team members, but this time he planned to use his authority as the leader to wait near the 38th floor, where they had met the wandering merchant, to hunt spider monsters and wait for the cat wandering merchant, who might appear at any time.

'This time, I need to request a fixed trade with the wandering merchant.'

At that moment,

Ding, ding.

Replies from his team members came in.

-Yes.

-Prepared.

-Let's go today! Right now!

Kim Dong-sik had expected his team members to grumble, but they eagerly agreed to enter the tower, even urging for an earlier entry.

They were in similar situations to him.

***

As soon as Jessica finished hunting and returned home, she gave the magic cherry tomatoes to her sister, Anna.

She didn't have high expectations.

But

"Big sister, where did these cherry tomatoes come from?!"

After eating about 20 magic cherry tomatoes, Anna excitedly pointed at them and asked Jessica.

"Why? What's wrong?!"

"No, they're amazing. I'm not depressed anymore. I feel so energetic! I want to move!"

"What?!"

Jessica looked at Anna in disbelief. It usually took hours of nagging and pleading to get Anna to move for 10 minutes. Now she wanted to move on her own.

"Big sister, I want to walk."

"Sure. Let's go."

That day, Jessica and Anna completed a full lap around the neighborhood in three hours and returned home.

A few days later, Anna's weight had rapidly dropped to 80kg.

Now, without being told, Anna ate a diet meal and magic cherry tomatoes three times a day and walked around the neighborhood three times a day on her own.

At first, she needed to eat 20 to feel energized, but as her body became lighter, she only needed 13.

In a month or two, Anna would be able to return to a normal life.

But the magic cherry tomatoes were running out.

'I need to enter the tower again and meet the wandering merchant.'

At that moment,

- Entering the tower in 3 days.

A message from the leader came, suggesting they enter the tower.

- Let's go today! Right now!

Jessica quickly replied and started gathering her equipment.

***

"What do I do now, nya?"

Theo, descending to the lower floors of the tower, was lost in thought.

"When will I reach 1,000 tower coins in sales, nya?"

This time, he filled his bot's bag with 1,500 magic cherry tomatoes.

But even selling 1,500 at a time, he would need to make over 10 trips.

"I need to make money as quickly as possible, nya."

He needed a way to reach 1,000 tower coins in sales and become a mid-level merchant as soon as possible.

He didn't want Sejun to find out that the grower label had been removed.

"I want to become the representative again, nya."

Once you have something, you want it even more when it's taken away.

So, Theo, carrying a bot's bag full of magic cherry tomatoes, trudged to the 38th floor, where he had traded with humans a few days ago.

Since it was the first place he had traded, he planned to check it out and move to a lower floor if no one was there.

At that moment,

"Hey! The wandering merchant is here!"

"Why did you take so long?!"

"We've been waiting."

The humans he had traded with a few days ago ran towards him.

"Human, you were waiting for me, nya?"

Theo looked at the humans and asked.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for 3 days."

"Is that so, nya?"

Seeing the humans waiting for him, a good idea came to mind.

"You have the magic cherry tomatoes, right?"

"Hehe. I do, but the price has gone up, nya."

Theo's sales skills blossomed, driven by his desire to become the representative again.