Chapter 38. Hiring.

Chapter 38. Hiring.

[Magical Cherry Tomatoes]

"Is this the new D-grade magical cherry tomato that’s on sale? It’s amazing that just eating it can break down 20g of fat."

Michael McLaren, the vice president of Gagel, a massive food corporation that controls 39% of the global food market, said as he looked at the red cherry tomatoes. As an Awakened, he could see the options of the magical cherry tomatoes.

"What were the results of planting the E-grade magical cherry tomatoes on Earth?"

Michael had been researching the magical cherry tomatoes for a few months and had recently harvested them for the first time.

"Even though we planted them in the best conditions for cherry tomatoes to grow, they grew into ordinary cherry tomatoes that we know, perhaps due to the difference in the tower’s environment."

"Hmm..."

Michael McLaren fell into thought.

Ten years ago, when Michael was learning the business under his father’s guidance, the tower appeared.

A few months after the tower appeared, Michael was lucky enough to enter the tower through Vanishing.

The tower was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. Just securing a proper spot on one floor would be enough to harvest 5% of the crops Gagel currently produces.

Moreover, the sun shone 24 hours a day inside the tower, making the harvest cycle short. If they could grow crops in the tower, dominating the entire global food market would not be a dream.

As soon as Michael came out of the tower, he persuaded his father, the chairman of Gagel, to lead the Tower Farm Project, which aimed to establish large-scale farms in the tower.

Everything was going smoothly, but an unexpected problem arose. The seeds the Tower Farm Project team brought into the tower did not germinate for some reason.

They tried various methods, such as changing the germination conditions and environment and bringing in seedlings, but all attempts failed.

They discovered the reason for their failure through a research report from another team.

-Reflections on the Infertility of Awakeneds

The content of the research report was shocking. Awakeneds lost their reproductive abilities the moment they entered the tower.

It is now known that this is a temporary side effect due to mana adaptation and that reproductive abilities are mostly restored when an Awakened reaches level 10, but in the early days of the tower’s appearance, it caused a significant shock to society.

The same applied to plants, and without a way to increase the level of seeds, Michael abandoned the idea of bringing seeds from the outside.

Instead, he chose to obtain seeds directly. The tower also sold various food items made from different crops. When he tried to buy seeds from the tower merchants,

"Seeds? A greedy guy named Grid on the 55th floor has a monopoly on them, so they’re not for sale."

Thus, Michael’s Tower Farm Project was abandoned, being called a project ahead of its time that could only be realized if they reached the 55th floor.

However, with the appearance of the magical cherry tomatoes in the world, Michael’s enthusiasm for the Tower Farm Project reignited.

"What were the results of planting the magical cherry tomatoes in the tower?"

"We experimentally planted 100 E-grade magical cherry tomatoes on the 1st floor of the tower, and 10 of them successfully germinated and are about to be harvested."

"Really?!"

"Yes, Chairman."

Currently, the germination rate is 10%, but Michael believed that using Gagel’s expertise, increasing the germination rate would be no problem.

"I’ll get the budget for the Tower Farm Project approved right away. Hire Awakeneds to clear the monsters around the farm."

Thus, the Tower Farm Project of the giant food corporation Gagel, which had been on hold, was restarted thanks to Sejun’s cherry tomatoes.

***

Huh?!!!

Theo’s words made Ucheonsam angry. You’re saying I, a warrior, stole something?!!!

"Y...Yes, that’s right. Or let’s go ask Park Sejun!"

Ucheonsam’s anger made Theo flinch, but he soon regained his confidence. He had Park Sejun on his side. Park Sejun would solve everything.

Huh!

Ucheonsam blew hot breath through his nose and stood up. Guide me!

"Follow me!"

Theo led Ucheonsam to the cave.

***

The cave where everyone was sleeping.

Knock. Knock.

"Ugh...Theo?"

Sejun woke up because Theo was pressing his cheek with his paw.

"Chairman, I’m back!"

"Good job. Let’s sleep now."

Sejun reached out to hug Theo and go back to sleep, but

Swish.

Theo stopped Sejun’s hand with his paw.

"No way! We need to go outside right now!"

"Outside?"

"Yes! I caught a thief! Consider it an honor! Not many cats catch thieves like this!"

Theo boasted.

'Did he catch a mouse?'

Sejun took Theo’s words lightly.

"Can’t we check in the morning?"

"No way! The thief might escape! Let’s go outside quickly!"

"Alright."

Sejun got up from his bed at Theo’s urging and went up to the ground.

Huff. Huff.

Sejun, who had just come up to the ground, met the eyes of a 12-meter-tall black monster with horns.

[Black Minotaur]

At least he was used to the enormous size of his mother, the Crimson Giant Bear. Otherwise, he might have collapsed from the overwhelming presence of the Black Minotaur.

"Theo, is this the thief you caught?"

"Yes! This is the thief! Ucheonsam stole the Chairman’s grass!"

Theo reported to Sejun like a tattletale.

Huh! Huh!

Ucheonsam strongly protested, feeling wronged. No! I found it!

"No! Ucheonsam is a thief!"

The two started arguing, one saying he was a thief and the other saying he wasn’t. No matter how much Ucheonsam blew hot breath, Theo was not intimidated. Theo, with Sejun by his side, was confident.

What’s going on? Sejun quickly assessed the situation while watching the two.

Judging by the horns on his head, this was the one who had turned his field into a mess during the Blue Moon. But from Theo’s words, it seemed he had also stolen the parsley leaves and corn stalks that covered the field.

And today, he was caught by Theo while trying to steal parsley leaves again. Ucheonsam, the Black Minotaur, claimed he had picked up what had fallen on the ground, feeling wronged.

"Even though you’re not a dog, you caught a thief."

There’s no such dog. Moreover, the thief he caught was not just any thief but a strong one who could help with farming. Sejun looked at Theo with admiration.

"Chairman, your expression is strange!"

"Huh?!"

"More importantly, tell me quickly if Ucheonsam threw away the grass or not."

"Of course, he didn’t throw it away."

Sejun shook his head firmly. He would have said no even if Ucheonsam had thrown it away.

"I will demand 100 Tower Coins as compensation for the damage Ucheonsam caused by turning the field into a mess and stealing the grass I worked hard to lay down."

Sejun demanded an enormous amount. It was too much for the damage to the field and the stolen grass.

"Understood!"

Huh...

When Theo relayed Sejun’s words, Ucheonsam looked desperate. I don’t have money...

"Chairman, Ucheonsam doesn’t have money. What should we do?"

"What can we do? If he doesn’t have money, he has to pay with his labor. I’ll give him 1 Tower Coin per day if he works here."

Sejun offered Ucheonsam a job. The excessive demand was all to lead to this. Of course, there was also a bit of resentment for destroying his field and making him do extra work.

"Ah! Is that possible?!"

Sejun’s words amazed Theo.

'If you don’t have money, you can pay with your labor.'

Theo realized a new way of transaction.

Huh!

Ucheonsam nodded to Sejun’s offer. As a warrior of the Black Minotaur, he couldn’t steal from others.

"Tell him to rest and come to work in the morning."

"Understood."

Ucheonsam didn’t seem like he would run away. After all, he would come back for the parsley leaves. Giving him parsley leaves as a reward while making him work could be a win-win for both.

Though it would be overwhelmingly in Sejun’s favor...

Theo relayed Sejun’s words to Ucheonsam,

Huh.

Ucheonsam returned with a gloomy face. That’s how Sejun hired a strong black ox...no, a Black Minotaur to plow his field.

"Theo, good job."

"Did I do well?"

Theo looked at Sejun, his expression saying, ‘If I did well, what should I get?’

"Mr. Theo, one-month extension."

"More, please!"

Theo tried to negotiate with Sejun.

But

Squish.

When Sejun tore open a Churu bag and brought it to Theo,

Squish, squish, squish.

The thought of negotiation quickly flew away.

Chomp.

Sejun held the Churu-obsessed Theo in one hand and went back to sleep in the cave. On the 192nd day of being stranded, Sejun slept soundly with Theo in his arms.

***

Roar?!(Why are you here?!)

Huh?!(I came to pay my debt!!)

Roar!!(Brothers, I’m here!!)

In the morning, chaos erupted on the ground due to Ucheonsam, the Black Minotaur, and his mother, the Crimson Giant Bear.

"I forgot."

"What?!"

Sejun quickly put on the Theo translator on his back and climbed up to the ground. It would be a disaster if either of them got hurt.

On the ground, the Crimson Giant Bear and Ucheonsam were circling the cave, growling at each other.

A tense situation.

"Wait!"

Sejun shouted to stop them.

Roar!

"It’s dangerous, so go inside," Theo translated.

Huh!

"He came to pay his debt," Theo continued.

Roar!

"Chairman, he’s asking for more Churu! Scold him quickly!"

Theo, who was translating, pointed at the baby bear and got excited.

"Everyone, calm down. And..."

Sejun pulled out the magic word to resolve the chaos.

"Let’s eat first and talk."

Roar!

The baby bear, Gweung, quickly sat down at his spot,

Roar...

Huh...

The Crimson Giant Bear and Ucheonsam also awkwardly sat down.

***

Roar.

After eating piranhas and crayfish, the Crimson Giant Bear got up to patrol. After hearing the whole story from Sejun during breakfast, she relaxed her guard against Ucheonsam.

Chomp, chomp.

Huh?

Ucheonsam approached Theo, chewing on parsley leaves and cherry tomato stems. What should I do?

"Ucheonsam is asking what he should do," Theo translated.

"Flip the soil."

Sejun took Ucheonsam to the hole he had made during the Blue Moon.

"Make a hole like this."

Huh!

Following Sejun’s instructions, Ucheonsam stuck his 1-meter-long horn into the ground,

Crack.

His horn grew longer, extending 7 meters into the ground.

Then,

Huh!

Roar.

Ucheonsam, with a yell, lifted his head, and the ground lifted with it.

"Good. Just do this until lunch."

Huh?!

Ucheonsam looked touched. You’re giving me lunch?!

"Of course. I’m not that cruel an employer."

The working conditions were so poor that he would be reported to the labor board if they were outside, but in the tower, feeding and working was considered a great employer.

Sejun assigned Ucheonsam the task and went back to the cave with Theo.

Then,

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

The baby rabbits ran towards Theo.

"Hey, nephews, a cool uncle is here!"

Theo, with his arms open, welcomed the baby rabbits. But they ran past him to Sejun. In their short lives, Theo was already a stranger to them.

"How can you change your mind so easily?!"

Theo cried out desperately to the fickle baby rabbits, but they ignored him.

Sejun played with the baby rabbits for a while and then sent them to the rabbit couple. He needed to settle the accounts with Theo for this transaction.

"This time, we sold out and earned 612 Tower Coins."

Then,

Rattle.

Theo grabbed his backpack and shook it upside down, spilling out the Churu, coffee, and items he bought from the general store.

"There weren’t many hunters waiting for me this time...I only took photos with two of them."

Theo’s ears drooped.

"It’s okay. How about the lottery?"

"There was nothing I wanted, so I just came back."

"Good job. Here’s your bonus."

Sejun gave Theo 35 Tower Coins as a bonus.

"Thank you!"

"And this is a bonus for catching the thief."

Thanks to Theo, Sejun decided to make Ucheonsam work for 100 Tower Coins, so he gave an additional 20% of 100 Tower Coins, which was 20 Tower Coins.

"S...So, in total, it’s 55 Tower Coins!!"

Theo looked at the money on his two feet with a grateful expression. He had earned more money in one go than the 50 Tower Coins he had when he left his hometown.

'As expected, I succeed with Park Sejun! As expected, Park Sejun’s lap should be mine!'

Theo lay down, trying to claim Sejun’s lap.

"Hey, move now. I have work to do."

"No way!"

On the 193rd day of being stranded, Sejun struggled to get Theo off his lap every chance he got.