The cliff on the 38th floor’s north side.

“Search! There is a hideout of the ‘Three Head Society’ nearby!”

“Yes, my Lord!”

At Ulrich’s command, the Black Orc soldiers dispersed to search. Originally, they had intended to have the captured hunter from the ‘Three Head Society’ lead them directly to the hideout, but… the hunter committed suicide while being transported. Or to be precise, he was forced into suicide.

The hunter had strangled himself to death…

“I sense the aura of curse magic.”

Shaman Luken discovered traces of curse magic on the deceased hunter’s body. When the Three Head Society lost contact with the captured hunter, a pre-set curse by the ‘Three Head Society’ had been activated.

Due to that, the Black Orcs had to personally search for the ‘Three Head Society’ hideout.

Then,

“My Lord! There’s a cave here.”

One of the Black Orc soldiers who was searching down the cliff shouted.

Moments later,

“There’s nothing inside?”

“Yes, my Lord. We saw the same symbol on the cave walls as the tattoo on the man who killed himself, so it must be the Three Head Society’s hideout… but it seems they’ve already left.”

The Black Orc soldiers who searched the cave returned and reported their findings.

“Hmm… Already?”

Judging by the fact that they hadn’t erased their own symbols from the walls, it seemed they must have left the hideout in a hurry.

‘These aren’t ordinary fellows…’

Considering their boldness in abandoning the hideout just because they lost contact with one member, Ulrich thought the Three Head Society was no ordinary group.

‘In that case, I must thoroughly track them down and wipe them out from the tower to ensure they don’t interfere with the great Black Dragon and Lord Theo’s actions!’

As Ulrich steeled his resolve,

Krrrung.

Another cat intern had relayed the message successfully, and Hegel, leading the Black Wolves, arrived. Elka and the Silverwolves had split off while descending to protect the Earth Defense Force members transporting sturdy blade green onion leaves.

“Lord Hegel, you’re here.”

“Yes, Lord Ulrich.”

Ulrich and Hegel exchanged greetings. They had met several times since Ulrich became Theo’s subordinate.

“Did you find the hideout?”

“Well…”

Ulrich explained the current situation.

“Leave it to us. We’ll inspect the hideout briefly and return.”

“Thank you.”

Hegel and the wolves entered the cliffside cave to search the Three Head Society’s hideout.

And then,

“I’ve got their scent. Let’s go.”

Sniff sniff.

The wolves began to track the scent of the fleeing ‘Three Head Society’.

***

“It’s done!”

Finally, after steaming all the rice cakes for the cake, Sejun shouted in joy.

Krueng!

[Cuengi can eat rice cakes after sleeping one more night!]

Cuengi was also excited at the thought of eating rice cakes soon. Father and son both were happy but for different reasons.

“Let’s begin.”

Sejun began crafting the birthday cake with rice cakes.

“First, lay down some banana leaves on the bottom…”

To prevent the rice cakes from getting dirty, Sejun placed many banana leaves on the ground and started stacking the rice cakes like bricks.

One hour. Two hours…

Sejun concentrated on stacking the rice cakes.

And then,

“Done! Ta-da! What do you think, Cuengi?”

Sejun pointed at the towering 99-layer ‘rice cake’ cake tower with a 2-meter diameter, asking Cuengi’s opinion.

Krueng!

[It looks delicious!]

“No, I meant the shape?”

Not getting the answer he wanted, Sejun asked again.

However,

Krueng! Krueng!

[Cuengi doesn’t know! It just looks delicious!]

Cuengi had no interest in the shape of the rice cake. Sejun was a bit disappointed, but he understood.

“After all… they haven’t seen the tower from the outside.”

The cake Sejun made resembled the Black Tower. He planned to have Iona dye it black with her magic later.

“Hmm… Is it not recognizable enough?”

While looking at the Black Tower rice cake cake, Sejun began to make more rice cake dough.

As time passed,

Grrr.

Cuengi’s stomach grumbled, indicating it was dinner time.

Krueng!

[Dad, Cuengi’s hungry!]

“Okay, just wait a little longer.”

Sejun quickly prepared dinner. He made a sweet potato soup and added round balls made from the leftover rice cake dough to it, serving it to the animals.

Krueng!

[This is chewy and delicious!] owns this.

Cuengi enjoyed chewing the small balls.

Squeak!

Ook!

The rabbits and monkeys also loved it.

“They’re eating well.”

As Sejun watched the animals enjoy their meal,

“Chairman Park, I want a Churu too, meow!”

“Alright, Vice Chairman Theo, you can have a Churu too.”

Lick lick lick.

Sejun gave Theo some churu.

At that moment,

‘Why do I feel so relaxed?’

Sejun felt oddly at ease. He soon realized why.

“I feel relaxed because I haven’t eaten.”

Thanks to Aileen’s meatball, he wasn’t hungry.

‘But is this a good thing? It’s nice to be relaxed, but…’

Sejun felt a bit conflicted.

“Chairman Park, if you’re not busy, please rub my belly, meow! I think I feel unwell, meow!”

Theo said, looking at Sejun’s idle hand.

‘That’s not good.’

Next time, Sejun thought he should drink some coffee instead instead of a meal next time, as he stroked Theo’s belly.

Pat-pat.

“Meooow~”

Lick lick lick.

Theo enjoyed the churu with delight.

When Theo finished eating,

Thud.

Krueng!

[It would be nice if dad patted Cuengi’s belly, too!]

Cuengi, who had quickly finished his meal, lay down next to Sejun. Cuengi knew exactly how to ask for what he needed.

“Alright.”

Without pause, Sejun used the hand that had been feeding Theo to rub Cuengi’s belly.

As dinner came to an end,

Rustle. Rustle.

Sejun made the last rice cake decoration for tomorrow’s birthday cake in the kitchen.

“Chairman Park… aren’t you sleeping, meow?”

Theo hinted at Sejun to go to bed.

“Vice Chairman Theo, just wait a little. I’m almost done.”

“Okay, meow… I’ll wait, meow…”

Sejun still had work to do, so he asked Theo to wait. Theo’s voice was weak, but Sejun thought it was just because he was sleepy.

However,

Shiver.

“Chair…man Park… I’m cold, meow…”

About an hour later, Theo began to shiver.

“Huh?! Vice Chairman Theo! What’s wrong?”

Sejun finally sensed something was off and checked on Theo.

“What the? Theo, why is your body so hot?!”

Upon feeling Theo’s feverish body, Sejun was alarmed. Theo’s entire body felt like it was burning.

Moreover,

Heavy breathing.

Theo’s breathing had become rough.

‘I need to bring down Theo’s fever!’

Sejun quickly laid Theo on some leaves and tried to cool him down with a wet towel, but

Tight grip.

“I don’t… want to be apart, meow…”

Even in his weakened state, Theo clung to Sejun’s lap, not wanting to be put down.

“I understand.”

For now, Sejun held Theo with one hand and with the other, wiped his body to reduce the fever. Then he tied himself and Theo together with a rope and headed outside.

“Kaiser!”

Upon reaching the fountain, Sejun urgently called out to Kaiser.

-What’s the matter? Why aren’t you asleep?

Kaiser, who was sipping some makgeolli, asked.

“Theo is very ill! Please help!”

Sejun pointed to Theo, who was clinging to his lap.

-Tsk, foolish kid. Heal.

Kaiser looked sternly at Theo and used dragon tongue magic.

Flash.

Theo’s body began to glow green.

-It’s done.

Snore.

Thanks to Kaiser’s healing, Theo began to sleep comfortably.

“But why did Theo suddenly fall ill?”

-It’s obvious. He overexerted himself.

“What? Overexertion?”

Sejun, having never seen Theo overwork himself, asked in confusion.

-It’s natural to get sick after blocking the power of two dragons.

“What?! But he looked perfectly fine!”

-That’s because Theo is quite dense.

Theo, while with Sejun, felt invincible and didn’t recognize his own physical condition. As Kaiser said, Theo had been overexerting himself recently.

Bearing the magic power from Aileen, a high level mature dragon, and then also the power of Ajax, it was inevitable for Theo, a mere cat merchant of the 75th floor, to feel the strain on his body.

Furthermore, in that condition, he overexerted himself caring for Sejun who had fainted and was in weakened condition, which eventually caught up to him.

On the other hand, Sejun, under the care of Theo and Cuengi and having consumed elixirs, quickly recovered due to his job’s characteristic of ‘not being affected by minor ailments’ and his .

“Thank you, Kaiser.”

– If you’re thankful, you get it, huh?

Kaiser said, shaking the liquor bottle with his hand.

“Yes! I’ll bring you ten bottles of new wine next time.”

“Oh?! New wine?! I’ll be looking forward to it! Hahaha!”

Sejun left Kaiser, who was delighted at the news of the new drink, and went down to the fountain.

“Theo needs some nourishment too.”

Sejun thought of making a nourishing dish for Theo when suddenly,

Boom!

A loud noise came from the cave where Flamie was.

“Flamie, what happened?”

Looking down at the cave, Sejun asked Flamie.

[Master! A huge tuna suddenly came up here!]

Flamie answered, shaking its leaf exaggeratedly.

“Huh?! A tuna came up?!”

In front of Sejun, who had been thinking of preparing a nourishing dish for Theo, appeared a giant tuna. The timing was incredible.

As Sejun listened to Flamie and went down to the cave,

[Deep Sea Giant Tuna]

A really huge 30m-sized tuna was outside the pond. Unable to breathe, the tuna was already dead.

“This will be perfect for Theo’s nourishing dish.”

Swish.

As Sejun was happily dissecting the tuna,

Roll.

A blue bead rolled out from the tuna’s chest.

“Huh?! What’s this?”

Sejun picked up the bead and examined it.

[Deep Sea Giant Tuna’s Core]

→ This is the core of a giant tuna that has lived in the deep of the dimensional sea for over 2000 years.

→ It contains the power of healing and water.

→ Upon consumption, your magic power increases by 50, and you acquire the skill: Healing and the talent: Aquatic Affinity.

→ It has a strong fishy taste.

→ Usage restriction: Magic power over 200.

→ Grade: A+

A strong fishy taste? This was perfect for Theo. And if Theo acquired the talent: aquatic affinity, it would be convenient to give him baths later. It’s like having a cat with the ability to be comfortable in water.

“Vice Chairman Theo, let’s eat something tasty.”

Sejun carefully opened Theo’s mouth and put in the fishy-tasting deep sea giant tuna’s core.

“Meow… Mew~”

At first, Theo resisted as Sejun forced his mouth open. But as the strongly fishy core entered his mouth, he made a pleasant sound. The core melted quickly in Theo’s mouth and was absorbed into his body.

Glow.

For a brief moment, Theo’s body glowed a faint blue and then the light disappeared.

And then,

Swish.

Sejun continued to dissect the tuna with his dagger, putting the tuna into a pot to boil. He planned to make tuna porridge.

Bubbling.

While boiling the tuna, Sejun continued making the rice cakes he had started earlier.

And by the time he finished the rice cakes,

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. You’re still awake?”

Iona, who had gone to the wizard tower to complete the spell for fireworks with the wizards, returned.

“Yes. I still have some work left. Iona, please dye the cake black for now.”

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Okay.”

“And on this rice cake…”

Sejun requested a separate spell for the freshly made rice cake from Iona.

“Kyoot. Got it.”

After all the work was done,

“Let’s sleep now.”

“Kyoot kyoot kyoot! Okay!”

Iona quickly wrapped herself with Theo’s tail and naturally moved to Sejun’s bedroom.

And then,

Snore.

Gororong.

Kyuororong.

Morning began to dawn after the night. Finally, the day everyone had been eagerly waiting for, the birthday party, had arrived.

*****

TL Notes:

1) The Birthday cake is made of rice cakes that’s why I have used ‘rice cake’ cake instead of simple rice cake.

*****