Krueng!

“Meow?! What’s this sound?”

Hearing Uren’s scream, Theo instantly reacted.

“Theo, do you recognize that voice?”

“Yes! That’s the voice of the pushover, meow!”

“Pushover?”

Pushover… The legendary sucker… No. Legendary Merchant Uren who gave Theo nine hundred million Tower Coins and Six Clove Garlic of Agility!

“Theo, Cuengi, hurry inside!”

“Understood, meow!”

Krueng!

[Understood!]

Following Sejun’s command, Theo and Cuengi hurriedly rushed into the tent.

As Theo and Cuengi entered the tent,

“Just chew on this.”

Sejun forcefully fed Detoxifying Green Onions into the mouths of two soldiers who had turned pale due to poisoning.

However,

“……”

“……”

The soldiers had lost consciousness and couldn’t chew.

Fortunately, the Detoxifying Green Onions Sejun put in their mouths were powerful enough to neutralize the poison from the poisonous potatoes and even A-grade poisons.

The powerful Detoxifying Green Onions started to slowly neutralize the poison, even though they were just being held in the mouth.

Chew. Chew.

As the poison in their bodies began to neutralize, the soldiers, still unconscious, instinctively started to chew the onions.

Thanks to this, their faces gradually returned to their normal color.

A short while later,

“Cough!”

“Cough!”

As the soldiers spat out poisoned blood and regained consciousness,

“Golden Bat, take care of them here.”

(Okay!)

Sejun entrusted the soldiers to Golden Bat and entered the tent.

‘I guess It must be all settled by now?’

It was obvious since Theo and Cuengi had entered.

Thinking the situation was already resolved, Sejun entered but,

“What?!”

It wasn’t as he expected.

“I am the Vice Chairman Theo, meow!”

“No, meow!” I am the Vice Chairman Theo, meow!”

Inside the tent, two Theos were arguing, each claiming to be the real Theo.

Krueng! Krueng?

[There are two big brothers! Who should Cuengi punish?]

Cuengi was confused, not knowing which Theo to attack.

***

Krueng!

‘Phew. Thankfully.’

Reto sighed in relief, seeing the confused Cuengi.

The moment Reto tried to attack Uren, Theo and Cuengi entered the tent.

“Stop, meow!”

Krueng!

[Stop!]

They quickly surrounded Reto.

‘It’s a failure!’

Realizing he was no match for Theo and Cuengi, Reto quickly threw a smoke bomb and transformed into Theo, positioning himself next to the real one.

The reason for transforming into Theo was just instinctive; there was no time to think.

But, it turned out to be very successful.

Because,

Krueng?!

[Which one is the big brother?!]

The bear that came in with them was confused.

“How dare you impersonate me, the subordinate of the great Black Dragon, the deadly dragon clawed golden cat, Theo Park! It’s unforgivable, meow!”

The cat, whom he transformed into, couldn’t stay quiet and kept giving away information.

“How dare you impersonate me, the subordinate of the great Black Dragon, the deadly dragon clawed golden cat, Theo Park! It’s unforgivable, meow!”

Thanks to this, Reto gained time to follow the conversation and gather information.

“Cuengi, punish this guy, meow!”

“Meow?! No, meow! Cuengi, I’m the big brother, meow!”

Reto used the information he got from Theo and his intuition to even tell Cuengi to attack the real Theo.

Krueng…

[Cuengi’s head hurts…]

While Cuengi was confused,

“Huh?!”

Another human entered.

‘How should I act?’

Faced with a new variable, Reto panicked.

“Chairman Park! Help me, meow! He’s impersonating me, meow!”

Again, Theo was the first to blurt out, giving Reto information.

‘Ah! So, I should call that inconspicuous human Chairman Park.’

“Chairman Park! No, meow! He’s impersonating me, meow!”

Reto quickly mimicked Theo as well.

But,

‘What? Is this some kind of disguise? They look exactly the same.’

Sejun immediately felt that the Theo on the right was fake, thanks to his Theo detector.

Then,

Krueng! Krueng?!

[Dad, there are two big brothers! What should Cuengi do?!]

Cuengi, upon spotting Sejun, ran over and blocked his path, probably to protect Sejun just in case.

“Hey, Pigg… No, Uren, come over here.”

Sejun first called Uren over to his side to protect the source of money from any harm.

As Cuengi stood ahead of Sejun and Uren behind Sejun,

Flinch.

“Vice Chairman Theo, don’t.”

Sejun stopped Theo, who was trying to rush towards him.

“Chairman Park, I want to come too, meow!”

“Chairman Park! Can’t I come either, meow?”

Theo, eager to get to Sejun’s knee, whined, and Reto hastily mimicked him.

“Meow! Because of you, I can’t go to Chairman Park’s knee, meow!”

Frustrated at being unable to approach Sejun’s knee, Theo unsheathed his dragon claws,

“What are you talking about, meow?! It’s because of you, meow!”

Zing!

Reto unsheathed his claws too.

While clashing their claws could have easily resolved the situation, but

“Hold on. I have a way to find out who the real Theo is among you two.”

Sejun decided not to proceed that way.

“Puhuhut! As expected of Chairman Park, meow! Hurry up and tell, meow! I will prove I am Vice Chairman Theo, meow!”

“Puhuhut! As expected, Chairman Park is great, meow! I can’t wait to prove it and return to Chairman Park’s knee, meow!”

Both confidently responded to Sejun’s words.

“It’s simple. Bring the best item from inside this tent.”

Sejun asked them both to find and bring the best item from inside the tent. It was a ploy to officially take Uren’s belongings.

“Puhuhut! Good, meow! I’ve actually been drawn to something since earlier, meow!”

“Puhuhut! Victory is mine, meow!”

Both Theos started rummaging through the tent.

***

Reto, who was looking for a chance to escape.

But,

‘Bring the best item?’

Reto changed his mind upon hearing Sejun’s words. He knew what the best item inside the tent was.

It was the prize prepared for the winner of the Food Fighter Selection Contest, who would defeat Uren. owns this.

‘This is it.’

Reto picked up the ornate box containing the prize.

‘Rather, this worked out well.’

If he could prove he was the real one here, the real Theo would be attacked by the group, and in the meantime, he could seize the opportunity to kill Uren and take the land deed.

And,

Click.

While pretending to search for the item, Reto pulled out the land deed detector and fed it magic power, causing a massive light to appear around him.

It was an opportunity to obtain the land deed he initially aimed for.

While Reto was aiming for the land deeds again,

“Meow! It’s too hot, meow!”

Theo, whose front paws turned black from extracting the charcoal from the furnace with his dragon claws, was carefully searching for the item he was drawn to.

***

Krueng!

[Dad, Cuengi is sleepy!]

“Come here.”

Sejun picked up the sleepy Cuengi and gently rocked him.

Kurorong

Cuengi quickly fell asleep. It seemed he had been stressed from using his brain.

Shake. Shake.

Sejun gently rocked the sleeping Cuengi.

Then,

“Um… Can we really find Theo like this?”

Uren, oblivious to his belongings being pilfered, worriedly asked Sejun.

“Don’t worry. If it’s Theo, he’ll bring something amazing.”

“Is that so. Ah, I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am Uren, the Legendary Merchant.”

“Okay. I’m Park Sejun, the Tower Farmer.”

While Sejun and Uren exchanged greetings,

“Puhuhut! Found it, meow!”

Theo, with blackened front paws from touching the charcoals, walked over holding a piece of black charcoal. Now, Chairman Park’s knee is mine, meow!

Theo, by now, had forgotten about defeating the fake Theo and was only thinking about claiming Sejun’s lap.

And,

“Puhuhut! This is the best item in the tent, meow!”

Reto also arrived with the box containing the prize.

Thus, the two Theos arrived at Sejun’s side at a similar time.

“This person must be the real Theo! That box contains the prize for the winner of the Food Fighter Selection Contest.”

Uren confidently pointed at Reto, declaring him to be the real one. Uren knew best since he chose the item himself, aware of the fantastic contents inside.

“Meow?! Chairman Park, don’t be deceived, meow!”

Theo, feeling anxious due to Uren’s comment, shouted at Sejun. Chairman Park! It’s me, meow! I am Theo Park, your right-hand man, meow!

‘Uren, how can you not recognize me, Vice Chairman Theo, your life’s savior, meow?!’

Simultaneously, Theo glared at Uren.

“Indeed, this Theo must be the real one. Just now, the other Theo glared at me!”

Uren exclaimed, having seen the real Theo glare at him.

“Uren is a fool, meow! I am the real Vice Chairman Theo, meow!”

As Theo was getting frustrated,

“Don’t worry. I’ll check both items and then decide. Uren, please take out the item from the box.”

Sejun reassured Theo and asked Uren to take out the item from the box.

“Yes.”

Click.

As Uren unlocked the box with a key, there was a beautiful white gem inside.

And,

[Sacred Stone Piercing]

The name displayed above it.

“Huh?! A sacred stone?”

Sejun tried to take a closer look intending to examine the white gem closely, but

-I am the Sacred Stone Piercing. You are not worthy. Get lost!

The sacred stone rejected Sejun. Telling me to get lost… I should ask Aileen to give it some polishing.

Sejun, slightly offended by the Sacred Stone Piercing’s reaction, put down the gem and turned to examine the charcoal brought by the real Theo.

[Black Charcoal]

???

An unappraised item with no description.

However, since Theo brought it, expectations were high. Could this be even more remarkable than the sacred stone?

“For an accurate assessment, I’ll have an expert appraise these. Aileen, please appraise these items.”

[The Tower’s Administrator says to leave it to her.]

With Aileen’s response, both the sacred stone and the black charcoal vanished.

“By the way, since the sacred stone told me to get lost, make sure it listens well.”

Sejun added a remark with a bit of a grudge.

[The Tower’s Administrator is furious that such a mere sacred stone dared to tell you to get lost.]

[The Tower’s Administrator says she will personally ensure that it obeys you absolutely.]

After finishing the conversation with Aileen,

Tap. Tap.

“Cuengi, wake up.”

Having secured the items, Sejun tapped the sleeping Cuengi’s buttocks to wake him. It was time to wrap things up.

Krueng?

[Is it time to eat?]

Cuengi, upon waking up, immediately thought of food.

“Yes. But before that, Cuengi, bite!”

Pointing at Reto, who was off guard, Sejun instructed Cuengi to attack.

Krueng!

[Cuengi bites!]

Bang!

Following Sejun’s command, Cuengi dashed forward and

Snap.

bit Reto, thus concluding the murder case.

And,

“Puhuhut! As expected, Chairman Park recognized me, meow! But Uren is an idiot, meow!”

Theo, still holding a grudge, clung to Sejun’s knee and glared at Uren.

“Sorry… I’m so sorry!”

Uren repeatedly bowed, apologizing to Theo.

“Huh?! Land deeds!”

Sejun spotted the land deeds that had fallen from Reto’s body.

“Coco. Tell Black Rabbit we’ve caught the culprit and return these to their owners.”

“Okay!”

Sejun instructed Coco to deliver the land deed to the Black Rabbit.

Honestly, Sejun wanted to keep the land deeds for himself, but this incident involved the participants of the Red Ribbon Kingdom’s founding ceremony and Black Rabbit and ChuChu’s wedding.

If he, Black Rabbit’s uncle, kept these deeds, it might bring shame to Black Rabbit.

‘Hehehe. Still, I managed to secure two good items.’

Sejun smiled contentedly, thinking of the items Aileen was appraising.

“Lord Uren, the contest is about to start.”

An event staff member from the Food Fighter Selection Contest announced outside the tent.

Kuehehehe. Krueng!

[Hehehe. Cuengi will win and give the prize to Dad!]

Cuengi, unaware that Sejun had already secured the winning prize said.

“No matter how much I owe you for saving my life, I can’t easily concede the victory in the Food Fighter competition.”

Uren, burning with competitive spirit, stated. I have never lost to anyone when it comes to eating!

Spark.

Amidst the tension between Cuengi and Uren, the real Food Fighter contest was about to begin.

*****

TL: Theo in this chapter:

(Credits: AI)

*****