Season 4: Chapter 221. A Moment to Remember Forever (1)

“I can’t believe he did it again,” Ji-Ah murmured in disbelief as the flood of incoming videos buried her.

On her monitor, Lord Almond made his entrance.

“Please... my lord. Please come back just once more! Save us!”

Kwaaang!

He pushed back Zelu’s hellfire and appeared in a blaze of glory. This kind of performance couldn’t possibly be left unedited.

“The Lord... has returned?”

“

Waaaaaaaah!

”

The problem was that Almond had far too many moments like this.

“This is bad.”

Another problem existed.

Ji-Ah only realized it after opening YouTube.

[Lackey ForeverAlone vs. Lord Almond ]

[Chikicha’s Bond]

[Lackey ForeverAlone Who Lost His Country]

Parody videos popped up everywhere. Too many featured Almond and ForeverAlone.

— The once-competent underlings suddenly quit... this is bad!

— Lackey ForeverAlone’s chakra deviation always kills me

— Isn’t this insane?

— This is crazy lol

Ji-Ah hadn’t made all of the videos featuring Almond. Other channels made their own parodies. AI flagged and sent videos that crossed the line to the original copyright holders, but YouTube allowed parody revenue up to a certain point. The real issue wasn’t the money.

‘It’s getting diluted.’

Attention toward Almond’s official channel was being scattered.

‘I mean, it does mean he’s popular.’

The sheer number of these videos proved just how popular Almond was.

[#Trending Now Rank 13]

[#Trending Now Rank 19]

Ji-Ah’s heart always tightened when parodies like these climbed the trending list.

She messaged Macaron.

[Ji-Ah: How’s the video going? The Lackey ForeverAlone - Almond special]

[Macaron: I’m working on it! It’ll be up today!]

“He’s the expert at this stuff... but he’s slowed down because there’s too much work.”

At this rate, everything would get swallowed up. Did they need to increase Almond’s editing staff? Suddenly, Ji-Ah recalled something.

“Huh? Come to think of it....”

She’d been through something similar before. Back then, some guy had made a video titled, “How Did the Prettiest Woman in the Province Fall for Nuts?!” when Jessie met Almond in

Civil Empire

and went viral.

“That was Macaron.”

The same Macaron she was working with now.

Ji-Ah’s expression shifted as if something clicked. She immediately called Ju-Hyeok.

“Hello? What’s up?”

“Ju-Hyeok, do you think we could hire more editors?”

“Huh? We are pretty busy right now... Do you know someone good?”

“Yeah. They’re all over YouTube!”

***

At the same time, Cheese Village

content had become the most important project for the platform’s launch at Cheese Headquarters. The operations team couldn’t help but feel tense while watching it. The key question was simple: how effective had the content been?

“First of all, the response is at its peak. We’ve exceeded our original target by more than three times!”

Interest was far higher than expected. It started low, but steadily climbed as time went on.

“The community response is extremely heated. Some people are even making and selling Almond dolls.”

Ting.

An employee showed the screen. Someone was selling Almond goods with the horned official’s hat worn by noble lords in historical dramas. The next screen was just as striking.

“Fan-made videos of ForeverAlone and Almond have practically taken over YouTube. They’re trending on other social media as well.”

“The rivalry between Almond and Zelo also did very well.”

Survival Craft

videos flooded YouTube far more than Cheese’s official uploads.

“We passed the break-even point a long time ago.”

After reviewing countless slides, CEO Choi Da-Hee nodded slowly. “Good. Very good.” She walked up to someone and firmly patted their shoulder a few times. “You really pulled this off, Team Leader Joo!”

Joo Ok-Ji had pushed hardest for Almond’s recruitment. Back then, not everyone agreed that Almond deserved the same treatment as Zelo. Now, wasn’t Almond at the very center of all the Cheese Village buzz?

“Of course, Zelo played a role befitting his size, but anyone can see that the standout performance in this Cheese Village

project belongs to Almond,” Choi Da-Hee loudly declared this for everyone to hear.

The other recruitment team leaders, who had brought in different streamers, could only nod. They couldn’t disagree when the CEO herself acknowledged it.

‘Jackpot.’

Joo Ok-Ji felt like bursting with joy, but barely held it in with everyone watching.

The meeting proceeded to the next item on the agenda.

“Alright, then. Let’s start designing the Cheese Village finale concert.”

A finale concert always took place at the end of a joint streamer server content like Cheese Village. It wouldn’t be a real concert, but this major event still demanded every ounce of their effort.

***

Meanwhile, in the underground prison...

“Then say you want to live!”

The standoff between Almond and Zelu reached its peak.

“I-I want to live! I want to live! My lord!”

“So, that’s what it was. Got it.”

— Holy shit hahahahahaha

— You only figured that out now?

— “Say you want to live!” is way scarier than I thought

— At least he’s sparing him~

Things moved swiftly once the Lord finally uncovered Zelu’s willingness to join. First, the six appointed proxies for the Knights took over Cheese Village duties.

“Match the pitch, Horn Mister. I’m telling you this is important.”

“Oh myyyyy~! Loooord~!” Horn Ramen, acting as the new disciplinary officer, succeeded the Education Minister Potato Servant.

“From here to here is Grade B fertile land.”

“

Whoa...

Th-This much?” Donuts, the Ivy League graduate, took over from the Finance Minister Radish Servant.

“Here.”

Thk.

Almond handed something to ForeverAlone.

“Th-This is....”

“A seal.”

With this Adamantium seal, one could approve any document on the Lord’s behalf.

“Y-You went this far?”

— lol he’s serious about Survival Craft

— For real, this is insane

— Ahahaha

“No, I just made it today,” Almond plainly explained.

“Ah...”

He just made it to delegate his authority. Nothing more than that.

“From today on, you’re the Prime Minister, Lackey ForeverAlone.”

“Th-Thank youuu!”

Then, Almond walked over to Bubblegum.

“Brother Gum.”

“My Lord!”

“I hereby appoint you Minister of Culture and Sports.”

“Th-Thank you!”

He also placed a necklace around Bubblegum’s neck.

— Minister of Culture and Sports!!

— Kyaa

— Isn’t this that scene from the end of a cop movie? Lol

— Gum really made it!

“And Green Tea.”

“Yes!” Green Tea stood at attention, waiting.

“You spied for the Nonghyup Union, then you spied for us. You worked hard.”

— ?

— Is that a compliment? Lol

— Holy shit, he’s exposing everything

— What is this? lol

“With that talent, I’m assigning you to unify Paprika. I hereby appoint you Minister of Unification.”

“Thank youuu!”

Truthfully, these minister positions didn’t mean much. Everything ran however it wanted anyway. Still, Almond figured people needed some kind of title while he was away.

Chat messages appeared on the server.

[ForeverAlone: Hello. I’m Lackey Forever Alone, appointed Prime Minister of Cheese Village. While the Lord is away for a bit, I’ll be in charge of operating the Knights.]

[Donuts: Hello. I’m Donuts, Minister of Finance of Cheese Village. I’ll do my best while Radish Servant-nim is away~]

The newly appointed talents greeted everyone. The residents responded in kind, each revealing their stance.

[Miho: Lackey ForeverAlone got promoted! Hahaha]

[CutiePie: Wow, that’s crazy lol Lackey ForeverAlone lol]

[Zelo: Traitor Knight Jung Gi-Chan~ boo~]

[WhiteChicken: Why does a tiny village have so many hats to wear?]

[Cherry: Congrats, congrats!]

While that happened, Treeana and her disciples finished preparing to depart.

***

Treeana and the six disciples stood before the fortress gate. On both sides, residents and NPCs lined up to send them off. The residents didn’t call them disciples, but the Expedition Squad because others were also leaving.

“Wait. Aren’t those the Paprika bandits?”

The other members included Team Rocket and Zelu.

“They asked us to call them Team Rocket?”

“

Hmph.

Is Team Rocket any better? They’re all the same! They just change the party name and crawl back out again!”

— Oh shit lol

— Damn

— Political talk is bannable, you know?

— Hahahaha

“Just thinking about those damn Paprika villagers makes my teeth grind. Go offer them up as tribute.

Ptooey!

”

Public opinion wasn’t great when residents saw the Paprika members. Boos also poured out when Zelu appeared.

“Booooo!”

“What the hell!? That bastard!”

“We fed that orphan and gave him a roof, and he betrayed us!”

“Get out and die! You piece of shit!”

The jeering grew intense. Even the Expedition Squad hesitated. They were supposed to march out to cheers and hadn’t expected this level of hostility.

“It’s that bad?”

“What did he even do?”

“He made himself a proper Paprika member, they said.”

“Insane...”

Everyone stood there awkwardly.

Zelu stepped forward on his own. “Well... I’ll handle this, my lord.”

“Huh? How?”

“In

Survival Craft

, you can buy all sorts of facial expressions, you know?”

Ting!

Zelu jutted his chin out, switched to a sobbing face with tears streaming down, and bowed at ninety degrees.

“People of Cheese Village!” he shouted loud and clear. “I’ve been a goddamn burden on you all!”

— Hahahahahahahahaha

— Holy shit hahahahaha

— Ahahaha

— This crazy bastard

— Just come back as Zela already

Maybe it was the sheer force of his apology, but the booing died down. Most of the residents were biting back laughter. Still, a few were too heated to stop shouting.

“Booooooo!”

“Get lost, you bastard!”

“You damn dictator piece of shit!”

Zelu didn’t retreat and continued begging. “Just once!”

Thak.

He threw himself flat on the ground.

“Just one more time! Won’t you accept me as a comrade!?”

— When did you even buy that face? Lol

— Hahahahahahaha

— Holy shit hahahaha

— I wanna punch that face so bad lol

— Worth every won lol

Puh-hup!

At last, the Cheese villagers burst out laughing. In the end, they were slaves to chakra.

Zelu glanced at the chat filling with “lol.”

“

Hmph...

Can’t be helped.”

They grudgingly conceded.

“Having one Jinchuriki in the village isn’t the worst thing.”

“Just this once, Zeluto! If you act up again, you won’t even get ramen!”

“And when you get back, you’re selling iron ore!”

— They’re seriously so mean lol

— A village where the dictator looks pitiful... Cheese Village...

— No ramen hahahaha

— Iron ore selling boy

The crowd seemed to have let off its steam. They welcomed him back with laughter. With that, the send-off ceremony resumed as planned.

“

Waaaaaaaah!

”

“Come back safely, my lord!”

“When this war is over, I’m going to confess to the lord!”

With that, Treeana and the ten members of the Expedition Squad departed for the Library of a Moment and Eternity. Peace returned to Cheese Village once more.

“

Whew...

Is it over?”

“Then... we just go back to being farmers again, right?”

“Yeah. Everything is back to normal. The miners mine, and we just farm.”

The residents smiled, thinking they could return to their old routine. However, things weren’t that simple.

Beeeep!

[23:59:58]

A window suddenly appeared in front of every villager.

“Huh?”

They had no idea what this twenty-four-hour timer meant. Only the time continued to tick down.

[23:58:13]

The villagers grew uneasy. They had to figure out what this timer meant. Messages filled the server chat as they debated.

[CreamPuff: Holy crap, does everyone see this??? Is it just me??]

[Bubblegum: I see it too. This timer, is Survival Craft ending???]

[CutiePie: Um no, Survival Craft has way more left than that?]

[MiddleAgedDetective: Isn’t this that thing...? The Treevy server shutdown?]

[Miho: Oh my god]

[Takoyaki: Holy crap]

[HornRamen: Yeah. It’s Treevy shutting down. This is it.]