Season 4: Chapter 111. Nonghyup Union vs. Knights (2)

Two years earlier, the wind howled on the rooftop of a towering corporate building wrapped in gleaming curtains.

Manager Kim failed to light his cigarette, cursed under his breath, and tried again. “Assistant Yu. All this is fine, but... there’s no justification. No justification at all.”

Assistant Yu remained silent.

“

Ha.

You still don’t get it.” Manager Kim finally sparked the lighter, took a long drag, and exhaled. “You need a reason to pull something that disruptive in this kind of society. Not just any reason, but one so sound that no one can question it.”

“But you know this makes sense. Export packaging just causes conflict. Switching to local packaging solves the price issue. Right now, local material costs are cheaper on every front...”

“I know. I know that, but we’ve never done it that way before. We don’t know how smooth it’ll be. We don’t know what damage it could cause the subcontractors.”

“Do the producers have direct ties to the subcontractors?”

“Hey! That’s not the point. I don’t know. If we push this without any data and it fails? Who takes the blame? ‘I only did what the company told me’ doesn’t cut it.”

Back then, Assistant Yu had no answer because Manager Kim was right.

“You need a justification to try something new. Something that forces your hand. Something everyone in the organization can agree on. Otherwise, do you know what happens?”

“What happens?”

“You’ll die.” Kim pointed behind him.

Chief Jung stood silently, gazing across at the opposite building. Nobody even knew which department he belonged to. He had no fixed desk or clear post. He wandered the halls, sat wherever there was an empty chair, or stood here on the rooftop. Alive and salaried, but socially dead. In other words, he was a ghost.

“This is what an organization is.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Don’t let Manager Park chew you out again. Stay here. I’ll handle it.”

“Yes.”

Kim went back inside while Yu lingered and stole glances at Chief Jung, who stood there staring at the mirrored building across the way. Perhaps he was staring at his own reflection and seeking something inside.

‘Still... it was a good plan.’

Even as he looked at that ghost of a man, regret tugged at him.

***

Radish Servant asked again as if to confirm, “So you’re saying... we block ForeverAlone’s escape routes with fire, trap him, roast him alive into fertilizer, and then we move in for the Fertile Soil. Is that it?”

— LMAO roasted alive

— This is straight-up execution-level evil

— “ForeverAlone the Stew” ending

— Soil demon arc unlocked

“There’s some exaggeration there, but close enough.”

‘Exaggeration? Where?!’

Radish Servant swallowed hard. No matter how he framed it, this was a devil’s plan. Almond knew it too and came here to share the burden, but Radish Servant shook his head.

“N-No... no matter what, that’s too much...”

Potato Servant nodded quickly. “F-ForeverAlone hasn’t done anything wrong, my lord...”

Almond studied their troubled faces and nodded as if expecting this response. “Is that so? Then it can’t be helped.”

Relief flooded them both. Perhaps they would find another way.

“If this works, your profit ratios will rise immediately,” Almond casually said.

“What? Immediately?”

“Of course, there’s no need for you two to farm anymore with more Fertile Soil. You’ve suffered enough. Time to put others to work and enjoy better positions yourselves.”

— Oh nooo he baited them

— Ratio ↑ ↑ ↑

— Promotion speedrun!

The brothers froze, and the silence thickened.

“I-I’ll do it!!” Potato Servant blurted.

Radish Servant’s eyes widened.

‘

That bastard?!’

He quickly followed. “M-Me too! I’ll do it! I’ll do it even better!”

— LMAO “I’ll do it BETTER”

— Radish Servant betrayal speedrun

— They folded instantly for a raise lmao

Dreams of promotion and freedom from debt overrode their morality. They grinned at each other, wickedly united.

“ForeverAlone?

Bah.

He brought this on himself!”

“Exactly! It’s his fault for being forever alone,

hahahaha

!”

Then, Almond’s tone shifted. “So you truly intend to go through with this?”

He sighed and gravely shook his head.

“I only mentioned it as a possibility, but if it’s for repaying your debts, then yes... You’re willing to dirty your hands for it.”

“What?”

His gaze wasn’t even on them. It was fixed elsewhere. They followed it to a tiny hovering camera, to which he justified himself.

— Corporate lizard strikes again!

— He’s cutting their tails off in advance lol

— “Not me, it’s them. I just watched.”

— That debt was to him!

‘So this is who he is.’

For the first time, Radish Servant felt true fear. Compared to this man, he was just a naive gamer.

‘This is what Manager Kim meant by... justification.’

Almond wasn’t just cunning. He wielded the ruthless logic of the corporate world and repurposed it for war.

***

Meanwhile, at Black Tea’s house...

“

Ugh.

Rebuilding is brutal.”

Thud.

Black Tea finally managed to patch her house back together. Not perfectly, but just enough to live in. Even so, it had taken her an hour in real time.

“At least I’ve got a bed. The save and load is covered.”

“Yep.”

Fwooh.

Black Tea and Lemon collapsed on the bed, exhaling in unison. With their chibi avatars, even a small bed fitted both of them lying top-to-tail.

“Why hasn’t Green Tea shown up yet?” Black Tea stared at the ceiling with tangled thoughts. “What the hell is he doing? His girlfriend is stuck here and...”

“Unnie, it’s just a game...” Lemon cut her off before she could rant.

“Yeah, I know.” Black Tea rolled over.

Today had been chaos from start to finish. By the time she came to her senses, she had already sworn fealty and became Almond’s servant.

“Was pledging loyalty really the right move?”

“I don’t know. You just suddenly shouted it out.”

“

Pfft.

I didn’t pledge completely.”

“Uh, anyone who saw would say you totally...

Ow!

”

“Quiet.”

Bonk!

Black Tea flicked Lemon on the forehead.

“You started the conversation!”

Black Tea just shrugged it off and vented with a sigh. She leaned her chin on the windowsill and blankly stared outside. At this time, she’d usually be in a meeting with the Nonghyup Union.

“They’ll be fine on their own, right?”

Maybe she did feel guilty. Maybe she kept rationalizing because it sounded like she’d abandoned them.

— Nah, Donuts has it covered

— If you betray them after getting Fertile Soil you deserve to fail lol

— Black Tea stop worrying

— But seriously where’s Green Tea??

“What? I’m not worried. I just... don’t want them blaming me later...

hmm?

”

Someone was approaching from a distance, straight for her house. Their figures stood out immediately.

‘Armor?’

The two players wore iron armor from head to toe.

[Zelo]

[ChocoShroom]

It was Zelo and Choco Shroom.

Zelo stepped forward and knocked on her door.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Miss. Black Tea~”

— Wow

— World-class streamer cameo

— What’s happening?

Black Tea froze. She never had any direct dealings with Zelo.

‘Why is he here?’

Even for someone as brash as Black Tea, a mega-streamer like Zelo suddenly appearing felt nerve-racking.

“Uh, y-yes? What is it?” She stalled for time as she walked to the door.

“I’m... Zelo. Could we talk for a moment?”

Creak.

She opened the door cautiously.

“Hi, unnie!” Choco Shroom waved.

She and Black Tea knew each other well enough. Choco Shroom had even played mid for Red Carpets in the last team tourney.

“Oh, Choco Shroom~ you’ve moved up in the world, huh?” She eyed Choco Shroom’s iron gear.

“What? No, no. I’m just tagging along.”

Zelo suddenly turned bashful, and Black Tea just blankly stared at them. An awkward silence followed.

— Black Tea’s stare is killing him

— Zelo is folding already

— Why does this feel like a blind date? lol

Zelo coughed and quickly changed the subject. “A-Anyway... we brought something.”

“Huh? What, selling stuff? Like a drug dealer?

Ahaha!

”

The words slipped out before she realized, and she promptly clapped a hand over her mouth.

— Drug dealer LMAOOO

— She just says whatever comes to mind

— Not even close friends and she’s roasting him

Zelo looked momentarily stunned.

Choco Shroom bounced in to smooth it over. “Unnie! We’re not crazy! It’s an opportunity!”

“An... opportunity?” Black Tea tilted her head suspiciously.

“Guess what we’ve brought...” Choco Shroom’s grin twitched as she could barely hold back excitement. “Iron ore!!”

Doo-doong!

Zelo added a sound effect as he popped open the chest. Inside was a pile of iron ore.

Black Tea blinked and nodded. “Ah... iron ore.”

That was it.

“Iron ore... why?”

“What do you mean why?! You were attacked by monsters yesterday, weren’t you? It’s time to grow stronger! Peace without power is a lie!!” Zelo dramatically raised his iron sword.

Shaaang!

Black Tea drew her own blade and raised it skyward.

“Wow. I’ve got the same one.”

Shaaang!

Her sword gleamed identically.

“Ah... s-so you’ve already forged one? Then, maybe this...”

Clang.

Zelo slapped a hand on his chestplate and showed off his armor. Then, Black Tea spun around and revealed her own full set of iron chest armor, iron boots, an iron shield, and an iron helmet. Every piece gleamed.

Both Zelo and Choco Shroom froze with question marks on their faces.

“W-Who... who mined iron ore already? There’s nobody in the mines. At least, not anyone from Cheese Village...”

“Oh, no. I joined the Knights. They just gave it to me.”

“The Knights?”

Right on cue, the global server chat lit up.

[SweetPotato: Recruiting for the Knights! Join now and get a full iron set FREE~]

[SweetPotato: There’s only a limited number of spots left. DM for more information~]