After confirming the benefits of the apples, we began the full-scale harvest.
I wondered if we should let them grow a little more, but according to the slimes, it was actually better for the tree if we harvested all the first fruits.
By doing so, the nutrients meant for the fruits would instead be used for the tree’s growth, which we were essentially helping with.
Plop.
More apples had grown than expected, about the size of jujubes.
I wondered if this was normal, but when I asked my parents, it seemed that it wasn’t.
“It must be because the tree was improved.”
My father always said that every crop I grew was improved, and he wasn’t wrong, so I nodded.
“It doesn’t quite feel right to call this an apple.”
“It tastes like an apple, so it’s an apple.”
“Is that so?”
Does that really make sense?
Anyway, after about an hour of hard work, we managed to harvest all the apples.
If we were just ordinary people, it would have taken several more hours, but with two Awakeners and numerous slimes, including Ara, we made quick work of it.
“Wow, there are so many!”
My mother smiled as she looked at the apples piled high in dozens of baskets.
Then, she took a small basket and put some apples in it.
“I should make some apple jam. Or maybe apple syrup?”
“What’s apple syrup?”
“It’s similar to jam, but it has a more liquid-like texture.”
“Oh! I want to try it!”
“Really? Then I’ll make both jam and syrup.”
“Yes!”
Seeing my mother’s excitement, I thought Jae-seong would also love this new ingredient.
Right now, he was probably in the middle of cooking research with his staff, so I should take some apples to him.
“So-yeon, you can eat as much as you want.”
“Huh? Really?”
I smiled at Jung So-yeon, who had been staring intently at the pile of apples.
She looked like she was about to drool.
Even after eating so much, she still wanted more—truly an incredible eater.
After moving the apples to storage, I set aside one basket for Jae-seong.
Normally, restaurants would be busy preparing ingredients at this time, but Jae-seong’s restaurant had the excellent Breeding Tribe members as staff, so they could cut down that preparation time significantly.
Thanks to that, everyone could focus on research.
“Oh? Brother.”
“Hello, everyone. A new ingredient has arrived.”
I greeted the excited people and set down the basket.
Right away, Ashu was the first to approach and inspect the apples.
-Fruit! Ashu likes fruit too!
Ashu picked up an apple and exclaimed excitedly.
Then, she looked at me with big, eager eyes.
-Lee Kyu-seong! Can Ashu try it?
“Haha. You only call me Lee Kyu-seong when you want something, huh? Sure, go ahead.”
-Wow! Thanks!
Normally, she just called me Kyu-seong, but whenever she wanted something, she used my full name like this.
Crunch.
Ashu immediately bit into the apple.
The abundant juice spread instantly, filling the air with the scent of fresh apples.
“An apple?”
“No way, is this really an apple?”
The staff quickly caught on.
Jae-seong and Orie also picked up small green apples with curious expressions.
“Yes, it’s an apple.”
“Oh, I remember seeing the fruits starting to form two days ago, and you’ve already harvested them.”
“Yeah. Since the tree isn’t fully grown yet, it’s better to harvest early so the nutrients don’t go to the fruit.”
“Can I try one?”
“Of course.”
Soon, Jae-seong and the other staff tasted the apples, and their eyes widened in admiration.
“This is amazing.”
“This tastes incredible.”
“This is the best green apple I’ve ever had.”
The chefs savored the taste, then immediately began taking notes and discussing.
I heard unfamiliar cooking terms and something about simmering on high heat—it seemed they were already brimming with ideas for new dishes.
“Oh, sorry! We got a little carried away.”
Orie, who had grown quite fluent in Korean, gave an awkward smile.
“No worries. I stored all the harvested apples in Storage Room 5, so feel free to use them whenever you need.”
“Got it.”
As I left, I saw Ashu happily munching on apples while the chefs were deep in serious discussion.
Seeing their passion, I felt like I should be doing something too.
“What should I do?”
Ara and Cheong were making jam and syrup with my mother.
My father was out fishing.
Jung So-yeon had gone to the blacksmith village to see the cats.
‘Wait, weren’t the little humans supposed to come today?’
I had told them they could come every day, but Choro had waved it off, saying it was fine.
Instead, they had agreed to visit every three days, and if I remembered correctly, today was the day.
I went to my mother to let her know in advance that I’d be heading to the Nyang Village.
“We’ll bring jam and syrup with us when we visit!”
Ara and Cheong waved as they saw me off.
I waved back and headed to the Nyang Village.
I rode Woofy to get there.
Once the rails connected all the villages, Woofy and Purr would finally be free.
-Whirr.
“Thanks for the ride.”
It only took ten minutes to reach the Nyang Village.
And there, my guests had already arrived.
Ten little humans, including Choro.
And the self-proclaimed goddess, Verna.
Verna was sitting comfortably on Jung So-yeon’s shoulder, chatting away.
Jung So-yeon seemed to be greeting the other children.
As I approached, Choro spotted me and bowed politely.
“You’ve arrived, Demon King!”
“Huh?”
Hey! Didn’t I tell them not to call me that?
I froze in shock and glanced nervously at Jung So-yeon.
That was an unexpected title.
“Welcome, Demon King. Pfft.”
Wait, what?
Unlike my flustered reaction, Jung So-yeon smirked as she addressed me teasingly.
This wasn’t the reaction I expected.
I forced a smile, trying to act natural.
“Haha… Uh, these kids are under my care, and sometimes they jokingly call me Demon King. Calling someone as kind as me that is just… Haha.”
Realizing the situation, Choro turned pale and frantically waved his hands in denial.
“Oh! W-we mistook Kyu-seong for a Demon King when we first met! But that old title stuck, and I accidentally said something misleading…!”
Choro was as quick-witted as ever.
Among all the kids, he was probably the fastest thinker.
‘He’s on par with Mammon.’
As I had that thought, Jung So-yeon smiled and nodded at Choro.
“That makes sense! To you guys, we must have looked like giants.”
“At that time, we made a terrible mistake by misjudging Kyu-seong. But despite that, he took us in and now even supports us.”
“You say he supports you—what kind of support?”
It seemed like they hadn’t discussed this yet, since they had just met.
At Jung So-yeon’s question, Verna, who was sitting on her shoulder, answered in her place.
-The world we lived in is on the brink of destruction.
It’s the world beyond that portal.
“On the brink of destruction?!”
Jung So-yeon looked at her in shock.
Verna, seeing her reaction, put on a pitiful act.
-We lost our entire homeland to monsters. Not only did we lose all the land except for a single fortress, but we also had no food or supplies and could only wait for our inevitable doom.
“Oh no…”
Jung So-yeon was already emotionally immersed in the story.
Choro took over the explanation.
“We accidentally crossed into another dimension. We had no other choice—we had to find a way to survive, even if it meant moving to another world. And that’s how we arrived here, at the residence of our savior, Mr. Kyu-seong!”
“So? So what happened next?”
“Mr. Kyu-seong accepted us. We all became his subordinates in exchange for receiving unlimited support.”
“Wow! That’s such a relief! Thank you, Kyu-seong!”
At Jung So-yeon’s sudden gratitude, I scratched my head awkwardly.
“It’s nothing. You don’t need to thank me, So-yeon. Besides, this was a transaction—I provide food and supplies, and they serve as my subordinates.”
“But when I see the kids around you, they all seem happy and well.”
“Well… yeah? I mean, they’re more like family than subordinates.”
At my words, the little humans reacted immediately.
As soon as I said they were like family, their eyes welled up with tears.
“Sniff…”
“He thinks of us as family…”
“Now that I think about it, he’s never asked for anything from us. We’ve only ever received from him…”
“Long live the Demon King! Ah, I mean, long live Mr. Kyu-seong!”
Though their enthusiasm was a little overwhelming, I nodded and smiled at the cheering little humans.
From my perspective, I just had an excess of food and supplies, so I was simply sharing what I could.
Their grand reaction made me feel a bit embarrassed.
“You really are amazing, Kyu-seong.”
“Hehe, not at all.”
“So, is there anything that needs to be done today? If I can help, I’d love to.”
Jung So-yeon rolled up her sleeves as she spoke.
The little humans cheered and thanked her.
Seeing that heartwarming sight, I smiled and said,
“Oh, you know the apples we just harvested? Could you bring some from the Slime Village? Just take Woofy and ride there—it should be easy.”
“Oh! That sounds great! If it’s the newly harvested apples, I’m sure they’ll love them!”
Without another word, Jung So-yeon sprinted toward Woofy.
Everyone stood there, dumbfounded by her quick reaction.
“She’s already gone.”
“Ahem, Mr. Kyu-seong. I sincerely apologize for my earlier mistake.”
“Oh, about the Demon King thing? Don’t worry about it. But actually, we should decide on a proper title.”
What would be a good title?
Being called “Mr. Kyu-seong” didn’t sound quite right either.
“What do you guys think?”
-Demon King!
Verna flapped her wings and shouted.
Did she not hear the conversation we just had?
-If you’re a Demon King, we should call you that, right?
Reading my exasperated expression, Verna crossed her arms and argued.
“Still, isn’t there another option?”
“How about ‘Lord’? I heard Sir Mammon call you that before.”
Sir Mammon?
Did they really just call Mammon ‘Sir Mammon’?
I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected respect for Mammon.
“Uh… Mr. Kyu-seong?”
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, let’s go with that.”
“Then we’ll call you ‘Master’ from now on!”
So it changed from ‘Lord’ to ‘Master’ now?
Well, I didn’t mind.
After all, they were technically my subordinates.
Honestly, it felt a bit like playing pretend, but they were serious about it.
Judging by their clothing, their lifestyle seemed medieval in nature.
“Master! I have a report!”
“Go ahead.”
“In the past three days, we have successfully completed the urgent repairs on the western fortress wall that was damaged during the last attack. We plan to reinforce the remaining walls next—will that be okay?”
“Yes, handle all the repairs as needed. Any more monster attacks?”
“New Guard Captain Pogo, reporting! In the past three days, there have been three monster attacks. All were neutralized without any casualties by Poison Slime. We have captured 28 monsters of two different types.”
I nodded at Pogo’s report.
“Send the captured monsters over to me.”
“We’ll begin processing them immediately after this report!”
“Good.”
The next report came from Cabe, who managed supplies.
He detailed the food and resources used and projected the materials required for upcoming construction.
Listening to these reports and approving resources really made me feel like I was the ruler of a territory.
‘This feels like being a medieval lord.’
For additional supplies, I contacted the goblins in the Nyang Village.
As expected, they promised to prepare everything and transport it via carts.
“I’m back!”
“Oh, So-yeon. Good work.”
Jung So-yeon returned, carrying two baskets.
Since we had over 80 baskets, taking two wasn’t an issue.
According to the slimes, we’d need to harvest apples every week.
Their growth rate was incredible, so we’d never run out of apples.
-Meow!
“Oh, right. The armor sets are all finished, aren’t they?”
A cat walked up to me as if to remind me.
Now that I thought about it, all the armor sets for Chiyon’s soldiers had been completed.
Just in case, I had also ordered a few hundred extra sets as spares.
“Wow! Thank you, Master!”
Choro’s eyes shimmered with gratitude—he hadn’t expected the preparation.
“Oh, Choro, Pogo, I have a question. Do you guys need weapons as well?”
“For now, we’re safe thanks to Poison Slime, but we do need ways to protect ourselves.”
“Then make a list of what you need. I’ll ask the cats to craft them.”
“Thank you! We’ll start gathering information and report back immediately!”
Jung So-yeon, who had been watching all of this, spoke up with a smile.
“This is really fun.”
“Right?”
“Yeah. It’s like managing a village.”
“I actually wish I could see it in person, but we can’t cross over to that world.”
Still, you never know.
There might be a way to cross over in the future.
“Master! Monsters are incoming!”
“Alright! Let’s check them out.”
What kind of monsters did we capture this time?
“Huh?”
“Wait, what?”
Both Jung So-yeon and I tilted our heads as we examined the immobilized creatures.
“…Is that a chicken?”
It was a chicken.
But a very fancy-looking one.
It was a bit large for the little humans, but to us, it just looked like a slightly bigger chicken.
Maybe we should try raising them?
I’ll have to ask Seon-ah about it when she arrives tonight.
Cliche Novel 