TL: Hanguk
Black Tower, 75th Floor.
Kueng
[Dad, Cuengi is going to buy snacks!]
Kihiht. Kking! Kking!
[Hehe. Butler, I’ll go buy snacks too! Hyung, take me with you!]
When they arrived at the shopping district, Cuengi and Blackie family dashed toward the street stalls.
“Let’s take a look around first.”
Sejun strolled through the shops with Theo and Flamie.
If they found something to buy,
“How much is this?”
“10 Tower Coins.”
“Flamie, fighting!”
“Puhuhut. Flamie can do it, meow!”
[Pl…Please give me a discount!]
Cheered on by Sejun and Theo, Flamie practiced haggling three times.
Although he would protect(?) Flamie, haggling skills were essential since you never knew where you might get taken advantage of.
Hehe. It could even be fun once you got the hang of it.
At first, Flamie was a little awkward, but
“That’s it. Our Flamie is doing well.”
“Puhuhut. Flamie has a knack for this, meow!”
[Hehe. Really?!]
With encouragement from Sejun and Theo, Flamie quickly adapted.
3 hours later.
“30 Tower Coins.”
[Hehe. Mister, please give me a discount!]
“Then, how about 25 Tower Coins?”
[Eh. There are some scratches here too. Please give me more of a discount!]
“Hahaha. Is that so? Fine, I’ll give it to you for 23 Coins.”
[Hehe. Since you’re already giving a discount, why not go down just a little further, how about 20 Tower Coins?]
“Hahaha. Alright. Your laugh is so cheerful, I’ll give you a special discount. But don’t tell anyone else about this, okay? I’ll be in trouble if word gets out.” Ŗ�
[Hehe. Yes! And Sejun-nim and Theo~oraboni, you can’t tell anyone either. It would trouble the boss.]
Flamie cleverly mimed zipping their lips shut and even made Sejun and Theo swear secrecy. She had become a skilled professional haggler.
Meanwhile…
Kueng
[Lower the price now!]
Kking! Kking!
[Lower it! If you don’t, I’m not moving from here!]
Cuengi and Blackie, on the other hand, had become the notorious troublesome duo of the street stalls.
At that moment,
“Cuengi-nim, please stop that one!”
Jeras, who was chasing a criminal, shouted as he spotted Cuengi.
Kueng
Hearing Jeras’s cry, Cuengi used telekinesis to subdue the figure passing in front of him.
“Eek!”
The criminal struggled desperately to escape Cuengi’s telekinetic grip, but it was futile.
“Thank you. Here’s the bounty.”
Thanks to Cuengi’s help, Jeras easily captured the criminal and handed over the 500 Tower Coin bounty to Cuengi.
Kueng
[This is for Cuengi?!]
“Yes.”
Kuhehehe.
With this, I can buy more than 100 snacks!
Cuengi was ecstatic as he stared at the money in his hands.
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. Hyung, I want that too!]
Blackie was just as excited.
Hehehe. If we catch criminals, we can eat tons of snacks!
Hehe. Earning money is easier than I thought.
As they munched on their snacks, both had the same thought.
Kueng
[Detective Cunan is on the case!]
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. Detective Kapang will help too!] (TL: Ka (까) comes from ‘까망이’, which means ‘blackie,’ and ‘팡’ (Pang) is likely derived from ‘Pang’ or ‘Pang Adventures,’ whichever you prefer to call it.)
The two began hunting for more criminals.
“Why me?”
Jeras ended up joining them, as they needed someone to provide information about the criminals.
Sniff, sniff.
Sniff, sniff.
Like that, the two diligently searched for suspicious smells, and entered what looked like an expensive lodging.
nd then,
Clack.
As if it were their own room, they confidently opened the door to the finest room in the inn and sat at the dining table.
Moments Later.
“Oh?! I was just about to call you. How did you know to come?”
Sejun, carrying dishes from the kitchen, greeted Cuengi, Blackie, and
“Oh?! Jeras, you’re here too?”
Sejun smiled as he noticed Jeras, who had been dragged along by the two, sitting at the table.
2a09:bac5:47ef:b05::119:15
Sejun had rented the inn to prepare meals for Aileen, while also making dishes for his group.
The menu was soy-braised slime, fried eggs, and white rice.
“Hello, Sejun-nim.”
What am I even doing here?
Jeras quickly greeted Sejun, all the while questioning his situation.
But then…
…?!
The moment a piece of savory soy-braised meat was placed atop white rice and entered Jeras’s mouth, all his doubts vanished.
This is destiny!
Today, he had woken up 10 minutes earlier than usual to have an early breakfast, skipped lunch while apprehending two criminals, and chased down another criminal on his way back, all to arrive here, at this precise moment, to eat this food.
Delicious!
As Jeras wolfed down his meal hurriedly,
Kueng
[So Cuengi caught the criminal and got the bounty!]
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. Butler! Hyung used the bounty to buy me food!]
Cuengi and Blackie proudly boasted to Sejun about their recent exploits while eating.
“Good job.”
While listening to their story, Sejun
‘Flamie should try catching a criminal too.’
He decided to do a criminal-catching experience with Flamie.
Detective Sherlock Sejun and his assistant Teoson.
Detective Cunan and Detective Kapang.
As Sejun was assigning roles.
“Hmm, what should Flamie be?”
After some contemplation, Sejun decided.
“Buljeonil?”
Detective Buljeonil. (TL: ‘Bul’ (불) comes from ‘불꽃이’, which means ‘flamie’, and ‘Jeonil’ (전일) is derived from Kim Jeon-il, the detective in The Kindaichi Case Files. Sejun had considered using this name for Cuengi back in Chapter 244 but rejected it at the time, saying, ‘If he appears, there’s always a murder case’ idk why he thought it was a good choice this time.)
“That should work, right?”
The name felt like it could invite trouble, but considering the team members, he figured it would probably work out.
Once the roles were assigned
“Jeras, give us a case.”
“Huh? A case?”
“Yeah. Something with a high bounty. We’ll solve it for you.”
Sejun asked Jeras for a high bounty case.
And then
“Then please take this one. It’s a case with a 10 billion Tower Coin bounty, to catch an organization called the Herong Gang that’s been selling suspicious drugs in the tower lately.”
Jeras, who had been overworked recently, eagerly passed his most troublesome case to Sejun.
“A suspicious drug? Got it. Case accepted. Hehehe. Detective Sherlock Sejun and friends will handle it.”
“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow! Once Detective Sherlock Sejun and Assistant Teoson take the field, everything gets solved, meow!”
[Hehe. Detective Buljeonil, under Detective Sherlock Sejun’s command, will do her best!]
Kueng
[Detective Sherlock Sejun’s son, Detective Cunan, will help too!]
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. The great Detective Kapang will assist the butler too!]
Thus, the strongest team of detectives set out to capture Herong Gang.
It was like using carpet-bombing with nuclear missiles on a problem that could be solved with a single grenade.
For Herong Gang, this was the beginning of a disaster.
And the first thing they did was…
“Assistant Teoson, do you feel anything?”
“Meeooow… not yet, meow!”
They decided to eat snacks while waiting for Theo’s front paws to sense something, a purely instinct and luck based investigative method.
After about an hour had passed like that
“Meoow! Detective Sherlock Sejun, I feel the pull, meow!”
Theo called out, and
“Where?!”
Sejun quickly picked up Theo and rushed outside.
***
In a dark alley of the shopping street.
“Hey… Nar, give me 10 Herong Candies.”
A Red Orc, who didn’t look too well, frantically pulled out some money as he spoke to a figure in a black hood.
“Sorry. With that money you can only buy 1. Starting today, Herong Candies went up to 10 Tower Coins each.”
Nar took the 10 Tower Coins from the Red Orc’s hand and replied in a sly tone.
“What?! Yesterday, it was only 1 Tower Coin per candy!”
“Nothing I can do about it. If the boss says to raise the price, I have to. By the way, starting tomorrow, the price will go up to 20 Tower Coins each, so if you’ve got the money, stock up today. Kekeke.”
At Nar’s words, the Red Orc spent all his money to buy 3 Herong Candies.
And just like that, every few minutes, Nar sold more candy.
“Detective Sherlock Sejun, that’s the guy, meow!”
Theo pointed at Nar in the distance.
“Alright, let’s get him!”
“Puhuhut. Understood, meow!”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
At Sejun’s words, Theo immediately struck the back of Nar’s head, knocking him unconscious.
Normally, investigators would tail a suspect to locate their base of operations. But for Sejun’s detective squad, that wasn’t necessary.
“Detective Kapang, go!”
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. Great Detective Kapang will sniff everything out!]
Thunk.
Kkirorong.
Blackie headbutted Nar and promptly fell asleep.
Moments later,
“Eek! I’ll tell you everything! Just please, spare my soul!”
Nar, who had regained his senses, was ready to spill everything.
“Hideout.”
“It’s in Ger Village on the 72nd floor of the Tower. It’s the biggest mansion in the village, you’ll recognize it right away!”
“Name of the Herong Gang’s boss?”
“That I don’t really…”
Grrr!
When Nar couldn’t answer, Blackie immediately growled.
How cute.
To Sejun, it was nothing but adorable, but…
“Eek! It’s true! This isn’t information someone as low-ranking as me would know! But I do know the names of the people I’ve dealt with! Oh! Now that I think about it, I did hear the name of a mid-level boss once! I’m sure it was Kozette!”
Nar panicked at Blackie’s growl and desperately spilled everything he knew.
After getting information from Nar like that, Sejun.
Handed Nar over to Jeras and moved to the 72nd floor.
***
Black Tower, 72nd Floor.
Piyo?!
[This is all because of you, Uren-nim?!]
“Sorry…”
Piyot was furious at Uren.
A few days ago, the two of them had been on their way to find the last divine relic of Misfortune, the God of Misfortune, when they encountered highway robbers for the first time in a while.
For Piyot and Uren, dealing with them wasn’t a big deal, they easily subdued the thieves and prepared to stamp.
But…
“Piyo?!”
[What is this stuff?!]
“I don’t know! Uhehe. But it feels good!”
After inhaling the black powder the bandits had scattered, they began experiencing side effects.
Piyihihi.
Uhehe.
Their bodies weakened, their mood lightened, and uncontrollable laughter began to bubble out of them.
And then,
“Alright, they’re completely drugged. Grab whatever’s valuable!”
The bandits started taking money from the dazed pair.
If they had only been robbed of money, it wouldn’t have been much of a problem, but…
“Uhehe. Look at this! I can even make gold like this.”
Uren, in his drugged state, showed the bandits his ability to create gold, and things quickly spiraled out of control.
When the two regained their senses, they were restrained with equipment that sealed magic power and locked in prison, and
Piyo! Piyo?!
[Why would you make gold for them?!]
Even as Piyot scolded him, Uren had no excuse to offer.
At that moment,
Clank.
“So you’re awake.”
A towering Yellow Minotaur entered the prison carrying a basket filled with stones.
Then,
“Make gold, Legendary Merchant Uren.”
He shoved the basket toward Uren, demanding he turn the stones into gold.
It wasn’t difficult to identify Uren’s identity since he was the only pink pig capable of creating gold in the Black Tower.
“Alright, I’ll do it. But let Piyot go.”
Hoping to at least save Piyot, Uren tried to negotiate.
“Kukukuk. Legendary Merchant Uren, do you think you’re in a position to negotiate with me? You have no such right. You’ll do what I say. Here, my word – the word of Bulka, boss of the Herong Gang – is law.”
Bulka refused to entertain Uren’s terms.
“Instead, if you don’t make the gold, I’ll pluck this bird’s feathers one by one and make it my dinner. Hahaha. Now. Quickly make gold. Legendary Merchant Uren.”
“Alrig-”
When Uren was about to give in to Bulka’s words
Piyo?! Piyo!
[You’re going to eat me for dinner?! Go ahead and try!]
Piyo! Piyo! Piyo!
[I am Piyot, right front paw of the deadly dragon clawed hybrid golden cat Theo Park-nim, subordinate of the great black dragon! I don’t beg for my life! And soon, Theo-nim will come to rescue me!]
Furious, Piyot chirped fiercely.
“Kukukuk. Such a tiny thing with big guts. But no matter how great Theo Park might be, it’s impossible for him to find this underground prison. I’ve changed my mind. First, I’ll pluck all your feathers-”
As Bulka smirked and reached out toward Piyot, a sudden voice rang out.
“Puhuhut. Over here, meow! I can feel it from this direction, meow!”
Kueng
Boom!
With Theo’s voice coming from beyond the wall, Cuengi smashed through it.
“Eh?! It’s Piyot and Uren!”
Sejun and his group appeared through the hole in the wall.
“Go-Golden Cat Theo Park?!”
And even the tyrant Cuengi Park?!
‘How did they find this place?!’
Bulka froze in panic upon seeing Theo and Cuengi.
At that moment,
Piyiing!
Theo~nim, I was scared! This guy bullied me!
Piyot burst into tears upon seeing Theo, who had come to rescue him.
“Meow?! You made my right front paw cry, meow?!”
Thwack!
“Urgh!”
Theo immediately avenged Piyot by hitting Bulka on the back of the head.
“By the way, do you know who the boss of the Herong Gang is meow?”
He asked Piyot and Uren about the Herong Gang’s boss.
Point.
The two simultaneously pointed at the unconscious Bulka.
Kihiht. Kking!
[Hehe. Detective Kapang, on it!]
Thunk.
Blackie headbutted Bulka, and just like that, all of Herong Gang’s secrets were revealed.
[Jeras’s Case Log]
The Herong Gang, an organization distributing suspicious drugs in the tower
– With the help of the Sejun Detective Squad, Herong Gang’s leader Bulka and all 20,000 members were arrested, achieving a 100% success rate in the roundup!
– Total bounty: 15.3 billion Tower Coins paid in full.
And thus, the major case that had been troubling Jeras was completely resolved.
“Flamie, how was it? Did you enjoy playing detective?”
[Yes!]
At Sejun’s question, Flamie grinned widely, clearly having had a great time.
Becoming a detective and tracking down criminals, it was thrilling and exciting!
Flamie learned what it meant to almost die from excitement this time.
“Alright, let’s ride this momentum and do a treasure hunt next.”
[Hehe! We’re going treasure hunting this time?]
“Yep.”
Sejun was now heading to the 62nd floor of the Tower to help Uren find the last divine relic of Misfortune, the God of Misfortune.
***
[You have arrived at the 62nd floor of the Black Tower.]
…
..
.
When Sejun arrived on the 62nd floor:
Ppiik?
[Sejun-nim?]
“Huh?! Father Rabbit?”
Sejun spotted Father Rabbit, who was feeding the baby rabbits.
And then,
Ahem! See that?! Me being familiar with Sejun-nim?
Father Rabbit puffed up his chest proudly as he glanced at the baby rabbits.
At last, the moment had come for Father Rabbit to prove his dignity and authority.
*****
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