abcnovels
Chapter 244: Chasing the Culprit
Chapter 244: Chasing the Culprit
23rd Floor of the Purple Tower
Creak. Creak.
As Flamie’s massive roots moved and spread out in all directions,
Screech!
Venomous spiders, feeling their territory invaded, tried to attack Flamie’s roots.
However,
[Flames, rise and burn.]
Whoosh.
Using magic, Flamie crisply burned the venomous spiders clinging to its roots,
Creak.
and extended its roots again.
As Flamie kept burning the spiders and spreading its roots,
[Oh?! There’s a farm here too?]
Flamie discovered a farm on the 23rd floor of the Purple Tower.
Creak. Creak.
[Hello there, I’m Flamie.]
As Flamie greeted the plants on the farm with its roots,
[It hurts… please… help us…]
The plants, suffering from the venomous air in the surrounding, pleaded for Flamie’s help.
[Okay! I’ll help you!]
Creak.
Flamie wrapped its roots around the farm to block the venom,
[Yap!]
and used the first leaf’s ability, the Flame of Purification, to cleanse the farm’s soil.
[Now… it doesn’t… hurt… anymore… thank you… Flamie… nim…]
The plants expressed their gratitude to Flamie.
[From now on… we will… follow… Flamie… nim…]
The plants of the farm decided to follow Flamie, who had saved them from their pain. Then,
Thunk.
A rolled-up document fell in front of Flamie’s roots. It was the land deed of the 23rd floor of the Purple Tower.
[Thanks, guys. Hehe. I’ll keep it and give it to my master!]
Flamie tucked the land deed of the 23rd floor of the Purple Tower among its roots and continued to extend them.
***
“Ah, I can’t eat anymore.”
Sejun, having eaten 50 plates, held his stomach, struggling when
Ppip!
“The fourth preliminary round has ended! The fifth preliminary round will start soon.”
The announcer’s voice signaled the end of the round.
And,
Krueng? Krueng!
[It’s over already? Cuengi wants to eat more!]
Cuengi, wanting to eat more food, was reluctant to leave his spot, ready to participate in the next fifth preliminary round.
“Cuengi, let’s go get the ticket.”
Krueng…
[Okay…]
Reluctantly.
Reluctant to leave his seat, at Sejun’s call, Cuengi sadly trudged over and clung to Sejun’s leg.
As Sejun and Cuengi went to get their tickets,
“Oh! You’re the one who ate 1200 dishes. Here’s your ticket to the finals.”
Krueng!
[Thank you!]
The operator knelt down and respectfully handed the finals ticket to Cuengi, then moved on to the other participants.
Since the cut-off for advancing to the finals was eating at least 100 plates, Sejun was eliminated. However, since his goal was just to participate in the competition, he was not too disheartened.
“Let’s go.”
Krueng! Krueng!
[Hehehe. Are we going to eat dinner now?]
Thinking Sejun’s invitation to go was for dinner, Cuengi grinned cheerfully.
As Sejun and his group were about to return,
“Chairman Park! Are you okay, meow?! Cheer up, meow! I’ll give you a better gift than the prize, meow!”
Theo ran over to comfort Sejun, who had been eliminated from the preliminary round, just with words.
Rub, rub.
Vigorously rubbing his face against Sejun’s knees, Theo seemed to be fulfilling his own desires rather than just comforting Sejun.
Then,
Krueng! Krueng!
[No! Gift from big brother is not needed!]
Cuengi exclaimed, upset by Theo’s words.
“What are you talking about, meow?!”
Krueng! Krueng!
[Cuengi will win the prize and give it to dad! And Cuengi’s prize is better!]
That was why Cuengi was upset. Cuengi also planned to win the prize and give it to Sejun.
But Cuengi felt hurt when Theo mentioned giving a better gift than the contest prize.
“Puhuhut. Challenging me, Vice Chairman Theo, meow?! No matter how good the prize is, it can’t beat my front paws, meow!”
Theo confidently stretched out his front paws, confident of his victory.
“Enough.”
Sejun quickly intervened to calm them down,
“Who’s fighting?! Huh?! This is a punishment. Booboobut. Booboobut.”
He picked up Theo and Cuengi, giving each a playful belly raspberry.
“Puhuhuhu.”
Kuehehehe.
The atmosphere brightened thanks to Sejun’s intervention.
“Let’s head back quickly. See you later.”
After bidding farewell to Minotaur King and Ulrich, Sejun ended the day and returned to the White Castle with the animals.
Of course, Cuengi ate dinner as usual back at the castle, as if he hadn’t eaten 1200 plates already.
***
The next morning.
Krueng! Krueng!
[It’s morning! Excited to eat again!]
Cuengi, the happiest when eating, was thrilled at the thought of food as soon as he woke up.
“Uhmm… Is it morning already?”
Due to Cuengi’s excitement, Sejun, who had been sleeping with Cuengi in his arms, had no choice but to wake up as well,
Krueng! Krueng!
[Yes! Cuengi want to go eat breakfast quickly!]
Cuengi urged Sejun to get up.
“Alright. But we need to wash up first.”
Sejun, being somewhat a royal uncle, couldn’t go out unkempt. He quickly washed up and headed to the dining hall.
Pyerorong…
Arriving at the table, Sejun saw the Black Rabbit, propping his chin and dozing off.
“Did things not go well yesterday?”
After leaving during lunch yesterday, the Black Rabbit didn’t return even for dinner.
Then,
Ppyak? Ppyak!
[Uncle, you’re here? Bring breakfast!]
The Black Rabbit, regaining consciousness, ordered breakfast to be served.
Kuhehehehe!
Cuengi happily started eating. Despite the Food Fighter Selection finals being in the afternoon, he didn’t seem to care.
“Black Rabbit, what happened with yesterday’s case?”
After eating a bit of his breakfast, Sejun asked the black rabbit,
Chomp, chomp.
“Meow…?”
Theo, eating a handmade churu made by a chef of the Red Ribbon Kingdom, perked up his ears.
Ppyak.
[Well… we couldn’t catch the culprit, but we found out they’re after the land deeds.]
“Land deeds?”
Ppyak.
[Yes.]
“Then let me help you.”
Ppyak?
[Uncle?]
“Yes. If the culprit is after the land deeds, I can use mine as bait, right?”
“Puhuhut. That’s right, meow! This case will be handled by Detective Sherlock Sejun and Assistant Theo-son, meow!”
Theo, who had been listening, suddenly jumped up and exclaimed. Puhuhut. It’s time to show the teamwork of Chairman Park and Vice Chairman Theo, meow!
Ppyak! Ppyak…
[No! The opponent is…]
The Black Rabbit tried to dissuade them, but
Krueng!
[Right! You can’t leave out Cuengi!]
Cuengi strongly opposed the idea of Sejun and Theo doing something together without him.
And
Krueng! Krueng?
[Dad, Cuengi wants to play detective too! What role will Cuengi have?]
Cuengi looked at Sejun with sparkling eyes, wanting a role for himself.
“Um…”
Sejun fell into a dilemma. Cuengi-jeon-il? No! If he appears, there’s always a murder case. Sejun immediately dismissed the idea that came to mind. (TL: Kim Jeon-il from The Kindaichi Case Files. MC Hajime Kindaichi’s name in korean version is Kim Jeon-il. And most of the cases involve murders. )
“Then…”
Sejun pondered again.
That’s when
“Ah!”
A name popped into Sejun’s mind. It made sense since the character was originally big but became small.
Besides, Cuengi was also good at knocking people out. There were many similarities.
“Alright. Cuengi, from now on, you’re Detective Cunan.” (TL: Detective Conan from Case Closed)
Kuhehehe! Krueng!
[Hehehe. Detective Cunan, good!]
“Black Rabbit, focus on the founding ceremony and the wedding. We’ll take care of everything else!”
Sejun confidently declared, trusting in Theo and Cuengi.
Ppyak! Ppyak!
[Okay! But don’t overdo it!]
The Black Rabbit responded with a worried voice. Meanwhile, he signaled the guard team with his hand to ensure Sejun doesn’t do anything dangerous.
Thus, Sejun, Theo, and Cuengi set out to resolve the murder case in the Red Ribbon Kingdom, along with the secret agent Golden Bat.
***
“First, let’s go to the crime scene and look for clues!”
Having received investigative authority from the Black Rabbit, Sejun and the animals headed to the crime scene.
But,
“There’s nothing…”
As the Black Rabbit said, the culprit left no trace.
While they were surveying the crime scene,
Krueng!
[Cuengi found a clue!]
“A clue? What kind of clue?”
Krueng!
[There’s a bad smell at every crime scene!]
“Bad smell?”
Cuengi, sensitive to smells, had discovered a clue. It was the smell of the chemical Reto used to dissolve the bodies.
Krueng! Krueng!
[Yes! Cuengi will follow the bad smell and catch the culprit!]
Sniff, sniff.
Cuengi confidently spoke and started tracking the smell to pursue the culprit. Now, It’s time for the great detective Cunan to shine!
Sniff, sniff.
As Cuengi followed the scent,
“Huh?! Isn’t this the place that sells fried carrots?”
Cuengi led Sejun to a fried carrot store.
Kuehehehe! Krueng…
[Hehehe. Sorry. Cuengi got distracted by the nice smell…]
Cuengi, seemingly embarrassed by his own actions, scratched his head. Lured by the delicious smell, he had instinctively followed it.
“Please give me five bags of those.”
Sejun bought some carrot fries,
“Let’s eat and then move.”
Krueng!
[Great idea!]
Crunch, crunch.
Sejun and Cuengi took a break to eat the fried carrot. It was a flavor and scent that could indeed lure Cuengi.
Then,
Sniff, sniff.
Krueng!
[It’s the bad smell again!]
Cuengi, while eating the carrot fries, picked up the scent of the culprit.
And
Krueng!
[Over there!]
He pointed to a figure with a face hidden under a grey hood.
“Golden Bat, follow from the air!”
(Yes! Leave it to me!)
The Golden Bat, which had been hanging on Sejun’s back, hurriedly flew off.
“Let’s go, too!”
Krueng!
[Just follow me!]
Dadada
Cuengi hurriedly took the lead.
But,
Krueng!
[There are too many smells here!]
Cuengi lost track of the scent. They had arrived at the site of the Food Fighter Selection Contest, where preparations for the finals were underway.
The smells of numerous workers setting up the stage, the scent of food being cooked in outdoor kitchens, and other strong surrounding odors masked the scent of the culprit.
“It’s okay. Golden Bat is tracking… Huh?!”
Sejun, while comforting Cuengi, noticed the Golden Bat returning powerlessly. It seemed the Golden Bat had also lost track of the culprit.
“Puhuhut. It’s time for Detective Sherlock Sejun and Assistant Theoson to step in, meow! Follow me, meow!”
Theo, hanging from Sejun’s leg, confidently raised his front paw, directing Sejun forward, while looking at him. Chairman Park, it’s our time to shine, meow!
“……?”
-Why are you looking at me?
-Clueless Chairman Park! Just go where I tell you, meow!
-Okay
They communicated through their glances.
“Let’s go.”
Sejun moved towards the direction Theo was pointing, along with the animals.
However, Sejun, overly confident in Theo’s lead, overlooked one crucial detail. Theo’s front paws had nothing to do with tracking the culprit.
Theo’s paws were specialized in finding objects beneficial to Sejun.
***
“What’s this?”
Feeling like he was being tracked, Reto quickly removed his hood and headed towards the location of his target.
“This is the last one.”
This target was a big shot, and after collecting the land deed, Reto planned to disappear immediately.
Thus, Reto approached the location where his target was. It was behind the scene where the stage for the Food Fight selection was being built.
“I’ve come to switch shifts.”
Reto spoke to the soldiers guarding a large tent.
“Bazark, what about Luda?”
“Luda? He suddenly said he had a stomachache, so I came to replace him early.”
“Really?! But Luda is Bazark’s weapon… Who are you?!”
“Die!”
Realizing his disguise was blown, Reto immediately threw poison-coated daggers at the soldiers.
Thud, thud.
“Kuh…”
“Gurk…”
The soldiers, stabbed by the dagger, fell down with painful expressions.
And
Step, step.
Reto quietly entered the tent.
Clatter.
“Who… who are you?”
The target, who was snacking, dropped the food in fear and asked with a trembling voice.
Just then,
“Chairman Park, over here… meow?!”
“What?! They seem to be poisoned?!”
The voices of Sejun and Theo were heard outside the tent,
Kuik!!!
Uren, Reto’s target and the legendary merchant, screamed at the top of his lungs, calling for help.
******