AQLTF 14

Step- step- step-

The Little Wooden Soldiers marched in perfect rows and columns like they were participating in a military parade.

Minhyuk confidently entered deeper into the jungle under the protection of his elite escort.

“Wait. Halt.”

Click-!

And whenever they found cucumbers growing naturally in the wild?

Tap- tap-

They immediately harvested them.

[You have successfully harvested ‘Deserted Island Cucumber’.]

[You gained 4 experience points.]

[You have successfully harvested ‘Deserted Island Cucumber’.]

[You gained 3 experience points.]

Just like an illegal fishing boat dragging a gigantic net through the ocean and sweeping up every fish in sight, they picked every cucumber they could see.

‘Hmm…… Why do I feel like a bandit?’

Was it because he had only eaten cucumbers he had honestly grown himself until now?

He felt strange.

It almost felt like he had become a predator of nature.

“All right, army! Advance again!”

Clack-!

Anyway.

Fortunately, after the Blink Lizard incident, they did not encounter any more monsters.

They marched in perfect formation, stopping whenever they found cucumbers, harvesting them, and then continuing their advance.

‘This should be enough, right?’

Before he knew it, Minhyuk had gathered enough cucumbers to feed all of the meerkat siblings.

Just as he was about to return to the safe zone—

“……Huh?”

There was a red, ruby-like flesh sparkling among the bushes.

Could this be?

“W-wait…… everyone, stop for a moment.”

Gulp-

Minhyuk swallowed dryly and carefully approached to check it.

[You have discovered ‘Cherry Tomato’.]

Wow…… jackpot.

Ding-!

[Deserted Island Cherry Tomato]

-Grade 》 F

-Effect 》 Upon consumption, ‘Senses’ permanently increases by 0.01.

-Description 》 A cherry tomato grown under the blessing of special soil. It might be quite sweet and sour?

An unexpected windfall.

Minhyuk immediately picked one of the cherry tomatoes and ate it.

“Ahh- This is the stuff!”

Sweet and sour juice exploded in his mouth like fireworks.

The stimulating flavor, something he could not experience from cucumbers and potatoes, awakened his tongue.

As expected, was sugar simply the best of all?

[‘Senses’ has increased by 0.01 due to consuming a cherry tomato.]

Moreover, it had the effect of permanently increasing a stat.

‘Senses……? What is this stat useful for……?’

Strength and Agility were easy to understand intuitively.

Even without an explanation, he could roughly guess what kind of abilities they represented.

But Senses?

What kind of sense did it increase?

‘Taste? Hearing? Sight? Or could it be something like intuition?’

After thinking for a moment, Minhyuk casually shrugged.

“Well…… I’m sure it’ll be useful somehow.”

If it was good for his body, he was fine with whatever it did.

Besides, he had discovered a new food that could become a ray of light in his food storage, which had been filled with nothing but cucumbers and potatoes.

Why bother worrying about it?

Crack-crack-crack-!

Minhyuk pulled up the cherry tomato plant by its roots.

He planned to plant it in the safe zone and mass-produce it.

“All right, soldiers. We’re heading back now.”

Clack-!

After returning to the safe zone, Minhyuk checked the spoils he had obtained from the jungle.

121 cucumbers.

A bowlful of tomatoes.

Kkurung’s exclusive skill, 「Clairvoyance」.

And on top of that—

Casualties: 0.

Injuries: 0.

Kills: One lizard.

He had even mapped out the terrain around the entrance of the jungle.

“Hmm. That was quite a successful expedition.”

Minhyuk nodded with satisfaction.

But the most surprising part was that it did not end there.

Rustle- rustle-

Minhyuk took out the ‘lizard leather’ he had set aside earlier.

It was not shaped like a doll costume simply because it was called leather.

How should he describe it?

Perhaps like a neatly cut carpet or a blanket.

Ding-!

Anyway.

[Blink Lizard Leather]

-Grade 》 ?

-Effect 》 When worn, the wearer can enter stealth.

-Description 》 Leather containing the power of the Blink Lizard. An item material excellent for camouflage and infiltration.

“Oh?”

The effect was extremely attractive.

“Can I become invisible like that lizard?”

Minhyuk immediately wrapped the lizard leather around his body like a blanket.

[The power ‘Stealth’ is activated.]

Like an invisibility cloak from a wizard movie, Minhyuk’s body instantly became transparent.

Kkurung……?

Kkurung became flustered and looked around after Minhyuk suddenly disappeared from in front of him.

Feeling mischievous, Minhyuk poked Kkurung on the back of the head with his finger.

Ku, kkuurung……! Kkurungkurung?

Kkurung’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

[The power ‘Stealth’ has been deactivated.]

Minhyuk removed the lizard leather and stroked Kkurung’s head to reassure him.

“I was just playing a prank. Sorry.”

It was impossible to resist when Kkurung was this cute.

Anyway.

If he used this properly, it could be incredible.

While Minhyuk was away on his jungle expedition, obtaining cucumbers for daily consumption, cherry tomatoes, and mysterious leather,

the meerkat siblings remaining in the safe zone had completely tended to the cucumber and potato fields as instructed.

“Wow…….”

Minhyuk rounded his lips in admiration.

Clap-clap-clap-

The sight naturally made him applaud.

The cucumber vines had been neatly cleared to one side.

Not only had the existing farmland been thoroughly tilled, but the newly expanded land within the safe zone had also been completely plowed.

Even the seeds had been planted neatly, as if they had been planted by machines.

‘Is it because these guys live in groups and dig burrows?’

There was nothing to criticize.

They were probably the best recruitment in the safe zone after the Wooden Soldiers and Kkurung.

Ah, of course, Wilson was excluded because he was the number-one priority.

Kkuruk?

The meerkat believed to be the leader and eldest of the group tilted his head as if asking what was wrong.

“No. It’s perfect. Just keep doing it like this.”

Minhyuk immediately gave them two thumbs up.

“Good work, guys. You hungry? Let’s eat.”

Those who worked hard deserved to eat their fill.

Crunch-crunch-!

Following the safe zone’s ironclad rule, Minhyuk served them a hearty cucumber-and-potato meal.

They quickly moved their little mouths, devouring the food without restraint.

Then, as if it was extremely delicious, they rubbed their heads against Minhyuk’s legs affectionately.

Kkyurungkyurung-!

Kkororong-!

Kkuruk- Kkururuk-!

Of course.

Who wouldn’t love crops that had been personally grown?

They were on an entirely different level from things that grew naturally in the wild.

“But this isn’t the end.”

Kkyurung?

“Now, right away—”

He was about to give the cherry tomatoes he had discovered today to the hard-working meerkats as dessert, one each, when—

[EX-grade Merchant Elia is returning.]

“……Already?”

Elia had returned.

“Boss! I’m back.”

“What? Why are you back so quickly? Did something happen?”

Minhyuk asked worriedly.

How long had it been since Elia left for the Free Market?

Not even one hour had passed.

There had been an unprecedented amount of merchandise to sell, yet Elia had returned to the deserted island in the shortest amount of time ever.

Naturally, the reasonable assumption was that something had happened and she had returned before finishing her sales.

“Wooong- No, it’s not that.”

“Th-then…… why……?”

“Hehe, I sold everything!”

But Minhyuk’s assumption had been completely wrong.

“You sold all that? That quickly……?”

“Yup! People lined up and bought sooo, sooo much!”

Thanks to the customers’ enthusiastic response, everything had sold out in an instant.

Minhyuk felt an intense sense of joy.

‘Fi-finally……!’

In this age of widespread cucumber hatred—

Had their value finally been recognized?

The true value of Minhyuk’s deserted-island cucumbers—

So delicious that they were almost too good to eat alone.

Good for the body.

Good for the skin.

Good for stats.

‘May all our customers have an agile day.’

While Minhyuk was basking in the pleasant sense of accomplishment, the system window above Elia’s head began calculating the settlement.

[EX-grade Merchant Elia delivers the profit.]

[Sales amount 》 500 coins.]

The sales amount from 250 cucumbers.

Total sales: 500 coins.

[25 coins are deducted according to the settlement ratio.]

[You have obtained a total of 475 coins!]

Then the 5% merchant fee was deducted.

That left Minhyuk with a net profit of 475 coins.

A whopping 190 coins more than last time……

Ding-?

……Huh?

Was there something else?

[EX-grade Merchant Elia delivers a ‘tip’.]

A tip……?

[Tip received 》 100 coins.]

[5 coins are deducted according to the settlement ratio.]

[You have obtained a total of 95 coins!]

His balance had somehow become even more substantial.

[Total coins owned 》 870 coins.]

Minhyuk asked in confusion.

“A tip? What’s this?”

“Some man gave it to me.”

“A man?”

“Yup. He said he bought cucumbers last time. Oh, and this too.”

Elia handed him an envelope.

At the same time, all kinds of possibilities flashed through Minhyuk’s mind.

‘Could it be a cash envelope……? Did he give me a tip in actual money instead of coins? No. He already gave 100 coins. There’s no reason to give me cash too. Besides, you said he was wearing a suit. Wait, then could he be…… a businessman……? Is this…… a business proposal?’

Hmm.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed certain.

A capable businessman had recognized the true value of the deserted-island cucumbers and made a business proposal.

‘Hehehe. Whoever he is, at least he has a good eye.’

Was this how he entered the Royal Road business world?

A premium strategy?

Or perhaps getting into a department store?

Minhyuk checked the contents of the envelope with curious eyes.

“……?”

But what actually greeted Minhyuk was not a neatly prepared business proposal from a businessman—

『To the Cucumber Uncle.

Hello. My name is Seoa, and I go to Yulgok Elementary School. I’m in first grade.』

It was a handwritten letter written carefully in crooked, uneven handwriting.

“If she’s in first grade…… she’s eight years old now?”

But the man was wearing a suit.

Why was an eight-year-old child’s handwritten letter inside?

With suspicion in his eyes, Minhyuk continued reading.

『I was hurt very badly before.

My face hurt because of hot oil, and it hurt so much.

When I looked in the mirror, I looked like an ugly monster, so I cried in my room every day.

I didn’t meet my friends, and I didn’t smile because my scars looked even scarier when I smiled.

Mom and Dad kept crying and saying they were sorry……』

The handwriting was crude, and the spelling was a mess.

But the meaning was conveyed perfectly.

『But Dad brought home Uncle’s cucumber and I ate it, and then it started itching and all the scabs fell off!

Mom and Dad were so surprised when they saw my face that they started crying.

I looked in the mirror and smiled.

Now there aren’t any scars left on my face.

I became the pretty Seoa I used to be…….』

She had suffered oil burns on her face.

Her family had left them untreated because the medical costs were too expensive.

Then she had been completely healed after eating the deserted-island cucumbers.

The story of an eight-year-old girl.

『Now Dad doesn’t have to do hard work every day anymore.

He said I don’t have to receive expensive treatment from that bad company anymore.

Are you a magician, Uncle?

How did you grow such amazing cucumbers……?』

And—

The story of how one family had regained their precious everyday life.

『Thanks to you, I’m happy when I look in the mirror.

I’m going back to school too!

I’m going to play hide-and-seek with my friends.

I’m going to go to an amusement park with my family too.

I don’t know your name or what you look like, Uncle, but thank you so, so much for helping me.

And Uncle’s cucumbers are really delicious.

I want to eat them again.

-From Seoa, who smiles every day now-』

“…….”

After reading the letter, Minhyuk silently raised his head toward the sky.

The weather was clear.

But his vision was blurry.

“Ah…… damn…… those greedy bastards at that company…….”

Minhyuk was well aware of the abuses committed by magical-engineering skin treatment companies.

It had been a social issue that had been raised repeatedly.

‘They could obviously provide treatment much more cheaply…… but they deliberately insist on using expensive magic stones.’

All to maximize the company’s profits.

It was like how cellphone companies might deliberately design phones so that their performance deteriorated after a certain period of time even though the devices were still perfectly functional.

Because of this, protests happened frequently.

Minhyuk had seen the related news articles many times.

But until then, he had been indifferent.

He would simply scroll past them without paying much attention.

After all, it was something an individual could not solve.

At most, it was simply another social problem that would pass by in a few lines of an article.

Just one of countless issues in the world.

But after seeing the story of an eight-year-old child through a handwritten letter carefully pressed into the paper,

he felt something completely different from before.

Things hidden beneath the gray veil began to become visible.

As if a blurry afterimage was gradually becoming clearer.

He could picture the despair of a father collapsing in front of his door.

He could feel the cold silence of the living room against his skin.

The daily life of a little girl whose face he had never even seen kept flashing through his mind.

It must have been an incredibly difficult time.

Far too difficult for an eight-year-old to endure.

Drip-

A single tear he had barely been holding back finally rolled down Minhyuk’s cheek.

“Woooom? Boss. Are you crying?”

Ah…… damn it.

This was suddenly embarrassing.

What kind of pathetic display was this in front of a child?

“……No. I just yawned.”

“You look like you cried. Your nose is red too.”

“My nose always turns red when I yawn.”

Ahem-

Minhyuk unnecessarily cleared his throat before crouching down in front of Elia.

Then he slowly extended his little finger.

“Elia, let’s make a promise.”

“Yup. What is it?”

“You know the deserted-island cucumbers? From now on, we’re only going to sell them to people whose faces or skin have been injured.”

It was a simple agreement.

Not for ordinary beauty treatment.

But for those desperately in need of treatment.

They would be given priority in purchasing.

Things had been different now.

Back then, he could only helplessly watch from the sidelines.

But now, his circumstances were completely different.

“Cucumbers? All of them?”

“Hmm. That…….”

Minhyuk thought for a moment before speaking.

“Exactly half. So they can go to people who desperately need these cucumbers. For the rest…… each person can buy a maximum of ten. That way, they can’t hoard them or resell them.”

“Yup. Got it.”

Elia obediently nodded.

Only then did Minhyuk feel a little more at ease.

He did not know why.

Maybe it was because this choice could lessen someone’s suffering.

Or perhaps it was the hypocritical satisfaction he felt from himself for making such a choice—

“But, Boss.”

“Hmm?”

“What does it mean when someone’s face is hurting?”

Ah.

She had not properly understood.

“So…… people whose faces look strange? Their skin is red, or blotchy, or their noses are deformed, or their skin is melting like lava…… Anyway, you know people who look unusual? That’s what I mean by their face being hurt.”

“Aha!”

After Minhyuk explained it in a way that was easy to understand, Elia smiled brightly and held out a cucumber.

“Here, Boss. Take it.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly giving me a cucumber?”

“Your face looks strange too.”

Oh…….

Was she deliberately insulting him?

The remark certainly felt intentional.

“My ears aren’t pointy.”

“……I don’t think that’s why you gave it to me.”

“Woooom? What?”

Could she be taking revenge because he only gave her a 5% commission?

It was a reasonable suspicion.

But for now, he decided to let it go.

Anyway.

“You can keep this promise, right? Like the wonderful merchant you are?”

“Yup. Trust me.”

And so, the Cucumber Agreement was complete.

Now, Minhyuk was about to prepare a simple snack for Elia as a reward for her hard work when—

Sniff-sniff- sniff sniff-

The group of meerkats sniffed the air and smelled Elia.

Stars seemed to sparkle in Elia’s eyes when she saw them.

“Ku, Kkurung multiplied!”

The meerkats immediately shrank back.

Ku, kuruk……?

Kkyururuk……?

However, when Minhyuk nodded as if to say it was okay, they soon relaxed and began rolling around and playing with Elia.

“Hehe, come here!”

They had only just met, but they had already become friends.

Well, they were cute, after all.

“I guess they’ll introduce themselves to each other on their own.”

Minhyuk happily watched the meerkats and Elia before subtly turning his head toward the food storage.

That was where he had something else to do.

[Deserted Island Cherry Tomato]

-Grade 》 F

-Effect 》 Upon consumption, ‘Senses’ permanently increases by 0.01.

-Description 》 A cherry tomato grown under the blessing of special soil. It might be quite sweet and sour?

The cherry tomatoes he had gathered today.

They were delicious even when eaten normally.

They were incomparable to the ones sold on Earth.

But he knew a way to make them even more delicious.

It was a method he had already tested repeatedly with cucumbers and potatoes.

Growing them in 「Fertile Territory」 and harvesting them himself.

Moreover, Minhyuk had been growing cherry tomatoes at home since he was in elementary school.

That meant he had some know-how of his own.

In other words……

“Ptooey- ptooey- You’ve really found the right owner.”

Minhyuk spat into his palm and his eyes lit up with determination.

Cherry tomatoes.

He would definitely mass-produce them.