"Tbong!"
"...Haa."
"T-Bo-Bong!"
"...Haaaah."
Crash!
A juicy shattering noise reminded him once again that life was nothing but a hardcore sewer.
Another piece of pottery had been smashed.
That one—I'd heard it was a relic looted by the previous Demon King. Well, can't be helped. Yeah. It just can't be helped. This is all…
"My karma. My damn karma."
Kim Jangcheol let out a long sigh.
Then he looked at the scene of the "crime" where the pottery had just shattered.
There, a pure white baby dragon was puffing its cheeks out in anger, glaring at him with a full-on pout.
"Tbong!"
"......"
Right.
That thing.
The baby dragon discovered inside the Heart of Ice—no, the dragon brat. A rebellious little child—no, a baby dragon bastard who wouldn't listen to a single word.
Its name was...
"Tyrannus?"
"Tbong?"
"There's seriously nothing edible for you here. Can't you just calm down now?"
"T-Bo-Bong!"
Tyrannus shook his head furiously.
His expression clearly said "No way."
At last, the little guy began tapping his plump belly with his soft jelly-like paw pads.
"Tbong! T-Bo-Bong! Bong!"
"...Yeah, I get it, you're hungry. I even get that you want to go find food yourself."
"T-Bo-Bong! Bong!"
"That's why I gave you something to eat, didn't I?"
It was true.
Swear to God, it really was.
It was last night, wasn't it?
The 1st Star Master perished, and the remaining 1st Star legion followed to salvation. Of course, they weren't sent off empty-handed. There were still plenty of potatoes left. Thanks to that, they managed to gather thousands of sprouted seed potatoes.
And after that?
They left only a small security force on the cliff temporarily and returned to the Demon King's Castle. With that baby dragon—Tyrannus—in tow, of course.
That's when the trouble began.
'Why... why the hell... won't you eat the gold I'm giving you...? Why…'
Kim Jangcheol stared at the few gold coins still clutched in his hand. They were the ones he'd tried to feed Tyrannus, following Zephyros' advice.
"......"
Zephyros definitely said it.
That baby dragons don't eat regular food. They consume gold and treasures. That's how they fill their bellies and grow. And that Tyrannus seemed especially starving. If he didn't get some treasure in him fast, he might become feral.
The moment he heard that advice, he rummaged through the loot vault left behind by the previous Demon King. He scraped together what few coins he could find in the empty vault and brought them back, clutching them carefully.
Then he tried to feed them to the baby...
Chomp, chew chew...
"...Ptooey!"
That was the dragon's response.
He had taken exactly one bite out of the edge of the coin, chewed a few times, then scrunched up his face in total disgust and spat it out.
And ever since, he's been acting like this.
"T-Bo-Bong! Tbong!"
The dragon thumped the ground with his chubby tail, clearly upset. It was an obvious protest—Give me something better to eat.
"....."
Suddenly, trauma resurfaced.
Yeah.
Back in grad school, the professor's son was exactly like this. Every time he saw me, he acted like I was the family's personal servant—"Big bro, do this," "Big bro, do that." It was chaos. Total chaos.
Suppressing the surge of regret rising up, Kim Jangcheol spoke.
"...Hey."
"Tbong?"
"Can't you just quietly eat the coins?"
"Tbong!"
"They don't suit your taste?"
"Tee!"
"You almost puked?"
"Bong!"
"Still, wouldn't it be worth trying again?"
"Tbong!"
"....."
What was that just now?
I feel like something deeply inappropriate just passed through my eardrums.
'Tsk. This brat… is his palate too damn refined? Are regular gold coins not good enough? Does it have to be 24k?'
This was getting difficult.
To be honest, the Demon King's Castle didn't have much treasure left. Forget 24k—only scraps and leftovers remained from what the previous Demon King had looted from the human world.
But that baby dragon clearly looked absolutely starving.
Well, it made sense.
He'd been frozen inside the Heart of Ice. God knows how long he'd been trapped like that.
"How old is this guy really?"
Crash! Smash!
Tyrannus—no, Tbong—was leaping around again, breaking everything in search of food. As he used a table as a launch pad and shattered it completely, Kim Jangcheol sank deeper into thought.
From the outside, Tbong didn't look even a year old.
Maybe 6 months at most?
No, probably closer to 5 months?
But his actual age had to be much older than that.
"He must've been starving for at least a few decades, maybe even centuries. No wonder he's this hungry."
That explained the chaos.
CRACK!
"......."
This won't do.
If things keep going like this, the Demon King's throne room is going to end up looking like a trash heap on recycling day in a high-rise apartment.
"Tbong? Want to go somewhere with more food?"
"...Tbong?"
"Yeah. Over here. Wanna follow me?"
"Tbong!"
His eyes sparkled as he waddled after Kim. He looked just like a fluffy white puppy.
Suppressing a bitter smile, Kim led him down the corridor, up the stairs, around the corner, across the backyard swamp, into the dark cave, and finally...
...to the looting vault.
Creaaaak...
"Here. This is where the most expensive stuff in the Abandoned Lands is kept."
"Tbong?"
"Wanna take a look around?"
"Tbong!"
There was no other option.
If it was a matter of taste, then the person—no, the dragon—should choose the menu himself. With that thought, Kim guided Tbong into the vault of looted treasures.
Of course, he was still worried.
"There really isn't anything good in here."
Please let something catch his eye.
Please let him find something he likes.
Kim watched Tbong's tiny back, like he'd just submitted paperwork to his boss, or was awaiting test results.
And quietly, he prayed.
But...
"Tbong?"
"....."
"T-Bo-Bong? Tbong? Bong?"
Tbong turned back with a confused and dumbfounded expression, as if to ask, "Is this seriously the best you've got?"
"...Yeah, that really is the best I've got."
"T-Bo-Ong..."
"Nothing suits your taste?"
"Tbong..."
"Still, if you just eat something, don't you think it'll help?"
"T-Bo-Bong…"
Tbong slumped to the ground.
After running around wildly all this time, he must have worn himself out. He trudged back with tiny steps, rested his chin on Kim's foot, and flopped over.
"T-Bo-Ong... T-Bo-Bong…"
"Oh, are you seriously about to starve to death?"
"Tbong..."
"Hey, can't you just close your eyes and eat the coins, even if you don't like them?"
"T-Bo-Ong..."
"You're saying you'll puke?"
"Tbong..."
"....."
This is driving me crazy.
How the hell am I supposed to match this brat's tastes?
Kim Jangcheol was on the verge of losing it over this baby dragon he'd suddenly been saddled with. He even thought for a second about just freezing the thing back into the Heart of Ice.
But that was no longer possible.
Because—
After releasing this little guy, the Heart of Ice had crumbled into icy dust and vanished.
"Haa. I'm going insane."
It's not like he could just throw him away either. He was a dragon, after all. Raise him right, and he'd be an incredible asset.
'Phew. When I first found him, I felt like I hit the jackpot.'
Who would've thought he'd turn out to be such a massive pain in the ass?
No—more than that—
'At this rate, is this guy going to starve to death?'
This was starting to get dangerous.
Kim Jangcheol scratched the back of his head roughly.
He was worried, but no solution came to mind.
'...Let's just go get some fresh air.'
He scooped up the limp Tbong into his arms.
And stepped outside the Demon King's Castle.
Out in the open wasteland of the castle's front yard, the farming corps were sweating buckets. They were in the middle of shaping the final form of the newly plowed potato fields.
"Our Demon King! Our farming corps commander! Our youth association president, Lord Credos' instructions must not be forgotten! The mounds for the potatoes must be thick! Three hand-spans wide! One hand-span high!"
"Three hand-spans wide! One hand-span high!"
The farming corps shouted their chants in unison.
But despite their coordination, progress was slow. Grumbling and complaints echoed throughout the field.
"What the… seriously, what's with all these damn rocks?!"
"Rocks here, rocks there...!"
"We'll spend the whole day picking out rocks at this rate, sir!"
"It was the same yesterday—ugh!"
"This is infuriating!"
Agitated groans burst out from every direction.
And honestly, they had every reason to complain.
This land had never been used for farming before. It was pure, untouched wasteland, now covered with fertilizer for the first time in history. They were trying to turn it into farmland from scratch.
Of course there were countless rocks buried beneath.
And of course, they had to pick out every last one of them.
It was a grueling but absolutely necessary process.
'Phew, hang in there, everyone.'
Everyone's just trying to make a living here.
They just had to push through a little longer.
With that supportive thought, Kim Jangcheol watched the sweat-drenched efforts of the farming corps.
But then—
"…Tbong?"
Tbong, who had been limp in his arms, stirred and lifted his round little head. Maybe he'd woken up from the noisy shouts. The baby dragon stared blankly toward the farming corps and their hard work in the potato fields.
"T-Bo-Ong...?"
Was he… interested?
Before he knew it, Tbong was holding his breath, eyes sparkling, staring intently at the farmers and their glistening field of sweat.
"You're really that focused?"
It was a little strange.
Kim chuckled.
"Not that there's anything there you can actually eat..."
FWAAASH!
"Wha?!"
Before he could finish, Tbong burst from his arms and shot forward!
Where to?
To the potato field!
"Huh? Hey! HEY!"
Kim rushed after him in a panic.
But he couldn't catch up.
He was... way too fast!
"Stop! STOP!"
Tbong's white little body zipped toward the field like a bullet. The distance closed in the blink of an eye. Kim couldn't catch up at all.
'Shit!'
A terrible hunch stabbed through his brain.
'Don't tell me he's about to wreck the field again, looking for food—'
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
"Tbong!"
The moment Tbong reached the potato field, he launched himself at one of the farmers. The farmer's eyes went wide at the sudden attack(?).
"Wha—?"
SWISH!
Tbong zipped past the farmer in a flash. And in that instant, he snatched up a rock the farmer had just picked up from the soil.
Then he skidded to a stop!
...ScreeEEEEch!
"T-Bo-Bong! Bong!"
Holding the rock in his claws, Tbong executed an adorable little drift before coming to a halt. Then he stared at the rock he'd taken from the farmer.
His eyes sparkled like glittering beads.
Kind of like… the look I had on my face the first time I saw pork cutlet as a kid.
Crunch!
Before Kim could stop him, Tbong chomped into the rock. He bit, chewed. Crunch, crunch, crackle, crunch.
"T-Bo-Bong! Tbong!"
"......."
Not just one bite.
Two bites, three, and a clean, thorough finish.
Gulp! Tbong!
Finally, he swallowed the entire rock, flashing a grin of 10,000% satisfaction. Then, sniffling with his tiny nostrils, he eagerly began to scout the area again.
"Tbong? T-Bo-Bong! Bong!"
Plop!
He picked out another rock from the field.
And resumed his food show.
"Bo-Bong-Bong! Tbong!"
Crunch, crackle!
"........"
At last, Kim Jangcheol understood.
"This guy… he's not a gold spoon who demands 24k…"
He was a dirt spoon.
No—he was a rock spoon.
Unbelievable.
And then—
"T-Bo-Ong?"
Tbong, having just finished his second rock, looked up at Kim with his sparkling, dewy eyes.
And he asked,
"Tbong? T-Bo-Bong?"
"…What? Are you asking if you can eat all the rocks in the field?"
"T-Bo-Bong! Tbong?"
"O-of course you can?"
"Tbong!"
A giant grin bloomed across his tiny face.
Tbong.
Real name, Tyrannus.
Biological age: 3 months. Male dragon.
He officially became the high-performance rock picker and mascot of the farming corps.
Thanks to him, Kim Jangcheol was finally able to move on to the next stage of the potato farming project.
'Alright. Now that the rock problem in the potato fields is solved... next up is…'
…Sirgi, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. You're up.
His gaze, filled with silent purpose, zeroed in on the Cold Monarch.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]