Season 4: Chapter 96. Radish Servant (3)
‘Did I... really hear that correctly? A hundred times?’
Sweet Radish doubted his ears. It wasn’t common to hear such a statement in a trade. Even the most ruthless virtual currencies didn’t fluctuate that much, except maybe when they first launched.
“So... you’re saying... how many times the standard soil’s value?”
“A hundred times.”
“Not a hundred gold, but a hundred times?”
“Yep.” Almond’s big head nodded, seemingly oblivious to the absurdity.
‘It wasn’t a mistake, after all.’
Now, Sweet Radish fully trusted his audio system. It was exactly a hundred times.
“You know that the standard soil is pretty high-quality, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard it’s the best soil in Cheese Village right now.”
Sweet Potato chimed in, “Ah! It’s not just good. It’s actually hard to get!”
“Oh. If you can’t get it, then just don’t buy it. We’ve got Fertile Soil.”
Ta-dah.
Almond pointed again at the beautiful black soil on the table.
— Hahahaha, ta-dah~
— It’s an annoying line, but Almond makes it somehow convincing haha
— The handsome ones can’t use logic, so they go for cuteness instead.
— “If you can’t get it, don’t buy it.” That’s savage, haha
Sweet Radish froze and stared at Almond’s sparkling eyes.
‘This guy... He’s a tough opponent.’
He knew Almond was good at the game, but hadn’t realized just how skilled he was at putting people in difficult spots.
Ding.
Just then, a whisper came through.
[(Whisper) SweetPotato: Hey, are you really thinking of buying it?]
Sweet Potato thought Sweet Radish was seriously considering buying it. Sweet Radish and Potato Servant exchanged glances before Sweet Radish replied privately.
[(Whisper) SweetRadish: What? Buy it? Where would I get the money for that? We’re pretty much broke right now.]
[(Whisper) SweetPotato: Really? But look at his expression. He’s definitely not backing down.]
[(Whisper) SweetRadish: Yeah, that’s true.]
Those huge eyes continued staring at him as if Sweet Radish obviously had to buy it. As if the price gouging and everything else were all just normal! From Almond’s perspective, no one else could afford it except Sweet Radish.
‘If not Sweet Radish, then no one will buy it.’
At the same time, Sweet Radish had his own concerns. Things weren’t looking great on his end. The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Sweet Radish sighed deeply and spoke first.
“Almond? Could you... explain it to me first?”
The large head tilted forty-five degrees. “What?”
Sweet Radish’s avatar turned from yellow to bright red. “A hundred times? Why is it a hundred times? The standard soil is already expensive enough! How can you even charge a hundred times that!?”
Hiss...!
Steam rose from Sweet Radish’s head out of frustration.
— Hahahahaha
— Aaaah, the effects, lol
— A hundred times is a bit extreme, lol
— Sweet Radish is finally snapping haha
— Wealthy people get the best effects
— What’s with the “what?” after calling out the hundred times? Haha
“Oh, so it’s because it’s a hundred times more.” Almond waved dismissively as if it were no big deal. “I can explain why it’s a hundred times. Hey, bring the chalkboard.”
Sweet Potato tilted his head. “But... I’m Sweet Radish’s servant?”
“Yeah, you’re the one who’s going to get it. Who else is going to get it?”
— Hahahaha, what is happening?
— Sweet Potato got kicked out, lol
— Is this an improv roleplay now? Haha
— Hahaha, Sweet Potato’s fate is sealed
Sweet Radish kicked Potato Servant as he left to fetch the chalkboard.
“Get it! What kind of behavior is this in front of a guest!”
“Ah, yes, yes. I’ll get it, but there’s no chalkboard...”
Sweet Potato almost got kicked out as he hurried away.
— Hahaha
— How did Potato Servant end up like this?
— What happened to Potato Servant? Haha, poor guy
“Sigh... One day, I’ll get my revenge. Where’s the sword?”
“Everyone heard that, Potato Servant.”
“Ah, no! I didn’t say that~! I was reading the chat. I’ll ban this guy!”
— Hahahahaha
— Hahaha, did Potato Servant get caught with debt?
— Hahaha, this is hilarious
A moment later, Potato Servant returned with a large board and paper.
Swipe.
Almond began writing equations on it.
“This is standard soil. If it’s Fertile Soil, the yield is this much higher.”
Sweet Radish and Potato Servant nodded as they listened to the explanation. The numbers made sense.
Swipe swipe.
The pen moved swiftly, and more numbers appeared.
“And on top of that, it saves on land costs, right? I’ve heard the price of Big Farm’s land from the NPCs...”
The numbers suddenly shot up, and the savings from the land were now included. This part was definitely understandable.
“More yield with less land used and reduced maintenance costs... Plus, farmers save time, and they can plant the seeds twice or even three times. With the right job skills, you could even plant four times if you control it right...”
Tap tap tap.
Almond kept writing. Then, he suddenly slammed the pen down onto the board.
“This is what it’s worth when you account for labor, land maintenance, and yield. Even then, you’re still getting a good deal, Sweet Radish.”
Sweet Radish became speechless.
‘What? Was he this smart?’
Then, a thought occurred to him.
“Wait, but even with all of that, it’s only about thirty times, right?”
Thirty times was still an enormous number, but it was nothing compared to a hundred times. Even with all of the factors Almond had explained, it only came down to thirty times the price of the standard soil.
‘Honestly, thirty times doesn’t sound so bad.’
After hearing Almond’s explanation, thirty times actually seemed reasonable. However, the price being offered was a hundred times.
“Oh, that’s because of the distribution costs.”
After all those complex equations and explanations, he simply summed up the rest with distribution costs.
— Hahahahaha
— Distribution costs, lol
— What are you going to do without delivery fees?
— Hahaha
— 70 times is the delivery cost? Haha
“What... what distribution costs? Didn’t you just bring it over?”
“I came over here at fifty percent slower speed. That time has value, and many people sacrificed to make this.”
“Huh?”
It wasn’t a lie. There had been many sacrifices.
“That’s what happened.”
Almond didn’t explain it any further. If he did, these people would likely go search for the village themselves.
— Hahaha
— Oh, so that’s what happened~
— It’s true though, haha
— It was a huge sacrifice, lol
“And also, I was attacked by Ground-Diggers on the way here. A lot of them.”
He even added that in.
Sweet Radish’s eyes began to tremble.
“It’s also part of my life compensation, which is very expensive since my life compensation includes all the Fertile Soil. The price of Fertile Soil doubles it.”
— What kind of logic is that? Haha
— Hahaha, but it’s not wrong
— Almond is talking a lot, it’s been a while, haha
— Just admit you want to raise the price to a hundred times
— When it’s for advertising, he’s so smooth...
It was clearly nonsense, but it strangely made sense.
Sweet Radish deeply sighed and shook his head. "Almond, no. Don't."
"Huh?"
"Please, just hear me out. Don't put your hand on the sword at your waist."
Almond, always looking for ways to take advantage of being the only one with an Iron Sword, paused for a moment. "Ah... It's just a habit."
— What are you trying to do? Haha.
— Haha, seriously?
— Are you planning to kill him because you think he's going to refuse the deal? Haha.
— Lmao.
Even though the Iron Sword was intimidating, Sweet Radish had his own reasons.
"Honestly, I can't even afford to pay thirty times the price."
"Why not?"
"Because of those damn moles you saw on the way here... It's because of them."
Sweet Potato suddenly burst into tears. "Ohhh! Those damn moles!! They ruined our lord's field! Turned it into a complete mess! I saw it with my own two eyes!!"
Indeed, Sweet Radish's recent farming results had been disastrous.
"The moles attacked just when I was expanding the business."
— Seriously, that’s strange.
— Haha, is this for real?
— Is this Sweet Radish's story mode?
— Lmao, basically, it’s over for him.
— Sweet Radish, three-star cleared! Am I right?
— Bro, let’s move on
The viewers used to Almond’s fast pace demanded to move on from Sweet Radish.
‘I’m broke too.’
However, Almond couldn’t do so easily. Merely possessing Fertile Soil didn’t make him a rich man. He needed to turn it into money to be truly wealthy.
At that moment, Sweet Radish suddenly slumped and pleaded. "There were so many moles! Sweet Potato and I barely managed to take them all out, but more kept coming! Please... Please, could you make it ten times the amount? I'll pay you back once I succeed!"
Sweet Radish's offer was simple. He would pay ten times the amount later.
‘There’s no one else who’ll survive here but me anyway.’
Sweet Radish knew it too. Even if he went bankrupt, he still had time. He was still the wealthiest person on this server. In other words, no one else could pay the right price. Fertile Soil was priceless, not because it had no value, but because it had reached a point where no one could afford it.
‘I’ll buy it for ten times the price now, and I’ll pay it back later. The soil difference is huge.’
Money was always like a snowball. The person who got ahead first would dominate the assets. In time, the price of the soil could be a hundred times more than what was originally paid. Sweet Radish had that kind of talent. He had come this far in just one day on the server.
"I'm confident, Almond!"
"Mmm." Almond pondered.
Ju-Hyeok's words echoed in his mind.
‘Ju-Hyeok said having the Iron Sword all to myself is a huge advantage...’
Looking back, Ju-Hyeok didn’t mean to just kill them if things went wrong. Almond's gaze shifted to Sweet Potato, who had fought alongside Sweet Radish. Now, a power dynamic had formed between them. Why was that? The fact kept nagging at him.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, Almond had an epiphany.
"But." He pointed at Sweet Potato. "How did you end up becoming the boss here?"
"Ah..." Sweet Radish chuckled and scratched his head. "I let him borrow some land, but he couldn’t pay me back..."
As Sweet Radish spoke, a chill ran down his spine, and a sense of unease washed over him.
‘Ah, no way.’
Sure enough, Almond suddenly stood up and looked down at him.
"Then... should I call you Radish Servant?"
— ?
— ??
— What the hell?
— From now on, you’re Radish Servant...
— Lmao, this is terrifying.
— Didn’t know a two-foot-tall guy could be so scary.
"Y-Yes? Radish Servant...?"
"I’ll let you borrow the soil for free."
It was an unexpected offer.
"We’ll split the farming profits."
Almond was trying to make him a tenant farmer.
"Tenant farming... that’s..." Radish Servant shook his head. "That would be for the best."
He couldn’t refuse.
Both Almond and Sweet Radish knew this was the only offer. Ju-Hyeok had hinted at it too with the difference in power.
"If I give it to you cheap, what if the moles attack again? Will you go bankrupt without being able to pay the debt?"
Sweet Radish couldn’t reply. He didn’t have the equipment to fight.
"Then, I’ll stop the moles. You can farm, and we’ll share the profits."
Almond had power with iron equipment. He had just defeated the remaining moles without breaking a sweat. Sweet Radish could continue farming, and they would share the profits.
‘To be Radish Servant... Would that be worth it?’
A life as Radish Servant didn’t sound so bad.