Season 4: Chapter 106. Servants (2)
The Cheese Village project meant a lot to Ju-Hyeok. Unlike Almond’s past events, he had actually helped with the planning.
‘It’ll do well... right?’
For the first time, he wasn’t only worried about Almond’s stream succeeding or failing. He was also concerned about whether the project itself would take off. Seeing Almond at the center of the teaser pleased him, but the event itself also needed to succeed.
[Kim Ju-Hyeok: How’s Cheese Village looking?]
He kept messaging the people involved for updates.
[PD Jang: The teaser looks good. I think it’ll go well.]
At least PD Jang seemed optimistic.
[Go Ah-Sung: Almond looked amazing this time!! Haha, I’ve got a good feeling!]
[Joo Ok-Ji: We pushed Almond hard! \o/\o/]
The pro-Almond staff on the Cheese side sounded equally satisfied. They were watching Almond’s career almost as closely as Ju-Hyeok himself, so of course they’d be pleased.
“The video has to trend, though...”
What weighed on him most was its ranking.
Tap. Tap.
He nervously tapped his pen against his desk. The start wasn’t bad.
[#37 – Real-Time Trending Videos]
They had cracked the top fifty right away, but the problem was the channel’s algorithm.
[Cheese_Official]
Anyone who watched much YouTube knew what an official channel meant. Dry, corporate uploads rarely drew big numbers. The growth there wouldn’t be as fast.
‘It’s hard to tell yet.’
The top thirty would already seem good enough to some, but not to Ju-Hyeok. With how much content flooded the platform these days, a slow climb meant getting buried.
‘With this budget and this cast, getting number one should be obvious.’
He wanted dominance in first place. Given the talent and money involved, anything less felt disappointing.
The viewership graph suddenly spiked.
‘What the...?’
It didn’t just rise. It shot up like a cliff face. That kind of surge meant traffic was coming from somewhere else like a big community site.
Click-click.
Ju-Hyeok pulled up LIL Pro. Sure enough, the Cheese Village teaser appeared on the Big board.
[Big: Lazy Soldier wrecks Cheese Village too]
At first, LIL Pro hadn’t cared much about Cheese Village. Some chattered early on about streamers fighting each other, but it was niche. The community had returned to being drowned in LIL Champs discussions, which was its bread and butter.
‘But it’s LIL Champs season right now... How?’
It was the middle of the spring split. Fans were supposed to be brawling online about which pro was playing well or who to bench. Why was Cheese Village suddenly topping the board? The reason was almost laughable.
— Better bring in Lazy Soldier instead of Sprite.
— Almond is doing fine these days...
— Honestly, who’s better, Sprite or Lazy Soldier?
└ You think winning a tournament with Bubblegum means nothing? Don’t even compare.
A star ADC on Team CK was playing terribly, and the backlash was massive because CK had one of the biggest fan bases. Calls for his replacement flooded in. Of course, no other pros were available mid-season.
[What do you mean none? Just sign a streamer lol]
[WELCOME Lazy Soldier!]
[He literally won nationals. Stop pretending he’s not a pro. Bring Almond!]
People began joking that Almond would be better. A few of those posts hit the Big board. From there, spin-offs showing Almond’s rampage in Cheese Village also reached the top.
— WELCOME CK Lazy Soldier. FAREWELL Sprite.
— I miss you Lazy Soldier...
— Cheese Village? Is that the collab stream thing?
...
Scrolling through, Ju-Hyeok dryly laughed. “What a ridiculous stroke of luck...”
A struggling pro player he hadn’t even known about was now driving traffic their way.
***
Almond’s streak of strange fortune didn’t stop there.
“C-Call me... Maid Black Tea.” Black Tea, unexpectedly, had agreed to the name change.
— ??
— For real??
— LOL
— She’s ditching the Nonghyup Union?
— HAHAHA
— Her house is literally burning down, what else can she do?
— Quick decision. Challenger indeed
Viewers felt stunned that the loyal Black Tea had switched sides so quickly, but she had to honor it once she agreed.
“Kill!” At Almond’s shout, the servant squad charged.
“Yes, sir!”
Shhhrrraaaak!
Clad in full iron armor, they moved in perfect sync with overwhelming power. An ex-pro like Sweet Radish together with Almond was more than enough to push back the Ahwooolves.
— Goddamn
— So cool
— Farmers are terrifying...
— Wtf they’re insane
— The grip strength of farmers is no joke
“This way!”
Thunk.
Almond and his servants carved a retreat path, guiding Black Tea and Lemon to safety. At last, they could breathe.
Then, Lemon turned to her sister with teary eyes. “U-Unnie... why did you agree to be Maid Black Tea? Was it because of me?”
She looked guilty, thinking Black Tea made the sacrifice for her sake.
Black Tea shook her head and whispered, “That’s not it, Lemon. I’m just playing along. For now.”
— ?
— Wait what
— LOL
— How’s she planning to spin this?
— Wow lmao
— No way
— But they literally saved you?
Black Tea explained on their private channel, “Saved us? No. Remember Sweet Radish’s field? It had nothing earlier.”
That was why the monsters swarmed their farm. Why did Almond’s squad rush over so quickly? Why did the wolves appear at her place specifically?
“They knew. They knew the monsters would come here.”
— ?
— So what?
— Wait
— Oh crap
— No way
“What do you mean? How could they know?”
“Sweet Radish sold his land.”
Somehow, Sweet Radish had sold off most of his farmland beforehand. That meant they had set Black Tea up.
— Holy shit
— What the...
— No way
— For real??
— A farmer selling land?? LMAO
— It didn’t even show in the trade logs???
It sounded too absurd to believe, but Black Tea couldn’t deny it after digging up the soil and seeing it herself earlier. Because of Sweet Radish’s sale, their land shrank even smaller than her property, funneling monsters straight toward her. It wasn’t a coincidence. It had been a setup.
“Then, they tell me to become Servant Black Tea the moment they show up? Could they be any more obvious?” Black Tea scoffed at their transparent scheme.
— Goddamn
— This is Challenger ADC tier?!
— Potato Servant is desperate for a junior lmao
— Classic Challenger
— That’s it
— Is Almond about to get played?
“Hey, Maid Black Tea.” Almond approached.
He had no idea what Black Tea was thinking.
“Yes, sir!” Black Tea answered crisply and shot to her feet.
“You’ll really be Maid Black Tea?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
Though tense, Almond didn’t look suspicious. Instead, he began pulling some things out of his pack and laying them down.
Thud. Thud.
[Iron Armor]
[Iron Helmet]
[Iron Sword]
...
Black Tea’s eyes went wide. “What’s this...?”
“For Maid Black Tea.” Almond gave her a thumbs-up.
‘What?’
They were just giving her this? Her resolve wavered.
“Th... Thank you.”
— This is acting, right?
— What the hell?
— Her expression is cracking hahaha
— She looks shaken lol
“Put it on and fight.”
“Y-Yes...”
The dazed Black Tea quickly equipped the gear.
Lemon raised her hand and saluted. “M-Mr. Almond! Me too! I have to go with my sister anyway! I’ll become... Lemon Servant!”
She winked at Black Tea, but Almond didn’t notice.
— Lemon Servant lmaoo
— Beautiful
— She’s infiltrating too?
— What’s with the military act?
— Farmer spies are wild
— Lemon Servant acquired hahaha
“Oh?” Impressed by her salute, Almond handed Lemon a full iron set as well.
He acted so casually as if he possessed limitless resources.
Thud.
“Lemon, that means you’re joining our knight order.”
“Knight order?”
“Yeah. We’ll protect people and collect protection fees.”
“T-That sounds like a gang...”
“It’s a knight order.”
“Y-Yes! A knight order!”
Almond didn’t just hand out gear because they joined his faction. He wanted to use them to form a knight order. In reality, it would function more like a private security company.
“I’ll explain the details later. Just wear it.”
“Yes, sir!”
Shffft.
Lemon quickly donned her new armor.
“Lemon,” Black Tea whispered her name.
They locked eyes, and Black Tea gave the faintest nod.
‘If the chance comes, we’ll betray them.’
Receiving the iron gear had shaken her for a moment, but Black Tea steeled herself again.
‘Got it, unnie.’
Even with the shiny armor, Lemon followed her sister’s will and nodded back.
***
Fwoooosh!
Black Tea’s house continued burning as the monsters smashed everything nearby.
“Grhh?”
Some turned their gaze toward the humans.
Potato Servant muttered, “Damn, there are way too many. Shouldn’t we retreat?”
They only had five members compared to the forty or at least thirty wolves.
“M-Maybe we should retreat...” Radish Servant suggested the same.
Almond shook his head. “It’s fine. We can handle it.”
Though the monsters outnumbered them, three of them were highly skilled with full iron sets. It wasn’t impossible.
“R-Really?” Potato Servant sounded doubtful. He couldn’t understand Almond’s confidence.
“Yeah. Radish Servant, do you know the secret to surviving in a corporate office long-term?”
“What is it?”
“Debt, you take on debt.”
Almond’s old manager at Ah-Sung had once given him this nugget of life advice, but why did he bring that up now?
“If you lose here, your debt gets extended.”
“What?!”
“I gave you iron gear, didn’t I? That wasn’t free. It’s all debt.”
— HAHAHAHAHAHA
— This is insane lol
— Like a shady idol agency manager
— He gave it like a trust token but it’s debt??
— You’re falling for it again, servants!
The servants looked bewildered.
Almond pressed on quickly. “Do well here, and our knight order becomes a sustainable business. Then you can pay off your iron gear debt, your Fertile Soil debt, and everything else. We all get rich.”
“A-And if we fail?”
“Then the knight order collapses, the servants disappear, and all you’re left with is the iron gear debt. The ratio of our split profits will also remain the same.”
What? Almond had started a business all on his own, and if it failed, they would be stuck with the debt. It sounded absurd, but it was their reality. The thought of losing a new junior made Potato Servant’s eyes waver. Hearing that the split ratio would be maintained also made Radish Servant’s stomach drop.
‘Dammit. We can’t stay stuck at seven-to-three forever.’
They had to pay off the Fertile Soil debt quickly to move forward. For that, the knight order needed to thrive.
Radish Servant grit his teeth and drew his blade. “We just need to hold until sunrise, right? Let’s do it!”
“Right! Dammit, let’s try!!”
Their fighting spirit flared. The iron gear really had been meant as a gesture of trust and not actual debt. Almond hadn’t planned on collecting from it, but so be it if it boosted their morale. Now, their eyes burned with determination.
“We’ll kill them all! Kill them all!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Even Black Tea and Lemon, from the Nonghyup Union, shouted the same.
“We have to protect it!”
“We must!”
Whether for the knight order or the Nonghyup Union, it was still their home. The five united for different reasons.
Almond raised his sword. “Almond Knight Ordeeer!”
Clang!
He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Chargeee!!!”
The members of Almond’s Knight Order followed after him.
“Waaaaahhhh!!”
“Kill themmm!!”
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!
Five of them plunged into the fray. Some to break free of debt, and others to defend their home.
— LMAO
— Feels like a national championship but it’s just pop pop pop
— Only five of them hahaha
— They’re desperate but look so small lol
— Kruuhhh let’s gooo
— Valhallaaaa!