Season 4: Chapter 114. Nonghyup Union vs. The Knights (5)
Black Tea’s statement shattered the Nonghyup Union’s leadership.
“W-What? She says she’ll stay there even though she knows she was baited?”
“Exactly! She was going to spy for us at first, but we kept treating her like a traitor! Of course, she switched sides!”
“This was a total blunder! If we’d just left it alone, we could’ve had it both ways! But no, we had to poke the hornet’s nest!!!”
It was chaos. Not just because Black Tea chose to remain despite knowing she’d been deceived. More importantly, she had actually leaned toward the Nonghyup Union until very recently. They had stirred things up so much that she fully turned to the Knights. In other words, it wasn’t Almond or the monsters who pushed her away. The Nonghyup Union itself had done so.
“We must not be fooled by Black Tea’s sly tongue!” Donuts sprang up and shouted in a panic. “She’s like a cheater saying, ‘My partner didn’t love me enough!’ It’s the same old excuse! Black Tea is just shifting blame for her betrayal onto us!”
As the one most responsible, he had to make an urgent defense.
Then, Green Tea suddenly snapped unexpectedly. “W-Why would you use that analogy! I’m already upset enough!”
— LOOOOOOL
— Ah
— Yikes;
— AHAHAHA
— Fr tho
— Poor Green Tea T_T
— Should’ve kept quiet T_T
Whether Donuts’s analogy fit or not, the tide could no longer be reversed. A group of villagers appeared with placards and surrounded him.
“Boooooo! Free Black Tea from the Nonghyup!”
“Nonghyup! Guarantee labor rights for your affiliated farmers!”
— ???
— LOL what now
— Who are these people? hahahaha
— No way lol
Their signs read: [Nonghyup Labor Union].
“Guarantee the right to change jobs!”
“Calling a transfer betrayal? Get real!”
That was the crux of it. The Nonghyup Union was, regardless of what anyone said, essentially a profit-driven company. Leaving for another place didn’t equal betrayal, yet Donuts and the leadership kept calling it exactly that. Of course, certain villagers gathered to protest.
“Ugh, every kind of clown shows up as the crowd grows!” Donuts flared, speechless with exasperation.
— LOOOOOL facts
— Running a company is rough
— Why not just grab a sword and join the Knights~?
— So hard to be the “righteous” faction...
In front of the entire village, the Nonghyup had lost Black Tea. It felt like they wouldn’t be able to raise their heads for a while.
***
“This... looks like a perfect opening.”
Swish.
Someone rose from the bushes at the edge of the produce market.
“If we pop this seed of conflict, bam! Wouldn’t it lead to bloodshed?”
Zelo just wanted to start a war to sell iron ore.
— ?
— What’s he planning
— This guy is dangerous lol
— All this to sell iron ore? Hahaha
— Unhinged... truly unhinged...
“Look, who will buy bullets if no one is shooting guns? I don’t have a choice.”
“But how do we escalate the conflict?” Choco Shroom asked.
“Isn’t it over now?”
“We’ll sow discord between them.”
“How?”
“The Knights are stronger right now. We need to give them a reason to wipe out the Nonghyup. Once there’s conflict, iron will suddenly matter.”
“Oooh... and how do we do that?”
In truth, Zelo’s plan went far beyond simple provocation.
“So... Choco Shroom, they say you’re a demolition expert. True?”
“Yes.”
“If I take Miner as a second class, I can craft bombs. And I’ve got a lot of Miner coins saved up.”
His plan was terrorism.
— He’s completely insane lol
— Wow hahahaha
— He’s actually going for terrorism??
— Now that’s politics
— LOL, pretend to be Nonghyup??
***
Almond, the servant duo, and the new servants all gathered again at Sweet Radish’s house. They extended their short arms and stacked their plump hands. With Black Tea fully resolved, they could officially declare the founding of the Knight Order.
All eyes turned to Almond for a few ceremonial words. Almond wasn’t sure what to say, so he recited something he’d heard often.
“Though we were born on different days, from today onward, we die on the same day and at the same hour.”
No one answered right away.
‘That serious?’
‘Isn’t that a bit much?’
‘What if we all just die...?’
— LOOOOOL
— What’s with the silence? hahaha
— Can they be Knights with this attitude?!
— Honestly, that’s a bit extreme lol
“Um... how can we die at exactly the same time? Haha...” Maid Black Tea said awkwardly.
Almond nodded. “Then, I’ll allow a one to two hour difference.”
— LOOOOOOL
— Hahaha
— Only one or two hours?
— Scheduling our seppuku within a two-hour window lol
— I’m crying lmao
Radish Servant quickly bowed his head. “U-Understood!”
As the first follower, he knew Almond’s temperament well. If they kept nitpicking, nothing would get done.
“We may not die at the same moment, but we’ll die within one or two hours!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
With chants from the servants, the Knight’s founding ceremony wrapped up.
“Knights for Almond!”
“Knights for Almond!!”
— LOOOOOL
— AHAHAHA
— What’s with that chant...?
It wasn’t the most dignified name for an order, but what mattered was that it was finally founded.
Radish Servant poured a drink. “With the official announcement posted, the Nonghyup getting trampled at the market, and now that Maid Black Tea and Servant Lemon have properly joined... Soon, DMs will be flooding in from those eager to join! By the heavens!”
— LOL DMs hahaha
— Talking like a sage but saying DMs lmao
— LOOOL
At the same time, Potato Servant shouted, “In fact, inquiries are already pouring in! Ding, ding, ding!”
He made the DM sound with his mouth, too excited to stop himself. After all, there was no function to display one’s whispers to others in the circle, so this was the only way to show off.
— “Ding” hahaha
— Bro, that’s not a sound you make with your mouth
— LMAO
“Good. We’ll handle it later. I’m heading out for a bit.”
“Eh? Where are you going, sir?”
“Lunch.”
“...?”
“What, you’re not eating? It’s lunchtime.”
— So realistic lol
— Almond’s strict lunch schedule omg
— LOOOOOL
— Matrix broken haha
— No wonder the stream was long lmao
Almond didn’t eat much, but he never skipped meals. Now that it was lunchtime, of course, he had to leave. For most full-time streamers, stopping for meals was unusual. However, everyone had to adjust to the commander’s routine.
“Ah, haha... so this is the famous Ah-Sung lunch hour?”
“Ehehe! Seems so!”
“What do we do? Eat in shifts?”
“No, let’s all just eat together.”
The servants agreed to handle it that way. Before logging out, Almond left them with instructions.
“Eat well. While I’m gone, listen to Radish Servant.”
“Yes, sir!”
Clack.
The Knights for Almond saluted in unison. Radish Servant immediately shifted into a more arrogant and commanding posture.
“Hmph. Then I’ll give advance notice.”
“?”
“After lunch, the new ones, you guys tend to the farms.”
“Farmwork? What about interviews?”
“With your rank, who are you to hold interviews?!” Potato Servant barked, smacking Maid Black Tea across the head.
Thwack!
“And mind your tongue before the exalted servant elders!”
“A-Ah... yes, sir.”
— Oof
— That’s hierarchy for you
— LOOOOOL
— Classic
— Potato Servant would be a great junior to have (but not as a senior)
Maid Black Tea grit her teeth but nodded anyway.
“You only just received Fertile Soil. You need to reset your crop cycles quickly. And tonight... we carry out the big task.”
“Big task?”
“Yes, we’ll sell most of Maid Black Tea’s field today.”
Maid Black Tea realized that another Maid Black Tea would soon be born, but she was part of the Knights now.
“That’s fine by me.” She smirked at the thought of someone else suffering next.
“Who’s the next one?”
“That...” Radish Servant paused dramatically before declaring, “After lunch!”
“...?”
— Like a cliffhanger ad lol
— LOOOOL
— **#(@#&
— Ah come on
— So extra hahaha
Everyone left for lunch, leaving Sweet Radish’s house empty. In a corner of the vast field by the house, whispers could be heard from the bushes.
“Mr. Zelo.”
“Yes.”
It was Zelo and Choco Shroom.
“You made the bombs, right?”
“Of course.”
Clack.
Zelo lifted up a freshly-made bomb.
“And the sign?”
“Done.”
Clack.
Choco Shroom lifted a placard painted in red letters:
[The Nonghyup does not forget. The Nonghyup does not forgive.]
“Heh, heh, heh.”
The two looked at each other and grinned.
***
Whirrr.
Sang-Hyeon stepped out of his capsule.
“Ju-Hyeok, let’s eat!”
No response came.
“Kim Ju-Hyeok~”
Sang-Hyeon stepped out to look for him, but Ju-Hyeok wasn’t at his desk. Usually, Ju-Hyeok would already have a meal ready by now. The kitchen showed no signs of any cooking.
Shhhhhh...
Sang-Hyeon listened closely and heard the shower running. He opened the bathroom door and found Ju-Hyeok inside.
“Uwah! What the?!” Bubbles flew as Ju-Hyeok jumped back.
“What the hell? Knock!”
“Lunch.”
“I said knock first.”
“Lunch.”
“I’m eating with Ji-Ah.”
“Eh?” Sang-Hyeon tilted his head by the wide-open door. “Without me?”
“What are you talking about? Did you forget? You’re having lunch with your classmates today.”
‘No way.’
He frantically checked his calendar.
‘It’s not here?’
Nothing had been written down, so he grabbed Ju-Hyeok’s phone to check.
[Sang-Hyeon has lunch plans with old classmates]
[Date with Ji-Ah]
It was all there.
“Anyway, you still have time. Don’t rush.”
“Ah... right.”
He had about an hour left before his appointment, but another issue lingered.
‘What do I do?’
The Knights probably thought Almond would be back soon.
‘Weren’t we supposed to hold interviews today?’
He could message them by phone or through This World, but talking about in-game events outside was forbidden. After some thought, Sang-Hyeon decided.
‘I’ll leave a note. And put some iron gear in a chest.’
He’d leave a sign telling them to handle interviews on their own, and leave some gear as backup.
“Ju-Hyeok, can you drive me to the station?”
“Huh? Sure.”
Sang-Hyeon headed back to his capsule. If Ju-Hyeok gave him a lift, he wouldn’t be late.