“These days….”
Sara spoke with a haughty air.
“I need a Hall of Diligent Governance, too.”
Once again, his office was bustling. On his right, the Facilities Team Shinsomi all sat with fierce eyes.
On his left, the Promotion Team stood around, wearing blank faces as if to say, ‘I don’t know anything~’.
The first to speak, as always, was the representative Shinsomi of Farming Team 3, who had been especially upset today.
“Our Farming Team,”
With the solemnity of a general heading to the battlefield.
“From this moment, we will suspend all cooperation with the Promotion Team.”
“What? Why?”
Mujae’s voice, full of injustice, echoed through the office. But the representative’s voice was unwavering.
“Without any prior notice, the Promotion Team’s sudden live broadcast damaged our image.”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
Hallakgoong replied calmly.
“When the Farming Team agreed to cooperate with our Promotion Team, we thought that meant you accepted the possibility of everything being broadcast.”
“When did we ever say that?!”
“We set up cameras the moment we received the field.”
Hallakgoong’s even tone resonated through the office.
“As with all new Farming Team members, we intended to film from the land reclamation stage.”
“!”
“The Promotion Team asked us to teach them from the basics, and so we did, did we not?”
A faint smile played at Hallakgoong’s lips. His ability to be infuriatingly truthful shone through. The Shinsomis of the Farming Team all flushed red and pale by turns, chaos breaking out.
“That’s different from this!”
“The Farming Team knows nothing but farming!”
“Unplanned live broadcasts were banned by Ggotgam Officer Sir!”
“Now, now, let’s calm down.”
In the end, Sara stepped in to pacify the Farming Team.
Then she projected the laptop screen onto the white wall.
On it was a screenshot from the live broadcast that had aired just an hour before.
“I have a question too. Whose idea was it to plant Sweet Potato?”
“…….”
The rowdy Farming Team Shinsomis fell silent. Sara read out a comment from the screenshot.
“‘It’s the northern land of Western Heaven, it’s very cold, Sweet Potato will freeze to death… Did the Farming Team really not know whether Sweet Potato could be grown there or not?'”
Sara switched the slide.
Each time the Promotion Team criticized the Farming Team in the video, the mood of the comments grew more intense.
“Look here, ‘That’s the Farming Team’s initiation ceremony,’ it says. What does that mean?”
“…Sir.”
At last, the Farming Team representative stepped forward.
The face that had been flushed with agitation was now ashen.
It seemed there were things the largest Farming Team of Western Heaven would rather not have revealed.
“It seems we’ve had some misunderstandings.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“We didn’t fully understand the extent of the Promotion Team’s activities, and the Promotion Team didn’t know how tough our work is….”
“No.”
Mujae’s eyes grew round as he firmly interjected.
“The Promotion Team asked the Farming Team for two things. First, to film the Farming Team at work. Second….”
Mujae’s gaze swept over the Farming Team Shinsomis.
“To teach them from the basics. The Promotion Team requested cooperation, determined to endure even if the basics were tough.”
The Farming Team Shinsomis couldn’t meet Mujae’s resolute eyes. Mujae turned toward Sara.
“Sir, the Promotion Team would like to make a new proposal.”
“Speak.”
“Before any misunderstandings, it seems we were all trapped by our own prejudices.
“Prejudices?”
“The prejudice that ‘the Promotion Team hates farming.'”
A low murmur arose as the Shinsomis of the Farming Team grew noisy again. Mujae continued.
“The Promotion Team will complete the ‘Task’ we received from the Farming Team.”
“‘Task’?”
This time, the Farming Team representative repeated, realizing the Promotion Team was not as easy to handle as expected.
“Yes! Since you gave us land, we ought to plant seedlings and try cultivating them ourselves, shouldn’t we?”
“You don’t mean Sweet Potato, do you?”
“Not just Sweet Potato. Whatever you give us, we’ll try it.”
Mujae maintained an innocent, confident demeanor.
It was the sort of eager and upright attitude any organization would welcome in a new recruit—just not what the Farming Team wanted.
“The Promotion Team will farm directly?”
The Farming Team representative snorted.
“Yes, we’ll throw ourselves into it and learn as we go.”
Mujae grinned shamelessly.
“Isn’t this what you wanted? The enthusiasm of the new recruits.”
The Farming Team Shinsomis exchanged glances. Their anger and confusion faded, and ‘curiosity’ took its place. After some quiet muttering and a brief conference, the representative spoke again.
“Very well. But on one condition.”
“What is it?”
“We will provide the seeds. Ones suitable for beginners.”
Hallakgoong’s eyes grew sharp.
“The time frame is three months. During that period, there will be no filming of the Farming Team. You may film the Promotion Team as much as you like.”
Though it sounded generous, there was a clear undertone: as if to say, “What could you possibly film among yourselves?” Yet Mujae cried out as if truly grateful.
“Thank you!”
“But if you fail, you shouldn’t expect any further cooperation from the Farming Team.”
“Understood!”
Mujae beamed.
“Are you sure about this?”
After the urgent meeting with the Farming Team, the Promotion Team gathered once more in their office.
The mood was a bit heavy as they sat around Zack, who was sorting the video footage they’d recorded.
Hallakgoong looked at Mujae, who was grinning foolishly, with concern.
“It’s obviously a trap. What can we possibly do with such barren land?”
“This land is ours now.”
Mujae shrugged.
“We can plant and grow anything.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
Hallakgoong sighed. Zack gestured at Hallakgoong.
‘You should pick the seeds.’
“Me?”
‘You know plants well. Even if they give us weird seeds, you’ll be able to figure it out and get the same kind somewhere else.’
“That’s true.”
Hallakgoong fell into thought at Zack’s suggestion. After a moment, he nodded.
“I think I can handle it.”
“And now that we have a field, there’s something I’ve wanted to try.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Mujae at his words. In truth, Mujae had been itching to say this since the meeting. He finally blurted out the idea he’d been holding back.
“Let’s try cultivating a Monster!”
“?!”
At a glance, everything looked peaceful.
“Here are the seedlings, seeds, and the list.”
The Facilities Team Shinsomis handed over a big cart loaded with seedlings, sacks of seeds, and a single sheet of paper to the Promotion Team.
The list made it easy to see at a glance what kind and how many seeds and seedlings there were.
As the Promotion Team began pulling the cart away, the Facilities Team even cheered them on.
“Good luck, Promotion Team-!”
“You can do it! Give it a try!”
“…Thank you.”
It felt like a dream that only a short while ago, they had glared at each other like enemies in Sara’s office.
After exchanging awkward greetings, Mujae and Zack started pulling the cart.
Meanwhile, Hallakgoong compared the list with the contents of the cart. After a while, Hallakgoong tilted his head.
“…Nothing seems off.”
“Surprising.”
They had been sure it was a trap.
The Promotion Team thought the Farming Team would surely give them crops that didn’t match the climate or soil.
After all, the Farming Team had deliberately given them Sweet Potato, which wouldn’t grow in the cold climate.
Even the gentle Zack was gesturing a warning.
‘Don’t let your guard down yet.’
“I agree.”
Hallakgoong nodded. If it came to it, he was prepared to haul the cart to Mojongsa and swap everything out. There weren’t any special seeds like Carrot, Corn, Tomato, Green Onion, and the like, so there shouldn’t be any real problems.
“What should we try to grow into a Monster?”
“Shh, what if someone hears!”
The more time Hallakgoong spent with Mujae, the more he found himself losing his temper at him.
He tried lowering his voice and scolding Mujae, but it didn’t seem to register.
“Carrot? Tomato? Zack, do Monsters change depending on the crop?”
‘I’m not sure.’
Zack was still cautious when it came to talking about Monsters. But he always did his best to answer Mujae’s strange questions.
‘The only things I’ve planted are Wheat, Lentil Bean, and Pomegranate Seed. Each time, Father took care of the Monster.’
“Father? Come to think of it, what kind of person is your father?”
But this time was different. Zack gave a troubled smile and shut his mouth.
Hallakgoong shouted irritably.
“Ah, here—take some Lettuce! Just grow Lettuce!”