Thump♡
A crisp sound echoed as a jelly-mark praise sticker was planted on the back of a demon.
Tbong squirmed his glutinous rice cake-like hands and smiled brightly.
"Tbong!"
"Uh… uhuh…?"
The farming corps member who received the praise sticker was utterly flustered.
And for good reason.
'I just now…'
He had been constantly bickering with a 2nd Star Legion soldier, that flytrap pest control guy.
It wasn't just a verbal argument—it was a savage fight, practically a battle to the death.
No excuses. A literal fight.
Almost a full-on combat, really.
'And yet I… got a praise sticker?'
Something no one else had ever received?
Even though I was the one causing fights?
Why?
Seriously, why?
He couldn't understand it.
Just when a million question marks popped up in his mind—bloop bloop bloop
"Tbong! Tbongbong! Tbong!"
Tbong babbled with sparkling eyes, puffed out his chubby belly, and stood on two feet.
Then he flailed his short arms around enthusiastically, trying to explain.
"Tbongbong! Tbong! Tbobong! Bong! Ppong!"
He made a fist and swung it cutely.
Acted out hitting and getting hit.
Collapsed as if spent.
Then turned his head and let out a smug laugh, giving a fist bump.
"...Tbooooong!"
Finally, he raised his thumb—acorn-shaped—and looked up in admiration.
"......"
Was this… supposed to be touching?
The battle between me and the flytrap guy, and the process of mutual recognition at the end?
Did that… sincerity really come across?
"This…"
Tap, tap.
The 2nd Star Legion soldier who also received a sticker tapped his elbow.
Then he whispered,
"…I think I kinda get the criteria now."
"What?"
"Shh. Keep your voice down. I think, well…"
"You think?"
"I think it's not just about showing teamwork. There needs to be some sort of performance. Something that leaves a deep impression."
"Tbong!"
Thwoomp!
Did Tbong hear the whisper?
He pointed at the 2nd Star Legion soldier with both hands, trying to draw a circle above his head… but failed.
Because his head was too big and arms too short. His fingertips couldn't meet.
But still, everyone understood what Tbong was trying to convey.
Thanks to that, not only the two demons who got the sticker, but everyone nearby experienced a thunderbolt of realization, with no mercy or delay.
"…!"
Crack!
'W-What… it was about performance?'
'You're saying we have to deliver emotion, or leave a strong impression?'
'No way. Come on, seriously…'
'No, it's real. Even Lord Tbong acknowledged it just now!'
'Ah crap. This is bad.'
'Why?'
'I suck at acting.'
'Still, if you want the sticker, you've gotta do it. It's not like the others are good at it either.'
'…So if I just act well, I can become a Star Master?'
Tbong's praise sticker criteria was finally revealed!
From that day on—
At the compost work site.
In the fields where compost was spread.
Everyone's behavior began to change.
"You dare try to steal my compost?! Unforgivable!"
"Ha! Try and stop me, if you can!"
"Tah!"
"Khaha!"
Thud thud!
All over the place, mock battles and reconciliation acts, mimicking the first sticker incident, spread like wildfire.
But those who delivered awkward, predictable performances hardly ever got a sticker.
On the other hand…
"Take this!"
"Gugh!"
"Heh… how's that? The blade of vengeance…!"
"Yeah… it stings… quite a bit."
"Is that all you have to say before you die?"
"…Can I say one more thing?"
"Go ahead."
"…Your hands have gotten so rough, my dear little skylark."
"......"
"......."
"Diiieeee—!"
"…End scene!"
"Tbobong! Tbong!"
Those who delivered unexpected plot twists, or just nailed the action performance, tugged at Tbong's heartstrings.
But soon, things began to change.
"Tboong…"
As everyone focused solely on action performances, Tbong started showing signs of boredom!
"....."
Wow, he gets bored fast.
The demons were flustered.
But there's always someone who stays ahead of the curve!
Just when everyone was panicking about how the action-friendship-reconciliation skit no longer worked, a pioneer appeared like a comet.
"Hah, oppa? Are you crazy? Do you think marriage is a joke?! Huh?!"
"…B-But still!"
"Choose right now. That woman, or me?"
"But!"
"But what?"
"That woman… no, she... makes better compost than you…"
"......"
"I'm sorry… but I had no choice…"
"…Fine. I won't pathetically cling. But… I have one request…"
"What is it?"
"Just let me punch you once before I go…"
"…Huh?"
"I'll take that as agreement… I'm going to hit you now…"
"W-Wait a sec? Honey?"
"Clench your teeth. Bite down, okay?"
"…Okay."
Smack!
Bang! Thud, Fwoosh...
The pitiful end of a pathetic man who abandoned his devoted wife and had an affair! A single punch turned him into a corpse, his body growing cold—the tearful gaze of the woman, filled with resentment, clutching a clump of compost as she looked down at the body of her former lover!
"...T, Tbong!"
Tbong, his taste(?) perfectly targeted, clapped his little flippers with emotional applause.
Of course, a praise sticker was promptly and precisely issued.
At that moment.
Finally,
The demons at the edge of the field awakened to the diversity of genres.
'...Th-this is it!'
Dun dun!
A new world, where the horizons of understanding(?) expanded!
It all began from then.
With an explosive diversification of genres, all kinds of attempts and performances started overflowing in the field furrows.
"Lord Dragon King? This girl has prepared another warm morning for you today."
"...Nngh? Again?"
"If you delay like this, the soup will grow cold, so please cough quickly."
Cough, cough!
"...That's not the kind of coughing I meant..."
"....."
"Lord Dragon King? Oh no, you mustn't fall asleep like that again."
"......."
"Lord Dragon King? Lord Dragon Kiiiing?"
Even without stimulating action or dramatic effects, a sweet and heartwarming daily slice-of-life healing genre was attempted.
And naturally, this attempt was met with Tbong's beaming reaction and a praise sticker.
Meanwhile, another type of attempt was underway.
"Money! Money! It's money! If this project just finishes smoothly!"
"......Young master, shouting like that only makes you look even more hideous. Please smile less. Ideally, speak less. If possible, even try to breathe a little less."
"......"
"Young master?"
"...Doesn't matter! I don't need to be handsome! Money is everything! I'll be rich! Construction! Only construction! Safe! Ty! First!"
"But young master?"
"What?!"
"Just having money doesn't mean you'll find a girlfriend to share your heart with, does it?"
"........"
"Have you ever received a love letter, by any chance?"
"...That worthless, money-less letter?"
"But you can't buy that kind of letter with money."
"I can buy it!"
"You could probably only buy the letter itself."
"...I don't need emotions that aren't visible and can't buy even a single square meter of land!"
"Is that truly how you feel?"
"....."
"Doesn't sound like it."
"......."
"Sounds like you're jealous."
"...Grrk!"
"But young master?"
"Now what?!"
"I must report something to you."
"...What is it."
"Crying like that just makes you look dynamically uglier."
"That's the report?"
"Yes."
"......"
"I apologize."
"...You beat me to a pulp and then apologize."
"That too, I apologize for."
"...Whatever. Let's just dig. Let's get back to work."
A tale of a spade-wielding, money-obsessed, potato-faced young master, and the breathtakingly handsome swordmaster who served him!
This too succeeded in drawing out Tbong's squishy attention, his sparkling round eyes, flappy gestures, beating heart, and overwhelming emotions—resulting in a well-earned praise sticker.
And then there was...
"Y-Your Highness? What are you doing right now?"
"Huh? Can't you tell by looking?"
"N-no, I can't?"
"As my personal physician, sir, you really shouldn't be ignorant of this. I'm doing acupuncture. Self-applied."
"...Acupuncture?"
"Yup."
"You're not just engaging in hedgehog-style self-harm, are you?"
"This looks like self-harm to you?"
"Yes."
"Tsk. It's not."
"...Yooouuur Highness—!"
"Ah, crap, you startled me. What now, what is it?"
"Please! Take care of your royal body—!"
"I am taking care of it diligently, you know?"
"Yooouuuur Hiiiiighneeeess—!"
"...Ugh, seriously."
A courtly medical(?) diary of a frail crown prince treating himself in questionable ways, and the upright royal physician attending him!
This too succeeded in drawing Tbong's fuzzy little smile, soft applause, and a sticky sticker of emotion.
Beyond that, more genres kept branching out. A tragic romance centered around compost, martial arts epics, soap operas, mysteries, even thrillers and horror.
Thanks to that, the number of demons proudly wearing the indelible jelly mark of the praise sticker on their backs steadily increased.
And in the meantime, the cooperation between the farming corps and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Star Legion, which had previously been full of hostility, began to warm into real camaraderie.
The reason was simple.
They were putting their heads together every day.
They brainstormed, researched.
What kind of performance would deeply move Tbong next?
They collaborated, practiced, and experimented together.
In the process, they aligned opinions, clashed at times, made up again, learned to understand one another, and adapted to each other.
That whole process—
It was what forged their teamwork.
And by the time twenty days had passed, when all the plowing and performances filled with laughter and tears had come to an end—the demons, who no longer needed to be told to help one another, planted corn seeds in the fields.
A new season.
The Three Sisters Method.
Three teams for three crops.
The beginning of a season that would one day be called the legendary, miraculous turning point in the history of the abandoned lands.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time.
The party of Aged Kimchi, the legendary hero who had defeated the Demon King Credos over nineteen lifetimes, finally arrived in the royal capital of the Kingdom of Camilan.
And Reivaj presented the chuno to the king.
A commemorative audience that would one day come to be known as the beginning of the Super Potato Craze that changed the direction of the kingdom's history.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]