A faint chill ran down their spine.
And that was only natural.
Just the sight of that—puffy and bloated like a diaper filled with crap—was enough. And the thought of having to wear it all day long…
'...Are you insane?'
The 3rd Star Master, Raster, couldn't help but think so.
And it wasn't just him.
Everyone here—Zephyros and the Four Heavenly Kings—felt exactly the same way as they stared at the farming cushion.
"All right, everyone's here. This is the farming cushion."
"....."
"What, no applause or anything?"
"....."
No one clapped.
No, no one even thought to.
They simply didn't have the mental space for it(?).
"...Well, yeah. I get it. You were just about to head home and enjoy a peaceful evening when you got summoned like this. It's understandable if you're bitter and annoyed."
Kim Jangcheol let out a light chuckle at the corners of his mouth.
He turned to everyone with a bright smile.
"But what can you do? From now on, you all need to wear this."
…Rustle.
As Kim Jangcheol gestured with his cheerful grin, everyone—Zephyros, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the 3rd Star Master—looked toward the neatly arranged farming cushions placed on the stone table and thought:
…Oh, god of the Abandoned Lands.
Oh, sacred spirits who watch over the demon race.
Or the great Demon Kings of previous generations, even the ones before them, and the ones before them—
Why is it that today, of all days, we must serve this man, and strap such a hideous(?) thing to our butts?
"..."
It was unfair.
It was embarrassing.
As advisors to the Demon King, as honored members of the Four Heavenly Kings, and as Star Masters with their own dignity and authority, they had never imagined such a day would come.
Of them all, the first to speak up was Zephyros.
"Excuse me, Demon King?"
"Oh? You don't want to wear this?"
"Yes."
"But you have to."
"...Why?"
"Because I want you to."
"....."
"You're not thinking about going on about unjust orders from your superior, right?"
"Of course not…"
"Oh? So you are thinking that way? Really? Seriously?"
"...My apologies."
"That's fine. I wasn't expecting any of you to find it pretty anyway."
Kim Jangcheol gave a bitter laugh.
Then he looked around at the farming cushions he had prepared—custom-made for Zephyros, the Four Heavenly Kings, and each of the Star Masters, tailored to their sizes.
They certainly weren't the most visually appealing things.
'Well, yeah…'
When he first saw this back in Korea, he'd had the exact same reaction as Zephyros and the others.
The memory came flooding back.
Was it back when he was still a freshman? His first summer vacation on campus? He had joined a rural volunteer program—not quite romantic—and gone on his first farming trip.
That was when he'd first encountered the farming cushion in person.
Even he had been shocked at first.
To think something like this existed. And even more shocking—it was considered a prized item by the local elders.
Honestly, it had made him laugh a bit. Part of him even thought it looked ridiculous. He couldn't help it. Anyone seeing it for the first time would naturally think the same.
Because it just looked like that kind of item.
But... once you actually wear it, your opinion completely changes.
He himself had scoffed at it before trying it. But that day, he experienced firsthand just how convenient it was.
They'll probably feel the same.
That's why—
Kim Jangcheol didn't bother trying to explain the usefulness of the farming cushion to Zephyros and the others. He had no intention of doing so.
This was the kind of thing you had to use to understand.
"All right, everyone. Put them on."
"....."
At his command, the first to react was none other than Hartok.
Zoom!
Archduke of Fog Hartok lunged forward, swift as the wind, worried someone else might snatch it first. He stepped forward with a stomp and reached out, grabbing the cushion in a size that looked right for him.
And he thought:
'I'll be the first to wear it!'
Because he was the superior one.
A being fundamentally different from the other Four Heavenly Kings. Even if the item looked ridiculous, if the Demon King recommended it—
Then it must have merits. I'll be the first to analyze and understand it. I'll show the vast gap between me and those inferior beings!
Fwooosh...!
Eyes blazing with enthusiasm, Hartok examined and analyzed the farming cushion he picked up.
How do you wear this? Is this strap for the waist?
His mind busied.
His eyes darted around.
He referenced the way the Demon King wore it. His hands moved quickly, if a bit awkwardly. Wrap, tighten, tie—finally, success!
"Hoo, hohoho… haha!"
Wearing the farming cushion—now fully fastened to his butt like a poopy diaper—Hartok turned with pride and scanned the room.
Or rather, he checked.
Just in case—just in case—someone had beaten him to wearing it.
"....."
Thankfully, no one had.
The relatively smart Zephyros had only just started tightening the thigh strap on his own cushion.
'...Hmph.'
Hartok's mustache twitched proudly.
His self-esteem ticked up about one centimeter.
Thanks to that, Zephyros, who had been intentionally slowing his pace to avoid finishing first, almost cracked a smile.
The Archduke of Fog... he really is kind of simple sometimes.
Relieved that Hartok had beaten him to it, Zephyros quickly picked up his pace and finished donning his cushion.
That roughly summed up the reaction from the "model student" group.
On the other hand…
"Why, must I, wear such a disgraceful, clownish item, and not just anywhere, but on the most embarrassing part of my body?"
Sirgi, the Cold Monarch, had eyes brimming with icy blue flames.
She was dead serious.
She thought that if she had to show herself wearing such a ridiculous thing, she'd rather bite her sword and die. That today would be a fight to the death.
But her firm resolve melted away in the face of Kim Jangcheol's nonchalant reply.
"Oh, if you wear it, you won't get dirt on your butt while farming."
"...Excuse me?"
"Really. Still don't wanna wear it?"
"Oh, it's not that…"
"Right? You won't have to awkwardly shake dust off your pants every time you get up."
"...Really?"
"Of course. Would I lie?"
"...."
"Surely our Sirgi doesn't like getting her pants all dusty and shaking them out like that... right?"
"Of—of course not."
"Right?"
"…Obviously."
Sirgi's face turned a faint shade of red.
At the same time, she thought:
My god.
I don't have to get my pants dirty?
I won't have to shake out dust every time I stand?
That means I won't get as much dirt on my hands either, right?
"...."
She was seriously tempted.
Suddenly, that farming cushion looked… appealing.
Chup.
Without a word, she held out her hands, and the cushion was passed to her. She even turned to Asurat—who was fumbling with his own cushion—and started nagging him.
"Tsk. You can't even wear something this simple properly?"
"...What?"
"Stop fumbling around so pathetically and just put it on already. That string you're holding—it's the waist strap."
"I know that!"
"Then hurry up and tie it already."
"..."
A wave of injustice surged in Asurat, who seriously considered challenging her to a duel out of pure frustration!
Next to him, Baal shouted.
"Baal! Finished wearing it! Demon King! Praise me!"
"...Tsk? That's not something you're supposed to wear on your head."
"Baal! Does not walk the same path as others!"
"Still, wouldn't it be nice to walk with others sometimes? Look, like this. Just like this. Got it?"
"Baal! It's tight!"
"...Just bear with it a little."
"It's tiiiiight!"
"...Tsk, learn from Tbong, will you?"
"Tbong!"
"See? Even Tbong wore it properly and is running around just fine."
"Tbobong! Tbong!"
"...."
It was chaos.
Watching the entire crowd noisily putting on their cushions, the 3rd Star Master thought to himself, then looked down at his own lower half.
"....."
Am I really going to end up wearing something like this...?
Well, if it actually worked like the Demon King claimed, it wouldn't be so bad. And if it helped relieve the joint pain of our corps members, even better.
…Or so he was thinking—
"All done wearing them, right? Then let's try sitting down. Think of it like sitting on one of those plastic stools from a bathhouse... I mean, just like a simple chair. Sit down on the cushion."
The Demon King's command rang out.
The 3rd Star Master sat down just as he said.
"...Oooh?"
"Huh?"
Admiration flowed from the mouths of Zephyros and the Four Heavenly Kings one after another. Their eyes wide, genuinely impressed by the comfort they hadn't expected, hadn't even imagined.
But the 3rd Star Master didn't get to share in that joy.
…Crrrunch!
Sitting down was fine.
At first, the cushion's soft padding seemed to cradle his rear nicely.
But then—nope.
Creaaak! Fwoooosh…
The cushion gave out under his weight with a pop. The air inside escaped in a whoosh. His rear sank.
Because of his own weight.
"Uh..."
The 3rd Star Master was flustered.
Did I wear it wrong somehow?
It was then—
"Hmm, as I thought."
The Demon King turned his way, nodding with a meaningful look.
Suppressing his confusion, Raster, the 3rd Star Master, asked:
"Uh, the cushion…"
"Yeah, I know. It totally caved in."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you didn't. You did nothing wrong. I just didn't make the cushion strong enough."
Kim Jangcheol's words were true.
He furrowed his brow slightly as he checked over everyone's cushions.
'Zephyros, Hartok, Asurat, and Sirgi's cushions are holding up perfectly... Baal's is a little risky though.'
The lighter ones' cushions still looked firm and full.
In contrast, the one Baal was sitting on hadn't burst yet, but it looked like it was about to at any moment.
'Tsk. This won't do.'
The 3rd legion members who suffered from joint pain due to their heavy weight—these cushions were made for them, and ultimately for anyone who'd be farming long hours.
But at this rate?
The ones suffering the most right now wouldn't even be able to use them.
'Most of them aren't as heavy as the 3rd Star Master, but they're about Baal's size or a bit lighter. If we keep using cushions like this, they'll either get crushed flat or burst halfway through the day. They'll completely lose their function.'
He didn't even need to see it—it was obvious.
'The problem lies in the cushion materials.'
What should he do?
What material would work best?
His brainstorming began.
'We can't keep using dried potato stems and air inside leather pouches. I need something lightweight but durable... Wood, maybe? No, that won't work.'
Wood was out of the question.
It was one of the rarest and most precious materials in the Abandoned Land.
'Then maybe carve solid stone into a cushion? Tsk. That's no good either. It'll only make things heavier and destroy everyone's joints even faster.'
What about twisting rope into a cushion?
'...That won't do either. Rope is made from plant fibers, and that's just as precious as wood. There's no way to mass-produce that.'
So then what?
The problem gnawed at him for days and nights.
It became a daily test involving Baal and the 3rd Star Master.
Literally every material they could find was tried.
He filled a leather pouch with sloshing water—pop. It burst.
He tried stuffing it with compost—Baal and the 3rd Star Master's sense of smell got obliterated.
He filled a pouch with only air and wrote "perseverance" on it—Raster teared up just looking at it.
"...Demon King?"
"Yeah?"
"...Never mind."
"Sorry… Tsk."
Still, it wasn't all for nothing.
'Of all the tests, the one that showed the most promise was... the one made by layering dozens of pelts. Haah, but even that's not easy to get.'
The biggest issue was sourcing the materials.
As his thoughts deepened, so too did the furrow in Kim Jangcheol's brow.
…Kiiiiiiiiing!
Suddenly, across the once peaceful region of the Demon King's castle, a grand and ominous alarm rang out.
It was the barrier installed by the former Demon King, Moderato, the moment he ascended the throne—triggered by the approach of the only existence he ever feared.
The Witch of Melody, Artanis.
[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 ]