24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 123

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 123

 

Episode 123. Babel Official Top Seller (4)

 

Manti walked toward me with silent cat steps, padding softly.

 

“Is it a cat that roams free in the market? Do you know this cat, unnie?”

 

“Meow.”

 

Completely ignoring Kang Yeon-hee and Alessandro who were looking with puzzled expressions, Manti walked toward me while only looking at me and leaped onto my lap.

 

Then, pressing my thigh with soft paws to find a comfortable spot, Manti soon purred contentedly.

 

Even though we’re meeting after several months, how is there no awkwardness at all?

 

Still so elegant and soft as ever.

 

I stroked the pure white fur and couldn’t resist burying my nose in it.

 

“Myaak!”

 

Manti immediately cried out indignantly.

 

-You seem to be going a bit too far.

 

A translation window appeared, scolding me in polite tone, but I didn’t care and freely kneaded the soft ball of fur.

 

“Yeah, I’m being rude.”

 

A person can be a little rude in front of a ball of fur.

 

Manti resisted my relentless touch, even extending claws.

 

But it seemed to realize belatedly that those claw attacks didn’t work on me.

 

After I had fully enjoyed the soft fur and moved on to vigorously scratching the spine, Manti gave up on everything and meowed very quietly.

 

-I came with a joyful heart to hear how you’ve been since the market reopened… but to find myself in such an awkward position.

 

Is the ‘awkward position’ this white cat is talking about my lap?

 

If you’re going to point that out, then don’t purr.

 

Though seeing how it’s tapping my wrist with its front paw, it seems to want to maintain its pride to the end.

 

‘It’s the crime of being cute, Manti.’

 

I grinned and scratched the back of Manti’s neck thoroughly.

 

“Have you been well all this time?”

 

Manti tilted its neck, accepting my scratching in a relaxed posture, and answered leisurely.

 

-Rather, I’d like to ask how you’ve been doing.

 

The notification window floating in the air isn’t visible only to me.

 

Kang Yeon-hee and Alessandro were watching me intently from the side, wondering ‘are you having a conversation with a cat right now?’

 

This market is full of demi-humans and monsters.

 

Why are people who’ve even met stone humans so amazed by something like talking to a cat?

 

I ignored the curiosity gleaming in both their eyes and answered cleanly.

 

“I’ve been busy. Business has been going really well lately.”

 

-It seems so. The items on display appear much more abundant compared to before.

 

Come to think of it, Manti was someone who had seen me during my newbie merchant days when I first set foot in the Irregular Dimensional Market.

 

Compared to those days when I was selling nothing special like Spring Water of Styx…

 

“I made some money.”

 

I felt something like pride in those cat eyes looking at me deeply.

 

“How about it, want to browse some items too?”

 

Manti stiffened on my lap and stretched refreshingly, then gracefully jumped up onto the shop stall.

 

It seemed curious about what I was selling anyway.

 

I didn’t need to worry about stepping on the merchandise.

 

The small furball was showing off acrobatic skills, masterfully stepping between items while roaming across the shop stall.

 

‘Truly my cat.’

 

While thinking that Manti would have firmly corrected me if it had heard that.

 

After browsing the items for a while, Manti asked.

 

-But the appearance of these items is very mysterious. Are these things only distributed in your dimension?

 

“Ah!”

 

Only then did I remember the cat items I had set aside to give to Manti.

 

Ugh, I was so absorbed in touching its fur that I completely forgot.

 

“I have a few things you might like too.”

 

Of course, I hadn’t put them on the shop stall for fear they might sell before Manti arrived.

 

I took out several cat supplies that I had carefully stored in my inventory.

 

As soon as I set down something quite bulky on the floor, Manti’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

 

After circling around and observing it, Manti stared directly at my face and asked.

 

-What is this circular object?

 

“This is a cat wheel.”

 

The item Manti was poking with its front paw was a cat wheel – something any cat owner might consider buying at least once!

 

I had carefully chosen a premium product with low noise and rounded finishing.

 

The material was solid wood with soft brown fabric on the inside, making it aesthetically pleasing too.

 

‘There were thousands of reviews from cat owners.’

 

This was a cat wheel you could trust and buy.

 

Manti looked at me as if demanding an explanation and meowed softly.

 

“Well, this is like exercise equipment that cats use. You can get exercise, relieve stress, and it’s not boring. And most importantly, it’s good for muscles and joints!”

 

When I recited exactly what was written in the manual, Manti’s head tilted to one side.

 

Then it meowed briefly as if somewhat dissatisfied.

 

-I am not a cat, though.

 

‘Uh, you’re a cat…’

 

I wanted to argue back, but this was clearly a chance to sell to an acquaintance.

 

I tore open the cat wheel’s plastic packaging and suggested.

 

“Want to try it out first? If you get inside and run, the wheel automatically turns.”

 

No matter how much she claims not to be a cat, once she tries running on it, her mind will change.

 

Manti, who lives in a dimension without even churu, couldn’t have encountered a cat wheel before.

 

Finding my suggestion suspicious, Manti repeatedly raised and lowered her front paw before cautiously stepping onto it.

 

And then.

 

-This is truly an exciting item!

 

It was the first time I’d seen an exclamation mark appear in Manti’s translation window.

 

The cat wheel was spinning at an incredibly fast speed.

 

Seeing Manti, who always maintained the highest dignity unlike a typical cat, running with her fur flying in the wind made me burst into laughter.

 

“How is it? Fun, right?”

 

Look at her, so focused on running she can’t even answer.

 

‘She must be having so much fun.’

 

Manti, who had been running frantically without paying any attention to me, finally stopped her sprint after 10 minutes.

 

Standing tall on the swaying cat wheel, Manti declared with a very solemn and low meow.

 

-I shall decide on this item. Not only is it useful for training, but its purpose is truly suitable for me.

 

She’s pretending to be calm, but I can tell her true feelings just by watching her body bouncing up and down.

 

‘Talking about purpose and such.’

 

She just really likes it.

 

I didn’t bother pointing it out and put on a friendly merchant’s smile.

 

I also pretended not to notice her tail standing straight up.

 

“The price is 250 gold, but since it’s you, Manti, I’ll give you a discount and make it 200 gold.”

 

I didn’t bother mentioning that I bought it for about 150,000 won.

 

Then I pulled out a small box from my inventory.

 

Seeing the plain box without any patterns, Manti’s tail swayed slightly with curiosity.

 

I opened the lid and said.

 

“And if you buy the cat wheel, this is complimentary.”

 

Inside the box were several new cat treats I’d never sold to Manti before, a ball made of colorful yarn, a fishing rod toy, and a cushion filled with catnip.

 

As the scent of catnip wafted up from inside, Manti reached out her front paw as if enchanted, but.

 

“So.”

 

I closed the lid again without hesitation.

 

Feeling withdrawal symptoms from the suddenly disappeared catnip scent, Manti looked at me anxiously.

 

“Will you purchase it, customer?”

 

Since I had marked up the price by more than 10 times, I thought he’d hesitate a bit, but what do you know.

 

Manti meowed long and loud as if there was nothing more to think about.

 

-I’ll buy it. You really know my taste well.

 

Frantically waving his front paws as if asking me to hurry up with the payment was a bonus.

 

I bent down and held out the terminal.

 

Manti thrust his front paw forward hastily, abandoning any pretense of politeness.

 

From our many transactions, I’ve learned that Manti is particularly straightforward among my customers.

 

[> Transaction Notification 1

 

– 1 ‘Cat Wheel’ has been sold. Ι Buyer: Manti(Dimension-■■)]

 

‘As expected, the dimension is hidden.’

 

Why is the dimension hidden? I fell into thought again.

 

‘A dimension I’ve never been to?’

 

By that logic, I’ve never been to Kaium the stone man’s dimension either.

 

I can’t think of any suitable reason.

 

Surely there must be some rule that hides parts I’m not supposed to see.

 

As I pursed my lips and pondered, suddenly a hypothesis struck me like lightning.

 

‘Could it be… a dimension that appears in the Tower?’

 

If it’s hidden because it’s a place that will appear later, that would make sense.

 

But there’s a flaw in thinking that way.

 

Manti, who talks with me, is perfectly alive, and Manti’s dimension exists without any problems.

 

The Tower is a place where only dead dimensions exist, reconstructed from destroyed dimensions as scenarios.

 

‘Then another possibility… for example, it’s related to our dimension…’

 

I was racking my brain with various hypotheses when it happened.

 

-Are you alright?

 

Startled by the translation window that appeared before my eyes, I looked up to find Manti placing his front paws on my feet, looking up at me with innocent eyes.

 

“Why?”

 

When I asked while tilting my head, Manti lightly scratched my pant leg and said.

 

-Has your heart not settled down yet?

 

It felt like he was asking me to speak honestly.

 

“Huh? No, what are you talking about.”

 

I was just curious about why your information isn’t shown when you’re not dead.

 

However, Manti seemed to be thinking of something else.

 

After hesitating for a moment while swishing his tail, Manti meowed softly as if whispering.

 

-Didn’t you seem confused back then when talking about your brother?

 

Ah, so you were just purely worried about me.

 

Though that’s not why I’m acting like this, the furball’s concern still gave me a tingling feeling in my chest.

 

Come to think of it, there was a time when I got all sentimental after reading the feather’s memories in front of Manti.

 

Even then, this thoughtful cat held back the urge to run away and let me hold her in my arms.

 

I crouched down and gently stroked the top of Manti’s head.

 

“Ah, that’s fine…”

 

Just as I was about to speak without thinking.

 

‘…What’s with these people?’

 

I felt intense gazes from somewhere.

 

When I stopped talking and looked up, two people who had been staring at me with eyes full of curiosity and concern flinched.

 

Since Manti’s translation window had popped up so obviously, they were probably curious about what story Manti and I were sharing.

 

But that was too personal a matter.

 

Before telling Manti not to worry, I smiled lightly and suggested.

 

“Shall we talk while taking a walk?”

 

Manti meowed very adorably.

 

-A path walking alongside you would be welcome at any time.

 

* * *

 

The scale of the Irregular Dimensional Market is beyond imagination.

 

I closed the distance with Manti, who was walking ahead as if familiar with the place.

 

A stroll with a walking cat and market browsing.

 

‘I can feel the power…’

 

Strictly speaking, she’s probably a monster, but I feel like taking a picture of this scene to brag about on social media.

 

“Actually, I’m still looking for my brother.”

 

I said while looking at the cat walking proudly at my feet.

 

Manti looked up at me for a moment, then responded calmly as if it was nothing.

 

-I see. Since the wait is long, you must be quite worried too.

 

Simple and straightforward cat-style comfort.

 

This is better than empathizing and getting depressed together.

 

Barely restraining myself from crouching down and ruffling Manti’s back, I asked casually.

 

“Right, well. But Manti, is everything okay with you?”

 

It was a question I asked thinking everything would be fine.

 

However, at my question, Manti stopped abruptly and glanced up at me.

 

Then she immediately leaped into my arms.

 

When I suddenly picked up Manti, she responded with a somewhat sorrowful meow.

 

-It’s already been 10 months since I couldn’t climb the stairs.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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