24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 125

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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 125

 

Episode 125. Babel Official Excellent Seller (6)

 

-I shall learn the usage of this thing called a cat wheel. So don’t worry about me and focus on the work entrusted to you.

 

‘How absurd.’

 

She just can’t hold back and wants to ride it quickly, so she’s making excuses.

 

When I casually nodded at the extremely polite translation window, Manti climbed onto the cat wheel placed in the corner of the stall and began running furiously.

 

Even though it was nearly silent, she was spinning it so fast that a small whirring noise could be heard.

 

Well, since Manti says she’ll wait quietly, I don’t need to worry about her.

 

Kang Yeon-hee was still greeting customers in my place, and Alessandro seemed to be taking a break after switching shifts for a moment, but…

 

“H-hey! What are you doing?!”

 

I had stolen the chair Alessandro was sitting on.

 

The employee who suddenly had his chair taken looked at me with a pitiful expression and demanded an explanation, but I, being an unkind employer, blatantly ignored him.

 

‘But I can’t make a customer stand and wait.’

 

I pointed to the stolen chair and said kindly.

 

“Please sit here.”

 

The suspicious man with his hood pulled down low stepped back in confusion, then carefully sat down.

 

Since Alessandro had warmed it up, the seating comfort would be excellent too.

 

The man was tremendously tall even while seated.

 

Even though we were sitting face to face, I had to look up at him endlessly.

 

Of course, since he had his hood pulled down low and I couldn’t tell his exact race, a slight fear crept over me.

 

‘But I still have to do this.’

 

Even if I don’t want to, I have to do it.

 

Since he came as a customer, I have a duty as an ordinary merchant, not a racial discriminator, to serve him with my best effort.

 

I deliberately used a gentle tone to initiate small talk.

 

“How did this item get broken?”

 

The broom the man had placed on the shop stall was about 2 meters long with a poker-like brush attached.

 

Judging by the red leather saddle securely attached in the middle, it seemed to really be a flying magic broom.

 

The only problem was that it was roughly broken in half, split into two 1-meter pieces.

 

“It broke when I crashed into a tree while traveling.”

 

“…What kind of tree?”

 

It couldn’t be that tree on the hill that wildly shakes its branches like crazy whenever you approach it.

 

“Just a tree.”

 

Of course it wasn’t.

 

It was a broom from a completely different genre to begin with.

 

I casually cast Appraisal with a light heart.

 

‘The appraisal fee is 650 Gold…’

 

[Forgotten Path of Flame and Wind (B)

 

A broom created by wizards for flying through the sky.

 

A high-quality item made from branches of ancient Paadi wood, excellent in stability and speed.

 

Enables aerial movement by consuming the rider’s mana, and reduces wind resistance during flight.

 

– Creator: Leviosa (Dimension-Kineta Ι Zone-Shine)

 

– Condition: Damaged]

 

…How is the creator’s name Leviosa?

 

‘This has to be intentional, right?’

 

Of course, aside from the creator’s name, there was one more interesting thing.

 

Unlike our dimension which displays ‘magic power,’ that dimension called Kineta seems to use the term ‘mana.’

 

Not exactly necessary information for repair, though.

 

“Is it repairable?”

 

The man asked cautiously.

 

His calm and polite voice was so refined that my earlier tension from his hood seemed pointless.

 

“It’s possible, but it might take a little time.”

 

“How long would it take?”

 

“Not too long. If you wait just a moment, I should be able to fix it quickly.”

 

I answered naturally while examining the broken section closely.

 

Rather than a clean break, it looked like it had been forcibly grabbed and torn, with jagged edges that clearly wouldn’t be easy to handle.

 

But that was only from my perspective as an ordinary person – through the ‘Repair’ skill, it was just something broken.

 

Even Kim Seol’s A-rank item, which only had a separated pendant, took 17 minutes to repair, so this simple B-rank broom with no particular hidden abilities should finish faster than that.

 

The man let out a sigh of relief upon hearing my answer.

 

‘Must be something he really treasures.’

 

I didn’t know why he’d come to a market stall to repair it, but that wasn’t for me as a repair technician to know.

 

I nodded once and said kindly.

 

“Please sit and rest for a moment.”

 

Upon hearing my words, the man muttered his thanks quietly and removed his hood.

 

“Huh.”

 

Behind me, Kang Yeon-hee gasped as I froze in surprise.

 

The face of the man who removed his hood wasn’t human.

 

No, it wasn’t even a man to begin with.

 

It was my misjudgment to assume it was male just because of the low voice.

 

‘It’s just a dementor.’

 

Where the face should be, black mist like Agemor’s erosion formed crude facial features.

 

Now I realized what I thought was a robe was actually this customer’s body.

 

It had form but not a fixed shape – more like a human silhouette made of shadows.

 

An eerie visual that sent chills down my spine just from looking at it.

 

I should scold Kang Yeon-hee for being rude to a customer.

 

‘But that was understandable…’

 

At a loss for words, I stared blankly at the customer’s face before finally coming to my senses.

 

Fortunately, they didn’t seem offended by my gaze enough to flip the table.

 

I hurriedly placed my hand on the broom and attempted to repair it.

 

[Would you like to repair this item?]

 

[1,209G will be deducted.]

 

The repair cost wasn’t too expensive either.

 

[⁕ The repair is expected to take approximately 3 minutes :)]

 

The repair time was short too.

 

As the golden energy flowing from my hand seeped into the broom, the customer leaned forward slightly as if finding it fascinating.

 

It seemed like a light action done out of mere curiosity.

 

The problem was that it affected me, sitting across from them.

 

‘What the hell is this…?’

 

Something was seeping out from inside the customer’s fog-covered face.

 

A desolate scent, as if it had gathered in the lowest and darkest places.

 

It was the scent of loneliness.

 

A scent of loneliness so terrible and weary that even I, who wasn’t particularly moved by others’ emotions, momentarily hung my head.

 

Emotions expressed as scent.

 

If it were something visible, I could at least squeeze my eyes shut.

 

They weren’t even base or dirty emotions that would make me frown just from smelling them.

 

They were emotions that seemed to have festered for a long time, a complex tangle of confusion, pain, and sadness.

 

‘Why am I sensing this kind of scent?’

 

The sudden situation was even bewildering.

 

So much so that I unconsciously wanted to move my fingers to finish the repair quickly.

 

After the unbearably long 3 minutes ended and the golden energy disappeared from my hand.

 

“Payment is over here.”

 

I stood up abruptly and stepped back.

 

Only then did the customer lean back, and the scent that had been hovering in front of my nose disappeared as well.

 

On the table lay a perfectly repaired broom.

 

“Thank you, truly.”

 

The customer slowly picked up the perfectly repaired broom and hugged it tightly to their chest as if deeply moved.

 

The broom disappeared into the black shadow filled with loneliness and sadness.

 

“Um, by any chance.”

 

After calling out, I hesitated for a moment.

 

Asking why they gave off such a sad scent seemed like a rather perverted question.

 

Besides, it wasn’t really my business.

 

I had no reason to ask about a first-time customer’s circumstances and empathize deeply with them.

 

“No.”

 

Let’s not stir up unnecessary trouble.

 

I gave a painted smile and pointed to the shop stall.

 

“The repair fee is 3,600 Gold total, and payment is over here.”

 

I need to get payment and send him off quickly.

 

As soon as the customer placed his hand on the shop stall, a light payment notification sound rang out.

 

I rolled up the tent flap leading out of the stall while calling out in an energetic tone as if I’d been waiting for this moment.

 

“Thank you, please visit us again!”

 

Anyone could see it looked like I was driving him away, but it couldn’t be helped.

 

I just hoped I’d never cross paths with such a concerning fellow again.

 

I gave a 90-degree bow to the Dementer’s back as he slowly left the stall, and only after confirming he was gone did Kang Yeon-hee let out a breath.

 

“Wow, I’ve seen all kinds of life forms since coming here… I know you shouldn’t judge by appearance, but he was really scary. Still, he seemed like a decent person, so that’s a relief.”

 

Listening to Kang Yeon-hee’s rapid-fire impressions, I pressed firmly on my throbbing temples.

 

Maybe because of that sudden emotional surge, I felt like I was getting a headache that wasn’t there before.

 

I asked casually with my eyes closed.

 

“Didn’t you smell anything?”

 

“A smell? I didn’t smell anything.”

 

“What about Alessandro?”

 

“I was sitting on the ground, so I only smelled mud.”

 

…Was I the only one who smelled it because I was close?

 

‘That’s strange too, really.’

 

What exactly was that Dementer?

 

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling like a surprise actor who had jumped into a mystery.

 

And then I belatedly checked the payment completion window.

 

[> ‘Friendly Repair’ popup payment completed

 

– ‘Path of Forgotten Flame and Wind'(B) repair fee 3,600G Ι Client: Dregs (Zone-Babel)]

 

…The fact that his name is Dregs is unusual from the start.

 

And the zone isn’t some rare place name I’ve never heard of either.

 

‘Babel’.

 

I’ve never seen or heard of anyone whose zone was Babel before.

 

“How can someone’s zone be Babel…?”

 

The one who answered my question was Sam-i, as clueless as always.

 

[⁕ This is the Tower of Babel, the Irregular Dimensional Market on the 75th Floor :)]

 

Of course, he’s not the type to bring me the answer I want.

 

‘Not that, the customer who just left had his zone set as Babel. Don’t you know anything about that?’

 

[⁕ I am a guide prepared for market operations, and cannot answer questions unrelated to the market :)]

 

‘So there is an answer then?’

 

[⁕ I do not know matters unrelated to the market :)]

 

This isn’t even a battle between spear and shield.

 

There’s no need to waste more time on someone who’ll just keep saying they don’t know no matter how much I press…

 

I slumped into my chair and rubbed my right temple clockwise.

 

“Unnie, do you have a headache? Then get some rest for a bit. Or go for a walk.”

 

“Then who exactly was the person who already went for a walk with that cat?”

 

-I clearly told you I am not a cat. You seem rather lacking in manners for our first meeting.

 

“Can’t someone make mistakes when meeting for the first time? You really have no flexibility.”

 

“Alessandro! He’s unnie’s friend!”

 

Kang Yeon-hee was startled and tried to stop Alessandro, but the festival of formal speech continued.

 

“It seems you’re the one who hasn’t learned proper manners. Then I shall make Lee Hae understand.”

 

-Lee Hae, how do you manage to work with such a person? It must be truly exhausting.

 

Unable to listen anymore, I squeezed my eyes shut and muttered.

 

“Please, everyone just shut up….”

 

Really, what a bunch.

 

It’s just 2 people and one cat, but the audio never stops.

 

The cat doesn’t even speak, yet fills the audio visually.

 

‘I need to escape this space.’

 

I jumped up and asked quickly.

 

“Alessandro, it’s your shift now, right?”

 

“…I haven’t even rested properly.”

 

“Then Yeon-hee, let’s go for a walk together.”

 

“Me?”

 

Suddenly pointed out, Kang Yeon-hee widened her eyes and asked.

 

“Yeah, shopping.”

 

Behind Kang Yeon-hee, whose cheeks puffed up as if pleased, Manti approached me with elegant steps.

 

Then she meowed in a delicate voice as if trying to seduce me.

 

-Are you planning to leave without me?

 

Cute little paws gathered together and melancholy blue eyes.

 

Looking at that delicate appearance, I declared firmly.

 

“Go use the cat wheel.”

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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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