24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 141

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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 141

 

Episode 141. When Facing a Problem You Don’t Want to Solve (1)

 

After using Patala’s Call to return to Babel Square, I immediately collapsed onto the sofa.

 

The tension drained from my shoulders that had been stiff with stress, and I felt my whole body go limp.

 

“Uhhhhh…”

 

I let out an unidentifiable sound.

 

It was only a two-day reconnaissance trip, but my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

 

I felt much more exhausted compared to the other floors I had visited before.

 

“Ugh, why did I even bother doing reconnaissance…”

 

I vented my complaints to the empty air.

 

Unlike the other floors I had visited for quests or just casual strolls, this time I had a clear purpose.

 

Perhaps it was because of the sense of responsibility I had imposed on myself under the pretext of ‘reconnaissance.’

 

It seemed like I had shouldered some kind of mission to see and remember even one more thing.

 

‘Aeteria was no joke.’

 

I had only visited Gearsgard and Glimmerstona, but even just that was enough to learn far too much.

 

There was even Floraban, which felt different from what I had imagined, and Berylsha, which was suspicious beyond belief.

 

The four cities each had completely different characteristics, and the political relationships existing between them were incredibly complex.

 

And what about that Tower of Babel jutting upside down from the bottom of Berylsha’s island?

 

I had a gut feeling that the scenario would be enormous in scale.

 

‘This might mean multiple floors could open simultaneously.’

 

I closed my eyes tightly and scratched my chin.

 

Thinking back to how floors 51 and 52 opened simultaneously after the Ganasia scenario was cleared, there was a possibility that multiple floors could open at once this time too.

 

Since there are four cities, maybe even four floors could open all at once… couldn’t they?

 

‘Then Park Ji-woon will get even busier.’

 

At the sudden thought of Park Ji-woon’s name, I let out a deep sigh.

 

Come to think of it, if I want to share what I’ve discovered so far, I’ll need to create some kind of report…

 

I couldn’t hold back and asked.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Why are you smiling like that? It’s suspicious.”

 

“I’m just happy to see you. Nothing suspicious about it.”

 

Even if we were objectively on good terms, it didn’t seem like he would greet me with such a happy face…

 

When I silently stared at Alessandro, he rolled his eyes and added with an awkward smile.

 

“…Actually, all my goods sold out, so I’ve been resting for a few days.”

 

“Wow. Since when?”

 

“It’s been 3 days.”

 

To think he’d say so casually that he rested for another 3 days after already going on vacation.

 

Alessandro laughed loudly as if embarrassed.

 

Looking at the face of the large Knight Order commander scratching the back of his head, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment and let out a snort.

 

‘No wonder his face was so glossy and shiny.’

 

His beard unshaven, his hair looking like he just woke up.

 

Anyone could see he was someone who had rested incredibly well.

 

‘While someone else went through such hardships.’

 

As I stared daggers at Alessandro out of unfair resentment, Alessandro cleared his throat lightly.

 

“By the way, someone named Manager Park Ji-woon contacted the information desk several times.”

 

It sounded like he was changing the subject, but it was a name I couldn’t ignore.

 

At the unexpected mention of Park Ji-woon, I sat up straight.

 

The fact that he contacted me knowing I was out on a survey meant it was likely something important.

 

‘…But why through the information desk?’

 

I asked with a furrowed brow.

 

“Why didn’t he contact me directly?”

 

Park Ji-woon, who had traded with my market, could send me direct messages anytime.

 

“That’s not something I would know. Come to think of it, why didn’t you read my messages?”

 

Alessandro shrugged as if it was strange.

 

“You sent messages?”

 

“Of course. I sent several saying that person named Park Ji-woon was urgently looking for you.”

 

But I never received any messages?

 

I hurriedly opened the market window, and countless messages that had been piling up without notifications came pouring out.

 

[> Middle Manager Messages

 

– Manager Park Ji-woon came looking for you. Says it’s urgent. Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)

 

– Are you busy? Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)

 

– He says to contact him as soon as possible, but why can’t I reach you? Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)

 

– Is something wrong? Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)

 

– Why did you ask me to buy alcohol? Anyway, you seem to be alive. Reply when you see this. Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

 

Besides Alessandro, there were also confirmation messages from Kang Yeon-hee asking if it was really okay to buy this much.

 

Moreover, it wasn’t just those two who had sent me messages.

 

[- Ms. Lee Hae-won, we couldn’t reach you so we went to the information center, but they said they couldn’t contact you either. Something has come up that requires you to finish your survey and come out quickly. | Section Chief Park Ji-woon (Dimension-Earth)]

 

[- Pressure has come in. It seems they’re planning to send in an attack team immediately. We need even a little bit of information to organize the attack team, so it would be good if you could return as soon as possible. | Section Chief Park Ji-woon (Dimension-Earth)]

 

As soon as I saw Park Ji-woon’s messages, my expression hardened.

 

The content of the messages was too serious to just say they had found me.

 

When my expression turned cold, Alessandro, who was standing beside me, also hardened his expression.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“…The notifications didn’t ring.”

 

I’m not the kind of rude person who would ignore such seriously delivered messages.

 

But during the two days I was in Aeteria, not once had I received a notification that a message had arrived.

 

The messages hadn’t even arrived at all.

 

I had even gone through the trouble of checking the message window from time to time, just in case.

 

Meanwhile, ten days had passed outside.

 

During that time, I had been focused on the survey without knowing anything.

 

‘Could it be.’

 

Is Aeteria structured so that it can’t communicate with the outside?

 

‘No, that’s not it.’

 

I had asked Kang Yeon-hee to buy whiskey to entice Brozen in Gearsgard.

 

Kang Yeon-hee had faithfully obtained the whiskey as I requested and even put it up in the market sales window.

 

Then there’s only one thing that’s blocked.

 

“…Are messages sent from outside to inside blocked?”

 

It seems Aeteria has a structure where you can send messages from inside to outside, but you can’t send messages from outside to Aeteria.

 

‘Why make it so complicated?’

 

If they’re going to block it, they could just block everything – why only one side?

 

After seriously pondering for a moment, I immediately sent a reply to Park Ji-woon.

 

First of all, the fact that they were about to send in an attack team without any knowledge about Aeteria was an emergency.

 

[I’m back. It seems like there’s a structure that prevents receiving messages from inside. What on earth is going on?]

 

Understanding the situation comes first.

 

Just as I sent that message and was about to catch my breath.

 

[- I’ll come find you right now. | Section Chief Park Ji-woon (Dimension-Earth)]

 

As if catching my breath was a luxury, Park Ji-woon’s reply came immediately.

 

* * *

 

“What kind of place is the 54th floor?”

 

Park Ji-woon, who had burst through the information center door as if he was going to break it, asked before even sitting down.

 

He looked tired as usual, but today he looked even more exhausted than normal.

 

Even his polite attitude that always maintained courtesy in any situation and his dry expression showed cracks.

 

He seemed urgent, so I was about to give him an answer first, but he looked like he was about to collapse any moment, so I found myself asking back.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine. Could you briefly summarize the information about the 54th floor first?”

 

Park Ji-woon sat down in the chair before I could even offer it to him.

 

While the perceptive Alessandro went to prepare tea, Park Ji-woon leaned forward as if urging me on.

 

Feeling equally anxious, I also skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

 

“The 54th floor is a dimension called Aeteria. The main areas to see are 4 cities and 1 mining island, all floating cities. The 4 cities are at war with each other over the only mining island to extract magic stones used for the engines that keep their islands afloat. And…”

 

I briefly explained the characteristics of each city and the structure of the 2 cities I had personally visited.

 

I was about to explain the theft incident and treaty issues that seemed like important clues to the scenario, but Park Ji-woon sighed before I could finish speaking.

 

‘What?’

 

Someone who maintains composure anywhere keeps sighing continuously.

 

This is making me scared too for no reason.

 

I blinked and asked carefully.

 

“What exactly is the situation?”

 

“It’s a bit, complicated…”

 

“I get that it’s complicated, so at least tell me what’s complicated about it.”

 

I have a right to know, that’s what I’m saying.

 

I don’t want to just keep watching this walking corpse’s frustration without knowing anything.

 

At my firm response, Park Ji-woon, who had closed his mouth for a moment, slowly began to reveal the facts.

 

“…As you know, Ms. Lee Hae-won, we negotiated with foreign governments to provide strategy information, didn’t we?”

 

“We did. Since dimensional destruction was at stake.”

 

“But the higher-ups were very displeased with the proposal to provide information related to national power to foreign countries.”

 

Well, I can understand that.

 

The reason we could proceed with information sharing without revealing the dimensional destruction content was all thanks to Asmodeus’s amazing abilities.

 

But no matter how outstanding Asmodeus’s abilities are, there would still be some sense of disconnect.

 

“…So, pressure came in to quickly enter the next floor before other countries could make their move?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

Ah, so it was about power again.

 

While I was putting the puzzle together, Park Ji-woon continued.

 

“Strong pressure came in from the government side.”

 

“The government? Can’t the government not control the Babel Management Bureau?”

 

“This time the situation is a bit different. The government didn’t control the Babel Management Bureau, but controlled the hunters who would enter the strategy team.”

 

This is… what are you talking about now?

 

“You’re saying the government didn’t pressure the Babel Bureau, but put pressure directly on the hunters?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“No, it’s not ‘something like that,’ that’s exactly what it is, right? But hunters don’t just enter because someone tells them to. If it’s a strategy team, it would naturally be rankers, and you can’t just order around hunters of that level, right?”

 

My point was obvious.

 

In Babel society, the status of hunters is beyond imagination.

 

The government can request help from guilds, but it cannot give them orders.

 

Seo Jae-hyuk and Lee Hwa-yeon, whom I saw through Kienum’s watch, aren’t the type of people to do something just because the government tells them to.

 

Both of them are too big of figures for that.

 

But Park Ji-woon slowly shook his head.

 

“Under normal circumstances, that would be true.”

 

Park Ji-woon lowered his head with a deliberately calm expression.

 

It seems there are some complicated circumstances.

 

But since things are proceeding in such a rushed manner, it’s better to put aside minor details for now.

 

These kinds of issues can be heard calmly after catching our breath.

 

“Never mind that, when are they planning to send them in?”

 

The important thing is that we need to give the raid team some information before they go in.

 

However, Park Ji-woon answered in a calm tone that extinguished my determination.

 

“…They’ve already gone in.”

 

I quickly raised my head to look at Park Ji-woon.

 

‘Come on, no way.’

 

That’s just a mischievous joke, right?

 

Park Ji-woon might have the desire to make jokes too!

 

“…”

 

I tried my best to deny it, but no matter how I looked at it, that expression belonged to someone honest and upright who was stating facts.

 

I moved my lips and barely managed to ask.

 

“Wh-when?”

 

“At 9 AM this morning.”

 

The answer that came back without hesitation was quite intense.

 

Seeing his calm face without a trace of falsehood, I squeezed my eyes shut.

 

…This is reality, isn’t it?

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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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