24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 148

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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 148

 

Episode 148. The Fool of Floraban (6)

 

When I said that he absolutely had to take a firm approach with Lee Hwa-yeon, Chae Geun-dam hesitated in disbelief.

 

However.

 

“Ms. Lee Hwa-yeon.”

 

“Wow, this place has a completely different feel, doesn’t it? Where I was had this terrible oil smell. But here it’s all grass and flower scents—”

 

“Ms. Lee Hwa-yeon, please listen to me.”

 

Surprisingly, Chae Geun-dam had a talent for acting.

 

When Chae Geun-dam, who was nothing without his politeness, cut her off abruptly, Lee Hwa-yeon’s eyes widened.

 

Regardless of her reaction, Chae Geun-dam added in a stiff tone.

 

“I have a plan. We need to call a truce first and meet with Seo Jae-hyuk and Lee Ja-gyeom.”

 

“…Why?”

 

“I’ll explain after we’ve met with both of them first.”

 

Chae Geun-dam’s resolute attitude, as if he wouldn’t compromise on anything, seemed to strike a chord with Lee Hwa-yeon.

 

Lee Hwa-yeon, who had been blinking with a bewildered expression, soon grinned.

 

“Should we do that? Come to think of it, it’s been frustrating not knowing what’s going on since we’re all separated~”

 

I nodded while watching the situation unfold, hidden among the trees with the elves.

 

As expected, Lee Hwa-yeon is the type who backs down when presented with a plan.

 

Especially when the plan is presented carelessly and forcefully, she becomes even more compliant.

 

There are several reasons why I realized this crude method was necessary, first being that Lee Hwa-yeon is a simple action-oriented person.

 

Second, because I learned from our previous encounter that beating around the bush doesn’t work with Lee Hwa-yeon.

 

Lastly, it was thanks to a hint I got from Lee Hwa-yeon’s words.

 

Before I turned back time.

 

When Chae Geun-dam was eloquently explaining in his characteristic polite tone about ‘why we should strive to resolve this scenario peacefully.’

 

Lee Hwa-yeon let out a deep sigh, perhaps because Chae Geun-dam’s persuasion was too long and tedious.

 

Then she tapped her mace with annoyance and said casually.

 

‘Ah, if only Seo-yoon were here at times like this.’

 

As soon as I heard those words, I realized what kind of decision was needed now.

 

Who is Seo-yoon?

 

None other than Yoon Seo-yoon, the incompetent secretary who assists Lee Hwa-yeon with everything by her side.

 

Lee Hwa-yeon, who seems to have been forced into this scenario by the Babel Management Bureau based on context.

 

If such a Lee Hwa-yeon had one well-organized plan, it would mean one less thing to think about, so it’s a reasonably plausible picture.

 

Her decision to side with Gearsgard before even meeting the other participants probably has its own reasons.

 

‘She probably needs to finish the scenario as quickly as possible and return.’

 

I don’t know what circumstances Lee Hwa-yeon has, but that’s how it appears from the situation.

 

In such a situation, if Chae Geun-dam makes a proposal with conviction and firmness unlike his usual self, I predicted that Lee Hwa-yeon would definitely accept it.

 

That was my judgment.

 

Lee Hwa-yeon was currently overloaded and didn’t have the luxury to take actions that would make her feel the weight of responsibility.

 

Sure enough, Lee Hwa-yeon accepted Chae Geun-dam’s decision and smiled lightly.

 

The strangely sunken look in her eyes seemed to have subsided a little.

 

“I’ll go talk to those guys over there for a moment. Ah, but still, they’re people who trusted me and flew all the way here~?”

 

Lee Hwa-yeon shrugged her shoulders as she pointed to the small reconnaissance ship anchored to one side.

 

Only two had crossed over from the giant airship to Floraban.

 

Just the dwarf who piloted the reconnaissance ship and Lee Hwa-yeon.

 

As Lee Hwa-yeon approached the reconnaissance ship, the dwarf who had been watching this way with a face full of wariness flinched in surprise and hid inside the reconnaissance ship.

 

Lee Hwa-yeon headed that way, shouting very loudly as if she didn’t care whether we could hear her or not.

 

“Shall we rest for a bit?”

 

Watching the dwarf’s crown suddenly reappear after disappearing, I secretly moved behind Chae Geun-dam.

 

According to what I overheard from the conversation with Chae Geun-dam, Gearsgard’s actions made sense.

 

Gearsgard had originally planned to invade Glimmerstona, just as I knew.

 

However, based on the information that they had ‘made an agreement with Floraban,’ they expected that Floraban’s warriors would have joined Glimmerstona in large numbers.

 

Though I don’t know the source, they had even obtained information that the sacred tree’s barrier had disappeared, so it seemed they came this way aiming for an easy target.

 

‘Besides, Lee Hwa-yeon, who obviously looked strong, had rolled in on her own, so there would have been nothing to hesitate about.’

 

I don’t know how Lee Hwa-yeon dealt with things in Gearsgard, but it seemed the dwarves weren’t at a level where they dared to go against Lee Hwa-yeon’s words.

 

If that’s the case, then from now on Chae Geun-dam and Lee Hwa-yeon would set out together to find other raid teams…

 

“…For now, it would be good to put in a visit request to Glimmerstona.”

 

“A visit request, what-”

 

“Hey! Don’t turn around.”

 

Chae Geun-dam, who had been about to turn around without thinking, froze in place.

 

“Now that it’s come to this, Chae Geun-dam, you need to act together with Lee Hwa-yeon. Even if the agreement between Glimmerstona and Floraban has been broken, there should be one raid team member there, so they’ll accept a visit request.”

 

“I see. Lee Hae certainly knew the atmosphere of Glimmerstona, so it would be best to do as you say.”

 

“You know not to give the impression that you came to fight, right?”

 

“Of course. But… what are you planning to do, Lee Hae?”

 

Chae Geun-dam whispered in a rather serious tone.

 

“I can’t encounter Lee Hwa-yeon, so I’ll stay away from here.”

 

Hmm, I’m not even a scenario participant, just someone who barged in, so what I do probably isn’t that important.

 

“There’s no information about Berilsha right now, is there?”

 

“Are you planning to go to Berilsha?”

 

There was a strangely flustered tone in Chae Geun-dam’s questioning voice.

 

If I were to help further, the most rational thing would be to go check out Berilsha, which is currently the only place without information.

 

Suspicious Berilsha, which is currently maintaining neutrality but has some unknown scheme that’s completely incomprehensible.

 

I could go there with the feeling of finishing the preliminary reconnaissance I hadn’t completed.

 

Since I can’t send messages, it might be difficult to convey information to Chae Geun-dam.

 

‘But wouldn’t it be possible to subtly change Berilsha’s atmosphere?’

 

“I’ll go check out the atmosphere there. I’m not even a participant, and no one’s attacks work on me anyway.”

 

“Ah, now that you mention it…”

 

Chae Geun-dam trailed off.

 

He was probably recalling my appearance as I emerged breathing in the dust kicked up by the undead in Falkon’s wasteland.

 

Was there anyone in Aetheria who could move more freely than me?

 

‘I should get something that flies besides the Nokgacheon.’

 

My thoughts wandered for a moment as I recalled the market where everything in the world existed.

 

I immediately poked Chae Geun-dam’s elbow with the location tracking brooch I had bought for 10 gold at the market.

 

“Take this instead. I should at least know where you are.”

 

Chae Geun-dam received the discreetly handed item and nodded with a quite serious expression.

 

Of course, knowing where he was didn’t mean I would come looking for him.

 

It was just that there was a possibility I might visit if I happened to learn something useful, so I wanted to prepare a safety measure in advance.

 

Of course, there was no need to mention such things, so I muttered quietly.

 

“I’ll try to find out something.”

 

“I’ll be counting on you.”

 

“Though I might not come.”

 

Just then, Lee Hwa-yeon came walking back toward us leisurely, so Chae Geun-dam and I hastily shut our mouths.

 

Even though we were completely hidden with Eldarin’s help, we couldn’t help but feel tense.

 

Lee Hwa-yeon approached with an unreadable expression and shrugged as she spoke.

 

“Things went well with them. What should we do now? I want to finish quickly and go home.”

 

She said it casually, but somehow it sounded sincere.

 

‘It seems like going back quickly is her real goal.’

 

More so than the mission of clearing the scenario.

 

“It would be best to seek Floraban’s cooperation and formally request a visit to Glimmerstona.”

 

Anyway, seeing her nod at Chae Geun-dam’s words, it seemed she had no intention of maintaining her initial Gearsgard faction stance.

 

Well, if Lee Hwa-yeon tried to take action in the current situation, that would be a disaster too.

 

“Then it would be better for us to provide some assistance.”

 

With perfect timing, Eldarin, who had been observing the situation from behind, intervened.

 

Perhaps because he had heard early on that I wanted to hide my identity from Lee Hwa-yeon, he even naturally blocked her view of me.

 

‘Can the elf see me right now?’

 

“Please wait on the reconnaissance ship. We’ll submit the visit request as quickly as possible, so please help make it so this war can truly end.”

 

It was a tone that seemed polite and composed but subtly revealed desperation.

 

Eldarin bowed his head with a courteous attitude, as if he had forgotten how he had treated Chae Geun-dam so poorly compared to me, the savior.

 

‘If the war ends, that means Floraban only has about a year left to live.’

 

No matter how much they wanted to end the war, this was a matter of the city’s survival.

 

As someone who couldn’t perfectly understand Eldarin, that courtesy felt a bit strange to me.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I swallowed a sigh as I looked at the crown of Chae Geun-dam’s head as he politely responded to Eldarin’s bow.

 

Anyway, the stage was set and the dice were cast.

 

Now it was time for the pieces to move.

 

* * *

 

Spirit abilities are truly impressive.

 

Until she left with Chae Geun-dam, Lee Hwa-yeon didn’t spare me a single glance.

 

Was it because this was a spirit territory that even a sensitive S-rank hunter couldn’t detect me?

 

‘Or maybe she’s too preoccupied to care about minor presences.’

 

In any case, ending the situation without exchanging a single word with Lee Hwa-yeon was fortunate.

 

After the airship departed toward Glimmerstone, Eldarin approached me as I had been hiding among the elves.

 

Eldarin wore a gentle and kind smile, different from before, as he asked.

 

“Where will you go now, Savior? We could provide protection for you.”

 

“Hmm, I’m thinking of going to Berilsha.”

 

Perhaps it was because I said I’d walk into enemy territory so casually.

 

Eldarin hesitated and blinked slowly.

 

“…May I ask why you’ve made such a decision? That place is dangerous.”

 

“Why is it dangerous?”

 

I countered with a question.

 

Since he called it dangerous, Eldarin seemed to know something more than the alchemists or engineers.

 

After hesitating briefly, Eldarin summoned a pale sky-blue power above his hand.

 

What appeared above Eldarin’s hand was the form of a very small bird, like a canary.

 

“Dark energy swirls around Berilsha. Ordinary people who live with their bodies bound to reality cannot sense it, but pure spirits free from such constraints feel that energy completely.”

 

“Then all the more reason I should go. I need to understand the situation in every city to end this war with as few problems as possible, right? I need to find out why Berilsha, which supposedly has mages, isn’t taking any action and is talking about neutrality.”

 

Oh wait, did that sound too much like I’m taking charge?

 

I’m really glad Chae Geun-dam isn’t here.

 

“But if you were to fall into danger…”

 

“I’ll be fine. Why do you think I’m the savior?”

 

I grinned confidently, telling him not to worry.

 

I’m confident I could survive and return to my dimension even if Floraban was devastated and all of Aetheria was destroyed.

 

Of course, I’d prefer if everything could be resolved well so that doesn’t happen.

 

Seeing my confident smile, Eldarin smiled as if infected by it.

 

Whether he was worried about me after knowing me for just a few hours, his strangely subdued expression felt oddly ticklish.

 

I deliberately smiled brightly and asked.

 

“How do I get to Berilsha?”

 

“Ah, I’ll help you with that.”

 

Eldarin waved his hand again as if he’d been waiting for this.

 

Then a spirit in the form of a large bird appeared before my eyes.

 

The moment I saw the bird made of transparent beauty, I completely forgot about Lee Hwa-yeon, Chae Geun-dam, and the scenario.

 

‘I get to ride a spirit again!’

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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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