24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 152

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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 152

 

Episode 152. Trigger (4)

 

I pulled my robe tightly around me and carefully squeezed through the gap in the door.

 

Actually, I was worried about raising suspicion since a door that had been still would suddenly open by itself.

 

“This is a problem we just can’t ignore!”

 

“Brozen, what exactly is the problem!”

 

Brozen and the factory manager seemed so focused on each other that they couldn’t see anything else.

 

Their intense eye contact could probably be called passionate at this point.

 

‘Lucky me, I guess.’

 

Let me listen to what they’re talking about.

 

I turned toward the direction where I could see the factory manager’s face.

 

The factory manager, who looked to be in his 60s, had grown his beard just as wildly as Brozen.

 

His age showed through his wrinkled skin and age spots on his face, but his small frame was packed with the practical, compressed muscles typical of mechanics.

 

He somehow gave off the feeling of an old man hiding his strength.

 

Well, anyway, Brozen looked a bit younger, but seeing them speak informally to each other, they must be friends.

 

“Theobald, have you lost your mind?”

 

“What are you talking about! You need to speak so I can understand!”

 

Of course, shouting loudly enough to pierce through the roar of engines wasn’t a normal situation.

 

‘You need to speak so I can understand too.’

 

I grumbled along and shook my head.

 

The factory manager, Theobald, waved the wrench he was holding vigorously as if he felt truly wronged.

 

But that action was immediately stopped.

 

Brozen angrily snatched the wrench away and threw it forcefully to the ground as if he was even more confused.

 

As a sharp clanging sound echoed, Brozen shouted.

 

“Why do you keep talking about your dead brother? You know Green is dead!”

 

I frowned slightly.

 

Theobald had a brother named Green, and he seemed to be dead.

 

In the first place, there was no way there wouldn’t be casualties in a place at war.

 

So talking about dead family members was like an inevitable law of nature.

 

‘Is that really something to get so angry about?’

 

Unless they were stuck together 24 hours a day whispering about it, there was no reason for Brozen to get angry, right?

 

I was wondering if Brozen, whom I had only thought of as a dwarf who liked alcohol, was unexpectedly a rather uptight character.

 

“He’s alive!”

 

Theobald shouted at the top of his lungs, then added as if he felt wronged.

 

“We got contact from Berilsha. Green contacted us directly!”

 

‘…Huh?’

 

Contact came from Berilsha?

 

I couldn’t just ignore the mention of Berilsha, so I opened my eyes wide and stared at Theobald.

 

Brozen had a similar expression to mine.

 

Of course, his feelings would be different from mine, but he seemed to have lost his will to fight at the sudden mention of Berilsha’s name.

 

“Green, who died 5 years ago, was alive and well in Berilsha?”

 

“It’s true! Green is, Green is alive!”

 

Theobald’s voice was mixed with excitement and relief.

 

Seeing him speak like that, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

 

Previously, Brozen had mentioned that engineers from Gearsgard were going over to Berilsha and creating strange objects.

 

One of those engineers could be this person called Green that those two were talking about.

 

Well, finding out that a sibling he thought was dead is actually alive – that’s something to celebrate.

 

But it felt unsettling.

 

‘Why at this timing of all times?’

 

At this point when the four cities in the middle of war were entangled in complex political situations, causing all sorts of incidents.

 

Of all times, the sibling of Gearsgard’s person in charge is openly living in Berilsha?

 

And after not contacting him once during 5 years of being alive, only now making contact?

 

From my position of completely suspecting Berilsha, this was a rather disturbing point.

 

Sure enough, Brozen asked as if he couldn’t understand.

 

“Then why contact you only now? If he was alive, he would have contacted you first.”

 

“Well, Green also has his circumstances-”

 

“Did you even meet in person? If you didn’t see his face directly, you wouldn’t know if it’s really Green or not!”

 

Right, that’s normal judgment.

 

But Theobald seemed quite hurt that Brozen wouldn’t believe his words.

 

Theobald’s face turned red as he stamped his feet and roared.

 

“Why won’t you believe me, urgh-!”

 

No, he stopped roaring mid-sentence and suddenly grabbed the back of his neck.

 

Then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

 

At the sudden turn of events, Brozen stepped back in confusion.

 

I also stepped back with him.

 

‘What is this, some morning drama-like development?’

 

To suddenly collapse while speaking excitedly.

 

Did his blood pressure spike?

 

Or was it stress-induced shock?

 

Whatever the reason for his collapse, Brozen who was standing in front was in a panic state.

 

“Theo, Theobald. Get a grip. Why, why are you like this, all of a sudden?”

 

Brozen’s face was pale as he shook Theobald trying to wake him up.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

I hesitated for a moment.

 

My conscience was working quite normally to ignore someone who suddenly collapsed, and Brozen was the first performer I met when I came to Aetheria.

 

There was a certain sense of familiarity, you could say.

 

On top of that, it seemed like Theobald might have more information to give.

 

I finished my brief contemplation and immediately threw back my hood.

 

“Mr. Brozen!”

 

Brozen was startled by my sudden appearance from thin air.

 

“You, how did you suddenly get here…!”

 

“Please step back for a moment.”

 

I quickly approached Theobald while opening my inventory.

 

Health potions are commonly used everywhere, but in this situation they wouldn’t be much help.

 

‘Then I’ll go with the highest grade potion.’

 

Among the potions Kang Yeon-hee made, there’s a top-quality product made without considering cost-effectiveness.

 

A potion optimized for healing wounds rather than recovering health.

 

The material costs and margins don’t match up for selling as merchandise, but it’s perfect for emergency treatment in situations like this.

 

When I opened the cap of the pale green potion, Brozen quickly opened Theobald’s mouth.

 

He seemed to have realized I wouldn’t harm Theobald.

 

I poured the potion into Theobald’s mouth.

 

As the pale green liquid went down his throat, color began to return to Theobald’s pale face like magic.

 

His breathing, which had seemed ready to stop at any moment, soon returned to normal.

 

Brozen slumped down and muttered.

 

“Thank goodness, really…”

 

“Thank goodness indeed.”

 

I answered casually, but it really was fortunate.

 

I had stepped forward as if I could solve the situation and gave him the potion, so if Theobald had died here, I would have been the only one in trouble.

 

‘I should give Kang Yeon-hee a bigger raise.’

 

This isn’t the first or second time Kang Yeon-hee has saved me from a difficult situation.

 

While I was breathing a sigh of relief, Theobald coughed lightly.

 

Brozen bowed his head and shouted in a voice full of tears.

 

“Theobald!”

 

At Brozen’s friendship-filled voice that could be heard even over the engine noise, Theobald’s eyelids trembled.

 

Soon Theobald opened his eyes and blinked with a dazed expression.

 

“What… what happened?”

 

“Theobald, you almost died! You suddenly stopped breathing.”

 

“I, I did?”

 

“Yes! Today almost became your last day! If it weren’t for this friend, you would have died right here!”

 

Brozen pointed at me and shouted.

 

Theobald stared at me intently.

 

His wavering blue eyes examined me for quite a while, as if he still couldn’t grasp the situation.

 

‘This is embarrassing.’

 

I couldn’t bear the awkward eye contact any longer and smiled sheepishly while bowing my head lightly.

 

“Uh, hello?”

 

At that moment, clear hostility suddenly filled Theobald’s eyes.

 

“How, how did you get in here?! This is where the main engine is located. It’s not a place just anyone can enter! Are you trying to steal our technology?!”

 

It was a booming voice that didn’t match someone who had just been hovering between life and death moments ago.

 

The main engine? Then this was the central core of the engine that kept Gearsgard floating in the air?

 

So that’s why the engine noise was so loud here.

 

Setting aside my curiosity about where exactly I was being resolved, Theobald got up and growled once more.

 

“Reveal your identity!”

 

“Theobald, calm down!”

 

“This is a place only authorized personnel can enter! It’s the most important place in Gearsgard, how dare you come here?!”

 

Well, the Tower of Babel dropped me off here!

 

He even said “how dare you” just now.

 

Geez, making saving someone’s life feel worthless by barking at me like this!

 

‘At least give me time to speak!’

 

Just as I was about to try explaining myself, Brojen firmly grabbed Theobald by the scruff of his neck.

 

“Theobald-!”

 

Theobald flinched at the booming voice.

 

“Get a grip, this person saved you! If you can’t be grateful to your lifesaver, at least don’t be hostile!”

 

‘Exactly!’

 

I used an expensive potion without even calculating the cost to save him!

 

Treating me like an intruder without even trying to have a conversation is too much.

 

Theobald’s mouth moved wordlessly, rendered speechless by Brojen’s scolding.

 

Well, thinking about it calmly, his reaction wasn’t incomprehensible.

 

An unidentified foreigner suddenly appearing in the location of Gearsgard’s main engine during wartime.

 

It would be reasonable to suspect I might be a spy.

 

“I’ve met this person before. They’re someone we can trust.”

 

I don’t know when he started thinking I was trustworthy, but Brojen added seriously.

 

Then he nodded at me as if telling me to speak.

 

It seemed like the timing for self-introduction.

 

What should I say to get past this without arousing suspicion?

 

“I’m just… an ordinary person who wants to end the war. I may be a foreigner and an intruder, but I’m not an enemy at least.”

 

I could lie to get out of this situation, but somehow I felt like I should tell the truth here.

 

Theobald, who had lost his fighting spirit due to Brojen’s collar-grabbing, muttered hesitantly.

 

“What do you mean by that…?”

 

“I’m not an enemy. Do you want to continue the war, Mr. Theobald? Then I might be your enemy.”

 

“No, no, that’s not it-”

 

“War, what’s the point of continuing that?”

 

Brojen grumbled, somehow making what seemed like unhelpful words sound oddly helpful.

 

Theobald flared up.

 

“It’s natural since we’re short on magic stones!”

 

“Using those few remaining magic stones won’t keep Gearsgard floating forever either, and young people just keep dying. We should find other methods, whether developing new technology or reinforcing the engine.”

 

Perhaps because they’re friends, Brojen’s criticism was quite harsh.

 

Theobald opened and closed his mouth as if flustered.

 

Since Gearsgard had a history of attacking Floraban, I had some slight anxiety wondering if they might be warmongers.

 

‘Fortunately, it seems like this side is also moderate.’

 

I swallowed a sigh of relief.

 

Anyway, whether Theobald believes me or not, the important thing is a different matter.

 

“All the cities are suffering from the war. So there’s something I need to know.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Could I hear more about your younger sibling?”

 

As if wondering why I was suddenly curious about that, Theobald made a suspicious expression again.

 

I didn’t hesitate and added another question.

 

“You said you received contact that your sibling was in Berilsha. When was that? What did your sibling tell you?”

 

“Th-that’s something I can’t tell you…”

 

Theobald trailed off.

 

His attitude seemed to worry that what I was asking might have a bad influence on his sibling.

 

Okay, just from this much, I had a strong suspicion that his sibling had served as an informant.

 

Then it was time to get a definitive answer.

 

At the next question I threw out, Theobald’s eyes shook violently.

 

“Did your sibling perhaps tell you about Floraban’s barrier?”

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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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