24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 192

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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 192

 

Episode 192. Blue Sky (1)

 

I was planning to ask Asmodeus what was at the end of the Tower.

 

I also wanted to ask if he knew anything about the trade prohibition list, and confirm whether the Tower of Babel had disappeared from Asmodeus’ dimension.

 

But all I learned was that my brother and I were a fantastic combo of siblings—director and creator.

 

Creator and director.

 

A structure where my brother polishes the story and I make sure that story flows properly on site.

 

So what, is Babel a performance planning company?

 

When I organized it like that, doesn’t it seem a bit cheap?

 

‘At least pay us royalties if you’re going to make us work.’

 

Thinking that way, a hollow laugh slipped out.

 

I confirmed there’s a possibility Babel contacted me, but my head still throbs.

 

Because I lived a peaceful life and never once had a strange experience!

 

It’s not like Babel would have approached me like some cult asking ‘Do you know about Babel?’

 

And it’s not like they would have come up to me saying ‘My friend, there’s a good job opportunity, would you like to hear about it?’

 

No matter how much I trace my memories, I only remember struggling to get by in a world pushed around by awakened ones.

 

It’s been just over 10 years since the Tower of Babel appeared in the world.

 

There are no gaps at all in those 10 years of memories either.

 

But if it was before the Tower of Babel appeared, the story becomes a little different.

 

‘…There is a time I can’t remember though.’

 

I let out a light sigh with an uncertain expression.

 

I definitely have lost memories too.

 

But the strange thing is that it’s from 20 years ago, much longer than the 10 years since the Tower of Babel appeared.

 

During that happy summer vacation, riding in the car my parents were driving and smiling innocently without knowing anything, I was only 8 years old.

 

Trying to recall my parents’ death, which I can’t even remember, made my temples seem to throb.

 

The only erased memory in my life is from that time, so it’s not completely impossible…

 

‘So Babel was observing Earth from 20 years ago?’

 

What, they watched our movements for 10 years before building the Tower of Babel?

 

I can make hypotheses, but I can’t confirm if they’re true.

 

Because I can’t remember!

 

‘But Brother is different.’

 

I recalled the sad smile my brother had when he saw me wake up in the hospital bed.

 

Brother definitely remembers what happened back then.

 

A 16-year-old brother left alone in the world with his 8-year-old sister who couldn’t grasp the situation as if her entire memory had been erased.

 

Brother accomplished everything for me, who woke up too late to even attend the funeral, telling me not to worry.

 

So much so that even 8-year-old me felt like he had suddenly become an adult in just a few days.

 

But what if that was because of contact with Babel, separate from our parents’ death?

 

What if Babel approached both my brother and me simultaneously, giving us both a mission?

 

“…That sounds plausible.”

 

Well, since the person who could confirm it has disappeared without a trace, I have no choice but to let my imagination run wild for now.

 

Anyway, my brother was just a D-rank Hunter, but as soon as he awakened, he was going in and out of the Tower.

 

So unlike me, who became a market manager without knowing anything, he was like someone who knew what he had to do from the beginning.

 

‘The problem is where that brother is now.’

 

Actually, I haven’t thought he was dead for a while now.

 

Brother probably has the cubed radish skill with high probability too, so he couldn’t die inside the Tower or Gates.

 

Then among all the hypotheses so far, there’s only one thing I can be 100% certain of.

 

‘There’s definitely a reason for Brother’s disappearance.’

 

A reason why he can’t come home despite having fraudulent abilities.

 

Maybe he got caught up in something dangerous?

 

He’s not the type to run away from home without a word when he has family waiting at home.

 

Brother must be trapped somewhere against his will.

 

Whether it’s in the Tower, a Gate, or somewhere else.

 

“Whew…”

 

I walked sluggishly, letting out a gloomy sigh under the warm sunlight.

 

‘I have so much to say but no one to complain to.’

 

Having to know all these things alone and suffer in silence is unbearably painful.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Ugh-.”

 

I, who was naturally stepping forward, stumbled.

 

It wasn’t a mistake—someone had firmly grabbed and pulled my clothes.

 

It was fortunate that my nose didn’t break on the ground, but I turned around to see who the unwelcome guest was that made my heart sink…

 

‘…’

 

I shouldn’t have turned around.

 

There stood someone completely unexpected.

 

A roughly thrown-on hoodie, black bob hair visible through it, loose training pants that kids these days wear because they’re comfortable.

 

A woman with cat-like upturned eyes and jet-black pupils.

 

…No, she has a young face like a student to call her a woman.

 

Strangely, she looks exactly like she’d be 21 years old.

 

And quite mysteriously, she looks exactly like she’d be the 5th-ranked Hunter and Karma Guild leader…

 

“Excuse me.”

 

“…Sister.”

 

“Could you let go of my clothes?”

 

The S-rank Hunter who suddenly appeared in the middle of the street rolled her eyes.

 

Then, instead of letting go, she put more strength into gripping my clothes even more firmly.

 

Okay, so I didn’t mistake her for someone else.

 

It really is Nam Pu-reum.

 

That Nam Pu-reum who took Ahn Yeon-seo’s request, broke into my house, and ate up all my limited edition potato chips.

 

My head, which had been complicated with all sorts of worries just moments ago, instantly became empty.

 

My new concern is ‘Why on earth did Nam Pu-reum grab me?’

 

No, she even called me sister just now, didn’t she?

 

‘I must have heard wrong, right?’

 

There’s no reason for that Nam Pu-reum to call me sister.

 

“Sister.”

 

No, my hearing is fine.

 

I looked down at Nam Pu-reum with a confused mind.

 

Nam Pu-reum was looking up at me with transparent eyes that were impossible to read.

 

Though wariness flickered briefly, it wasn’t hostility or suspicion, but rather eyes filled with emotions closer to goodwill.

 

‘…What?’

 

Don’t tell me we decided to laugh together and be sisters after the home invasion incident.

 

It would make sense if there was another memory gap I can’t remember.

 

But that can’t be.

 

Nam Pu-reum and I have only met twice—the home invasion and the Babel Management Bureau dimension destruction announcement ceremony.

 

So we’re not close enough for her to grip my clothes tightly as if she doesn’t want to let me go…

 

When I had been looking down at Nam Pu-reum for a while without realizing it, Nam Pu-reum quietly opened her mouth.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

I blinked and answered reflexively.

 

“Taking a… walk?”

 

“Want to do it together?”

 

What is this about now.

 

I barely managed to swallow the answer that was about to automatically come out.

 

Nam Pu-reum really stuck close to my side as if she truly intended to take a walk with me.

 

I thought I was free when she let go of my clothes, but now she slyly grabbed my sleeve instead.

 

…Well, since an S-rank Hunter has grabbed me and I can’t escape anyway, let’s just walk for now.

 

It doesn’t seem like she’s doing this to kill or threaten me.

 

I walked in a half-dazed state, glancing at Nam Pu-reum.

 

Nam Pu-reum just silently followed me, not paying attention to anything else in particular.

 

She only stared somewhere in the air with vacant eyes.

 

At a glance, she looks like an ordinary student, but I remember the color of mana hidden beneath Nam Pu-reum’s skin.

 

A dark violet color optimized for resolute death.

 

It’s the ominous-colored mana that only someone with the title ‘Silent Executioner’ can possess.

 

Despite her small, petite build and rather cute face, Nam Pu-reum is undeniably South Korea’s strongest assassin.

 

She raised Karma to the ranks of the 7 Major Guilds in just 4 years after Awakening, so there’s no need to explain how powerful Nam Pu-reum is.

 

Karma is also a guild like a big player in the underworld that takes requests and resolves them, just like Nam Pu-reum’s title suggests.

 

She’s a troublesome opponent in many ways, but there’s a reason I can’t shake off Nam Pu-reum right now.

 

It’s because Nam Pu-reum is the very person who cleared the Gyeonghyeon-dong Gate.

 

Recalling the memory I saw through the ‘Guardian’s Cry’ horn flute, Brother blew the flute there.

 

And when Brother was escaping riding the Bloody Wyvern, a dimensional rift was rushing in with its maw wide open as if it would pounce at any moment.

 

If Nam Pu-reum defeated the field boss and closed the Gate in such a place, she might know something… that’s my speculation, but…

 

‘The question is how to bring it up.’

 

If she had acted friendly by herself and called me sister, she would have chattered and gotten closer.

 

She’s just following me without saying anything, so it would be ridiculous to break the silence and ask ‘Do you remember the Gyeonghyeon-dong Gate?’

 

“Sister, do you live alone?”

 

“…Uh, yeah.”

 

I barely managed to speak informally, matching Nam Pu-reum’s attitude.

 

“Don’t you have family?”

 

…Hey, are you crazy?

 

Just as I was about to get angry at Nam Pu-reum’s question that really stepped on a landmine, I recalled Nam Pu-reum’s terrible past.

 

Nam Pu-reum only Awakened 5 years ago.

 

16-year-old Nam Pu-reum Awakened on a day when there was a family gathering.

 

A Sudden Gate burst open where her parents, older sister, younger brother, and all relatives were gathered, and there was only one survivor.

 

Only Nam Pu-reum, who witnessed her family’s death with her own eyes and belatedly Awakened as S-rank.

 

That story is too famous.

 

So even if Nam Pu-reum asks questions that don’t feel like they have even a speck of social awareness, I can let it slide once.

 

“My parents passed away, and my brother is missing.”

 

Moreover, since I had been thinking about my parents and brother just moments before, a calm answer flowed out.

 

I guess you could say I was unintentionally prepared for the question.

 

Nam Pu-reum let out a brief sigh after hearing my answer.

 

“Ah.”

 

It didn’t seem like she was particularly surprised, just a reflexive reaction.

 

She had an emotionless expression, completely unaware that the question she asked might be a sensitive one.

 

What kind of 21-year-old has eyes this worn and tired?

 

‘Didn’t she seem a bit flustered when she barged into our house?’

 

Was that because I suddenly kicked her out…?

 

Just as I was recalling the flustered expression I definitely remembered, Nam Pu-reum casually added.

 

“I don’t have any.”

 

…Having none at all is completely different from them having passed away.

 

But it’s awkward to argue back against such words.

 

‘Let’s walk, Lee Hae-won. The sunlight is nice too, let’s focus on walking.’

 

I tried to focus on the richness of daily life as if nothing was wrong, but it seemed like she had no intention of leaving me alone.

 

“They’re all dead. People are too weak.”

 

“….”

 

“Being weak is bad.”

 

As someone who could confidently claim to be in the top 1 percent of South Korea in terms of weakness, it’s a heartbreaking observation.

 

But Nam Pu-reum, who said that, suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

 

Like a child throwing a tantrum.

 

Like she had reluctantly brought up something she didn’t want to say.

 

‘I can’t figure her out at all.’

 

I don’t understand why she’s telling me, a stranger, such stories.

 

If I want to ask about the Gyeonghyeon-dong Gate, I need to change the subject, but it didn’t seem easy to shift from such complaint-like words.

 

‘At this rate, we’ll end up walking to the other side of the Earth.’

 

Still, since I’m 7 years older than Nam Pu-reum, I should at least try somehow, right?

 

Opportunities for casual conversation with an S-rank Hunter aren’t as common as you’d think.

 

It was the moment I steeled myself and opened my mouth.

 

The air surrounding us settled heavily and Nam Pu-reum’s eyes flashed sharply.

 

In an instant, dark violet mana rose like a mirage around Nam Pu-reum and me.

 

Sharp mana thick with killing intent spread in all directions, making it feel like the temperature was dropping.

 

Just as I unconsciously widened my eyes, Nam Pu-reum muttered lowly.

 

“…Wa.”

 

I thought it was an exclamation, but I realized 5 seconds later that it meant ‘coming’.

 

Beep- Beep- Beep-

 

The loud alarm sounds blaring from all directions announced the appearance of a Gate.

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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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