24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 202

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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 202

Episode 202. We’re Open for Business (2)

There was no way to carry Alessandro on the Emerald Skywalk.

Of course, I tried, but seeing Alessandro awkwardly hunching his shoulders and climbing onto the palm-sized Emerald Skywalk looked just like…

‘It was like torture.’

It seemed like the lifeless Emerald Skywalk was crying out that it wanted to live.

Only after Alessandro asked “Do you think this is right?” about five times while trying to maintain his dignity did we decide to walk.

My worry about having to walk for a very long time turned out to be pointless.

“There was honey among Falcon’s diplomatic goods.”

“Oh, Falcon had honey too. Didn’t I bring you some before?”

“You did, but what you brought wasn’t very good honey.”

“I did buy whatever I could see at the mart. But can you really taste the difference?”

“Falcon’s honey was classified as top quality, so it tasted very good.”

“I guess they used a lot of honey in cooking there too?”

“…I wouldn’t know well. I was the Knight Captain.”

“Ah, right.”

Walking while having trivial conversations with Alessandro made the time pass quickly.

Alessandro’s face as he shared small stories about Falcon was filled with longing for a homeland he could never return to.

I felt like I was only poking at painful spots, so I glanced at him cautiously, but he didn’t seem to want to stop talking.

Rather, he seemed happy to be talking about his homeland after such a long time.

But when we passed through the bustling Market Alley and stood before the open river, Alessandro’s reminiscing was cut short.

“…”

Alessandro quietly caught his breath and stared blankly across the river.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“…Just thinking that a lot of time has really passed.”

His tone was heavily subdued.

Though it was over a year ago, the emotions he must have felt crossing that river wouldn’t be easily forgotten.

For once, I waited calmly for Alessandro without breaking the mood.

Only after waiting for quite a while did Alessandro slowly start walking.

“Let’s go.”

Alessandro’s appearance as he casually took the lead was completely different from before.

‘When I first saw him, he was all hunched over.’

Was it because of the good food?

His back was as broad as the Pacific Ocean.

Anyway, there was no one on the archaic arched bridge I had seen before.

It felt like just yesterday that I had come here with Manti and turned back, but time had already flowed this much.

I started walking, feeling nostalgic for different reasons than Alessandro.

Unlike the Market Alley that was finished with clean stone materials, an unpaved road greeted me after crossing the bridge.

No, it was way too unpaved to even call it a road.

Bumpy stones of various sizes were scattered all over the ground, and clouds of dust rose with every step.

If we had come on the Emerald Skywalk, we would have needed to change the tires.

“Be careful.”

Alessandro led the way, trying to step on the flattest spots he could find.

Besides the shocking state of the ground, the atmosphere was quite different from the Market Alley.

More diverse beings than I had seen in the market were coming and going, and languages that even I, with my translation skill, couldn’t interpret mixed together and tickled my ears.

On top of that, I could feel glances stealing looks at Alessandro and me.

Somehow it felt like I had entered a dangerous back alley where ordinary people shouldn’t set foot.

The only thing I could trust was the big guy walking ahead.

I stuck close to Alessandro’s side and whispered.

“Which way is it?”

“This way.”

Alessandro moved forward surprisingly without hesitation.

I had worried he might not remember, but facing it directly seemed to bring back fresh memories.

Alessandro, who had been walking for a while between shabby buildings without hesitation, soon stopped.

Something distinctive was visible beyond Alessandro’s side.

Three silver bells hanging in a row.

The door that Alessandro had said he escaped through from the Dimensional Rift.

It was the Broker’s Office.

Alessandro, who had stopped and was quietly staring at the door, asked in a low voice.

“…Will you go in alone?”

I had naturally planned to do so, but seeing him ask specifically, he seemed quite reluctant to enter.

Well, even coming this far must have been unsettling. It was completely understandable.

I patted his thick arm a couple of times and said lightly.

“I’ll be right back.”

Alessandro closed his eyes gently as if grateful.

* * *

When I opened the door and peeked inside, the interior had a physically impossible vast width.

I did blink, but decided not to question it and just let it go.

In the first place, I’m living in an era where there’s no end if you start questioning strange things, so there’s no point in looking for realism.

A space that was mysteriously bright even though there was no separate lighting.

In the wide space, there were only a table and two chairs to sit facing each other.

But the surroundings weren’t completely empty.

Along one wall, shelves serving as display cases were densely lined up.

‘Oh, couldn’t I just appraise one thing?’

The objects on the shelves were all extraordinary without exception.

Well, it’s not that they looked grand or mysterious and splendid.

They were full of miscellaneous items that looked like they were picked up from somewhere, but what was extraordinary was that they all seemed to be objects from different dimensions.

It felt like remnants from all sorts of dimensions had gathered together.

Since it wasn’t a place that sold things, I thought I shouldn’t touch them, but somehow my gaze wouldn’t leave them.

There was even something like a small skull there, with a cranium only as big as my thumb.

If it were human bones, they couldn’t be this small.

‘…Couldn’t I just touch it briefly?’

Since no one seemed to be around, wouldn’t they overlook just checking what it was?

Just as my hands were itching and twitching.

“A customer has come.”

“Eek!”

I was startled and turned my head.

Someone was sitting in front of the table that had definitely been empty.

Among all the extraordinary things, this was the most extraordinary being.

“…”

I couldn’t even answer and stared blankly at that person.

‘It doesn’t even seem to be human in the first place.’

I had seen all sorts of diverse beings countless times.

I had seen Beastkin and White Humans, blue five-eyes, spiders walking on two legs, living creatures walking like slimes, and even stone humans.

But the being sitting at the table felt like it was in a completely different category.

I couldn’t see the face.

An opaque veil-like cloth was draped from the forehead to below the chin, so even the facial outline wasn’t visible.

But what they were wearing was strange.

No, rather than strange, I should say the combination was odd.

The hat on their head was clearly an Earth baseball cap that anyone would have bought for 39,000 won.

But the feathered outer garment was a dopo that I’d only seen in martial arts novels, and the dark-colored robe worn underneath had complex patterns that only a mage from Berylsha would wear.

The earrings hanging long from the ears down to below the chest were strangely shaped, woven from grass and stones.

Moreover, the pure white forearms revealed by rolled-up sleeves were densely covered with bizarrely patterned tattoos.

Harmonious… no, there’s no way it could be harmonious.

Though it was a disheveled mix of attire, the nonchalant attitude that made it seem natural somehow forced me to accept it as natural clothing.

Among all that, what surprisingly caught my eye were the hands.

The hands neatly placed on the table were white and clean.

The long, slender fingers, as if they’d played piano, were rather incongruous.

“Finished observing?”

Oh, did I stare too obviously?

I quietly replied, hiding my embarrassment.

“I wasn’t looking.”

“If you’re done looking, sit down.”

The voice resonated as if seeping into the space.

Though that person was clearly speaking, I couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from.

Anyway, since they told me to sit, well, I should sit.

I sat down facing the owner of this mysterious trading post.

I couldn’t feel their gaze looking at me through the thick veil at all, and since I didn’t know where their gaze was directed, I could only roll my eyes around helplessly.

Though I knew they possessed tremendous abilities, sitting face to face with someone whose expression I couldn’t even see made it impossible to manage my gaze properly.

No matter who I faced, maintaining a poker face while pretending to be relaxed and composed was my strong point.

I was too nervous.

“Why are you nervous?”

…They read me.

“Welcome to the trading post.”

A calm yet cheerful voice mixed into the air.

Focusing on the mysterious voice’s resonance, I soon pulled myself together.

Right, whatever kind of being this person is, I came here to ask questions and get answers.

If this really is a ‘trading post,’ then I just need to approach it with a merchant’s mindset.

I quietly inhaled and took a deep breath.

Normally I would have tried to lighten the mood appropriately, but now that didn’t seem particularly necessary.

“How do trades proceed?”

So straight to the point.

I felt something rippling from beyond the veil.

I couldn’t tell if it was laughter or not, but I had the illusion that the air trembled.

“It depends on what you want.”

“Does that include answers to questions?”

“It depends on what questions you ask.”

They gave vague answers like Asmodeus, but I couldn’t nitpick about it.

With Asmodeus, I at least had confidence that he found me cute, so I could grumble, but what could I expect from a being I didn’t even know was male, female, or even human?

Besides, they were speaking informally to someone asking politely, but I couldn’t show that it bothered me.

“Do you remember Alessandro?”

“Alessandro…”

“The person who was trapped in the dimensional rift. I heard you sent him an invitation so he could get out of there.”

“Ah, that human who almost lost his name? I remember. I received an interesting memory.”

The veil shook noticeably, and their fingers drummed the table joyfully as if savoring that memory.

‘That was definitely laughter just now.’

To laugh with glee after taking away memories with a loved one.

I was about to furrow my brow because I couldn’t understand their sense of humor, when I realized the Broker had just said something puzzling.

“What do you mean by almost losing his name?”

“It means a dropout from the story.”

“…That sounds like you’re saying Alessandro isn’t a dropout from the scenario.”

As far as I knew, Alessandro was indeed a dropout from the scenario.

Strictly speaking, he never even got to attempt the scenario, but since his dimension was destroyed while he was entering the Tower, you couldn’t say he wasn’t.

But the Broker’s words had a puzzled tone as if that wasn’t the case.

“Correct.”

Then they answered cheerfully.

‘Then what does dropout mean?’

Just as I was about to voice the question that suddenly came to mind, the Broker added matter-of-factly.

“Since he didn’t enter the Lost World, he’s not a dropout. He was one who lost his way, that human Alessandro.”

“Wait a moment.”

Lost World?

One who lost his way?

‘What’s that supposed to be?’

With yet another piece of information added to my already complex mind full of countless details, I failed to manage my expression.

As I stared at the Broker with a furrowed face, the Broker muttered in a strangely playful tone.

“You thought everyone dies when a dimension is destroyed.”

It was disturbing content to say in such a playful tone.

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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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