24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 206

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 206

Episode 206. A Well-Set Flag (2)

“Oh.”

I admired the scenery of the 75th floor, which had become quite neat compared to before.

In my memory, the 75th floor was a marketplace with stalls lacking aesthetic sense randomly lined up along a huge main road.

‘Now it looks like a proper downtown area.’

The general framework doesn’t seem to have changed much, but it could be said to be cleaner than before.

Of course, stalls lined up on both sides of the huge road with paved sidewalk blocks is the same as before.

But it’s not filled with shabby tents that look like they could collapse at any moment.

All the stalls had the same appearance.

A structure with roofs firmly supported by fairly thick pillars, with each stall raised one step up as if to distinguish their territory.

It gives a feeling of separating the road from the stalls, making it look more proper.

Looking closely, signs had appeared too.

Previously, stall owners wrote stall names on tents to use as makeshift signs, but now each stall had a decent wooden sign hanging.

Sam-i added an explanation at the appropriate timing.

[⁕ With the opening of the 75th Floor of the Tower of Babel, South Korea, the irregularly operating market has changed to permanent operation :)]

Ah, previously the market was in a state of opening irregularly.

‘Now it’s a permanently operating market, so they built the stalls more sturdily?’

There are probably several other reasons why it looks so different.

Since it changed from operating once every few days to a daily operating market, each stall was decorated with its own unique characteristics.

Some places were blocked on all sides with white cloth, others had brought all sorts of strange plants.

There were also stalls that hung banners at the entrance saying “Welcome.”

It’s like a shopping district, just without walls.

The tremendously increased number of people passing by also played a part.

Various kinds of beings were walking around like I saw before, mixed with numerous Koreans who came over from South Korea’s Babel Tower.

Just then, two shabbily dressed men who seemed focused on gaining experience in the tower passed by, waving green bracelets I’d never seen before.

“This is crazy. This item I bought over there supposedly permanently increases movement speed.”

“Movement speed? Where do they sell that?”

Korean that didn’t need the power of translation skills hit my ears.

A market overflowing with Koreans – I did well to come wearing the mask of all forms.

I carefully tucked away the swan feather sticking out of my robe and hurriedly moved my steps.

This naturally raised my expectations for my own stall.

I headed in the direction where the kind golden arrow was waiting.

But then.

“…No, only this place is in ruins?”

Were my expectations too high?

Since I just roughly brought items and sold them during each irregular market, my stall didn’t have anything that could be called interior design.

The wooden deck, clean roof, and sturdy pillars were nice, though.

Even the basic foundation, the sign, was completely empty without any name.

Should I say it really shows signs of being neglected while the surroundings became proper…?

The comparison group is even too flashy.

The stall on the right had colorful glass lights hanging from the ceiling and large and small beads lined up on the display stand.

The stall on the left had silk with gorgeous colors that would appear in martial arts novels hanging from the ceiling, and the display stand was filled with luxurious-looking accessories.

‘Only me… only Friendly Market…’

Only this place looks shabby as if time had stopped.

I hid my embarrassed feelings and entered the stall.

Come to think of it, I don’t see the blue five-eyed creature that always glanced at me from across the way.

‘I guess their dimension couldn’t break through the 75th floor.’

Anyway, five-eyes or whatever, I looked around the shabby stall that had nothing.

Both the 25th floor and 50th floor, since those were places I had registered, I didn’t particularly make an effort.

‘This place is too much of a war zone.’

It seems the Title Quest’s demand for offline branch remodeling was all because of this.

Is this the hardship of being self-employed?

There were reasons why other stalls made such flashy decorations.

I first took out the interior supplies I had prepared from my inventory.

Taking out a banner that Kang Yeon-hee had asked “Are you really going to take this?”, I muttered in a troubled tone.

“…I guess I really don’t have aesthetic sense.”

[Ah! Items, cheaper than shoes!]

The banner made using only red, yellow, and black colors was enough to make a passing werewolf frown.

It looks even more ridiculous when hung at the entrance, but this was interior design based on big data.

‘It worked last time.’

Surely the cheap mart sensibility worked at the last irregular dimensional market.

Compared to other stalls’ flashy appeals, it feels vulgar in many ways.

I didn’t have natural talent for making or fixing things to begin with, so how am I supposed to remodel Babel Square and Ba-man-jang?

If I’m going to do it, shouldn’t Sam-i at least transform into a remodeling specialist AI?

[⁕ Providing ideas is difficult :)]

“I know, I’ll do it myself.”

I didn’t expect the heartless Sam-i to help with interior design anyway…

That’s when it happened.

“Meow.”

A cat’s meow coming from somewhere!

I quickly raised my head and looked toward the source of the sound.

A soft ball of fur that had somehow climbed onto the empty wooden display stand!

“Manti!”

How did you recognize me and come find me even though I’m in swan-human form?!

I shouted with full joy and reached out my arms with a sinister face.

I need the comfort of that soft fur right now!

At that moment, Manti meowed once more.

“Meow…”

-I have come to give my final farewell to you, my friend.

I stopped in the position with my arms outstretched and stared at the translated window.

Only then did I notice.

Normally, he would have urged me to sit down quickly or slapped my hand away while pointing it out in an elegant tone.

Right now, Manti’s eyes were darkly sunken with indescribable despair.

* * *

Forget about stall remodeling or whatever, I plopped down on the floor.

Manti naturally nestled his head into my arms as I sat cross-legged.

It was an unhesitating action as if that was naturally his place.

Then he just quietly regulated his breathing without even purring.

After throwing out the tremendous words “final farewell,” making even me nervous.

After waiting about 10 minutes, I couldn’t stand the silence and spoke first.

“What’s wrong?”

At the question thrown over his head, Manti slowly raised his head.

His bright blue eyes were still transparent and clear, but somehow felt different from before.

Not the leisurely gaze that said ‘I have confirmed your well-being,’ but somewhere anxious yet seemingly having given up on everything, a complex feeling.

After his whiskers twitched for a while, Manti answered with a low, quiet meow.

-That you have joined the regular market is cause for deep congratulations.

“Thanks, it’s fortunate. It’ll be open continuously from now on.”

I answered pretending to be calm, but in my head I was making numerous assumptions.

‘Does he not want to talk about it?’

What on earth happened that he’s setting this atmosphere while saying it’s a final farewell?

Fortunately, my question was soon resolved.

Because Manti pressed down on the back of my hand with his paw and let out a low cry.

-I can no longer climb the stairs.

Stairs?

As soon as I read that word, I immediately understood why Manti was in despair.

Not being able to climb the stairs meant he could no longer conquer the Tower of Babel.

From all the information I had learned so far, I knew this would lead to the dimension’s destruction.

It meant that the strongest being in Manti’s dimension had fallen and was leading the dimension to ruin.

Just as I had discovered that information on Earth and delivered it to the Babel Management Bureau, there would be someone playing my role in Manti’s dimension too.

Manti had even communicated with an Archmage friend from another dimension and directly heard that the Archmage’s dimension had been destroyed.

He probably never thought such a thing would happen to his own dimension.

Without realizing it, I was gently stroking the back of Manti’s head.

Though my touch probably wasn’t much comfort, Manti purred softly.

It wasn’t from pleasure, but more like a reflexive cry of gratitude.

“What on earth… what happened?”

-It was the 84th stair. That stair is a tomb. It accepts all heroes, but never lets them out. All the renowned heroes of our dimension entered it, but none came out.

I quietly read the window and replied in a bewildered tone.

“…There’s no participant limit?”

Every scenario I had encountered so far had participant limits.

But what Manti was describing sounded like a scenario that accepted participants without limit and devoured them all.

Even though scenarios don’t start unless all participant slots are filled.

-Two hundred and twenty-five heroes have entered so far.

I was shocked by Manti’s additional words.

It was already shocking that scenario participants exceeded 200, but even that wasn’t enough to fill the quota?

What kind of scenario could be inside there?

I asked, trying to stay calm.

“Wait, don’t you have a Market Administrator like me over there? Haven’t you tried scouting or anything?”

Every dimension should have a Creator and director who compose scenarios.

If their production team had even minimal responsibility like me, they surely would have found the scenario’s anomaly and helped.

-There is. But those two heroes disappeared after entering a painting. Into a strange white and black painting that suddenly appeared in mid-air.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed tight at Manti’s answer.

A strange white and black painting that suddenly appeared in mid-air.

That alien painting that appeared as if tearing through space was definitely…

“…A dimensional rift?”

-It seems that’s what you call it in your dimension.

At Manti’s confirmation, I clenched my teeth.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t climb the Tower of Babel because the scenario was too difficult.

‘The Creator and director abandoned their posts, so things aren’t functioning properly.’

So the ‘stair’ that blocked Manti probably wasn’t originally a massive scenario with over 200 participants.

Under normal circumstances, the assigned number would be around 10 people at most.

Sam-i had told me to ‘never enter a dimensional rift.’

If a Creator enters a rift, the possibility of the Creator’s dimension collapsing increases.

It seemed that the Creator in Manti’s dimension had ignored that warning and headed into the dimensional rift, causing scenarios and everything else to become twisted.

But Manti’s dimension seemed to know nothing about this information.

-There are no heroes left. Now it’s my turn to enter that place. Once I go in, I probably won’t come out again.

They were just endlessly pushing in heroes who could fight, burning meaningless hope that someday they would overcome and climb higher.

Manti was also sensing death as his turn approached.

I urgently added.

“There must be some way, definitely.”

But Manti slowly shook his head and cried as if murmuring.

-I only came to say goodbye to you. The moment has come when I must accept that the end has arrived.

I stared down at Manti blankly and blinked.

-I hope that at least you will overcome all trials and bloom.

It was truly a calm final farewell.

But my thoughts stopped as if I had heard an unbelievable fact.

‘…Manti is going to die?’

My kind Persian cat, Manti?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————