24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 223

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

24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 223

Episode 223. Insisting on Mutual Salvation (2)

They say that keeping a pet requires an enormous sense of responsibility.
So when I chose to live with Manti, I made a solemn vow.
No matter what happened, I would be the best caretaker to Manti.
Yet my resolve proved unnecessary—Manti was a creature capable of understanding conversation and being reasoned with.
‘When I tell him not to scratch the sofa, he really doesn’t scratch it.’
There was no need to treat him like an actual cat from the start.
In any case, Manti adapted to Babel Square far faster than I expected.
He ate his fill of the various supplements and premium feed I’d bought him, and he’d put on weight accordingly.
Manti became a middle manager belonging to the 75th Floor and was able to live in Babel Square.
He became an employee of the Friendly Market who commuted to the Dimensional Market every day.
Of course, unlike Alessandro or Kang Yeon-hee, he didn’t have flexible hours—it was fixed attendance—but Manti seemed quite satisfied with the role I’d given him.
Before visiting the 100th Floor, I would stop by the market in my spare time while doing other work.
They say a boss who constantly visits to check if his subordinates are doing well is the worst, but we’re friends, after all.
And while I was at it, I also provided mental care for Manti, who had lost everything.
Manti, who had once quietly observed whenever customers arrived, had become a competent employee who now handled them skillfully.
I’d wondered if customers would find it disconcerting to be attended to by a white, soft cat displaying a translation window, but the Dimensional Market was a place where all manner of creatures came and went.
With a creature possessing the ultimate in cuteness working as an employee in such a place, customers would probably just flare their nostrils in wonder rather than feel any real alarm.
Manti performed his role quite well.
His polite and weighty demeanor actually added a certain dignity, and at some point, he’d even started serving tea to customers while conducting business.
He’d asked me to buy him tea and tea sets, and I wondered if Kang Yeon-hee had spread South Korean trends.
As a result, the stall—which had previously possessed only an F-grade sensibility of “Oh, Dimensional Items, cheaper than tires!”—had undergone a social elevation.
And the biggest change of all was this:
“Let me touch your belly.”
“…Hey, isn’t that really only possible with the gentlest of cats?”
Guk Min-seong stared at me with eyes full of shock.
That was exactly the reaction I’d been hoping for.
I puffed out my chest and boasted, flaunting my power.
“It’s annoying.”
“This is what power tastes like.”
I offered a hollow apology to Guk Min-seong for his painful reality—no cat, no work-life balance.
Guk Min-seong squeezed his eyes shut as if he couldn’t bear to look at me, then began eating the snacks he’d set out for courtesy’s sake.
The place where Guk Min-seong and I were now was a cozy studio apartment in Babel Square.
Guk Min-seong was the third Earthling to enter Babel Square, after Kang Yeon-hee and Nam Pu-reum.
“Crunch.”
Watching him belch without a shred of shame suggests he hasn’t the faintest idea how honored he should feel to be here.
If Guk Min-seong hadn’t brought ten packages of limited-edition snacks as a housewarming gift, I never would have let him inside.
The sight of him sprawled across my sofa in someone else’s home is absolutely ridiculous.
I flicked a comment at Guk Min-seong, whose eyes were already drooping as if he might fall asleep at any moment.
“I do have something on my mind.”
The real reason I’d invited him here was to combine a housewarming with some advice-seeking.
Guk Min-seong yawned loudly, making it abundantly clear he couldn’t care less.
“What is it.”
“Hey, what’s with the attitude?”
I immediately scowled and squeezed my eyes shut.
…Well, his demeanor is certainly presumptuous, but I should still try to accomplish my goal.
With Manti at work now, this is the perfect timing for a consultation.
“I think the cat has separation anxiety.”
“The cat?”
“Yeah.”
This was something I’d noticed since Manti first started working.
“So what are you going to do about it.”
“I’ve got him commuting to work. You said cats like keeping to their routines, right? I figured giving him regular work would actually make him happy, but he keeps sending messages asking when I’m coming back.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I have work to do too. It’s already a busy season and I’m swamped, but he asks where I am if I’m late, questions why I can’t come if I say I can’t make it, and even at home, he comes to check on me whenever I’m out of sight.”
“Hmm.”
“Since he asks so politely, I wondered if it really was separation anxiety, but once it went past two weeks, it became crystal clear. I even searched online for ways to overcome separation anxiety, and everyone says you need to train them to get used to the owner’s absence. But commuting itself is training, isn’t it? What am I supposed to do when that doesn’t work?”
Manti grew particularly anxious whenever I was unreachable.
When I returned after being away for a couple of days for a survey, he greeted me so calmly that I thought nothing had happened.
But then Alessandro told me the truth.

‘He cried out like he was screaming every dawn for those two days. Did you perhaps go on that survey without saying anything?’

Not only that, but at home he insists on staying right beside me, and whenever I mention stepping out to Ba-man-jang for a bit, he asks me to promise when I’ll return.
Since he brings it up so politely, I can’t bring myself to brush him off the way I normally would.
I know the full story behind Manti’s circumstances, so I can’t just dismiss him lightly either.
I’ve even been granted the privilege of jelly—I’m not about to lose that power over some small mistake.
Guk Min-seong nodded readily, his expression sympathetic.
“Sounds like separation anxiety.”
Just as I was suppressing my irritation at his compliant attitude, Guk Min-seong added something more.
“But isn’t that cat too intelligent to call it mere separation anxiety?”
“…You’re right. He actually told me, ‘I wondered if perhaps you were asleep, so I came to check on you for a moment.'”
Guk Min-seong clicked his tongue lightly, then scratched the back of his neck as if pondering something.
After a brief moment of thought, what Guk Min-seong said next denied Manti’s very identity.
“Isn’t the premise itself wrong—calling him a cat?”
“…But he’s very much a cat?”
“No, look, just imagine it was me instead. If I did that to you… ugh.”
“…”
Where on earth did he learn such manners—using himself as an example and then gagging?
Too bewildered to respond, I simply stared at him while Guk Min-seong quickly regained his composure.
“Right, use someone else as an example. It’s only natural to want to rely on someone you’re grateful to, isn’t it?”
“By that logic, I owe Manti plenty too. He’s comforted me a lot. But that doesn’t mean I kept seeking him out back then.”
“Hey, the circumstances are different.”
Guk Min-seong looked at me with pity and continued.
“You at least have people around you.”
“Me?”
“But that cat was alone for a very long time. No one remembered him, he lost his home, lost his role—everything. And then he met you, and you told him to live with you. How grateful must he be?”
“You even got him a job.”
“Right, in this job market, you gave him employment—he owes you his life.”
True enough, a solitary life is lonely.
Even I, who don’t feel loneliness acutely, sometimes experience moments of desolation.
“I suppose so.”
I agreed quietly.
Having experienced the loss of everything, he must fear losing it all again.
Everything Manti has now comes from my hands, so perhaps he thinks that if I disappear, he’ll lose it all once more.
He’d need to find enough peace of mind not to feel such things.

[> Middle Manager Message
– Might I inquire at what hour you shall grace us with your presence? Ι Manti (Kindly Marketplace)]

The fact that Manti’s message arrived like clockwork suggested I still had some time before they arrived.
I sent a light reply to Manti’s message floating in the air, then closed my eyes gently.
It seemed I was greedier than I thought—saving someone’s life and pretending it was nothing special.
The fact that I felt compelled to support Manti until they found more stability said as much.
Still, things were progressing smoothly in turning the Kindly Marketplace into a truly kind marketplace, so I supposed it was a good start.
“Actually, they were apparently a manager overseeing other cats in their own dimension. That’s why they felt a bit burdened.”
“But they said they had no choice.”
“That’s true, but think about it honestly. Wouldn’t it feel awkward to bring in an executive from a major corporation and make them work as a sales representative?”
“Well, I was a manager myself, if we’re being technical.”
At the sudden sound of a deep voice, I opened my eyes and stole a glance toward the kitchen.
Alessandro was staring at me with an incredulous expression.
‘That man was the Kingdom Knight Captain, wasn’t he.’
I’d completely forgotten because he was holding a ladle in a floral apron…
I laughed awkwardly and gave him a thumbs up.
“Wow, impressive.”
“…Check the broth for me later, will you?”
“You got it.”
Alessandro turned away without any expectation and headed back into the kitchen.
Couldn’t you say that man was essentially the kitchen manager now?
It would be nice if Manti got closer to him, but he just researches recipes every day.
Since our first meeting at the Irregular Dimensional Market hadn’t been particularly favorable, Manti and Alessandro were still awkward with each other.
And I couldn’t really say anything about a boss pushing subordinates to get along—that was the worst.
Still, the fact that Manti complimented Alessandro’s cooking smells suggested there might be room for improvement.
‘…Strictly speaking, Manti isn’t actually a cat, so wouldn’t it be fine to feed them what we eat?’
I was giving them all sorts of premium pet food and Churu, but it would be nice for them to experience Alessandro’s cooking skills too.
If small but good memories accumulated little by little, maybe Manti would be okay someday.
Ah, of course, there was something to worry about before painting such a beautiful future.
“There’s one more thing I’m concerned about.”
“Yeah?”
“I need to be away for a while.”
“The 100th Floor?”
“…Yes.”
Guk Min-seong sat up straight.
When he realized the place I needed to go was the 100th Floor, Guk Min-seong went rigid.
He pointed out that just climbing to the 76th Floor had been full of all sorts of troubles, so who knew what awaited on the 100th Floor.
Since he was right, I put on a serious face too.
Brother had left me a clue, and I couldn’t just leave it alone, could I?
Guk Min-seong, sensing the conversation was about an expedition to the 100th Floor, went rigid with tension.
I watched Guk Min-seong, who was clearly ready to listen seriously as if it were his own matter, and asked carefully.
“I don’t even know how long I’ll be gone. What about Manti?”
“Is that really what you’re worried about right now?”
“I’m serious about this.”
Guk Min-seong looked at me with displeasure, as if questioning whether I was being genuine.
Of course I was serious—I was leaving behind a cat with separation anxiety, and I couldn’t even promise when I’d be back.
“No, I mean, if you can communicate with them, just explain the situation and ask them to understand.”
“Hey, trauma doesn’t just disappear because someone talks you through it.”
“Fair point.”
Guk Min-seong murmured dismissively and lay back down.
If I only knew how long the 100th Floor survey would take, it would help tremendously in easing Manti’s anxiety.
I was lost in thought, staring blankly at the ceiling, when it happened.
“Why don’t you just take them with you?”
“Huh, you mean…?”
“The cat, I mean.”
Guk Min-seong added the comment in a casual tone.
“Why can’t they come along?”
….
…Why didn’t I think of that?
I’d always conducted surveys alone, so it never occurred to me to bring someone along.
Working solo made it easier to move around and easier to hide things.
I couldn’t exactly smuggle Alessandro inside my Shadow Knights robe.
‘But Manti is small.’
If needed, I could just carry them in my arms and drape the robe over us both.
I laughed hollowly, sweeping away the worries I’d been taking so seriously.
Right, I’ll just think of it as going on a field assignment with a new employee.

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