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

—————
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 24

Episode 24. A Bolt from the Blue (1)

“….”

“Lee Hae?”

“….”

“This doesn’t seem like a situation you can avoid just by looking away, does it?”

I subtly turned my gaze away and timidly resisted.

“If, if you’re okay with it, Yeon-hee, couldn’t we just come to an agreement and avoid this situation?”

“I don’t want to avoid it though?”

“….”

She was more resolute than I expected.

I thought she’d give up easily if I slipped away to the second floor.

But Kang Yeon-hee’s sturdy arms had already blocked my escape route, and I was cornered, only able to roll my eyes around frantically.

‘Just moments ago, you were drowning in fatigue!’

Where did that face go, the one that looked so tired she couldn’t even lift a spoon?

“Please explain, Lee Hae.”

Kang Yeon-hee’s spirit, which had been extraordinary since she held her one-person protest in front of the Babel Management Bureau, was now directed at me.

I swallowed once and answered.

“It’s nothing special. I think you’re misunderstanding? The names could just happen to be the same.”

“Isn’t it too late to call it a misunderstanding? I’m also someone who does business in this building.”

“You don’t pay key money or monthly rent though.”

“…That, that’s true, but! Once the sign goes up, I’ll get tons of questions too! The meaning behind the name ‘Friendly Market’ won’t just end with having the same name! Do you know how many people are already snooping around? Avoiding answers by saying I don’t know will only work for a day or two!”

Kang Yeon-hee raised her voice.

‘That’s also true.’

The mysterious ‘Friendly Market’ that South Korea’s 7th-ranked guild, the first in the world to clear the 49th Floor, publicly announced they received help from.

Many people would be looking for me right after that broadcast aired.

At this rate, finding me would only be a matter of time.

[⁕ The Open Market Manager’s security level is Babel’s highest grade :)]

…Oh, what a completely unhelpful comment, thanks so much.

“So I need to know something too. That way I can either answer or tell appropriate lies. At the very least, I should be able to pretend I don’t know.”

“….”

I stared intently at Kang Yeon-hee’s face, which somehow looked anxious.

In that brief moment, countless methods flashed through my mind.

It wasn’t like there was absolutely no way to get through this situation.

Like I did with the Dark Mages on the 49th Floor, I could just brazenly put on a shameless face and insist otherwise.

‘But Yeon-hee is a business partner.’

We didn’t plan a business together, and she wasn’t someone who invested a fortune, but Kang Yeon-hee was the first tenant I brought into the market.

Someone might say that wasn’t a special enough relationship to share secrets.

But still….

‘She’s someone I greet every day.’

When I come down from the second floor yawning lazily, Kang Yeon-hee is the only one who greets me with “Good morning.”

Drawing a firm line with someone who asks about my well-being every day was also humanly hesitating.

Sigh, even when I try to live for people, my tender and gentle heart won’t allow it.

Unable to think of any other solution, I sighed without realizing it.

“Damn it.”

“What, what did you say?”

Busy, so busy

That round, gentle feeling I had been so wary of, completely unhelpful in modern society, had caught me by the ankle.

“I wasn’t cursing at you, Yeon-hee.”

“For that, you cursed right to my face though…?”

“That’s because you were clinging right up to my nose, Yeon-hee.”

As if she finally came to her senses, Kang Yeon-hee awkwardly stepped back two steps.

“No… They said breaking through the 49th Floor that couldn’t be cleared was thanks to ‘Friendly Market,’ and now they’re saying that’s this building’s name, so I was surprised.”

It is surprising.

Even so, I couldn’t tell her everything.

I stared at Kang Yeon-hee’s face, which clearly showed embarrassment, then opened my mouth.

“I can’t tell you the details yet. But I’ll tell you once things get sorted out.”

“Really?”

“Of course. As much as I can tell you.”

It wasn’t something I had to hide until the end, but now didn’t seem like the right timing.

‘I haven’t even gotten used to it myself yet.’

I need to get used to doing my current job as ‘Open Market Manager’ before I can handle things skillfully.

“For now, if anyone asks, please say you don’t know.”

“That would be the truth though….”

“Exactly. Please answer with the truth. Say you found out today that this place is called Friendly Market. Oh, and that you were contacted by message when you moved in, and you have no idea who the owner is.”

“It’s not wrong. I don’t know anything about you, Lee Hae. You’re a woman, you’re tall. It seems like you sleep here for several days at a time. That’s about all I know.”

Kang Yeon-hee muttered resentfully.

I was about to answer that knowing that much meant knowing everything, but I closed my mouth.

Kang Yeon-hee doesn’t even know my real name.

‘I don’t think the day will come when I tell her.’

For someone like me who wants to live a wealthy life in a world where no one knows me, this situation couldn’t help but be extremely burdensome.

Even if I did tell her, I’d probably only mention this Friendly Market briefly.

So for now, I just smiled quietly while hiding my true feelings.

Since I’m using the ‘Anonymity’ skill, my face would appear blurry, so it would be useless to Kang Yeon-hee anyway.

“Well, I’ll go out and come back then. I have something urgent to do.”

“Didn’t you just say you were going to rest?”

“Ah, something urgent suddenly came up.”

Actually, I wanted to rest, but I felt uncomfortable being in the same building as Kang Yeon-hee when she was so curious.

I slipped out of the stairs more smoothly than an eel and quickly grabbed the back door handle.

“I’ll, I’ll be back?”

I opened the back door without hesitation and rushed into the bustling streets of Ba-man-jang.

“Wait, Lee Hae!”

I heard Kang Yeon-hee calling me urgently from far away, but.

“…Phew, I almost spilled everything.”

I was already heading toward the portal leading to the 50th Floor.

* * *

Kang Yeon-hee, who watched Lee Hae disappear into the crowd with ninja-like movements, let out a deep sigh.

The suspicious building owner who gave her a proper store after she lost her stall and was kicked out.

She perfectly hid her identity but seemed somehow sloppy, appeared to act rationally and coldly but also seemed soft somewhere.

She was someone impossible to figure out properly.

Besides the name ‘Lee Hae’ and her hidden appearance, she knew nothing.

Kang Yeon-hee watched Lee Hae head toward the blue portal pillar, then shook her head.

Does he even know how much the awakener community is talking about him right now?

Does he understand the seriousness of it all?

Kang Yeon-hee swallowed a sigh and threw open the window on the first floor.

She set up a shop stall on the windowsill that opened outward, and placed stiff price tags where they could be easily seen.

Since outsiders couldn’t enter the building and sales were automated, Kang Yeon-hee planned to focus on developing new potions from now on.

Only after putting on her apron and mask did Kang Yeon-hee remember what she had forgotten.

“Ah!”

Kang Yeon-hee hurriedly rushed out of the workshop with quick steps.

“I should have told him about this…”

What Kang Yeon-hee picked up from the side table at the building entrance was a white envelope.

An envelope with ominous-looking text written in silver foil.

It seemed urgent, so she had intended to tell him as soon as he arrived, but she had completely forgotten due to her shock at the unbelievable news.

Besides, Lee Hae was someone who used the back door rather than the front door, so she hadn’t had time to pay attention.

“He’ll come back today, right?”

She couldn’t be certain, but wouldn’t he?

It seemed like he slept here many nights anyway.

Kang Yeon-hee fiddled with the envelope before placing it back on the side table.

“I’ll just give it to him when he comes, that’s all.”

Just then, bubbling sounds began to emerge from Kang Yeon-hee’s workshop again.

The letters on the envelope were still glittering.

[Babel Management Bureau Attendance Summons]

* * *

“Hmm.”

I snorted as I looked at the notification brightly illuminating my vision.

[■ Babel System : 6D 02:49:36 until 50th Floor opens]

This was a notification provided to all awakeners inside and outside the Tower of Babel, not just me.

Well, I’m an Open Market Manager who doesn’t fall under that countdown anyway.

I looked out at the empty panorama of the 50th Floor and took off my robe.

A cool breeze from somewhere tickled my cheek with my hair.

Adding to that, turning off my Anonymity skill made my face feel refreshingly cool.

‘How long has it been since this?’

I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I’d shown my bare face like this, except when sleeping.

I was the only human on the 50th Floor right now.

Wolpae would have headed to their guild building after collecting loot, so even if they had a chance to claim the 50th Floor, they wouldn’t come today.

I had my own reasons for entering the 50th Floor alone.

‘This is when I need to build in advance to avoid ending up like Bamanjang Store.’

With Kang Yeon-hee and everyone else, now they’ll really be making a fuss about what Friendly Market actually does.

It’s right to reduce risks even a little.

I stretched my arms and shouted refreshingly.

“So spacious~!”

An open sky that was hard to believe was inside the Tower.

A small stream flowing through the middle and gentle hills untouched by human hands.

Except for the portal pillar behind me, it was completely untouched by human footsteps, making it feel like I’d been dropped into the middle of peaceful nature.

“This is on a different level from the 25th Floor.”

This scenery was a hundred times better than the gloomy 25th Floor, which was like an underground city built to avoid sunlight.

And reaching the 50th Floor meant…

‘It also means I can find clues about Brother’s whereabouts.’

The floor where griffins appeared that Manti mentioned might be different from our dimension, but as Sam-i said, griffins were likely to appear in the 50th Floor range.

Brother, who was meticulous about everything, would surely have left clues.

I gazed endlessly at the distant horizon before speaking.

“So, I just need to build the second branch here?”

First things first, what I was given.

[⁕ Some Open Market Manager permissions have been unlocked with the 50th Floor opening :)]

“Explain it, Sammy.”

[⁕ I’m Sam-i 🙂 First, you can use market functions limitedly outside the Tower of Babel. Also, you can send messages inside the Tower of Babel in the same dimension.]

Right now I’m living in a rent-free house inside the Tower, so I can always use market functions, but even I can’t do anything when I go outside the Tower of Babel.

Checking status windows is about all I can do.

Since I’ll be going in and out periodically anyway, this had to be an appealing update.

I asked with brightened expression.

“Wait, limited? To what extent?”

[⁕ You can view notifications, restock inventory, and send messages to intermediate managers :)]

That much would be enough.

Since I spend most of my time inside the Tower anyway, there wouldn’t be urgent need to check anything outside.

“And? Keep going.”

[⁕ You can distribute promotional pamphlets in your affiliated Tower of Babel, create market logos, exchange messages with unspecified Open Market Managers from other dimensions, and finally, design a shopping district for the 50th Floor :)]

“…Huh?”

I frowned slightly as I listened quietly to the flood of explanations.

Why are you suddenly talking like some legendary city planner?

[⁕ Since you’ve already built stores twice, this time should be a bit easier :)]

I immediately retorted in bewilderment.

“No, that’s a different story.”

On the 25th Floor, I basically dropped a building without knowing anything, and the 75th Floor irregular market had a predetermined location from the start.

I understand building a structure, but a ‘shopping district’ means I have to create a proper layout.

[⁕ You understand correctly 🙂 The shopping district you plan will be used as the basic foundation that comprises the 50th Floor.]

But I’m not someone who graduated from urban planning or anything like that – how am I supposed to design a shopping district?

All I know are things like Times Square or department stores.

I scratched my chin and looked around at the vast land untouched by human hands.

“What am I supposed to do with this place?”

This is too natural.

[⁕ Imagine freely. If you freely set the direction as you wish, I’ll help with reinforcement work :)]

Sam-i, the aspiring guide dreaming of being reliable, spoke as if to reassure me.

Of course, it’s not helpful at all.

Having to pour creativity into something I have absolutely no interest in is nothing but torture for me.

Even if they tell me to imagine freely, I’d need to have imagined this kind of thing before.

“Still, I have to do this to solve the Quest…”

I lay down on the grass and let out a sigh.

“Wait a minute, then.”

I quietly scratched my chin and muttered.

“Can I put a Portal inside a building?”

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