24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 26

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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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Dimensional Item Specialty 24-Hour Friendly Market Episode 26

Episode 26. A Bolt from the Blue (3)

The meeting room fell silent under the heavy aura emanating from the S-rank hunters.

With S-rank hunters who support South Korea gathered in one place, the atmosphere was nothing short of murderous.

“The guild leaders of Karma and Shinrok couldn’t attend today due to external schedules. Let me start by sharing the materials.”

The one who broke through the suffocating atmosphere where no one seemed willing to speak was a man.

His tone was monotonous as if unaffected by this cold atmosphere.

Unremarkable rimless glasses and black gloves that fit perfectly on both hands.

Short stature with a thin frame that seemed to lack any muscle, sharp features with sunken cheeks and drowsy-looking eyes.

He looked no different from an ordinary office worker, yet he was South Korea’s only S-rank hunter.

Park Ji-woon, the Hunter Management Director of the Babel Management Bureau.

At Park Ji-woon’s instruction, staff members began trembling like aspen leaves as they placed document folders in front of each guild leader.

[Tower of Babel 49th Floor Strategy Report

Strategy Guild: Wolpae]

As the sound of turning pages filled the meeting room, Park Ji-woon spoke in a casual tone.

“First, congratulations on clearing the 49th Floor, Mr. Chae Geun-dam.”

“Thank you.”

Chae Geun-dam nodded silently in response.

And silence returned once again.

Clearing the 49th Floor was an important achievement that had remained like homework for South Korea.

In any other setting, there would have been at least brief applause, but those gathered here weren’t people who wasted time on formalities.

Those caught between these whales were the assistants of each guild, suddenly cast in the role of shrimp.

Ahn Yeon-seo, playing the role of shrimp number one, stood motionlessly behind Seo Jae-hyuk with her head deeply bowed.

This was because Seo Jae-hyuk, the leader of Aegis, had been sitting quietly without saying a word since entering the meeting room.

Now in her third year as an assistant, Ahn Yeon-seo had long since noticed that her excellent and sensitive leader’s mood was currently very uncomfortable.

‘I should just quit this job.’

Ahn Yeon-seo quietly exhaled, mulling over a thought she’d had about 37 times today.

Even with complaints piling up, all Ahn Yeon-seo, a B-rank hunter, could do was hide her presence as much as possible and breathe inconspicuously.

Then the man sitting across from Seo Jae-hyuk spoke up.

“There’s more than one or two suspicious things, yet you start with congratulations? Did the Babel Bureau get paid off or something?”

It was Jung Min-gu, guild leader of ‘Take-In,’ the 5th ranked guild.

A hunter with quite a fan base who appreciated his spirited attitude, despite receiving much criticism for his hot-tempered and reckless behavior.

Take-In, composed entirely of close-combat hunters like him, was also a point that Jung Min-gu’s fan base cheered for.

Of course, those who met him directly might think differently.

Jung Min-gu added with a sneering laugh.

“Everyone dies and comes out of that floor, but they all came back alive, so what congratulations? Shouldn’t we be demanding explanations first?”

That casually thrown remark was unmistakably sarcastic.

But Chae Geun-dam made no response whatsoever.

Meanwhile, it was Park Ji-woon who broke the cold silence once again.

“Let’s get to the main point. The reason for calling this meeting today is to share information with Wolpae before the 51st Floor strategy and…”

“What information sharing? This is just a hearing, isn’t it? And Guild Leader of Wolpae, what’s this ‘Friendly Market’ you mentioned right after coming out of the portal?”

The one who interrupted with rough speech was Kim Seol, guild leader of ‘Haebing,’ the 3rd ranked guild.

Glaring with murderous eyes as if ready to kill someone was a bonus.

She was famous as a beauty with fair skin and sharp eyes, but even more famous was Kim Seol’s cutting speech.

Jung Min-gu agreed with Kim Seol’s criticism that dripped with coldness.

“That’s right, Haebing. Well said. Hey, Mr. Wolpae, be honest with us, will you? Market aside, how did you clear that damn scenario?”

“Can’t even remember names and won’t use honorifics either, how truly frivolous. More importantly, Mr. Chae Geun-dam, this isn’t something you can just brush off as good luck, you know that, right?”

“This rude bitch, where do you-“

Just as Kim Seol and Jung Min-gu were growling and about to stand up, Park Ji-woon slammed down his document folder.

Everyone fell silent at the sight of Park Ji-woon sighing deeply.

“This isn’t a meeting arranged to incite discord, everyone.”

A clear reprimand.

The relationships between S-rank hunters were already maintained in precarious balance.

If a fight broke out here and now, no one would be able to escape unharmed.

As such, Park Ji-woon’s voice, as the only neutral party, carried strong influence.

As both awkwardly stepped back, Seo Jae-hyuk, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“To obtain the ‘Fruit of Pleasure,’ casualties are inevitable, but looking at the report, there wasn’t a single seriously injured person.”

At this calm and dry observation, Ahn Yeon-seo immediately understood what contradiction Seo Jae-hyuk had pointed out.

Aegis was the guild that had attempted to clear the 49th Floor more than any other guild present.

However, since guild strategies weren’t shared as a matter of principle, how far Aegis had progressed wasn’t officially recorded.

This meant that Aegis knew more about Sub Items quests than other guilds.

In this room, only Ahn Yeon-seo and Seo Jae-hyuk knew this content, and if they had cleared it through normal routes, Chae Geun-dam and the vice guild leader would know as well.

“When obtaining the ‘Fruit of Pleasure,’ who defeated the guardian in Gilrof’s Garden?”

Seo Jae-hyuk asked, tilting his head slightly.

However, his eyes weren’t light at all.

Chae Geun-dam calmly met his gaze without any change in expression and spoke.

“Ahn Gyeong-min.”

“He’s a mage affiliated with our guild. An A-rank hunter.”

Lee Min-jung, Wolpae’s vice guild leader, hastily added.

It was a natural enough answer, but Seo Jae-hyuk’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Lie.”

Seo Jae-hyuk chuckled and muttered.

“If you kill that guardian, you die with it.”

It was a very sharp observation.

A slight crack appeared on Chae Geun-dam’s previously unshaken face.

“Wow, leading interrogation.”

However, before Chae Geun-dam could properly panic, it was Lee Hwa-yeon, leader of ‘Baekdan,’ the 2nd ranked guild, who reacted.

The only person who could laugh good-naturedly in this cold atmosphere.

Lee Hwa-yeon, popular with the public for her characteristic friendliness and playfulness, joined the fray.

“Mr. Chae Geun-dam, since it’s come to this, why don’t you honestly spill it? No one dying is a good thing. We’re also curious about how this happened, aren’t we?”

Lee Hwa-yeon looked back and forth between Kim Seol and Seo Jae-hyuk as if seeking agreement.

Kim Seol snorted and turned her head away, while Seo Jae-hyuk, having had his prey stolen, ignored her completely.

But Lee Hwa-yeon didn’t mind and continued.

“While we’re at it, let’s hear what the Director has to say. We didn’t gather here to fight, but Take-In and Haebing fight every time they see each other. Let’s be mature adults and resolve this through conversation.”

“That bitch started-“

“Stop calling people bitches, you old bastard.”

Jung Min-gu was left speechless by Kim Seol’s profanity.

He should have immediately cursed back, but being properly scratched left him speechless.

Jung Min-gu, who had turned 41 this year, had already instructed Take-In to change his registered age online to 39.

Since the other S-rank hunters were all relatively young and quite good-looking, he had been working hard to keep up.

It was just as Kim Seol was sneering at Jung Min-gu’s reddening face.

Slam-

A Babel Management Bureau employee carelessly burst through the door, flinging it wide open.

The price for shattering the tense atmosphere was steep.

However, despite the sharp glares directed at him that made him hiccup, the employee held out the tablet he was carrying to Park Ji-woon.

“D-Director. You need to s-see this.”

“……Is it urgent?”

“Yes.”

The employee adjusted the tablet screen so only Park Ji-woon could see it.

And shortly after, Park Ji-woon’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What’s going on?”

Recognizing the seriousness, Kim Seol asked calmly with a completely different attitude than before.

Seo Jae-hyuk also opened his eyes that had been closed.

It was because of his intuition that this wouldn’t be something they could just brush off.

Park Ji-woon answered without any change in expression, pointing to the screen connected to the meeting room.

“You all should see this together.”

As soon as the screen turned on moments later.

“Wh-what is this?”

“What kind of bullshit is this?”

“…….”

Various reactions poured out.

What appeared on the screen was footage taken on the 25th Floor.

The mysterious blue building erected on the 25th Floor now had a sign reading ‘Friendly Market’ that definitely hadn’t been there until yesterday.

But what was more eye-catching was the text written in the window that appeared above it.

[Hello, this is Friendly Market. In preparation for the 50th Floor opening, Friendly Market has established a second branch. We are recruiting businesses to move into the 50th Floor, so we ask for your interest and applications. For detailed information, please refer to the guide at ‘Yeon-hee Potion’ located on Floor 1 of the building on the 50th Floor. Additionally, those wishing to open a store should fill out an application form and place it in the application box.]

“Is he insane……?”

Lee Hwa-yeon, who had been sitting with a smiling face the entire time, muttered in an incredulous tone.

They had thought he would be laying low after Chae Geun-dam mentioned him in the interview, but this was a completely unexpected and radical move.

“It’ll be hard to keep pretending we don’t know anything now.”

Park Ji-woon nodded lightly as if he had expected this.

“……This is one of the reasons I summoned you all today. The government hasn’t obtained any information about who the manager of ‘Friendly Market’ is, how they helped clear the 49th Floor, or what their intentions were. No one has.”

Park Ji-woon paused briefly before adding firmly.

“Except for one person who directly mentioned Friendly Market.”

It was clear who he was referring to.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Chae Geun-dam again.

In the heavily sunken atmosphere, Park Ji-woon, who had taken charge, spoke up.

“Mr. Chae Geun-dam.”

“…….”

“You’ve met the owner of Friendly Market, haven’t you?”

Chae Geun-dam silently raised his head to look at Park Ji-woon.

Park Ji-woon, who represented society’s balance, was now demanding the truth from him.

But he had promised to keep secrets with the manager of Friendly Market, Lee Hae.

Though it wasn’t binding, it was a promise made in good faith that must be kept.

Chae Geun-dam only carefully exhaled, trying not to lose his composure in front of those who maintained society’s balance.

* * *

Ssseeuuup.

This is the sound I’m making, soaked in nervousness.

The 25th Floor is called Ba-man-jang because so many people come and go, and I’m currently spying on my own building.

I muttered in a reluctant voice.

“I feel a bit sorry for Kang Yeon-hee.”

She’s probably either gone to the Babel Management Bureau right now to file a noise pollution complaint, or she might be making a curse puppet, swearing she won’t let me get away with causing this mess……

And for good reason, because countless people were crowding in front of the Bamanjang Store right now.

“Hey! There’s someone in there, right?!”

“What exactly is Friendly Market?”

“We’re from Geumhyeong Group, let’s have a talk!”

“Won’t you join us in the process of spiritual transcendence!”

All of this was probably because of the 50th Floor tenant notice I had posted above the Bamanjang Store building.

How fortunate that the market has an automatic vending function.

The fact that Kang Yeon-hee doesn’t have to face those people directly would be the greatest benefit Sam-i has given me.

[⁕ The greatest benefit the guide provides is directly helping with market operations :)]

Hey, shut up, AI that can’t even read context.

Anyway, with less than a minute left until the 50th Floor opening, I was soaked in nervousness.

It wasn’t because of those noisy people who had been enthusiastically surrounding the building and shouting since early morning.

That was something I had expected to some degree, and what I was nervous about was a completely different problem.

‘The scenario will open soon.’

The 50th Floor opening means the 51st Floor will also open.

There wasn’t much time left.

Once the 51st Floor scenario opens, I’ll soon be able to find traces of Brother.

At that moment, everything in front of me turned bright white.

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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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