I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 14
Se Hee murmured to herself.
‘It’s just like an awakening from caffeine kicking in.’
But she wasn’t so thoughtless as to say it out loud.
‘Well, both he and the system window explained what effect it has anyway.’
Rather than proposing a deal immediately, Se Hee folded her arms and deliberately adopted a contemplative expression.
“Hmm…….”
In that brief silence, Erasmus’s eyes flickered with uncertainty.
“If it’s a matter of price, speak freely. Whether Gold Coins, Mana Stones, or any Magical Artifact I possess—I’ll give you whatever you desire.”
At those words, Se Hee’s gaze wavered.
‘Oh……. That’s pretty good?’
But then she remembered the commission.
‘No, it’s just Mix Coffee—if I overprice it, there won’t be many customers willing to buy.’
She needed to mark up each Mix Coffee by at least thirty percent.
‘So then…….’
Se Hee’s eyes naturally swept over Erasmus.
His clothing, his manner of speech, his bearing.
He was definitely not an ordinary customer.
‘I could probably ask for more. But…….’
Se Hee ran the numbers in her head.
‘Silver Coin is 100 Points, Gold Coin is 1,000 Points.’
But knowing that ordinary people couldn’t easily get their hands on Silver or Gold Coins, she hesitated.
‘Just looking at the mercenary company, considering the customers’ financial situation, Copper Coins are exactly right.’
It was a fitting choice for a single beverage.
‘Too cheap and it loses its value; too expensive and nobody touches it at all.’
Besides, Mix Coffee’s appeal lay in being an affordable indulgence.
‘Two Copper Coins per unit should work.’
That was only twenty Points, but selling two units of a one-Copper-Coin item amounted to a fifty percent markup.
The price was set, but she didn’t tell Erasmus immediately.
Because.
‘The system definitely said he was an Arch Mage. But I’m supposed to take just two Copper Coins and call it even?’
This man’s worth couldn’t be settled for a handful of Copper Coins.
Which meant she didn’t need to ask for cash at all.
“No, not money.”
It was a deliberately delayed response, meant to seize the initiative.
At Se Hee’s words, Erasmus’s expression hardened.
“Not money……?”
“Yes. Of course I can’t just give it away for free, but it feels awkward to settle it for money.”
She gave Erasmus a quick once-over.
He leaned on a Staff, but the aura emanating from his body didn’t seem weak at all.
If he was a mage, his physique would naturally be reinforced to some degree.
And with that level of magical skill, he could probably handle simple tasks without breaking a sweat.
Se Hee gestured outside the tent.
In the makeshift yard before her temporary shop, yesterday’s accumulated trash and footprints still lay undisturbed.
“Just sweep out there every morning. And you handle all the waste sorting for me.”
“Waste, what?”
There was no way such a concept existed in this place.
“Ah…….”
So Se Hee explained a bit more in detail.
“You separate bottles, paper, and general trash, then dispose of them accordingly.”
“You’re asking me—Erasmus—to do that?”
“Yes.”
Se Hee stood there without the slightest concern.
As though the identity of the person before her barely mattered.
At Se Hee’s resolute response, Erasmus looked down at his Staff and paused in thought.
An Eighth Circle Arch Mage had never imagined waste sorting and yard sweeping would be added to his life.
“…….”
Erasmus stared at Se Hee in silence for a moment.
“……Is that truly the price?”
“Yes.”
Se Hee simply nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Just having one person who could use Magic in this open space would clearly be helpful.
‘It could get dangerous, after all.’
Judging by how easily she’d felled the mercenaries, she appeared to be an extraordinarily powerful mage.
“This is valuable, so I can’t just give it away. In exchange, I’d like you to do some work for me.”
Erasmus’s expression bore the unmistakable traces of someone trying to verify whether what he’d just heard was real.
“Do you know who I am?”
“More or less.”
“I’ve reached the realm of the 8th Circle. I’m among the most esteemed mages in the entire Empire.”
“Are you too busy to sweep each morning?”
……
At precisely that moment, Erasmus’s words died in his throat.
Se Hee tilted her head slightly.
“If you’d rather not, that’s fine. But then you don’t get the coffee. As for me, I’ll just sell it to another customer.”
At those words, Erasmus’s gaze drifted back to the paper cup.
‘I won’t get another chance at that effect…?’
He remembered far too vividly how his body’s condition had transformed just moments ago.
‘If it’s only work for short intervals…’
He began tapping his Staff slowly with his fingers.
Tap, tap.
It was a habit that emerged whenever he needed to gather his thoughts.
Erasmus reached into his robes and withdrew an old sheet of Parchment.
It was already a fairly high-quality item, treated for Mana contracts.
He began writing a brief passage on it.
“Fine. Let’s make a contract.”
“…Sorry?”
“If I can have this holy water… no, this coffee every day.”
He paused mid-stroke and looked directly at Se Hee.
“A contract like that is nothing. Perfectly possible.”
For all the lightness in his tone, there was genuine weight to the word “contract.”
Without hesitation, he wrote his name and pressed his seal.
With a soft thud, Mana seeped into the parchment and vanished.
Se Hee took the paper and scanned it once.
‘Duties: cleaning, organizing, general odd jobs.’
Her eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
‘I didn’t intend to assign miscellaneous tasks, but look what’s rolled in on its own.’
The moment she signed the paper, a familiar window materialized in the air before her.
[Congratulations!]
[You have hired an 8th Circle Archmage as an employee for “one cup of coffee”!]
……
Se Hee was momentarily at a loss for words.
[New Feature Unlocked]
[Monster Employee and Resident Hiring & Employment Management System]
The Employment Contract issuance function has been unlocked.
Employment Contract Issuance Guide
• Issuance Cost: 100 Points (first use)
• Cost increases with each subsequent issuance.
Monster Employee ▽
Human Employee ▽
“Wait, hold on.”
[Let’s put them to work formally!]
From here on out, establish official employment contracts.
* Your first Employment Contract is provided free of charge.
Provided Items: System Exclusive Uniform ×1, 1,000 Points, 20 Maximum Gold
“I’m going crazy.”
She found her attention caught particularly by the phrase “Monster Employee” that had just appeared on the screen.
‘The mercenaries seemed to be doing well, then suddenly they all disappeared.’
She thought of those wolves, though she didn’t know where they’d gone.
If she could establish contracts with them wherever they were, it would certainly give her some peace of mind.
“It would be nice if I could contract with them.”
Erasmus seemed to have taken Se Hee’s murmur in an entirely different sense.
“I’ll keep my promise. Every morning, I’ll make sure this place is set in order first.”
At those words, Se Hee walked him through the duties once more.
“Yes. And don’t forget to sort the trash, please.”
With that said, she immediately pulled out an Employment Contract.
“Ah… and could you sign this one too, please?”
Since he’d already signed the contract Erasmus had prepared, she felt awkward about thrusting an additional one at him.
‘You could have mentioned this earlier…’
She found herself resenting the system.
Erasmus drew a pen from inside his robes.
And he wrote his name at the bottom of the contract.

“Is this sufficient?”
The moment his signature was complete, Mana seeped through the entire contract and then quietly faded away.
Erasmus spoke in surprise at the suddenly vanished paper.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
[Employment Contract]
Employer: Se Hee
Employee: Erasmus
Duties: Cleaning, waste separation
Employment Type: Continuous part-time work
Compensation: One cup of coffee (daily payment)
Since the system displayed the contract terms, she could see there was no issue.
[Erasmus has been registered as a human employee.]
[Formal Employment Contract Completion Reward Granted!]
System Exclusive Uniform ×1, 1,000 Points, 20 Maximum Gold
And so, in this forest’s most suspicious shop, the most expensive labor was hired at the lowest cost, sealed by an irrevocable contract.
‘Got myself a cleaner. This is a steal.’
[Survival Quest Updated!]
Employee Contract Established (1 / 1) Complete
“Oh!”
Se Hee made a sound before she could stop herself.
She realized a moment too late that the corners of her mouth had lifted slightly, and she let out a awkward cough.
Erasmus glanced at her at the sound and spoke.
“Why the sudden outburst?”
“Ah, no. It’s just… I’m glad it worked out.”
Se Hee brushed it off and casually closed the window.
The elderly Erasmus, still holding the empty cup in his hand, wore an expression of perfect obliviousness.
Which made the contract all the easier to conclude.
‘I wonder if he realizes what he’s gotten himself into.’
He probably doesn’t.

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