I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 27

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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 27
[Current Points Balance: 4,756P]
Thanks to the Knight Order, the Duke, and the wyverns, my Points reserve had grown pleasingly thick.
‘Still, it’ll take ages to scrape together a hundred thousand Points.’
Se Hui sighed inwardly.
She gazed past the forest’s edge for a moment, then muttered as if tossing the words aside.
“Maybe I should venture out of this forest for once. I’d love to sleep in a decent house, even if it’s not retirement yet.”
Her true desire was crystal clear.
To escape tent life.
Not that she meant to abandon this work here and now.
Se Hui drummed her fingers against the armrest of her chair, turning numbers over in her mind.
‘First, I’ll use Points to raise the shop’s grade. Then I’ll think.’
At this stage, that was the most efficient choice.
Once the grade rose, the inventory I could stock would expand.
Both quality and unit cost would be incomparable to now.
‘I’ll sell those better goods…’
Her eyes narrowed.
‘And pull myself up by my bootstraps.’
“Still, if everything keeps converting to Points, what am I supposed to do about change?”
Se Hui scraped her foot along the ground and grumbled.
“Surely that function exists, doesn’t it?”
She’d never needed to give back change so far, but she had a feeling that day would come eventually.
‘When it does, I can’t exactly hand out Points as change.’
As if reading Se Hui’s thoughts, a system window materialized.
[Withdrawal System Alert!]
Would you like to use Points in this world?
The Galactic Distribution Network includes a Withdrawal System for all Shop Owners!
* Commission upon withdrawal: 40%
“What?”
Se Hui stared into empty air, mouth hanging open.
It was absurd. It was unbelievable.
“Are they insane? This is… I mean… I don’t even have words.”
The commission when exchanging for Points had been exorbitant; converting that to actual currency was just as brutal.
“These highway robbers.”
Se Hui slashed her hand through the air.
The more she earned, the more it felt like she was losing money.
“Wait… so the total commission is sixty percent?”
Se Hui counted on her fingers.
“They take their cut when I exchange for Points, then take another cut on withdrawal. Is this supposed to be a business, or are they just extorting me?”
The system window hovering before her eyes glinted with shameless cheer.
[The Galactic Distribution Network supports smooth economic activity for all Shop Owners!]
“Support my—”
Se Hui clenched her teeth.
Sixty percent.
‘At this rate, I’ll be stuck in this forest forever.’
Earn ten through business, and only four made it into her pocket.
‘Converting to currency should be my absolute last resort.’
Withdrawal wasn’t the answer.
Then there was only one way forward.
‘Don’t convert Points to money… convert them to goods instead.’
Se Hui straightened in her chair, lifting her back from the rest.
Points couldn’t be used in this world.
But the goods the shop sold worked perfectly fine with these people.
Meaning, she could sell those items to locals and have them buy whatever she needed in return.
‘If nothing else, I can just barter directly.’
If commissions were the problem, she’d restructure to avoid them entirely.
‘But most of my current sales come from what the monsters bring in…’
Se Hui’s gaze turned toward the clearing.
She could see the Kobolds lurking a short distance away, and the Knight Order resting near the tents.
‘If they disappear…’
The corner of her mouth dipped slightly.
A substantial portion of their current sales came from those creatures.
The real question was whether they could maintain profitability without them.
But that worry didn’t linger long.
‘Well, there are plenty of people out there beyond the forest.’
Given how difficult it was to see even this many people in the Monster Forest, she decided to embrace the optimistic view.
“But the Galactic Distribution Network? What’s that?”
Se Hui tapped a finger against the floating window before her.
[The Galactic Distribution Network is a comprehensive cross-dimensional logistics and supply infrastructure!]
The reply came with surprising speed.
Se Hui couldn’t believe it—the system that typically gave her the silent treatment was suddenly so forthcoming.
“What? You could answer that fast the whole time?”
The system that had kept her waiting with no response to all her previous questions now struck her as irritating.
[It integrates multi-dimensional merchandise and provides stable supply networks to Shop Owners across every world!]
Se Hui’s eyebrows shot up as the new window appeared.
“So I wasn’t just grinding away alone this whole time?”
The air seemed to still for a moment.
This was new information.
There were others living like this somewhere—not just her.
‘So I’m not the only one crawling bare-handed through this mess.’
The realization carried an odd weight.
They weren’t quite colleagues—she didn’t even know their faces—yet they weren’t competitors either, operating in entirely different worlds.
‘I wonder if that other Shop Owner is also cursing that sixty percent commission.’
A quiet laugh escaped her, then vanished just as quickly.
“But what are they selling? It’s not just me doing this, right?”
Se Hui’s gaze sharpened on the window.
[That information cannot be disclosed. :)]
“Why are you suddenly using emoticons you’ve never used before?”
Se Hui let out a sigh.
‘A supply network, huh.’
That meant inventory never ran dry.
‘If there’s zero stock risk, that means I can control pricing.’
Her fingers, which had been drumming against the armrest, stilled.
A slow smile spread across Se Hui’s face.
* * *
“Maybe it’s time I finally left this forest.”
Cassian halted the steps he’d been taking toward the Knight Order.
Carried on the wind, Se Hui’s voice reached him with perfect clarity.
‘……Leaving the forest?’
His footsteps stopped entirely.
Her words echoed in his ears on repeat.
Cassian’s golden eyes widened noticeably.
In his mind, her statement began branching into countless interpretations.
If she left this place, the safest destination for her would be the Empire itself.
And to live comfortably within the Empire, his assistance would be the quickest path forward.
Then her voice reached him again.
“……I’d like to sleep in a nice place.”
Cassian’s heart quickened.
A nice place.
In that moment, Rowen’s ears—standing beside him—perked up as well.
Moments later, her voice continued.
“But if everything just converts to Points, what am I supposed to do about change?”
Rowen muttered softly.
“……Change?”
Cassian said nothing, but his pupils flickered with the faintest tremor.
“What?”
Had he perhaps failed to pay the proper amount?
The thought flashed through his mind briefly.
Then Se Hui’s bewildered voice rang out.
“No way, am I losing it? This is really—wow…… I can’t even find words.”
Rowen glanced up at Cassian uncertainly.
“Duke.”
He lowered his voice and spoke quietly.
“I wonder if you might be troubled by funds needed to prepare a residence.”
“A residence?”
“Se Hui is not nobility. Her identity is also ambiguous. To purchase or secure a dwelling in the Imperial Capital requires considerably more effort than one might think.”
Cassian fell silent in thought.
“That’s possible.”
“From what I’ve observed of what Se Hui handles, she may have made a judgment to secure a stable patron—to maintain your support.”
Rowen continued carefully.
“Perhaps that is what her wish to remain near the Duke’s Residence truly means.”
Cassian turned Rowen’s words over in his mind.
There were dwellings aplenty in the Empire he could offer her.
‘Does she wish to remain with me?’
Cassian’s hand unconsciously grasped the hilt of his sword.
Se Hui was someone who treated the forest’s creatures as guests and showed no deference even before Cassian himself.
That she would abandon this forest meant she had discovered a destination more precious than the life she had built here.
Cassian’s gaze fixed on Se Hui’s back as she sat gazing vacantly toward distant mountains.
‘Her words yesterday, when she told me to take responsibility… were they not simply about sales?’
Se Hui had been clear.
She was not someone to be protected, but a shop owner.
And he was to take responsibility for her sales—for the conditions of her business.
He had understood it as compensation for interference in her operations.
But now, when joined with her words about leaving the forest, those words transformed entirely.
‘Had she been speaking with me in mind?’
Cassian could not look away from Se Hui.
He felt his heart quicken oddly, a strange warmth spreading through his chest.
He was the Empire’s greatest duke, yet no one had ever chosen him as a companion with such desperate need.
Most either coveted his power or feared his blade.
But Se Hui’s words sounded as though she would uproot her entire life and follow him.
Cassian felt his shoulders grow heavy.
It was not merely the responsibility of a ruler governing a domain.
One thing was certain: if she stepped into the Empire, that responsibility would be anything but light.
“There will be much to prepare…….”
Cassian’s mind was already sweeping through the Duke’s Residence in the Imperial Capital in a fraction of a second.

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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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