I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 31

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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 31
• [Sllurby] … 50P [Purchase]
Se Hui’s finger froze.
“Huh?”
Sllurby, of all things.
Se Hui tapped the can icon again to enlarge it.
The silvered metal surface gleamed, asserting its presence.
‘No one in this world would have tasted canned coffee before.’
Not hot coffee you sipped while it steamed, but something sweet and cold you could drink right from the can.
A picky palate might actually show more interest in something strange like this.
Se Hui’s gaze drifted lower.
• [Yogurt (5-pack)] … 60P [Purchase]
‘This is practically a steal.’
Her finger lingered over the yogurt item for a moment.
She nodded softly, and her smile widened.
One after a spicy meal.
Or the perfect thing to offer lightly after eating.
It wasn’t just filling a stomach—it left the impression that coming here meant trying something different.
Se Hui’s lips curved upward slowly.
‘A potential customer, then…. I’d better give them a proper welcome.’
Se Hui tapped her chin thoughtfully with one finger.
‘Let me start small for now.’
If the response was good, she could always expand later.
Business always began with a test.
Se Hui’s gaze returned to the purchase button.
‘Right, I should check my Points first.’
[Current Points: 6,516P]
That was quite a lot.
‘Ramyeon never fails. I knew I could count on it!’
Though the ramyeon stock was now down to just eight packs of Hwadak Bokkeum Myeon.
‘Sigh…. But ramyeon is moving fast too…. Oh, and I need to restock water.’
A thought crossed her mind about stockpiling Pork Belly in advance.
But that was still risky.
‘For now, I’ll keep it light.’
Se Hui exhaled briefly and brushed her hand as if to clear her mind.
Better to aim for new beverages and simple dessert-type options, gauge the response, then expand from there.
[Purchase Summary]
• Noodles (5-pack) ×3
• Water 2L ×3
• Sllurby ×10
• Yogurt (5-pack) ×5
Total cost: 2,390P
[Current Points: 4,566P]
Watching the number decrease, Se Hui’s eyes narrowed just barely.
But she quickly lifted her gaze back to the menu as if nothing had happened.
‘Is there anything else I should buy?’
Se Hui stood without closing the window.
Her eyes traced slowly up and down the floating list before her, turning ideas over in her mind.
Whether she’d missed anything, or if there was anything else she could grab instantly when a customer arrived.
Preparation was half of business.
And this time, a strong intuition told her that preparation would matter quite a lot.
Though she didn’t know who it was, this customer would likely be different from anyone she’d served before.
‘This might be the moment when the ramyeon shop takes a step forward.’
Choco’s ears perked up beside her.
Se Hui gave that head a light tap.
In response, Choco’s tail brushed the ground once.
“It’s going to get busy when customers come.”
Choco lifted her chin knowingly.
Her finger hovered over the purchase button for a moment.
“All right. Let’s be ready.”
Se Hui’s finger pressed slowly against the purchase button.
‘First I should greet them warmly. How deep their pockets run—well, I’ll find that out soon enough.’
The violet mist seeped quietly back into the forest.
Somewhere in the meantime, Erasmus had taken to sweeping one corner of the Clearing—though no one could say exactly when he’d started.
Despite his station as a mage, he held nothing grander than an ordinary Broom in his hands.
Fallen leaves scattered across the ground rustled and gathered together.
Each time the bristles touched down, dry leaves lifted lightly into the air before settling back again.
“Grand Mage, surely you needn’t sweep yourself?”
“That’s work for us to—”
When the knights spoke up, Erasmus glanced down at them briefly.
“With Magic, it’s done in moments. No hardship in it at all.”
One of the other knights chuckled softly.
“Then shall we help you?”
“Leave it be. You lot should be savoring that food instead.”
Laughter rippled through the gathered knights.
The Clearing settled back into the ease of an ordinary morning.
* * *
The knights had finished their bowls of Ramyeon and now sat scattered in small clusters.
Erasmus moved the Broom slowly, gathering the fallen leaves to one side.
The air that had hung taut and tense until yesterday had shifted noticeably over the course of a single night.
As the tension that had stiffened the atmosphere loosened, the people’s movements grew correspondingly more relaxed.
Se Hui wiped out an empty pot and glanced down at her feet.
Choco sat pressed against her leg as if it belonged there.
‘Has this one decided never to leave?’
Since morning, it had claimed the spot at her feet as its rightful place.
‘Honestly, it wasn’t gone for that long, and it was the first one I met when I arrived here…….’
Se Hui stole a glance at the creature clinging to her side.
‘Calling it “wolf” all the time doesn’t feel quite right anymore.’
After a moment’s thought, it came to her.
“I should probably give it a proper name.”
Until now she’d simply called it “wolf,” but that blurred the line between a name and a species designation.
Besides, she’d noticed that each time she used that word, Erasmus reacted in a subtle, deliberate way.
Se Hui set down the pot and studied the wolf carefully.
It sat docile before her, gazing up with bright, attentive eyes.
‘What should I call it?’
It needed to be something that suited it.
Nothing grand—just something that fit at first glance.
Se Hui ran her gaze over the wolf’s dark coat.
The black fur caught the light, gleaming with a rich luster.
Se Hui rested her chin in her palm and thought for a moment.
Her hand drifted almost of its own accord to stroke the wolf’s head.
Soft fur brushed against her palm, and warmth transferred to her skin.
‘Choco.’
Perhaps it was the dark color, but Se Hui herself couldn’t quite explain why that name felt so right.
It just did, somehow.
“Wolf.”
The wolf’s ears perked up sharply.
“From now on, you’re Choco.”
Now that she’d given it a name, she felt it had somehow become more truly hers.
Se Hui smiled brightly, satisfied.
The wolf watched her for a moment.
Its head tilted slightly, following the movement of her hand.
Then its tail swept slowly across the ground once.
“Do you like it?”
The wolf answered briefly.
“Woof.”
Se Hui nodded contentedly.
Erasmus, who had been watching the scene unfold, stopped his sweeping and looked up.
“Choco?”
“Yes, I’ve given it a proper name.”
Erasmus glanced at the wolf, then at Se Hui.
“What does Choco mean?”
Se Hui opened her mouth, then stopped.
‘How do I even explain this.’
To explain where the name Choco came from in this world, she’d have to start with chocolate itself.
‘I don’t even know if cacao exists in this world.’
She couldn’t very well tell him the truth.
“Well, it’s the name of a snack from my hometown.”
“A snack?”
“Something sweet. Brown in color, and it melts in your mouth.”
Erasmus tilted his head thoughtfully.
“If it’s sweet and melts…… is it something like a sugar confection?”
“It’s similar, but a bit different. It’s richer, and there’s a bittersweet note to it.”
Just then, Rowen, who’d been listening from the side, stepped closer.
“If such a food exists, could it be found in the Capital as well?”
Se Hui glanced at Rowen for a moment.
“Well…”
She quirked her lips slightly and lifted her gaze upward.
She feigned looking at empty air while her mind raced through calculations.
If he asked where to find it, she had no answer to give.
“I’m not sure. I’ve only ever seen it in my hometown.”
“And where might your hometown be?”
Rowen pursued the question smoothly.
“It’s far. Very far.”
Rowen looked as though he wanted to ask something more, but Se Hui had already turned her attention elsewhere.
Cassian, who’d been listening to the exchange, opened his mouth briefly.
“Is it difficult to obtain?”
“Yes, quite.”
Cassian fell silent for a moment.
The quiet stretched on, oddly prolonged.
‘What’s he thinking about.’
Se Hui absently tapped the pot handle with her finger.
Then, at the edge of her vision, a translucent window materialized softly.
The timing was uncanny—as if it had sensed the mention of chocolate.
[Otherworld Food Culture Development Status]
The basic foodstuffs and beverages of this world are established, but confectionery and dessert culture currently remains in its nascent stages.
* Among the nobility, demand exists for rare sweet delicacies, though supply remains critically insufficient
Se Hui scanned the window with her eyes, then quietly closed it.
‘The nobility wants it, but there’s no supply.’
That single sentence crystallized in her mind.
‘Useful information.’
Se Hui reached over and scratched Choco behind the ears without a care.
Choco tilted his head, following her hand.
Se Hui’s gaze lingered briefly in empty space.
The words from the system window that had just flashed past came flooding back.
Now that she’d seen it, the situation looked entirely different.
‘Nobles hungry for sweetness…’
The corners of Se Hui’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.
‘So I could just sell it to them.’
Se Hui’s eyes gleamed.

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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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