Chapter 23 — Word of Mouth (2)
At the exact moment when Chae Geundam was advertising my market to the entire nation—
“…Huh?”
I was sitting on a convenience-store chair eating ice cream, staring blankly at my phone, so shocked I forgot to swallow.
I hadn’t wanted to keep pretending to be a wandering merchant during Wolf Fang’s emotional 49th-floor victory, so I’d left the tower early and come outside.
But then this happened.
‘I can’t believe this…’
On my phone, reporters kept firing questions.
*
—What exactly is the “Friendly Market” you mentioned?
—It sold bundled items needed to clear the 49th-floor scenario. Potions we lacked, scenario-specific items too. It saved us a lot of time.
—Are you referring to the Awakened Market?
—No. It’s different from the Awakened Market we normally use. The “Friendly Market” is more like… a personal trading platform. It even seemed capable of selling items from other dimensions.
*
I stared with my mouth hanging open.
The Chae Geundam I met inside the tower carefully chose each word like they were precious jewels.
But the man on my screen now?
His mouth was so light it might float away into the sky.
Why was he suddenly acting like a person who physically cannot survive unless he explains everything??
I couldn’t exactly jump through the screen to stop him, so I just blinked helplessly.
*
—Did you know about this market before attempting the 49th floor?
—I cannot comment on that.
*
Chae Geundam shook his head firmly.
At least that answer shut the reporters up.
I quietly licked my melting ice cream and muttered:
“Well… at least he’s thinking a little.”
If he stopped here, I would still have somewhere to hide.
But then—
—I have one last thing to add.
“What are you adding?! Stop talking…!”
I muttered nervously.
And then—
—Wolf Fang cleared the 49th floor thanks to the Friendly Market. I’d like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude.
—Is this Friendly Market run by a hunter?
—No more questions.
*
“…”
He didn’t confirm it,
but he basically announced to the entire nation that the market owner was a hunter.
The entire connection between me and Chae Geundam was a few hours of transaction.
And yet the man was now publicly putting a bounty on my head.
Only then did I realize my mistake.
Hiding the fact that “Ihye” was a hunter was important, sure—
—but I should have also told him NOT to mention the Friendly Market.
At all.
Period.
But on screen, Geundam looked like some satisfied goose returning a favor.
He even looked proud.
Like he’d finally found a way to repay a debt.
I closed my eyes tightly.
He probably heard “market,” thought I was running a business, and assumed publicity was the best “thanks.”
‘THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANTED!’
Maybe no one could actually find the real me, since the name “Lee Haewon” wasn’t publicly tied to “Ihye”…
…but I still felt a shiver crawl down my spine.
If a massive guild somehow caught me—
Would they lock me up and force me to run a guild-exclusive market forever…?
My overactive imagination, a lifelong curse, kicked in.
Suddenly I was visualizing myself imprisoned in a secret guild basement, being fed fried dumplings three times a day.
“No way. Absolutely not.”
I shook my head hard and stuffed the half-melted ice cream back into my mouth.
I didn’t even have combat stats—entering the tower itself was dangerous.
And honestly, my current life was fine:
My small, comfortable home in Bamandjang.
Quietly completing job quests.
Searching for clues about my brother.
I did not need fame.
I did not need restrictions.
I did not need high-profile attention.
“Right. Don’t panic. They won’t find me anyway.”
I froze.
“…Wait. That sounded way too much like a death flag.”
I jumped up from my seat and hurried toward Babel Tower.
Being in wide open spaces was making my imagination worse.
I should just go home quickly.
Thankfully, I had no issues entering Babel Tower.
I relaxed and walked faster toward Bamandjang—
Then suddenly, a bright blue window appeared in front of me.
***
[New Alerts Available. Would you like to check them?]
[Awakened: Lee Haewon — Open Market Manager (EX)]
New Alerts
– Due to the opening of Floor 50 in your region’s Babel Tower (Region: Republic of Korea), certain administrator permissions for Market Manager ‘Ihye’ have been unlocked.
– You may now establish an offline market branch on Babel Tower Floor 50 (Region: Korea).
– You may expand the “Dimension–Earth” Open Market.
– You may appoint additional sub-managers for the “Dimension–Earth” offline market.*
A flood of system windows told me:
This was no time to sit around shocked over Chae Geundam’s nonsense.
“…I have a lot to do.”
I sighed deeply.
Whether Chae Geundam ruined my life
or whether I ended up imprisoned and eating dumplings—
“I still have work.”
Because even if disaster strikes, Koreans still show up to work.
I looked up toward the Friendly Market building in Bamandjang.
There were still suspicious people lingering around like surveillance agents, but with Fifth Shadow Veil and my ‘Anonymous’ skill, I could slip through barriers like these easily.
Pulling my robe low, I hurried toward the building.
Then—
***
[ Title Promotion Quest (6) ]
Establish the 2nd Friendly Market branch on Babel Tower Floor 50 and complete the following tasks:
- Install the offline market signboard.
- Bring in a repair specialist shop.
- Bring in an appraisal specialist shop.
- Appoint a sub-manager for the offline market.
- Fill the entire shopping district with tenants.
Reward: Additional sales slot, ‘Open Market’ feature unlocked
*
“…Whoa. What is THAT?”
Why were there so many conditions for one quest?
I stared blankly at the system window.
Not that staring would change anything.
‘What even is the Open Market feature…?’
*
**[⁕ Due to the opening of Floor 50 in the Republic of Korea’s Babel Tower, certain permissions for your Market Manager role have been unlocked 🙂
You may now expand the Dimension–Earth Market and access all Babel Towers within this dimension :)]**
“…Hey, Saemi. Long time no see?”
My so-called guide had disappeared for what—three chapters?—before reappearing at a time like this.
[⁕ My name is Sam-i. Please pronounce it correctly :)]
“Do you get bonus pay for insisting on that or something?”
I frowned.
Stubborn little system sprite. Sam, Saemi—whatever.
Anyway, until now, I could only sell items to:
- people with purchase history
- other Open Market managers
- awakened I met face-to-face
- and items physically registered in my building
It was extremely inconvenient.
I’d cursed loudly every time I had to visit each floor to sell items.
“So this means I can sell things without moving around?”
[⁕ Correct! It will make managing your markets much easier :)]
Updates were good, sure—
—but still annoying.
I grumbled while opening the back door of the Bamandjang branch.
“You could’ve added this way earlier.”
“What could they have added earlier?”
I jumped.
Standing there was Kang Yeonhee, looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.
She looked like a dementor had sucked out half her soul.
My words caught in my throat.
“…Didn’t you go home?”
“I came to work.”
She rubbed her eyes roughly.
“You look busy these days. Are you going out again today?”
I flinched.
But I couldn’t pretend to be busier than her—she clearly had it worse.
I hesitated.
“Uh, I have some things to handle later, so I’ll probably be out for a few days. How’s business lately?”
Small talk was not my specialty, but I felt like I needed to ask.
Thankfully, it was the correct instinct.
“Of course business is great!”
Yeonhee suddenly brightened, eyes wide.
Her previous death-like aura vanished as she practically sprayed spit while speaking.
“I’m making a thousand potions a day and still selling out! If I could get better ingredients or formulas, I could make higher-tier potions too. And when I analyze potions dropped from the tower, there are so many things I can’t replicate yet. I really want to figure those out—”
Her rapid-fire alchemy rant hit me like a machine gun.
I weakly murmured:
“I-I see…”
Yeonhee wiped her mouth, embarrassed.
“Anyway, business is good. Actually, really good.”
“I’m glad.”
Her plump, glowing skin said the same.
Though her dark circles suggested she wasn’t sleeping well.
Still—no doubt about it.
Potions were selling like crazy.
Even my swelling account balance agreed.
The moment I set the stage, this woman sprouted wings.
She applied for a street vendor stall every single day.
Was this talent going to waste?
“By the way—Wolf Fang cleared the 49th floor, right?”
“Yeah. Took long enough, but they finally did.”
“The international reaction is crazy. Since Korea was the first to clear it… some people are even accusing them of cheating.”
“Hahaha, no way.”
I didn’t cheat.
…Technically, what I did was more strategic trading than cheating.
“I wonder if the 50th floor will be a plaza like the 25th?”
Yeonhee muttered while lifting a box of potion bottles.
“Probably.”
“We’ll know in six days. Oh—do you have a building there too?”
I forced a smile at her completely accurate guess.
Right on target.
The quest literally told me to open a branch on the 50th floor.
Yeonhee, unaware of my inner panic, laughed lightly.
“It would be funny if you opened a second branch.”
I did not laugh.
Yeonhee, you will be opening that second branch with me…
I awkwardly chuckled and headed toward the second floor.
“Oh, right.”
One of the many quest requirements suddenly popped into my mind.
I stopped on the stairs and looked back at Yeonhee.
She spent the most time in this building, so she needed to know.
“We’re putting up a sign.”
“A sign? Oh yeah. We never had one. Customers just call this place ‘the blue building potion shop.’”
She said it so casually that I was the one startled.
She’d run the shop for weeks and didn’t even know its name.
She didn’t even name her own store…
Well, I guess geniuses hyper-fixate on one thing.
“What are you putting on the sign? Did you decide already?”
“Oh—‘Friendly Market.’”
“…The Friendly Market?”
“Yes?”
I turned, startled by her strange tone.
Yeonhee’s eyes were wide enough to show the whites, her voice trembling.
“Are you talking about the same Friendly Market Chae Geundam just mentioned on the interview?!”
…Ah.
“Don’t tell me… you’re the owner of that market?!”
Oh. Right.
Chae Geundam broadcasted that nationwide.
