Chapter 28
Did you know that when people get extremely nervous, they sometimes develop new habits?
“Why are you shaking your leg so much?”
…Yeah, I didn’t want to know either.
“Because I’m anxious.”
“Hm. I thought this was a peaceful place. What are you so afraid of?”
“A government official.”
“…What is a government official?”
I looked up at the man asking me the question.
A middle-aged man who once had a wild beard but now had shaved clean, his long hair tied neatly back.
He looked like a semi-retired bandit, and he stared at me with pity.
“They exist. They’re like… the leader of the knights in your country.”
“I see. Then you must be involved in something serious. A normal merchant and a knight commander do not meet easily.”
‘My point exactly.’
I just wanted to use my title a little and do some business—
but apparently that was too much for the Republic of Korea to handle?
Some days I really wished I could leave this country forever.
“Is that knight commander strong?”
“He’s really strong. He could squish me flat like a piece of paper with just two fingers.”
I sighed, thinking of the hollow-eyed face of Rank 3 hunter Park Jiwoon.
While all the other S-rank hunters created guilds and chased profit,
he chose to become a civil servant—and work for the government.
His past is completely unknown.
Nobody knows what he did before awakening.
No record exists of how he fights.
He never appears in public battle videos or scenario footage.
He is Korea’s hidden powerhouse.
And he personally sent me a summons notice,
which I then ignored for over a week.
‘And I’m STILL ignoring it.’
I was too scared to go.
I never wanted to be involved with S-rank hunters. Ever.
I wanted a long, thin life—
not a short, thin life.
“Do not worry. I can protect you.”
A knight commander from a destroyed kingdom promised to protect me… from Korea’s civil servant.
I couldn’t bring myself to turn that kindness into a joke, so I smiled.
“Thank you, Alessandro.”
Alessandro gently patted my shoulder, comforting me.
This giant of a man—who looked three times my size—was the one I appointed as the middle manager for my second branch on the 50th floor.
He was Alessandro Hale, the Knight Commander of the fallen Kingdom of Falcón,
the boss monster of the 49th-floor scenario.
Now, after a warm bed and good meals that I provided,
his health was slowly recovering.
As for how I brought someone from another dimension to my Market?
…Let’s just say my extremely capable AI, Sam, figured out the strategy.
Unlike Yeonhee, who grew up in peaceful Korea,
Alessandro lived through the fall of his country and wandered the dimensional rifts.
So when I offered him a place to settle down, he accepted immediately.
He even said he’d be willing to risk his life for me.
Not that I ever asked him for his life.
‘What would I even do with someone’s life?’
He probably felt that his days of wandering were finally over
after seeing the cozy room I prepared for him.
At one point, he lowered his head and murmured weakly:
“I, who rose upon heaps of corpses… do not deserve to stay in such a warm place.”
He had cried quietly with a devastated expression.
He lost everything.
He probably had never even had time to grieve.
He said he wanted to die many times,
but endured because no one was left to remember his homeland if he disappeared too.
I couldn’t understand his pain completely—
I’m not easily swayed by others’ emotions—
but I quietly offered some clumsy comfort and stepped back.
‘What did I say again?’
[⁕ You said, “If your friends or family looked down from the sky, they’d be happy for you.
People like it when the people they care about do well.
Also, this room faces south, so it gets really good sunlight.” :)]
…Huh.
How did Alessandro not punch me for that?
Confused, I glanced at him again.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing. Let’s keep working?”
I turned back to the mountain of documents.
Alessandro didn’t ask more and simply resumed sorting through applications.
“This shop seems promising.”
“Hmm… It’s a weapon store. But we already have a lot of weapon stores.
See here? We already approved 12.”
I compared it with the newest submission and handed him another form.
“People usually buy long-lasting weapons on other platforms.
Here they’ll want consumables—ammo, arrows, bombs—
so a store that specializes in those would be better.”
“That makes sense.”
Alessandro nodded.
I moved the approved sheet to one pile and bent over the remaining stack.
It had been three days since the 50th floor opened,
and two days since I began reviewing application forms for shop rentals.
Out of nearly 1,000 applications,
I had only approved 13 businesses so far.
‘And I need this to finish the quest.’
I didn’t think so many people would want to enter my building.
‘How flattering.’
I yawned involuntarily.
Immediately, Alessandro spoke kindly:
“If you are tired, take a short nap.
I will do the basic sorting.”
He knew perfectly well that I was his boss,
yet sometimes he treated me like a young niece.
But…
“You’re right. I’ll take a nap.”
I, Lee Haewon, never waste an opportunity like this.
I stood up quickly, exhaustion threatening to knock me out.
And right then—
A bright white light flashed across my vision.
Sam clearly didn’t care about my fatigue.
He had brought me another task.
I couldn’t keep my eyes closed forever,
so I opened them with the mindset of walking into hell.
“…Huh?”
I blinked in surprise.
Inquiry Received: ‘Kind Appraisal’ – 1 item
– Request Type: Weapon Appraisal (Unknown)
– Client: WhiteSword (Region – Korea)]**
It was the first appraisal request since the 50th floor opened.
* * *
‘Kind Appraisal.’
That was the appraisal shop I opened on the first floor.
For reference, the repair shop was called ‘Kind Repair.’
It was obvious I re-used the names,
but my naming sense was terrible, so what could I do?
Giving up my precious nap,
I put on my robe, mask, and anonymous skill, then headed downstairs.
“So many people…”
On the third day since the 50th-floor opening,
this place had already become the second hot spot after Ba-man-jang.
People were obsessed with this strange new building Chae Geundam mentioned,
so they crowded in to look around.
‘Should I call this branch the Babel Square Branch?’
Anyway, despite the system forcing these shops on me,
this was still my first real customer,
so I felt nervous.
The last time I appraised a weapon was Chae Geundam’s—an S-rank—
and I had spent a ton of gold but couldn’t even ask him to pay.
So this was my first official, real appraisal.
[Actually, you have appraised “Veil of the Fifth Shadow” and “Gab’s Horn Sculpture,” so this is your fourth appraisal. :)]
“Aaagh.
Sam, please shut up.”
I reached the back entrance of “Kind Appraisal” through a hidden passage.
When someone submits a request at the front desk,
I can meet them instantly downstairs.
That setup was intentional.
‘So that person must be my first customer.’
Peeking through the door,
I saw a lone figure pacing nervously in front of the closed shop.
‘Who could it be…?’
With Chae Geundam, I wasn’t afraid because I knew who he was.
But with strangers, I had no idea what to expect.
‘Sam, they can’t harm me in here, right?’
[⁕ Correct! 🙂
The 3rd floor, “Kind Repair,” “Kind Appraisal,” and the Information Center are all impenetrable spaces.]
Good enough.
I inhaled deeply and opened the door.
“Welcome. Are you the one who sent the request, ‘WhiteSword’?”
The person turned sharply.
They wore a white robe pulled down low, hiding their age and gender.
The only thing I could tell was their height—easily over 175 cm.
So many people were curious about my Market
that I was briefly afraid someone dangerous had come after me—
Until they spoke.
“Oh—yes, that’s me. Are you the owner?”
Their voice was a gentle, polite woman’s voice.
And that mattered—
because in my experience, someone who treats workers or strangers kindly is usually not a bad person.
I gestured toward the interior with equal politeness.
“Please come in.”
Inside the shop was only a table and two chairs facing each other.
After fighting a 5-day war with blueprints,
I eventually gave up on decoration for this shop.
WhiteSword looked around at the barren interior and let out a small, awkward laugh.
Even I, who made the shop this way, felt embarrassed for a moment.
‘Whatever. As long as it works.’
A customer chair, my chair, a table for weapons,
and me—the appraiser.
I resumed my shameless business mode.
“You came for a weapon appraisal, right?
You didn’t include what kind of weapon it is.”
“Oh—well, you’ll see it anyway.
But what makes your appraisal shop different from others?”
Her question was unexpected, and I flinched.
‘She’s… not just here for the appraisal?’
The directness made me suspicious.
There are many appraisal shops in Korea, but—
This one finds unknown hidden abilities even the owner doesn’t know about.
A swallow fortune-telling stand, basically.
Her question would come up often in the future, so I forced away my suspicion and answered calmly:
“We can appraise hidden abilities in addition to base grade and description.”
“Really?”
She sounded more amused than excited.
“Shall we take a look?”
“Here. Oh—can it have no hidden ability?”
‘Why does her voice sound familiar…?’
I ignored the warning bell in my head and nodded.
“That can happen.”
She placed something wrapped in cloth onto the table.
It hit with a heavy thud—so it was a fairly weighty weapon.
I slowly unwrapped the cloth—
A mace appeared.
A golden shaft with a white orb at the top, glowing faintly.
Expensive.
Very expensive-looking.
‘This looks familiar…?’
No.
Impossible.
I pushed away my anxiety and placed my hand on the handle.
The instant the appraisal window appeared—
I froze.
[‘Judgment of Holy Light’ (S)]
An S-rank weapon worth hundreds of billions.
And I knew exactly who owned it.
‘This is Lee Hwayun’s weapon.’
Guild Master of Baekdan, Rank 2 in Korea.
“Does my weapon have a hidden ability?”
Her voice—playful and sly—
belonged to Lee Hwayun, disguised in a robe.
She asked as if nothing was wrong.
I swallowed back the explosion of fury rising in my throat.
‘That bastard Chae Geundam…
He talked.’
