“Holy crap, it’s so pretty!”
Hyejin exclaimed without realizing it. It was that surprising.
The sign that had looked tacky and hastily put together was now worth looking at.
Was it just worth looking at?
It was prettier than Hyejin’s expectations.
The blue awning sign had “24-Hour Convenience Store” written on it, and the letters themselves were lit up so they could be seen from quite far away, bright and clear.
Before, you could tell it was a convenience store from the interior lights, but now, even from 100 meters away, you could immediately tell it was a convenience store thanks to the sign.
“That lettering was a bit of work to put up, but the sign will serve as a landmark for customers inside the dungeon.”
Hyejin nodded at the words of the worker who looked to be in his thirties. It was true.
The convenience store was the first thing you saw when entering the dungeon, and now, when leaving the dungeon, you could use the convenience store as a guide.
Moreover, the dungeon had no signposts, but it also had no places to rest.
“It feels not just like a convenience store, but a fancy cafe.”
Even though the interior was a convenience store, from the outside, it gave off the vibe of a cafe where you could rest.
Having even a small space to rest inside the dungeon would be a great comfort to hunters.
The result was extremely satisfying.
The bright blue sign reminiscent of a flower shop and cafe, with letters that caught the eye at a glance.
Hyejin said to the workers,
“Thank you so much. This is exactly what I wanted.”
“I saw you trimming the grass with the weed trimmer earlier by yourself, and seeing such a passionate manager made us work even harder.”
“W-well, it’s because I have attachment to the place where I work as manager.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve been curious since earlier—is this convenience store yours, Manager? A convenience store inside a dungeon. I was shocked when I first got the job request.”
When the workers asked with curious expressions, Hyejin quickly shook her head and corrected their misunderstanding.
“It’s not mine; there’s a separate owner. Anyway, you all worked so hard. Ah, right. Just a moment!”
Hyejin hurried back into the convenience store, took out a bunch of cool coffee drinks from the beverage fridge, and offered them to the workers.
One of the convenience store’s products, this brand of coffee came in three types: vanilla latte, americano, cappuccino, and drinking them quenched thirst and increased HP.
“It’s nothing much, but please have these.”
“Thanks. We’ll enjoy them.”
“Wow, thanks to this, we got to see the dungeon. We hardly ever get to enter dungeons. We don’t have the power to protect ourselves, so it’s scary. It’s been an interesting experience.”
“If you’re curious, would you like to look around inside the convenience store? Ours is on the larger side for convenience stores.”
“We’re curious, but we’re a bit busy. When we were civilians, we went to convenience stores often, but seeing one inside a dungeon is a first and probably last for today.”
Hyejin plopped down beside the workers and replied playfully.
“Aw, you can come by once in a while. I’ll welcome you anytime.”
“Haha, thanks for the words. That’s reassuring.”
“I’m not joking. You installed such a pretty sign. Oh, and I have a question. In my system window, I purchased the sign, and it said workers would come. How is it connected to my system window?”
Hyejin was actually very curious about that part. In simulation games, when you buy a desired item from the shop, it shows construction animations or a small window pops up and disappears, and then the equipment appears.
Of course, sometimes it just pops up with a poof! But she was curious how the workers come to do the job when they actually come in person.
It felt like the system window was connected to the world outside the dungeon.
“Ah, us?”
“It’s not complicated. Just like combat hunters have classes, we do too. Non-combat hunters have various jobs, and you can think of us as production types. There are many creator types related to art too.”
Hyejin nodded at his explanation.
“Our system windows are naturally specialized in production, so there’s a system where hunters who need our help can contact us. If we complete the job without issues, we get corresponding rewards. Sometimes in gold, sometimes in needed items. If it’s a job too big for one person, the system automatically selects nearby or available people to form a team. Like today.”
“Oh, so you’re not working for a company. I thought you were from some production company.”
“Heh, this whole field is like that, isn’t it? Everyone fends for themselves. Think of us as freelancers. Production-type non-combat hunters are either freelancers like us, or if they’re capable, get scouted by guilds, and if they’re exceptionally talented or high-level, they join SS-rank production companies. You know, those high-ups’ companies. The treatment there is the best. It’s hard for our rank to get in, though. Useless, I guess.”
“Useless? … You do this work and help people like me so much. Thank you so much.”
When Hyejin bowed her head in greeting, one older worker who seemed to be the foreman said with a smile,
“We enjoyed the sign work thanks to you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t enter the dungeon. The inside of the dungeon is too scary for non-combat hunters like us. What’s the point of being a D-rank hunter if you can’t fight monsters.”
“Exactly. For people like us, making signs like this is all we can do.”
“We probably need to install over 100 signs to level up.”
Watching the workers complain to each other, Hyejin smiled awkwardly.
“Anyway, see you next time. Then, change it to the convenience store name. Just ‘convenience store’ without a name is too bland. I’ll give you a friend discount.”
Seeing the workers starting to pack up and leave, Hyejin, who was standing to see them off, was a bit surprised and smiled awkwardly.
Come to think of it, the worker was right.
She’d just called it convenience store, convenience store.
She’d never thought about naming it until now.
Even outside the dungeon, there are convenience stores with various names and concepts overflowing.
There weren’t any convenience stores named “Convenience Store.”
“Ah, I never thought about a name for the convenience store until now. Actually, I didn’t even realize it was weird until you said it.”
“Really? But still, having no name is a bit… Anyway, contact us when you name the convenience store! I’ll give you a friend discount!”
“F-friend discount? We just met today—you don’t have to go that far.”
When Hyejin waved her hands, the workers with kind faces laughed heartily, packed their things, and waved.
“Once we’ve met, we’re friends. Right, everyone? Hahaha.”
“Yes. Then, let’s move to the next area. I think I have to go to Gangseo-gu now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, see you later.”
Hyejin bowed to the waving workers, and when they took out artifacts to move to the next place, a flash of light appeared, and all the workers disappeared at once.
The light was so bright that Hyejin covered her eyes with her arm, and only after the light completely disappeared could she look at the convenience store sign again.
“Looking at it again, it’s so pretty.”
It had been a long time since she felt this proud.
***
Now that we’ve changed the convenience store sign, soon I’ll raise the convenience store level so we can do business outside too.
It’d be good to break the outer wall to make more space?
While Hyejin stood at the counter, humming a tune and dreaming of the future, the part-timers who had gone out side by side to look at the sign examined Hyejin’s face full of smiles as if it was curious.
“Are you that happy, Manager?”
“Yes, changing the sign makes it so nice.”
“It seems like a good change. At the places I worked, the hotel would refresh every season. Changing the interior once in a while makes customers feel renewed and like it. It has a bright feel and it’s pretty.”
Then Eunwoo nodded vigorously in agreement.
“I didn’t say it until now, but when I first came here, I almost backed away seeing the sign.”
“Was it that tacky?”
When Hyejin said with a laugh, Eunwoo made an expression like he had a lot to say but held back and said shortly.
“Well, what’s good is good. Now that it’s changed, it’s fine!”
At his words, Hyejin smiled, then suddenly looked at Suho’s face and clapped her hands.
“Suho, now hurry and clock out……!”
At that moment, the convenience store door opened, and someone entered the convenience store.
Click-clack, the first thing that stimulated everyone’s ears was the sound of high heels.
High heels inside the dungeon?
Puzzled, but first stopping what she was saying, Hyejin hurriedly called out.
“Welcome, customer.”
The woman who entered like that passed by Hyejin and the three gathered hunters and went straight into the convenience store.
Hyejin glanced at the woman and briefly admired her.
The woman was a beauty with outstanding looks. Mid-length hair, slender figure, white and clear skin, red lips.
Just passing by, a subtle and alluring fragrance lingered at the tip of the nose.