“Yawn, I’m sleepy.”
“Mr. Eunwoo, you worked hard today. It’s your first day, and you learned a lot of tasks, right? You picked things up quicker than I expected and did a great job. I’ll make sure to give you the overtime pay.”
Hyejin said this to Eunwoo, who was yawning repeatedly and looking tired, when Asha—who had arrived at the store without a sound—spoke up, apparently noticing the puppy in the staff room.
“What’s that? That puppy?”
Woof woof!
“Woof woof…?”
“Ah, well… When I went out to the grass to clean, I found a puppy dying, so I brought it in. It was too pitiful to just leave it there.”
“To be precise, I saved it.”
“Now we’re even saving puppies. One part-timer and one dog. Very convenience-store-like—buy one get one free.”
Hyejin looked back and forth between the puppy and Asha.
Come to think of it, the puppy’s reddish-brown fur was similar to Asha’s.
The puppy seemed to like Asha, following closely behind her and wagging its tail.
Woof woof!
“Now that you mention it, this puppy is a Yorkshire Terrier. The fur color is similar to yours, and even the pointy ears look alike. Maybe it thinks it’s the same as you. It’s still a baby, after all.”
“I haven’t even gotten married yet—don’t say such horrifying things.”
Asha said that and went outside the store to avoid the puppy following her.
The puppy whined at the door for a bit before returning to Hyejin’s side.
“A cat talking about marriage. That’s really funny. Pfft, baby. Asha isn’t your mom. So don’t chase after Asha, okay?”
Woof!
Hyejin reached out to pet the puppy just as the store door opened and Suho entered.
“I’m here.”
“Yes, welcome. Mr. Suho.”
“Wow, it’s real. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing Lee Suho.”
Suho, who had been walking in briskly, paused upon seeing Eunwoo and the puppy, then took a step back.
As if on guard.
Then he calmly entered the staff room again.
“What’s with this puppy? Who brought it?”
As Suho came out wearing his vest for the handover, Eunwoo stepped in front of Hyejin and spoke.
“You know me, right? Second-generation chaebol of Baektae Confectionery, Yoon Eunwoo.”
“I’m not interested in that. Ah, are you perhaps the one rotating shifts with me?”
“That’s right. I’m the one who’ll be rotating with you, Mr. Lee Suho. Nice to meet you, yeah?”
Eunwoo smiled in front of Suho, but Suho didn’t even glance at him.
Then, noticing the puppy circling his legs, he bent down to look at it and spoke.
“Hey, little one. You’re pretty cute.”
He looked around the store, picked up a can of beef-flavored dog food with a puppy picture on it and a bottle of water, and said to Hyejin.
“I’d like to give some food to the puppy. It looks like it hasn’t eaten anything.”
“Ah, yes. We just brought it in not long ago, so I hadn’t thought of that yet.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
Finishing his words, Suho went to the counter, completed the handover, and paid for the can with his hunter gold.
Tap.
He opened the can lid, went to the staff room kitchen to find something to use as food and water bowls, found plastic containers in one corner, poured the canned food and water into them, and placed them in front of the puppy.
The puppy, apparently starved for quite a while, began eating greedily.
Watching that, Suho said.
“People or animals—nobody can stand being hungry. I’m the same. Isn’t that right?”
It was Suho’s version of a joke.
But Hyejin and Eunwoo, who couldn’t imagine him joking, seriously pondered how to respond.
Then Suho continued.
“I’ve heard stories about pets being abandoned inside dungeons, but it turns out it’s true. Where did you find it?”
“A little while ago, we went out to the front grass for cleaning. The weeds were overgrown. While pulling them, we saw a puppy—it was dying. Mr. Yoon Eunwoo saved it, but we couldn’t just leave it there. It’s too pitiful. The store has plenty of space, so I plan to raise it. I really love animals, but until now, circumstances didn’t allow me to have one.”
“Well, I’ve thought the same. The reason I clean outside the store every day is because the surroundings are too dark and messy. Hunters come here because it’s the only convenience store, but the area feels too bleak. Still, to think a puppy was abandoned in such a place—it’s surprising.”
D-dark and messy.
Of course, it wasn’t wrong, but…!
Hyejin was flustered by Suho’s direct words.
Business had only recently started, and she thought she was keeping the interior clean, but she hadn’t paid attention to the exterior space.
Seeing Hyejin’s shocked face, Suho finally noticed and scratched his head awkwardly.
“Ah, it’s just that I’ve often stayed at the shelter, so I naturally compare.”
Hyejin nodded awkwardly too.
She knew what shelter Suho was talking about.
Besides the convenience store, there were other buildings inside the dungeon.
That building was a shelter for hunters, jointly created by three guild associations in agreement with the government.
It was like a wooden pension, protected by an S-rank barrier mage’s barrier, so monsters couldn’t enter.
Hyejin had seen it in passing, and compared to her store, it was starkly different.
While her convenience store was surrounded by marble—solid and cold-looking—the shelter leaked soft yellow light from inside and looked like a luxury house from the outside.
“You went there often.”
She hadn’t been inside, but Hyejin knew quite a bit about it.
The hunters working there were regular customers at the convenience store and often chatted.
[Just having a convenience store is a comfort, but still, an iced Americano from a cafe after a meal would be the best—it’s a bit disappointing. Wonder if someone will open a cafe.]
[Only we work inside a dungeon like this—who else would want to? We’re risking our lives here too, just like you, Manager. Hahaha.]
[Since there’s already a convenience store, it would be nice to have a chicken place inside the dungeon, a laundromat, a coin karaoke—someone should open them. Standing guard in here every day is tough.]
To their words, Hyejin always replied with a smile.
[But thanks to the staff working hard, hunters can rest comfortably for a bit, right?]
In truth, Hyejin was curious about the atmosphere inside the shelter.
Do hunters actually use it?
It seemed like fights would break out if hunters stuck together.
So Hyejin mustered courage and asked the staff.
[By the way, are there quite a few people using the shelter?]
[No. Almost none. The hunter guild associations may seem friendly now, but they’re actually not. They’re rivals. The government seems to subtly encourage fighting too. They say if you build achievements, you’ll get honor medals later and national merit status—so hunters are obsessed with achievements. Everyone seems to think it’s better to hunt one more monster than rest at the shelter. After all, if you’re killing monsters anyway, getting awards and government benefits like civil servants is nice.]
[That’s true.]
[So except for Blake Guild, I’ve hardly seen hunters from Ismel Guild or Zion Guild associations. They avoid running into each other. But Blake hunters come often anyway. That’s how it is. It’s easier for us, so thank you. Anyway, take care, Manager.]
There had been such conversations.
Hyejin stepped out of the store and began objectively observing the exterior.
After about 10 minutes of looking around every corner, she had to admit Suho was right.
The convenience store inside the dungeon felt rustic, bleak, and dark.
We need exterior interior design.
Moreover, if they created a cafeteria-like space in the store, the outside should become brighter, more comfortable, and warmer—like a cafe.
Perhaps there might be suitable items in the manager’s market.
“Open the manager-exclusive shop.”
As soon as Hyejin spoke, the manager-exclusive shop window appeared before her eyes—but since the convenience store was still only level 2, her heart pounded anxiously.
She had opened it impulsively, but at level 2, there probably weren’t many things to buy, and she didn’t have much gold either.
“Show me the current convenience store sales.”
Current convenience store sales: 600,000 gold.
Would you like to view sales from opening until now?
YES/NO
“YES”
Week 1 sales were 1,050,000 gold, but after purchasing the parasol set for 300,000 gold and the time machine organizing device for 500,000 gold, 205,000 gold remained.
With an additional 600,000 gold in sales in the current week 2, the total remaining amount is 805,000 gold.
In week 3, salaries must be paid to the hunters employed—Lee Suho, Cha Seojun, and Yoon Eunwoo—so at least 6,000,000 gold or more must be earned going forward.
Hyejin despaired at the system’s words.
They had earned 600,000 gold in just two days of week 2, but with three part-timers now, monthly fixed expenses exceeded 6,000,000 gold.
Even if they were SS-rank hunters who didn’t need money, they had to be paid for their work.
Plus, payments had to be made to Induk Trading for supplying goods, so monthly sales needed to be at least 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 gold to maintain the store.
At the current earning rate, they might barely make 10,000,000 gold a month.
No—what 10,000,000 gold?
They couldn’t even reach 5,000,000.
At that moment, Asha’s promise came to mind.
Absolutely one year.
She had to maintain the convenience store for one year to become an SS-rank hunter.
Yet, not even a month in, she had hit a wall.
She needed a solution.
Just then, an exclamation mark and NEW flashed on the system window, and a new quest appeared.
Quest ‘Find the Hidden Missions!’ (NEW!)
At this rate, your convenience store is in danger of going bankrupt!
For you, we provide special hidden missions.
Find and complete the 4 hidden missions scattered throughout the convenience store!
However, you must not let anyone know you’re on a mission!
If discovered, quest fails immediately! Failing even one mission also results in quest failure!
Time limit: 20 minutes
Quest reward: 70,000,000 gold upon successful completion of all hidden missions