Chapter 25: Hidden Mission (2)

Absolutely.

I absolutely have to do this.

Looking at the sales window shown in the manager-exclusive shop, Hyejin couldn’t even bring herself to check the prices of interior items.

They probably started at least at 1,000,000 gold.

But she couldn’t give up now.

Exterior design was just as important as interior.

The sign hanging outside glowed in rainbow colors like a fishing shop sign, and the mat at the entrance had “Welcome” written in black on red yarn.

A tacky, old-fashioned vibe.

Hyejin regretted not noticing that mat until now.

The convenience store was at the dungeon entrance, with cracked gray rocks as the backdrop, and weeds growing wildly in all directions in front—extremely messy.

If Suho hadn’t been cleaning the weeds until now, it would have looked almost like a haunted house.

And that wasn’t all.

Because sunlight didn’t reach properly, the area about 100 meters in front of the store was quite dark.

Hyejin was bewildered.

Why did I just overlook this environment at first?

The fact that hunters still came despite the exterior being such a mess was truly something to be grateful for.

Then Hyejin thought about why they had no choice but to come here.

Simply because there was nowhere else to go.

That was the only reason.

There were no other convenience stores inside the dungeon.

Ordinary people who awakened as hunters entered dungeons, so it was hard to find civilians trying to do business inside.

It was better to do business outside the dungeon, where it was relatively safe.

“It’s pretty serious. Even if a cafe opens in this state, it’ll still be a dark and gloomy convenience store. Exactly like a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall shop tucked in a rural corner.”

A place no one would visit otherwise, but villagers have to use it because it’s the only one.

That’s exactly how the hunters were.

Since the convenience store was given for free without any cost, Hyejin hadn’t seriously thought about the business.

That’s why, only now entering week 2, she became aware of the external environment.

“I’ve only been thinking about becoming an SS-rank hunter all this time, and took running the convenience store for a year too lightly. Stupidly.”

Hyejin couldn’t help but blame herself.

Now she thought she understood why the spirit Asha had appeared and made such an absurd request.

This wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Before dungeon gates exploded, when she worked part-time at regular convenience stores, the managers’ faces were always dark.

Even when daily sales exceeded 1,000,000 won, they sighed deeply—she now understood that incomprehensible expression and complexion only after becoming a real manager herself.

First, money was needed for exterior design and to create a cafeteria space.

Hyejin’s reason for wanting a cafeteria was clear.

She wanted to properly sell the food Seojun made in a proper space.

Not awkwardly from the counter, but in a clean, even small space, to sell the dishes properly.

So hunters could rest comfortably for a while.

At the same time, if income increased from cafeteria drinks and food, it would help future store operations.

“What are you worrying about so much? Your face right now looks like you urgently need the bathroom.”

Eunwoo approached Hyejin, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.

At his playful voice, Hyejin snapped back to reality.

Hidden mission.

She had to find them quickly.

To properly sell drinks in a decent space for Eunwoo and Seojun, a cafeteria was needed.

“It’s nothing. Just have some things to think about. I’ll clean up again later.”

“Hey, I’ll handle the cleaning, so Manager, rest next to Suho hyung… yeah, whatever, Suho hyung is fine. Rest beside Suho hyung.”

Now wasn’t the time to rest.

Hyejin calmly stood up.

The most important thing in this mission was not to show any signs of doing it.

If she were alone, she could quickly do it while watching customers, but with two part-timers, sneaking the hidden missions required fast movements.

Actually, failing if discovered was a worry, but she might also have to explain why she needed such a quest.

If they found out why she was really working here, it would be very troublesome.

She’d look like a low-rank hunter full of greed in the eyes of Suho, Eunwoo, and Seojun.

After brief thought, Hyejin approached Eunwoo.

“Okay. I’ll work beside Mr. Suho. Ah, Mr. Eunwoo, shouldn’t you really go home now?”

“Hey, I’m still totally fine? Going home would just be boring. I’ll stay a bit longer.”

“Even so…”

“Really. Just a little more.”

“Hmm, then Mr. Eunwoo, I’m really sorry, but could you handle these weeds here? Ah, of course, I’ll add overtime pay, and if you want a break, feel free to step out.”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Yes, please.”

Hyejin patted Eunwoo’s shoulders firmly and quickly entered the store.

Then she tied her hair high again and took a short deep breath.

Alright, let’s start.

***

Eunwoo would be outside, so now she just needed to not look strange in Suho’s eyes.

She hadn’t noticed, but Asha had returned inside the store sometime.

Asha, looking utterly exhausted and sprawled out, approached Hyejin upon seeing her and handed over a pair of glasses.

Unlike others, the frames were unusually thin.

“Wear these.”

“Suddenly why?”

Hyejin glanced at Suho, accepted them, and whispered.

“My eyesight is pretty good.”

“I roughly know what’s happening to you. You got a quest, right?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

Without answering, Asha glanced around and spoke to Suho.

“Lee Suho. Earlier, you seemed to like the puppy quite a bit—could you buy some dog food? We need a leash and collar too.”

“Asha…? If it’s food, there’s canned in the store.”

At Hyejin’s puzzled rebuttal, seeing Asha’s heavily frowning expression, she finally understood the intent and awkwardly clapped her hands.

“Ah, come to think of it, our store only has canned food. They say mixing dry food is healthier. I’m really sorry, but since there’s no mart inside the dungeon, could you buy some from a mart outside?”

Suho looked at Hyejin’s face, nodded as if understanding, and replied.

“Then just a moment. How much should I give?”

“Ah, money’s fine. I’ll pay with mine.”

“No, no need for…”

“I have plenty of money, so that’s okay.”

“Ah, then sorry, but please.”

Hyejin answered with an awkward smile.

As soon as he left the store, she let out a sigh of relief and asked Asha.

“So what are these glasses?”

“Glasses to see hidden missions. Seems like you don’t have much time. If the part-timers catch you doing missions, they’ll think it’s weird. Especially Yoon Eunwoo might pester you out of curiosity. So quickly wear these and find the missions.”

“Got it. Thanks, Asha. I would’ve been in big trouble without you.”

Hyejin quickly put on the glasses.

Her eyesight was good enough for 1.0 in both eyes on tests, so she thought glasses might make her a bit dizzy.

But instead of dizziness, something unusual appeared.

Yellow exclamation marks scattered throughout the convenience store.

They were rotating, flashing on and off like switches.

“How much time left?”

As Hyejin looked up sharply, the system window glowed and showed her the remaining time.

Remaining time: 18 minutes 25 seconds

Was it because no one was there, or an auditory hallucination?

Tick tock tick tock

The sound of the second hand echoed throughout the store.

18 minutes 24 seconds, 18 minutes 23 seconds, 18 minutes 22 seconds…

Hyejin quickly headed to the snack corner right in front of where she stood.

This must be the place the exclamation mark points to.

No hints for the mission appeared, so Hyejin anxiously looked around the shelves.

“Huh? Why is this like that.”

She had definitely organized it earlier, but the price tag on the “Sweet Pumpkin Sweet Potato Chips” there was wrong.

It had been replaced with a completely different product’s tag.

The tag read: Cabbage 1 head 1,500 won.

“What is this? Where’s the original price tag?”

Is the mission to find the original price tag?

She’d never heard of such a mission.

Even for a hidden mission, this was like finding a missing puzzle piece inside the store.

17 minutes 00 seconds, 16 minutes 59 seconds…

“Okay, okay. Wow, the tick tock in my ears is driving me crazy.”

Hyejin scanned the upper and lower shelves, even the small side ones, with hawk eyes.

Is there a reason for this mission?

Such a question arose, but she had to push it away.

Even thinking was a waste of time.

Frowning, Hyejin ran around, then found the missing price tag on the jerky and squid shelf.

<Sweet Pumpkin Sweet Potato Chips 3,000 won>

“Found it. Found it!”

As Hyejin quickly put the price tag back in place, a welcome system notification rang.

First hidden mission ‘Find the changed price tag.’ achieved!

Yes!

Clenching both fists triumphantly, Hyejin immediately looked around for the second hidden mission.

And the moment she found the second mission without much difficulty, she had to despair.