Finally, the customer’s speech seemed to reach its climax as his voice rose, and Eunwoo unconsciously echoed the customer’s last words. But neither Eunwoo, Seojun, Hyejin, nor even Asha realized it.
Their gazes were solely focused on the young middle school customer.
“What I want to say is two things. This convenience store still severely lacks products for hunters, and the other is that it’s not utilizing its location advantage at all. Having nutritional supplements or camping sets for hunters is good. But if you’re really planning a convenience store inside a dungeon, you need basic combat supplies like ropes or swords. And unique PB products that can be created by infusing mana.”
Unique PB products created by infusing mana?
Hyejin tilted her head and scanned the convenience store once around. There were quite a few products for hunters in their own way.
But it was also true that it followed the basic, ordinary framework of a convenience store.
Ordinary, despite the customers not being ordinary.
Perhaps thirsty from talking so much, the customer suddenly grabbed a bottle of water, went to the counter, had Eunwoo ring it up, gulped it down, and returned to Hyejin.
With a much more relieved expression, the customer pushed up his glasses again and said.
“This is the last part. I said earlier, ‘This convenience store isn’t utilizing its location advantage at all.’ Why don’t you do delivery?”
Delivery?
A word she’d never even considered filled Hyejin’s mind with question marks.
“These days, convenience stores do delivery too. Because of the special nature of being inside a dungeon, regular convenience stores can’t deliver into the dungeon. Obviously. Only hunters can enter. It’s dangerous too. But here, from the manager to the part-timers, everyone is a hunter. Even SS-rank!”
She wanted to say she wasn’t SS-rank, but Hyejin couldn’t bring herself to interrupt. Above all, she wanted to hear him out to the end.
“You’re the people with the most guaranteed safety in this dungeon. So, when customers want something, couldn’t you deliver it right away? Well, if delivery is still difficult despite that, it seems necessary to find a way. If hunters can buy what they need right when something comes up in the dungeon, it’d help them, and naturally boost the convenience store’s sales too. This convenience store would become even more special. More than now.”
It was unexpected.
The delivery idea she’d never thought of.
‘It’d be too much for people to go in person. No matter how SS-rank, usually working alone, can’t leave the convenience store empty.’
What Hyejin thought of was the teleport item.
The convenience store definitely had a teleport item.
It was for store use, but since teleportation was possible, couldn’t they teleport from the convenience store into the dungeon?
If that was possible……!
As an F-rank hunter, Hyejin didn’t know much about hunters’ items.
But if they applied a teleport system to artifacts, which were hunters’ essentials, or to everyone’s phones, they could send items right away as orders came in.
If that happened, not only would convenience store sales rise, but hunter satisfaction would increase too.
“Thank you so much. I’ll think about it. That’s a really great idea!”
Hyejin said sincerely.
At first, she couldn’t understand at all what this customer wanted or what he was trying to say, but she couldn’t deny it was truly helpful advice for the convenience store and herself.
It felt like he’d pondered and analyzed this convenience store more than Hyejin had.
“If there’s anything you want, just take it today. For giving such great advice. Consider it thanks.”
“I may not look it, but I’m an S-rank hunter, so I have plenty of money—I don’t plan to take it for free. Ah, and one more thing. It might be good to make and sell gift cards usable only at this convenience store. Could give them to fellow hunters as gifts. What convenience store doesn’t have gift icons these days? In that sense, it’s actually lacking compared to ordinary other convenience stores.”
It was a really good idea.
The ‘peculiar’ keyword customer was more like a helper than a pain until the end.
Of course, he was definitely an ‘eccentric.’
“Phew, refreshing. Whenever I heard about this convenience store on the community, I had so much I wanted to say! I have a wide meddlesome streak, so I want to give advice everywhere, but everyone ignores me saying it’s nosy or I’m too young. So, this is the first time I’ve said everything I wanted to the end, you know?”
The customer had somehow changed back to an innocent boy fitting his age.
“Thank you for listening to the end! Prosper!”
As the hunter opened the convenience store door and left, a system window appeared before Hyejin’s eyes.
Quest ‘Show Off the Manager’s Cool Abilities!’ achieved!
Congratulations! You splendidly showcased the manager’s cool abilities by satisfying all five customers.
As a quest reward, the convenience store counter renewal will proceed.
Hyejin was a bit dazed.
For the last hunter, it wasn’t her helping him, but him helping her.
In 1 minute, the counter renewal will be complete!
Right after the system’s words ended, thud thud sounds and white smoke began emanating from the counter where Hyejin stood.
“Eek, what’s this!”
It was natural for Eunwoo, who was at the counter, to jump out in surprise, hugging Asha tightly.
Hyejin scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“Ah, I had requested a counter renewal. Forgot about it, haha.”
Since she couldn’t reveal the quest’s nature, she had to brush it off like this every time.
“This convenience store is really amazing. Isn’t your system really peculiar, Manager? How does this even work?”
“I’m a hunter, but I’m the convenience store manager.”
Hyejin pondered briefly. Whether to say she’d become an SS-rank hunter after working here for over a year.
But with eleven months left, hiding quests every time during that period would be hard.
Still, she couldn’t spill everything to them. It might be selfish, but she didn’t want to see the part-timers she’d grown close to disappointed.
Hyejin soon cautiously opened her mouth toward them.
“I’m a non-combat hunter. And I’m not SS-rank.”
“Well, yeah? SS-rank hunters get cameras swarming from registration at the association, so they’d be known right away. We couldn’t not know.”
Eunwoo nodded in reply.
“To put it simply, I’m a non-combat hunter specialized in management. I grow by maintaining this convenience store, and it develops more by progressing quests like a game. So, I live differently from you all.”
“There are quests. That’s really amazing. Like a game!”
“Then what happens if you fail a quest?”
Seojun asked curiously while wiping his wet hands on a white cloth, and Hyejin answered him.
“Quests always promise rewards. Literally, failing means getting no rewards at all. I like my hunter level rising, but the convenience store is important too. So, I try to succeed in quests no matter what.”
“I see.”
“Whoa! Then those customers earlier were quests?”
At quick-witted Eunwoo’s question, Hyejin nodded.
“Yes. It was a quest to change the counter.”
Right after Hyejin’s words ended, the counter’s shape changed, instantly widening left and right like a mart counter.
“Wow!”
Originally, it felt cramped with Hyejin and one part-timer, but now it was spacious enough for four with room to spare.
“Look here too. Awesome!”
Eunwoo, the first to excitedly run to the renewed counter, looked around and called Hyejin in an thrilled voice.
“It totals the amount just by placing!”
As Eunwoo said, sensors were installed under the counter shelf where customers placed items, so the total amount appeared on the monitor right away without scanning barcodes.
Meaning, no need to scan items one by one—just place them on the counter, and it calculated the prices automatically.
Hyejin was simply amazed by this wondrous counter.
As anywhere, the most tiring and overwhelming moments in business were when customers flooded in and things backed up.
The convenience store Hyejin had worked at before wasn’t busy all day, but there were times when customers surged.
Not early mornings, but when students got out of school, between 2 PM and 5 PM when coffee customers were many.
If a customer wanted to use the coffee machine, she had to finish checkout quickly and explain the machine usage, and in between, if goods arrived, she had to organize and check quantities in spare moments.
So Hyejin often dashed around the convenience store.
On rainy or snowy days, the floor got messy, so she had to mop frequently.
Thus, when busy, even the time to scan barcodes on customers’ items was precious.
But now, that time was completely gone.
How joyful that modest time-saving was.
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