BOPE 67

Chapter 67 …

The freedom from time constraints made Dong-hee’s steps feel as light as if wings had sprouted on her feet. As she walked, thinking about the list of things she could now fill her generously expanded inventory with, she completely forgot about the troubles that had weighed her down just yesterday.

Without glancing anywhere else, Dong-hee headed straight for the first floor of the supermarket. The road to the store was still lined with towering walls of thick fog, but unlike before, it no longer felt like something would suddenly leap out to attack her, nor did it feel scary. Right now, all she could think about was what she could take from the first floor, and that thought alone kept her heart busy.

Arriving at the supermarket entrance, Dong-hee took a deep breath to calm her trembling excitement before stepping through the massive glass doors.

“Wow…”

Though she had been here several times before, the inside of the supermarket now felt like another world.

The first thing that caught her eye was the section selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Apples, grapes, tangerines, pineapples—there was nothing missing. The vegetables—zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, bean sprouts—all looked so fresh and vibrant, as if they had just been harvested yesterday.

But what truly made Dong-hee’s heart race was the meat section. She dashed straight to the meat counter at the far end of the store, not even glancing at the open dumpling display she passed.

Inside the chilled glass display case, glowing with a fresh crimson sheen, was the meat that greeted her.

“Hello there, Hanwoo. Can I… eat you?”

Smiling shyly at the beautifully marbled beef, Dong-hee wasted no time filling her inventory with it. She packed 100 portions of Hanwoo beef, filling part of her now 800-slot inventory, and then added various cuts of pork for grilling and boiling.

“Gotta have a barbecue later!”

Even though the packaged meat was heavy and made her arms ache, thinking of the people who would enjoy this feast made the effort feel completely worth it.

After filling nearly half her inventory with meat, Dong-hee headed to the egg section.

“Where are the organic eggs?”

She carefully stacked cartons of free-range, organic eggs into her inventory—the kind she could never afford before. Knowing not all eggs would successfully hatch, she stocked up generously to account for failures.

Excitedly loading her inventory with protein, she then added a box of sweet potatoes on her way out. She worried they might take up separate slots, but luckily, the sealed box counted as one item.

“Let’s plant some sweet potatoes too.”

Dong-hee added ten more boxes of sweet potatoes to her inventory. Doing it repeatedly made her arms sore.

“Wow, this is no joke. Times like this make me wish I had an assistant…”

– Need an experienced assistant? One is right here, ready to help.

As she massaged her aching arms with her fists, a status window popped up before her eyes.

“Wait—Taechang?!”

– Yes, that Taechang.

“You can work as my assistant?”

– Of course. As long as you pay a suitable fee, I’ll do anything you need.

“How much?”

Dong-hee’s voice was filled with suspicion. No doubt he’d try to rip her off, but still, she couldn’t give up hope.

– You currently need help moving goods into your inventory, correct?

“That’s right.”

– Calculating fee…

The blue screen shuffled strange symbols around, then, with a flashy ta-da! sound effect, displayed a glowing message:

– Based on the weight and simplicity of the work, Taechang’s fee is as follows:
Pay 10 hidden points.
However, if you take the assistant outside the hiring location, a penalty will apply.
Do you want to hire?

“Great!”

It was cheaper than expected. Dong-hee eagerly nodded. Her arms felt like they were about to fall off, so paying just 10 points was more than worth it.

– Contract established. Thank you.

The words had barely finished displaying when a silver-haired man was shoved out of the blue screen.

The moment he appeared, he tried to rush back inside, but the status window vanished in the blink of an eye. Taechang lunged forward as if charging a bull into thin air, then stood frozen, looking lost like a child who had just lost his mother.

From behind, he looked oddly lonely.

“Hi, Taechang.”

When he wouldn’t turn around, Dong-hee greeted him first. His fists were clenched tight as he glared for a long time at the space where the status screen had disappeared. Finally, he turned his head reluctantly, his snow-pale face flushed red.

“How dare they…!”

“Could you start by loading twenty boxes of sweet potatoes and fifty boxes of tangerines?”

“Do I look like someone who does such menial work?”

Taechang trembled with fury as he took a step closer, blue square fragments of light flickering behind him like an aura. His murderous glare could have led to a fight, but Dong-hee stood confidently. After all, she had already signed the contract—there was nothing to be afraid of.

“Yep.”

“…What?”

“Hey, if you have complaints about minimum wage, take it up with that blue screen guy, not me. I didn’t set the price—you think I made up the 10 points? So whose fault is that?”

“That’s—!”

“Whatever! I’ve already paid. If you don’t want to work, then give me back my points.”

At the mention of returning the points, Taechang quickly clamped his hand over his mouth and stepped back. Seeing his panicked reaction, Dong-hee smirked and took a step forward.

“You really don’t want to give them back, huh?”

“You… you don’t even know…”

Dong-hee stared at his red ears and then pointed toward the stack of sweet potatoes, speaking clearly.

“Oh, I know. I know everything.”

Taechang covered his mouth even tighter. Dong-hee let out a mocking laugh.

“So if you don’t want to lose those points, start carrying. Sweet potatoes. Tangerines. Oh, and some green onions too—the kind with roots, not pre-trimmed. I’m going to plant them and pull them fresh whenever I cook. Perfect for ramen. Chef will love it too. Well? Why are you still standing there?”

The man trembled with humiliation, but since returning the points wasn’t an option, he grudgingly trudged toward the sweet potato boxes.

“This humiliation… I’ll…”

“What? Did you say you’d give the points back?”

“Can I move five boxes at a time?” he asked, hefting five boxes of sweet potatoes at once.

“As long as they don’t get damaged.”

Soon, the upgraded inventory was filled with all sorts of goods. After placing a large bottle of cooking oil in the last slot, Taechang vanished as suddenly as he had appeared. His silvery hair, shining like moonlight, seemed especially sorrowful today.

In just a few days, more than half of the wasteland had been reclaimed. With Helsha and Farmer, Dong-hee rode out beyond the castle walls to inspect the transformed land, and was stunned by how much the soil had changed.

“That’s really the wasteland?”

What was once so dry that dust blew with every gust of wind, and so hard as frozen stone that farm tools couldn’t even scratch it, was now soft, velvety soil—moist and fluffy.

Stepping down from the carriage, Dong-hee stared in disbelief at the chocolate-brown earth. In the distance, people were still working the remaining barren patches, turning them fertile with Dural fertilizer. Their cheerful laughter, full of pride in the changes they had created, drifted on the breeze toward where Dong-hee stood.

“It actually works.”

“This is all thanks to you, my lord. Every time the people touch this soil, they call it a miracle.”

Helsha’s voice was as full of emotion as Dong-hee’s. Standing beside them, Farmer’s nose was already red, tears brimming in his eyes. Born as a farmer, he had never felt such overwhelming joy starting and ending his day as he did now.

“You could grow anything in this soil.”

“Yes… sniff… When winter passes and spring comes… sniff! This place will be covered in green.”

As Farmer wiped away tears, Dong-hee felt her own nose sting with emotion.

“Steward, bring what we prepared.”

At Dong-hee’s command, Handsome carried over a box and set it down. Helsha and Farmer’s eyes followed the box curiously. Inside were familiar-looking crops—though also some they had never seen before.

“Do you know what this is?”

Dong-hee asked, sounding slightly expectant.

“This looks like a pumpkin… but why is it so small?”

Helsha was the first to recognize the kabocha squash.

So they grow pumpkins here too! Overjoyed, Dong-hee picked one up and handed it to Helsha.

“Do you think we can grow this here?”

“Pumpkins usually grow best in cool, dry places, but… this one looks different. I’m not sure. I’ve never seen such a small pumpkin.”

“It’s called kabocha.”

Helsha tilted his head at the unfamiliar word, turning the squash over in his large hands. What filled Dong-hee’s hands now looked as small as an orange in his grip.

“Kabocha?”

“Yep. Steam it and it’s incredibly sweet and delicious. You can use it in lots of dishes. Want to try growing it?”

“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”

“Good. There are other things here too—talk it over and see what you can cultivate. The rest is stored in Grace Castle’s warehouse, so let’s cook some today, and plant the rest next spring.”

“Yes! We’ll do our best.”

“The future of our territory rests on you two. I’m counting on you.”

At Dong-hee’s words, the two stiffened for a moment but quickly bowed deeply, full of resolve and pride in the trust their lord had placed in them.