BOPE 58

Chapter 58 …

As the knights and mercenaries swung their weapons, the number of Qulen swarming above their heads steadily dwindled.

Drawn by the scent of humans, the creatures had charged in recklessly, only to retreat just as quickly. They realized that sharp fangs and tough hides were no match for humans fully armored from head to toe. That quick decision-making—typical of weak monsters—was precisely how the Qulen had survived in the Black Forest for so long.

“They’re gone? Are they really gone now?”

“Y-yeah, I think so.”

Relieved sighs escaped the people’s lips as they confirmed the last of the Qulen had vanished. Many collapsed where they stood, their legs giving out beneath them.

“Whew, we’re alive.”

“Thank you!”

The workers, who had been thoroughly protected, bowed repeatedly to the knights and mercenaries.

Though the Qulen had attacked from overhead at random, thanks to the knights and mercenaries risking their lives to shield the workers, there were no serious casualties among the logging team.

A few mercenaries had been scratched or grazed by the Qulen’s claws, but none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Urune checked the wounded, damaged weapons, and the condition of the carpenters one by one.

All things considered, they had defended themselves quite well for a surprise ambush.

Seeing no major injuries, Urune breathed a sigh of relief and quickly determined their next steps.

Due to the instinctive repulsion monsters had toward other species, it was rare for many different species to coexist in one place. In other words, it was highly unlikely that any monsters other than Qulen lived here.

Urune turned to the subordinates still patrolling the area.

“Gather the Qulen’s fangs into one place! Anyone caught taking fangs without permission will be severely punished!”

Qulen fangs were tough and commonly used to craft spears or daggers. They were expensive—far beyond the means of commoners or even lower-ranking knights.

Mercenaries’ eyes glinted with disappointment upon hearing the order. Though they couldn’t afford to forge weapons with the fangs themselves, selling even one could feed their family for a whole month.

“Ugh, come on!”

“Why won’t it come out?!”

Grunts and groans rang out from all around as people struggled to pull the fangs from the Qulens’ mouths. While the carpenters huddled together far from the corpses, the knights and mercenaries enthusiastically worked to extract the fangs.

They managed to collect over 120 fangs. Since each Qulen had four, they had defeated at least thirty of them.

“What should we do with the corpses?”

Qulen wings, in addition to their fangs, were also considered high-quality materials and fetched high prices.

Urune hesitated for a moment at the question, then loaded a bag full of fangs onto a cart. Even though each fang was only the size of an adult man’s finger, the sheer number made the bag quite heavy. Then he shouted:

“Focus on the Komo trees for now! We’ll retrieve the corpses on our way back after the logging is complete!”

“But other monsters might scavenge the bodies by then!”

One mercenary, clearly pained at the thought of losing the valuable hides, raised his hand and protested.

Urune didn’t disagree—it would be a shame to lose the pelts. But fulfilling the lord’s orders took precedence.

“Our priority is the Komo trees.”

Urune’s firm reply drew groans of disappointment from all sides.

Leaving their regret behind, the logging team began to move deeper into the Black Forest.

* * *

Julia and Monel turned out to be far more skilled tailors than expected.

Less than half a day after Donghee asked them to make skirt-pants, the two were already knocking on her office door with finished products in hand.

“You’re done already?”

Donghee looked at them, surprised to see garments draped over their arms.

Julia smiled sheepishly at the incredulous question.

“The design was simple, and Julia is quite quick with her hands. We finished sooner than expected.”

Monel spoke up on behalf of the team but made sure to give credit to Julia.

“That’s amazing!”

Donghee genuinely admired their work and held up the skirt-pants they had made.

The pant legs were wide enough that, unless inspected closely, they looked just like a skirt—just as she had requested.

“I’ve got to try this on right away!”

Donghee stood up with the skirt-pants, and Anna also rose to assist her.

She had initially intended to try them on alone, but quickly changed her mind.

Even though the dress she was wearing was relatively simple, she still wasn’t quite used to taking them off by herself.

Sensing Donghee’s intent, Monel quickly led the curious Julia out of the room. Julia, who had hesitated, suddenly understood Monel’s motive and shut the door behind them.

With Anna’s help, Donghee took off her dress and quickly tried on the new skirt-pants.

“Oh wow! These are so comfy!”

Donghee admired herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. The only minor downside was that the waistband was tied in the back for aesthetic reasons.

She could tie it herself, but it would be far more convenient if the tie were in the front.

Anna, too, stared at the skirt-pants in awe. With wide legs and pleated waist, it looked indistinguishable from a skirt at first glance—just not as dramatic as a typical bell-shaped gown.

After admiring herself in the mirror, Donghee called Julia and Monel back in.

The two entered nervously but relaxed at the sight of Donghee’s pleased expression.

Spinning slightly, Donghee pointed to the waistband string.

“Could you move this to the front? I want to be able to tie it myself.”

“The front? But that might not look as—”

Monel hesitated, looking concerned.

“It’s fine. Just make the string into a pretty bow or something. With different shapes and colors, it’ll look like a whole new design.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Both Julia and Monel answered energetically, thrilled by the bold request.

“Oh, and I’ll need tops to match the skirt-pants too. Nothing too tight, and no excessive frills or lace. Especially not on the sleeves—they get in the way.”

“Yes!”

With each new instruction, Anna’s face grew paler.

After all, making the lady of the house look beautiful was one of her most important duties.

“Oh, and if you have time left, make a few dresses suitable for going out. You can buy whatever materials you want. But like I said before—no lace.”

She still needed formalwear for official events or visitors.

“B-but for something so important, letting us make them…”

“It’s fine. Just make them suit me. Show me your full potential.”

Honestly, she didn’t even know where to go to get custom dresses, and she didn’t have the time to look. But Julia and Monel looked genuinely moved.

“We can really buy whatever fabric we want?”

“Yup. Go wild—make everything you’ve been dreaming of. Oh! But only after you finish making clothes for the kids, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Their enthusiastic response echoed through the office.

Then it happened.

A blue notification window blinked to life, glowing with large white text.

– Favorability with territory residents has reached -50,000p.
Using a tightly rolled-up pair of old work gloves, you’ve miraculously increased your favorability! Even though they weren’t new. (A bit stingy, huh.)
As a reward for raising your favorability by over 20,000 points in record time, you’ve been awarded 2,000 Hidden Points. Would you like to open the Hidden Shop?

The Hidden Shop!

Delighted, Donghee instinctively nodded—then remembered she wasn’t alone.

“Alright, you two can go now. I’m looking forward to your work.”

The tailors left with wide smiles.

After telling Anna she wanted to rest alone, Donghee went into her room.

Alone, she called up her status window, and it immediately asked if she wanted to open the Hidden Shop.

Apparently, her favorability had jumped quite a lot—she’d turned off notification sounds and hadn’t realized.

Excited, Donghee confirmed the prompt.

“Yes, open it!”

Two thousand points! Until now, the most she had received was 1,000—she couldn’t wait to see what was available at this tier.

– With your remaining 2,115 points, you can purchase the following items or stat upgrades. Would you like to browse them now?

Donghee quickly nodded.

– Items available for 2,115 points or less. Choose a sorting method:
▶ Sort by lowest price
▶ Sort by highest price
▶ Sort by newest
▶ Sort by top-selling
▶ Sort by best-reviewed

Best-reviewed?

That was new.

Did that mean others had used the Hidden Shop before her?

Donghee stared at the final option for a moment, then said,

“Sort by best-reviewed.”

Maybe because she had plenty of points now, she didn’t even consider starting from the lowest price like before.

– Once a sorting method is selected, it cannot be changed without paying a 50p Sorting Fee. Proceed?

Donghee sighed at the shop’s relentless nickel-and-diming.

But she was in a generous mood thanks to the 2,000-point windfall. Calmly, she said:

“No re-sorting. Go with reviews!”

She couldn’t help but wonder—who were the others who had gone through this same process?

Had they, too, opened their eyes in this world like she had?