Chapter 3
Instead of answering, the wolf swished its tail once more.
“……Wow.”
Sehee looked back and forth between the tent and the wolf.
A top predator of the forest had settled down right in front of her.
There was no way other monsters could casually approach.
“At least the security is solid.”
Then she looked at the chopsticks still in her hand and smiled.
The wolf slowly raised its head and looked up at Sehee.
“What?”
Sehee spoke to the wolf.
“What else is there?”
The wolf paced around in front of the tent for a while before slowly turning around.
It seemed to disappear a few steps into the forest.
“Hey, wait a second.”
But before she could call out to it, it had already gone into the woods.
Then, after a little while, it came back.
This time, it was carrying something in its mouth.
“Huh?”
The wolf came all the way up to Sehee and dropped its head.
With a dull thud, something glittering rolled across the ground.
A single gemstone about the size of her fingernail.
It looked as though it had been dug out of the dirt, but the gem’s characteristic luster stood out even in the darkness of the forest.
“What is this?”
Sehee carefully crouched down and picked it up, but the wolf didn’t back away.
Instead, it sat obediently with its front paws together, staring only at her hand.
“Don’t tell me this is payment for the ramen?”
The moment she muttered it jokingly—
[Currency Exchange Notification – Automatic Summary]
• Target detected: Gemstone fragment
• Appraisal/refinement complete
• Final acquisition: 150P
Sehee’s gaze froze in midair.
The number was changing.
The points that had definitely been at zero just moments ago—
“Ah.”
The words slipped out on their own.
“No, wait. What are you doing? I didn’t even get to find out what kind of gemstone it was, and it just disappeared like that?”
The moment she received it, the settlement had already been completed.
The gemstone itself was gone, while the points remained, but from Sehee’s perspective, it felt like someone had given her something only to immediately take it back.
“First of all…… thank you for the gemstone. Well, I don’t know if you can understand me.”
As if it understood her words, the wolf flicked its tail once before turning its gaze away.
Only then did Sehee smile.
“Am I seriously……”
Looking down at the wolf, Sehee said,
“Did I just make my first sale to a wolf?”
She hadn’t merely escaped from the wolf or received its help.
She had simply sold something and received payment in return.
If something like this happened once, it was a coincidence. If it happened twice, it was business.
“Well, come to think of it…… it’s not all that different from my company.”
Except that her workplace was a forest and her customer was a wolf.
Sehee checked the number of points floating before her again.
And at that moment, she realized something.
Maybe this wasn’t a place where she had to survive.
Maybe this was a place where she could actually make a living.
She still didn’t know what the conditions for returning home were, but it was clear that the more points she accumulated, the more possibilities she would have.
“But what am I supposed to buy with these?”
The moment she finished speaking, a window appeared before her, as if telling her to check it right now.
[System Shop]
Location: Monster Forest Branch (Neighborhood Supermarket)
“No credit! No points, no broth.”
[Items for Sale]
• [Manseong Instant Noodles (5-pack)] … 500P [Purchase]
• [Maximum Gold (10)] … 120P [Purchase]
• [Shupam Can (200g)] … 600P [Purchase]
.
.
.
*Pick the products nearing their expiration date yourself. No returns.
“Isn’t this a little too much?”
A disbelieving laugh escaped her.
Sehee closed the screen and looked at the tent.
“Anyway, you’re telling me I have to live here from now on, right?”
Sehee looked around inside the tent.
Suddenly, she thought of her bed.
The soft mattress and warm blanket.
Her phone, which she used to plug into a charger every night, and the TV she used to turn on without thinking.
“……Ha.”
Late-night convenience-store snacks and delivery food—gone, right in the middle of a forest.
They were things she would probably never see again.
The wolf was still sitting there, its ears perked up toward the forest.
After checking on it once, Sehee carefully entered the tent.
The inside of the tent was narrower than she’d expected.
The floor was thin, and she could feel moisture rising beneath her feet.
“Ha, this is worse than a tiny one-room boarding house.”
Outside, she could hear the wind scraping against the branches.
“If it rains, I’m done for.”
There didn’t seem to be any water or fire, either.
On top of that, when Sehee pulled at the tent fabric with her hand, it shook much more easily than she’d expected.
“This is basically just plastic.”
The moment she came to that conclusion—
The inside of the tent suddenly brightened, and a small metal device popped out from the top of the tent.
“Huh?”
With a whirring sound, a faint light came on.
[Utility Supply Activated]
A Galactic Standard Reception Antenna will be installed on the tent.
*Monthly usage fee: 500P (automatically deducted)
*Automatic inspection and repair of damaged equipment
Then, a faucet appeared beside the tent, and water began dripping from it.
The water was remarkably clean.
Staring into empty space, Sehee asked,
“What happens if I don’t pay the monthly usage fee?”
[Service will be immediately suspended in the event of nonpayment.]
“I knew it.”
Her life had certainly become more convenient, but strangely enough, she didn’t feel at ease.
It was because even this comfort came with a price tag.
“Phew…….”
Sehee sighed and poked her head out of the tent.
The wolf was still sitting in front of the tent, guarding the place.
The traces of broth around its mouth were still there.
“Are you really planning to settle down here?”
Instead of answering, the wolf perked up its ears.
It wasn’t that she disliked having it around, but it would be troublesome if customers saw the wolf and ran away.
“Woof!”
As if it had read Sehee’s thoughts, the wolf tilted its head and barked once.
It was unexpectedly cute, and Sehee decided she might as well let it stay.
“Should I at least give you a name?”
The moment she finished speaking, her stomach growled.
Sehee paused for a moment, then casually placed a hand on her stomach as if nothing had happened.
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t eaten anything since I got here, and now that I’m relaxing a little……”
After cooking one packet of ramen for each of the wolves earlier, there was nothing left.
“Maybe there’s something inside.”
Sehee quickly looked around the tent and opened her Inventory.
The only things remotely edible were two or three chocolate bars.
But that seemed nowhere near enough to fill her stomach.
“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve saved one.”
Sehee slowly looked around the area surrounding the tent.
Branches, stones, grass.
There wasn’t a single thing that looked edible.
The forest seemed abundant, yet she was painfully aware that there was nothing here for her.
“They brought me here to run a store, but I don’t even have anything to eat myself……?”
At that moment, she heard the sound of something stepping on the dirt behind her.
It was the sound of the wolf suddenly getting to its feet and heading toward the forest.
A short while later, accompanied by a dragging sound, it returned with something in its mouth.
“Huh?”
What fell to the ground was a fairly large chunk of meat.
The blood hadn’t even dried yet. It looked like it had just been caught.
“Ah.”
Sehee stared at the meat for a moment.
“Meat? Did you catch this?”
The wolf looked rather proud as it sat beside the meat, glancing toward the forest once.
After perking its ears as if checking the surroundings, it looked back at Sehee.
It had the look of someone offering a reward in return for the ramen.
“Yeah. I appreciate it, but……”
Sehee picked up the meat.
She could vividly feel the blood of the meat coating her hand.
“I have to cook this.”
She gathered several branches in front of the tent and was about to start a fire when she suddenly stopped.
A thought had crossed her mind.
Hand of Destruction.
Cooking Skill: F-.
The ramen had been an exception, but this wasn’t something that had been in her Inventory or purchased from the shop.
Naturally, she began to worry.
All she had to do was grill it.
She convinced herself that grilling something like this didn’t count as cooking.
“Come on, surely it won’t stop me from doing this? Grilling should be fine.”
Muttering to herself, she examined the meat one more time for no particular reason.
Even though all she had to do was put it over the fire, her fingertips trembled slightly.
Just as she was about to place the meat over the flames—
[Warning]
This food ingredient may cause a toxic reaction that is fatal to humans.
“No, wait.”
Sehee looked back and forth between the meat and the window.
“What? Toxic? Even if I just grill it?”
Suddenly, she remembered when she’d cooked the ramen.
“Hey, you didn’t say anything back then.”
Seeing the system now adamantly trying to stop her from cooking, Sehee was dumbfounded.
[Warning]
If you wish to survive, cooking is not recommended.
“Then what am I supposed to eat to survive? I’ve never seen a store where even the owner is a distribution target.”
Naturally, the system didn’t answer.
Sehee looked down at the meat and muttered,
“Ha……. Did they just bring me here to run a business without thinking about what I’m supposed to eat or anything?”
In the end, Sehee had no choice but to put the meat down.
Seeing this, the wolf tilted its head as if asking why she wasn’t eating it.
“Sorry. It says I can’t eat this.”
Sehee sighed and checked her points.
150P.
“Then maybe there’s something edible in the shop?”
She casually scanned one side of her field of vision. Ramen, instant rice, canned food.
Her gaze stopped at one particular item.
• [Frozen Pork Belly, 1 Serving] … 1,200P
“……”
Sehee looked at the number once more.
Then she looked again.
“Frozen pork belly is…….”
[System Shop]
Purchase unavailable. (Insufficient points)
“Ha. I know. I don’t have enough points.”
Sehee scanned the list from top to bottom.
Ramen was 500.
Coffee was 120.
And below that, the only things she could afford.
• [Bottled Water (2L)] … 30P
• [Bakgas] … 50P
“……There’s nothing else.”
After thinking for a moment, Sehee pressed the purchase buttons for both.
That left her with only 70 points.
Then it happened.
Rustle—
A very faint sound came from the bushes.
A nearly inaudible sound, as if someone were swallowing their breath.
“……Urgh.”
