ISMFWC 08

Chapter 8

Sehee muttered incredulously.

As though they had been waiting for Cassian to leave, none of them made a move to attack.

“For now, yeah, just stay like that. Everyone stay where you are. Don’t attack.”

Sehee sighed amid the strange silence.

She went inside the tent and took out the pork belly she had grilled yesterday.

Since it had already gone cold, Sehee put it back over the fire.

“Can you all just eat this and then leave?”

The wolf was the first to turn its head.

It glanced up at Sehee for a moment before slowly shifting its gaze toward the meat.

Taking that as a signal, the other monsters also approached one step at a time.

They didn’t push each other, nor did they fight over their turn.

‘These monsters are better at socializing than I am.’

Then, one of the goblins stepped forward.

It was holding something glittering in its hand.

A roughly cut gemstone.

The moment Sehee took it, she felt a faint vibration through her fingertips.

For the briefest instant, her vision seemed to overlap, and a blue window appeared in the air.

[Exchange Notification — Fuel Appraisal Result]

• Item: 1 Garnet Fragment
• Purity: 32% (Low impurities)
• Potential Energy: 380P
• Refining Fee (10%): -38P
• Final Amount Obtained: +342P

“Huh? Wait a second.”

Sehee’s eyes stopped on the numbers.

‘Hold on. What if I need to use actual money later?’

The moment Sehee thought that, another window appeared before her eyes.

[Withdrawal Fee Notice]

• Reverse Exchange Fee: 40%

“……?”

Sehee’s expression stiffened.

“You take 20% when I earn it, and then 40% when I use it?”

A brief silence followed.

“This is basically loan-shark behavior!”

The system window immediately responded in its usual indifferent manner.

[You do not have to use it if you dislike it.

However, if you are later imprisoned for dining and dashing, the system will not be held responsible.]

“……Wow.”

Sehee let out a hollow laugh.

“You really have no sympathy.”

She muttered absentmindedly.

After glaring at the system window for a moment, Sehee eventually let out a deep sigh.

“Ha…… whatever. I don’t need to spend it right now anyway.”

As Sehee tilted her head back slightly, her eyes suddenly narrowed.

“But why is the price different from the one the wolf brought me?”

She remembered the gemstone the wolf had carried over in its mouth and dropped onto the ground.

‘It definitely……’

What had appeared back then wasn’t this detailed appraisal window, but an automatically summarized window.

Sehee’s brows slowly furrowed.

“But why is it different now?”

As though answering her question, the blue window appeared again.

[Notice]

During the initial adaptation stage, the automatic summary function was applied by default in consideration of the user’s level of information comprehension.

Your current level of comprehension has reached the required threshold, so detailed information display has been activated.

You may choose between Automatic Summary / Detailed Display.

“No……. Why are you telling me something this important only now?”

Sehee glared at the blue window.

“Would it have hurt you to tell me earlier?”

After catching her breath for a moment, she continued grumbling.

“If you were going to do this, you should have given me the choice from the beginning.”

The blue window offered no response.

Sehee gave a short sigh and, for no particular reason, took a deep breath of the morning air.

‘Whatever. Let’s fill my stomach first.’

Cassian’s steps were heavy as he descended through the forest.

As the Duke of Valer, he had traveled across countless battlefields, but this was the first time he had ever left behind someone as strange and captivating as her.

‘Sei. Could she really be a Saintess?’

Without slowing his pace, Cassian glanced back once.

‘There shouldn’t be any reason for a Saintess to be in a place like this.’

The thought refused to leave his mind.

Cassian slowed his steps for a moment and looked back toward the forest behind him.

It was then, just as he was descending a narrow, steep slope, that a harsh smell of blood and sweat reached him on the wind.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of people’s footsteps approached, trampling over the silence of the forest.

Cassian instinctively tightened his grip on his sword and concealed his presence behind a tree.

This forest was under the management of the ducal family.

There was little reason for anyone to enter without permission, and even fewer people would have the nerve to do so.

His first thought was that it might be a group returning from a hunt.

A moment later, a mercenary band emerged through the fog.

Their equipment was mismatched, but their movements were practiced, and the traces of their recent hunt remained clearly visible on their shoulders and weapons.

Cassian recognized at a glance that they were people who had already received permission from the ducal family.

‘The Red Fang Mercenary Band?’

They passed by without noticing Cassian.

“I’m telling you, it’s around here! That incredible smell is coming from somewhere nearby!”

“Who cares if this belongs to the Duke or whoever! Once we find that smell, today’s hunt is over!”

Laughing roughly, they began heading straight toward the direction of Sehee’s tent.

Cassian wanted to draw his sword immediately and stop their disrespectful advance.

But then he suddenly remembered Sehee from the night before, calmly closing the lid of the ssamjang container even while surrounded by countless monsters.

‘For me to intervene might itself be disrespectful to her.’

Cassian stood there for a moment, watching their footsteps.

The mercenary band continued deeper into the forest.

They didn’t appear to pose any immediate danger.

Despite what he was thinking inside, Cassian looked toward Sehee with concern.

In his mind, a cold conclusion had already been reached:

If they dared to make her uncomfortable, he would erase the entire mercenary band from the map of the empire.

Meanwhile, Sehee, who had unknowingly become the eye of the storm, was enjoying a peaceful morning.

“Ah, I finally feel like I can breathe again.”

She sat in a chair in front of the tent and opened her point window.

Thanks to the money Cassian had left behind, her balance was looking quite healthy.

“To upgrade to a convenience store, I’ll need a good turnover rate first.”

Sehee quickly estimated the number of customers and preparation time in her head.

“It would be nice to have a few practice rounds before the knights arrive.”

She naturally opened the system shop.

“The Duke seems to like meat.”

Sehee tapped her chin with her finger.

“I hope the next customers are a little more…… fiery.”

A brief, imaginative smile escaped her.

“If I get them to order more while they’re too busy recovering from spicy food to think straight, sales would be amazing.”

A business smile appeared on Sehee’s lips.

From below the forest came rough shouts and the clanging of metal against metal, growing closer.

But to Sehee, it wasn’t a threat.

It was simply the lively arrival signal of potential customers approaching with the scent of money.

Sehee placed a pot of water over the fire.

The fog in the forest began to clear, and beyond her field of vision, a group of huge mercenaries was just about to burst into the clearing in front of the tent.

The wolves had taken up positions around the edge of the tent, their ears pricked toward the forest.

‘If they’re customers, they probably wouldn’t be making this much noise.’

That thought would ultimately prove to be her biggest miscalculation.

Sehee dismissed the strange atmosphere as nothing important.

Too many things had happened in a single day.

She absentmindedly scrolled through the system shop list before her finger suddenly stopped.

• [Spicy Chicken Stir-Fried Noodles (5-pack)] …… 500P

“……Spicy Chicken Stir-Fried Noodles?”

All the events of last night and the accumulated stress she had experienced since being dropped into this forest flashed through her mind.

“Ah, I can’t resist this.”

Without hesitation, Sehee pressed the purchase button.

‘But does the type of ramen change every day? Or do new ones unlock as I level up?’

Sehee thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

It wasn’t as though the system would give her an answer right away anyway.

‘I don’t know when I’ll get to see this again.’

She moved her finger and increased the quantity.

Considering the possibility of unexpected situations, it seemed better to stock up generously.

“Ah, while I’m at it, I should buy the things I need in advance, too.”

Sehee swept everything she needed into her purchase list.

[Purchase History]

• Spicy Chicken Stir-Fried Noodles (5-pack) ×3
• Cool Berry (2L)
• Paper Cups (20)
• Chopsticks (100)
• .
• .
• .

Total Cost: 2,210P

Sehee checked her remaining points once more.

[Current Points: 4,582P]

‘I still have plenty left.’

Sehee placed the pot of water over the fire and lit it with practiced movements.

A little while later, the water began to bubble.

She tore open the noodle packets and dropped the noodles into the pot.

Once the noodles softened, she tilted the pot and roughly drained the water, then added an appropriate amount of the red sauce and quickly mixed everything with chopsticks.

As steam began to rise, the spicy aroma slowly spread around the tent.

“Ah, that smells good.”

At the same time, the wolf crouching near the edge of the tent raised its head.

Its ears stood straight up, and its tail lowered.

The other wolves also rose one by one and silently spread out around the perimeter.

Grrrrrrrr—

“Huh? Why are you guys acting like that?”

The gazes of all the wolves simultaneously fixed on something beyond the fog.

[Emergency Situation Detected!]

Multiple external individuals are approaching the operating area.

If the situation is not resolved within 30 minutes,

business may be suspended and an unexpected dispute may occur.

Objective: Resolve the situation peacefully (0/1)

Time Limit: 30 minutes

Success: Disposable Tableware Sets ×3,
Folding Chairs for Temporary Seating ×5

Failure: Business Suspension, Threat to Life

※ External individuals may become customers.

The choice is yours. (Staying calm is recommended.)