Chapter 10

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Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: Delivery Into the Dungeon

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'I really don't want to eat the dungeon food that tastes like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crap... but let's think of it as one step back for two steps forward.'

Yeah, this is an investment!

With that, Shin Ha-rang steeled his resolve and, in a gloomy mood, grabbed an S-Rank Hunter digestive aid and a vomit bag from the mini fridge.

"Ha... please just show up in front of me, Delivery Hunter."

If you just reveal yourself, I'd serve you like a princess.

Meanwhile, the Delivery Hunter Moon Chae-ryeon that Shin Ha-rang was desperately searching for was fast asleep in her studio apartment.

"Ugh... just five more minutes..."

A few days ago, after the alarm went off without a sound, all that followed was silence. But today was different.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

"Master! You must wake up! The sun is high in the sky!"

"Gasp!"

Chae-ryeon's eyes flew open, and right in front of her was Delicious Waitress Mimi, the moon rabbit with fur as white as snow, bowing her head.

In one hand, she even held a gong.

'Where the heck did she get that from?'

Still groggy, Chae-ryeon blinked slowly.

"Quest! You have only half a day left to complete the quest! You must hurry!"

At Mimi's urgent urging, Chae-ryeon finally snapped to attention.

"...This isn't a dream."

Right, I awakened.

She vividly remembered brushing her teeth and awakening as an S-Rank Delivery Hunter, then accidentally accepting a quest, cooking food, and selling it to a hungry hunter customer.

Before falling asleep last night, Chae-ryeon had made up her mind.

'I'm going to make this my job!'

If all these events from just one day weren't a dream, she was ready to embrace life as an S-Rank Delivery Hunter with open arms.

It was incredibly appealing to her—cooking her favorite dishes to her heart's content and delivering them to hunters suffering from awful food.

Looking disheveled from just waking up, Chae-ryeon pulled up her status window.

"Quest progress."

Sure enough, sleeping in until the sun was high had halved the quest's time limit.

Mimi paced anxiously with quick rabbit hops beside her.

"What shall we do? There are three quests to complete, and so little time!"

"Calm down, Mimi."

"But Master! If we lose your cooking skills for two weeks because of this... I, Mimi, could never bear to see such a thing... even if it kills me."

Mimi's red eyes flashed with a resolute determination, as if the world itself would end.

"It's fine. I have a plan."

Mimi's ears perked up at Chae-ryeon's calm words.

"What plan is that?"

"First... the third sub-quest, 'Open a Shop!' is way too easy. We just need to claim yesterday's reward from the inventory, right?"

"Ah!"

Mimi finally remembered one of the rewards from the first quest.

"You mean [Portable Kitchen Anywhere!]!"

"If I'm right, pulling that item from the inventory and setting it up should complete the quest on the spot."

It was explicitly called a 'shop.' A shop is a place to display and sell goods, so it perfectly fit the quest requirement.

"Inventory."

"Take out [Portable Kitchen Anywhere!]"

'I wonder what it'll be.'

Owning a shop had been Chae-ryeon's long-held dream.

'Portable shop, so maybe like a food cart? Or a food truck? Even if it's small, as long as it's a comfy space for cooking, that'll do.'

Waiting with half-excitement and a pounding heart, Chae-ryeon was stunned by what appeared before her.

"W-what in the world!"

Chae-ryeon's studio was a tiny 10-pyeong room at best.

Practical as she was, she figured a portable shop wouldn't be huge, so she summoned it inside.

But the reality was... completely different.

"I-is this a portable shop?!"

A spacious, clean area at least 50 pyeong wide came into view. It had a kitchen, several tables and chairs, and a cozy nook for resting during work... it was perfect, like a gift made just for her.

"Oh my god..."

'My place is only 10 pyeong—how is this massive space even possible?'

Puzzled, Chae-ryeon opened the door of the portable shop and stepped out, only to find a tent that looked straight out of a fairy tale gingerbread house.

Mimi explained it for her.

"It seems this shop uses spatial distortion magic! The inside is much larger than the outside appears, making it incredibly convenient."

"Wow... S-Rank base items are no joke."

The tent proudly declared itself a shop, complete with a fabric sign. It was blank since there was no name yet, but Chae-ryeon was thrilled with the magical setup.

'What should I name the shop?'

She'd mocked the system's naming sense before, but honestly, she wasn't great at it either.

Pondering, Chae-ryeon looked down at Mimi and grinned mischievously.

"Alright. From today, this shop's name is 'Mimi's Humble Bento Shop'!"

Immediately, clear letters engraved themselves on the tent's fabric sign.

And with a ding-, a quest completion notice popped up.

'Great, right on plan!'

Using her own name would blow her cover as a Delivery Hunter too quickly, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she went with a pun on her summon Mimi's name.

The real meaning of 'Mimi's Humble Bento Shop' implied something utterly delicious, but the homophone for 'tiny' or 'humble' allowed it to be read oppositely as modest and small.

It was a shop name reflecting Chae-ryeon's wish to quietly focus on cooking and deliveries.

Mimi's mouth fell open in surprise at Chae-ryeon's decision but quickly refocused on the quest.

"Master! Just two more quests, and we're done!"

"I've got that covered too."

Grinning confidently, Chae-ryeon pulled a worn notebook from a treasure chest reverently placed in one corner of the room.

"I've got tons of recipes I've collected. Menu selection? Piece of cake!"

Suddenly, a system window slyly appeared at her spirited declaration.

Chae-ryeon didn't miss the flustered system emojis and teased it.

"What, scared? Am I too good?"

As Chae-ryeon gloated triumphantly, the system's emojis grew more horrified—in a bad way.

Finally, the system burst into tears.

"Gasp, a-are you crying?"

"Master made the system cry...!"

Mimi covered her mouth with her white paws, and even Chae-ryeon panicked, whining at the system.

"No! Stop it!"

"Sounds like 'pain is just youth' or some nonsense..."

Who wants trials when flower paths are better? That's why people love overpowered protagonists and cheat characters—life as a sweet soda shower, not a sweet potato field of frustration.

Today's twenties crave that soda fizz.

'Anyone else saying this would just sound lame.'

System, coming from you, it rubs me the wrong way.

"Hey, no need to cry about it..."

The crafty system seized the moment of her wavering and amped up the fake sobs.

But Chae-ryeon wasn't one to fall for it easily.

'Fight juice with pumpkin resolve?'

Quit only when selling cabbage, tears only when chopping onions.

What she needed now was a firm, pumpkin-like attitude.

"What are you talking about? The problem is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you gave me three times as many quests in the same time limit! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rewards and penalties stayed the same!"

At this rate, she'd be leashed and dragged around by the system!

Nip promising sprouts early for the future's sake.

It was too soon after awakening for the system to double the quest tax—this was unacceptable.