Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Shop Speaks
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What time is it now?"
It's 11:15 a.m.
A full day had already passed since that kid came by the shop yesterday.
I'd slept some, whipped up some Dream Solvent, and passed the time that way—surprisingly, I hadn't gotten bored at all.
"It was creepy enough biting off people's fingers every day, but going more than a day without it feels kinda weird."
That must mean you're pretty satisfied with playing the Merchant, huh?
Hmm, somehow I doubt it.
"Anyway, it's almost time."
Less than ten minutes until the next prophecy kicked in.
The message was something like: "Today at 11:23 a.m., yesterday's customer returns. Afterward, another customer buys one item."
For whatever reason, that kid was coming back.
I wondered who the other customer would be.
The kid's parents, maybe?
Well, guess I'd find out soon enough.
In the windowless shop, time slipped by silently.
Now less than a minute left.
"Okay."
As I stared holes through the door, the seconds ticked down, and soon enough, the shop door creaked open.
"Huuuh... haaak... haa..."
The kid from yesterday appeared, drenched in sweat from head to toe.
She looked in rough shape, no two ways about it.
As I stepped closer to check on her, a faint rustle of footsteps hit my ears—followed by a horrific screech that slammed into my eardrums.
🗣️ SHOP'S VOICE 🗣️ Damn it. Even a mute would scream if you sliced their mouth open with a knife. And it's not that I can't speak—it's that I can't form human words with my vocal cords. I get what it's trying to say, though. But sliced open with a knife...? What the hell? My question didn't linger long.
A corrosive hiss of metal dissolving drew my gaze—and there stood Kim Do-hyun.
He'd clearly forced an entrance into the shop using Rose's Cutter Knife.
Note to self: even this shop's door can be breached by something as basic as a disposable like that.
"Merchant."
Up close, Kim Do-hyun didn't look much better off.
His clothes were shredded in spots and soaked with blood. He was breathing hard—something I'd never seen from him in the game, no matter how tough things got.
"Mind if we rest here a bit?"
He was too worn out for the act he'd put on last time; his face was dead serious.
What was the deal between these two?
Different last names ruled out family.
And Kim Do-hyun wasn't exactly the type with close personal ties, so probably not friends either.
Just strangers who happened to cross paths, most likely.
"By all means."
I agreed without hesitation.
Neither of them seemed here to pick a fight with me—the kid especially.
If that were the case, the prophecy would've mentioned it.
Hell, even if Kim Do-hyun tried something now, I could probably take him blindfolded.
The kid and Kim Do-hyun hunkered down in a corner of the shop to catch their breath.
If this were a convenience store, they'd be the nightmare customers—but nah, a tale shop like this was anything but normal, so even troublemakers made for top-tier patrons.
Besides, the Tale Management Bureau folks like Kim Do-hyun were shaping up to be VIPs for me down the line.
As I watched the kid on the verge of nodding off, curiosity gnawed at me: what had left her in such a state?
I was letting them crash here for free; a little prying couldn't hurt.
"That said, you two look like hell. What happened?"
Kim Do-hyun paused at my question before speaking up.
"You don't need to know."
Yeah, figured as much—no sane Tale Management Bureau agent would spill their guts to some mystery tale.
I hadn't really expected him to.
Time to play the Merchant card.
"How about this, then? I'll buy your info. Throw in one finger-item as payment. Oh, and some basic advice on the house."
Kim Do-hyun stared me down, flustered, then glanced at the merchandise.
He looked torn.
Dealing with a tale wasn't ideal on paper, but agonizing over it like this meant something big had gone down.
It took five minutes before he finally spoke.
"...Fine."
Kim Do-hyun's tale skipped some key details—like his full identity—so it wasn't the whole picture, but what he shared still hit hard.
Tale-ification triggered by my merchandise...
Bottom line: just hanging around tales didn't turn you into one.
If it were that easy, half the bureau and most civilians would've turned by now.
This smelled like that organization's handiwork.
Tale-ification was rare as hell anyway; no surprise Kim Do-hyun was in the dark.
Even the bureau at this point probably didn't grasp the mechanics.
A little hint couldn't hurt.
Game knowledge was fading a bit, but I'd never seen a tale like this in the original run.
Maybe my meddling changed things—or maybe it was canon but off-screen.
Either way, I knew the why behind tale-ification and how to handle the turned.
"Mind if I offer a tip?"
"...Pardon?"
"For starters, I'm not the cause."
I swiped casually at the air as I spoke.
"Do you know why tale-ification happens?"
Kim Do-hyun eyed me curiously.
"Let's assume you know the basics: tales spawn from stories."
He nodded.
In this game, tales stemmed from narratives—old folktales, myths, even creepy internet posts.
Believe and remember them enough, and they birthed into reality.
But mass belief warped them, birthing tales instead of truths.
"Human tale-ification's similar, with two big differences: prolonged tale exposure... and years of unwavering faith in one specific story."
That's why it was so rare.
Civilians couldn't linger near tales without the bureau swooping in—and clinging to one tale for years? Near impossible.
Kim Do-hyun glanced at the kid, gears turning.
"Now this next part? Call it a freebie."
I recalled the tale Kim Do-hyun had described.
Didn't know why she'd kept buying from me, but the story she believed? Easy guess.
Something about her dead son.
"Lucky for you, if it's family-related, the fix is straightforward."
I summed up the countermeasure in brief.
Kim Do-hyun was sharp as hell on tale matters; he'd get it.
He seemed torn on whether to trust me.
"You sure? Can I really believe this?"
I flashed him a grin.
"To that end, how about this item?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Merchant seemed to know even more than I did.
No clue how he had all that intel, but he wasn't exactly hiding it.
Could be total bullshit, of course.
All I could do was hope this tale was one of the honest ones.
Part of me wanted to hole up here until the bureau sorted everything—but as a bureau guy myself, I couldn't let more victims pile up.
Once this blew over, they'd slap an official threat level on the shop.
From what I'd seen, medium at worst. I couldn't solo it, but a response team? Easy takedown.
Seemed pretty human-friendly so far, though—maybe low threat?
I glanced at my left hand, down to just two fingers.
...Friendly, my ass.
I popped the pill the Merchant had given me for his story.
Just like the Squad Leader said: a bizarre sensation, like viewing two worlds at once.
Hundreds of people lined up along the translucent wall.
If it were fully opaque, maybe it wouldn't feel so suffocating.
I looked back.
A tale hovered in the sky above, while Choi Yu-na lay on the floor below, deep in sleep.
Sucked to dump this on a kid, but if it was the Merchant's fix, no choice.
At least Yu-na would be safe.
My job from here: keep those things away from her until she sorted it out.
"Nap time's not till later! You're sleeping already?"
"Wake up! Let's play!"