Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World
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I left the training grounds and headed back up to the top floor.
Knock knock.
"Cheong-su, I'm coming in?"
The moment I opened the door, a chattering voice came from inside first.
"Why are you scared! You're the older brother!"
Cheong-su had Maeng-i on the bed and was giving him a passionate speech.
"Baek Young might be bigger than you, but he's totally gentle! You don't need to run away with your tail between your legs like that!"
And Maeng-i, standing in front of him, had his paws clasped together with an aggrieved expression.
"Ah, why are you making such a fuss at the kid? There must be some circumstances between them."
"There are! It's upsetting."
"He's still a baby, so that can happen. Right, Maeng-i?"
The little guy had some spirit; he quickly stopped crying and pulled himself together.
"Alright, Im Maeng-i, follow your big brother. You can do it!"
"Chit!"
"Im Maeng-i is brave!"
"Chit!"
"Make a scary face too! Next time you see Baek Young, stand tall like a big brother, got it!"
"You're teaching the kid good stuff."
I stroked Maeng-i's head, who had clenched his tiny fists, to soothe him and took his side.
"No need to be like that to Maeng-i. Can you stand up to the Guild Master hyung?"
"Th-that's different!"
"Not really. Each familiar has different specialized abilities. Maeng-i is non-combat, and Baek Young is combat through and through, even if he doesn't look it."
"Huh? How do you know that, noona?"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious? He climbs bare rock mountains like that."
"Wow, as expected of the Guild Master's familiar."
"Ahem. Exactly. Plus, our Maeng-i has his own strengths."
"What Maeng-i is good at?"
For example, treasure hunting in dungeons?
"Maeng-i is great at being cute."
Like Kang Han had done, I tickled under Maeng-i's chin with my fingertip and cooed.
"Maeng-i is cute, Maeng-i is smart."
"Kyaa!"
As Maeng-i returned to his usual self, I said to Cheong-su,
"Cheong-su, get ready to go out."
"Where to?"
"Let's go sightseeing in Seoul."
Maeng-i had opened up to me quite a bit by then and climbed onto my left shoulder.
With left Maeng-i and right Cheong-su in tow, we arrived at...
"This is the Maestro Guild."
"Whoaaa!"
"Today, we're touring."
The reason novel Cheong-su could suddenly appear and shine was because of the Maestro Guild's environment, where he could access tons of items.
I planned to bring him here often, even if not to that extent, to broaden his horizons.
"Let's start from the first floor."
I led the wide-eyed Maeng-i and Cheong-su into the Maestro department store.
As I mentioned before, the first floor was packed with beauty items and health boosters.
"Oh, you can make it like this too."
Cheong-su, who had been exclaiming things like "Seoul really is different" and "They look so shiny, my eyes hurt" outside, changed his attitude the moment we entered.
His face turned serious as he closely examined each product on the shelves.
"You can grind Rekiment stones and use them like this."
"Rekiment stones?"
"Yeah. No, yes. These are gems that are super hard and sparkly like diamonds, and they've turned them into whitening cosmetics. I never thought of that."
Cheong-su's eyes sparkled.
No matter how S-rank crafting he was, Cheong-su's world was still narrow.
He'd only frequented that one small dungeon he made his hideout.
"You'll see lots of new materials hanging out with Justice Guild hyungs and noonas from now on, right?"
"Yeah. Tons."
Eventually, to the point he'd whine about being sick of it?
"Ah, I'm excited."
Cheong-su looked genuinely thrilled.
"Wanna go up? There's a floor that mainly sells potions."
"Oh! Let's go! Hurry!"
Cheong-su stomped his feet in excitement.
From my left shoulder, Maeng-i chirped as if urging us on.
"Alright, let's go, quick."
Truth be told, what I most wanted to show Cheong-su was the potions sold at Maestro.
Cheong-su had a talent specialized in turning dungeon drops into potions—er, elixirs.
Maestro crafters' potions were famous in the hunter world for their high price and great effects.
But Cheong-su's reaction on this floor was markedly different from below.
"Hmm. Handling Whirlwind Grass like this isn't that great."
"Whirlwind Grass? The one you said had fever-reducing effects last time?"
"You remember. You kept pretending not to know to chat me up."
I'd only acted ignorant to draw him out.
Did he really not know that much?
And then, the words I'd been waiting for slipped from Cheong-su's mouth.
"I could probably make this myself. If I had the materials."
"Really? You said you could make it with just materials?"
"I'd need to practice a few times... but it doesn't seem that hard."
"Then let's go!"
"Where now?"
"To buy materials!"
Seoul's largest dungeon raw materials market was in Garak-dong.
It had developed next to the produce market.
A natural progression, perhaps.
It already had a nationwide logistics system in place.
"Plus, it's close to Maestro Guild."
Probably one of the things Jeong Je-hwa considered when buying the building.
To easily supply dungeon products from across the country to crafters.
But our first stop wasn't the raw materials market.
"You said we were buying materials, so what's this place?"
"This is..."
I pointed to the street that looked like a back alley in Jongno.
"The used goods market."
Dungeons don't just yield mana stones and raw materials.
Sometimes mysterious items pop out, and after circulating among hunters, they end up here in Garak-dong's used market.
Just glancing at the shelves piled haphazardly without proper display showed the state of the used market.
Having read the item infos like I did, Cheong-su said from beside me,
"Noona, there's nothing worth seeing here."
And sure enough.
He seemed more interested now in Maeng-i, who had returned to him.
"Really? Hmm. Is that so?"
I nodded as if helpless, then called Maeng-i, who was enjoying Cheong-su's pets.
"Maeng-i."
"Chit?"
"Is there really nothing good here?"
"Chit."
"Not even one?"
"...Chiii."
After tilting his head a bit, Maeng-i pointed deeper into the street with his front paw.
"In there? Ah, that shop over there?"
"Chit."
"Aigoo, our Maeng-i is so cool!"
"Chit chit!"
I patted Maeng-i, who acted like it was no big deal, and headed to the shop he pointed at.
The novel version who picked only the best from dungeons—turns out it worked outside too.
I've always found treasure hunting fun.
"Noona."
"Yeah."
Cheong-su, walking beside me, narrowed his eyes and asked,
"How'd you know Maeng-i was good at this?"
"Maeng-i's a squirrel."
"So?"
"Squirrels are good at finding acorns and stuff. I just asked to check. Maeng-i's a talented familiar, you know. Raise him well."
"Our Maeng-i is kinda like that. Not just this—he's great at forward rolls and back rolls too. I'll show you later."
"That sounds cute."
"If he weren't small, you'd see how much he can do."
Cheong-su, the proud parent.
Talk about Maeng-i, and his attention shifts right there.
And when we reached the shop,
"Is that what Maeng-i meant? That palm-sized statue?"
I heard Cheong-su mutter beside me.
Probably seeing the same thing I was.
The info window alone was suspicious.
"Cheong-su."
"Yeah."
"Put Maeng-i away for a bit."
"Maeng-i? Got it."
After confirming he tucked Maeng-i into his hoodie pocket as told, I said one last thing to Cheong-su.
"Alright, from now on, we're pros. Keep a straight face."
"What do you mean?"
At that moment, someone slid open the door from the dim shop interior.
I plastered a bright smile on my face, took the lead inside, and called out in a slightly loud voice,
"Aigoo, hello, boss. How's business lately?"