Chapter 12

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 12

Chapter Title: There Are Specific Best-Sellers

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'Hmm.'

After posting to the gallery and falling asleep, I woke up and immediately checked the comments.

Fortunately, many people had left stories about the hero, and surprisingly, they were all positive.

'Almost like a living saint.'

Eight years ago, when monsters poured down from the sky, the hero was the first to step forward and fight to protect humanity.

Even after humanity lost the war against the monsters, she gathered the survivors and led them to safety in the Great Labyrinth, where she took care of them.

'And now she's sharing the food she's gathered with her points.'

In short, the hero was practically responsible for everyone in the labyrinth.

'Anyway, with this level of character, I can worry a little less.'

At least the chances of being kidnapped, imprisoned, or exploited through threats seemed low.

Still, the more prepared I was, the better, so I planned to make as many preparations as possible until the hero arrived.

That's when Ice Queen from 3-channel requested a 1:1 chat with me.

'Huh? Did she already get the bloodstone?'

I accepted the 1:1 chat right away.

She must have contacted me to provide items for her group members.

It wasn't a big deal, so I gladly agreed and added the items from Ice Queen's list one by one using [Modern Item Purchase].

'But these items...'

I let tteokbokki, sundae, and fritters slide.

But the list also included toilet paper rolls, wet wipes, sanitary pads, feminine wash, and all sorts of other things.

Ice Queen said she needed points to buy items from me.

She also explained that she was switching from places that only sold jelly to my varied selection.

But after buying the guard dog robot, Rover, from 4-channel yesterday, her words didn't quite add up.

'They don't buy weapons from 4-channel?'

Or maybe they had already bought them.

Suddenly, Ice Queen told me to wait a moment.

I was puzzled but waited quietly, and soon a photo appeared.

"...?"

What was this photo?

Was it Ice Queen herself?

It seemed like a thank-you for providing hard-to-get items from 3-channel.

I hadn't sold them expecting this, but receiving the gratitude felt good.

'Save it for now.'

The items from the 21 others totaled 7,385 points.

Incredible quantities of chicken, pizza, hamburgers, alcohol, and cigarettes, yet still under 10,000 points.

'Points really go a long way.'

If I spent 10,000 points just on food, I could probably last a year.

After finishing the deal with Ice Queen, I headed to the 2-channel exchange.

'Oh.'

Surprisingly, all the items I'd listed while I slept had sold out.

People who woke up earlier than me must have snapped them up one by one.

'Anyway, since they're all gone, maybe list red bean bread and milk like yesterday.'

But I hesitated a bit because I'd realized people didn't have as many points as I thought.

Of course, without the one-item-per-person limit, they might have sold even better.

'First, remove the limit and list 1,000 red bean breads and milks.'

For the remaining slot, I'd try other channels.

'4-channel seems promising.'

Items on 4-channel exchange start from thousands to tens of thousands of points.

Plus, 3-channel folks probably knew about and bought from 4-channel.

'Add jelly to the mix. 4-channel probably has the most points.'

So I went to 4-channel exchange and tested with 100 red bean breads.

'2 points each, and completely different from jelly, so they should sell.'

They definitely would.

Or so I thought as I waited quietly.

"...?"

For some reason, they sold one every 20-30 seconds at first, but after 5 minutes, sales almost stopped.

'What's going on?'

No matter how much I pondered alone, I couldn't figure it out, so I posted to the gallery to check.

I wrote a simple post like that and waited, and comments appeared within seconds.

But as I read the comments, their reactions felt off.

When I posted red bean bread on 2-channel, the response was huge, but here it was lukewarm.

'What's the reason?'

Unable to figure it out, I remembered Quick Fix Doctor☆, whom I'd friended yesterday.

He might know, so I requested a 1:1 chat without hesitation.

'All nutrients?'

That reminded me that people had survived solely on jelly so far.

'If they only ate red bean bread and milk...?'

Wouldn't there be nutritional imbalances?

'Wait. So living off just jelly might not be so bad.'

Maybe I'd made a mistake, but from now on, I could list various foods.

From asking about the bread, he seemed to have guessed 2-channel's world.

'I already told Ice Queen, so it's fine.'

Plus, Rover lying next to me looked reliable every time I saw it.

Since Quick Fix Doctor recommended and sold it to me, I explained briefly.

After that, I listened carefully to Quick Fix Doctor's advice on how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to earn points.

'Potato chips were tasty.'

Hero Elisicia read the gallery post, recalling the potato chips from before.

Castaway, who started with just red bean bread and milk, was now listing all sorts of items evenly.

"Oh? Sandwich popped up. Ham and egg sandwich?"

That's when the voice of Rubyel, the mage with a slightly small build and red hair, rang out, and a sandwich appeared in midair.

"... ."

Seeing it, Elisicia quickly went to the exchange and bought one too.

"But Eli. Is it true you're recruiting Castaway to our party?"

Eli was Elisicia's nickname.

Elisicia nodded at Rubyel's question.

"Yeah. That's the plan."

"You sure? Could just be a regular civilian."

"It's fine. His ability is what matters."

Right now, Castaway was selling 300 of various items at a time.

Fast sellers got restocked, slow ones got pulled decisively.

"He probably has a way or ability to procure items."

The quantities were enormous, beyond what one person could handle, so Elisicia planned to visit and confirm personally.

"And it's getting hard to clear the labyrinth with just us."

"Huh? Oh. Taking that beastkin kid?"

Elisicia nodded to Rubyel, who caught on immediately.

"Got it. Won't tell Castaway in advance, right?"

"That seems best."

Of course, asking in person versus a simple 1:1 chat made a huge difference.

Plus, contacting him now might make him move and catch others' eyes.

'He might have noticed already.'

Still, Elisicia hoped Castaway stayed hidden.