<Episode 1>
A crack appeared in the sky. We called it a “Gate,” and from within it poured out unimaginable monsters.
People trembled in fear. Guns, tanks… none of the science we had built up over hundreds of years worked against those creatures. Cities collapsed, and many lost their lives.
And in the midst of that chaos, some people suddenly gained powers. They were called “Awakened” or “Hunters,” the only beings capable of defeating the monsters that threatened humanity.
At first, of course, everyone dreamed of awakening. I did too, thought I’d give being a Hunter a shot. But most people failed miserably.
However, I, Jung Haneul (26, unemployed), got lucky and awakened!
Though… that ability is a bit…
“One red bean and one custard cream, please!”
“Yes! Just a moment~!”
Infinite labor…
“I’ll take one red bean and two custard creams.”
“The custard will take a bit longer!”
…is required.
You’re probably wondering why we suddenly jumped from awakening to fish-shaped pastries…
That’s because this story goes back about three months.
***
“…This is the last of it.”
I muttered quietly as I looked around the empty shop.
Today was the day I closed down the precious store my parents had run for over 30 years.
“So it ends just like this… so pointlessly.”
I bit my lip as I ran my hand over the worn wooden tables, scratched here and there from years of use.
It had been five years since my parents passed away. I struggled all alone to keep at least this shop they left behind…
‘You’re telling me to leave all of a sudden? That makes no sense!’
‘That’s just how it is. Clear out as soon as possible!’
One day, the landlady suddenly showed up and told me to leave because her daughter wanted to open a shop here.
“…Just when the regulars were finally starting to accept me.”
I was just beginning to match my mom’s cooking.
Why is the world like this to me? Wasn’t it enough that the Gate incident took my entire family? Now it’s taking away the only shop I have left. It felt so unfair.
I buried my face in my knees and sobbed. I just wanted to give up on everything. Just… everything.
And then…
“Do you need my help, nya?”
A childlike voice suddenly echoed.
At this hour? And the shop was closed. The moment I realized how strange that was, goosebumps crawled up the back of my neck.
“W-who’s there?”
“If I grant your wish, will you help me, nya?”
No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find the source of the voice.
A ghost? No way. But…
Flash!
Lightning suddenly struck across the dry sky, casting a long shadow on the ground.
Following that shadow, I slowly raised my head…
“…A cat?”
A massive calico cat, at least twice the size of a normal one, stood there.
“Don’t you want to get this shop back, nya?”
“…This shop?”
“If you help me, I’ll grant your wish, nya. I can make this shop yours again.”
A wish. I slowly looked around the shop. The familiar scenery I had seen since childhood filled my vision.
“…Can you really grant my wish?”
“Of course, nya. As long as it doesn’t defy causality, anything is possible, nya!”
The cat puffed up proudly.
Yeah. This shop had been run by my parents since before I was even born. If I could just get it back…
“…What do I have to do?”
“Hmph, now you’re talking, nya. But first… this might sting a little!”
The cat stepped onto a chair, leapt, and smacked my forehead with its paw.
“Argh!”
Clutching my forehead from the sudden hit, my vision started spinning.
‘Ugh! My head… it feels like it’s splitting apart.’
Dizzy, I grabbed onto a table to keep from collapsing and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Now open your eyes and look ahead, nya! Hurry!”
Pressured by the command, I cautiously opened my eyes.
And what I saw in front of me was…
—
Congratulations, Jung Haneul!
You have been chosen by @%@asj@*$@!
Check Rank ⇒
Check Skills ⇒
Go to My Shop ⇒
—
A blue window I’d never seen before, yet felt strangely familiar.
“I-I-I awakened?”
My rank! What’s my rank?
I hurriedly selected “Check Rank.”
And despaired.
“F-rank…?”
So I awakened, but I’m the weakest level… basically no different from a normal person!
And on top of that…
“Wait. This is weird.”
I stared at the floating translucent blue window.
‘Chosen by @%@asj@*$@’? Why is the text broken like that?
As I squinted suspiciously at the window, the cat beside me spoke in an indifferent tone.
“You were chosen by me, nya. Of course, you won’t be like other humans.”
“You’re the one who awakened me?”
“That’s right. You said you’d help me, didn’t you, nya?”
When did I ever say that?! I only asked what I’d have to do!
I glared at the cat in disbelief.
“I said I needed power! And you give me an F-rank?”
“You don’t need grand power, nya. What you must do is deliver ‘blessings’ to humans.”
“Blessings? Like… some kind of baptism?”
The cat gave me a slightly exasperated look and began explaining.
In short, a “blessing” was its power, and I had to create a medium to contain that blessing and deliver it to people.
“So what’s the medium?”
“Food, nya.”
“Food? Like… actual food? The kind you eat?”
“What else would it be, nya?”
I mean, I get it… But it still sounds weird.
Who delivers blessings through food? Do you just eat it and receive the blessing?
While grumbling, I suddenly shut my mouth.
Come to think of it… I don’t even have a shop to make food anymore.
“By the way, where am I supposed to cook? I don’t even have a shop now.”
“Hmph, did you think I hadn’t prepared for that, nya?”
“You prepared a place? Where?”
The cat told me to look at the status window.
Status window? This?
My eyes fell on a suspicious glowing line at the bottom.
“…Go to My Shop?”
The moment I muttered the words, my vision distorted, and the ground beneath me gave way.
“WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a place I had never seen before.
An empty street. No people. Only a few dim streetlights.
Barely regaining my senses, I looked around frantically. Aside from a large building across the street, there was nothing.
“There’s nothing here. How am I supposed to run a business?”
In business, location is everything. The second most important thing is the product.
You need to be near a station, or at least near schools or offices.
But here? There was absolutely nothing.
And that building across the street…
“Isn’t that the Hunter Management Bureau? You want me to make food here? No way.”
I crossed my arms in an X and shook my head firmly.
Hunters had a serious issue. Due to the side effects of awakening, they couldn’t taste food properly. The higher their rank, the worse it got.
Giving food to people who can’t taste anything? That’s ridiculous.
“Let’s go somewhere else. I know a perfect spot… guaranteed success.”
“Another place? It has to be here, nya!”
“If we do it here, we’ll definitely fail! You said I have to deliver blessings!”
The cat shook its head firmly. It had no intention of compromising.
“Don’t blame me when this fails.”
Blessings or whatever… once there are no customers, it’ll come to its senses.
Giving up on persuading it, I looked around.
Come to think of it, I came here by saying “Go to My Shop,” but I don’t see anything that looks like a shop.
“…So where is the shop? There’s nothing here.”
“Look over there, nya.”
The cat stretched out its paw, pointing across the street.
Only then did I notice something wrapped tightly in a tarp.
“This is the shop?”
As I cautiously approached, I saw a barely standing, decaying street stall.
The rough green tarp was faded, and the wooden planks were half broken.
“…We don’t call this a shop. We call it trash.”
“Trash?! That’s too harsh, nya!”
What was harsh wasn’t my words… it was the state of the shop.
Would this even pass a hygiene inspection…?
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