<Episode 52>
“Autonomous mode?”
What did that even mean? Then what had it been until now?
As I froze in confusion, Hanyang leaped lightly onto the dining table.
“Why are you suddenly frozen like that, nya?”
“…Apparently, our shop is switching to autonomous mode from now on. No, more importantly, it says a new feature has been unlocked. Why did so many things suddenly appear?”
Wiping the water dribbling down my chin, I hurriedly opened the system window. Sure enough, beneath the Quest Board, a new option called Menu Shop had been added.
‘Let’s check the new feature first.’
When I clicked on Menu Shop, a screen similar to the inventory window appeared. The difference was that each slot displayed a food item.
Apparently, the dishes shown in this shop were the list of foods I could order in the future.
“Hmm. Most of them are locked.”
Aside from the menus I’d already unlocked, every image had a padlock icon over it.
How do I unlock these?
I reached out and lightly selected the icon of a blue-colored drink.
—
Soda-Flavored Slush
: A blue slush crystallized from ocean-current energy. Refreshing soda flavor.
> Unlock Cost: 2,000 Points
> Special Effect Fusion Available
—
“Oh, so that’s how it works.”
After clicking through a few more menu descriptions, I got the general idea.
Until now, new menu items had unlocked automatically after selling a certain quantity of items. But in autonomous mode, it seemed I would need to purchase menus directly from the Menu Shop using points.
‘So just like quests, I can choose my own menus now? That’s not bad.’
Still, the prices were ridiculously high.
Two thousand points? It wasn’t exactly easy to earn points. Wasn’t this system a little shameless?
At that moment, the system window flashed again.
—
Not enough points? The Underworld Capital is here to help!
Maximum loan amount: 100,000 points!
(Repayment period: Until death)
> Receive Loan Now
—
“Underworld Capital?”
Was it related to Underworld.com?
As I stared at the system window with a dubious expression, Hanyang hopped onto my shoulder, wanting an explanation too.
‘Ugh. Isn’t she getting heavier and heavier?’
She never exercised and only ate snacks all day. Her belly seemed to be growing noticeably rounder.
Still, if I immediately put her down because she was heavy, she’d definitely sulk. So I pretended nothing was wrong and walked over to the bed.
The moment I carefully sat down, Hanyang jumped from my shoulder onto the blanket.
Rolling my sore shoulder, I explained what I’d seen in the system window.
“…So that’s why the Menu Shop opened. I don’t have enough points right now, but apparently loans are available too.”
“That’s a good thing, nya. Doesn’t that mean you can finally run the shop however you want?”
“Yeah. I guess it is.”
Until now, I never knew which menu would unlock next. But from now on, I could choose the menus I wanted myself.
Of course, I’d probably need loans if I lacked points.
Still, there was no need to worry about points immediately.
“I haven’t even added the Sotteok-Sotteok menu to the main branch yet. Maybe I should just wait and see for now.”
Besides, there were ways to earn points other than taking out loans.
The Quest Board, for example.
I figured I’d steadily clear the accumulated quests whenever I had time and gather points that way.
As I gently stroked Hanyang’s little head, I scratched beneath her chin as well.
A contented purring sound emerged.
Listening to her adorable rumbling song, I smiled quietly.
The second branch had opened successfully, and the system had unlocked new functions.
It felt like everything would continue going smoothly.
Yes.
At least, that’s what I thought at the time.
***
“…Someone applied to work at our shop?”
“They originally wanted to apply for the second branch manager position, but since that recruitment was canceled, they said they’d like to work as a staff member instead.”
Before we even opened for business, an unexpected visitor appeared.
A job applicant for the main branch.
The strange thing was that we hadn’t even posted a recruitment notice yet.
“I asked them to wait upstairs for now.”
“Good call. I’ll go talk to them.”
I nodded while tying on my apron.
At the same time, my mind began racing.
‘We do need to hire another employee for the main branch.’
The workload was gradually becoming too much for just Ari and me.
Especially with the upcoming launch of Sotteok-Sotteok.
A new employee was practically essential.
Thankfully, I’d also received a Staff Recruitment Ticket.
“Um, is there perhaps some kind of problem?”
A gentle voice that seemed to tickle the ears drifted down from upstairs.
Beside me, Ari hurriedly whispered.
“Oh, right! That applicant is unbelievably gorgeous. Seriously, I almost dropped to my knees. She looked too holy.”
Hearing Ari’s hushed comment, I slowly looked up.
An angel seemed to have stepped right out of a masterpiece painting.
Her wavy platinum-blonde hair reached all the way to her waist.
Her perfectly balanced features looked as though they had been sculpted from porcelain.
And why were her eyelashes so ridiculously long?
“Uh… hello? Are you okay?”
I snapped out of my daze.
What had she just asked?
Something about whether there was a problem?
“Ah. You’re here to apply as an employee at our shop, right?”
“Yes. I know I came rather suddenly.”
“Just give me a moment. I’ll finish preparing the shop and come upstairs right away.”
After finishing most of the ingredient preparations, I quickly headed to the second floor.
The angel sitting there with a nervous expression offered a small greeting.
“Hello. My name is Yoon Seah. I even brought my résumé, just in case.”
I wiped the moisture from my hands onto my apron and accepted the document.
[Name: Yoon Seah.]
[Age: 27.]
“You’ve worked at a franchise restaurant for quite a long time.”
“Yes. About four years. So I can make most dishes fairly well. I’m also experienced with serving customers.”
I flipped through the résumé.
From the self-introduction to her work history, everything was meticulously organized.
There wasn’t a single obvious flaw.
Even her talent rating, confirmed through my Talent Detection skill, was B+.
That was more than respectable.
Yet somehow, something felt off.
‘She applied to become a branch manager, got rejected, and immediately applied to the main branch as staff?’
‘And before we even posted a job opening?’
Did she really have that much reason to join our shop?
I reread the résumé while pondering.
“You’re an E-rank Awakened, I see. You’re not affiliated with the Hunter Management Bureau, right?”
“No. I actually joined once and then quit. Going into Gates was just too frightening.”
Lowering her head, she smiled shyly.
Apparently, she’d worked as a hunter for only three months before resigning.
Now her Awakener rank was little more than a title.
“I see.”
She couldn’t bring herself to enter Gates, but since she’d awakened anyway, she wanted to make use of it somehow.
When viewed that way, her enthusiasm made sense.
“Ari, what do you think–”
I called Ari up from the first floor and asked for her opinion.
She immediately began speaking at machine-gun speed, as if she’d been waiting for the question.
“I’m 100% in favor! The Busan branch has three employees, but it’s only the two of us here! And we’re launching a new menu soon!”
“…That’s true.”
She had relevant experience.
She was motivated.
And I couldn’t keep placing all the burden on Ari forever.
‘It seems like she wants to go hang out with Hunter Su-hyeon, but because it’s only the two of us working, she probably feels guilty taking time off.’
Even when I told her to use her vacation days, she’d practically jump in protest, insisting that I couldn’t manage alone.
Yeah.
For Ari’s sake, too, we needed another employee.
I approached Seah, who sat there with a tense expression.
“When would you be available to start working?”
It was practically the same as offering her the job.
Her face instantly brightened.
“Ah! I can start right now if needed.”
“Then would you like to begin today? You can learn the work as you go.”
Seah repeatedly nodded and thanked me.
“Thank you for giving me a chance even though I came so suddenly. I’ll work hard.”
“No, I’m the grateful one. Here’s your apron and headscarf. For today, just focus on checking the reservation list and helping with hall cleaning. Our staff will explain the details.”
“Please take care of me, unni! You can just call me Ari!”
Ari immediately dragged Se-ah around the shop, eager to teach her everything that needed to be done before customers arrived.
When our eyes met, Seah gave me a small nod of greeting.
Watching her, Hanyang spoke.
“Hm. That girl strongly desires something else, nya.”
“Something else? What do you mean?”
But Hanyang merely shook her head.
She said she couldn’t tell any more than that.
With an uneasy feeling lingering in the corner of my heart, I watched Seah.
‘I’ll have to keep an eye on her for a while.’
At that moment, the bell above the door jingled as customers entered.
Quickly pushing aside my thoughts, I put on my professional customer-service smile.
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