Chapter 10
Huh? Manager Choi?
Ever since awakening, life outside the restaurant hadn’t changed much. She washed up in her small rented house, slept, woke up, and roughly grabbed some cereal for breakfast.
“Being an Awakened One isn’t anything special, huh.”
She glanced at the clock.
“Ah, I’m late.”
Hurrying out of the house, she had to get to the restaurant quickly to wake up…
Junior Manager John.
“All of this is his home? Does that make sense?”
Since awakening, there had been more than a few things that made no sense, but the most baffling was John’s post-work location.
[Where do you go after finishing work?]
[Obviously to the place I was this morning. It’s my glorious home, after all.]
[The place you were this morning?]
It was the very spot she had found John after opening the restaurant’s floor hatch.
[You call that your home?]
When she asked again, curious, John’s answer was as bold as ever.
[Of course, it’s all my home.]
[All of it?]
SoRi asked what exactly that “place” was.
John spread his small hands wide and replied arrogantly.
[It’s the place humans call a dungeon!]
Her proud little hedgehog ally introduced himself as the owner of a dungeon.
[The owner of a dungeon?!]
John tilted his fingers, correcting her.
[Say it’s the owner of the place that used to be a dungeon.]
SoRi tilted her head, but upon returning to the restaurant and descending to John’s “home,” she wondered if he might actually be right.
“John!!!”
It was amazing that she could feel no trace of monsters in this vast place.
Finding John was more urgent than admiration, though. How big was this place anyway? The thought of searching for him here made her head spin.
“You should be out by work time, shouldn’t you?”
How was she supposed to find him here? A junior manager with no sense of responsibility.
“Jooohn!!”
After searching for a long time, she finally spotted him lounging on a branch.
“Oh. You’re here, Awakened One.”
John awoke on the branch, stretching his tiny fists, half-blinking, dangling like he might fall any second.
“What are you still sleeping for?!”
Thirty minutes until Happy Restaurant opened.
Fortunately, she managed to safely capture John before opening time.
The newspaper delivery has begun.
Today’s newspaper has been delivered.
A sudden message appeared.
“Newspaper?”
SoRi had never seen a newspaper delivered before the former owner left, so she was puzzled. Judging by the system window, it seemed to have been sent by the system.
“John, does the system even publish newspapers? Is it running a media company too?”
“I’ve heard of occasions where a custom newspaper is sent. But only if you’re selected.”
John leapt excitedly onto SoRi’s shoulder.
“You’re one of the chosen Awakened Ones, huh!”
“…What?”
A new newspaper has been added to your inventory. Would you like to read it?
She had to check it. What kind of newspaper required a “selection”?
“Happy Restaurant, under a new owner, faces a crisis from the start! Are there any customers outside? Nobody knows about its reputation yet. Will the soon-to-close restaurant survive?”
“Ah, what’s this? Bad news right at the start? This doesn’t sound like a chosen newspaper, John.”
She opened the next story.
“A new hope rises at Happy Restaurant. The new owner has just stepped onto the path of a Hunter. Will the new owner fulfill the dreams of Happy Restaurant that the previous owner couldn’t complete…?”
“Dreams left unfulfilled? Wasn’t running the business well enough?”
“How should I know?”
John shrugged.
You have finished reading today’s newspaper.
—Newspapers are delivered irregularly.
The first newspaper ended simply. What exactly were the dreams of Happy Restaurant? And with the previous owner missing, it clearly wasn’t an ordinary restaurant. Of course, with an Awakened One as the owner, it was already far from ordinary.
A window popped up.
Restaurant service has started.
Good luck today!
The first day since the restaurant was connected to the dungeon.
“Facing a crisis right from the start? Geez.”
The newspaper kept bothering her, but now that the restaurant was connected to the dungeon, maybe a few more customers would come.
Ding-ding.
A customer arrived as soon as the door opened. SoRi’s second customer.
“This looks promising.”
If all went well, she could serve several.
[Title] Going into the dungeon is nerve-wracking
[Author] ptsdOm
Even though I manage to defeat the boss, I’m nervous before entering lol
[10 comments]
TyranoMobFinder: Oh, isn’t that Manager Choi? Going into the dungeon too? Did you quit the company?
┗ ptsdOm: No, no. Still a beginner, so I need a fixed salary.
┗ TyranoMobFinder: A beginner but defeats bosses? If true, that’s insane talent.
┗ ptsdOm: Not insane, all hunters can do this.
┗ BeginnerHunterFun: What’s your rank? My friend at school is B-rank but even he struggles with bosses.
┗ ptsdOm: Can’t reveal Awakening rank recklessly.
ddSuper: First time seeing a hunter in person, so cool.
ptsdOm: Sacrificing myself for humanity, planning to annihilate monsters again today.
┗ Pyapya: Dude, awesome.
┗ TyranoMobFinder: Good luck out there ㅜㅜ
Living as an Awakened One wasn’t easy. Manager Choi, who had awakened as the “Infamous Manager,” thought so.
At first, it was fine. Quests were manageable, rewards decent.
Even with penalties, it wasn’t a problem. She could easily complete them.
If things continued like this, becoming rich would be easy!
Choi imagined herself spending money recklessly every night and fell asleep happily.
Then, after she appeared, things started going wrong…
Finding her in the office while she mocked him on the community as “Kraken” felt like luck.
The “Dismissal” quest had to be completed, with a penalty of a 100-point reputation drop.
“Is such a penalty fair for someone as popular as me?”
Choi felt wronged, but at least she had caught the culprit in action.
Yet her trickery caused the quest to fail. Cowardly resigning first.
Since that day, nothing had gone right for Manager Choi. She was forced to move to a miserable company.
“Ah, the lonely life.”
At least gaining hunter skills was a breakthrough.
Yes. She would proudly defeat bosses and become a respected hunter.
She made that firm decision.
Yet, after wandering the dungeon for a week, exhausted to the point she could almost eat an elephant, she found herself knocking on the restaurant door.
Had she ever heard of a restaurant inside a dungeon? She prayed to her unbelieving gods.
Then…
“Hmm? Manager Choi?”
A familiar face.
Damn… this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Choi’s face contorted like the Kraken again.
The new customer was far worse off than anyone before.
She hadn’t showered for days; dark smudges covered his mouth, with a foul odor lingering from battles with monsters. His hair was a disaster, and one lens of his glasses was shattered.
His eyes, visible through the mess, were vacant and dull.
SoRi was certain he came from the dungeon. Only someone who had been wandering there for days would look like that.
“Welcome!”
Excited that a dungeon customer had finally arrived, SoRi greeted him energetically.
“Th-this is… could it be…”
The man looked around in disbelief.
“This is… Happy Restaurant?”
He seemed to have visited before.
“But that’s outside the dungeon.”
His voice sounded familiar.
SoRi tried to recall where she had heard that obnoxious voice. Gradually, she recognized the face beneath the grime.
“Huh? Manager Choi?”
Indeed, the owner of that obnoxious voice was the “Infamous Manager.”
Wow. Even coming into the dungeon now?
Though, his appearance was in terrible shape.
Choi was utterly shocked at SoRi’s greeting.
“No… how are you here…!”
“Well… I work here now?”
Choi stood, jaw dropped, then turned away.
Oh, come on. This is the first dungeon customer; I can’t let them leave!
She still had to deal with the roasted slimes.
“Would you like to just stay and eat?”
SoRi asked with a bright smile. Choi hesitated, about to leave.
Manager Choi. Who was he? Back when they worked together, his power was immense, and everyone bowed whenever he appeared—except executives.
Always in a suit, hair perfectly styled with mousse, leaving no gap.
Even as a former employee, she hadn’t imagined meeting him like this again.
Damn. The dungeon… of course my luck’s bad this time.
She’d been left behind by her team for a week. The only food she had was a few pieces of bread.
Where am I? Who am I?
She wanted to catch a monster to eat, but she didn’t have enough strength for that yet.
She remembered boasting on the community that she would defeat a boss alone. It had all been bluffing. Without her team, she couldn’t do anything.
Her talent as a hunter was questionable, but at least she could maintain her dignity if she joined a team for a raid.
The dungeon was somewhere between a jungle and hell.
If she left now, she might never get such a chance again. She could starve after eating the last of her bread. Of course, she couldn’t fully trust SoRi…
“…Where should I sit?”
Survival outweighed pride.
“Right this way, please.”
Choi sat at the table SoRi pointed to.
“Are you… cooking this yourself?”
“Yes, that’s correct, Manager!”
Choi’s eyes widened.
Why is he asking this?
She hoped he’d just eat and leave. SoRi didn’t want a troublesome guest lingering.
Still, Choi asked again, worried even with his stomach full.
“Are you really the one cooking?”
It was as if he was asking literally whether it was edible.
Her lips trembled as she forced an awkward smile.
“Haha… yes! What’s the problem with me cooking…?”
“If you were planning revenge because of that incident, I apologize! If you’re still angry you had to leave the company because of me!”
Choi bowed deeply, in full formal posture.
SoRi suddenly remembered how he had gotten food poisoning and lost weight after eating her cooking.
No… that me no longer exists!
