Convenience Store 24: The Tower of the End 1st - Chapter 113



Only Krnovel

Episode 113: Bloodline (2)

‘That… What happened?’

The average dog needs at least several months, and sometimes as long as half a year, of training.

It enters the stage of obeying orders and understanding the master’s intentions.

‘Didn’t you say you’ve never been trained?’

“Excuse me, Trainer. Can I try that hurdle you see over there?”

“That’s for dog agility… … Ah, yes… … Try it.”

“Swan, let’s go.”

“Woof, woof!”

It’s as if they’ve been harmonizing for a long time.

A dog and a swan naturally jump over a pole and pass through a tunnel.

Trainer Kim looked at them with blank eyes.

‘Could it be that the owner lied? Or maybe it was a hidden camera… . . . ‘

No, let’s say that’s true even if we make a hundred concessions.

‘No matter how I look at it, it looks like a mutt raised in the countryside, but how is it so well trained?’

Dog agility, a dog sport where dogs compete against each other.

And drug detection, assistance for the disabled, etc.

Most of the dogs that are active in various places have a certain ‘breed’.

‘I don’t like talking about bloodlines and such when it comes to dogs, but it’s true that they show differences in concentration and understanding depending on the breed.’

Even just dog agility right now.

Aren’t you only seeing the same breeds of dogs that you see almost all the time, like Border Collies?

But no matter how you look at it, it’s just a common country dog, and yet it’s able to master such difficult training so skillfully!

“If you try it, you’ll find that this kind of thing is actually fun. Right?”

“Woof, woof!”

The owner and the swan jump over the last obstacle.

Trainer Kim ran towards the owner.

“Master, didn’t you say that you never received any separate training?!”

“Yes, it is true.”

“But how… … .”

The man chuckles.

“Our Baekgu is quite smart. He has good bloodlines. Oh, of course, just having good bloodlines isn’t enough. Basically, our child has a higher level of understanding than other children. I think that’s a different level of problem from bloodlines.”

Next to me, the ladies from earlier are also now exclaiming in admiration.

“Hey, you look like a total dog, but you’re no joke. Do you think you’ll ever have a chance to have puppies with our dog?”

Hehe!

The white swan, who was looking at the old woman’s shaggy Rottweiler, turned its head without any hesitation.

The man who saw it snickered.

“I guess you’re not mentally ready yet.”

“What’s important about a puppy’s mind? Just prepare your body and that’s it~”

Woof! Woof! Woof!

“Oh my, this is surprising. This white guy Shiki.”

The startled old woman takes a step back as the angry swan barks.

And here.

There is another person who covets the swan.

‘That’s real.’

It was trainer Kim Nara who had been watching Baekgu since earlier.

‘That’s not something that is learned and moves. It recognizes and carries out quests right after real-time communication with its owner. That dog… is a true genius.’

Her eyes sparkle, and soon greed begins to fill them.

‘That dog is not some amateur like that. I need to raise it properly under me. If I just have that dog, then being number one in the world is not a dream!’

And then.

The young owner shouts at the swan.

“Swan, come here. Let’s go back.”

“Now, just a moment!”

Trainer Kim hurriedly grabbed the young owner.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes, I think this is enough discussion.”

“… … Master.”

“yes?”

Her mouth, which had been closed for a moment, opened again.

“How about ten million won?”

“yes……?”

“Swan. I will raise it properly. I will give you ten million won as an adoption fee.”

The man tilts his head.

“Am I raising it properly?”

“No. Baekgu is not even performing at 10% of his capacity right now. This is a national waste.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, that is true.”

The man looks at Baekgu with the confident eyes of trainer Kim Na-ra.

“Hey, Swan. The trainer noticed right away. If you want to increase from 10% to 100%… … you’ll have to work 10 times more.”

Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof woof woof!

The horrible thought of increasing the work in the kitchen by 10 times!

The swan, seeing the man’s smile, began to bark fiercely.

Trainer Kim Na-ra, who was almost certain that she had come over, threw an additional carrot.

“If you leave it to me, I will allow you to see me regularly, once a week.”

Although they offered some rather radical conditions.

The man chuckles and shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, but Baekgu is my precious partner.”

“Then, twenty million won. No more.”

However, this too is firmly rejected.

Kim Na-ra’s lips tremble.

Kim Na-ra shouted behind the man who was heading towards the exit briskly.

“Think carefully about what will truly make Baekgu happy! Baekgu’s true happiness lies here! Definitely… …!”

Wow!

The swan pauses for a moment, looks back, and lifts its left front paw.

Kim Nara’s words stopped.

A swan with its middle toe and claws raised for a moment.

Soon, he heads back to the exit with his owner.

“That… … is that you just swearing at me?”

Kim Na-ra muttered blankly.

* * *

“Heh heh… … .”

The swan returns to the kitchen.

The sight of him using his front paws to hold the sledgehammer is quite solemn.

At that moment, I was using my power to fix the hair so that it wouldn’t fly away.

“Swan, let’s go to a better place next time. It wasn’t good there today.”

Is it because I came back early?

For some reason the owner shows an apologetic expression.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

It’s okay.

I know that just as dogs have different personalities, humans also have different personalities.

“Okay, thanks for understanding. Next time I’ll take you to a real dog park.”

“Woof, woof!”

okay.

That’s enough.

Dog’s paradise, Garem, Garadice.

I will definitely go next time.

“Ugh!”

* * *

A few days later.

“Give me a special sandwich and a sea breeze!”

“Are there any Demon King waffles left?”

“What about the Geoshin Tteokbokki? Huh? Oh… … It’s sold out?”

Inseong Cafe is crowded with customers as usual.

“Ah, this scent… … . This is it, the scent of vanilla seeping into my lungs… … .”

Amidst the crowd of guests enjoying various drinks, food, and diffuser time.

I glanced at the kitchen.

‘Is it because we have more employees? Things have definitely gotten easier.’

After recently officially adding two more employees to the site.

It was showing a remarkable upward curve in terms of work speed and efficiency.

In addition, I heard from Attorney Kim yesterday that negotiations with the tenants are almost finalized.

‘I need to set a definite schedule for the remodeling soon.’

In accordance with the situation where negotiations with tenants are concluded.

We are going to do some remodeling.

‘I’m also renting a store for a few months to fit the remodeling schedule. Hehe, it’s going smoothly.’

Everything is going smoothly, what could be better?

I looked at my phone with a smile.

‘Let’s see. Has the 54th floor attack started?’

Checking whether the named clans, including the pioneers, have attacked.

It has now become one of my simple routines.

[Hammer Clan, declare a frontal assault on the Void Zone like a man! Conquer the 52nd floor!]

[I found a Void Queen in the Void Zone. Should I attack her?]

‘Well, I guess the attack hasn’t started yet.’

The 54th floor strategy video hasn’t been shown yet.

It was just mainly comprised of videos of named clans following in the footsteps of the pioneers conquering the 52nd floor.

At that time, I was in the middle of looking through the videos.

A few videos caught my attention.

[What effect will the clash between the knight and the fantasy shopkeeper, or rather, the one-sided repulsion, have on the tower?]

[The leadership was unilaterally defeated, so how will the scales be balanced? Analysis Video #32]

‘Wow… … This came up.’

When we had a fortune cookie sharing event to celebrate the New Year before.

I remember blowing up the guy who was trying to spy on me.

Of course, there is evidence at the time that he was a subordinate of the Hatching Jay or the Knight of the Dragon.

I was somewhat aware that the opponent I had blown up was a knight.

‘Looking at the analysis video that was uploaded, was he really a courageous knight?’

I was curious and analyzed some of the videos.

I clicked on the video with the most views.

[… … Now, look at this part carefully. After the robed man flies away… … Yes, here! Do you see this hatchling? Anyone can tell that it’s the hatchling of the Knight Jade, right? Since the only ones who train hatchlings in the tower are knights, it’s easier to identify them. The problem starts now. For some reason, the fantasy shopkeeper has defeated the knight. Will the balance of power remain still? One of the leaders has been affected?]

The voice in the video continues speaking.

[Rather, they will try to use this as an opportunity. They will try to absorb the fantasy shop. The special stamps mentioned in the previous video and the [Convenience Store★24] item with a time-limited ability that will be covered in a later video are not items that can be laughed off. Especially considering their actions so far. There are so many records of related videos, so I will post a separate link in the comments.]

‘link?’

I was curious so I followed the link.

[Clan, the list of events that led to the formation of the current distribution network #1]

[Target, How Alves Unites Floor Dealers and the Current Rulers?]

[Collection of vlogs of merchants and production workers who resisted the balance of scales #3]

.

.

.

Then, a huge number of related videos appear on the screen.

‘Wow… … I’ve seen some of these before.’

I clicked on a few of the related videos.

[Your unique ability is farming? That’s great. From now on, you are a farmer belonging to our Balance of Scales.]

[Huh? What is that… ….]

[Work on the farmland we manage. We already need help. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it. We’ll destroy whatever you grow and wherever you live.]

Persecution of production workers such as farmers and blacksmiths is the norm.

[You want to go up to the next floor to sell something? Show me your clan mark. You can’t go up unless you belong to the Scales of Balance.]

[yes?]

Blocking the passageways on the floor and controlling the merchants was a very obvious option.

But most raiders don’t even think about countering it.

It was obvious that their life or death would be in danger if they were to be disliked on the balance scale.

‘Tsk tsk… … .’

I clicked my tongue and turned off the video.

‘That’s what you do when you first enter the tower.’

Until the balance of influence that exerts overall influence on floors 1-35 is in that position.

I can’t even imagine how much blood and tears he must have shed growing up.

Of course it’s a shame.

But I never felt the need to intervene.

‘Even if the scales of balance collapse, eventually someone else will take its place.’

The ultimate winner was simply the balance of the scales.

Eventually someone would try to take that seat.

And when you look at it objectively, it is true that the branches established at each level of the country by the balance of scales are helpful in the conquest.

‘Because things are gathering in the branch, and those things are moving up to the upper floors.’

It doesn’t mean that the balance of the scales is right.

However, it is also true that their presence is somewhat necessary for the tower.

So, at least in my opinion, the scale of balance was a ‘necessary evil’.

‘Above all, as long as you don’t touch me, I don’t really care.’

I was watching the video and then I quietly got up from my seat.

I furtively looked at Seon-ah, who was moving busily in the kitchen.

“What are you doing? Two servings of tteokbokki came in. Hurry up!”

“Yes, manager!”

The employees move in unison according to Seon-ah’s orders.

“Oh, you shouldn’t do that. Do you have a measuring cup here? Use this to measure the water.”

“Oh, yes!”

Sujeong, who has become a senior employee at Inseong Cafe, also works hard to help Seon-ah.

‘It’s nice to see things going well on their own. I don’t know about anything else, but I think I’m lucky.’

“Guys, I’ll go first. Everyone, take care.”

“Yes, sir. Come in!”

“Go in carefully!”

* * *

After work.

I entered the tower as usual, filling my subspace pouch and cloak with my belongings.

The destination is the 28th floor, Elasium.

Today is the day to sell fertilizer to the elves and ents.

‘I didn’t know there would be more customers wanting fertilizer.’

[Wow! This scent! This feel! This power! We want fertilizer too!]

[Hohoum! It’s fragrant, it’s truly fragrant!]

Following the elves, even the ents, fascinated by the scent of fertilizer, join the ranks of regular customers.

Now they have reached a point where they are also giving fertilizer to the elves.

‘It would be good if I had more regular customers.’

I started pulling bags of fertilizer out of my subspace pocket.

‘First, let’s finish arranging the display before Isillien comes to get the fertilizer, and then… … .’

At that moment, I stopped taking out the fertilizer and walked over to the window.

‘……what?’

There’s something strange about the atmosphere outside.

If it were a normal atmosphere, the raiders would be shouting out various daily necessities such as canned food, soap, and toothpaste.

It should have felt like a semi-festival atmosphere.

‘What happened… … .’

Looking out the window.

A larger number of raiders than usual were swarming around the convenience store.

‘Hoo.’

Looking at them, they all had the clan logo in the shape of scales on their shoulders.

I let out a chuckle.

‘Are you here to seek revenge for the knight? The guests you invited didn’t come, so why are all these rascals here?’

Daughter-

I slowly opened the door and went outside.

Okay then.

“Is this your first time meeting face to face? Nice to meet you.”

A man with gray, curly hair walks out from among the crowd.

“I am Alves, the leader of the Balanced Scales Clan.”