SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

He vividly remembers the day his sister, Choi Rona, fell into a sleep from which she could not be awakened.

Choi Cedric went to dungeon that day after receiving an urgent request for support. When he hesitated, worried about Rona being alone, she slapped him on the back and laughed.

“It’s okay, just hurry up and go, I don’t want anyone whining about my brother not being there when needed.”

“I’ll buy bungeoppang

¹ when I get back.”

“……Then get it with whipped cream.”

Those were the last words Choi Cedric heard. When he returned, Choi Rona had already fallen into a deep sleep. Neither the cause nor treatment is known. He tried everything, but nothing worked.

The intermittent seizures robbed her of even the most restful dreams. Whenever he saw her moaning in pain, it was hard for Choi Cedric to bear the thought of his own uselessness.

At least she hadn’t had a seizure ever since he’d brought the Blue Celaeno Flower…….

He spent Christmas alone with Rona in her hospital room. He placed the unwrapped present on the bedside table and gazed at his sister’s peacefully sleeping face.

Hurry up and wake up. You have to get up quickly.

He didn’t dare utter the words, afraid to imagine those tightly closed eyelids might never open again.

But now … she said there’s a cure for Rona?

The hope he had been trying to suppress until now made his heart pound. A glimpse of hope tasted so sweet.

“How? What should I do?”

“There’s just one problem, we have to send her somewhere else.”

“….yes?”

Choi Cedric showed a wary expression without realizing it. Lee Sein displayed a gentle expression as if to reassure him.

“I will explain it in detail. A new treatment has been discovered. I’m planning to invite a healer from abroad who uses a new treatment method.”

“Then there’s no need to send Rona somewhere else, is there?”

“We need the medical facilities. Rest assured. She won’t be travelling far, she’ll be staying in a hospital with good facilities. You won’t be able to see her for a while, but once she’s out of intensive care, you’ll be able to visit.”

“…….”

“Cedric, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to proceed straight away. What do you think?”

He should accept.

At least that’s what he thought in his head. He had to do whatever it took to heal Rona, who hadn’t woken up in a long time.

But the sense of discomfort that kept nagging at him weighed heavily on his tongue.

“……Cedric?”

Lee Sein smiled softly, studying his expression. Did Lee Sein always smile like that?

He couldn’t tell. Why does it feel so uncomfortable?

After hesitating, Choi Cedric could only offer a delayed answer.

“It’s just so sudden … I’ll have to think about it and tell you later.”

“Okay, you must be troubled. Take your time to think. It’s a really good opportunity to heal Rona.”

“……Yes.”

Choi Cedric bowed his head and turned to leave, but before he could step outside, Lee Sein, who had moved closer, spoke again.

“Oh, right. Cedric.”

“Yes?”

It was an insignificant comment, as if it were just a passing comment, but her eyes were directed straight at Choi Cedric. Choi Cedric saw a gleam in those eyes that resembled a gemstone.

“You’ve been to the library. Did you get the book you were looking for?”

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“…..”

When he didn’t answer, Lee Sein closed the door.

Krak.

Choi Cedric left the guild leader’s room and headed for Choi Rona’s hospital room. The sight of his sister’s face seemed to calm his troubled mind.

He walked through the deserted corridor and into the darkness of the hospital room. As he reached for the light switch, he saw the darkness inside stir.

An intruder.

“Who’s there?”

He asked sharply, but the other person didn’t answer. Click. The room lit up.

“Aaahhhh! My eyes.”

The intruder groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. Choi Cedric immediately grabbed him and tried to subdue him.

“Uh, you……?”

But he stopped moving when he saw the face exposed under the bright light. It was someone he’d met at the last camping trip. A member of Kwon Rieul’s family.

“Eek, are you okay?”

He unconsciously stretched out his hand to help Kwon Seokmin up, but stopped.

This hospital room is equipped with a double lock. No one is allowed in except for himself, Lee Sein, and the assigned healers.

“How did you get in here?”

Choi Cedric looked at Kwon Seokmin with a wary expression.

Looking at it, the way he was dressed was odd. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days, his beard was overgrown, and his clothes were a mess. For some reason, he was wearing a shackle with a broken cord on his left ankle.

“I came to give New Year’s money to a good child.”

Kwon Seokmin grinned and said something whose meaning was unknown.

***

The pawn shop Lee Chorok told me about was deep in an alley in Jongno District, 5th Street.

“Oh! It’s over there.”

I pointed to the signboard in front of me. The surrounding restaurants were already closed and the alley was dark. This was written on a sign that was flashing so brightly that it hurt my eyes:

We will serve you with kindness.

Safe pawn shop open 24 hours a day

<Azalea Pawnshop>

Nothing seems to be safe at the point where you need to write that it’s safe in your own words.

“Wow. I’ve seen this a lot in noir movies!”

“Yichan-ah, don’t say that.”

“Why?”

“In movies like that, someone always dies or something bad happens.”

But the pawnshop indeed looked like something out of a noir movie.

While we were having this conversation, my eyes were drawn to a sign next to the pawn shop.

<Filming location for the movie ‘The Notorious Hunter’

‘They really filmed it…….’

“Let’s go in.”

Ki Yoohyun opened the door first, followed by Choi Yichan and I. Rattle. The bell on the glass door made a loud noise.

The glass showcases in the front were lined with expensive-looking items, but there was no one at the counter. I spoke loudly, pointing inside.

“Is anyone here?”

After a moment, a curtain opened from inside and the pawnshop owner appeared.

“Hoam … I can’t believe there a customer at this time of night. What can I do for you?”

She yawned as if to show us that she was sleeping, but her voice lacked the slightest hint of sleep.

The pawnshop owner was a woman with long, red-dyed hair. With a black eyepatch covering her right eye, she literally looked like she stepped out of a noir film.

The name on the business card on the counter was the same as the business name, Azalea.

“I’m here to pick up something.”

“I’ve never met a customer like you before … what did you come looking for?”

I handed Azalea the receipt from Lee Chorok. Her left eye scanned the contents intently.

“Ah. You mean that nutritional supplement.”

But Azalea said she couldn’t return the goods.

“What kind of law is that?”

She pointed to the back of the item’s storage certificate, her fingertips tracing the tiny print.

“In order to retrieve the item, you must make a bet with the pawnshop owner … and win……?”

And Lee Chorok’s signature written clearly in the bold letters.

‘You didn’t read it properly and just signed it….’

Well, I understand that she couldn’t see such small letters because she chewed only cabbage for a week.

The problem is that I need those nutritional supplements for ginger right now.

[Time limit: 22:15:16]

I checked the time remaining in the quest window. Lee Chorok said she could make a new nutrient, but it would take a long time. So, I have to get the nutritional supplements in this pawn shop back.

“I really need that nutritional supplement. I’d like to get it back.”

“All you have to do is fulfil the contract. Make a bet with me and if you win, I’ll give the item back to you.”

“What kind of bet are you talking about?”

Ki Yoohyun, who had only been listening, stepped forward.

“There’s no need for that, Rieul-ssi. This is an emergency. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to take it by force.”

“Oh my, I’m scared. A man who acts so cold is not popular.”

She hid it in a joking tone, but I could see the corner of Azalea’s left eye trembling slightly.

“If you’re going to do that, Hunter-nim, there’s nothing I can do to stop you. However, I’m a big fan of bets.”

“…….”

Ki Yoohyun lifted his head, as if to encourage her to continue.

“How about this? Because I do this kind of work, I hear a lot of stories. If you win the bet, I’ll tell you some information you might be interested in.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“For example, what is the golden liquor created by Seonghye Enterprise.”

“…..!”

I asked her how she knew such information, but she didn’t say anything more. It was like she would only answer if we won the bet.

I can’t help it.

“I’m generous. If any of you beat me, I’ll count you as victorious.”

Reading the unspoken agreement, Azalea pulled a set of house cards from a drawer on the counter. She mixed it quickly and spread it out on the table.

This person … her way of shuffling the cards looked like a professional move….? Azalea smiled brightly as I looked at the deck with a shocked expression.

“Don’t worry too much, it’s just a simple game to test your luck.”

The game was similar to a common card matching game. Flip two cards at a time. If they match, took them, and if they are wrong, put them back down. The game ends when all the cards are collected, and the player with the most cards wins.

There is an additional rule that if you draw a certain card, you reshuffle the entire deck.

It’s a simple game of luck and memory.

“So, which side do you want to start with?”

“I’ll go first.” Choi Yichan confidently raised his hand and stepped forward.

“Well, this one, this one, and this one … that’s correct!”

Choi Yichan played this game quite well, as if his confident attitude was not a bluff. The problem was that Azalea was too good. Did she just sit around eating and matching cards everyday?

The result was Choi Yichan’s defeat. Every time he had an advantage, she would reshuffle the cards like a ghost, and she would only pick cards that were 100% correct.

Wait, 100%?

In a game where luck is involved, is it possible to get 100% correct unless you can see the back of the card?

“You didn’t do anything to the cards, did you?”

Azalea replied to my doubts without blinking an eyelid, “‘I’ve had a lot of customers ask that question, so I use a new card every time. The cards were made with an ether reflective material, so it’s impossible to read the back with skills or other abilities.”

Still, Azalea held out a card and asked us to check if we still have doubts. True to her word, it was a regular standard playing card without any tricks.

The second player was Ki Yoohyun. He was also pretty good at this game, so it was a close game. However, in the final round, again, he lost when Azalea turned over a card with a 100% probability.

Just before Azalea flipped the last card, Ki Yoohyun spoke up, as if realising something.

“….You².”

“Please call me Azalea.”

“I knew you were an Awakened, but … I didn’t expect to meet someone from the Prophet class.”

Suddenly, Azalea’s dark shadow seemed to stir.

“I don’t have any great powers. However, since I have customers who are entertaining me for the first time in a long time here to entertain me, I’d like to formally introduce myself.”

“…….”

“I was once called Azalea the Invincible Gambler.”

Tiling. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the system notification appeared.

[Personal information has been obtained.]

[Name: Azalea

Grade: C

Class: A Wise Prophet

Skill:

Clairvoyant (C) – You can read the future 10 seconds in advance to make the best choice.

???’s Gambler (B) – ???

Note: Widely known under the name of Invincible Gambler Azalea.]

Can read the 10 seconds into the future?

1. (from Wikipedia) Bungeoppang (붕어빵; “carp bread”) is a fish-shaped pastry stuffed with sweetened red bean paste, which originated from the Japanese taiyaki. ↩︎
2. Making this note because it’s fun, Ki Yoohyun used “당신” when he said You. Referring someone, especially the one you don’t know well, with 당신 is probably the same with provoking them because it’s … well, rude. So it’s actually “…You.” (angry version). It’s sad that things like this cant be translated well in English ↩︎

Ki Yoohyun is really my male lead type … please get manhwa adaption soon……