SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon — Special Side Story 5
Translated by cabinfourtranslations.
“Isn’t that my watch?”
A sleek ad had sucked me in, and on impulse I bought the latest model of smartwatch.
At the time, I thought that with just this one thing, I’d be able to live a truly smart life ……. but once I actually had it, I barely used it, so I gave it to Mieum.
It turned out Mieum unexpectedly likes small, round, shiny things.
On top of that, our house cat’s latest hobby is buying snacks from the convenience store across from the cafe,DG25 Dungeon Gate 3rd Street Branch.
There was no way Mieum carried cash, so everything went on credit. After closing the cafe, I’d usually stop by to pay off Mieum’s tab.
I felt bad constantly running up credit with the store owner, so I just went ahead and loaded plenty of money onto the watch’s built-in Hunter Pay…….
“Give me this week’s new release, the Big Size Sweet Chewy Strawberry Marshmallow! Waeooong!”
“…Am I lacking energy? I’m hearing a cat talking again. I knew opening a convenience store in front of the old Great Dungeon was a bad idea. Ugh…….” “Unyahhh! I have money, right here!”
At first, the store owner had been flustered by a cat coming in to buy snacks, but.
“I don’t see the new Triple Cheese Cream Extra-Fluffy Cake, waeooong…….”
“That one hasn’t arrived yet. How about this Rainbow Slime Honey Rice Cake instead?”
“Then I shall take that, waeolgh.”
“Alright, alright. Now, paw forward.”
—Beep. ₩5,100 has been charged.
Now she handles the payment smoothly, like a pro.
I’m really grateful to her. I should send him a box of red ginseng for the holidays or something.
Anyway, why is this watch here? Where did Mieum go?
Judging by the fact that the watch was left behind, it doesn’t seem like she went to the convenience store across the street…….
“Lime-ah, have you seen Mieum?”
“Kyuu……?”
Lime bounced into an X-shaped stretch. It’s unusual for Mieum to go out without even Lime knowing. Where on earth did she go?
Beep.
I turned on the watch that had been left abandoned, cat hair still stuck to it. The screen immediately flooded with payment notifications.
They were probably all convenience store purchases anyway.
As I swiped through, about to bulk-delete the history,
“…Huh?”
There was one odd transaction at the end.
“Karin Pop-Up Store, Dios Photo Card Set, 13,000 won?”
Ah. So those cat-hair-covered photos scattered next to the cushion were these photo cards. When did she even buy something like that?
This guy named Dios must be Mieum’s latest favorite character…….
Just as I picked up one of the fur-covered photos to take a closer look,
Jingle.
The bell on the door rang, followed by a familiar voice.
“Hello, how are you…….”
“Ah, welcome, Noeul-ssi.”
“Kyuuu!”
“Lime says she’s happy to see you too…….”
It was Ju Noeul.
She was the same as ever. She was still a regular at our cafe, and still fond of slimes.
Even while busy serving as the president of the Hunter Association and managing multiple businesses, she always found time to drop by.
Today was a day off for the cafe, and Noeul had a rare day off too, so we were planning to hang out and play games together.
“What would you like? I’ll make whatever you’re in the mood for, Noeul-ssi.”
But instead of ordering coffee, Ju Noeul said something unexpected.
“Rieul, have you perhaps heard of a Cat Hunter…….”
“…A cat hunter?”
What was that supposed to be?
“Is it a new game? If you send me an invite, I’ll download it too.”
“It’s not a game ……. Lately, there’s been a rumor that in dungeons, a human-and-cat duo has been appearing and defeating monsters…….”
“Come on, didn’t they just see wrong? How would a cat even get into a dungeon?”
These days, dungeon access is managed by the Dungeon Management Office except in sudden emergencies. Some popular dungeons even require advance reservations through an app.
Naturally, bringing pets is prohibited, and it would be hard for wild cats to survive in there anyway.
Since there are small monsters that resemble animals, I figured it might be something like that.
But Ju Noeul shook her head firmly.
“It was definitely a cat. I’ve seen it up close…….”
“Is there some kind of problem with that cat hunter?”
“I think it would be faster if you saw it for yourself…….”
At Ju Noeul’s suggestion to check the Hunter Channel, I took out my phone.
I searched with keywords like cat and dungeon, and surprisingly, several posts popped up.
[Chatting] A cat saved me (12)
[Chatting] Please stop with the cringe concept;; (8)
[Horror] A guide for hunters traveling dungeons (137)
[Chatting] Finally found it lol (1)
Some of them didn’t seem related, but…….
I tapped them one by one, starting from the top.
Korea’s No. 1 Hunter Community – Hunter Channel Free Forum Board
— Ranking and Guild harassment are prohibited. Real life player kill is done in the dungeon.
[Chatting] A cat saved me (12)Upvotes: 3 / Downvotes: 23
Writer: Ppueeeeeng
I finally succeeded at dungeon queuing on my 3rd try and got in,
but I forgot my potions;; lol and I also forgot to repair my weapon, so it was about to break
I thought I was gonna die there without ever getting a single S-Grade item, but then, suddenly a cat flew in out of nowhere and saved me
Absolutely wrecked the monsters;;;
But like, what is this??? Guys, has anyone ever seen a cat inside the dungeon??
— cut***:Are you dreaming?
— StrongestWizardJjang: The weakest in HunChan, Ppueeeeeng
— Fake S-Class: No potions, no weapon repair—basic prep nonexistentㅡㅡ
└ Fake S-Class: Can’t believe I lost out on Dungeon-keting to these kinds of guys; lol
└ Ppueeeeeng: Tsk tsk tsk. Have a nimble day
— LimeLoveTeam: You’ve finally opened your eyes to the cold truth that you’re worse than a cat
— HunchanGuardian: Ppueeeeeng, I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried, so don’t take it the wrong way ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I think you should go see a healer ASAP ㅠㅠ Seeing weird hallucinations in a dungeon could mean you got hit by a mental-type monster
└ HunchanGuardian: Don’t take it lightly just because you don’t feel sick,, my friend ignored it after getting hit by a mental-type monster and suffered for a long time ㅠㅠ
└ FLIGHT: How’s your friend doing now?
└ HunchanGuardian: He’s totally f**ing fine now haha
└ HunchanGuardian: Anyway, here’s the emergency contact for the healer guild <Garden of Blessings> 070—****—****
— Ppueeeeeng: No, it was really a cat?????? I’m not sick!!!
[Chatting] Can we stop with the cringe concepts;; (8)Upvotes: 12 / Downvotes: 1 Writer: RubyCopyBug
No matter how brutal the blood-ticketing for the dungeon is
and how hard it is to build name recognition, cringe concept roleplay is too much;;
What the hell is Ultimate Cosmic Power even supposed to be??
— 10thYearHunter: Isn’t that Karin’s ultimate move?
└ HingHungHong: Ew, otaku;;;
└ 10thYearHunter:My daughter likes it ㅠ
└ HingHungHong: Haha;; sry sry;;
— app***: Cut them slack,, everyone builds dark past when they’re young
└ RubyCopyBug: No, it was a super hairy man ㅠ
— JejuGuildNo1: I heard some cat’s been showing up lately too
└ RubyCopyBug: What, someone’s even roleplaying as a cat now??? Creepy
[Horror] A guide for hunters traveling dungeons (137)Upvotes: 68 / Downvotes: 55 Writer: OO
This guide was written to assist hunters who are not yet familiar with dungeon raid.
The following information must not be disclosed to any third party.
Failure to follow or violations of these guidelines may result in a fine issued by the Dungeon Management Office.
Please read the following guidelines carefully to avoid penalties.
1. You may obtain dungeon maps published on Hunter Channel. Hunters who have recently awakened should take care not to lose track of their location.
2. Dungeon entry reservations open daily at 12:00 a.m. If you discover a reservation site accessible at other times, report it to the Dungeon Management Office.
3. If you suddenly discover an antique-looking door inside a dungeon, do not be alarmed; it’s perfectly fine and you’re even encouraged to open it.
(omitted)
14. If you encounter a man swinging a weapon while shouting “Ultimate Cosmic Power!” accompanied by a cat,
do not approach or attempt conversation. If you say “Extreme Explosion”, they will recognize you as an ally.
— CheeseFizza: It was going so well, but then what on earth is that last part????
— MM: Can’t believe the first post on the horror board is this garbage ㅠ
— HealerWanted: But seriously, why are there so many cat stories on HunChan lately?? Did the slime era end and now it’s the age of cats?
└ LimeLoveTeam: What nonsense is this, the age of slime will never end. Slimes are the rulers of Earth. We demand three Real Rare Slime posts a day! ㅇㅅㅇ
└ OO: I told you guys not to mention slimes on HunChan; look, she’s back againㅡㅡ
Hoo.
Most of them sounded like jokes, but consistently, there were claims about encountering a concept-obsessed hunter and a cat inside dungeons.
But that was all. Nothing particularly concerning……?
“There, you should click on the last post in the search results…….”
“Oh, this one?”
The final post had a title that felt like an ordinary bit of idle chatter.
If you enjoy this translation, you can treat me to a cup of coffee through https://buymeacoffee.com/cabinfour ♡
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SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon — Chapter 720th Jul 2022In "SSS-Grade Cafe"
SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon — Chapter 18616th Jul 2024In "SSS-Grade Cafe"