Chapter 35

“…Is this corpse the missing person?”

I sighed as I looked at the corpse swarming with flies and maggots.

Half a day into searching the mart.

Fortunately, the mart had been abandoned after being drenched in blood, so I was able to find the corpse without much difficulty.

Sure, some wild dogs or a head-sized creature attacked me along the way… but they weren’t that hard to deal with.

Unless they came in a group, compared to Salmusa or the Security Chief, I could handle them without a scratch even if they swarmed me.

I’ve been trying to push the limits of my abilities, so it’d be great if they showed up now.

But of course, they never come when you need them.

“…But how do I carry this?”

Muttering to myself, I rummaged through the corpse.

My goal was to find something that could identify the person.

Carrying the corpse as is felt a bit off, and if there was a way to confirm their identity, I’d rather take that instead.

…Wait. Maybe I could just make a coffin and carry it.

Using my abilities, transporting a coffin wouldn’t be that hard.

After some thought, I gathered the items I had eyed while wandering around the mart.

Some ropes, old chains.

A desk I ripped out entirely.

After dragging these items over, I used Gravity and Repulsion to lift the corpse onto the desk and clumsily made something resembling a coffin.

The handmade coffin was a horrifying sight, overly colorful for a coffin, and poorly assembled, with maggots and flies escaping through the gaps.

…Is there a tarp or something?

I searched the mart and found a suitable blanket, wrapping the coffin tightly. Then I slid under the desk, pressed my back against the bottom, and activated my abilities.

Heave-ho.

It’s manageable.

The weight was probably around 70kg, but with my abilities, I could reduce the perceived weight by about two-thirds.

Still, it’s almost like carrying a full military pack…

Shall I head down now?

I slowly began descending the mart’s stairs.

I planned to end today’s work by delivering this corpse.

It’s nearly impossible to carry this and do other tasks, and the payment for this alone isn’t bad.

As I was going down the stairs, I locked eyes with someone trying to enter the mart.

They widened their eyes, covered their nose, and stepped back.

“What’s that smell…?”

“It’s the smell of a corpse, so don’t mind it.”

Even if they looked at me like, “How can I not mind the smell of a corpse?”… just take it as it is.

I passed the hunter I encountered and headed back toward the swamp area.

——————

“Boss. Right… no, you should probably wash up first.”

Mina frowned and covered her nose.

Well, the stench of rotting corpse must have clung to my clothes, so her reaction was understandable.

“Yeah, I should. Sigh.”

“You should probably throw those clothes away.”

“Smells like Oppa.”

“Yeah, I should.”

Since the worst smell in the world has soaked into them, burning them might be the answer. I’ll just burn them in the front yard.

I sighed and looked at the coffin I had placed in the front yard.

…Good thing there’s no one living nearby.

If there were, I’d be bombarded with complaints and police reports.

“I’ll go wash up.”

“Should I wash you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Suddenly, she’s being bold.

Mina looked at me with longing eyes, but I ignored her and headed to the bathroom.

By the time I finished washing, I heard an unfamiliar voice from downstairs.

A client, perhaps.

When I opened the door and entered, I saw the back of a thin, pale young man.

Is this the client?

“Are you the one who requested the missing person search?”

“Yes. Is that… in the front yard…?”

“You should probably check. The description matches, but just in case…”

Worst case, this guy might have killed someone, stolen their clothes and belongings, and then died.

At my words, he nodded and followed me to the front yard.

As soon as we stepped into the front yard, the foul smell made me frown. I put on gloves and removed the blanket covering the coffin.

When I opened the coffin, the client knelt down and began to sob.

“Brother… I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”

“…Boss.”

“Yeah.”

I patted the client’s shoulder and quietly went back into the office.

“Oppa, why is that person crying?”

“Because he’s sad.”

“What’s sad?”

…How should I explain this?

“How would you feel if Mina and I left you behind?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“…I’m sorry.”

I’m such trash.

I stroked Seolhwa’s head as she sniffled, trying to calm her down.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Sigh.

As we were spending time like this, the door opened.

It was the client, his eyes swollen. He approached me, took out his wallet, and handed me the money inside.

“Here’s your payment… Thank you so much…”

“You don’t need to give this much.”

“No, I’m giving it out of gratitude… Please take it.”

“…Ah, yes. If you have any more work, feel free to come back. But the coffin…”

“I have a cart at home.”

“Ah, I see.”

Well then.

I stared blankly at the bills in my hand, then looked out the window at the client’s retreating figure.

“Is this my first payment?”

“A monumental first payment.”

“Something delicious!”

“There’s a good restaurant in the central market of the swamp area, shall we go?”

“Yummy~”

“Isn’t it too expensive?”

“But isn’t this enough?”

“It’d be cheaper to buy ingredients and cook.”

Well, yeah. But I’d be the one cooking.

Neither you nor Seolhwa can cook.

But Mina’s point was valid, so I shifted the plan from dining out to grocery shopping. If I spend all the money carelessly, I’ll be broke in no time.

“Then let’s go shopping.”

“Let’s go!”

“New vegetables arrived at Mr. Kwon’s store today—”

That’s Mina for you.

She’s so thorough with these things, it’s great.

I stored Mina’s words in my mind and left the office.

——————-

“It’s been a week since we opened.”

“Yeah, it has.”

Eight requests in just one week.

Whether it’s because the first client spread the word, my business has reached a decent level in just a week.

Other than that, there are quite a few people who can’t go into the Gray Forest but have business there for various reasons.

Mostly, it’s about retrieving belongings of family or friends.

It’s inevitable that my office would get such requests.

The first request was of that nature, and there are competitors for other types of requests.

“If requests keep coming in at this rate, I might be able to afford two eggs per meal.”

“Eggs!”

“But that’s too extravagant. Eggs are so expensive…”

They are expensive.

It’s not like the old days in Korea where hundreds of chickens were kept in factories to lay eggs. Here, eggs are sold from small-scale farms.

Even with a lot of chickens, considering the population in the swamp area, the supply is ridiculously low.

So, the price of one egg here is almost equivalent to half a tray of eggs in the past.

Here, even boiling an egg makes you tremble.

Egg rice?

That’s like sprinkling gold on rice.

At least rice is relatively cheap.

They cleared the mountains in northern Gyeonggi Province and turned them into rice fields.

Plus, the farming is automated, so it hardly requires any labor.

So, compared to my past life, the price of rice doesn’t feel too different.

The higher-ups probably aimed to boost the population with this, but… unfortunately, the world isn’t that simple.

The population is growing, but not by much.

I think it was mentioned like that.

“That’s what they say.”

“Two eggs… no?”

“That’s—”

“Excuse me, is this the office that finds people well?”

“Huh?”

What’s this?

I was startled by the sound of the door slamming open and the rapid-fire speech, and I looked toward the door.

“IamHeroNumberFiveSpeed!Ihavearequestandcametothisoffice!”

…Why does this feel familiar?

“Calm down and speak slowly.”

“Ah. Sorry. I. Made. A mistake!”

As I turned my head and gave a look, Mina and Seolhwa quickly made space.

Then, a man in a strange tight suit with clothes over it.

He sat across from me and, with a cheerful smile, introduced himself again.

“Ahem. Let me. Introduce myself. Again. I am. Number Five. Speed!”

…Why are you here?

The sudden appearance of an original character.

I froze at the unexpected situation.