"You really had no thoughts about this at all?"
Hm. The proper use is whatever the Merchant thinks it is.
⚙ SHOP RESPONSE ⚙The Shop is nothing more than a place that handles goods and hands them over.
"It feels like you're only emphasizing your role as a 'place' whenever it's convenient for you."
⚙ SHOP RESPONSE ⚙Don't talk nonsense.
"So, what are we really gonna do?"
I hadn't considered the biggest flaw in the business cards I'd painstakingly created while putting off sleep.
The permanent guidance map on them.
Sure, that permanence could be seen as an advantage. But if they fell into the hands of someone who posed a threat to me, it meant I'd be hunted by them for life.
And right now, the Tale Management Bureau was that threat.
That said, abandoning the business cards entirely wasn't an ideal choice either.
There was nothing better for attracting a lot of customers, and eventually, I'd need repeat ones.
It didn't matter much right now, but someday I'd acquire good items with no buyers, leaving no way to sell them at a high price.
Regular folks had to turn over anything they got from tales to the Tale Management Bureau anyway, so they'd prioritize items that preserved their bodies intact.
But with the business cards, when customers who knew the true value of my goods showed up, I could build ongoing relationships with them.
And in the game, there were a few groups who understood that value.
One of them was the Tale Management Bureau.
The rest were mostly the types who wanted to do weird shit with tales.
I didn't want to deal with those guys if I could avoid it, but when my life's on the line, who cares about good or evil?
If the Tale Management Bureau became regulars, that'd be the ideal outcome. But in the game, scenes of cooperating with tales were rare—maybe two or three at most—so it wouldn't be easy.
On the flip side, you could interpret it as them being willing to trade at all.
"Are you seriously just gonna toss them?"
If I really needed customers, I could hole up in some club like last time. But if I did that for real, around the fifth time, I'd run into a group customer with excellent conversation skills.
"Shop, remember that male customer who came recently?"
I remember. He was a pretty tough-looking human.
"If twenty Tale Management Bureau agents with his level of physique stormed the shop armed to the teeth with threats, could you win? Do you think it's possible?"
"No, that's why I'm asking. It doesn't seem likely."
I fell deep into thought.
Dragging in random crowds to the tale was a long-term threat in itself.
So I needed regulars—and ideally, an ideal relationship with the Tale Management Bureau.
For the sake of future regulars, I had to find a safe way to use the business cards.
Hm.
This seemed impossible without actually seeing the future.
Wait... the future?
"Shop, connect the door to the National Central Library for a bit."
I didn't know he was such an avid reader that he'd head to the library to enjoy a book in a situation like this.
"No, I need something."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Classical music played softly in the library, where people immersed in the atmosphere read intently against the pitch-black windows. Meanwhile, the Merchant stared solely at the clock.
To onlookers, he looked like someone bored with his book, just killing time.
Perhaps due to the glances from a few people, tension etched across the Merchant's face.
The hour hand pointed to 11, the minute hand to 26.
People were still reading their books.
Still reading.
Books.
Books.
Were they really books?
Next to the bookshelf, a brightly lit sign glowed under the lights.
📚 LIBRARY RULES 📚
[Library Hours: 9:00 ~ 18:00]
1. Library hours are from 9 AM to 6 PM. - Exit procedures end at 6:10 PM. If you remain after, please review the rules below. 2. Please remain quiet in the library. - Excessive noise inconveniences other patrons. 3. Do not force open the doors for late exit. - Outside is not the place you know. 4. All other patrons except you are not human. - Do not speak to them, look at them, or think deeply about them. 4-1. If they speak to you, follow these rules: - Never look at their faces. - Respond appropriately, but do not reveal identifying information about yourself or your family. - After some conversation, they will be satisfied and return to their books. 5. Do not read any books in the library, including those on the shelves. - Viewing the contents will shatter your sanity. 6. If you follow all rules faithfully until 9 AM operating hours, you may exit. - Occasionally, a patron may tamper with the library clock, so check your personal timepiece if possible. 7. For book loans, request from the librarians. - They wait near the entrance. - They are not human, so exercise caution. - Return loans within 2 weeks. Failure will result in a home visit from the librarians. 8. We hope you enjoy your reading.◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
This place came from a DLC the devs released late in the game, after Napolitan tales started trending.
For reference, that DLC got absolutely trashed by players, one reason being that most of the rule-based tales had unnecessarily long rulesets.
The final tale in the DLC had a hundred rules alone.
It took me twenty hours just to clear that one.
Fortunately, the spot I'd come to today was one of the few easy ones—rules weren't overly complex or lengthy, so most players cleared it without issue.
The problem? It was fucking terrifying.
What are Napolitan tales? Ones without proper explanations—just vaguely unsettling and scary for no good reason.
The devs respected that, skipping cutscenes on death.
Which meant few scary scenes in gameplay.
But conversely, this was reality, and I had no clue what exactly happened if I broke the rules.
The terror from the unknown was something I'd felt plenty in the Pediatrician's Dream last time.
I didn't look properly at the others, but from the corner of my eye, their faces—visible as whites—weren't human.
Already getting chills.
Still, clearing it was simple.
Just stay quiet, respond vaguely if spoken to, and kill time.
Check the time properly per the rules.
With the wristwatch every Tale Management Bureau agent carried.
"Ah."
I'm not a Tale Management Bureau agent, am I?
Of course I wouldn't have a watch.
In the game, you always had one by default, so I'd totally forgotten.
Seems like I've been forgetting a lot since possessing the game.
This just made things a bit trickier.
Normally, you'd pick a spot, nap occasionally, and hold out till 9 AM.
But without a watch, from now on, I had to guard that library clock.
In simple terms: Stare only at that clock for about ten hours straight.
Anyone with patience could pull it off.
If clearing was the only goal.
But I wasn't here just to clear.
I came for Label Library - On Time, available only in this tale.
The Label Library contains books on everything in the world, and the On Time volume covers literally everything about time, per its subtitle.
In other words, it included future-related content.
On paper, insanely OP. But it had an irreversible downside.
Well, that only kicked in after reading more Label Library series, so one volume was fine.
Anyway, I could get it here, but given the situation, it meant hunting for the book while periodically checking the clock.
I glanced at the clock.
Still no issues.
And then, something called out to me.
"Hello? Looks like you're here to read?"
I kept my head down toward the floor and answered as naturally as possible.
"Yes."
"I recently read Human Anatomy Theory and The World's Simplest Heart Cooking Method. They were fun."
An unpleasant voice, desperately trying to sound human.
But conversing with it was one of the key steps.
"Ah, it's been a while since I read anything. Any books you'd recommend?"
"What genre do you like?"
"Fantasy. Especially stuff related to time."
A choice I'd picked countless times in the game.
"Oh, I know just the one for that."
"Sorry to impose, but could you guide me?"
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Ah, just call me the Merchant."
"What's your name?"
Its voice sank low.
"Merchant—"
👁️ OBSESSION ESCALATION 👁️
"What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name? What's your name?"
"...Kim Jung-jin."
"..."
"..."
"Ah, nice to meet you, Jung-jin."
For the record, that's not my real name, obviously.