I Run a Convenience Store in the Martial Arts World

“T-this is the highest grade night-luminous pearl…!”
“This! Oh! Is it the Eternal Cold Iron? I can feel the chill from the ceiling. But it’s different from the Eternal Cold Iron I know…”

I sat at the counter with my chin resting on my hand.
Staring blankly at the boy who was walking around the convenience store as if it were his own house.

He was truly a martial arts world person.
Calling the fluorescent light a highest-grade night-luminous pearl,
calling the air conditioner Eternal Cold Iron.

It was too difficult to explain, so I just nodded.
Then,

“What merchant guild does Your Excellency lead? How do you possess such expensive items?”

My title had become “Your Excellency.”
And my occupation was now a merchant guild leader.
What a tearfully impressive promotion.

“I’m not a merchant guild leader. This is a convenience store.”
“Con…what exactly is that? A convenience guild?”
“Not a convenience guild, a convenience store. It’s a place that sells convenient items for people.”

After explaining roughly, the boy nodded as if he understood.

That’s when,

“Mmm, brother…”

The small girl who had been lying on the counter rubbed her eyes and woke up.
As soon as he heard her voice, the boy quickly moved and embraced his sister tightly.

“Suhwa! Are you alright?”
“Brother? Where is this…”
“This gentleman saved your life! Hurry and greet him properly.”

The little girl looked around and then her eyes met mine.
Startled, she got up from her seat and awkwardly raised her hands.
It seemed like she was trying to imitate the cupped-hands salute her brother had done.

“Thank you.”

Her chubby cheeks were cute.
She looked about five years old.
She must not have eaten much, as her arms were thin, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

What could have happened to such a young child that she couldn’t even eat properly?

The boy lifted his sister down from the counter and once again performed the cupped-hands salute.

“Now that my sister has woken up, we’ll be on our way. I will definitely repay your kindness. If I tell the beggars of the Beggar Sect about a medicine sage living in this bamboo forest, it’s only a matter of time before it spreads throughout the entire Central Plains.”

I waved my hand at the boy who was acting mature beyond his years.
If that boy did something for me, customers might increase a bit.
Those customers would bring other customers, and those customers would bring yet others.
Like that, through word of mouth, this convenience store would spread throughout the entire Central Plains.

Ah. I hope so.

While I was having these cheerful thoughts, I suddenly heard a dull sound.
And then,

“Oh, brother!!”

The girl’s scream rang out.

I rushed to the entrance to find the boy, who had looked so strong just moments ago, collapsed on the ground.

Why so suddenly?

I touched his forehead to check for fever and grabbed his wrist to see if his pulse was beating properly, but there was nothing unusual.
He hadn’t collapsed from illness either.

Could it be?

I asked the emaciated little girl.

“How long has it been since you two had a proper meal?”

The little girl counted with her adorable fingers and held up three.

“Th-thirty days?”

I looked down at the boy in disbelief.
He endured thirty days without eating anything?
If he hadn’t collapsed, I would never have known.

Thinking that I needed to save a life first, I picked up the boy and went back into the convenience store.

The boy, Jang Su-cheon (長秀天), opened his eyes with difficulty at the savory smell that tickled his nose.

‘I collapsed!’

He was quite dizzy.
When he tried to get up, his vision spun.
Until now, he had been able to endure hunger to some extent with the Jang family’s inner energy cultivation method, but even that seemed to have reached its limit.

He shook his head to clear his vision, and there was his cute Suhwa right in front of him.

“Brother!”

There was a glossy grease on the corners of her mouth.
What is it?
Had she eaten meat?

Gulp.

Su-cheon swallowed his saliva.

A thunderous sound came from his stomach.

“You’re awake? Eat this at least.”

Su-cheon focused on the voice coming to him.
It was the voice of the benefactor who had saved Suhwa.

Eat what?
Su-cheon shook his head vigorously without even checking what the food was.
It was already enough that he had saved Suhwa, he couldn’t accept food as well.

“It’s alright. I can’t eat food for free…”
“Who said it was free? Pay me back. I’m a merchant too.”

Su-cheon blinked his large eyes and looked up at Jung-hyun.
For someone who spoke such harsh and realistic words, there was a gentle smile on his face.

“Come back and pay me when you earn money.”
“What?”
“Why? Don’t you like that?”
“N-no! That’s definitely not it!”
“Just try eating first.”

Jung-hyun was curious too.
How would a martial arts world person react to eating a hamburger for the first time?

What if he says it’s too salty, sweet, or strong and doesn’t taste good?
If that were the case, he’d have to give up on the convenience store business in the martial arts world.

Jung-hyun looked at the hamburger placed in front of Su-cheon with a pounding heart.

Su-cheon picked up the hamburger with trembling hands.
He couldn’t quite tell what this was, but one thing was certain.
The smell wafting from it wasn’t from this world.

How do I eat this?
Do I just hold it and eat it?

Gulp.

Su-cheon swallowed the saliva that flowed automatically and finally put the hamburger in his mouth.

Chomp!

The first sensations were the fluffy bread, the sweet sauce, and the ground meat full of savory flavors.

At the same time, Su-cheon’s pupils dilated to twice their size.

“!!!”

My goodness.
How could such a taste exist?
The salty flavor that tingled each acupuncture point in his body.
At the taste that seemed to travel through his three meridians, Su-cheon trembled.

And what was this sour, sweet, and spicy taste?
Without even circulating his energy, he felt as if the vital energy located in his lower abdomen was circulating throughout his body.
At the same time, the poisonous energy that had been blocking his meridians in his forehead, neck, back, and chest flowed out.
Sticky sweat soaked his entire body,
and Su-cheon thought that it felt as if several acupuncture points were being unblocked.

Was he getting closer to the full body meridian opening that his father had spoken of?

And what about the bread?
Su-cheon had never seen bread with such a deep flavor in his life.
Plus, the fluffiness.
He thought it was like chewing silk.
That’s because bread in the martial arts world was extremely hard.

So this is the harmony of yin and yang.
If there were five elements, they would exist in this food, Su-cheon dared to think.

Su-cheon was about to take another bite, but suddenly put the hamburger down on the table.

“Why? Doesn’t it taste good?”

Jung-hyun looked at Su-cheon who wasn’t eating at all.

Does it really not taste good?

But Su-cheon shook his head.

“No. It’s really delicious. Enough to make me cry.”
“Then why don’t you eat more quickly?”
“Well…”

Su-cheon glanced at Jung-hyun.

“I’ve never even heard of a dish where meat is placed between bread. You not only willingly gave me such an expensive meal, but also completely cured my sister’s illness. I was thinking about how I could ever repay this kindness.”

I thought.
What is he talking about?

“How old are you?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking how old you are.”

Su-cheon folded his fingers and said.

“I’ve reached the age of learning this year.”

Fifteen, he means.

“That’s exactly how you look.”
“Pardon?”
“You look young. Can you earn one gold ingot at that age?”

Su-cheon shakes his head.

“See? I didn’t expect it either. How could I expect one gold ingot from a fifteen-year-old? Not a chance.”

I slid the hamburger that Su-cheon had put down.

“I’m saying I didn’t help you expecting something big in return. You just need to eat well and grow well.”

At my words, large teardrops began to fall from Su-cheon’s eyes.

I pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.

“Just properly promote the convenience store. That’s how you repay the kindness. Got it?”

Su-cheon nodded vigorously.

“Of course! No matter what happens, I will help make the reputation of this inn known throughout the Central Plains!”
“I really hope so.”

Su-cheon, feeling more at ease, began to eat the hamburger ravenously again.

Investing a few coins to check the future of the martial arts convenience store business, this was a bargain.

Su-cheon, having devoured the hamburger, stood up and performed the cupped-hands salute.

“The ocean-like kindness that Your Excellency has bestowed upon us cannot be repaid even after hundreds of reincarnations.”

At some point, Jung-hyun’s title had become “Great Hero.”

Isn’t the title “Great Hero” only used for masters who perform heroic deeds?
Well, I didn’t particularly care what I was called.

His only concern was to quickly repay the debt and fully protect the convenience store.

“If it’s like this, everyone else will say it’s delicious too, right?”
“That goes without saying! I’ve never eaten such a delicacy in my entire life.”

What do you mean your entire life? How long have you lived?

“My name is Jang Su-cheon. The last remaining bloodline of the Jang family. I swear on my name that I will fulfill your request!”

Jang Su-cheon.
Jung-hyun remembered reading that name in the novel.
Although there wasn’t a specific description of him rebuilding the Jang family.
He was just used as one episode.

The relationship formed with this boy who was just a passing extra.
Who knows what kind of ripple effect it would have later.

“I will properly leak the information to the beggars of the Beggar Sect. The rumor will spread throughout the Central Plains in no time.”

I really hope so.

“Great Hero! This humble one shall now take his leave.”

After Su-cheon gave his final greeting, he left with his sister.

The next day-

As Jung-hyun came outside to sweep the fallen leaves in the courtyard in front of the convenience store as usual, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Ultimately, helping the Jang siblings had been a really good decision.

“Ahem. I’ve heard that in this remote place, there’s a delicacy filled with the energy of all things in the universe.”

Although her face wasn’t visible because she had pulled her conical hat down low, she was a woman with a noticeably slender figure.
As if she had been on a difficult journey, the robe she wore was worn out, but the sword at her waist was kept impeccably clean.

At this moment, the customer’s appearance wasn’t important to Jung-hyun.

What was important was that this was his first customer.

‘Su-cheon did a good job with the promotion!’

Jung-hyun’s voice became energetic.

“Welcome, customer!!”

Jung-hyun’s face beamed with delight.