Chapter 21: Ppoppi’s Errand

“Hyung! There’s no shampoo!”

“Ppoppi, go get it.”

“Arf!”

Hearing the call for help from the bathroom, I sent my first subordinate.

Ppoppi had more abilities than I expected.

He understood almost all human speech, though sometimes he pretended not to.

Right now, he tilted his head with a dumb-looking expression, pretending he didn’t understand.

“Looks like Ppoppi wants to skip dinner tonight. I was planning to give him beef.”

“Ah, arf! Arf!”

He dashed off as if motors were attached to his legs.

He jumped onto the sink, opened the drawer with his front paws, and grabbed the shampoo bottle in his mouth before coming down.

No matter how many times I saw it, it was amazing.

Even for an extraordinary dog, he was practically versatile.

“Sigh…”

But what good is that?

The reason is simple: food expenses are high.

At first, when I brought each of them home, I hadn’t thought much about it.

I figured a puppy or kid wouldn’t eat that much.

But living together, the cost of living became enormous.

After a few months, I had hit my limit.

I couldn’t always chase every irregular gate, so my income was unstable.

Sometimes, if I came up empty-handed, money was even tighter.

“This won’t do…”

Reluctantly, I had no choice but to use my trump card.

I took out a folded piece of paper from the drawer and opened it.

Prime Location! Best Price! Multipurpose Office Rental! (No business registration / No lease contract)

It was a somewhat unusual flyer.

An office for rent—but you couldn’t register a business there, and no lease contract would be provided.

This kind of place had very specific uses.

Illegal offices.

Mercenary offices for those with special abilities, illegal buyers of contraband, illegal guiding offices—all used such places.

Most had no signs and could only be found through word of mouth.

The guy I sold my gate-collected items to was one of them.

“Hello? I’m calling about your office.”

• 20-pyeong basement, 50 per month, no deposit. Furniture left by the previous tenant can be used.

“…I’ll check the condition and make the contract.”

The explanation was neat.

Straight to the point—no long conversations necessary.

Too hasty to discuss the contract? Not at all.

The business I intended didn’t require the office to be in perfect condition.

Even just a chair in the right spot would suffice for this specialized work.

“Where are you going, hyung?”

“I’m going to start earning seriously now. I need to buy lots of delicious food for Jaeyul.”

He squatted beside me, hair still wet, obviously not having finished drying.

I grabbed a towel and wiped his wet hair.

“…I’m okay… I don’t need delicious food.”

“Lies. You eat two bowls whenever there’s meat.”

“Well… it’s just… everything you make is delicious… Anyway! Be careful not to get hurt, okay?”

He scolded me in his stern little voice.

He didn’t realize his chubby cheeks made him completely non-threatening.

I dried his hair completely with a dryer and applied moisturizer to his face.

What a cute little guy.

Still, when I looked at Jaeyul, I couldn’t help thinking of that… “X.”

“Okay. Do you want something for dinner? I’ll buy it on the way. How about beef?”

“Hmm…”

Jaeyul paused, thinking.

He carefully asked, “Hyung… why don’t we eat monster meat…?”

“Monster… meat…?”

Monster meat…

Since the gates appeared, monster meat had become a highly sought-after food.

Despite its grotesque appearance, the taste was excellent.

Flying monsters were like birds, beast-type monsters resembled beef or pork, making it very popular.

“…My friends say everyone eats a lot… and it’s cheaper too…”

It was all over the place lately.

Originally a premium product at high prices, suddenly discounted and always sold out.

Long lines formed before stores opened.

Probably Jaeyul heard it from friends at school.

I needed to give him a warning.

“Jaeyul, listen carefully. Never eat monster meat.”

This wasn’t a joke.

“Why…?”

“Because if you eat a lot of monster meat…”

“You’ll…?”

You die.

Years of unknown diseases eventually lead to death.

In the future, people would learn too late.

The illness caused by monster meat was called “Gate Disease.”

Some of my former colleagues had contracted it.

The ingredient for the cure was Petra.

In fact, the side effects had already begun.

People were dying mysteriously, and the government knew but concealed it.

There was no cure, and after the gates appeared, food shortages worsened despite other fields advancing rapidly.

Monster meat had to temporarily solve part of the food crisis.

Years later, Gate Disease would spread enough that the government couldn’t hide it.

Only then would they admit the truth.

“Hmm… this is a secret. Can you keep a secret, Jaeyul?”

He nodded quickly, eyes shining.

I whispered into his ear, choosing words a child could understand.

“…Ah…”

Jaeyul thought carefully, eyes rolling.

Had my explanation been too hard?

“So that’s why they discount monster meat…”

“Huh…?”

“When people get sick, monster meat won’t sell anymore. They discount it now to sell as much as possible.”

…Right.

Why was he so smart?

He deduced why monster meat was cheap just from my explanation.

Could this kid… be a genius…?

“So never eat monster meat, understand?”

“Yes! Never, ever!”

Even if he ate it, it wouldn’t matter much.

I had plenty of Petra stored for treatment.

Still, it didn’t make me want to eat it.

“Let’s go to the judo gym. I’ll take you there.”

“Yeah!”

“Arf, arf!”

“…Ppoppi, you’re coming too.”

I picked up both of them and left the house.

They really were handfuls.

“Here’s the first month’s rent.”

“Don’t leave corpses behind. If rent is late, you’re out immediately—so don’t be late, okay?”

“Ah, yes…”

The basement office looked good enough to sign immediately.

Although the bathroom was on the first floor, and sunlight didn’t reach this perfect basement, it was clean.

The furniture was decent.

Better yet, the landlord didn’t ask for any ID verification.

He knew I was a minor, yet the tattooed, bulky man didn’t ask anything.

Illegal business properties were rare, so this one was quite nice.

The rent was relatively cheap.

This neighborhood had the buyers I often dealt with…

A little creepy, but manageable.

I sat in the office, thinking about how to operate, and decided to get help from a nearby buyer.

“Sir, lots of espers come here, right? Mercenaries, thieves…”

“Uh, yeah… kinda. Why?”

Having traded with me for a while, he congratulated me first.

“Wow, good for you! If you awakened as a guide, you won’t have to worry about living expenses.”

“Haha… we’ll see. Anyway, if espers come, please advertise.”

Advertise?

A private guiding office.

Yes, that’s right.

I had opened a guiding office.

Initially, I wasn’t thrilled to awaken as a guide instead of an esper.

I couldn’t confirm abilities from just one test.

So I tested it on junkie espers on the street.

The effect was significant.

Not just guiding, but also healing minor injuries.

I decided to open a private guiding office for real.

There were fewer guides than espers, so demand would definitely exist.

“Why start your own shop? An academy would be easier.”

“…I just… don’t suit government work. I prefer an easier life.”

I lied casually.

I couldn’t say I’d never want to work for that disgusting organization again.

“Hmm… sure. Nobody in this area is normal anyway. I’ll spread the word—guides are hard to find these days!”

“Thank you. I’ll bring you the best items first next time!”

“You always bring weeds and stones, yet talk big! When’s the opening?”

“Tomorrow. Starting tomorrow.”

I was excited.

I wondered… how much money could I make?