Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

Having confirmed Hyun Siwoo’s survival, Habin folded his well-washed clothes and put them in the closet.

“That’s the end of borrowing oppa’s clothes. Now that I’m home for a while, I should do the things I’ve been putting off.”

[Things to do? Did you have anything to do? You’re always just at home…….]

“Shush. I’m going to buy my own clothes now!”

The reason she had borrowed Hyun Siwoo’s clothes in the first place was because she didn’t have time to properly shop for clothes due to the sudden training institute life.

“Since I’ve finally taken sick leave, I should take this opportunity to get some clothes for myself.”

A whole day of free time, sweet sick leave. Now was the perfect time.

The optimal timing for clothes shopping!

Habin looked back at the clothes she had worn for the past five years. Clothes in a pitiful state with loose threads everywhere, stains, and collars stretched out of shape.

This is what happened when she kept wearing old clothes to save money, without buying new ones.

She picked up the most worn-out piece of clothing with her index finger.

The dangling clothes were covered in stains and fuzzy pills.

“Hmm……. It’d be too much to keep wearing this, right?”

[What are you talking about?]

“What else? This clothing.”

[Clothing? Wasn’t that a rag?]

“What, a rag……? Sigh, to think Jaljal would say something so harsh.”

If even Jaljal called it a rag, that said it all.

Moreover, when compared to Hyun Siwoo’s neatly arranged clothes next to it, it became even more unspeakable.

The soft, luxurious Elemes brand clothes. Being right next to those made Habin’s clothes look truly old, worn, and shabby.

“Hmm, yeah. You all did well.”

Habin patted her clothes gently and started organizing them neatly.

“These…… I’ll wash them and use them as pajamas.”

Ahezar was shocked by Habin’s statement, trying to use the clothes efficiently until the very, very end.

[W-what? You’re going to wear those rags? They’re more worn out than the clothes I chose when I went undercover pretending to be a beggar! It’s time to let those clothes go!]

“What are you saying? I can still wear these for a few more months. Right, Bbiyak~?”

-Beep?

Habin started folding the nearby clothes while petting Libe, who was rubbing against her.

A bright sky-blue sweatshirt. This clothing…….

‘Our daughter likes sky blue, right? There was a yellow one too, but I deliberately chose this color. How is it? Do you like it?’

Corduroy pants with holes.

‘The weather’s still chilly. Corduroy pants would be warm to wear now. Does the size fit well?’

These are all clothes from over 5 years ago. Which means, they’re all clothes bought before the Gate Crisis.

“…….”

Ahezar, peering into Habin’s reminiscence, became embarrassed.

[So that’s why you didn’t throw them away?]

“……What are you saying.”

Habin, who had finished organizing her clothes by then, put on the sky-blue sweatshirt again. She diligently packed a canvas bag and put on a cap as well.

“Let’s go out. We should be able to come back quickly.”

[…….]

“I can choose clothes well on my own now.”

◆◇◆◇◆

[……Didn’t you say we could come back quickly?]

“Did I?”

[Then why have we been circling the same place for two hours?]

“Hmm.”

Habin shrugged her shoulders.

‘To get impatient after just two hours, Jaljal’s patience is weaker than it looks, huh?’

[What are you saying! The foundation of all sword techniques is patience and perseverance! I’m absolutely not bored!]

‘Right. After looking around here a bit, it seems the type I wanted to buy is only available in the hunter-exclusive luxury section.’

In fact, Habin had known what she wanted from the start.

The hoodie Hyun Siwoo had lent her.

It had a light, cloud-like texture and a soft, fluffy feel.

Even though she had only worn it briefly, it was so comfortable and nice that Habin wanted to have clothes with that feeling.

“That hoodie, when I looked at the tag, it said it was made from a byproduct called ‘cloud bird wool’. I want clothes made of that material too.”

When monsters are killed, not only do items drop, but there are many byproducts that can be obtained from the remaining carcasses.

They’re used as ingredients for potion crafting, and in various fields like experiments, engineering, clothing, furniture, and jewelry materials.

That’s why even porter part-time jobs for moving carcasses came into existence.

“‘Cloud bird wool’ was a byproduct I never encountered during my part-time jobs.”

Curious, Habin had asked around at the mid-range brand stores in the department store.

“Do you have any clothes made with ‘cloud bird wool’ material?”

The answers were varied.

‘That’s a byproduct that can only be obtained from dungeons that appear very rarely, and even then only abroad, so there’s hardly anywhere that uses it?’

‘What’s that? Where did you hear about it?’

‘Our brand has clothes with about 0.003% of it. The remaining 99.997% is cotton, but it’s not bad.’

[Isn’t that essentially the same as not using it at all?]

‘It’s being sold as a cloud bird special limited edition at more than triple the price!’

‘With 0.003%?’

‘Yes. With 0.003%!’

‘…….’

‘Hey, customer! Why are you making that face? Gold-infused alcohol and gold-infused cosmetics sell well with just a sprinkle of gold powder, calling themselves golden cream or golden alcohol.’

‘…….’

After gathering information like this, one clerk gave a meaningful tip.

‘Ah, Elemes might be able to use it! Occasionally, luxury brands make exclusive contracts with regions for rare or expensive materials. Try the hunter-exclusive luxury section.’

“Hmm, so the answer is only in the luxury section after all.”

After going round and round, finally the luxury section.

Fortunately, this department store had a luxury section catering to hunters.

Habin knew it well because she had often passed by there.

Sometimes the luxury section’s repair room would urgently request monster byproducts, and simple ones would be brought directly from the dungeon by porter part-timers. Habin had occasionally entered that way too.

“Let’s see, the luxury section is…… in the annex. We need to go down one more floor.”

After checking the floor number, Habin immediately got on the escalator.

“It’s my first time going as a customer.”

◆◇◆◇◆

J Department Store’s Hunter-Exclusive Luxury Section.

Today’s main shoppers in charge there were Yoo Jihee and Cheon Sara.

Of the two, the better-performing shopper was.

‘Obviously me!’

J Luxury Section’s super rookie.

Cheon Sara.

Sara had always broken the best performance records to reach this position.

From starting as a part-timer in a ready-made clothing store, through being a contract worker for luxury brands, to becoming the youngest personal shopper with the highest sales performance in J Department Store.

Unstoppable successful job changes, rapid promotions.

It was all thanks to Cheon Sara’s keen eye and memory.

An amazing eye for detail that could accurately recognize people every time no matter what hairstyle or clothes they appeared in, and precise memory.

Based on this, Cheon Sara recognized and remembered VIP customers immediately, winning their favor.

‘Ah, aren’t you Chairman OO of OO Group? You mentioned being interested in the JJ brand when I saw you last time……! I looked into it in advance!’

‘Hunter-nim! I’m a real fan. I know you’ve been looking for luxury street fashion lately, right? D company’s new item is exactly that style. The defense option is amazing too.’

Thanks to this, VIP customers were very fond of Cheon Sara, and her performance soared.

However.

“……Sara-ssi, it’s good that you always pay attention to regular customers, but I wish you’d follow the manual.”

Her colleague, Yoo Jihee, always cautioned about this aspect.

“It’s problematic if you only take care of regular customers first when there are other customers present. They’re all equal customers, you know.”

‘Huh, when did she see that? Making a fuss over nothing.’

“……You’re saying I took care of regular customers first? That’s strange. I’ve never done such a thing.”

Cheon Sara, who was evasively deflecting, thought to herself.

‘She sure loves the manual. Who lives following all that? It’s just because her performance is lagging behind mine that she’s nagging about following the manual.’

Anyway, it’s the VIP customers who bring in all the sales.

VIP customers who sweep up everything from shoes, clothes, bags, umbrellas, necklaces, even pajamas or underwear, to decorative items with absolutely no practical use every time they visit.

Compared to that, an ordinary customer buying a bag or wallet after much deliberation was far from enough to fill Cheon Sara’s performance quota.

‘It’s several times more efficient to deal with one VIP than ten ordinary people. Why should I bother with average customers?’

“Cheon Sara-ssi. It looks like there’s a customer coming over there.”

Just then, Yoo Jihee was standing next to her again today. Sara inwardly sneered.

‘No wonder you’re still at the same level as me despite your years of service, living so inflexibly.’

She had heard that Yoo Jihee had joined the company much earlier than Cheon Sara. The reason she hadn’t been promoted quickly despite her long service was probably due to her rigid way of handling things.

Manual.

The basic manual for the luxury section wasn’t anything special. However, a brand called ‘Ajuel’ that had set up shop here demanded a strict manual, recommending that employees of all luxury sections where their brand was present follow set rules.

Though not strictly enforced, they were famous for immediately terminating chain contracts with stores that violated them.

-Never judge a customer’s purchasing power by their appearance.

-Never discriminate against customers visiting the store, whether they are hunter-level customers or ordinary customers.

‘……The founder of the ‘Ajuel’ brand is rumored to be a hunter story enthusiast, but they’re obsessed with all sorts of conditions?’

With hunter stories being the trend these days, Cheon Sara had heard similar stories. It was a common cliché passed down like a legend.

One day, a hunter who had awakened great abilities and become nouveau riche appears at a department store, but happens to be wearing the cheap clothes they used to wear.

Seeing their shabby appearance, the staff openly disrespect them, only to end up getting taught a lesson—that was roughly the flow of the story.

Cheon Sara scoffed.

‘This isn’t a novel, why would such a thing happen? It might have happened occasionally in the early days of the Gate Crisis…… but who falls for that kind of thing these days?’

Cheon Sara is no amateur. She checks the hunter rankings daily for changes.

If there’s any chance of an amazing hunter suddenly appearing, she’s fully prepared to recognize them first and treat them with utmost respect.

‘Besides, if someone had awakened awesomely as a hunter, even if it was me, I’d at least dress somewhat decently before coming to a department store out of embarrassment. What is that? Are they cosplaying as the famous ‘power-hiding loser’?’

How ridiculous. The world isn’t that simple.

‘With that level of initiative, they wouldn’t be a power-hiding loser, but a power-hiding madman!’

“Hello.”

“……?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Cheon Sara, lost in thought, reacted half a beat late.

A girl wearing an old sky-blue sweatshirt. No matter how generously you looked at it, she appeared to be just a penniless student.

‘What, did she save up money to buy a gift for her parents? Coming in wearing clothes picked up from who knows where…… Ah!’

Cheon Sara suddenly remembered the other person’s face. Just then, Yoo Jihee beside her was speaking to the girl with a kind smile.

“Hello, customer. This is a hunter-exclusive luxury section, so you need to show a hunter license to enter. Would it be alright to check?”

“Jihee-ssi, there’s no need for that. I know this person.”

“Pardon?”

‘I’m sure, I know this kid.’

Cheon Sara lifted her chin, praising her own memory.

That face. She had definitely seen her coming in and out of the luxury section’s repair room. As a Gate porter part-timer.

Cheon Sara smiled with confidence and gestured dismissively. It was a gesture of clear disdain.

“The repair room is that way, over there, you’re a porter, right?”