Chapter 76 – Permission to Sell Peanuts

She had expected the answer to be ‘No,’ so the word of permission from the mouth of the strict-looking Kang Mok-hyun was truly unexpected.

“It is common to have all kinds of personal transactions, such as items, among guild members. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be an item either.”

He glanced at Hee-na as if he was saying something incredibly obvious.

In an ordinary company, it would have been forbidden as a matter of course, but perhaps because the guild with Hunters was their main entity, they had a very free-spirited side in this aspect.

“Then it’s really okay for me to sell the peanuts?”

“Whether it is peanuts or whatever, Hee-na-ssi is a member of our Blue Dragon Guild, and any transaction between employees within the Blue Dragon Guild is free.”

Kang Mok-hyun explained that although Hunters usually use the Hunter Market, because of the intermediary commission fee, there are many cases where people from the same guild trade directly face-to-face.

“Restricting this only to transactions between Hunters is unfair. At least, the Guild Leader thinks so.”

“Ah… I see. Thank you for the detailed explanation, HR Team Leader.”

What with the dual-employment clause and the permission for this street-vendor-like behavior, Hee-na thought that the Blue Dragon Guild was a unique company in many ways.

“Team Leader Lee, are all your questions resolved now?”

“Yes! Thank you for speaking kindly.”

Hee-na bowed to greet him and was about to turn back when she went, oops, and held out a small shopping bag.

Bag. Kang Mok-hyun twitched an eyebrow at the shopping bag suddenly thrust before him.

“What is this?”

“The peanuts I mentioned earlier.”

“Peanuts?”

Since he furrowed his brows, Hee-na hurriedly spoke as if making an excuse.

“I’m not trying to sell them to the HR Team Leader… I brought them to give to you because I’ve received a lot of help in many ways. My brother grew them himself, so they should be good for your health too. They taste quite nice.”

Kang Mok-hyun chuckled and accepted the shopping bag. Perhaps because they were brothers, Kang Jin-hyun’s face momentarily showed in his.

“Thank you. If they are delicious, I will contact you separately.”

At his joking response, Hee-na blushed.

She didn’t know whether it was because looking at the HR Team Leader’s face reminded her of the smiling face of Kang Jin-hyun, or because she had made a blatant promotion saying ‘Please buy my brother’s peanuts’.

“I’d be grateful if you could enjoy them, at any rate.”

Hee-na left the HR Team Leader’s office.

Footsteps. Hee-na’s footsteps were full of energy.

Now that she had heard the company’s official response that it was okay to sell peanuts within the building, she had nothing to fear.

After arriving at her private office, Hee-na portioned and poured the peanuts into large wooden baskets.

They weren’t for sale; they were tasting peanuts to be placed in the lounges for people to try.

On the table, the well-dried peanuts formed small hills. It was a magnificent sight.

“Since there might be people who dislike raw peanuts…”

She decided to roast one of the baskets. After all, the peanut flavor familiar to ordinary people would be the crunchy and savory roasted peanuts rather than raw peanuts that had a fresh green smell.

Hee-na slumped into a chair and began to peel the peanut shells.

Click, crack. Click, crack. She quickly gathered speed, and the peanut kernels piled up attractively in the bowl.

‘This is complete salary theft.’

It was a bit funny that the secret work she was doing while stealing company time in her private office was peeling peanuts. However, since Kang Jin-hyun had gone on a dungeon raid and she had nothing to do anyway, it was perfect for passing the time.

Perhaps thanks to the ‘Meticulous Fingertips’ skill, Hee-na quickly disposed of a basket of peanuts.

“Now I should roast them.”

Humming a tune, she poured the peanut kernels into a large wok.

She roasted the plump peanuts, stir-frying them. The moisture evaporated, and the cracking sound of drying peanut skins could be heard cheerfully. The savory smell of peanuts also wafted up gently.

Hee-na giggled at the system notification popping up before her eyes.

“The Hand-Taste skill even gets cast on roasting peanuts.”

It wasn’t cooking that required any special talent, but just rolling the peanut kernels around in a hot wok.

“Will they become much more delicious if I roast them? If so, people will buy a lot of my brother’s peanuts, right?”

Hee-na concentrated on roasting peanuts while humming. Although her arm ached, she liked watching the peanut kernels roast fragrantly. It was a subtly addictive task.

“Done.”

Hee-na felt proud looking at the peanuts roasted to a beautiful brown. They were warm, and their skins were glossy, making her crave beer just by looking at them.

‘Should I try just one?’

She swallowed her saliva and thought about eating just one peanut, but soon shook her head.

‘Even the raw peanuts were so delicious that I ate them mindlessly, so if my Hand-Taste is added to it…’

Since Hee-won’s tasty peanuts were reborn at Hee-na’s fingertips, the taste was as good as guaranteed.

If Hee-na, who loved peanuts, tried them once, she might greedily devour a whole basket of peanuts right where she sat.

“That won’t do.”

Hee-na suppressed her desire to eat the roasted peanuts and divided them into bowls. Two baskets of raw peanuts and two plates of roasted peanuts were prepared.

‘I can take a plate of each to the 5th-floor and 8th-floor lounges.’

Her ambitious plan was to just leave them there for a few days, letting people taste them. And once the peanut flavor got around through word of mouth, how about starting to sell them bag by bag on the sly…?

Although she had taken all kinds of credit with Hee-won, saying he was making her do an embarrassing thing, once she faced the situation, her business mind was spinning rapidly.

‘If they were tasteless, that would be one thing. But the stuff Oppa grew is really high quality, so it’s a waste to only eat them ourselves.’

She had completed her self-justification like this.

Without knowing what kind of aftermath this matter would bring…

* * *

[Blue Dragon Guild Intranet – Anonymous Bulletin Board – Let’s use polite language^^]

[Search Term: Peanuts]

[…… (Searching results) ……]

[All posts/comments related to ‘peanuts’ have been searched. Searching even posts with some omitted expressions.]

[Title: Has anyone eaten the peanuts in the lounge?]

Content: What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this????

(Comments)

– I tried them too. What is this? 222222222

– What’s with the ‘what-is-this’ parrots

– Are there peanuts in the lounge?

└ Don’t know who put it there, but there are peanuts in the Hunter lounge, yeah.

└ They have it in the 5th-floor general employee lounge too~ It’s super delicious ㅎㅎㅎ

└ You idiot Hunters, it’s not just a matter of being delicious, you guys aren’t ordinary people either… So what is this? 3333

└ Didn’t you learn not to just pick up and eat anything when you were kids? You just stuff anything edible into your mouths as soon as you see it ㅋㅋ

└ Try eating it first before talking.

└ What makes you trust it enough to eat it ㅋㅋㅋ

└ By the way, what is the identity of these peanuts? How does eating just a few nuts fill you with satiety?

└ Hey. Just in case, I checked to see if a status window pops up, and it actually does? Isn’t this a dungeon item?

[Title: Efficacy of Peanuts]

Content: Efficacy of Peanuts – Contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids to reduce cholesterol and help prevent arteriosclerosis.

Efficacy of our guild lounge peanuts – Keeps satiety and nutritional state maintained for a long time with a small amount of consumption. (Fact)

(Comments)

– It would be good as portable food for dungeons

└ Hunters all think the same

– By the way, who do we have to buy this from?

└ (This comment has been deleted by the administrator)

└ Oh my, that person brought it?

└ (This comment has been deleted by the administrator)

└ What does their family member do???? But how much are they selling it for?

└ 6,000 won for a bag

└ Crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You bought it at that price? Doesn’t your conscience sting?

└ Of course I slipped a mana stone into their pocket ㅋ I’m a Hunter with pride too ㅋ

└ I should go buy some quickly too. I’m heading to a dungeon starting tomorrow anyway, so sweet

[Title: Hey, they say they’re not selling peanuts anymore]

Content: They say they can’t sell peanuts anymore

(Comments)

– Suddenly? They said there were some left even until yesterday? Who swept them all away without any business ethics ㅡㅡ Come out to the guild rooftop garden

└ No, it’s not that, I asked and ♪♩♬(Let’s use polite language^^) they said the guild banned it

└ Why from the guild?

└ ♪♩♬(Let’s use polite language^^) Ah, if I knew that, I would be the Guild Leader ㅋ

└ Hey, I heard something about this due to related work. This is confidential, though…

└ Tell us quickly

└ Quick x2222

└ I’m dying of anticipation

└ (This comment has been deleted by the administrator)

└ Oh, nice ㅋ As expected, the insight of the management level is extraordinary~ Prosper, Blue Dragon

└ I know ㅋㅋㅋ If that’s the case, it’s not bad?

* * *

The peanuts Hee-na placed in the lounge instantly became the number-zero topic of conversation in the office.

Not only was the taste superb, but the effect of the peanuts was also incredible.

Experienced Hunters quickly recognized the extraordinariness of the lounge peanuts.

First of all, the fact that the guidance ‘Satiety is rising’ popped up on the system window as soon as they ate raw peanuts was unusual.

This meant it possessed an efficacy powerful enough to systematically affect the physical state of an awakened person.

And the Hunters who ate the roasted peanuts placed next to them could not hide their admiration.

Because as soon as they put a single peanut into their mouth, the savory flavor filled their mouth and the following status window appeared.

Feeling satiety and maintaining a sufficient nutritional state for six hours just by eating a single peanut. This was a perfect substitute for combat rations.

That was right. Hee-na’s peanuts were virtually no different from a kind of universal pill that could resolve hunger and nutritional states.

It did not even take half a day for the rumor about the mysterious and miraculous peanuts to sweep through the entire guild.

The Homemaker of the Dungeon