AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 145
Check my other translation works for other interesting stories
Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 12-2
On my 34th day as manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, I finally arrived at a place that truly felt like another world.
“Naoya-san? Aren’t you coming?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go, Naoya? Well then, let’s head into the dungeon… the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb!”
About an hour’s walk from Aion Mall, past the outer walls of the nearest town, we stood on a grassy plain. The grass brushed against my shins, and just beyond the ruins of crumbling buildings, a gaping hole in the earth awaited.
Around the hole, stone tiles framed the entrance, which was decorated with carved stonework.
A mausoleum.
Well, it used to be, but now it’s the entrance to the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb.
Anna-san, standing at the entrance, looked back, while Chloe teased me, reminding me that exploring a dungeon to find what adventurers needed was my idea.
The fully armored Skeleton Captain placed a supportive hand on my shoulder as if encouraging me to summon my courage, while a ghost peeked out from under his cloak, seeming almost concerned.
“I’m going. I’m going… Just give me a second.”
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself. This was just market research.
When Aion Mall opens a new location overseas, they conduct surveys to understand the locals’ needs. They’d likely even venture into dangerous areas if necessary.
What I’m doing isn’t any different—except, well, it’s in another world.
I told myself this over and over as I took a step forward. The leather shoes Anna-san had prepared for me echoed on the stone path.
I swallowed hard as I stepped into the dark dungeon.
“…I wonder if I will get hazard pay for this?”
Nobody answered my mumbling.
Hey, Iori-san, does this count under “otherworldly allowances”?
The dungeon was pitch dark.
Chloe, an elven holy knight, lit a magical light, causing the ghost to slip into the Captain’s armor. Holy magic, it seemed, affected the undead.
Not Anna-san, though. And the Captain was a high-level undead, too, he wouldn’t be leading a fully armored skeleton brigade otherwise.
As my eyes adjusted to the light, the interior of the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb came into view.
The corridors and walls of the dungeon were all made of stone. Chloe’s armor clanked as she walked confidently, unfazed.
“Are these recesses in the stone wall for hanging armor or paintings? It’s empty now, though…”
“No, Naoya-san. This place used to be a communal cemetery for the town.”
“Oh… So it turned into a dungeon.”
“It wasn’t nearly this vast back then… but with the dungeon transformation, the space seems to have expanded.”
“Creepy.”
“The wall recesses—niches—were where the bones of the unclaimed dead once rested.”
“W-What happened to them? Why are they gone now? Don’t tell me…”
“Since the town’s demise, it seems the bones have left their niches and become skeletons. Though I was known as the ‘Saint,’ even my powers couldn’t prevent it…”
“That’s terrifying. Bones that start moving… This other world is terrifying.”
Seeing me inch away from the walls, the Skeleton Captain rattled reassuringly. Right, right, you’re already moving bones. I do appreciate all the apron-wearing skeletons working at the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. Thank you for your service.
“Not all the bones here are from townsfolk. In fact, most are likely skeletons born of the dungeon.”
“I see. So as the space expanded, the bones increased and became skeletons?”
“Yes, but for some reason, some ancient undead have also risen from time to time. That’s why I still visit here occasionally.”
Anna-san smiled as she always did, yet her expression held a hint of sadness.
A false saint and a cursed town.
This tomb belonged to a town that fell 800 years ago, a town that was Anna-san’s birthplace.
So the skeletons buried here were likely her fellow townspeople. And some undead rose anew over the ages.
“Nao-, incoming—two…no, three of them.”
“Thank you, Chloe-san.”
Chloe gracefully steps back, allowing Anna-san to take the lead. She moves forward, gripping her staff, her usual gentle demeanor vanishing as a dark aura surrounds her. The Skeleton Captain and his ghostly companion follow closely behind.
Ahead, out of the darkness, three skeletons emerge. Wearing simple armor and wielding rusty swords, they’re just as Chloe predicted.
The Captain steps forward to confront them, the ghost floating from his shoulder and expanding. The skeletons freeze in place, seemingly under some kind of spell.
“Undead, those of you granted a false life. Do you wish to rest? Or… do you have any last words, messages you’d like to convey?”
Anna-san’s voice rings through the hallway, and the immobilized skeletons fix their hollow gazes on her. They remain silent.
The apron-clad skeletons at the Isekai branch and even our armored Captain seem to understand language, but they don’t speak. So I doubt these skeletons could—
“Or… would you like to work? At Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, we’re recruiting 24-hour personnel for security, cleaning, and even cooking and traffic management lately!”
Anna-san raises her staff dramatically, launching into a sales pitch. Is this how she recruits skeletons? I remember her saying, “If we need more, we can find more.”
“Wait, hold on! Recruiting people who can work 24 hours straight is probably against labor laws! Wait, where do you even post these openings?!”
“Shh, Naoya, keep it down.”
“But, Chloe, they’re monsters! Unlike the Captain, these skeletons are openly hostile!”
Chloe silences me with a finger to her lips, and I reluctantly fall silent. We’re in a dungeon, after all. Making noise could attract more monsters.
We wait quietly for a while.
“…No…work…tired.”
“No… work, no way.”
“Just…want to rest…”
“THE SKELETONS ARE TALKING?!”
“Calm down, Naoya. They’re not actually speaking. It’s an extension of the magic used in the ‘Translation Ring,’ allowing Anna to communicate with them in a way we can understand.”
“Oh, cool! Magic is amazing. But maybe let’s not apply that to the Aion employees…I don’t need to hear their grievances or complaints about long hours!”
“Very well. Then I’ll guide your souls back to the cycle of rebirth.”
Anna-san raises her staff toward the skeletons, murmuring something under her breath. A light blooms in front of her, enveloping the skeletons, who turn their gazes upward as if looking beyond the stone ceiling into the sky above.
“…Finally…free…”
“Liberated from labor…heaven.”
“Gonna…sleep till next life.”
Their voices fade as the skeletons collapse into a pile of bones, offering a final “thank you” to Anna-san.
“Thank you, Chloe-san. Let’s proceed.”
Anna-san turns back, her expression tinged with sadness.
“Alright! Onward! The threats on this first level are minor—we need to go deeper if Naoya’s to get a real taste of adventure!”
Whether she noticed the somber mood or chose to ignore it, Chloe takes the lead again, brimming with energy.
On my 34th day as manager of Aion Mall Otherworldly Store, our exploration of the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb continues.
By the way… did those skeletons seem unusually reluctant to work? Makes me wonder if something happened to them when they were alive. Feels…oddly relatable?