Running a restaurant and a convenience store at the same time was like juggling chainsaws while blindfolded.
The problem?
The Dungeon didn't care that I'd expanded. Deliveries still had to be made. Burgers or no burgers, fries or no fries, if a hobgoblin on floor two ordered spicy ramen, it had to get there.
The bell above the store rang. A translucent screen popped up.
[Delivery Request Received!]
Floor 2 – Spicy Ramen x2 + Lemon Tea
Reward: 120 pts
I glanced at the order, then at my brand-new diner, currently full of skeletons and goblins fighting over ketchup packets. My new hire was running trays like her life depended on it. My family was... well, Mom was sweeping bones, Step-dad was chewing silently and my sister was making a DungeonTok.
I sighed.
"Okay, guys. I'll be back. Don't burn the place down."
"Don't worry, Boss!" my new hire said with a perfect smile. "I'll take care of everything."
That smile almost made me believe her.
Almost.
I packed the food into the delivery bag, slung it over my shoulder, and stepped through the Dungeon portal.
Floor two was the usual nightmare: damp walls, dripping ceilings, the smell of wet dog. A couple goblins hissed at me until they noticed the ramen bag, then they waved me through like VIP security.
I found the customer in a torch-lit chamber, two hobgoblins sitting cross-legged on a pile of bones, playing dice.
"Delivery for... uh... Bone Pile Booth?" I asked.
One hobgoblin grunted, snatched the ramen and immediately ripped the lid off, inhaling steam like it was perfume.
"Mmmm. Spicy."
The other took the lemon tea and slurped it noisily.
"Payment received" the Dungeon's voice intoned.
+120 pts!
[Points Balance: 1485]
Simple. Clean. Efficient.
Which meant something was about to go horribly wrong.
On my way back through the dungeon corridors, a familiar voice echoed.
"Well, well, well. Look who's back."
I froze.
Out of the shadows stepped the Floor One Boss, the hulking armored grunt.
"Oh no" I muttered.
He folded his arms.
"Didn't think I'd see you again, Store Boy."
"I'm just delivering food."
"You always say that. But this store of yours... it's not just food, is it?"
His eyes narrowed. "It's something more. Something important."
My stomach dropped.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
He leaned closer, voice low.
"You'll figure it out. Eventually."
Then, without another word, he disappeared into the shadows.
The Dungeon's voice whispered in my ear, almost panicked:
"Ignore him. He talks too much."
"Oh, great. That's comforting." I muttered.
I returned to the store to find... absolute chaos.
The Goblin Coupon Gang had apparently decided to "help."
One was flipping burgers with his bare hands.
Another was taking orders by shouting
"WHAT DO YOU WANT, HUMAN?!" at adventurers.
Globby was carrying a tray of sodas like he was balancing dynamite.
My sister caught it all on video.
"Chat says you're officially running a circus now" she reported.
Meanwhile, my new hire smiled calmly through it all, sliding trays to customers, cleaning spills and somehow keeping the line moving.
She glanced at me as I stepped in, and for a second, the chaos faded.
"See, Boss?" she said softly. "We've got this under control."
Behind her, a goblin set a fryer on fire.
Totally under control.