Mastore 41 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store Worker  Chapter 41

Career Counseling Convenience Store Worker (2)



While living outside for a few days, the puppy realized one thing. Freedom comes with responsibility.

"I feel like I've heard a saying about this somewhere before. That's…"

“He who does not work, neither shall he eat.”

As soon as I answered, he straightened his drooped tail and wagged it happily as if pleased.

"Your observations are truly remarkable, Boss. How could you understand what this humble one is thinking so well?"

"I'm more amazed that you even know a saying like that. Can you read?"

"I can't… I’m actually illiterate, but I recall the mistress saying something like that to the master back in my days as a freeloader."

I guess the puppy has seen her scratching the bowl before (A saying for nagging). Anyway, clearing his throat, the puppy continued.

"And since everyone seems to be working, I thought this humble one should also seek employment."

“Didn’t you run away because you hated your job? Guarding the house and all?"

"That wasn't a job; it was imprisonment, Boss. Even if I were to return to that moment, I have not the slightest intention of reversing my decision. I am sincere."

Well, considering his ‘peanuts’ were on the line, I can’t blame him. I get him.

"But the only one this humble one knows is you, Boss. So..."

Though I felt sorry for him, there was only one thing I could say.

"We don't accept minors. You're only two years old."

"...Alas, how regrettable."

Even converted to human age, he's 14 years old, so it's against the law. And even if we circumvent the law and put a uniform on this puppy who knows nothing of the ways of the world, I don't think he'll be able to handle the difficult customers properly.

Above all, isn't hiring a Pomeranian a bit too much, no matter what?

Manager is trying to hire part-timers, but I don't think she'll hire a 2-year-old Pomeranian. It’s probably better not to bring it up at all and save the puppy from disappointment.

"The law’s the law, so we can't, little guy. Sorry about that."

I spoke indirectly because I thought he might get hurt if I was too blunt, and although he seemed to understand, his tail stayed drooped. Feeling sorry for him, I took out a few triangle kimbaps from the disposal basket and heated them in the microwave.

"Let's first eat and then talk."

I tore off a few receipts lying on the counter and spread them out on the floor as makeshift plates, then set the kimbaps on top. The puppy’s mouth started drooling as he watched.

“Really... Can I have these...?”

"It doesn't have garlic in it, so you’re good. But it’s still hot, so eat it slowly." (Garlic can be toxic to dogs. Chocolate too btw.)

Of course, he didn't listen at all and started to devour the triangle kimbap hurriedly as quickly as a crab hides its eyes (Meaning eating so fast). Meanwhile, I grabbed a bottle of water, paid for it, poured it into a cup, then placed it beside him.

Then I thought for a moment. What kind of job could a two-year-old puppy could do…?

“...Phew, that was delicious. This kindness, even if this humble one has to sell his tail fur..."

"I don't need your tail fur, but I do have a few ideas for places you might be able to work.”

"Oh? Where might that be?"

The first thing that comes to mind is a dog café.

In this case, this little puppy will stimulate the protective instinct or maternal instinct of the visiting guests, and in return, the employer will provide him with a place to sleep and food. If he's lucky, he might even get a few dog treats.

“That… sounds quite appealing, Boss.”

But honestly, this isn’t really a ‘job’—it’s more like going to the dog café and begging for help. Since this puppy is cute, even if he doesn't show off his speaking ability, any decent dog café would take him in, wouldn't they?

For now, this little guy seemed satisfied with the idea.

"It sounds like a really nice workplace, especially since room and board are provided. But..."

“But?”

“Will I be able to go out for walks?”

"Well. They might take you out for walks now and then, but... mostly, you'll have to stay inside the café all the time."

At my answer, the puppy slowly wagged his tail and asked.

“In that case… it wouldn’t be much different from the life I lived before, would it?”

"If you don't like that, there's another option. It's called a pet food taster."

"A pet foo... What did you say, Boss?"

"It's a job where you eat pet food and give feedback on how it tastes."

Apparently, with so many people owning pets these days, even jobs like that have popped up.

But there’s a problem with this one too—he would have to speak. And not just anyone, but other non-human beings.

"If I am asked to speak, I can do so. However..."

“But you don’t want to be confined again, right?”

“...Correct.”

Then this won't work either. Tears welled up in the puppy's eyes, and he hung his head low.

"Goodness, job hunting sure is tough, isn't it...?"

This puppy is exceptionally special even in this other world. Because he can speak.

The moment that specialness is revealed, he’ll never have his freedom again. He might spend far longer confined somewhere than the two years he spent at his old home—or perhaps even the rest of his life.

Since he hated that and slipped off his collar to run away with nothing but his body, I could vaguely understand why he didn't want to speak in front of others and why he didn't want to go back to that life.

I was dealing with my own issues because of my constitution... No, then again, I’m human. This little guy’s a Pomeranian, so his situation is probably much tougher than mine.

"...This humble one was in the park last night, Boss."

I nodded slightly with an uneasy feeling, and the puppy continued talking.

"It was to find something to eat. I remembered that my old master once threw away a half-eaten hamburger in the park trash can. So I tried to rummage through the trash bins, but..."

“Did you find something?”

"I failed. I definitely smelled a hamburger, but I couldn't reach it. So I gave up."

“Aigo.”

“The water faucet was also too high for me to reach, so I gave up on that too. That’s why I ended up just wandering around the park aimlessly. I'm hoping to find something to eat. Going around, and around, and around... I realized one thing."

He mimicked his words by spinning in circles, then suddenly stopped and said,

“I realized that from now on, I can take walks whenever I want, for as long as I want.”

“Is that so? Did that make you happy?”

"It made me incredibly happy. Walking the streets at night is this humble one's favorite thing in the world."

He answered while wagging his tail.

"This humble one may still be young and not know much, but... for that moment, neither hunger nor thirst came to mind. So, doesn't that mean I was genuinely happy?"

"Yeah, you were definitely happy."

"I'm glad you think so too, Boss. Anyway, that’s how I spent yesterday. I realized that this humble one is truly free now, and from now on, I’d have to live on my own, relying solely on myself…."

"Hey."

When I interrupted him, the puppy looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

“You have two choices.”

The thought just came to me. It might be a bit late to bring it up, but oh well.

“One is to find someone who understands your situation. To be honest, I’d like to take you home and let you live however you want, but I live pretty far away, so that might be tough.”

"You have already helped this humble one more than enough, Boss. Please don’t trouble yourself further."

"Alright. The other option is… something I heard from a friend of mine. She said you might be a 'Mystical Creature'."

After saying this, the puppy tilted his head sharply to the side.

"Mystical Creature? Is it some kind of drink? This humble one, a Mystical Creature?" (Puppy thought he was saying a liquor.)

"No, I’m not saying you’re some kind of dog soup…." (MC thought of dog soup upon hearing it. It was said to be a medicine dish made of dog meat (Gaesoju/Gae = Dog. Soju = A liquor))

This little guy is a puppy, after all. Even if he wants to live freely, he’d still be part of the dog world.

The problem is that this puppy is a Pomeranian. At least his appearance is. For all his talk about freedom, he’s hopelessly fragile in the face of back-alley stray dogs. But maybe the world isn’t entirely unfair because it gave him this one special gift—the specialness of being a Mystical Creature.

Manager once told me that Mystical Creature not only has the ability to speak or understand human language but might also possess some special power.

“I don’t know what kind of power you might have, but if you figure it out, you might be able to hold your own against those back-alley stray dogs.”

Manager gave me an example of a cat playing by levitating a cup. So, even if this puppy can’t pull off full-blown telekinesis, maybe with some effort, he could at least tackle something head-on with enough force.

I kept the explanation short, but the puppy in question seemed to have a hard time believing it.

"I've never even thought about it—that there's such a special power in the world."

"Then how are you talking right now, little guy?"

"That’s… You have a point…."

He said that, but still seemed unconvinced. He whimpered and finally, as if he really couldn't understand, he asked me in return.

"Boss, if you had some sort of special power, how would you use it?"

For a moment, I felt like I was stabbed right in the bull's eye, and I couldn't answer for a while.

"Boss?"

"...Oh, are you asking about how I control them or my purpose?"

"Either one is fine. I know this question may sound absurd, but..."

It's not a completely absurd question. After all, I do have a special power. It felt like a question I should answer carefully, so I took my time before responding.

"As for how I control them… I think it all depends on my will.”

"Your will, Boss?"

“Yeah. Whether it’s a special power or something you’ve never thought about using before, you can only use it if you really want to. And if you want to suppress it, you can probably do that too.”

That’s how it was for me, at least. Because I wanted to go home, I was able to suppress my constitution, and because I wanted to catch the thief, I was able to catch him. But as for my purpose...

“…I don’t know either. I’ve never thought about it. What would you do if you had special power?”

"Hmm... This humble one..."

He trailed off, then suddenly curled up and started whimpering. After doing that for a while, he seems exhausted and flops down on the floor.

"What did you just do?"

"I was trying to summon a hamburger, Boss."

He must still be hung up on that hamburger last night.

"I don’t have leftovers. Want me to buy you one?"

“No, Boss, I have already received a mountain of favors. You kept me company and gave me advice like this. But it seems this humble one doesn't have the power to summon hamburgers."

Still lying on the floor, the puppy muttered weakly. After a moment of thought, he continued.

“Still, I do wish to be of help to someone else."

“Just focus on taking care of your own food bowl, little guy. You can't even manage a proper meal, and you're already talking about helping others."

"Of course, I will do that. This humble one also needs to eat to live. However."

He got up and looked at me intently, his tail wagging softly.

"If it's at all possible, this humble one... wants to become someone like you, Boss."

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

"Didn't you give advice and help this humble one, a complete stranger, gain enlightenment? Please think about it. If not for Boss’ help, by now this humble one would be... this humble one would be..."

Gone to the pork cutlet shop, probably. Come to think of it, I’ve really done something big, haven’t I?

"That's why I want to be like you, who can be someone's strength, Boss. If I can’t help someone like you did to me, I’m sure I’d never be able to live the rest of my life with my head held high.”

I was tempted to say he chose the wrong role model, but there was no reason to snuff out his newly lit determination. So, I crouched down and gave him a pat on the head.

“Well... Anyway, do your best. And try not to get hurt if you can.”

"I’ll try my best. But I don’t want to overstay my welcome and interfere with your business, so I’ll be going now….”

"Sure… Uh…."

“Boss?”

What, this again?

"Is something the matter?"

"...Nah, forget it. If things get tough, feel free to drop by again.”

I was worried about where he would sleep and what he would do from now on, but since he said he was leaving, I opened the door for him. He managed to survive two days without food, so I figured he probably had a place in mind to sleep.

As I watched the puppy disappear into the darkness, I reflected on what I saw when I patted his head earlier.

Because, somehow, the scar on his ear seemed to have vanished. I couldn’t quite believe it, but still….