Mastore 49 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 49

Convenience Store Worker Practicing Rehearsal (1)

Right after returning to the convenience store, I asked Manager.

“Manager, what did you really do with my ID problem?”

“I managed somehow. If I’m going to hire an employee from another world, I should at least have this level of ability, don’t you think?”

Since she was talking in circles, clearly not wanting to say it, I didn't ask further. It seemed rude to pry when I was the one benefiting, and once this exam was over, we wouldn’t need to discuss it again anyway.

Instead, though it wasn’t much, I tried to work for a few hours. Even though Manager said that she was a mage and thus could pull all-nighter for a day or two, I felt uneasy as the one on the receiving end.

Of course, this was also rejected.

"If Chan works for three or four hours and comes back at night, will you be able to work all night?"

"...No...."

I answered honestly because it seemed like she wouldn't listen even if I said I could. I told her to just go home and wash up. When I suggested she should at least go home to freshen up, she said she was washing up here and there whenever there were no customers, so I shouldn’t worry.

Still, I really wanted to help if possible because, actually, there wasn’t much for me to do back in my world anyway.

After returning home and checking the news, I found out that due to the high number of COVID-19 infections, all businesses like PC rooms and karaoke rooms had suspended operations. Needless to say, libraries too.

So the only place I could go other than cafes, but what would a 29-year-old guy do alone at a cafe? And regardless of age, don't you feel really self-conscious staying there alone for an hour or two? Or is it just me? (Tl; I would never stay more than 30 minutes hehe. Of course, if necessary, I would even spend the night keke.)

On top of that, being a loner with no friends to call, the only thing left to do was to lie down and fall asleep. After blinking for a couple of hours and falling asleep, I woke up and checked the time, and it was exactly around 9:40.

I arrived at work at around 9:50, and as soon as I locked eyes with Manager, she flashed a big smile. Curious if something good had happened, I asked.

“Manager, something good happen?”

“Of course. Take a look at this, Chan-ah.”

At that, Manager held out her smartphone screen. I scanned it and saw it was the written exam results.

"Chan-ah, it says you got all the questions right. Naturally, you’re in first place."

“Oh…”

“See? I said Chan would do great.”

I'm grateful that he's happy about my good score like it's her own business, but I keep thinking, is this really okay? I mean, getting a perfect score wouldn’t attract reporters or make headlines, but still…

“But Yoonha wasn’t surprised at all. She said it wasn’t even shocking."

"Noona doesn't know my situation well."

Honestly, it didn’t feel real to me either. When was the last time I got a perfect score on a test? I think the last time was the 2nd year of middle school Korean exam....

"And the practical exam is tomorrow evening. Around 7."

"They want me to take the exam at 7 in the evening? On a Sunday evening at 7?"

“Un.”

“The schedule is pretty tight. It’s not like we’re in crunch time or something….”

"From their perspective, there's no reason to drag it out either. So, about that."

Maybe because there wasn't much time left until the shift change, Manager didn't continue the conversation for much longer. Instead, from under the counter, she took out a container filled with watermelon-shaped jellies and placed it on top.

“I was thinking about how I’d come up with a practical exam question if I were them.”

“Yes.”

“So, I cast a few spells on each of these gummies. For example...."

He opened the lid, picked up one gummy, and dropped it from his hand onto the counter.

Normally, it would have fallen with a thud and rolled off somewhere, but the gummy didn’t fall quickly, make a sound, or roll away. It falls slowly, touches the counter without a sound, and just stays fixed there.

“I cast about three spells on this gummy: a deceleration spell, a silence spell, and an impact absorption spell.”

"Ah, this is that, a combination of three techniques or something...."

“Well, something like that. Anyway, can Chan pick just one spell out of these and erase it?”

I’ve never tried, so I don’t know. I shook my head, and Manager picked up the gummy, put it back in the jar, and closed the lid as she continued speaking.

“I’m thinking this might be the kind of problem you’ll face in the practical exam.”

At the very least, Manager said she wouldn’t hire someone who couldn’t handle this sort of thing. She then gave another example: a train.

“The basic fuel for a train is electricity or oil, but it also has a magic engine inside, right? To help with acceleration and deceleration, or to stabilize when overheated. Do you understand so far?”

“A little bit.”

“Okay. Now, let’s say the stabilization spell becomes unstable, and Chan have to remove it and recast it. But if Chan mess with it, all the other spells could get dispelled too, right?”

Since multiple magic spells need to be fixed, the repair time would increase several times, and the daily operation of trains using that track would definitely be suspended. Looks like if I went to fix the train, I’d end up getting fixed instead.

"Normally, even worrying about this would be ridiculous, but... Chan is Chan after all."

"Am I some kind of proper noun?"

"For Chan, removing magic isn't difficult, but it’s going to be much harder to not erase everything. So, tonight, practice with these gummies."

It seemed like she wanted me to try picking and erasing just one of the three spells on the gummies. I picked up a gummy, mimicking what the manager did.

As if the magic had completely worn off, the moment it touched the counter, it bounced up with a thud and rolled onto the floor. The manager, who was watching, looked up at me and added,

"Chan must’ve probably been doing this to some extent unconsciously too. After all, if you couldn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to get home the other day.”

It was something she had told me on my first day. If I imagine my house in my head and have a firm will to go home, my constitution will adjust to that image and will.

That, at least, I could manage easily. After all, I like my home.

But do I love watermelon gummies enough to preserve their chewy texture? That, I’m not so sure about. I've never tried this in the first place. Are these new products?

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

"I could help you with using magic as much as you want. But there's nothing else I can do other than this...."

"This alone is more than enough, what are you saying."

There are well over 100 gummies in the jar.

If I take Manager at her word, it means she held each of those jellies one by one and cast a spell on every single one. How long would that have taken? Six hours? Half a day?

After he's done this much, I can't just brush it off saying I can't do it because it's not working out well, I'm sorry. I have to somehow make it work, even if just for the manager's sake.

"I said it easily, but honestly, it's a difficult task. Even anti-magic specialists with years of experience sometimes make mistakes in this area. So... uh...."

“Yes.”

"Good luck."

I’ll try. Though I’m not sure if just trying hard will get the job done.

I don't know if it will work out even if I try hard.

After that, I received a simple shift handover instruction and Manager left for the day. She said to call anytime if I had any questions, but I didn't want to bother Manager who had stayed up two nights in a row.

Anyway, it’s my constitution. So, the best person to handle it is me, and I have no choice but to figure it out on my own.

After that, I took out another watermelon gummy and dropped it on the counter. It rolled very well.

With mixed feelings, I tried eating the jelly I had picked up, and I even rolled it around in my hand like a stress ball, but of course, nothing happened.

I even tried turning off the store music and focusing, but as soon as I did, customers kept coming in, and I couldn’t get anything done. I don't know how the convenience stores worker studying for licenses at work do it.

I wasted about 20 jellies doing this until 11 o'clock, but I didn't get the feeling that anything was getting better. There must be some way...

"Boss."

As I was holding my head in frustration, I heard an elderly voice. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t noticed a customer coming in.

“I’m sorry. Welcome, Cus....”

I shot up from my seat but stopped mid-way. Because the customer's appearance looked familiar. Black suit, fedora, injured back of the hand.

“One Blue, please.”

It seemed like the elderly chauffeur who knocked out the orcs before. At first, I was unsure, but when I heard him ask for "One Blue," I was certain.

“Mr. Wolf, it’s been a while.”

When I asked, the old man’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at me, then he gave a gentle smile.

"I didn't know you would still remember me, Boss."

How could I forget the moment when my life almost turned into a different genre? I thought that time when he said he was leaving was the last, even though he said he would come often back then.

“Seems like you’ve been working elsewhere recently.”

"That's right. Since it hasn't been long since I started, my colleagues recommended I visit various places. Thanks to that, I've broadened my horizons quite a bit, but...."

Moreover, horizons and colleagues, no matter how I hear it, it doesn't seem like vocabulary a current chauffeur would use.

“Still, the transportation isn’t convenient, so I don’t get to come by often. Have you been doing well in the meantime, Boss?”

How should I describe how things have been? After thinking for a moment, I came up with the perfect way.

"The front door got smashed again a few days ago."

“...Ah, such thing.”

He nods his head right away as if he understood. The old man wrote down his address and contact information in the logbook, picked up a bottle of energy drink, and sat down at a table.

After that, no customers came for about 20 minutes.

I thought I should keep fiddling with the gummy, but I just couldn't concentrate. Trying to come up with a good method just gave me a headache.

At one point, the old man went outside while sitting there, and I thought he must have gotten a call. But he came right back in after only 30 seconds.

"They said they called thinking it was a taxi."

He must have noticed my puzzled expression, so he kindly explained. Why would someone confuse a taxi with a chauffeur’s number…?

Right after the old man returned, another customer walked in. Wait, is that a human?

“Uhuhuhu....”

But why are they crying?

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this guest was the two words, snow woman.

She was blue from head to toe, with long, flowing hair hair. Overall, she gave off a pale impression, though not as white as the dragon kid who visits in the mornings. If that kid’s like white chalk, this customer was more like sky-blue chalk.

I always thought snow women were just from legends, but seeing one right in front of me, I really couldn’t think of any other way to describe it. And it wasn’t even the most important thing at the moment...

"Sob, sob sob...."

This snow woman had been crying continuously from the moment she came in, through picking out her items, all the way up to the counter. Even while she was paying.

“Ugh… sob, hic…”

"...Excuse me, customer...."

Crying is fine, but could you at least finish the payment first before crying...?









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