Mastore 54 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 54

Convenience Store Clerk, Occasionally Lee Chan (2)

When I received it and read it, it was roughly like this. What my dream is, what the reason is for having such a dream, and what efforts I will make to achieve that dream. Why are they giving kindergarteners homework like this?

Not understanding well, I scanned through the homework again, and under the title 'What is my dream?', there was one more sentence. 'You must do it together with your parents!'

That must be the original purpose of this homework. It’s homework meant for the parents, not the kid. The assignment is just an excuse—they're telling the parents to spend some time with their child. Like, "Sweetie, when I was young, my dream was…." That kind of thing.

“The dream they’re talking about here isn’t the kind you have when you sleep, it’s about what you want to do.”

"Ah, I see."

“But, little girl, doing this with me doesn’t really seem to make much sense…”

I don't know if they gave this to commemorate Family Month or what, but it seems clear that it's not homework given just to fill in the content. Holding up the paper towards the little girl, I continued.

"It's written here. It says you must do it together with your parents."

“That’s right.”

"When did they give this homework? Do you have to finish it quickly?"

“They gave it to us yesterday… and it’s due the day after tomorrow.”

Two days is plenty of time.

"But, I don't think I can do it with Mom."

"Why? Is your mom busy?"

“She went on a business trip.”

“When will she be back?”

"She said she'll be back by 11 o'clock tomorrow night..."

11 o'clock is when good little kids should be in bed. Judging from the little girl’s hesitant tone, she didn’t seem to believe that her mom would be back by then either. It must happen often.

Given the situation, it seemed like I should help her, but if I did everything for her, the kindergarten teachers would definitely notice something was off. After thinking for a moment, I picked up a scrap paper from the pile in the corner of the counter and placed it in front of her.

“Let’s just write something down for now. Little girl, what’s your dream?”

"Hmm..."

The little girl, who was staring at the blank scrap paper, suddenly asked me.

“What’s yours, Mister?”

“Me? My dream?”

"Yeah. Mister’s dream."

“This is your homework. Why are you asking for my dream?”

“I just can’t decide…”

Listening to her hesitant explanation, it sounded like a lot of things came to mind, but she couldn’t pick one. She enjoyed playing the piano, reading picture books, and playing Jenga at the kindergarten.

If these were her dreams, she could become a pianist, a picture book author, or even a Guinness World Record holder for Jenga. These are all certainly attractive dreams for a seven-year-old to eliminate by process of elimination. If it's like this, I had to make her think a little differently.

"Rather than my dream... isn't there something like this? Something you really want to do but can't do right now."

“Something I want to do but can’t?”

“Yeah. That’s usually what people call a dream.”

Because that’s exactly the situation I’m in right now. Wanting to eat well and live well now because I haven't been able to so far. I know it's a dream too good for a 29-year-old high school graduate with no specs, but everyone says this and lives on. They say to dream big.

“Something I really want to do but can’t….”

The little girl mumbled, as if thinking over my words, then asked me as if lacking confidence like before.

"Would something like this be okay too?"

“What is it?”

It seems she thought of something. I took out a pen and got ready to write on the scrap paper, listening as she carefully voiced her thoughts.

"I... want to make friends."

“Okay. You want to make friends…”

For a moment, I wondered if she was being serious, so I looked at her face.

The little girl was fidgeting with her mouth firmly shut, but she wasn’t avoiding eye contact. I asked again.

“You want to make friends?”

"Yea."

“You’ve never had one before?”

“Is this okay...?”

This doesn’t seem like the time to be talking about dreams, does it?

"...Well, there’s nothing you can’t do. This is about dreams."

I wrote it down on the paper: Dream—I want to make friends. Reason for the dream—Because I've never had a friend before. After that, I put down the pen and thought for a moment.

Manager said. Because she's a pure-blooded dragon, her horns develop from a young age.

With those horns, she can sense magic, and from the magic, she can detect the emotions of other species. However, since she didn’t have the discernment to judge those feelings properly, she can easily follow strangers. That's why she was taught at home not to hang out with adults.

So I just thought she was only shy around adults, but to think she had never made friends at kindergarten before. But why on earth?

Is she just naturally shy? No, that’s not it. If she were that shy, she wouldn’t be here talking with me like this.

“Did your mom tell you not to play with other kids?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Then?”

The little girl answered curtly.

“The kids… don’t really like playing with me.”

"No, but why..."

“I don’t know…”

This part seems to require an interpretation myself. First of all, this kid is a pure-blood dragon….

She’s rare. In the two weeks I’ve worked here, I’ve seen kobolds, succubi, werewolves, and even a talking Pomeranian, but as for dragons, especially pure-blood dragons, I’ve only seen this little girl.

If that ratio is the same at her kindergarten, it makes sense that the other kids would see her as special or different. I don't know why it flows in the direction of not wanting to play together though...

I can understand it up to that point, but I can’t really accept it. No, what’s so wrong with being white and having horns? Isn’t it the same thing with kobolds, goblins, and orcs—they’re all the same, aren’t they?

To me, they’re just a bunch of cosplay enthusiasts. Is there some different perspective on dragons in this world that I don’t know about? And I just didn't know that until now? Because I’m an outsider?

Even if I concede a hundred times and assume that my understanding is correct, these kids are seven years old. I don't think mere little ones can specifically say, ‘I don't really want to play with you because you look different from us’…

When I thought this far, something came to mind.

“Did you see it? Their feelings?”

"...Yea."

This little girl can tell what other kids are thinking without having to ask or hear anything. She can see it.

“Have you talked about this with your mom?”

This is the kind of issue that really requires a conversation with her parents, right? Before the relationship between mother and child, as a senior in dragon life, her mom could give much better advice than someone like me, who is an outsider….

"Yea."

"What did your mom say when she heard your story?"

“She asked if I wanted to switch to a different kindergarten.”

The little girl mumbled this and then, with a face that showed uncertainty, added,

"If I went somewhere else, do you think I could make friends?"

Honestly, I don't think she can.

It’s not like this little girl is having a fall out with a specific child at her current kindergarten. All that would happen is that she would be labeled not just as a pure-blood dragon, but also as the new transfer student.

I don't know what her mom was thinking to bring this up as a solution, but since it’s been mentioned, we had to listen to the person in question's thoughts too.

"What did you answer, kid?"

"I... said, it’s fine."

“But you’re not really fine, are you?”

“I’m not, but…”

The little girl seemed pretty certain about this part.

"If I went far away… I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore, Mister."

"......"

“That’s why, I’m fine.”

...So she said it's fine....

I had plenty to say in response, but I swallowed all of it and just wrote down what the little girl had answered on the scrap paper. She doesn’t want to transfer to another kindergarten. Because she wouldn’t be able to see me.

"Then have you never done it before? Talking to the kids?"

"I tried to…"

The little girl answered in a quiet voice.

“And when you did?”

"When I try to approach the kids to talk... their hearts get even darker."

I tried to picture what this situation would be like from the kid’s perspective.

The little girl walks up to the other children. Their eyes meet. The little girl pulls the words up to her throat, to say that she wants to play with them.

A kid they don’t want to play with seems like they’re about to say something. The other kids think, ‘We’re already playing well together, so why is she trying to join?’ As the little girl approaches, that heart darkened. ‘What if she asks to play with us? I don’t want that.’

Their dark feelings keep growing. Sensing the discomfort, the little girl backs away. Only then do the pitch-black heart that were spreading start to fade away. The kids feel relieved with their expressions and hearts, and they start playing again, moving their hands that had stopped.

From a distance, she watches. The kids are having fun, but they can't seem to enjoy themselves if she gets close. So, she can't bring herself to approach. As she watches, a vague thought forms in her mind.

"So, I feel like I'm doing something wrong..."

“You did nothing wrong, little girl.”

I said it bluntly. How can you be at fault when they reject you before you even get a chance to join?

If they blindly push away a kid they haven't exchanged a single word with and don't know what kind of kid she is, there must be an external factor. I don’t know if it’s because the parents didn’t raise their kids properly, or if there really is some kind of prejudice against dragons….

Either way, telling her any of this would only hurt her. And even if she knew, it wouldn’t change anything. As I wrote down her words on the scrap paper, I added what came to mind.

"Still, for this... I think you have no choice but to talk to the kids directly."

I could tell her to ask her teachers for help, but I don’t think it would matter much. Even if the teachers force the other kids to play with her, it would just be out of obligation or fear of getting in trouble with the teacher, not genuine friendship. It would become a business-like relationship.

There's no way such a relationship will flow in a good direction. She’ll have to solve it herself. ‘I don’t know what you think of me, but I’m not different from you. I’m not a bad kid, I just want to play together.’

"You have to tell them that they're misunderstanding. That you just want to be friends."

As I spoke, I made eye contact with the kid, but as soon as she met my eyes, she lowered her head. Her voice came out trembling, almost like sobbing.

"I... I want to do that, too..."

"But then...?"

"I want to... but it's so dark... it’s scary."

I don't know to what extent this 'darkness' is. Because I don't have horns like this little girl. Is it like something painted in black, or is it more like a deep hole, like a black hole?

But one thing is clear: as long as she sees that darkness, this little girl will never be able to approach the other kids. In this situation, saying that you have to be brave, that you have to be shameless, is just armchair theory. If she could do that, she would have done it long ago.

I wrote it down on the scrap paper. ‘The kids’ dark hearts are scary, so I can’t bring myself to talk to them’.

I glanced at the gummy under the counter, then continued writing as I asked.

“Hey, little girl.”

"Yea?"

"If I make it so you can't see the kids' hearts, then can you talk to them?"

The little girl looked like she didn't understand for a moment.

"Not see them?"

“Uhuh. Not see them.”

"How...?"

“I, uh… have a litte trick for it.”









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