Mastore 71 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 71

Convenience Store Clerk and Pollen Warning (6)

I went home, washed up three times, and slep. I've never lost money listening to Manager.

After waking up, I checked if my soles were okay first, and looking at the time, it was 9:40. Slept quite a lot. Still, thinking I wouldn't be late if I washed up roughly and headed to work, I hurried, but paused briefly right after opening the front door.

Maybe because it’s mid-May, but it’s warm even at night now. Should I wear a jacket or not…?

After contemplating, I just wore it and went out. You never know; it might get chillier at night. When I arrived at the convenience store’s front door, I noticed an A4 paper I hadn’t seen before stuck on the door.

In thick marker and Manager’s handwriting, it read:

[We’re all out of masks. We’re really sorry!]

Manager must have suffered quite a bit. As soon as I walked into the store, I got a good sense of just how much she had been through.

“We don’t have any masks left. They’re all sold out. Sorry.”

“What? When did they all sell out?”

“This morning.”

"Are you kidding? Then shouldn’t you at least put up a notice or something?”

“That’s right, we did posted it on the front door.”

The customer turned sharply in my direction at Manager’s words—it was a middle-aged elf. He glanced at me and then at the sign on the door, probably embarrassed, and muttered loud enough for us to hear.

"Pharmacies are all sold out too, where the hell are we supposed to buy masks?"

The elf scratched his head under his Saemaeul hat as he left the store, and Manager, who was watching him leave, let out a small sigh. Seems like I should skip greetings.

“Looks like it’s been a really tough shift, Manager.”

“Maybe not that tough… No. I guess Chan can tell, huh.”

I’ve never seen Manager with dark circles under your eyes before.”

Manager’s skin is usually so fair that any dark spots are immediately noticeable. After quickly changing into my uniform, I asked Manager.

"When did Manager post that A4 paper?"

“I put it on right after Chan left yesterday. Not that it did much good…”

Convenience store customers don't really pay attention to what's posted on the entrance. We even have a sticker that says we accept local gift cards, but people still walk in and ask if they can use one.

Of course, I understand. For people to even care about checking a sticker, they would have to know it’s there in the first place, right? Plus, those stickers are so tiny, barely noticeable.

Honestly, asking the clerk is often the fastest option. I don’t really mind if they ask or not.

“I think the situation’s a bit different this time.”

“Right.”

The pharmacy is sold out of masks too. In times like these, would an A4 paper or whatever even catch anyone’s eye? You should at least poke the persimmon you can't eat.

(The expression is similar to "nothing ventured, nothing gained" or "it's worth a try even if it might not work.")

Plus, after stepping on all that pollen myself yesterday, I can say it felt pretty fine in texture. With that stuff flying everywhere and people breathing it in directly, I guess the sense of urgency must feel pretty real for everyone right now.

Moreover, it's not even normal pollen, but pollen that grew from eating polluted mana. This thought reminded me of something I needed to ask Manager.

"Even if I'm okay since I'm a grunt, what about you, Manager? Are you alright?"

(깍두기/kkakdugi. Self-deprecating slang to mean someone who is sturdy/robust but unsophisticated, or someone who can handle rough situations without much problem)

“I think I’m fine too.”

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to get checked out at the hospital. That's why we live paying health insurance."

"I'll go when any of the symptoms appear. From what I read, the symptoms are supposed to be pretty clear, so if anything goes wrong, I could tell right away.”

“Where from? At Department of Disease Control and Prevention?”

“No, look at this.”

Saying that, Manager held out her smartphone. There was an internet article on the screen, and skimming over it, it said something like this:

[Symptoms primarily present as allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, or asthma. In certain species with low levels of innate mana, the symptoms may be especially severe. This occurs when the body, lacking sufficient mana, excessively absorbs the polluted mana in the pollen—]

Examples of some different species listed were goblins and orcs. Indeed, among people looking for masks, goblins and orcs did seem to have severe symptoms.

In addition, there were other things mentioned about mana, but I couldn’t make sense of it all…

[While symptoms are similar to those of a common cold, they emerge far faster and are much more pronounced. In severe cases, symptoms can appear within 3 minutes of inhalation. However, as the polluted mana concentration in the pollen is low, it's not expected to develop into severe cases...]

The article concluded with a 'you can feel assured' nuance, but questions remained.

“Can we believe this?”

Simply put, it's saying 'Dear different species, your respiratory systems are safe. Please feel assured and continue your livelihoods!', but I can't believe it. How do we know if this isn't just scribbled from Wikipedia searches?

"Says they wrote it consulting university hospital specialists. At the bottom."

Scrolling down more, below the reporter's name was written 'Written with consultation from anti-magic specialists'. This made me feel a bit more at ease.

"Still, if you start coughing, go to the hospital right away, Manager. You need to take care of your health."

“Un.”

After the handover shift, nothing special happened in the store, but the next content immediately made my heart sting.

“Yoonha said she probably can’t handle the deliveries today. She’s too busy.”

“What?”

"Well, she said she's especially busy today because of hunter work."

It’s not the hunter work; it’s because of the pollen, obviously. I had a feeling this would happen. Life is just full of unexpected twists, isn’t it?

“She even said she would go to the logistics center after pulling an all-nighter, but since she’s busy with her main job, I told her to just take it easy. Anyway, we’re not short on supplies except for masks.”

That's not because of her main job but because of overtime...

Though I know this, I'm not sure if it's right to say it now. Honestly, I want to say 'things got a bit tangled because of the license exam' and just get it over with., but...

“But Yoonha mentioned that she would be free in May before. I wonder if something came up…”

“Uh…”

“I hope it’s nothing serious… Uh, what is it, Chan?”

"...No, just thinking there couldn't be anything wrong. If there was, Noona would've said something earlier."

I decided against it. Right now, the one who's the most frustrated is probably Noona. I didn’t want to pretend not to notice and keep talking about her to stress Manager out even more, so I completely changed the subject.

"Anyway, so the supplies won't come today. Anything else?"

"Anything else... Ah."

Manager seemed to remember something and started fiddling with her smartphone. After a moment she held out a photo to me, but why is this... No, why are you appearing here?

"Chan mentioned a mystical dog before. Could it be this one by any chance?"

It was a photo taken outside the convenience store window, and in the corner was something that looked like a ball of fluff with three chocolate chip-like spots. The breed seemed to be Pomeranian, at least….

“…Maybe?”

"Not entirely sure?"

"All Pomeranians look similar, right? And it's probably not common for Pomeranians to wander around in the middle of the night without a leash. When did you take this?"

“It was here an hour ago, just standing outside the store, so I went out, wondering if it might be the one. I even tried talking to it….”

She said it didn’t respond to her at all. At first, she thought, ‘Maybe it’s not the one’, but since it kept loitering around the convenience store, she tried saying something to it.

"If there's anyone it’s looking, I said that it could meet that person after 10 p.m. when he start work."

After giving this message, it disappeared while Manager were briefly helping a customer. From the circumstances, it seems to be that one. Manager, finishing their words, muttered in a tone full of regret.

“I would’ve liked to talk with it…”

"It doesn't speak to strangers, especially not other species. Probably scared of being sold off somewhere…”

"Ei. No way-"

Manager was about to disagree, then stopped and shook her head thoughtfully.

“... No. It would be hard not to sell it. It’s a mystical creature.”

“I’ll mention it to the dog. I’ll tell him Manager wanted to talk with him.”

Strictly speaking, even those expired products I fed that dog, the owner isn't me but Manager. If you get food, you have to earn it.

But now it's 10:02. And the dog isn't visible yet. Since Manager said to come later, it's up to him whether to come at 10:30 or 11.

“Do you want to wait a bit? Or are you heading home?”

"I’d like to, but... I’m too tired and sleepy. Maybe another time.”

Rubbing her eyes, she indeed looked exhausted. Manager took a can of beer from the shelf, patted my shoulder with a ‘good luck’, and left the store. Thus I was left alone...

Forget the dog, even customers aren't coming.

Exactly thirty minutes passed. The quiet was unbelievable. Though weekday night shifts get quiet toward dawn, this time around normally has quite a few customers, but it's not just fewer customers- there are none at all. None.

I knew the reason. This damn crap pollen killed half the street in just two days since appearing.

I stepped outside and took a quick look around. It wasn’t just pedestrians who were gone—the lights and sounds had vanished too. Far down by the food alley, about half the neon signs were off, and even the lit ones have faded light covered in pollen.

After Manager left, only flies are flying at the bus stop, and the subway exit sign glows drearily. To anyone unfamiliar with the situation, this could easily be mistaken for an abandoned ghost town, stalled in the middle of a construction project.

The pollen piled on the sidewalk... now I can't even dare to clean it. Just this morning I strongly thought the city hall officials should solve this somehow...

Now I'm not sure about that either. How do you even disinfect this? There’s no way a few rounds of street-sweeping trucks will cut it. At this scale, isn’t magic really the only solution?

My thoughts stopped. Off in the distance, I saw something that looked like a little ball of fluff.

This puppy’s so tiny that his steps are ridiculously slow. I stood still waiting until it came close, but as it got closer, my feelings became puzzling. Is this really the puppy I know?

When the fluffy ball reached right up to me, it gave a polite nod and greeted me.

“It’s truly a pleasure to see you, Boss. Have you been well?"

Right, it is. I bent down to reply.

“Been fine, but you don't seem so. What's with this fur?"

This puppy's fur has eaten so much pollen it's dyed pink. On top of that, it was clumped and matted in places. When I asked, the puppy drooped its ears, seemingly embarrassed.

"I apologize for appearing so unkempt. However, this dog has something to say."

Stopping mid-sentence, he shook his body with all his might, but no matter how much he shook, the pollen wouldn't fall from his fur. After a long effort, he gave up and, looking worn out, mumbled with his tongue slightly sticking out.

“This infernal pollen, no matter how much I shake, it simply won’t come off…”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

When even an adult man sweeping with a big broom doesn't make it budge, what chance does a fluffball like him have just by shaking himself off?

"It's truly a matter of importance. If only it would rain, perhaps I could wash this all away.”

"Rain probably won't do it? This is magic poop pollen. I tried sweeping the sidewalk too, but it wouldn't budge even after sweeping several times."

“In that case… I suppose the only choice is to shave it off cleanly.”

"Who's going to shave it for you? You money for grooming?"

“Naturally, I do not. But, if I scavenge under vending machines, somehow I could-"

“Cut the nonsense and close your eyes for a moment. I'll dust you off."

The puppy muttered something like 'To imposing Boss again...', but I started dusting anyway. I loosened the clumped parts of his fur by rubbing them gently with my fingers and gave his tail a few solid pats.

The pollen puffed up like attic dust. Seems it'll take a while. The puppy, now with his eyes closed, murmured in a barely audible voice.

“Much appreciated, Boss.”

"If you're thankful, tell me your story. How have you been lately?"

I'm guessing like this. Due to pollen, there are fewer people, so different species go out less. So there's less leftover garbage thrown on streets, and therefore this puppy starves more.

I thought that would be all, but it surprised me by mentioning something unexpected.

“As you might guess, not too well. Those Black Wind Gang scoundrels—”

"Hey, wait. What gang?"

"Black Wind Gang. They've started ruling this area recently..."


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