Mastore 74 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 74

Convenience Store Clerk and Mystical Counseling (3)

At first I thought it was like a hydrogen airship. I mean, this is isekai, right?

Since it's isekai, thought they might use more sophisticated methods like aerial spraying instead of fart trucks. But looking closely, there was something like a fin attached to the airship.

Airships do have fins on the back of their hulls, but they don’t move or sway like they’re alive. Plus, one of the perks of an airship is that it’s supposed to be silent….

—Wooooooo…

This thing was far from silent. That wasn’t a fart truck’s exhaust, that was a whale’s cry.

The doggy asked me in a trembling voice, either amazed or surprised.

"Boss-nim. Did you say that is a whale?"

"Probably."

"What is a whale? Is it, perhaps, a living thing? Like a bird?"

“It’s alive, but it’s not a bird. If we had to classify it, it's closer to a fish."

"But that one is floating in the sky. I was under the impression that fish lived in water..."

He had a point. If that's really a whale, how could it be swimming around in the sky?

Strictly speaking, it wasn't even flying. It was just floating leisurely at cloud-drifting speed, its wiggling fins completely unhurried.

If I had to describe it, it seemed perfectly at ease swimming through the air.

Its fins brushed lightly against neon signs and glass windows of buildings, and it somehow managed to avoid power lines and banners. Don't think it could move like that without knowing what those two things are.

As the whale drew close, I could even see those characteristic stripes and spots around its belly. Can't deny it anymore.

"That's gotta be a whale. Looks like a blue whale."

"A blue whale. What a fascinating creature indeed..."

Said the little dog in amazement. Should I get him psychological counseling before it's too late...?

"Are you not amazed, Boss-nim? It is, well, enormous, massive, and magnificent."

"It is amazing. Too amazing, which is the problem."

I've never seen a whale except for that Arctic Tears trilogy. This was my first time seeing one with my own eyes.

And of all things, it’s a 30-meter-wide blue whale, and it’s even flying in the sky. My amazement just overflowed, you know?

So, strangely enough, I wasn’t even thinking much about it. I mean, hey, if metal machines weighing over 100 tons can fly people around, what’s wrong with a whale flying a little?

When it flew past us, it didn't even look like a whale anymore. Just looks like a dark cloud floating around.

As I watched, a thought crossed my mind.

"Hey, Doggy. Doesn’t it look like it stopped moving?”

The whale seemed to have paused its flight. Is there something blocking its way?

The road here is six lanes wide, a total of 18 meters across. Even if the blue whale can move here, the lanes narrow up ahead in the food district.

Thought it might be trying to make a U-turn, but looking at its head, that doesn't seem right either. It's turned slightly toward us, but still not moving.

―Vrooom.

And then another call, like the sound of a fart truck. Somehow, it felt like it was making that noise for us to hear….

“Boss-nim, Boss-nim.”

"What."

"That whale just seemed to say this: 'I want to finish work and rest, but why won't those guys go inside?'"

"All that meaning was in that short sound?"

What a highly efficient language, no. That's not it.

"Hey, Doggy. Is that really what you’re hearing?"

"I couldn't earlier, but now... I believe so."

I looked down to see if he was serious. He looked unsure, but he wasn’t avoiding eye contact.

"I take it you hear it differently, Boss-nim."

"If I could understand that, would I be standing here like this? I would be working at Greenpeace."

"What might Greenpeace be?"

"There's these folks who really hate whale meat. Anyway..."

So what he’s saying is, he can kind of hear the whale but isn’t 100% sure. Then we can just check.

“Hey, Doggy. Think you could tell that whale we're just out for some fresh air?"

"Speak? To that great one?"

"Something just came to mind."

No matter how I look at it, that whale looks like a mystical creature. A normal blue whale wouldn’t be able to fly in the sky like that.

Earlier, I was going to suggest he talk to the phoenix. But that phoenix flew away from its zoo perch, so that plan’s out.

Now that this one's shown up, wouldn't it be good to somehow catch it for a chat? I know it's a crazy idea, but...

I don't think it'll be dangerous. This little dog said the whale was like, ‘I want to finish up; why aren’t these guys going home?’ Seems like he’s pretty socially adjusted.

“By something comes to mind… What sort of…."

"Look, pretend to be fooled and give it a try. It looks like it’s about to leave."

The whale's starting to inch away. Frustrated, I picked up the doggy, and though surprised to be in my arms, he cleared his throat and said,

“...That! Blue Whale Elder!!”

He hesitated, his voice quivering as he continued. He must’ve been really scared.

"This, this humble dog! Just stepped out for some air with Boss-nim! We meant no disturbance, please do not be angered!"

As soon as the doggy finished speaking, the whale stopped moving. After a moment, another cry.

―Vrooom.

"...Y- Yes, indeed! I can hear your words very clearly, Elder, so please do not be―"

―Vroooom.

"How fortunate that you are not angry! But if not Elder, how should I address― cough, cough!"

The dog suddenly started coughing, maybe from something caught in his throat. The whale, still facing us, glanced around and then….

―Vroooom.

It turned its body vertically once, facing us. Then slowly approached, straight toward us... oh shit, now I'm scared too.

The doggy, maybe because they could communicate, was trembling less than before said. Looking up at the whale, he responded to its cry.

“No. This humble dog is small, so your consideration alone is most appreciated."

“Hey, Doggy. What’s this whale been saying to you? I can’t make any sense of it.”

"Just now it apologized for making one as small as myself keep shouting. At first..."

He asked if I could understand him, and the second cry meant 'I'm not angry, and I'm not old enough to be called elder, so please stop, it's embarrassing.'

“How old is he then?”

―Vroooom.

“He says he’s twenty-five.”

“What? Younger than me?”

I remember that in Tears of the Antarctic, they said it takes a whale about ten years to reach maturity, and then they can live for over a hundred. So this whale's a fresh graduate?

"Also, the whale mentions that Boss-nim speak short word."

"He can even understand what I'm saying?"

―Vrooom.

"Now he asks if you have any complaints."

"Uh..."

Didn't think of that. Better apologize first.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you would understand. I can’t make out what you’re saying, after all.”

―Vroooom.

“He says that’s fine. And also… this humble dog isn't quite sure either..."

"What did he just ask you?"

“I see. He was wondering how it is that I can understand him. Apparently, I’m the first one who ever has, and he wants to know how.”

Right? One's a Pomeranian and the other's a whale, yet somehow they're communicating.

"Perhaps it is because we are both animals?"

"What am I then, an insect?"

"Hmm... then maybe because we are both mystical creatures..."

But that doesn’t seem quite right either. The whale’s twenty-five, so it’s probably encountered other mystical creatures before. Mystical creatures may be rare, but you can apparently meet them at places like zoos….

Aside from those two, there was one thing that just came to mind.

"Maybe this is your talent. Speaking n-languages, I mean."

I can't understand whale speech and this whale seems unable to speak human language, so this little dog who can do both must be special.

But this guy looked quite puzzled.

"Is that what you think, Boss-nim?"

"Looking at the circumstances, doesn't it seem that way?"

Honestly, I'm puzzled too. This feels sort of like magic, but since I know jackshit about magic, there’s no way for me to tell.

Didn't seem like wracking my brain would lead to any conclusions, so I just said it straight.

“Dunno.”

"This humble dog is unsure as well. My apologies, Boss-nim."

―Vroooom.

This cry apparently meant, ‘Well, never mind then’. Been feeling this since earlier, but this whale seems really nonchalant compared to its size.

Even now, after a single cry, he hasn’t said anything further. Looks like instead of waiting for the whale to speak, I’ll have to start the conversation myself.

“Hey, Whale. You said you were working earlier.”

―Vrooom.

“Is that ‘work’ you mentioned something to do with the pollen disinfection?”

Given the current situation, there didn’t seem to be any reason to work on the streets unless it was this. When asked, the whale nodded its head shortly up and down instead of answering. Seems right, but...

"How?"

Looking at him, there didn’t seem to be any tank of disinfectant on him, nor was there anyone riding on his back to handle the job.

When asked, the whale looking at us slowly blinked once.

Then, out of nowhere it took a breath, creating such strong winds it felt like we would be sucked into its mouth. I quickly crouched down to hold my ground, but the doggy couldn't manage and fell over.

"Uwah!"

As he started rolling away, I quickly ran and grabbed his tail to stop him.

Still crouched down, I could see the pollen rising like lint and flowing in.

The whale stopped inhaling only after several seconds, and finally feeling safe, I raised my head. Glancing around the street, I saw that it looked noticeably cleaner.

―Vroooom.

"...The whale says after exhaling what it inhaled, pollen won't stick to the area anymore..."

“I see....”

“He says that in the past, he’s accidentally blown it the wrong way, and the complaints were endless, so he doesn’t do it here.”

Now it made sense why he couldn’t work with us here.

“And he said that, since he’s the only one working tonight, he’ll be at it all night long.”

"Guess the other whales are off duty?"

―Vrooom.

No, he said, it’s not that they’re off duty—he’s the only whale in the entire city hall. Even in this isekai, flying whales like this one don't seem common.

And apparently, the other city hall official has already gone home for the night, but as I was listening, two thoughts came to mind. One is what rank of civil servant this whale is.

The other was that it seemed quite stressed about its situation.

After his cry, he opened his mouth just a little, which looked exactly like he was letting out a big sigh to me.

Honestly, it’s the kind of situation that would make anyone annoyed. The street’s absurdly wide, and he’s the only officials working.

The more I thought about it, I felt really bad for holding onto a busy guy.

―Vroooom.

"Says since we've stopped anyway, it will take a short break."

"That's good then."

After that, there was a brief silence.

I still had a few things I wanted to ask, but I held back for now. The doggy looked like he had something to say.

“…That’s, Whale Elder. May I ask you a question?”

―Vroooom.

"My apologies. I simply cannot think of any other way to address you..."

―Vrooom.

"Thank you. That... how did you come to work at the city hall?"

This doggy had come to the convenience store once looking for a job to earn a living but hadn’t had any luck. On the other hand, he seemed quite envious seeing another mystical creature working at a proper job.

But the whale didn't answer this question right away. After hesitating a moment, it let out a lower-pitched cry.

―Vrooom.

"What do you mean, you had no choice..."

―Vrooom.

At this cry, the doggy swallowed nervously. This seems like something that needs translation.

"What did it say to make you react like that?"

The doggy whispered to me in a voice that was almost inaudible.

“That… He says he can’t swim. In the water.”




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