Mastore 76 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 76

Convenience Store Clerk and Mystical Counseling (5)

7 a.m. The whale came back. As soon as he arrived, he let out a loud cry.

―Vrooom.

“That’s, sorry... What're you saying?"

The doggy fell asleep around 2 a.m. and is still sound asleep.

I could have woken him up, but after days of rough naps on the street, it felt wrong to disturb him. Which means there’s no interpreter and no way to talk.

When I explained, the guy nodded up and down. Taking that as understanding, I continued:

"Probably won’t be able to talk for long anyway."

Said while looking around. After sunrise, a few beings had started showing up one by one, each of them stopping in their tracks at the convenience store.

Problem is, these yangban aren't stopping because of the whale, but because of me.

I get why. In this world, having a massive whale doing street cleaning isn’t unusual, but chatting it up with said whale? That’s not something you see every day. World's gone crazy, seriously.

It’s something they could chalk up to curiosity for now, but if this kept up, I would definitely be drawing suspicion.

"So let me see your back. Quick."

A promise is a promise.

The whale seemed to understand and immediately presented his back. I put my hand on it, and just like last night, pollen poured off in a cloud, even heavier this time.

He immediately took a deep breath to suck in the pollen, but a goblin walking on the opposite sidewalk lost his balance and rolled over from the gust.

"What the heck!"

The shout reaches all the way here. I quickly told the whale:

"Better split up before things get ugly. If anyone asks who did it, don't mention me..."

―Vrooom.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

The whale turned to leave, but midway through, he looked back and let out one final cry.

―Vrooom.

Wonder what that meant.

After the whale drifted off, I dusted myself off and went back to the counte.

When I got back, I thought about excuses to make, figuring at least one customer would ask what I was doing with the whale.

Fortunately, no one asked that, but they asked something else instead:

“Why is there a dog sleeping on the counter?”

What, I’m supposed to let him sleep on a cold floor? He could catch a cold….

Would they let it slide if I joked about it like that, or would they file a complaint? Checking the customer's expression, they didn't seem particularly disgusted or uncomfortable.

This customer was a border collie kobold, their ears constantly twitching while looking at the doggy. Clearly, he wasn’t trying to make trouble.

“Are you taking care of him, Boss?”

"Nah. He’s a stray, I just give him a little something when he comes around. He’s well-behaved and listens well."

"Oh my. Boss’s so kind... Ah, did I give you my card?"

"Not yet."

Most reactions were like this, or people just minded their own business without noticing anything, so there weren't any particular issues until just after 9 a.m..

Right after 9, as usual, I emptied the trash bins, inspected the cigarettes, and then…

“Chan, I’m here!”

Ten minutes before the shift change, Manager arrived. She seemed to be in an especially good mood today, her face much more smiley than usual. I greeted her and asked,

"Looks like something good happened, Manager-nim."

"It's happening right now. Did Chan see the morning news?"

“Nope, I’m on shift.”

"Then I'll show you the replay, take a look. You can check the cigarettes later.”

Telling me to slack off in plain sight while on the clock—Is this really okay?

But hey, if the boss says to watch, I guess I better watch. Looking at the tablet screen she held out, there was a headline that read something like this: Early End of Disinfection.

The news reported that the disinfection effort had finished way ahead of schedule and that there was no longer any issue with outdoor activities.

In other words, this means our business slump ends today.

"Now I won't have to cry while looking at the sales receipts."

“That’s a relief....”

Manager was still all smiles, but I couldn’t quite relax. There was something at the end of the news clip that caught my attention.

[This normalization has been announced at an unexpectedly early point compared to initial estimates. Specifically, what's the reason for this early termination of disinfection? Has a different type of control plan been introduced?]

[That's not the case, but the existing method more efficiently—]

[In what way is it more efficient?]

[That's... uh...]

[Is there clear evidence that the disinfection has 'ended'?]

The reporters were being remarkably blunt, and I got why. They probably wondered why the disinfection had wrapped up so soon. They had inhaled plenty of pollen themselves.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson had eyes full of anxiety, giving the impression of holding back from saying 'we don't really know either.' Knowing the situation, I could totally read that.

And as I watched, honestly… I was getting a little nervous.

“Chan, your complexion doesn’t look very good. Is something worrying you?"

"Do I look that way?"

“Un.”

I looked in the mirror to see if it really looked that way. But apart from my usual subpar face, I didn’t notice anything.

I guess Manager sees this differently. Not confident I could hide it anymore, I just confessed. There was a brief incident last night, and this news seems to be the result of that.

After hearing everything, Manager asked in return.

“What are you worried about?”

“Getting in trouble for slacking off on the night shift, for one.”

"Well, that... Chan had Chan’s own reasons."

I'm relieved it seems the negligence of duty won't be brought up. I continued asking.

“Beyond that… I’m worried someone might find out I helped.”

Hearing this, Manager made a puzzled expression.

"They probably won't know? When someone use anti-magic, it’s common for there to be traces of it being used... but Chan didn’t leave anything like that.”

"That's the first I'm hearing of this."

“On the flip side, a lack of traces can also be a kind of trace, but that’s another issue.”

There aren't many people who could handle things as cleanly as I did, so it could be a giveaway. Hard to believe, but this seems like something I should memorize entirely.

“It might be on CCTV, but that’s just for security purposes... Chan didn’t commit a crime. If anything, Chan might get praised."

"I don't think anything good would come from them finding out."

Everyone, both the customers from the morning and passersby outside, were barely wearing masks. I could tell that they were feeling a sense of liberation, even if not happy.

But imagine if they found out that this sense of liberation wasn’t because the city hall did a great job, but rather the result of a lowly convenience store clerk and a stray dog fooling around out of curiosity?

“I just feel like trust would hit rock bottom. It's better not to say anything at all."

"So ignorance is bliss, huh?"

"Something like that."

“...I understand, but....”

Manager added one more thing with a face that showed she wasn't fully convinced.

“Still, I think it would be better to let the city hall officials know.”

"Why bother? They're already struggling to make excuses, and if those yangbans had used their budget properly in the first place, none of this would have—"

"Not that. If I were a city hall official, I would at least give Chan a plaque of appreciation out of gratitude?"

What would I even do with a plaque of appreciation? If they gave me a pot holder instead, I might actually use it.

When I turned down the idea, Manager tilted her head and said:

“Somehow... I think I’m starting to get a sense of Chan’s personality.”

“What is it like?”

"At the very least, I can tell Chan’s quite thoughtful."

“I just don’t like being told I’m getting carried away.”

"And I can tell Chan’s very shy too."

“Yeah....”

I didn't bother to argue. It was almost 10 a.m. while we were talking. The handover shift was over quickly, and there was just one thing left.

Pointing at Doggy, I asked:

“Should I wake him up?”

"I think it's better to let him sleep. He must be very tired."

On average, dogs sleep about 13 hours a day. He’s only halfway there, so yeah, he must be tired.

That’s what I thought, but Manager said there was another reason.

“You said this little dog translated for that whale yesterday, right? And did it really well, too.”

“Yes.”

"Well, translation magic is extremely difficult to perform well."

She says there are many variables like native words, speech patterns, dialects, nuances, and if you cast it without understanding these, the results are worse than using a bad translation machine.

And this little dog saw the whale for the first time yesterday since he was born. He didn’t have any time to assess or figure anything out, yet he still pulled it off.

“He’s probably worn out. If an average magician tried to perform at the same level... they would be out of commission for days. The brain overload would knock them flat.”

“I don’t think he was using any magic.”

"That may be true, but the way this little dog is sleeping right now looks exactly like magicians who've used translation magic."

Though the principle and process might be different, the fatigue looks just the same. And, as if he heard us talking about him, the little dog let out a perfect sleep-talking line right on cue.

"Boss-nim... I can't eat anymore...."

“Hoo....”

After hearing Manager's explanation, I couldn’t help but think he was born under some strange fate. If he hadn't been born a Pomeranian, he would probably have had a shot for an embassy position….

"Manager-nim, when he wakes up, could you feed him a hamburger or two before letting him go? I’ll cover it.”

"I'll buy them. He worked hard too, and I want to show my appreciation somehow..."

“And?”

“I think that would make it a little easier to talk to this little dog.”

Sounds like she’s saying it would be feel awkward just chatting, so a meal might help break the ice. As she spoke, Manager pulled out my wallet and smartphone from under the counter and handed them to me.

"Chan have worked hard too. So, is there anything Chan need?"

"To clock out."

“Oh, really....”

“Relly, nothing more than that.”

"Nothing else?"

“Nope.”

Now that the disinfection is over, I won't be seeing Manager's gloomy expression for a while. That's enough for me.

* * *

I woke up at 9:30 and went straight to work. Work-life balance? What's that?

When I get to the store, Manager handed me my jacket. I took it and flipped it over. It was spotlessly clean without a single dog hair it. There was even a subtle scent of fabric softener.

Just to be sure, I asked.

“Did Manager-nim wash this?”

"Un. Just a bit of magic."

I'm experiencing all sorts of things in life. An employer even washing their employee's clothes.

“Thank you, Manager-nim.”

“What’s there to thank for? We had a ton of customers today.”

Thanks to the end of disinfection, other species started coming back to the streets, which apparently had a very positive impact on the convenience store's sales.

"I'd like to give you a bonus if I could... would you take it?"

“No.”

“That’s what I thought, so I just cleaned the jacket.”

Even this is burdensome in its own way, but...

But I know by now that Manager wouldn’t feel right until she did something like this. So I didn't say anything else, and instead looked at the counter where the Doggy was lying and asked.

"Did Manager-nim have a good talk with him?"

"We talked about this and that. About Chan too, a bit."

Why did they talk about me?

Apparently, the only thing the two of them had in common was knowing me. She brought it up to ease the awkwardness during the first meeting, but ended up talking about me for over 30 minutes.

“That little dog, he thought a lot about Chan. Said he wants to repay Chan’s kindness."

Makes sense. I was probably the first he could actually talk to, and I’m probably the only one he really knows.

“But he wasn’t sure how... So I told him that just staying healthy would be enough.”

"What did he say to that?"

“He asked if that would really be enough, so I told him that's the top priority for now."

Couldn’t agree more. If he comes back another time with more bite wounds, I think might actually file a complaint with the city. ‘No, excuse me, the strays in the park keep picking on our dog…’

"After that, he said he would try his best and left."

“I hope his effort goes well.”

"Me too."

He only thinks about me because I'm the only one he knows, but then again, I don't know many faces in this world either. Hoping he’ll do well isn’t asking too much, is it?

Even while we were talking, customers kept coming in steadily. There were about 10 minutes left until the shift change, and I helped Manager while receiving the handover shift information.

“Nothing special, except… there’s a customer who’s supposed to stop by, and they said you might want to brace yourself?”

“Brace myself? Who said that?”

"Yoonha said so. In a really urgent voice."

What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of trouble have I managed to get myself into today?

And if a customer comes, they come, why do I need to be mentally prepared? As I thought about it, I caught a glimpse of a huge, dark shape passing by the shop window.

At first, I thought I was seeing things, but then it stopped right in front of the store front door.

The figure looked up briefly before stepping inside, and as soon as I confirmed the identity, I felt my heart pounding.

There were two reasons. One was that this customer was, well... a brown bear...

“Are you Lee Chan?”

"...Pardon?"

"I asked if you're Lee Chan."

The other reason was that my name just came out of this bear's mouth.



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