Mastore 88 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 88

It's okay to be friends with a 5 year age gap (3)

When I was young, I worked as a dog walker for about 3 months and realized one thing: there isn't a single kid on Earth who dislikes Pomeranians.

I really felt this whenever I walked near the playground at an apartment complex. The kids playing on the slides would spot the Pomeranian, and the moment their eyes met, they would start inching closer.

Since the dog owner warned me saying ‘Please don't let my dog be handled by strangers’, I ran away from there, but these kids, without getting tired, chased us around the entire apartment complex.

I lasted three months and eventually quit because it was too much. Anyway, the point is.

“Hey, Doggy. Let's do a job together."

"A job? Me, doing a job?"

“I said job, but it wasn’t anything grand.”

There wasn't much to prepare. Just hand Doggy to the little girl. That's it.

“Huh?”

"Hana. If anyone asks whose dog this is, tell them it's yours."

The little girl looked down at Doggy in confusion, and Doggy looked up at the little girl in return. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he shouted.

“Aha. This Doggy shall be a bridge of love!"

"I'm not asking for that much, just give your paw when the kid wants to shake hands, and if their reaction seems lukewarm, maybe lick their hand a bit."

“But this Doggy hasn’t brushed his teeth today.”

"The kid won't care about that stuff so you shouldn’t either, this guy. Still, um..."

Unforeseen situations might pop up. I thought through as many potential problems as I could and drilled the instructions into Doggy.

“…Just stick to that. Any questions?”

“Hmm....”

“If not, moving on. Hana, go sit over there, hug Doggy, and wait to talk to them.”

The little girl still looked like she didn't understand what I was trying to do, but after a moment, she nodded cheerfully. Seems like she's thinking, 'Well, if Mister says so, I'll listen.'

"Mister. I'll talk well and come back."

“Okay. Do your best.”

“Un.”

With that, she climbed into a chair with some effort, hugging Doggy tightly. I've done everything I could for now, so I just need to watch.

Not long after, the front door opened. Two red fox kobolds entered the store. They appeared to be father and son, and the younger fox kobold quickly looked around the store before letting out a roar.

"Wow! There're so many snacks!"

“Son, I’m going to step outside to grab some money. Stay here, okay?”

“Dad! Dad! Can I eat snacks?”

"If you wait here, I'll buy you snacks too."

“Okay―!”

With that, the father came straight to the counter, leaned in, and lowered his voice to ask me.

"Boss, is there anywhere nearby where I could smoke?"

Anywhere along the roadside outside would be fine, as long as he wasn’t too close to the entrance. I was about to say so, but then I realized the real intention behind his question and changed my answer.

"If you go a bit to the right, there's a narrow alley."

"Thank you. And um, is there also a bathroom...?"

“If you go around to the back of the building, it’s open.”

He doesn't want his kid to see him smoking, so he's going far away to smoke. The bathroom is probably to wash his hands after smoking.

The fox kobold seemed to realize his intentions had been seen through and gave me a sheepish nod before quietly heading out. It'll take about 5 minutes to smoke a cigarette...

The kid and the little girl can talk for quite a while. This setup’s going well. Once the front door shut, I shifted my focus to the young fox kobold.

“Wow, this convenience store is huge....”

This store is about as big as four neighborhood convenience stores combined. That means there's that much more display space and lots of toys and food items that aren't usually sold in other convenience stores.

The little fox kid, clearly not used to such a big store, wandered around in awe, marveling at the dairy aisle and the toy displays.

Meaning he had no chance to notice the little girl. However, it is within the expected range. 'They might not even know you guys are here.'

I had already told the mutt to draw attention if that happened.

“Woof!”

The fox child was startled by the sudden bark. Looking around, his gaze stopped on Hana and Doggy storefront window.

“Oh?! Doggy―”

He started to exclaim but froze mid-sentence. The moment he realized the dog was sitting in the lap of a dragon, he swallowed his words. His face was so tense you could see him swallowing his breath. This too was expected, but...

Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn't understand. Aside from species, where exactly in her appearance was there anything scary enough to cause that reaction? Is there something ingrained in their instincts?

"Uh..."

While the standoff continued, Doggy jumped out of Hana’s arms. He landed with a soft thud, shook his fur, and plopped himself down right in front of the fox kid.

Then, he stuck his tongue out and started panting.

"Ah, Doggy. You shouldn't go."

I had only told the little girl to keep hugging Doggy. On purpose.

Perhaps confused by this, she got up from her chair and ran to Doggy. She crouched down, trying to hug him, but Doggy easily twisted his body away and continued to rub his fur against the little fox's leg.

He was doing exactly as I told him. ‘If the kid’s too scared of her, make them like you so much they can’t help but pet you’.

Setting up the situation this way, I figured he would have to speak to the dog's owner just to ask permission. Fortunately, it worked out as I thought.

“...That, uh...”

"Huh?"

"Dragon friend. Is this Doggy from your house?"

The fox kid asked the little girl in a trembling voice. After thinking for a moment, she nodded.

“Un.”

“Uh, so, um… is it okay if I pet him? It’s fine if you don’t want me to….”

“No, it’s okay.”

Things seem to be going well. At Hana’s approval, the fox kid awkwardly nodded and bent down to pet Doggy’s head.

Then he froze. It was clear why.

"Um... it won't bite, right?"

This is the most crucial timing. Whether he might bite or not.

It’s a thought you can’t help but have, no matter how much you hate it. A dog's teeth are weapons, and all dogs live with their mouths empty, ready to bite someone else at any time.

There's a simple solution for this, which I mentioned beforehand. At the fox kid’s question, Doggy perked up his ears and dashed straight to the snack display.

He came back in an instant and looked up at the fox kid again. He was holding a bag of chips in his mouth. Can't bite hands while holding a snack bag.

“Huh? Snacks? For me?”

Doggy nodded to the fox kid's question. Hey, isn't that a bit too obvious?

"Wow. Friend, it's giving me snacks! Snacks!"

“Uh. But, I don’t have any money....”

“Me too....”

Hana and the fox kid both turn sullen and started staring at the snacks. This was unexpected, but...

“I’ll just give it to you as a service. You two can eat it.”

I allowed it. If a single snack could resolve this, that's cheap.

"Really, Mister?!"

"Yeah. It's really okay, so eat."

“Wow! I’m gonna eat snacks! Snacks!”

"Um, hey... friend."

“Huh? Why?”

“My mommy says, if an adult gives you something yummy, you have to say thank you.”

I didn't expect Hana to say something like that, but it feels right. Natural, even. The fox kid seemed to realize this too and nodded enthusiastically.

"Right! My daddy says that too. Thank you, Mister!"

“Thank you, Mister.”

"Yeah..."

From then on, things went well. The two struggled to open the snack bag, so I tore it open and handed it to them. They sat side by side at the table, Doggy placed between them with some effort, and they all began munching on snacks.

Listening to them chat while munching on snacks, it seemed ordinary.

“Hey, friend. How old are you?”

“I am seven.”

“Just like me! I'm seven too. Wow, this snack’s yummy.”

“Yeah. It’s yummy.”

"Hey, what's this dog's name?"

“Doggy.” (Read as Mungmung)

"Huh? Doggy's name is Doggy? Really? Puhahaha!"

The fox kid's reaction made Doggy's face look slightly gloomy, but fortunately, he did not open his mouth.

Anyway, this was the dynamic. The fox kid led the conversation, and Hana just responded.

“That’s so funny! Doggy's name is Doggy!”

"Yeaah..."

Even her answers seemed cautious, but that couldn't be helped. This was probably one of the first normal conversations she had ever had.

Of course, the fox kid wasn’t completely carefree either.

“...But, friend.”

“Hm?”

"You're a dragon, right?"

"Yeah. Pure-blood dragon. That's what mommy says."

“This is my first time talking to a dragon friend.”

“Really?”

“My mommy said that if I did something bad, a dragon would come and take me away—like, every single day! So I thought you would take me away, too.”

So that’s it, huh? These kids are basically getting fantasy-based parenting....

“Me...?”

“Yeah! So, at first, I was scared! But I don’t think you’ll take me away.”

“Why?”

"Because we're sharing snacks!"

Sheesh, was this something that could be solved with just one bag of snacks?

At first, I thought it was ridiculous, but on second thought, I realized it probably wasn’t that simple. The fox kid’s outgoing personality probably had a lot to do with it.

Luckily, Hana’s first conversational partner turned out to be a friendly kid. In other words, a tutorial fairy showed up.

“So, uh―”

At that moment, exactly five minutes had passed, and the doorbell rang.

The fox dad had finished his cigarette and come back. He came in, looked around, and then his gaze landed on the kids and Doggy.

“Son, what were you doing?”

“I was playing with them! I ate snacks and petted Doggy!”

"Son, didn't Dad tell you not to pet dogs carelessly?"

“Why, Doggy doesn’t bite! It’s super well-behaved!”

"You'll have to wash your hands later. You hate washing your hands."

Doggy’s expression grew a bit gloomier at that remark, but, fortunately, he didn’t say anything this time either. I’m sorry, man...

The fox dad let out a small sigh and asked Hana.

“Hey, sweetie. Were you playing with my son?”

"Ah... yees."

"Thank you. But my son has to go now. We're supposed to go to the amusement park."

“Amushement… park?”

"Yeah. So let's meet again later. Son, what cola do you want?"

“Zero Cola!”

“Alright, let’s get that.”

This fox dad seemed experienced with kids. He wrapped things up so quickly.

He took his son to the beverage display, and within a minute, he was back, holding drinks and a few snack bags.

“Could you throw in a bag too?”

“Yes.”

After I rang him up and handed him the items, he nodded once to me and held his son's hand. Before leaving, the fox kid turned around and said goodbye to Hana.

"Bye-bye, friend!”

And then they left, leaving the store quiet. After a brief silence, Doggy gave himself a vigorous shake and shouted,

"What's wrong with my name! And what's wrong with my fur!!"

"Your name is objectively funny though."

“Boss?”

“Hey. If my name were Mr. ThisHuman or Mr. ThatPerson, you would think it was funny too, wouldn’t you?”

Plus, while there's no dust on your fur right now, you're the one who spent an hour and a half rolling around under the park vending machine. His fur was probably still full of fine dust. Anyone might find that dirty.

"But I like my name Doggy."

“I’m not saying it’s a bad name. It’s just unusual. So chill out, man.”

After saying that, I grabbed Doggy and gave him a big, exaggerated hug, ruffling his fur on purpose. Seeing its expression while ruffling, he seemed to have cheered up a bit, so I put him down and spoke to the little girl.

“Hana. How was it? He called you friend."

“...Mister.”

“Yeah.”

“I, had so much I wanted to say, but….”

A dejected tone full of regret. I waited for her to continue.

"I'm not gonna take you away. I wanted to tell him that..."

"You wanted to tell him?"

"But words wouldn't come out... I couldn't say it. I'm sowwy."

Reinterpreting this "sowwy," I think it means something like: 'I was too nervous to speak well, even though made the chance for me. I'm sorry.'

Honestly. I think she did great?

This must have been her first positive conversation in life. And she's even carrying the penalty of being a pure-blood dragon.

“Hmm....”

I really wanted to say, ‘There’s nothing to apologize for; you did well’, but….

But that probably isn't the right answer. The little girl seems to recognize her own shortcomings and understand what the problem is. That's how it looked to me.

In a situation like this, telling her she did well might sound more like comfort than genuine praise. She might not even take it to heart. After some thought, I decided to be honest.

"Hana, you did speak a bit timidly."

“Tiwmitly...?”

"It means you lacked confidence. Confidence means, um..."

“I know what confidence means. Mommy always tells me to have it."

“Does she now. Well, anyway, you are good.”

“...Really?”

"That fox kid said 'bye-bye' when he left, right? He said it because he wants to see you doing well.”

"Uh..."

“If playing with you wasn’t fun, he wouldn’t have said anything at all.”

You could argue that it was just good manners, something his dad taught him to say and I would have nothing to say. But if you focus on what actually happened, I’m not wrong. The kid did say bye-bye.

“So, what I’m saying is, try to do well, like the kid."

"...To be well, what should I do?"

"Just be better next time we meet. A little more confident than today."

I tried to use words the little one could understand, but it still seemed a bit difficult.

After somehow finishing it, I looked at the little girl, and she seemed to understand to some extent. I thought it would be a success if she understood even half of it.

A moment later, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and said softly,

"...Next time. I wanna buy the snacks.”

“Sure. Let’s do that.”




|Note

I considered using Mongmong instead of Doggy. What do you guys think?

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