Mastore 91 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 91

Fast-track promotion, i'll give it a shot (2)

It took a while to understand, given how unexpected the answer was.

So, catching the illegal immigrants earned them recognition at the station, resulting in a promotion… and since great power comes with great responsibility, let’s pile some responsibilities onto the elf.

And this is the result? Putting desks in every police department there is? How does that make any sense?

I was so dumbfounded and incredulous that I frowned and just stared at the elf officer’s face. We made eye contact, and seeing my expression, she pulled out her baton again.

She tapped her head lightly with the tip of the baton, paused, then answered.

“I meant it as a joke, but I suppose you didn’t find it very funny.”

"Uh... you mean the part about increased workload was the joke?"

"That part is true. The promotion is true too. Just... when I told my fellow officers this news, they all laughed."

"They laughed?"

“So, I thought my promotion might make for a funny joke…”

It didn’t seem like the officers laughed because the joke was funny. They probably had the same incredulous reaction as me when they heard about this elf's new duties.

And when people run out of things to say, all they’re left with is awkward laughter. I suspect that's what happened here...

“To be honest, I’m not good at cracking jokes.”

"Ah, yes..."

"I apologize for bringing it up unnecessarily."

She lowered her eyes as if she had made a slip of the tongue.

I haven’t spoken with this elf officer many times, but I’m starting to get a sense of her personality. Somewhat inflexible, strait-laced, and someone who follows manuals to the letter when handling work.

Not that I'm criticizing. I like working by the manual too, and I'm not great at jokes either.

But seeing how apologetic she looked, I decided to offer some consolation and congratulations at the same time.

“I asked, so why are you apologizing? Anyway, congratulations on your promotion.”

“Thank you.”

The conversation ended there, and silence fell. This atmosphere is a bit...

I wanted to break the silence, but since I didn’t have much experience chatting with law enforcement, I wasn’t sure what to say. While I was searching for the right words, the elf officer murmured,

"...The road construction outside. The noise won't be too bad. I'll be controlling it."

"Ah, about that, when will it finish? When those folks came to buy cigarettes earlier, they said around 2 a.m.."

“It should be finished by then. If not, or if there’s an issue… come find me. I'll be up front."

I mean, would anyone really cause trouble with a police officer standing right there? But I ended up just nodding it. Her tone suggested 'Let's wrap this up and get back to our duties.'

“Yes.”

“Then... take care.”

With that, she gave me a small nod and headed back outside. Once outside, she pulled out that last cigarette from earlier, put it in her mouth, and flicked her lighter.

Then she glanced toward the construction site, shook her head, put the cigarette away, and walked off. Judging by her body language, it seemed like she didn’t even have time to enjoy a smoke….

Now I can’t think of anything else. Doesn’t it seem like that officer is treated way too poorly?

Manager did mention something. The elf species started a war in the past, so public perception of them isn't good. Because of this, they face subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination when applying for jobs in companies, civil service, and such.

My opinion on this? I can understand it logically. I can. But….

I don’t know. Even today, the structure of DNA in living organisms hasn’t been perfectly analyzed. Is there any evidence that just because the previous generation acted like fools, the next generation will do the same?

Of course, I’m not particularly fond of those pointy-eared customers myself. But that's because most of them have acted like jerks to me, not because I have some deep emotional understanding of world history on some emotional level.

If a good elf comes, I can like them too. And in the case of that elf officer, I actually rather like her.

She might be a little inflexible, but she’s not the type of person who would cause trouble. She’s also the first elf to ever apologize to me.

Even now, her being buried under a mountain of work doesn’t seem like a result of her being obnoxious at the station, but rather due to reasons beyond her control.

Thinking this far, I started to interpret the laughter her colleagues showed when they heard about her promotion differently.

It wasn’t awkward laughter. It felt more like… serves him right laughter.

"Boss, where's the bottled water?"

A customer interrupted my thoughts. A Salamander in a business suit, a decent-looking fellow.

Time to stop thinking and get back to work. I told him where the beverage display was, and he brought over a bottle of water. After I rang it up, he opened the plastic seal on the cap right there and started talking to me.

“It’s really hot today, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I guess it’s because June is almost here.”

Since he started the conversation, I responded. But instead of continuing, he just gulped down the water. When he was drinking about half, I figured he must have been pretty thirsty, but even after closing the cap, he didn't leave.

On top of that, he kept sneaking glances at me. When I made eye contact, he quickly looked away. What’s with this guy?

“Customer?”

"Um, Boss."

When I prompted him, the salamander finally spoke.

“I think I left something here.”

“Ah. If you mean lost items....”

Did Manager mention anything during the shift handover? No.

Of course, sometimes lost items aren't properly handed over in convenience stores. Like leaving a small umbrella under the table after eating ramen or dropping a transit card under the snack shelf.

These things are hard to find unless you're specifically looking for them. Figuring this might be such a case, I asked.

“What kind of lost item are you talking about?”

“That’s....”

He started dragging out his words again. Listen, man, whatever you lost, you need to tell me what it is before I can help you find it or not-

“It’s a bag of money.”

Hearing this, I had to ask again to make sure I heard right.

“A bag of money? You mean a bag that holds money?”

“Yes. So, is it here?”

Do we? No, rather, why did you lose your bag of money at the convenience store? Did you confuse us with the bank?

That thought crossed my mind, but after thinking it over, looking for a bag of money at a bank wouldn’t make much sense either. That would mean forgetting it right after withdrawal. Unless you're a goldfish...

I glanced at the salamander, half doubting him, but his expression was stiff as if he was completely serious. For now, I responded truthfully with the facts.

"No. No money bag has come into the convenience store."

“Really?”

"I'm sure. We haven't had any lost items at all-"

“I understand.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, his expression changed in an instant, and he walked out without looking back. Once I confirmed the salamander was gone, I immediately called Manager.

[Un, Chan-ah. Something wrong?]

“It’s not really a problem; there’s just something to clarify for the shift handover.”

[Heok. Did I really scan the barcode twice earlier?]

“No. The tense and inventory are correct. That’s not the reason. Has there been any lost item in the store?”

[No lost items. What did someone lose? A card? An umbrella?]

“A bag of money.”

I figured if a money bag had been found in the store, Manager would definitely know, but I asked just in case. And, of course, my ‘just in case’ turned out to be nothing.

[Money bag? Like, a bag for carrying money?]

"That kind of bag, yes. Probably."

[Oh... there wasn’t any. Not that I remember, anyway. More importantly, why are they looking for a money bag in my store? What did it look like?]

“That’s what I’m saying. What does a bag of money even look like?”

Talking to Manager made this whole situation start to feel suspicious. Normally when people look for lost items, shouldn't they start by describing what they look like?

And this is a money bag. In modern society, how often do people carry money in a bag? Even if it isn't common, it would probably contain a house deposit or something. Probably a significant amount too.

But to just walk away after hearing ‘we don’t have it’, without even trying to describe it? That’s even stranger. If it were me, I would be trying to describe what the money bag looked like, even if I had to use hand gestures.

"I couldn't ask about that so I don't know... Just a moment."

Mid-sentence, another customer came in. A harpy customer with heavy makeup and revealing clothes.

The parts where bare skin should’ve been exposed were instead covered with feathers, each one sleek and glossy. She must use some fancy shampoo.

“Boss, where’s the moisturizeeer?”

“Please check under the mirror over there.”

If you’re buying moisturizer, just buy it. What’s with the whining? While making an effort to maintain my expression, I pointed out where the moisturizer was, then rang it up. 8,600 won.

But after paying and taking the moisturizer, the harpy hesitated and glanced at me nervously as if reluctant to leave. Something about this feels oddly familiar….

"Customer, do you need a bag?"

"Nooo, that's not it. Umm, Booooss."

“Yes.”

"Maybe... do you have any lost items heeeere...?"

The déjà vu was followed by a creeping sense of unease, but I held it in and asked.

“What kind of lost item are you referring to?”

"Well, umm... it's a money bag..."

This is driving me crazy. What is this? What exactly is going on here?

A salamander in a suit, a harpy with gleaming feathers. Two species with nothing in common except for walking on two legs, both asking the same thing. Whether we have a money bag here.

Still, maybe because I had just heard the same question earlier, I felt a bit calmer this time. After a moment's thought, I decided to address Manager's earlier concern first.

"What does this money bag look like? The size, shape?"

The harpy's response to this question was again unexpected.

"Weeeell, I don't really knooow. I was asked to look for iiit. I think I'd know it if I saw iiit―"

Convenience store clerks don’t just hand over lost items to anyone. When returning umbrellas, we lead customers to describe what they look like, and for wallets, we check IDs.

That’s because there are people who deliberately try to take things that don’t belong to them. To take other people's umbrellas or wallets for themselves.

With wallets, most are black leather so saying ‘Black leather wallet’ works, and with umbrellas, they say ‘I just grabbed whatever from home so I don't remember well, could I look to check?’.

Most wallets are black leather, right? And that umbrella situation could definitely happen.

If a clerk gets fooled and thinks, ‘Oh, this must be the owner’, and hands over the item? They just walk off with it, clean and simple.

You might think, What if they get caught? But there’s little chance of that happening. Even if things don't go smoothly, they can just say ‘I must have confused the convenience store’ and leave. What can you do about an honest mistake?

This harpy’s approach feels exactly like that. If I show her a money bag, she’ll say, ‘Oh, yes! That’s it! That’s the money bag’, and just walk off with it. But you know what?

“We don’t have any lost items today.”

“No lost items…?”

“Yes.”

"...What. After making it sound like you did."

At hearing ‘no’, her expression completely changed, even dropping that whiny voice to a low tone before leaving. After confirming she was gone, I picked up my phone again.

“Manager. Did you hear that?”

[It was a bit distant but I heard well. That person was also looking for a money bag?]

“Yes. I really have no idea what’s going on here.”

[Me neither....]

At this point, it was clear this wasn’t just a simple case of a missing bag of money. Manager and I agreed on that much and came to the same conclusion.

(D: If Chan had a nickel for every time someone asked for a money bag, he would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.)

[This seems like something to report to the police, Chan-ah.]

“I think so too. But… I also feel like it’s a bit ambiguous.”

[Ambiguous?]

Here's what I mean. Sure, those two came and went, but what if that’s the end of it?

What am I supposed to tell the police? ‘Two strange customers came in earlier asking about a money bag’. That’s it, isn’t it?

While it's beyond what a convenience store clerk and manager can handle, isn’t it too vague for the police to intervene? In the extreme case, those two might just be fresh escapees from a mental ward....

[Wouldn’t that still be something worth reporting?]

"You're right. Even though the situation is weird, nothing major has happened, so maybe we should watch a bit longer― just a moment."

I cut off mid-sentence. A customer had come in. An elderly person carrying a bundle, looks quite in age.

He was some kind of amphibian species, though I couldn’t tell exactly what. It’s been ages since I last saw a frog, so I wasn’t sure. They came in through the front door, set down their bundle, and patted their back.

“Oof, my poor back…”

His voice carried gentle warmth, which somehow made me feel relieved. If he was here, it’d probably be to buy a back patch or something, not to ask some absurd question about a money bag

Straightening their hunched backs with a groan, they asked me slowly:

"Say, young man. I'm looking for something..."

“Yes, Customer. What are you looking for?”

“Well… a bag of money. A lost item—”

“We don’t have one.”

At least the previous two showed the decency to buy something first. What’s with this old hag?

After my response, she grumbled about young people being so curt these days, then suddenly straightened her back and left. After watching her disappear past the right side of the storefront window, I told Manager:

"I'm just going to call the police."

[Sure. Should I make the call?]

“No, I don’t think we need to....”

As it happens, there's a police officer I know outside. The response will be quick, so that's convenient.



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