Mastore 112 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 112

Convenience store clerk hide his power (2)

This time, I asked.

“What emergency room, is this guy regretting something now?”

"Huh? Regret?"

“No, not that. I mean...”

I asked again. How could she tell the goblin was taken to the emergency room just from this one footage?

“To explain, I’ll need to go back a bit. Is that okay, Officer?”

“It’s fine.”

“Chan?”

No reason not to be. When I nodded, Manager rewound the footage and paused at one point. It was right after the goblin put down the trash bag, just before he released his hand.

"Here. Look closely at this goblin’s hand."

She presses play, but this time with adjusted speed. At 0.25x speed, the goblin’s hand movements became clearer, and I noticed something I hadn’t before.

The motion was unnatural. First, they clenched their hand into a fist and opened it once.

Then clenching all fingers except thumb three times, followed by two times with just the pinky remaining. Then, it pointed at the trash bag with only the index finger extended, and finally, it extended the pinky finger again once...?

"What's this guy doing? Is this casting magic?"

“No, if it were casting magic, the bag would’ve transformed into a money bag only after this movement, right?”

That's true. This one brought a garbage bag from the start. So this can't be casting a camouflage spell.

“Think of it as entering a password to take over an already active spell, um... you can think of it as entering a password, ‘From now on, I’ll be responsible for supplying the mana for this spell.’”

As I understood less and less, I just listened. There are two main elements a caster needs to use magic: calculation formula and mana.

However, there's a trick to use magic without one caster having both elements. Two casters can share the responsibility—one handles the formula, and the other supplies the mana.

While this might sound reasonable, Manager explained that this trick comes with a huge problem.

“Of course, for one-time spells, it’s not a big issue—”

“One-time spells?”

"Ah. Well, let's say Chan shoots one magic arrow. The arrow is fired, flies, hits the target, and then disappears, right?”

"Um... yes. It would."

“That’s a one-time spell. Now, imagine if Chan could remotely control that arrow to move around. Then you'd keep consuming mana to move it remotely, right?"

That’s called a sustained magic. Unlike one-time magic, sustained spells require a constant supply of mana to maintain their effect.

"That's the magic on that trash bag. Sustained camouflage magic. Someone else cast the magic, but the goblin was responsible for supplying the mana. What do you think?"

If you’re asking if I understand now, I do.

“So, it’s like handing over your lifeline to another non-human.”

“huh.”

It was said that all living things in this world possess mana.

The more mana is depleted, the weaker they become, and if it reaches zero... they die. I haven't heard it directly, but given the circumstances, that’s likely what happens.

But this goblin agreed to take over using their own mana for magic cast by another non-human. Simply put, they signed a guarantee note given by someone else.

“Anyway, that’s the situation. Now, let’s talk about how this camouflage magic works... You saw the third movement earlier, right? Pointing at the money bag under camouflage magic with the index finger."

“I remember. Yes.”

"He connected himself to the money bag with mana. The final pinky extension was a motion confirming the promise, like 'Are we really doing this?'"

Extending the pinky finger symbolized a promise. Looking at it that way, it does make sense...

“The caster intentionally included this connecting gesture to emphasize, ‘You’re responsible for this money bag until the end.’ It’s like saying, ‘If you lose this, you’re in big trouble.’”

"Ah..."

“But the goblin couldn’t fulfill its responsibility, right? Because Chan broke the spell.”

“…What?”

My mind went blank for a moment. So, this means.

A camouflage magic with an added condition: ‘If you lose this, you’re in big trouble.’ The goblin took over the magic and was diligently supplying mana from a distance.

But I broke it. What kind of big trouble happens in this case?

"Remember how the money bag amount was at least hundreds of millions?"

“Ugh.”

“The caster probably imposed a heavy responsibility proportional to that amount. ince the connection was forcibly severed, something even worse must have happened.”

If, just if. I imagined working for some organization and having police seize a money bag containing hundreds of millions. It definitely wouldn't end with just breaking an arm or leg.

“So that’s why he ended up in the emergency room…”

“It must have been seriously injured, so he went to a university hospital’s emergency room. The caster would’ve wanted to confirm the money bag was safely transported, so it happened nearby. And the backlash would’ve hit them immediately after Chan dispelled the magic, meaning it happened that very morning."

Find a goblin admitted to a well-equipped hospital with an emergency room near this store at dawn on the day the money bag was discovered. This was Manager's conclusion.

And now, I was feeling just a little down. I didn’t do it on purpose, and the goblin got what he deserved, but I’ve never sent someone to the emergency room before…

"That's it. Chan, don't just work all the time, read some magic books occasionally."

“Yes?”

“About one-time and sustained magic. Consider this a review.”

What review? I hadn't even studied this... no. These two types of magic are common knowledge that one should know in this world. Especially in front of others like now.

“…I don’t have any because I used them as pot stands. Can you lend me a few?”

I understood this as suggesting we establish the setting that 'I forgot what I learned before because I was only working—'. It would look suspicious if I showed I didn't know what I should know.

“Then when I lend them to you, I’ll give you some pot stands too.”

"Is that necessary?"

“Un. Of course. Officer, thank you for your hard work.”

As Manager spoke, the officer raised her head and slammed her notebook shut. I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye before it closed, and it was almost completely filled with conversation.

After putting the closed notebook into their front pocket, the officer gave a slight nod toward Manager

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll personally look into the matters you mentioned.”

"Personally? Without reporting to the station?"

“I can’t. Not yet.”

She gave a short answer but quickly elaborated. Even if we agreed to cooperate, it wasn’t something they could act on immediately.

They need to submit an official report to the station, and get consent from the Magic Bureau saying 'we'll conduct a joint investigation with those holding credentials issued by your department—'

"It'll take several days. But according to what you've told us, we need to quickly secure that goblin's safety too."

“You can take your time with that. That goblin will probably be hospitalized for about 10 weeks.”

"That's exactly why. Though it's not a pleasant assumption..."

She paused, touching her lips, then spoke in a flat tone.

"There are probably quite a few people looking for that goblin right now."

“Oh… I see.”

Manager seemed to understand immediately, while it took me two mental passes to grasp it. Imagine being someone expecting to receive that money bag, but no matter how long you wait, it never arrives.

Then they'll ask someone involved. Why isn't the money bag here? Someone would answer. The courier lost it while carrying it? What? Where's that bastard?

"So, I'll hurry. I'm thinking of handling Owner’s license verification at the station separately, would that be alright?"

“I’d appreciate it. I’ll just collapse into bed after my shift.”

“Then I’ll do that. Regarding compensation for your cooperation last time, Chan, and the advice you provided this time, Owner, it’ll be paid out later.”

Speaking this, the officer takes out a business card and places it on the counter. After confirming Manager had taken it, she put on her police cap and gave a final nod.

"I'll be going now. Thank you."

“Yep, good work.”

"Take care, Officer."

Thus the elf officer left and I was alone with Manager, but despite the time being well past 10, Manager showed no signs of moving. I decided to ask.

“Manager-nim, do you have another job besides running the convenience store?”

"Not now. It gets tiring having your hands in too many things."

“Then why are you doing this?”

"Well, because they fooling around in front of my convenience store!"

It was an answer befitting a former great mage and a store manager, it was a store manager-like answer. Says leaving a money bag in front of the convenience store is 'fooling around.'

“Still, I just wanted to see the faces of the people involved in this…”

“If it’s becoming too much of a burden, can’t you just back out? It's ambiguous for me, but they said it'll take time to verify your license, the officer did."

“No. How can I back out after saying I’d help? I have my great mage pride."

"Huh..."

"Besides, it's something I've done a few times before."

Manager’s expression was definitely unusual when watching the footage. If I had spoken to her then, she probably would’ve said something like, ‘Excuse me, but could you not disturb me?’

"I'm fine since I've done this before, but what about Chan?"

“What is it?”

“Well, this is probably Chan’s first time experiencing something like this.”

"About that... I feel like nothing I've experienced in this world isn't a first."

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

I know that's not what she means. Making friends with a child, peering into coffins, solving rubrik, making love potions together...

I’ve done all sorts of things, but this is on a completely different level.

This is cooperating in a criminal investigation. And not just any crime—a magic crime. As a model citizen who’s driven a company car for two years without a single speeding ticket, it’s definitely an uncomfortable situation. But still.

“If it was something I couldn’t handle, Manager-nim would’ve stopped me, right? Right?”

There are various ways to gain confidence. Listening to someone trustworthy, someone experienced, someone capable, and someone who tells you when something’s impossible.

Manager fulfills all these four. And I haven’t heard her tell me ‘you can’t do this’ yet. So, it must be something I can handle.

That's roughly my thinking. As I concluded, Manager shared her thought.

“Chan, I can still vividly remember how flustered Chan were on your first day…”

“No. That’s....”

"Now you seem completely like a person of this world."

"Ah, do as you please. Tease me or whatever."

“Oh. Can I?”

“Can you? Hurry up and clock out. The bus is waiting outside.”

The bus came at just the right time. I pointed outside, but she just glanced sideways with a grin, probably thinking I was trying to tease her back.

“No, I’m serious. It’s really here!”

Hearing that, she quickly turned around, saw the bus, and hurriedly grabbed her things.

“It really is here! I’m going!”

"Yes. See you tomorrow."

Manager immediately rushed out and got on the bus, which drove away. I watched the bus fade into the night before heading back to the counter and plopping down onto the chair.

It’s comfortable. As Manager said, I guess I’ve somewhat become a part of this world. They say humans are creatures of adaptation, and I guess that’s not wrong—

"Oh right."

I was about to call Yoonha Noona earlier but got distracted. I immediately picked up my smartphone to look at the screen, and there were exactly three KakaoTalk messages from Noona.

They just came in, but somehow the content feels ominous.

[Going tomorrow night]

[Let's do one job together]

[Going to work overtime]




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