Mastore 118 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 118

The Gate’s effect on convenience store clerk (6)

A few days ago, there was an incident at the store with twelve troublesome orcs. It all started over a parking issue with their van parked by the roadside, and the inherently aggressive orcs deliberately tried to pick a fight.

The elder took the provocation meant for me, and in a cost-effective method of ‘one punch, one dislocation’, he personally dislocated out eleven of the orcs' shoulders.

After that, the last I saw of him was when he hurriedly left saying he had received a call for a chauffeur. When I later told Manager about this elderly man, she speculated he might have been a former Knight Guard.

Standing side by side now, they look neither more nor less than a high school girl and an elderly gentleman. But from the conversation they were having earlier, it seemed like they got along really well.

"I've been well too. But since when have you two been talking?"

“Not long, Chan-ah. Maybe about ten minutes?”

About 10 minutes ago, the elder, who was a stranger at that point, came in to buy cigarettes, and when Manager bowed saying ‘Take care’, the elder returned the greeting.

When he took off his hat to greet her, she noticed the wolf ears and thought 'Oh, if he's a werewolf, could it be?' and mentioned the name she had heard from me.

The elder asked how he knew that, and Manager told him about me. From the moment she mentioned my name, the conversation flowed naturally.

“So we've been talking about Chan up until now.”

“I’m not interesting enough to be a conversation topic…”

"But you are? You're super interesting?”

She playfully nudged me in the waist, and Elder Wolf joined in.

"She briefly shared when you got your license, and I thought, ‘Boos is a quick-witted young man.’”

"Um... me?"

"Yes. It even made me reminisce about the old days. But Owner, what happened after that?"

He genuinely seemed curious. Seeing how the conversation was going, I figured they might keep talking for another hour at least.

Since it would be awkward to join their conversation, I should probably change into my uniform and stock some items...

"I'm sorry. I'm feeling a bit unwell right now, so I think I’ll head inside.”

"No, not at all. I should’ve noticed sooner…”

"I hid it well because I knew you'd act like this. Chan, shift handover.”

“Yes.”

Manager gestured, so I quickly went behind the counter. There wasn't anything unusual to report for the shift handover, but she did share a personal remark.

“It’s turned into a really bad night, Chan.”

"That, um... is that the bad thing you mentioned this morning?"

“Yes, that one.”

It seems her physical condition has worsened because of this bad feeling. Up close, her complexion was noticeably worse than usual.

"I wonder if there's going to be a magical fight somewhere nearby..."

Manager says this, but I can't respond with casual words like ‘Just in case, let's do something~’. Instead, I gave the most reasonable response I could think of.

“First, don’t worry and just go home, Manager-nim. It's not like a gate's gonna open or anything, right?”

"That would actually be better. Since you just need to stay away from it..."

“If something really happens, I'll hold onto something sturdy, so just go home and rest. You must be exhausted after a twelve-hour shift.”

“...Un. Be careful, Chani.”

"Yes. You be careful too, Manager-nim."

Manager slowly headed home. The elder, who had been silently watching this exchange, spoke up.

"You two seem to rely on each other a lot."

"I'm not sure about 'each other,' but I receive a lot of guidance from Manager-nim. I know almost nothing about this neighborhood."

"Hmm, that's the first I've heard of this."

“I guess I didn't have the chance to mention it? Perhaps. Anyway, Elder, I'll just go change into my uniform quickly."

"Yes."

I changed into my uniform and returned promptly, and the old man looked at his phone screen for a moment and put it away. He must have been checking for a chauffeur call.

The faint bitter smile on his face suggests it's not the situation he was hoping for. Instead of showing off my ignorance, I figured it'd be better to talk about this. So, stepping behind the counter, I asked.

"Elder, is your chauffeur work going well today?"

He gave another slight, bitter smile.

“Not well, I'm afraid. I've been out since about 8 p.m., but I haven't received any noteworthy calls yet."

“Oh....”

"Everyone must be anxious. I also told my partner not to go outside today."

"I see."

“Yes, so I've decided to consider today as an unintended day off.”

I tried to imagine the flow of events. First, companies near where the gate opened declared temporary closures, and office workers with free time took their families out for activities and then returned.

What might they be thinking now that it's evening? If any family member, whether a child or anyone else, said they wanted to go out, wouldn't they dissuade them saying, ‘It's still dangerous, so don't go out’?

Since gates could appear anywhere at any time, as I was told. Thinking about it this way, I understand why there are no other species on the street, but...

I'm not sure. I'm not a specialist in group psychology, nor have I observed or experienced gate-related incidents. By the way, partner?

"Elder. This is the first time I've heard you mention your wife."

“Oh? Have I never shown you her picture?”

“No. Last time you tried showing me your granddaughter's picture, but then the parking issue happened.”

“Ah, you're right. Would you mind waiting a moment?"

The elder very naturally takes out a photo from his wallet. Thinking that I'm finally relieving his long-held regret, I looked at the picture.

It was a family photo that seemed to have been taken in a photo studio.

There are exactly five person in the photo taken against the backdrop of a red curtain. The elder was in the center, and there was a girl sitting on the floor with her legs stretched out, smiling—oh my.

“Wow, is this your granddaughter?”

"What do you think? Doesn't she look like she wouldn't hurt even if you put her in your eye?"

This is a rhetorical question. If I answer this with, ‘That sounds like it might hurt a little’, wouldn't my shoulder end up like an octopus tentacle?

So I didn’t answer right away and just stared at the photo. Her silver-gray hair reached down to her waist, and atop her head stood wolf ears identical to Elder Wolf’s. Perhaps because she hasn't fully grown, they still look cute and small.

And then the fangs. The way they protrude slightly from her closed mouth gives a strangely mischievous impression. She seemed like the type who would play endless pranks on her parents, only to burst into tears the moment she got scolded.

After considering all this, I softened my thoughts before speaking them aloud.

“You should get her into child acting, Elder.”

“Right? But you know, I've mentioned it to my son, but he insists on making her an athlete..."

She definitely has an energetic look. While the elder proudly rambled on about his granddaughter, I continued looked through the photo.

Next to the seated elder is a werewolf with an impressive build. This must be the elder's son, and this son has his hand on the shoulder of a succubus. This must be the elder's daughter-in-law...

"Um, Elder."

“—So I told my son, when I raised you…”

“Elder?”

“…Oh, my apologies. Go ahead.”

He straightened his hat and answered in a voice suddenly devoid of humor. So he's the type whose personality changes when bragging about his granddaughter.

“It’s just, I was trying to find your wife in this picture, but I can't seem to find her."

I asked while pointing with my finger. I could guess who four of the people were, including the elder, but I had no idea about the one I was pointing to now.

From her appearance alone, she looked like a human woman in her early 20s. Her hair is light orange, with a single white flower of unknown species tucked into it. Her gentle smile carried a maturity beyond her apparent age.

At first I thought this might be the elder's daughter, but that would mean his wife isn't present. Given that he used the term ‘partner’ earlier, it didn’t seem like she had passed away.

Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding something. Just as I thought I might have made a verbal mistake, the elder kindly responded.

"That person is my partner."

"...Yes?"

"What do you think? Although well over 60 years have passed, she's still young, isn't she?"

"Um...."

I checked the photo again. No matter how I looked at it, she appeared to be a woman in her 20s. Then I looked back at Elder Wolf, clearly an elderly werewolf gentleman around 60s to 80s.

"...Um."

Isn’t this just straight-up robbery?

I barely swallowed back those words. There must be something within the common sense of this other world that applies here. Blinking, I looked closely at the photo and noticed something peculiar about the 20-something woman’s eyes.

It was as if stardust was sprinkled in her eyes. This partner of his probably just looks human but isn’t actually of the human race. But if I asked, ‘What race is she?’ I’d probably get asked why I’m even asking…

“…She looks incredibly youthful. Honestly, she seems even younger than me.”

“It's not quite like that. Although if I start talking about our ages, my partner gets upset and insists that I avoid mentioning anything that makes her sound old....”

It seems like it's the first time since coming to this world that I've heard an elderly person refer to his wife as a ‘partner’. The elder's expression seemed to soften again, so I took the opportunity to ask.

“By the way, how did you first meet your partner?”

I asked hoping to infer some details starting from where they met, but at this point, the elder's expression slightly stiffened.

After a moment, he answered in a quieter voice.

“…We met during my military service.”

Met during his time as a soldie. According to Manager, this elder is from the Knight Guard. If they met while he was serving in the Knight Guard, could this companion possibly be...

"I ask this just in case."

"Um... ah, yes."

“Do you have something specific in mind, Boss?”

While I was thinking, the elder spoke to me. His voice pierced into my ears.

I immediately met his gaze and swallowed hard. His eyes conveyed a determination that I must answer the question he just asked.

It seemed like I had touched on something I shouldn’t have. There was no particular intention behind it, but since making excuses would only worsen the situation, I spoke honestly.

"That person you met earlier. That’s, the Owner."

I told the elder what I knew about Manager, only the parts he needed to know. That he used to be a magician and has experience collaborating with soldiers from some unit.

The way that soldier dislocated shoulders was almost identical to the elder’s method, and Manager had speculated that the elder might have been part of a knight guard unit.

When I finished explaining, the elder’s eyes widened in rare surprise, and he looked out the front door.

“My goodness. That Owner with the student-like appearance..."

“I was curious about that too, so I asked her a few times, but she got upset and told me not to bring up anything that makes her seem older.”

“…This might be rude to ask, but do you perhaps know Manager’s race?”

“She’s human. Just like me.”

Asking about someone’s race must indeed be considered impolite in this world. Conversely, this issue is important enough to the elder that he would raise such an impolite question.

The elder, lost in thought, removed his hat and placed it on the table. He always does this when about to have a serious conversation.

"...Yes. As the Owner surmised, my former place of service was indeed a special Knight Guard unit. A secret unit belonging to the Third Corps."

I wasn't sure whether I should be hearing something like this, but since Elder Wolf was already speaking, I simply listened. The elder continued.






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