Mastore 129 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 129

Even Chihuahua can roll (1)

I woke up to the sound of my alarm set for 8 p.m. and my back was aching. I knew this would happen. This is always how I end up unless I sleep on floor bedding.

Maybe because I had kept the window shut, the room felt stuffy inside, so I stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. I stretched and took a quick look around the city.

It was dark. If I were to match this city to the world I lived in, it would be somewhere around Seoul. Half the buildings in Seoul would have their lights off by evening.

That’s exactly what this place looked like. At 8 p.m., the downtown area that should be brilliantly lit had about half of its building lights turned off, making it look like it was barely breathing.

The empty roads without cars showed their dotted lane markings clearly, and the sparsely lit streetlamps somehow seemed fragile. This wasn't the night view I had imagined from behind the counter...

"...Ah, forget it."

Time to head to work. I washed up, tidied the bedding, and left the moon bulb floating on the ceiling. How am I supposed to take down something I can't even reach?

I grabbed my key card and headed down to the lobby, where the fox kobold from this morning peeked out from behind the counter, looking my way. I approached and handed over the keycard, asking,

"If I give you the keycard now, will it count as checking out?"

“No, you can just show your ID when you come back. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

"Not really, oh—is there a taxi stand nearby?"

He told me it was right outside along the main road. I nodded, and the fox kobold returned the gesture, saying,

"Please come back again, sir."

After a moment of hesitation, I replied.

"Sure."

Afterward, I went outside, caught a taxi, and briefly watched the unicorn meter stamp its foot. This time, the taxi driver was a lizardman kobold, his large tail coiled under the seat.

Fearing I might step on it by mistake, I moved to the side, but the lizardman taxi driver spoke in a cheerful tone.

“Thanks, Customer. I already have to visit the hospital often because of this tail.”

"Uh... it's nothing."

"Would you like me to turn on the radio if you're bored on the way?"

It felt less like he was offering it for me and more like he wanted to listen to the news himself. When I told him to go ahead, he immediately turned on the radio and increased the volume.

The first news story that came on particularly caught my attention, so I kept listening to the news until we arrived at the convenience store.

[Today at 2 p.m., the Magic Bureau and the Hunters Association officially announced the possible emergence of a core gate within the city center.]

[The estimated timeframe for its appearance is around three days, and residents in the northern part of the city are advised to avoid outdoor activities during this period...]

* * *

The street in front of the convenience store came into view. I took out two ten-thousand won bills and prepared them in advance, and when the bus stopped in front of the stop, I held them out and received change.

“Thanks to you, I finally made my first sale of the day. Take care on your way tonight, Customer.”

“Yep.”

It seems I was his first customer today. The taxi fare was 13,600 won, and I wonder if that would even cover the cost of sugar cubes for the unicorn meter.

After confirming the taxi had left, I glanced around and entered the store. As usual, Manager stood behind the counter, greeting me with a wave as soon as our eyes met.

“Hey, Chan-ah, hi. How was sleeping outside?”

"Maybe because I slept in a bed after so long, my lower back feels a bit stiff. How was business today?"

“Yeah, we bombed today.”

I went straight to the counter and checked the POS machine. Today's sales hadn’t even reached 20,000 won.

"Cigarettes are untouched, and we didn't receive any cash either. Handover complete."

"How many customers did you have?"

"Just that one over there."

Manager pointed to the table by the window. I thought it might be someone who came in for a quick meal, but when I looked, my face instinctively creased into a frown.

"Manager-nim. Is that possibly..."

“Isn't that the person Chan mentioned? The Chihuahua customer.”

“Uh…”

At first I wasn't sure. This was my first time seeing that yangban in casual attire. Besides, he probably wasn't the only Chihuahua kobold in this world.

But Chihuahuas who can hammer away at a laptop keyboard and type 1,200 keystrokes per minute in the development field probably aren't common. Moments later, I heard familiar curses spoken in a familiar voice.

“Damn beagle bastard, this stupid dogshit…”

"That’s definitely that yangban. But when did he get here?"

"About an hour after Chan got off work."

I clocked out at 10 a.m., that means he arrived at 11. It’s almost 10 p.m. now. Has he been here for 11 hours?

"He said he wouldn't interfere with my work, so don't interfere with his."

"What did he call you, Manager-nim? I've been renamed to 'shithead'."

"He called me ‘Ground Dwarf’?"

Manager's height is just under 160 cm, I estimate. Considering the Chihuahua stood around 190 cm, the nickname 'Ground Dwarf ' made sense.

"And then he bought lots of milk for me. Said that drinking plenty of milk as a child helps you grow taller."

Manager discreetly gestured to the trash bin under the counter. It was filled with cartons of black soybean milk, banana milk, strawberry milk—basically every milk the store carried. Exactly the kind of idea you would expect from that Chihuahua.

"This is really something..."

"Thanks to that, I’m in a slightly better mood. I think that guy isn’t all bad."

Manager's cheerful tone probably isn’t due to the boost in sales but rather because she enjoyed being considered young enough to still grow from drinking milk....

"18 is definitely an age where you can still grow taller, right?"

"I didn't say anything. Anyway, you said your mood improved?"

We talked about mood-related things a few days ago. As soon as I brought it up, Manager’s cheerful expression instantly turned gloomy.

"Actually, I’ve been in a really bad mood since coming to work this morning..."

Manager had once told me whenever she was in a bad mood, something bad happened around her.

When I first heard about it, I didn't think much of it. But on the very evening Manager said she was in a bad mood, thor squirrel and steel turtle dove demolished my workplace, right?

It’s hard to believe that Manager’s mood and the store’s condition are directly proportional, but I thought it was worth addressing. I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Did the calculation formula writing go well?"

"It worked out fine. Chan’ll be able to leave work properly tomorrow, so don’t worry about it."

"I understand. If not that, could it be because of some other work you're doing?"

"Other work?"

"You mentioned it when we were talking about the formula. You said it’s usually a one-day job, but you set aside two days just in case."

Though I never found out what ‘just in case’ meant exactly. Manager shook her head.

“No, that’s not it. It’s just... I’m going to talk with someone briefly."

"Where and with whom?"

"An acquaintance at the Magic Bureau."

Manager's expression was very subtle, considering that she was just going to have a quick chat with an acquaintance. It looked somewhere between being forced into something unpleasant and reluctantly doing something she didn't want to.

Feeling that asking more would only worsen Manager's already gloomy mood, I changed the subject. If it's neither this nor that, there are only two things that come to mind.

“I heard the news on my way back, Manager-nim. They lifted the embargo on the core gate.”

“Yeah. I saw it too.”

"Do you think that has something to do with it?"

“.......”

"Or maybe it's because of that Chihuahua yangban? Even my mood turns terrible whenever he shows up."

I meant it as a joke, but Manager seemed to have a lot on her mind as she silently stared at the counter as if drilling holes into it. After a few seconds,

"That could definitely be possible."

“What?”

“Chan-ah. I'm sorry, but could you take over the shift right now?"

"That's fine with me, it's already 9:55. But do you have something urgent?"

Manager’s movements seemed unusually hurried as he packed up. She stuffed her wallet into her handbag, slung it over her shoulder, and answered.

"I think I need to see Yoonha for a bit.”

"You got in touch with Noona? Isn’t she super busy?"

“Not exactly. But she did tell me where she is.”

She said she sent a few texts while working on the formula, and only got one line in response. Yoonha Noona was happily rolling around in the academy district and couldn't respond.

"I’m going to go find her myself. Sorry."

"It's nothing. What’s five minutes early?"

I still had a few things to ask Manager, but it looked like I had to figure it out myself. I pulled Manager’s phone from under the counter and handed it to her.

"You almost left your phone behind."

"Ah."

“You take care of your business, Manager-nim. I'll handle my work too."

As soon as our eyes met, Manager seemed to realize I had a lot to say. Still, she didn't put her handbag back down.

"I’ll call you later, Chan."

With that, she waved goodbye and clocked out. Right after stepping out the front door, she immediately checked her phone, probably to catch a taxi. had checked the bus stop display board just before coming in, and buses weren't running at all. Anyway...

Now the shift change was done. No cigarettes or cash had changed hands, so there was no need to verify inventory. Cleaning didn’t seem urgent either, so what should I do?

“Hey, shithead!”

Found something to do. Approaching the Chihuahua with my hands in my uniform pockets, he twisted his body slightly in the chair and asked,

“How late do you guys stay open today, and why the fuck do you shithead have your hands in your pockets?”

"We’re open 24/7, 365 days a year. Try putting your hand in your pocket, Customer. It’s comfortable."

“What the fuck.”

“But why ask? Need to catch a bus?”

“You little shit, my house is just steps away. Why would I catch a bus?”

So this Chihuahua lived near the store. Useless knowledge acquired. The Chihuahua glanced at the laptop on the table and continued.

"I haven't finished my work, so I'm staying to complete it."

“No. Don't you have a home?"

“Didn’t I just tell you my house is right fucking nearby?”

"Then why are you working here?"

“That damned beagle bastard brought in a project from the Magic Bureau. I have to finish it, shithead. It's already shitty enough working at this hour, do you want to piss me off more?"

I didn't ask what kind of work you do, I asked why you're doing it here... No, wait.

"What’s this Magic Bureau work? Do they need coding or something?"

"What the fuck, you think those fucking idiots manage their databases with paper diaries or something?"

He went on in a voice full of anger, explaining that the Magic Bureau uses both magic and computing for dual-layer security.

The advantage, he continued, was that mages couldn't hack systems because they don’t know how, and hackers couldn't bypass magical protection because they can't use magic. I interrupted him mid-sentence.

“I heard Customer work in IT security. Does that have anything to do with hacking?”

Again, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to IT or coding, unable to output even a single line of code. What the hell is printf? Print the letter F? But why?

“.......”

The Chihuahua looked at me like, ‘Is this idiot for real?’ but since it was true, I didn’t argue. After a moment, he spoke through gritted teeth.

"I hack security systems directly."

"Why?"

"That's how you learn how systems get breached and how to prevent breaches, you convenience store punk. Are you deliberately refusing to use your brain?”





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