Mastore 134 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 134

Our store is open for business as usual (1)

[I'm using magic right now with permission. To be honest, we're not even on the phone, I'm just sending something like telepathy to Chan's phone—]

As I walked back to the store, Manager explained the magic she was using.

Since she knew my phone number, its model, and even what type of mana stone was inside, she could use this particular magic, or because of my constitution, she couldn’t telepath directly to my mind, so he used the phone as a medium.

[This magic isn't one that uses a lot of magical energy even though it's complex. So, my unique magical energy...]

Manager, who had been talking up to that point, abruptly changing the subject entirely.

[I met Yoonha last night and talked to her, and right now I’m at the Magic Bureau. It’ll take two or three more hours. There’s still paperwork to finish."]

“....”

[If you need me to switch shifts quickly, just make any sound. I can come back right away.]

I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like I urgently needed to get off work, and I was certain Manager wouldn’t go this far unless the situation was truly serious.

This had to be something important enough for her to prioritize it, even if it delayed sending me home. 'll count this as getting a free pass when I'm two hours late someday.

Still, it's frustrating. Apart from not being able to say what I want because it's a one-way call, there's something I became curious about after hearing what she just said.

But there was no way I could ask her, because my voice would probably just come through as static. As I quietly crossed the pedestrian walkway, Manager spoke again.

[Chan’s probably thinking this right now: Chan have seen me use magic a few times before, so why am I bothering to get permission this time?]

Manager has really good intuition in these matters. It's like they're reading my mind.

[Retired mages are heavily restricted in what magic they can use. It's classified into a 9-tier system according to power and purpose, and of those, only Tier 1, and even just a small portion of that. Even just for this much, I have to fill out tons of paperwork.]

The magic she used to clean the store, the spell to move the store itself, and even the one she used to keep Hana from yeeted into the ceiling after messing with the Great Mage set.

All of these were just a small portion of Tier 1 magic that she had managed to get permission for after filling out mountains of paperwork. In the middle of speaking, as if suddenly remembering something, the manager swallowed once and hastily added.

[I’m not saying I only know the lowest-level magic, Chan! It’s just that I can’t use the higher-level ones because I can’t get permission!]

I have no intention of disparaging Manager by calling her a novice. But with communication not possible, some misunderstandings were inevitable. After explaining all this, Manager fell silent for a moment.

[…It’s raining heavily there, right, Chan? Just say anything if it is.]

"Yes. It's raining a lot."

[Same here. I think it's because of the gate. Does Chan agree?]

“Yes.”

[I had the same thought after talking to Yoonha yesterday. That’s why I’m trying to get approval for magic. I need to protect my store.]

I thought it would be for these reasons. Sending me home was one thing, but Manager had to protect her livelihood as well. She lived in this world too, after all.

[So, three hours.]

“.....”

[I'll come as soon as I finish, Chan. If anything happens, just hang in there a little.]

Manager was basically setting up a death flag. She obviously believed something was seriously going to happen at the store, beyond just heavy rainfall.

She wouldn’t hear me, but I answered anyway, dragging out my words.

“Take your time, Manager-nim. I'll also protect my workplace.”

After a brief pause, Manager replied.

[Un.]

I wonder if she actually understood what I said?

After hanging up, I walked another minute and reached the store. First, I put my umbrella into the holder, then took off my shoes and let out the water inside them.

Now in soaked socks, I checked the time. Exactly 10 a.m..

Originally, I was planning to say everything to Manager who would have arrived at 10, then immediately call the Magic Bureau. To tell them I think there's a gate here.

I felt I had enough justification. The Chihuahua had pointed out several locations, and I had roughly identified them, and Hana had clearly indicated it was beneath the sewer.

I thought if I insisted desperately enough, something would work out, but now I can't even do that. The icon indicating loss of service that had been appearing and disappearing intermittently now doesn't disappear at all.

No matter how many times I tried calling, the call wouldn't even connect. There's only a trace of Wi-Fi that connected very briefly before cutting out, and these messages were left in the chat.

[Something bad's going to happen at the convenience store? Chan?]

[Chan?]

There are replies to the messages I sent earlier, one by one. These are messages from Elena...

[Boss, are you okay?]

[Are you not okay?]

Elder Wolf f sent these messages.

[I will contact you later.]

That one was from Officer Iruel, but I didn't really expect her to contact me later. She must be busy providing public support services anyway.

[What the fuck's going to happen you shithead]

[Holy crap]

[Why doesn't the little shit answer after sending messages?]

Chihuahua had sent those in rapid succession. Replying would just bring more profanity, so I didn't bother. Finally, Yoonha Noona:

[What's happening there now]

[Hey Lee Chan]

[Oi]

[I'll be there ASAP, just wait]

Not like I could run even if I wanted to. I tried to at least reply to this, typing a single 'k' and sending it, but a resend mark immediately appeared.

“Damn, nothing works.”

I shoved my now-useless brick of a phone into my pocket and looked up at the sky.

The clouds weren’t just dark, they were pitch-black. An hour ago, there had still been patches of lighter gray.

Now, it was even hard to spot a building with lights still on. Most places must’ve decided not to open after hearing the weather forecast. Or maybe they had closed early and gone home, whatever.

The weather is only going to get worse, and it doesn't seem like it'll ever clear up. The signal will get worse and worse too. What should I do in this situation...

“.....”

No matter how much I think about it, it seems like there's no other option but to wait for Manager.

It’s not like I can use magic. I wanted to prepare for potential flooding, but it wasn’t like the store had sandbags lying around...

If I could just hold out for three hours doing whatever I could in the shop, Manager would show up and handle things. Might as well tackle whatever manual tasks I could in the meantime.

For example, storing the merchandise separately to prevent damage.

Sure, I could restore the packaging of goods sold in cardboard boxes, but we couldn’t magically fix items spoiled by getting we. If there was, why would the concept of expiration dates exist in this world?

This store wouldn’t be the only place affected if water seeped in, so we probably wouldn’t get compensated for everything either. I have a plan, but how do I execute it?

After thinking briefly, I went to where we change into uniforms and brought out folded ramen boxes as many as I could. Putting off throwing these away for nearly a week now actually worked out. How lucky...

I went back and forth five or six times, carrying all the boxes out and scattering them around the lobby. I unfolded each box and started stuffing items from the lower shelves into them, beginning with the biggest ones first. For smaller stuff, regular 100L trash bags would have to do.

After about 30 minutes of mindlessly gathering items, the bottom rows of all display racks were left with just their frames. Anyone looking would think this place is going out of business.

Afterward, I took out a pulley from inside, stacked the boxes, and brought them into the office.

Other stores wouldn’t even dream of doing this because they lacked space, but our store had something special others didn’t: a basement storage room.

I opened the iron door of the basement storage and used the pulley to move all the boxes down there. The whole ordeal cost me 20 minutes and a chunk of my knee cartilage.

“Hah…”

After finishing everything, I paused for a breather in the office. After going up and down the stairs more than a dozen times, my legs feel like they're going to die from aching. Still, this much should be worth it...

―Splash.

“?”

My feet are damp?

I looked down. Water was seeping in through the gap under the office door. With a sinking feeling, I went out to the lobby, and the entire lobby was in a state where shallow water was sloshing around.

"No way."

Something felt seriously off. This store has a structure where you have to step up one stair to enter. About the height of one apartment staircase step.

When I had just come through the door earlier, the water had barely reached the bottom of that step. Are you telling me the thickness of the dark clouds doubled in just 20 minutes?

It didn’t make sense, so I moved to step outside again, but the moment I saw the sky in front of me, I realized the reason.

It was because the dark clouds were right in front of me. At a position just slightly over 10m high.

Like clouds trapped on a high mountain peak, these dark clouds were hovering at around the fourth or fifth floor level, spilling rainwater like someone wringing out a soaked rag.

What's more frustrating is that the dark clouds weren't spread across the entire street. The black clouds stretched only from the far right edge of my vision to the four-lane intersection, exactly where the gate was suspected to be.

“...I....”

I've known it since masses of troublemaking customers started coming in. I'm telling you, this store's feng shui location is bad?

―Swaaaahh

The sound of water pouring through the gaps under the front door felt like I was by a riverside for a retreat. How was this even possible?

Whether I'm dumbfounded or not, this damn rainwater keeps pouring in without pause. The bottom shelves, which I had expected to stay dry for at least half a day, were already half-submerged in no time.

Of course, the cayse was that damned gate. I quickly moved to where I had stacked the boxes earlier, grabbing the driest, most intact ones and piling them atop the checkout counter.

After that, I half-sprawled on the counter and clutched my temples. A seriously strong sense of skepticism about the current situation came over me.

No, even if it rains, couldn’t the rain at least fall slowly enough to give me a chance to block it or wharever? Was this what Manager meant when they said to hang in there? That I should hold my mental state together firmly because I might go insane?

"This is too much even if it's too much, a year's worth of rain is all coming down in one day..."

―~lp!

“?”

― ~Help!! Is anyone there!!

What's this now?

A deep, resonant bass voice rang out clearly from outside the door. I pressed closely against the display window and looked outside through the gaps in the rainwater, and there was a trash can floating down from the right edge.

As I kept watching, I realized this voice was coming from inside the trash can with its lid closed.

"Help me, is anyone there!! There's a dog trapped in this trash can right now, it's drifting away!!"



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