Mastore 137 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 137

Our store is open for business as usual (4)

I asked the wrong question. Instead of asking when he arrived...

“We were looking for something, Elder. But how did you end up here?”

It's not that I wasn't glad to see him, but in this weather, I didn't think there would be any demand for chauffeur services. People who drove out would call a tow truck if anything, not a chauffeur.

Or perhaps the Elder was targeting some niche market? When I asked, he took off his fedora, whose brim had been bent from the weight of the rain, and replied.

"You sent me a message earlier. Said something might happen at the store."

"Well, I did see you replied, but..."

"After reading it, I couldn’t help but worry..."

After reshaping the bent brim and placing it back on his head, he continued with a gentle smile.

"I slipped out while my companion was asleep."

That's what he said, but honestly, I didn’t quite buy it.

The rain was so heavy that voices were drowned out unless we spoke face-to-face. How could anyone sleep through this noise?

Clearly, the 'slipped out quietly' part was just an excuse too. I wanted to advise him that there was something strange underground here, so he might as well go back home immediately, but….

But I kept quiet. He’s undoubtedly experienced things like this countless times before me, and what right did I have to lecture someone who came here out of concern for me? Instead, I asked one more question.

“There was another sentence I sent after that message. Did you not see it?”

“What sentence are you referring to?”

"The one that said, ‘Please don’t come here’. I saw it marked as read.”

“Ah, perhaps my eyesight is failing with age, but I don’t think I saw it.”

"I see..."

“Hey, Lee Chan. About this."

Noona, who had been taking dozens of drags from her tobacco-free cigarette with her back turned, looked our way and her eyes widened upon meeting the Elder's gaze. The Elder immediately greeted her with his characteristic easygoing warmth.

"A pleasure to see you, Miss Yoonha."

"...Yes, good to see you too, Elder Wolf. But I need to discuss something with him. May I continue?"

Her surprise was momentary. Perhaps because the situation was urgent, she quickly moved on to the main point.

“Of course. But may I listen in as well?"

"That's... fine. Yes. It'll all be in the news tomorrow anyway."

Her expression gradually crumpled as she spoke. Yoonha Noona took one more puff from her cigarette and then gripped the pipe in her hand.

“Though it's not exactly pleasant to hear….”

“Is it because this is the place, Noona?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

A brief explanation follows.

Most gates follow a fixed pattern when absorbing space. Like water being pulled down a drain in a whirlpool pattern. I've seen this on the news too.

"What's inside here isn't like that. Starting with the ladder twisting all over, the floor appearing and disappearing, bending, and rainwater not even going down because it's blocked by something invisible."

It's certainly not an ordinary gate, and this fact alone makes it more than worth checking what's inside. I interrupted her mid-explanation.

"Worth checking out? Not 100% certain?"

"There's no such thing as 100% in this line of work. Not even once. Especially in cases like this. I’m just speaking from experience and guesswork....”

“Experience?”

“I’ve seen this phenomenon before. Back when I was closing a core gate.”

Yoonha Noona explains that in her over 10 years of fieldwork, she's handled exactly two core gate cases, and one of them displayed phenomena nearly identical to what we were seeing now.

“One of my seniors back then said something about it. Said it wasn’t just sucking space inward, but rather like it was swallowing and vomiting it out at the same time.”

"Whoa..."

"That's how it looks to me now too. Since that was a core gate, this probably is as well. That's as far as I can say."

After hearing this, I peer back into the manhole, and it really did look like it was spitting out space just like Noona said. Even as I'm looking now, the spacing between ladder rungs is actively shrinking.

While she might not be 100% certain, it seems that Noona's position is that this definitely needs to be checked. But I still haven't heard something crucial. I asked right away.

“You said if we don’t close the gate, it’ll disappear naturally and cause chaos. So, how long until this one vanishes on its own?”

“…There’s a specialized way to measure that, and I don’t know exactly. Can you at least tell me what you're guessing?"

I feel like hearing even that much might give me some peace of mind. When I asked, Noona answered almost like spitting it out.

"3 hours. Back then, pointing at a place with exactly the same phenomenon, the measurement officer said exactly 3 hours."

"Wow..."

I instantly regret asking. What can we possibly achieve in three hours...

First, citywide signals are down.

How long would it take for Noona to fly back like she came here and request support? Even if we assume it takes minimal time, and even if we file a report, would things really go smoothly? I heard there weren’t enough available hunters.

If there was a shortage of hunters, the situation in the Magic Bureau was probably similar.

I've never seen those bureaucrats work firsthand, but they must be swamped. They were probably receiving reports of hundreds of gates popping open across the city every hour.

Even if everything went perfectly, those isekai magic bigwigs won't act swiftly. These are the same people who prioritize draining their parking lots over rescuing stranded other species.

“....”

Noona heavily puffing on her tobacco-free cigarette must be because she's thinking the same thing as me. That seeking help anywhere would be meaningless.

We had to do something. Within the next three hours.

Two options immediately came to mind. Either attempt a desperate evacuation out of this area, or…

"Boss."

“....”

"Boss."

"...Ah. Yes, Elder?"

The Elder Wolf had been softly calling out to me, his eyes narrowed, staring intently at something in the distance across the street.

"The situation seems quite urgent."

“I think so too. But what exactly are you looking at?”

"There appear to be two pedestrians over there. Both women."

My store was the only shop open around here, so who could possibly be wandering about?

With growing suspicion, I looked in the direction he indicated and saw two humanoid figures struggling through the torrential rain toward us. I couldn't yet tell if they were women.

First, one of them appears to be pulling what looks like a motorcycle. Black hair and black clothes.

The other one was nearly hanging onto the first, and midway, she lost her footing and fell right into the water with a loud splash.

The black-haired figure promptly parked the bike and hauled the fallen one up, at which point the figure being pulled from the water let out a wail approaching a death cry.

"Uwaaaang!! Puhek!"

"Ha...."

"Might they be acquaintances of yours, Boss?"

I felt my stomach tighten up even more at the sound. It was Elena and Officer Iruel. I had no idea how those two had ended up together, but...

As I watched, Officer Iruel's parked motorcycle tipped over and got swallowed by the rising water. Clearly, this wasn't a situation we could simply observe.

"They're both familiar faces, Boss. I'll go help them."

“I'll come with you. What about you, Miss Yoonha?”

"...Huh? About what?"

Noona, who had been deep in thought, looked at us both and followed our gaze before immediately pocketed her tobacco-free pipe.

"I'll come too. Keeping thinking about it probably won't lead to any answers anyway."

"What were you thinking about?"

"I'll explain later. Let's help them first."

The three of us hurriedly pushed through the rushing water toward them. When we were about halfway there, Officer Iruel seemed to spot us and approached, abandoning the motorcycle.

Coming right up to us, the officer saluted with her free hand while supporting Elena with the other.

"Officer Iruel reporting."

The officer looked absolutely disheveled. Her uniform, always crisp and sharp, was now completely soaked and clinging to her body while her tie was nowhere to be seen as if the string had broken. Her police cap was gone too.

I could clearly see her hair thanks to that and today, I couldn't find a single blonde hair. Well, what police officer wouldn't be stressed having to help civilians in this weather?

Nevertheless, she greeted us with an expressionless face and a flat tone, making me wonder if she had ever shown anger even once in her life. Meanwhile...

“Haa, haa... cough, cough, cough!"

Elena looked like she was on the verge of passing out as she desperately clinging to the officer.

Though she had come prepared in rain boots and a coat, the constant stream of muddy water pouring from beneath the raincoat proved its waterproofing useless.

Even clinging seems to be an effort as she's gradually slipping. I immediately advised the officer.

“I’ll hold onto her, Officer. She’s a succubus I know.”

"Uuugh... cough."

"Please, just for a moment."

The officer promptly handed Elena over to me without hesitation, swaying slightly as she released the weight. Though she hadn't shown it, fighting through the storm must have been hell.

Noona quickly caught the officer's shoulder as they were about to fall, placing the officer's arm around her own shoulder and said.

"Looks like you need some support too, Officer."

“I'm fine. You don't need to trouble yourself….”

“It’s hardly trouble. You've had an especially tough day."

Officer Iruel belonged to a race that frequently faced discrimination this world's society. An elf.

I briefly wondered if Noona would find this fascinating or pitiful, but she showed zero hesitation in supporting her. Definitely the latter.

The officer also seemed a bit surprised, but didn't refuse. Instead, she looked back and muttered.

"Behind us, my duty motorcycle..."

“I’ll bring it, officer.”

The Elder Wolf who had been watching said this briefly, then lifted his leg and placed his foot on the surface of the rainwater as if stepping on stairs. He took a deep breath, exhaling lightly.

"Hmm."

Then he stood atop the water's surface and began running across it with steady steps. No, what am I seeing right now?

“Wow, even I would find that difficult. What exactly does he do?”

“He’s a retired soldier. Wait, Noona, could you do that too?”

"With intense concentration I can manage walking, but I couldn't lift a motorcycle like that. That's brain-bursting stuff."

“Whoa….”

"Not my specialty anyway."

While we spoke briefly, Elder Wolf returned with the motorcycle. With one hand. Still standing on water, and despite holding a motorcycle that must weigh 150kg, his voice remained calm.

"It's been so long since I've done this, it's a bit straining."

Noona lets out another exclamation, and Elena seems too exhausted to even look.

Only the officer and I stared blankly up at the Elder Wolf, during which the officer saluted again and said.

"Thank you for your assistance."

“No need. This is something I experience often in my work as a chauffeur."

The officer's face filled with questions at this statement but didn't voice them. Her eyes were drooping as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Officer, Elena, how long have you two been walking like this?”

“A little under an hour.”

"Huurgh..."

Elena's dry heaving suggested that if we delayed further, we might experience a déjà vu of our first meeting. I quickly turned to the others and urged.

“Let’s return to the store for now. We've blocked off the water there.”

The four silently nodded in agreement, and so the five of us headed toward the store without a word. As we approached, I kept thinking how the situation was getting more absurd every ten minutes.

Nearly everyone I had spoken to at the store was now gathered here. Fortunately, Hana had gone to her mother, which is a hundred times better. In this weather, only her horn would be visible above the rainwater...

This surreal feeling peaked when we opened the store door. It was because another familiar face, someone I had wanted to see, was standing there. Right in the middle of the lobby.

“Hey, Chan-ah. Hi.”

"Uh..."

"Uh..."

"I was just about to go looking for you, since I couldn't find you anywhere inside."

The store she paid money to run has turned into a complete mess, yet I don't understand why Manager's expression is so serene. After looking over our five and the store once more, Manager continued.

“A lot of customers today, huh?”




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