Mastore 138 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 138

Regular customer assembly (1)

When Manager comes to work, she wears a light brown cardigan similar to her hair color and a skirt that rises slightly above the knees. She came out wearing almost the same thing today.

It's her usual modest attire, nothing different from normal, but today Manager's appearance felt distinctly out of place. Perhaps because her clothes didn’t have even a single drop of water on them.

Standing calmly amidst the scattered merchandise as if nothing had happened, she looked almost mystical, to add a bit of exaggeration. hat kind of magic could defy rain that even raincoats couldn't handle?

I didn't voice this thought, but she smiled knowingly and answered anyway.

“I came via spatial teleportation. Just a quick zap.”

"Whoa..."

"But I feel awkward being the only neat one. Could you disable your constitution for a second?”

When I disabled my constitution and nodded, Manager immediately lifted her right hand and snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the damp sensation on my body vanished completely, and my clothes became lighter. The same happened to everyone else.

Then, putting both hands in her cardigan pockets, she looked at me with the brightest expression and said.

"I'm invincible today, Chan."

“That’s great news. But exactly how invincible are you today?”

"I've been invincible twice just now, so seven more times?"

She answered my question about time with a usage count. From context, I guess she means she used magic once for teleporting here, once for removing moisture from everyone's clothes...?

Invincibility was good, but why did it have to be nine charges?

I briefly thought of certain red cheat maps but didn't ask further. The store's condition, the regular customers' state, everything except the manager's appearance is a complete mess.

(D: Gamemaster-like cheat on game starcraft. Able the user to manipulate the game’s parameter, something like that.)

Where do we even start cleaning up? As I pondered, Noona suddenly called out in an almost murmuring voice.

“Unnie.”

It's a heavy voice I've never heard before. Manager answered with a slightly less cheerful face.

“Yoonha, you look much more tired than when I saw you this morning."

“...Can I talk to you for a minute, Unnie?”

“Of course. But first, let's let the officer rest a bit.”

Noona nodded and looked at me, so I nodded back to signal her to go ahead. Let’s say the store manager, my sister, and the policeman are all doing their business, so...

“Cough. Ch- Chan."

This seems like what I should handle next. We don't have much time, so let's do it in 10 minutes. Assuming Manager, Noona, and the officer will handle their matter, then...

"Boss. Where would be best to place the motorcycle?"

"Ah... The beverage display aisle is spacious enough. Maybe there?"

"Then I'll leave it there and rest for a moment. My arm is slightly sore, you see."

Her tone was suspiciously light for someone complaining about arm pain. I decided to take it as her intention to give us space for our conversation.

“Thank you, Boss.”

After I said this, he nodded and pulled the motorcycle deeper into the store, while I half-dragged Elena to the seat next to the Chihuahua.

It wasn’t the best spot, but it was the only place left to sit in the store. As soon as I sat her down, Elena slumped onto the table, mumbling softly.

"I’m sorry for being a burden…"

“You don't need to apologize to me. Was it me who nearly died? It was you.”

“...Ugh.”

"Still, I have to say this. I sent you a message not to come because something might happen, but you still felt like coming after seeing that?"

I could guess the reason, but it didn't seem like something I should say directly, so I kept my mouth shut. Elena immediately presented the expected answer.

"Well, I was super worried about Chan!”

"Ah, you were super worried about me...?"

I spoke with half guilt and half irritation.

Had all these regulars collectively been possessed by rebellious spirits? Why did they only do the exact things I told them not to do? What am I, the boy who cried wolf?

"B- But still..."

This is what she said, in a dejected tone. Before the signals went down this morning, she had been watching the news from home. Among the aerial shots broadcasted, she spotted a familiar street.

“Wow, our store already made it onto TV?”

"Only for a second. The news kept showing the flooded subway station, and then I saw Chan store’s lights on. Everywhere else was dark."

Right after that, the screen was completely swallowed up by storm clouds, and that became the decisive factor. fter pacing nervously in her living room, Elena impulsively grabbed her things and dashed out of the house.

“So, what happened after that?”

"I tried to catch a taxi at the stand. Maybe because of the heavy rain, it took forever…"

She finally managed to catch one, but when she told them the destination, the driver got angry, asking what crazy person would go there.

She had to plead, offering double fare, and finally managed to convince him to drop her somewhere nearby. Once she got out at the edge of the rain clouds, she resolved to swim her way to the store if necessary.

"And that’s when you ran into the officer?"

"Yes. Thanks to that, ugh. cough! cough, cough!"

As if water had risen to her throat mid-sentence, she started coughing again repeatedly. The cough sounded concerning, so I asked.

“Did you catch a cold or something? Your clothes got soaked, and your body temperature must've dropped.”

"No! Just something caught in my throat. I thought a raincoat wouldn't be enough, so I deliberately wore a rash guard! cough!"

"...What?"

I went blank for a moment. What did she say she wore underneath?

"A rash guard. I was searching the house for a waterproof bag when I remembered I had bought a swimsuit before. So while I was at it."

A rash guard refers to functional clothing for water sports. Used to prevent scratches while swimming outdoors, or rashes (hence "rash guard") from sun exposure.

In simple terms, she's saying she wore something like a full-body swimsuit as underwear. What kind of drugs do you have to take to come up with that idea?

“Since I knew everything would get soaked anyway, I thought wearing a rash guard underneath would be better. I had to swim a few times on the way here, and it was super convenient!”

It seems to be fashion based on practicality, but though I have many things to say, I'll refrain. Right, honestly, it's none of my business what someone wears underneath, and this is far better than looking like a drowned rat...

Letting that slide, I moved on to the next question.

"Why did you need a waterproof bag?"

“Ah. That’s, just a moment.”

As if she had been waiting for that question, Elena immediately reached behind her raincoat. Not daring to watch, I turned my head and waited. The sound of a zipper opening, rustling noises.

Then the sound of something clunking onto the table. Thinking it was safe to look now, I checked and saw a small black pouch with a string placed there.

At best, it was the size of a tennis ball. For something she claimed to have packed to brim, it looked way too small. Was there some kind of magic on it?

"This is a pouch with space expansion magic on it."

"Ah. Isn’t that crazy expensive?"

“I bought it on 24-month installments, and I haven't even paid off half yet. The magic stone replacement costs are astronomical too."

Her expression soured. I seem to have asked about something I shouldn't have.

"I packed lots of my potion-making set, magical herbs, and remedies from home. I was worried Chan might be injured..."

Elena had mentioned making magic potions at home, separate from her work at the pharmaceutical company. She calls it a hobby, but she's serious enough to visit magic potion workshop-themed cafes.

"Even if you're not hurt, I can make pretty much anything you might need."

Her tone became calm and matter-of-fact whenever she talked about something she was confident in. Just like right now.

Beyond the level of ‘I'll try my best’—it had the feeling of calmly stating facts. Anyway, I understood she was worried about me. And I got that she wanted to help however she could.

It’s not that I’m not grateful. I am grateful. A hundred times over, but…

“But still, let's try to avoid creating situations like this again. Agreed?”

“Yes…”

"I'm saying this seriously."

Actions intended to help others can actually hurt them instead. The words are easy to say, but that makes the mistakes just as easy to make.

I had learned this the hard way at age twenty-four, paying a costly price for it. So I believe Elena can learn it too. She's not like me who learned it the hard way by dropping out, so she'll probably learn much faster.

"I appreciate your concern. I really do appreciate and thank you, but I think I could be even more grateful if you would also consider what I might worry about later. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes... cough, cough!"

“Geez. I won’t nag you anymore, so just rest up.”

Just like Mongmong earlier, Elena seemed to have finally released her tension. She quietly gazed up at me, completely drained of energy. That whole conversation took about fifteen minutes.

“....”

I looked toward where Noona, Manager, and the officer were. The officer seems to have mostly recovered, as she's checking her uniform, shoulder strap, and light baton one by one in front of the dairy section.

The other two were still engaged in conversation, standing a distance away from her. After briefly scanning the store once more, I approached the officer.

“Are you feeling better now, Officer?”

"I’m fine. And you, Boss?"

"I'm fine too. But Officer, did you hear anything from Manager and Noona?"

"...The Owner didn't say anything to me specifically, and with that hunter... are you two acquainted?"

"Yes."

When I answered, the officer turned their head slightly to look at the tw o, then answered in a subdued tone.

"The hunter said that if things go wrong, please maintain the store's situation."

“Uh... Yes?”

“It might be better for you to hear the details directly.”

Her tone suggested he wasn’t thrilled about it. I nodded slightly and stood beside Noona and Manager, who were in the middle of this conversation.

“Unnie, it’s been a long time since you've done something like this. I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but…”

"Long time? I’m still in my prime, Yoonha."

"Noona. Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly did you tell the officer?"

I jumped in, fully expecting to be told to leave. Neither Noona nor Manager scolded me, and Noona got straight to the point.

“Lee Chan. You worked hard finding that thing outside, so rest here."

"I would rest if this were a situation where I could, but I'm asking what you talked about."

“Unnie and I will go down there alone. We’ll leave the customers here in the officer's care.”

“Just the two of you? You're planning to go down that manhole alone?”

"We’re short on people as it is. Even if we ask for help or support, it's already too late—”

She explained that if she moved too far from an object she had enchanted, the magic would unravel.

Therefore, if Manager and she went down together, there was no telling what would happen to the store…

I interrupted. There was something wrong with one of Noona's premises.

“We’re not short on people, Noona.”

“What does that mean?”

"I'll tell you what I mean right now, so just listen. You too, Manager-nim."

"Okay. What is it?"

I laid out everything I had thought of beforehand, exactly as it came to mind. The exact state of the store right now, why the customers had come here in the first place, and what these regulars were capable of in this situation.

And what I'm going to do.

By the time I finished, Manager's eyes had widened quite a bit, and Noona's eyes were completely round. Manager spoke first.

“...Are you serious, Chan?”

“Not yet.”

"Alright. Then I'll respect Chan’s decision."

"Don't you want to talk him out of it?"

"When I feel like talking him out of it, I'll tell you separately, Noona."

"Let's say that's settled, but those customers. They're willing to help us with what we're doing? Without evacuating?"

That I don't know. I haven't asked for their opinions yet.

But right now, the only person here who could even try to bring up such a topic was me. he customers in the store, Manager, and Noona, none of them really knew each other.

There is just one thing I believe in. I have always been sincere when dealing with customers in the store.

So I believe if I speak honestly, they’ll understand. Though I’m a little worried Chihuahua might grumble about the smell of happy chemicals wafting off me…

(D: when we want something to happen and start adding personal imaginations on how it will go better for oneself (and assuming things we don’t like won’t happen))

"It's not like they can evacuate now even if they wanted to, right?"

“....”

Noona, twirling her pipe restlessly as if craving another smoke, stopped and then answered quietly.

“Fine. I'll respect your decision, too.”

Good. Taking a deep breath, I shouted loudly.

“Guests! Sorry to interrupt your rest!”

Immediately, I felt everyone's gaze turn toward me simultaneously. Except for the Chihuahua who was working. I felt a slight tingling inside, but continued:.

“I have something important to discuss, so could everyone please gather around for a moment?”

* * *

When this convenience store clerk called, they really came over. Now we had seven people and one dog in the store. To list them out: Me, Manager, Yoonha Noona, Elder Wolf, Elena, Chihuahua, Officer Iruel, and Mongmong.

Aside from exactly two people, this was practically everyone I knew.

I was still worried about Hana, wondering what might've happened to that little dragon, but at least she’s somewhere safer than here. As for the professor, well, he's probably doing his own thing...

"Hey, convenience store clerk."

“What.”

“What’s with that dog?”

“Kkiing....”

Maybe because there were too many unfamiliar faces in the store, Mongmong refused to come out until I pulled him into the open. With him sitting on my knee, I continued. He needs to hear this too.

"I rescued him from being washed away, but he had social anxiety.”

“Pant, pant.”

“What is social anxiety?”

“Oh my, he's adorable…”

“You can pet him later. Since there’s so many of us here, raise your hand first if you want to speak.”

Maybe because everyone was mature enough, they all nodded in understanding. When I worked at the kids' café and told them to raise their hands to speak, there was always at least one kid who would argue about which hand I meant.

"First of all, the current situation is roughly like this, Customers."

There wasn’t much to explain. A core gate had opened directly beneath our convenience store, and everyone present was now in serious trouble.

The reactions to this varied. The Elder and officer who must have been through it all remained stoic, while the Chihuahua had quite an intense reaction.

"Hey. Why the hell does it have to pop up in a convenience store five minutes from my place?"

"I don't like it either. But if it appeared somewhere else, wouldn't people living nearby say the exact same thing?"

“Fuck. Came here just to take a shit, now look at the mess.”

But given his temper, he quickly dismissed it as just ‘this mess’. Elena, on the other hand, became notably gloomy...

"S- So… everyone else is in danger too?"

“Yes. But the real problem is that we’re in the biggest trouble right now....”

This is the crucial part. I thought about it for a moment and then followed the manual. When the atmosphere is serious, there must always be someone who says something deserving of a smack.

"That's why I told you all not to come, right?"

Everyone seemed to feel guilty about this as no one said anything. Right, they all came to see me. Did I ask them to come and get into trouble with me?

"Since you're all here anyway, please help me out. I haven't even received my first paycheck yet."

Then I continued, briefly introducing each of them to one another. Chihuahua’s good at coding, Elena’s good at making potions, Elder Wolf’s a pro at dislocating shoulders, and the officer is a specialist in civil support.

And since the manager is a former great magician and Yoonha Noona is an A-rank hunter, if we all put our heads together, surely we can come up with something.

"That's about it, so if you have anything to say, please raise your hand—"

“Hey, shithead.”

As always, he doesn't even listen to what I say. The Chihuahua was busy picking at his teeth with a claw, then shot a question at me.

"Then what the hell are you gonna do?"

I had thought about this earlier. I answered right away.

"I’m going down. To close the core gate."





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