Mastore 152 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 152

Everything has a cause and effect (4)

Manager thought for a moment after hearing what I said, then asked a question back to me.

“Chan, since when have Chan been thinking about moving here?”

"It's only been a few days. Honestly, I have nothing to say even if you say it’s impulsive....”

I thought it would certainly appear impulsive in Manager's eyes. Some guy gets his first fat paycheck and suddenly puffs out his chest like, ‘I have a lot of money, so I'll try finding a decent studio room or something nice to live in,’.

“I don’t think it’s impulsive. Just… Um…”

“Yes.”

“I’m just curious since when and why Chan started thinking about living in this world.”

It hasn’t been long. But, didn't we talk about this before?

No. I didn't tell her. I should start from here.

“It’s because this place seems pretty nice. This world, I mean.”

"In what way?"

"Well, a few days ago..."

I met my childhood self at the hotel. That kid with a taped-up bug net slung over his shoulder, talking back to me so clearly.

We had a pretty long conversation in that short time. Honestly, the things that happen in this world scare me. But even so, I feel like I should do something. And also...

Your very existence was magic and a miracle to me, I'm not sure if I can do well since I've always been someone who only fails. When I said this, that kid told me it's all up to me.

"We parted after that conversation. He said he had to go quickly or he would fall behind on homework."

"So that happened."

"Yeah. It was a good experience. After talking to him and going down into the sewers, I finally started feeling more certain."

This moment of living between two worlds. I'll never get this kind of chance again in my life.

If I don’t live the way I want to right now, I’ll probably regret this moment forever once I leave here. Thinking things like, ‘I should’ve done it differently back then,’ or ‘I should’ve tried more things.’

"Since I'm going to keep working here anyway, I want to live properly, that's what I'm thinking. Are you negative about it, Manager-nim?"

“Not at all. Rather, it’s something that came to mind after listening to everything....”

"Yes."

"I think this is almost the first time Chan has shared this kind of talk with me."

Now that she mentions it, that's true. I've talked to Manager a lot about how my world works, but I can barely remember ever talking about how I lived.

At most, just what kind of work I did at the company, or that even in a shitty world, one has to keep going. Manager glanced at the wall clock and continued speaking with a warm expression.

"I hope we can have these kinds of conversations again later. After Chan find a place."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to come to the world where I live?"

“I was just curious what Chan had at home.”

"That’s it?"

“I have some home appliances I’m not using, so I thought about giving them to Chan if there’s anything Chan don’t have.”

This was pretty tempting. Even though my rice cooker still works fine, the rice always comes out slightly yellowish, which bothers me a bit.

"Uh... I did throw out my rice cooker a while ago."

"Oh no."

"But I have many other things, so I'll show you sometime later."

Luckily, it doesn’t look like I’ll end up in an empty house with nothing but a single rice cooker. Anyway, what kind of place should I live in within this other world? Hmm…

"Definitely a cheap place. I don't mind even if cohabitate with cockroaches."

"I don't like that. I won't be able to visit Chan then. Anything else?"

Other than price, there were two conditions I had in mind: somewhere within a 30-minute walk from the convenience store, and someplace less noisy. Being tormented by difficult customers at just one convenience store is enough.

"It'll be hard to find somewhere that close. The housing prices around here are quite expensive."

"I figured. There's a subway station right in front."

"Yes. But since there was all that commotion with the gate these past few days, there might be places where you could get in cheaply..."

Manager taps her arm with her finger while crossing her arms. Even though it’s a random question, I feel oddly guilty for dragging her into my dilemma. I hesitantly added.

“It's not urgent, so I'll look around myself too. It’s not like I don’t know people who might help."

"Like our regulars?"

“Yes. Noona, Elena, or maybe even..."

Wouldn't it be better to download an app and comb through nearby vacancy meticulously? While I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard a car exhaust right outside. The exhaust sound was quite luxurious.

Looking outside, I saw a car that appeared as expensive as a small house pulling up to park on the shoulder of the road. It's a design that shouldn't normally be seen in this street, but why does it look familiar?

A moment later, the headlights turned off and the driver who got out was also a familiar figure. Dekard, the vampire professor.

As always, with a pale face, he opened the front door, stepped inside, straightened his tie, and stared first at me, then intensely at Manager. Why was this man here at this hour again?

“Hello, Professor.”

Manager uncrossed his arms and bowed slightly. Even while being greeted, he kept his gaze fixed on her, and returned her greeting with an equally deep bow.

“Yes. Have you been well, Owner?”

It was an extremely awkward sight. Why was this yangban, who would never bow his head except to tie his shoelaces, being so formal when he spoke to Manager?

As I briefly thought about it, the professor pointed a finger at me and spoke again to Manager.

“Did I perhaps interrupt your conversation?”

"Not at all. Chan said he was looking for a place to live in, so we were talking about it together.”

"A place?"

"Professor, why are you here at this hour..."

It felt like a thief worrying about his own footprints, but I interrupted anyway. I was afraid that if I told him about my moving, the topic of where I had been living would come up.

When I asked this, the professor asked back with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“I told you yesterday that I would come visit sometime today. Or am I remembering incorrectly?”

"Uh... now that you mention it, maybe you did."

"It won’t take long. Do you have a moment?"

He asked this question to Manager, not to me. I answered instead.

"We'll talk a bit and then come back in, Manager-nim."

"Un. Should I prepare a cup of coffee?"

“It’s okay. Professor said it won’t take long anyway.”

With that, I followed the professor out with a stiff nod.

Perhaps because the rainwater hasn't fully drained, but it's still quite chilly outside even when it's early June. The streets of my world during my commute had felt like proper June weather, though.

I waited a moment with my hands shoved into my pockets, until the professor quietly spoke up.

“The message you left at the Magic Bureau.”

"Yes."

"I reviewed its contents. It wasn't simply borrowing my name, but you actually mentioned everything from the discovery to the extinction of the core gate under my name."

"Uh... yes. That sounds about right."

"At the time that message was sent, I was on the opposite side of this district, directing other anti-magic specialist."

It took me a second to realize what he was implying, and a chill ran down my spine. So, does this mean that due to the message I sent, this man had ended up existing in two places simultaneously?

“Everyone kept asking me. As an advisor to the emergency committee, how was it possible for me to handle the situation there and simultaneously discover and destroy the core gate?”

"Uh... What did you tell them?"

"I said I handled it myself. For now, at least."

No matter how I thought about it, since it was absolutely impossible to prove an alibi, he was saying he glossed over it in a way that suggested ‘let's just say what's good is good’. This isn't something a practical yangban would say.

Maybe that’s why his dry tone carried an oddly pointed weight. This guy came here to harass me using this as an excuse...

“If you came here to talk about that, I apologize. But at that time, I had no other choi—”

“How is your body?”

"...Yes?"

“I’m asking about your health.”

This was a completely unexpected question. Even during our phone call before destroying the core gate, he had been the kind of person to keep an exhausted night-shift convenience store clerk tied up, continuing to say everything he wanted to say.

"No issues. But why do you ask?"

"Our call yesterday afternoon. I understood that you physically touched the core gate and artificially eliminated it. Is that correct?"

"That’s, you see..."

After pondering, I explained what I had said before in more detai. I explored deep-sea sewers without any equipment, almost became octopus food, and did some punching at an eye too.

"An eye?"

“It looks like an eye pupil to me. Are you asking this to confirm as well?”

“As your supervisor, I need to identify and report if you experienced any physical changes or lingering aftereffects during your work.”

I thought so. I thought this yangban had gone through a change of heart because he suddenly started clapping over the phone.

"Even if there's nothing wrong with your body right away, get a separate examination at a hospital as soon as possible. It's one of the benefits you can receive."

"...Yes."

I agreed, but I had zero interest in getting a check-up in this world. After all, there wasn’t even a single drop of magic power inside this body.

Imagine if I had an X-ray at a hospital in this world with this body? Wouldn't they treat me like a living tin can, saying, ‘This guy has no bones, no organs, nothing in his body’?

Thinking about this, I started to worry a little about my future in this world, where I would find a house and live. Where would I go if I got hit by a motorcycle on the street? An orthopedic?

“I’ve said everything I needed to, so now I just need your opinion.”

“What is it?”

“I’m asking if you want to report this as is without any changes. If the report goes up like this, your contribution will be significantly minimized…”

“Please just do that.”

When I answered immediately, the professor was quiet for a moment, then asked once more to confirm.

“Are you certain?”

"Yes. That’s easier for me."

I have no intention of changing my mind on this. I don't like being talked about by other people for things I don't even know how I did, and I don't like receiving questions I can't answer.

If someone asked me how I did it, I’d have nothing to say. It’s not like I did this alone, and at best, I just gave it a final blow....

But I did have one request. I pulled out my phone from my pocket, tapped on the screen a few times, and showed it to the professor.

“Still, could you handle this part for me?”

“What is it?”

“The expenses involved. There were a few experts who gave me consultations and help, and these are their demands.”

When I said this, the professor took the phone and stared intently at the screen, then asked me in a tone of disbelief.

"Setting aside the others, snacks, hamburgers, health checkups..."

“That was exactly what they asked for. I just wrote it down.”

“So you’re saying even this one labeled ‘chamber pot’ should be included in the budget as-is?”

“You can ignore that one. Forgot to erase it.”

The professor's expression became 'what on earth has this guy been doing?' but fortunately, he didn't ask further. He returned the phone to me and took out his own phone to type something.

After typing a few sentences, he scrolled with his thumb and spoke again.

"A package will be delivered to this convenience store soon. As for the hamburgers... I’ll transfer the funds separately, so order them yourself."

“That’s even better. Hamburgers don't taste good when they're cold, after all.”

“That concludes our immediate business. If there’s anything you need to know later, I’ll let you know separately. And…”

"Yes?"

"If you're looking for a place to live, I happen to have just the right place for you."

With this, he showed me his phone screen, where a series of photos that seemed to capture the interior of some lodging were displayed. The first thing I noticed was the solid wood furniture and a monitor.

Other photos showed a veranda with an impressive view, and even included a dryer and washing machine side by side. It was even a two-room unit.

“This is located within the city? It looks crazy expensive.”

"You can secure it using your license as collateral. The rent will be covered separately by the government."

I could move in rent-free just by flashing my certification? What kind of utopia was this?

"Wow shit, where is this place?"

"It's the teaching assistant dormitory within the Academy."

“....”

"Minimum lease is three months. Interested?"



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