Mastore 156 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 156

Heavy front feet, light hind feet (1)

That Doberman is curled up in a hunched position in the middle of the sidewalk. Even as we watch, it only raises its head to yawn, and the way it smacks its lips looks very leisurely.

Then our eyes met. The guy staring intently at us snorted once and then buried its face back into its own fur.

Even then, one eye stayed fixed on us. Maybe because I know which group that Doberman belongs to, that gaze felt a little unpleasant to me.

I got the sense that guy was watching us. Hana also seemed confused as to why that dog was lying there like that, and looked up at me to ask.

“Mister, why’s that bwack doggie wying there wike that? What if it gets hurt?”

"I don't think it will get hurt. There's only the two of us on the street."

“But....”

Since there are no passersby, there’s no risk of it getting stepped on or caught in a bicycle wheel, nor of someone reporting it as a vicious dog. That dog probably knows that too, so it just lie down without any worries.

“Still, there’s wotsa mud on the floor.”

"True."

I can vaguely imagine why the dog outside, not on a park bench or in the grass. If I’m right, then that’s a problem for me in its own way….

“…Let’s find Mongmong first and get him something to eat.”

“Gasp. Doggie hasn’t eaten?”

"I think so. This park doesn't look in very good condition either."

We entered the public park and continued walking while looking around. Like the street, this park is also full of mud and puddles everywhere.

The occasional vending machines we see are all turned off, perhaps because they were submerged in water, and the trash cans placed beside them are completely empty without even a single can. It seems even the trash all washed away.

We kept walking and arrived at the fountain in the center of the park, where the situation was quite bizarre.

“Whoa. There’s wotsa doggies, MIster. They’re all bwack.”

There were more than a dozen Dobermans gathered in a group on top of the non-functioning fountain. More precisely, they were arranged with one in the middle surrounded by the rest of the Dobermans.

Wondering why they were doing that, I quietly observed, and after a while, the Doberman in the middle stomped one front paw down with a thud and let out a loud bark.

—Woof, woof!

As soon as the barking ended, the surrounding Dobermans all scattered at once, revealing the one in the center. Although its body was covered in wounds, its standing posture was majestic.

“Eeeh. That doggie gotten bwllied wots….”

"It's not that it was bullied, but rather it fought a lot and won a lot to become like that. The leader, I mean."

“Really? That doggie?”

"That's how it looks to me. Right now it's having its subordinates search for something."

"Wat’s it looking for?"

"I don’t know that either."

I said I didn’t know, but for some reason, I had a good idea what that dog was searching for. I hope this just me being paranoid...

It seems better to hurry a bit just in case. I asked Hana right away.

"Hana. Did you see anything strange while walking here?"

“Un?”

"Like... magical power or something."

After walking around a bit, I realized this park was way bigger than I expected. I came all the way to the fountain thinking we’d look around as we walked, but...

Since this isn't exactly a leisurely situation, I'm thinking of trying a shortcut. Back when we were searching for the core gate, Hana once sensed where magical energy was gathering and pointed it out to me.

Since Mongmong also has something like magical energy in his body, even if not perfectly, we might be able to get a rough direction. ​​When I asked, Hana tilted her head a little.

“Uhm....”

She seems to be thinking for a moment, slowly wagging the tip of her tail as she looks to my right. Even her tone sounds like she’s unsure of what she’s saying.

“There... far. But not very far."

“What’s over there?”

“A big white ting, and lots of coworful tings. But, they’re, like, shaking a wot.”

Even I’m confused listening to her. If the big white thing is Mongmong, then what are the colorful things, and what’s shaking? Is Mongmongnot alone?

I'm not even sure if this white magical power really belongs to Mongmong, but... whatever it is, it’s better than wandering around without any direction. After asking Hana to lead the way, we walked for about five minutes.

We arrived at a public restroom, where the sound of frightened dog whimpers was pouring out from inside. Along with voices.

—Kiiing... keuung.

—Grrrr....

—Yap, yap!

—This dog knows that too. But—

Now that’s what I call navigation accuracy. Hana stood looking at the building with a puzzled face, so I quickly patted her on the head.

“Thanks to you, we found the right place.”

“Un. But Mister , why’s doggie in the restwoom?”

“Uh… not sure?”

“Is thewe no toilet paper?”

That's what we need to find out now. Getting closer to the building, I could tell these sounds were coming from inside the men's restroom. I guess even this guy, being male, went into the men’s side.

“Hana. I’ll bring him out, so wait outside.”

After confirming the nod, I went inside. The first thing I saw upon entering were multiple dogs with their backs turned to me.

The breeds were diverse, including Poodles, Alaskan Malamutes, Sapsarees. The only things they had in common were their tucked tails and the weak, hesitant whimpers they gave in response to Mongmong’s words.

And Mongmong was facing this direction with his back against the bathroom wall, but his entire body was a mess with his fur clumped with mud as if he had rolled in the mud several times.

Perhaps too focused on his speech to notice me, Mongmong kept going with his grand lecture.

"Everyone, you all know well that if you surrender like this, it's over. Isn't that right?"

"Kungg, kung. Huff, huff."

"I fully understand your fear, Sir Sapsaree. But even so, just staying here like this won’t―”

“Hey, Mongmong.”

Thinking it might go on too long, I lowered my voice slightly and called out. As soon as I did, Mongmong flinched and lifted his head. HIs already round eyes widening further in shock before he blurted out.

“B- Boss. How did you know to come all the way to this distant place?"

“It’s not that far, really. You busy right now?”

Only after this exchange did the dogs with their backs to the entrance turn to look at me, and they all had haggard faces that looked like they hadn't eaten for days.

Given how chaotic the streets have been lately, they probably couldn’t find any food at all… And judging by what they were just discussing, it seems today has its own troubles.

Seeing how they made no move even when facing a stranger, it seems like they don’t even have the energy to run anymore from hunger. Mongmong, who was quickly scanning the dogs with his eyes, hastily said.

"Everyone, you may rest assured. That person is the very one this humble dog has often spoken of."

After hearing Mongmong's words, the dogs turned and sat beside each other, and each one said a word or two to me.

“Woof, woof!”

“Pant, pant. Whine.”

“Grrrr....”

“Woof.”

I can't understand a word of it. Mongmong, who was watching my reaction, translated everything the dogs had said one by one.

"This Sir Sapsaree says that the daily provision of hamburgers is simply magnificent.”

“...That so?”

"Indeed. And this Sir Sapsaree requests that, while all else is well, please refrain from surrendering them to the shelter."

"Huh…"

Although these guys' economic standards and stories were doubly pitiful, I didn't come here to listen to this right now.

"This Sir Poodle says that he will never trust you, Boss."

“What did I do?”

“He’s deeply wounded in the heart, please understand, Boss. And what Lord Malamute said was… Do you, perchance, have dog treats at your store?"

"I can sell you some if you can pay."

Had I known this would happen, I should’ve at least brought some dog food. The situation was so overwhelming that I gestured to Mongmong.

“Hey, Puppy. If you’re not busy, let’s go outside and talk. There’s someone waiting for you outside.”

"What? The Young Miss Hana is here as well?"

“She was really worried about you that she came with me. She’s the one who told me where you were.”

At my words, he ran quickly to my feet and only poked his head out the entrance to look around.

Then when his eyes met Hana, who was looking this way, he hung his head as if in defeat and trudged toward Hana before sitting down with a thud.

“...Greetings, Miss Hana.”

"Un. Super greets."

Then Hana bent down, picked Mongmong up in her arms, and hugged him tightly. The front of her raincoat instantly became smeared with mud, but her face was all smiles as if she didn't mind at all.

“Mongmong, have you been doing good?”

“Of course, this dog has been….”

Before he could finish, a loud growl~ echoed from Mongmong’s stomach. Hana's eyes widened as she looked down at Mongmong, then gently put him down and said.

"Doggie. Let’s eat chocowate together later."

“Dogs can’t eat chocolate, Hana. It’s dangerous.”

"Huh?? Weally??"

"Is that truly so, Boss?"

“Yeah. If a dog eats chocolate, they have to vomit it up even if it means drinking hydrogen peroxide.”

“What is this hydrogen peroxide? Is it like steak or something?”

"That's not the same kind of beef, this rascal. Anyway..."

The topic was starting to derail, so I steered it back. What on earth is happening in this park, and why the hell were you all hiding out in the men’s restroom?

When I asked, Mongmong couldn't bring himself to answer and hung his head low. His tail and ears were pressed flat against the floor and his head, the most defeated look I had ever seen on him.

Then he said one thing.

“This park has come to the end of its life.”

Then he started explaining that for the past two days, not a single pedestrian came across this street. This meant there was no discarded food to eat.

Because of that, the Black Wind Gang who had claimed hotspots like the campground as their home base, and the strays that had barely been scraping by in corners of the park, were all starving equally without distinction.

"At this rate, we’ll all perish together. So this humble dog sought out the Black Wind Gang’s leader, the Black Gale, and told him: ‘Things have come to this, shouldn’t we find a way to survive?’ But…"

“But?”

"Black Wind Gang had a completely different idea."

There's nothing to eat in the park. Then we should reduce the number of mouths to feed, right?

With that tyrant-like reasoning, he’s been driving out all the stray dogs from the park, and the only ones barely hanging on are the ones hiding here in the restroom.

“It won’t be long before we can’t even hide here anymore. This is already the third restroom, and the pack that once numbered over a dozen is now down to just five."

"Hmm…"

The thought that immediately came to mind was that I wasn't sure if this was such a serious issue. Sooner or later, the city will carry out maintenance on the park, and once that happens, everything will return to normal, won’t it?

Especially since people couldn't go out to play for the past few days because of the rain, when things return to normal, people who couldn't take walks will strom to the park even out of pent-up energy. Then there would be an abundance of food.

But these guys obviously wouldn't know about this. After days of relentless rain and no visitors, it made sense they would think, 'The public park is done for.'

I also knew nothing about stray dog society. Maybe there's some rule that once you're driven out, you can never return. I pretended not to know and asked.

"From what I overheard earlier, Mongmong, it sounded like you wanted to do something about the park’s situation."

“Indeed. If I don’t do something, even this humble dog will soon be forced to find a new place to stay."

“What’s your plan?”

When I asked, Mongmong was silent for a long while, then gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath,

"Just once, just one more time I wish to confront them and fight. With those Black Wind Gang fellow."




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