Mastore 159 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 159

I came to look for a house (1)

Hana hesitated as she explained that her mother had finished all the piled up work. She was about to eat lunch outside and return home when she couldn't find Hana at the company daycare, hence the call.

During her explanation, Hana kept glancing at Manager, who was putting the chocolate box back under the register with her lips pouting.

"I feel like I'm going to sulk."

"Eep."

“Manager-nim, I’ll take her to her mom and then head to the subway.”

It was obvious Manager was just pretending to sulk. When I changed the subject, she relaxed her expression and gently patted Hana's head.

"I'll keep the chocolates safe so we can eat them together next time we meet."

"Un... Sowwy, Noona."

"It's okay, I was just pretending for a bit. Won't Chan be late if you take Hana back?"

“It’s tight, but… I’ll just think of it as riding the subway from one stop earlier or something.”

Truthfully, I had always felt guilty for never properly seeing this kid home. And...

"Since Mongmong is here for once, I should have a hamburger or something. Can he eat onions?"

"I don't know, so I've never fed him any, but probably best to keep avoiding them?"

“I guess so. Take care, Chan."

"Yes."

I also wanted to take this opportunity to see what kind of dragon her mother was. As we walked outside toward the company building, I started with what needed to be said first.

"Hana, do you know where the subway station near the Academy District is?"

"Un. When Mommy comes to pick me up, she waits at that station..."

"We're going to move near that subway station, so don't get confused when you come to visit later. Got it?"

“Ah. Un.”

Next, I asked what I needed to know.

"By the way, is your mother bigger than the width of this road?"

“Weith?”

"I'm asking if she's bigger or smaller than the crosswalk we just passed."

At my words, Hana glanced toward the other side of the street and nodded without hesitation. This is a four-lane road with each lane being 1.5m wide... Hmm...

"Why, Mister? You wanna meet Mommy?"

“No. Based on what you just said, I think I shouldn’t meet her.”

I doubt that a child's mother would look kindly upon a 29-year-old man hanging out with her 7-year-old, and besides, it's just scary. If her body length is at least 6m, how big must her front claws be?

"Mommy usually goes awound small. She rides cars."

“Is that so? What does she like when she were small?”

That let me naturally ask about her appearance. If I want to avoid eye contact, I should at least know who to avoid, but it's a bit awkward to ask directly, ‘What does your mother look like?’

"That’s, she's about as tall as you, Mister..."

As we continued walking, Hana explained this and that to me, that her mother is completely black from head to toe. Except for the horns.

Other characteristics include fairly large horns, long hair, and she wears suit. Honestly, Hana wasn’t great at explaining. Probably because she never consciously thought about it before, so her words lacked structure.

"And awso..."

“That’s enough. Thanks, Hana.”

Still helpful for setting guidelines. Just don't make eye contact with any women. I was already good at that in my old world, so I figured I could manage just fine here too.

We kept walking until we reached the street in front of the company building. Looking up at the office across the road, it felt like my neck would snap trying to stare at a building that massive even from distance.

Even when I squinted, I couldn’t quite see the top of the building. While I was briefly imagining what this place might be for, Hana stared intensely at something and muttered.

"Ah. Mommy."

I looked in the direction she was staring, but all I could see was a single car parked at the curb in front of the building. A limousine that probably cost hundreds of millions, with about 2 meters between the driver's seat and rear passenger doors….

“...Is that your mom’s car?”

“Un.”

As Hana answered, the driver's door opened and someone wearing sunglasses stepped out. They did have horns, but they weren't white. It's her mother's car, but someone else is driving it?

The person who got out glanced our way briefly before walking to stand at attention behind the rear passenger door, clasping their hands behind their back. So, that means...

"I think I have to go now, Mister."

"That person is the chauffeur...?"

“Un, Mister Driver. Why?”

“…No. Never mind. See you later.”

I didn’t ask anything further and just gave her back a light pat. Hana nodded, looked both ways at the crosswalk before raising her right hand and crossing the street.

The chauffeur who had been watching her opened the rear door, and when she got there, Hana bowed deeply and got into the limousine’s back seat.

Because of this, I couldn't see the car's interior, let alone confirm whether her mother was really inside or not. Though at this point, it doesn't really matter...

"...Oh."

As I stood there blankly watching, the backseat window began to roll down.

What first appeared through the lowering window was a pair of white horns reminiscent of birch trees, then long black hair, and then eyes.

The distance between the limo and me was about the length of an overpass. It's not extremely far, but normally I shouldn't be able to see the eyes of someone in the back seat, or even if I did, it shouldn't leave an impression.

But I could see them. Very clearly. Along with a sensation of being bound by ropes, a chill, and slight distortion.

“....”

That's probably the child's mother, but why is she suddenly doing this? Why magic all of a sudden?

The moment I started to think that, I felt her gaze fall on me. I immediately looked away, pulling out my phone to pretend to text.

I had an uneasy feeling that if I made eye contact now, things would get complicated. While meaninglessly pressing the main screen of my phone, I occasionally checked with my peripheral vision to see if the car was leaving.

The phone said one minute had passed, but it felt like over ten before the window in the corner of my vision closed, and a little while later I could hear the low rumble of the limousine’s exhaust.

Then the sound of it driving off. I waited until the noise completely faded before calling Manager.

[Un, Chan. Did Hana go well?]

"Yes. I think she went well..."

[That's good. But why is Chan’s voice trembling like that?]

"That's... No. I'll tell you after I get on the subway. Just give me 5 minutes."

* * *

I had seen a subway station on the way here. It’s fairly close.

After passing through the entrance and ticket gates, I waited on the platform and only called Manager again once I was on the train.

I explained everything that had just happened, and after listening to it all, Manager remained silent until the subway started moving before finally speaking. Her tone was quite bewildered.

[She did that to Chan? Why?]

"That's something even I don't know... Wait, what do you mean by 'did that'?"

[I mean sensing magical power. The thing Hana has done several times.]

I didn’t quite get it. I had been right next to Hana every time she did that thing, but I had never once felt anything like what I just experienced.

[What exactly did it feel like?]

"Well... It was like this strange pressure. Have Manager-nim ever been to a job interview?"

[I haven't. But I roughly understand what kind of feeling Chan mean.]

She then explained exactly what pressure it is. If someone deliberately uses detection magic on a specific target, the target would feel exactly what I had felt.

[It’s not really magic for dragons, you know. Hana’s not casting spells on purpose or anything.]

"You mean detecting magical power is an inherent racial characteristic of dragons, right?"

[There are differences between individuals, but yes. But this time, that's not what Chan’s really curious about, is it?]

“True.”

The magical aspect is just a secondary element. I'm not curious about how she detected it, but why she did it to me.

"Of course, I have a guess. Kind of, at least…"

Hana had told me. Her mom had seen the band-aid I gave her and had even asked who put it on.

I think it's natural for someone to be suspicious if someone other than those at the company, home, or kindergarten is taking care of their child. If you don't suspect it, that's a problem in itself, because it would mean they don't care about their child.

And besides, there was no one else on that street but me and Hana. Even if I tried not to look like I was with her, the moment the two of us were seen in the same frame from that car window, I would’ve looked suspicious no matter what.

“Still, this is a bit....”

[An overreaction?]

"No, think about it, Manager. All I did was take a kindergartener with me, help her make a Parent's Day gift, touch her horns a little, put a bandage on her, and nothing else..."

[Isn't that a bit much?]

"…Okay, yeah, that’s true."

Come to think of it, maybe it’s not that much of an overreaction after all... No, Hana probably didn’t tell her mom everything.

The correct interpretation seems to be that she didn't use that detection magic-like thing because she knew exactly what I did, but simply because I was near her daughter.

I don’t know what she was trying to detect, but my body has no magical energy and is resistant to magic, it would naturally have been of little use.

“At this point, wouldn’t it be right to assume that the mother simply doesn’t like having someone around her child? Manager-nim?”

[Well. Dragons tend to have... peculiar personalities. To the extent that they're hard to predict.]

“Hana’s not like that though.”

[Even Hana’s unusual compared to other kids her age. She’s really kind, isn’t she?]

If that's what counts as unusual, then yeah. A 7-year-old who gives away the one chocolate she's allowed per week isn't common.

After that, I got off in the middle to transfer lines, went up and down stairs.

I exchanged opinions with Manager all the way to our destination, but no matter what opinions we share, there was only one conclusion we could come to.

[Since we don't know what kind of person she is, there's nothing definitive we can say.]

"Yes. As Manager-nim said, it's certainly difficult to predict..."

What I can tell is that she cares a lot about her kid. Even while saying too much sugar rots teeth, she still gives her chocolate once a week, and she waited outside the building when she heard Hana was coming.

On the other hand, it seems a bit twisted. Hana doesn't have any real friends right now.

She can see the minds of other species through her horns, and because of this, she knows that children her age are afraid of her being a dragon. So she can’t bring herself to approach anyone, and it’s become a vicious cycle.

But her mom sees that as a blessing, apparently. Says it means Hana will grow up to be a great dragon. I don’t know. Is there any blessing greater than having friends at age seven? Maybe New Year’s money?

[Do you think she'll come to the shop later?]

"I'm not sure about that. I didn't speak with her, but just looking at her, she seems extremely busy normally."

[Huh? Didn't Chan say Chan saw me for a moment?]

“She was in the backseat of a limousine, with a chauffeur and everything. I’m guessing Hana’s mom is the company president or something.”

[Ooh...]

Manager was impressed, but I didn't think much of it. I just figured, good for them if they’re living well. It’s not like I’m ever gonna work at that company.

Honestly, which HR department would be crazy enough to hire someone whose portfolio contains nothing but a single line about high school graduation?

[I don't know. Maybe that company hires anti-magic specialist through special recruitment.]

“I haven’t thought that far. Anyway, I’m almost there, Manager-nim.”

[Really? You got there in one go without getting lost?]

“Well... I’ve been here before. I’ll contact you later, manager.”

[Really? Chan found the place without getting lost?]

There are a few places I have in mind. Places I've bookmarked thinking, ‘I should definitely live in a place like this someday.’

[What kind of places?]

"There are several places with two-story structures. The maintenance fees are cheap, and they're close to the station, so I was planning to check these places first—"

[...Chan-ah.]

“Yeah.”

[Is this perhaps Chan’s first time looking for a place to live?]

“No, why?”


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