Magic Store 19


The reason why the Friday night shift at the convenience store is called "hell on earth" is very simple - it is the day before weekend.

On weekdays, since employees must go to work the next day, they just get a bit tipsy and stagger home.

But the weekend workers are like a bunch of crazy people, and there's no way to stop them.

The alcohol concentration skyrockets, and it's as if drunkenness becomes a virus - even the sober ones would go, "Hey, don't you feel like some chimaek (chicken and beer)?" and head to a pub to have their fill, only to degenerate into less sane versions of themselves.

It becomes a night of the living dead.

With their mental limits completely removed, the type of demanding customers can become as diverse as their drinking habits.

The very first customer I had to deal with right when I clocked in was a prime example...

"So, what's your political stance, young man?"

"...Pardon?"

"I mean, are you conservative or progressive?"

Why on earth is he asking me that?

I scanned the barcode of a bottle of soju, then looked straight at him.

He was a shabby-looking middle-aged elf, not the same elf who had been here before.

His expression seemed normal, but the stench of alcohol was wafting off him.

"Why are you asking me that all of a sudden..."

"I'm just curious, that's all. Conservative or progressive?"

After a few seconds of dazed silence, I managed to respond.

"Well... it depends on which side is more ridiculous the respective year."

"Fair point. So which side do you think is more ridiculous this year, conservatives or progressives?"

I really don't want to say anything on this topic.

It's not something to be discussing at a convenience store while scanning barcode for soju, and political talk is the easiest way to get verbally assaulted in the first place.

If I say I'm conservative, I'll be called a reactionary idiot.

If I say I'm progressive, I'll be called a left-winger.

If I say I'm moderate, I'll be called someone without any principles.

Why the hell do I have to engage in a conversation that will get me insulted no matter what I say?

And this isn't even about local politics - it's about the politics of this other world.

I have no idea about the political landscape here, I don't know if the Hero Party or the Demon Lord Party are the conservatives and progressives, or if the president is a dragon or a vampire.

So, I had no choice but to stay silent.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think this is the kind of topic we should be discussing here."

"Just give me a short answer."

"I'd rather not."

I handed him the card reader.

The middle-aged elf looked at me with a dissatisfied expression, then turned his head abruptly and muttered,

"These young people nowadays have no principles, no principles at all."

He then left, leaving the door open.

As I went to close the door, the second customer arrived.

"Do you have tissues?"

"The tissues are..."

I had a hard time answering.

The customer who had just arrived was clearly not in a good state.

He was a green-skinned orc, probably around 2 meters tall.

His right eye socket was half-swollen and had a dark purple bruise, and blood was gushing out of his nose.

The blood had soaked the front of his clothes.

I took a deep breath before speaking, worried I might stumble over my words if I answered right away.

"You can find the tissues in the corner under the mirror over there."

"Thank you."

"Also, do you need any first aid? You're bleeding quite a bit."

He looked like he might bleed out at this rate.

But the orc bared his yellowed teeth in a slight grin and replied,

"It's fine. It'll start bleeding again soon anyway."

"Okay."

I didn't ask for the reason.

It seemed like something I was better off not knowing.

As soon as he finished paying for the tissues, the orc tore open the package and pulled out over a dozen, pressing them to his nose.

With a grim expression, he then left, leaving the door open.

I closed the door and turned around, and the third customer had arrived - another elf.

This one just bought a single cup of ramen, and there didn't seem to be any issues with that...

"Hey!”

“Hey, you bastard!”

“Hey!"

Who, me?

I looked in the direction the shout came from and saw the middle-aged elf who had bought the ramen standing in front of the hot water dispenser.

His expression was full of fury as he glared at me.

"Are you kidding me?! The water is way too hot!"

"...Huh?"

"I said the water is too hot!"

Does he expect me to boil the ramen with cold water or something?

While I was contemplating what to reply, the elf started to shout even more angrily,

"Give me some less hot water!"

Most hot water dispensers have temperature control functions.

It took me a while to remember that, and when I told him about it, the elf said in a hoarse voice.

"You should have told me that earlier!"

Yeah, you're right...

This seems like he's asking me to refund the ramen.

With a troubled heart, I watched the elf's actions, and he ended up bringing the same ramen he had just bought and having me ring it up again.

The elf just took the ramen and left, leaving the door open.

If he didn't want it, why did he ask for lukewarm water?

After closing the door and coming back, I grabbed my pounding temples.

I have no idea what's going on in this far-off other world.

It seems like there's not a single normal person around.

As I was grumbling, the fourth customer arrived - a woman with snakes writhing around her head instead of hair.

A Medusa.

Her face was streaked with tears, and her heavy makeup was smeared and messy.

I was so taken aback by the surreal sight that I couldn't even greet her properly.

"Welco-"

As soon as I spoke, she whipped her head around and glared at me with such intensity that I felt like I might die.

So I didn't say anything else.

The Medusa went to the section with the bread and started muttering quietly.

"Didn't I tell you not to come here?"

You're the one who came here, not me.

I looked at her again, and saw she had a Bluetooth earbud in.

She must have been on a call.

For over 3 minutes, she kept muttering like a possessed person.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to keep coming to my house?"

"I told you we're never speaking again."

"I'm going to call the police. I really will, I swear!"

Her voice kept getting more agitated.

I had wanted to just let her hang around until she picked something out, but the content of her conversation was too disturbing for me to just sit there.

If you're not going to buy anything, then go outside and take your call.

"I told you I don't have any money! How many times do I have to say it?!"

The moment she shouted, the snakes on her head shot up and started lashing their tongues out.

I thought I was going deaf.

I instinctively glanced towards the entrance, and saw a customer about to come in pull back after hearing the commotion.

I must get her out of here.

Not only are other customers unable to come in, but I feel like I'm going to lose my mind.

I approached her and spoke.

"Excuse me, could you please take your call outside..."

As soon as I spoke, she glared at me with the same murderous look as before.

The snakes did the same, their tongues flickering as they stared at me.

I started sweating nervously.

"...Please."

"There are no other customers here, so what does it matter?!"

"The yelling is keeping other customers from coming in."

I want to just run out of here too, but the customers trying to come in must be at their wits' end.

The Medusa glared at me, her black, makeup-streaked tears dripping down her face.

Fortunately, that was the end of it.

Somehow, Medusa's mood seemed to shift, and she clicked her tongue loudly before striding out the door.

The door was left open.

I was too tired to close it myself.

I went back to the counter and called the manager, as I had a very urgent matter to discuss.

[Hey, Chan.]

"Manager, please save me."

[I'm sorry... I'm a bit overwhelmed myself right now too....]

A heavy sigh accompanied the response.

When we had switched shifts earlier, the manager's expression wasn't great either.

It was around 7-8 PM as the sun was setting, so the manager must have dealt with similar problematic customers for the past 2 hours.

I didn't really call to beg for help.

I just had no one else to rant to.

"I feel like I'm about to get my collar grabbed any minute now. If that happens, can I grab their collar back?"

[Don't do that. There's an emergency bell under the counter you can press.]

"An emergency bell?"

[You shouldn't press it for minor inconveniences, but if you do, the otherworldly customers won't be able to act so outrageously.]

There's a separate report button but pressing the emergency bell doesn't call the police.

Wondering what effect it has; I got this explanation.

Occasionally, there are customers who start using magic to throw tantrums.

To prepare for such cases, they installed an emergency bell.

Pressing it doesn't just make a loud sound, but also disrupts the flow of magical power, creating an invisible wave that has no effect inside the counter area.

I didn't want to accept it, but I had no choice.

No wonder they wanted to install a "safe zone" with a lockdown system in my world too.

I've had my collar grabbed before from working here, so I understood why the manager set up something like an emergency bell.

Something occurred to me, so I asked:

"Earlier, one of the Medusa customers glared at me like she was going to kill me."

[Ah....]

"That's actually part of why I called. But am I in danger of turning into a stone statue?"

[It probably didn't go that far... At most, your nerves would have briefly frozen up and you wouldn't be able to move. If it had gone further, you would have been in serious trouble.]

So that means that Medusa was about to petrify me for 30 seconds or so.

Dealing with enraged customers who can use magic - this really is an extreme job.

"If it just freezes the nerves, how much trouble would the customer be in?"

[Suspended sentence, fine. Do you have any physical issues right now?]

“No. Just got a bit of the chills.”

[Ugh...]

Given my constitution, I was lucky not to have any serious issues.

Since the store manager remained silent for a while, I spoke up first.

“I'm not quitting, manager.”

[…….]

“Even in my neighborhood, when jerks decide to beat up a convenience store worker, they do it thoroughly. When I think about it, it's not much different here.”

It might be a bit of a rosy outlook, but dealing with troublemakers using magic with my half-magic-resistant body is better than getting beaten up.

Besides, even if I quit, I have nowhere else to go.

I need a job to do anything in this world.

Finally, the silent store manager spoke.

[Maybe I should find a tool that Chan can use.]

“Is there such a thing?”

[Now that we know your constitution can be adjusted, we might as well. Extreme cases like what just happened are rare, but you never know.]

“I'd prefer a dust-free broom.”

[I’ll get one by tomorrow.]

While we were talking, there was a crashing sound from the front entrance.

Looking up, I saw a large hole in the glass door, which was half off its hinges.

On the ground near the entrance, a guy with a bull's head was groaning in pain.

[Chan, what was that noise?]

I couldn’t answer immediately.

I put down my smartphone and approached the front door, trying to open and close it.

The bent hinge barely moved.

Looking down, I saw blood trickling from near the bull's horns.

He looked like a minotaur and seemed drunk out of his mind.

I could finally piece together what happened.

This guy must have drunkenly crashed into the door.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of nausea and grabbed my forehead.

“You... idiot...”

The groaning minotaur asked me.

“What did I crash into...?”

A transparent glass door, you moron.

A nicely cleaned glass door...





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