Magic Store 29





"Well, you probably can’t hear or see me anyway."

After that, the so-called cigarette fairy stuck out its tongue at me with a "Bleh—," but since I didn’t react, it nodded and muttered to itself.

"Hmm, seems like the invisibility spell is working fine."

I was too dumbfounded to react.

The fairy still thought it was invisible, winking at me and sticking out its tongue.

Now, where did we keep that electric flyswatter in the convenience store...?

Then it stood up, fluttered its wings, and walked to the edge of the display shelf.

"Alright. Where should I play a prank next?"

I grabbed it.

"Kyaaaaaa!!"

I then took a paper cup from beside the coffee machine, put it inside, and covered it to trap it, holding the cup down so it couldn’t escape.

As I listened, I could hear its desperate voice muffled inside.

"Wait, wait! Let’s resolve this through conversation. Do you need any cigarettes?"

From the way it kept mentioning cigarettes, it seemed it really was a cigarette fairy, but I didn’t want to touch it again.

I was worried my hands would smell like cigarettes.

"Even the expensive ones, no problem!!"

We do have a pack that costs 10,000 won in the store.

But since I quit smoking a while ago, I didn’t care much.

I had a rough idea of what was going on and asked through the cup.

"Hey. There's a cigarette that's overstocked by two packs. Was that your doing?"

"Yeah, it was me. So please let me out, I have bronchitis! And claustrophobia too!"

The cup kept wobbling, but it couldn’t lift it even a centimeter. When I pressed down on the cup with my finger, I heard a small scream from inside.

"Ugh, what went wrong? The invisibility spell was perfect...!"

"Nothing in the world is perfect, you moth jerk."

"I'm not a moth! What are you going to do with me?"

"Good question."

It fell silent, apparently frightened by my answer.

I wasn’t trying to scare it; I genuinely didn’t know what to do.

I wasn’t the one making the decision here.

I spoke into my phone to the store manager.

"Boss, I think I figured out why the cigarette inventory was off."

[ Oh? Already? How? ]

"I caught the cigarette fairy."

[...What fairy?]

"The cigarette fairy."

The manager was silent for a long time, but I could understand how she felt.

When she finally spoke, there was a note of curiosity in her voice.

[Is it really a cigarette fairy?]

"That's what it says. Do I need to be polite to it?"

[ Well, they are part of the working community... but I guess that's not why you’re asking. ]

The manager had gotten used to me enough to explain things without me having to ask.

Fairies.

There aren’t many of them, but they mostly work in production fields, and surprisingly, a lot of them are quite intelligent.

It’s because they have a natural aptitude for magic, a lot of knowledge, and a good amount of inherent magical power.

That’s why they work in most jobs related to magic.

The manager guessed that this fairy worked at the tobacco company.

The competition rate for jobs there was at least a few hundred to one.

"But why would an intelligent fairy mess around with cigarette inventory at a convenience store? Is it some kind of social rebellion?"

[Fairies are just like that.]

Goblins are cunning, succubus are interested in love, orcs are aggressive, and chihuahuas have anger management issues.

And fairies love to play tricks.

They sneak into shops using disguise magic, and not only do they increase the number of items, but they also scribble 'Fake' on the sword held by a hero's statue.

When I heard that, I couldn't help but wonder if they all suffer from some sort of collective impulse control disorder.

[That's exactly right, actually.]

The official psychiatric diagnosis is indeed impulse control disorder.

They know it causes trouble for other races, but they just can't stop playing pranks.

Because of this, it's quite common for them to get caught pulling pranks related to their jobs and end up getting off with just a warning at the police station.

[Though there are some who find the thrill enjoyable... Anyway, they don’t do it with bad intentions.]

If they had come with bad intentions, they would’ve triggered the security magic and been smoked out by now.

But since they're just here to play tricks, that didn’t happen...

Moreover, their magic is so high-level that if they really put their minds to it, you wouldn’t be able to see or hear them at all.

I may not know much else, but I can certainly tell that these fairies are a nationwide nuisance of a species.

[Chan, you’d do well if you got a job at a security company.]

Do security companies hire full-time employees in this world?

[As far as I know... it's about a 5% chance after a two-year internship.]

“Then I’ll pass. By the way, how should I deal with these extra cigarettes, Manager?”

[It's simple. As soon as you take them outside the store, they'll disappear. At least, that’s what I think.]

Just as the Manager said, I gathered all the excess cigarette stock and walked outside the convenience store.

The moment I stepped past the front door, two packs of cigarettes I was holding started trembling.

Then, *pop*—they vanished into thin air with a puff of smoke, leaving only the smell of nicotine behind.

What a stench.

Why did I ever pay money to smoke this stuff?

“It worked just like you said, Manager.”

[No other discrepancies in the stock?]

“I counted, and everything matches perfectly.”

[That's a relief.]

With that, half of the job is done.

Now...

“What should we do with this fairy?”

[Well, what do you want to do, Chan?]

“I kind of want to give it a single swatter with an electric fly swatter. This fairy has been teasing me.”

["Uh... you'd probably end up in jail."]

“Yikes, that’s not good, then. What do you think, Manager?”

[I’d probably just let it go. After today’s experience, I doubt it'll be pulling any pranks for a while.]

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

After hanging up, I gave the paper cup a gentle shake.

From inside, I heard a little voice going, "Ouch, ouch," followed by another saying,

“You know this is too much, right?”

“If you’re that upset, we can go to the police station together. The Manager told me to let you go, so I’m ending it here.”

Then, as I lifted the cup, the fairy, grumbling and sticking a band-aid on its left wing from who knows where, started muttering about how it didn’t know how it got caught by its own magic, and how it might need to visit a hospital soon…

It looks like something straight out of a fairy tale, yet why it’s doing something like being a cigarette fairy, I’ll never understand.

As I watched to see when it would fly away, the fairy looked at me and said, “I’ve got something to say to you.”

“What is it?”

“Wait a moment.”

It then closed its eyes tight and muttered something that sounded like a spell, before looking back up at me, holding up three fingers, and asking, “How many is this?”

“Three.”

“Ugh, what are you exactly? Are you some kind of grand wizard or something?”

“I’m just a convenience store worker.”

It’s just that I have a peculiar constitution.

I don’t know why either.

The fairy was still looking up at me, clearly not convinced, so I added a plausible explanation.

“If a human lives as a bachelor for more than 25 years, they all develop this kind of skill.”

“Really? How old are you?”

“29.”

“Wow, I could never live as a bachelor for 29 years. You must be an incredible human!”

It is quite an incredible feat.

I have no idea how I managed to accomplish such a great thing, though...

“But with a skill like that, why are you working part-time at a convenience store?”

This must be today's theme—getting asked why I’m working as a convenience store clerk.

I’m tired of answering that I’m doing it because my previous job failed, so I turned the question around.

“Then why are you working as a cigarette fairy?”

“Well, it’s because I want to teach smokers about proper smoking habits!”

“Oh, really?”

“Actually, that was a joke. Out of all the places I got hired, this one seemed to match my skills and major the best.”

“What’s your major?”

“I wanted to be a Grass Fairy.”

Well, tobacco is dried leaves, so I guess that’s technically grass.

But what did you mean by saying it seemed to match your major?

Did it technically not?

When I asked, the fairy put on a serious expression and after some hesitation, confessed,

“To be honest, I’m only telling you this, but I think I might hate cigarettes.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Everything else is fine, but working as a cigarette fairy, there aren’t many places where I can pull pranks. About the only place is a convenience store.”

“Convenience stores aren’t places for you to pull pranks; you know.”

“And if I forgot to mention it, I have bronchitis too.”

“Then everything isn’t fine, is it? Even if it suits your major, it’s not good for your health.”

“Well...”

I feel like I heard a similar dilemma yesterday.

With all this rain, I wonder how that stray dog is doing on the streets.

“Hmm... maybe I should change jobs after all...”

I don’t really know much about this, so I can only speak from my own perspective.

“If you can find another job, go ahead.”

I’m not sure how impulse control disorder is classified as a disability in this world, but if the lack of places to pull pranks is a reason to change jobs, it must be a serious issue for these guys.

The cigarette company in this world is probably quite a large company, but even a high-ranking official can resign if they don’t like the job.

You only live once, so why stick to a job that doesn’t suit you?

Of course, that’s only possible if you have the ability.

Since this fairy seems to be an intelligent one who knows magic well, she’ll figure it out...

“But what should I do if I quit? The next recruitment season isn’t until the month after next...”

The fairy mulled it over for a while, but when nothing came to mind, it turned to me again.

“How about working part-time at a convenience store? Is it worth doing?”

“Why, are you thinking about it?”

“For a little while.”

“I can’t recommend working part-time in this intersection, at least. Just earlier…”

I was about to tell it about the legend of the crazy Chihuahua when a customer walked in.

It was a dwarf.

For some reason, he wasn’t carrying an umbrella, so he was completely drenched.

His thick beard and hair were dripping with rainwater, and the first thought that came to mind was, please, don’t come inside the store.

Fortunately, he didn’t step past the doormat.

He stood at the entrance, looking at me, and asked,

“Give me that.”

“An umbrella?”

“Not that, the other thing.”

“What thing? Cigarettes?”

“Frozen pork belly.”

I immediately looked at the fairy, who had an expression full of bewilderment.

It was probably thinking, why is he asking for frozen pork belly at a convenience store?

But surprisingly, convenience stores do sell frozen pork belly.

When I first found out, I was just as baffled, thinking convenience stores really do sell everything.

So, I can’t blame the fairy for reacting like that.

The problem, though, is...

“We don’t carry that in this store.”

“Where can I find it?”

“At a butcher’s shop. Some convenience stores might have it, but wouldn’t the butcher’s frozen pork belly taste better?”

“Where is it?”

“I don’t really know. I’ve only been working here for a short time.”

“Got it.”

With that, the dwarf turned and walked away without looking back.

Maybe he figured there was no point in using an umbrella since he was already soaked, or maybe he just thought a real man doesn’t use umbrellas...

The fairy blinked at me and asked,

“Do customers like that come here often?”

“A lot. And... Welcome.”

Just as I was about to continue telling the story about the crazy Chihuahua, another customer walked in.

This time, it was a goblin.

He roughly folded his umbrella and tossed it into the umbrella stand, then walked over to the counter and handed me a receipt.

When I checked, it was a receipt for four cans of beer.

“I want a refund for this.”

“Sure.”

I could definitely give him a refund.

As I took the receipt and waited, the goblin, getting impatient, said to me,

“What are you doing? I asked for a refund.”

“Uh… you need to give me the items for a refund.”

“Can’t you refund with just the receipt?”

“If you paid with a card, you’d need to bring that too, and I can do it. I can do it, but...”

What kind of clerk would give a refund without getting the items back?

I tried to explain this as nicely as possible, but the response I got wasn’t great.

“I already drank them, so I don’t have them.”

“Then I can’t give you a refund.”

“No, just do it. Just.”

“Uh...”

“Do you not understand what I’m saying?”

Would you understand if you heard that?

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