Magic Store 37


For the next 20 minutes, the little kid became a curiosity for the customers.

"Boss, can I get a pack of Ace cigarettes...?"

A salamander in a suit came in to buy cigarettes.

The ones he was looking for were on the lower shelf, so he inevitably had to look in that direction, where the kid's head happened to be.

As soon as their eyes met, I could see his lips curl into a smile.

"Oh, boss, your daughter is really... cute."

"She is not my daughter."

"What? Then why is she here?"

"Well... it just sort of happened."

"?"

I've had her sitting by the counter before, but that was when there were no customers, and it was quiet.

Now, it's incredibly busy.

But what can I do when there's no place for the girl to sit?

Even though the kid came into the counter, she still felt the pressure of being stared at.

Whenever she made eye contact with a customer, she'd duck down below the counter and peek out with just their eyes.

This had the opposite effect.

"Oh my..."

A harpy customer with feathers on her head made eye contact with the kid.

The kid peeked out, just their head showing, and the harpy's face lit up with a broad smile.

"Hey there, how old are you? Want me to buy you some candy?"

Tempted by the offer, the kid's eyes sparkled for a moment but then shook their head and ducked down completely.

The harpy looked utterly heartbroken.

I decided to explain.

"The kid is a bit shy."

"Is that so... Boss, how old is the kid?"

"I am 7 years old."

When asked, the kid did answer, but why were they assuming the kid was mine?

Do I look like someone who has a 7-year-old kid?

Luckily, after about 20 minutes, the flood of customers slowed down, giving us some time to chat.

Finally, we could have a conversation.

"Hey kid, is today a kindergarten day?"

"Yes. Uh, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I came here even though you're busy with customers..."

The kid was saying something about feeling sorry for interrupting my work, but I immediately rebutted.

"Kid, how did the customers look? Didn't they all seem gloomy?"

"Did they...?"

To my eyes, they did.

That's because these office workers start suffering from a serious illness right after the weekend.

"It's called the Monday Blues, and it's a very painful disease."

"Whoa. It's a disease...?"

"Yes. Adults who suffer from this disease become extremely lethargic, depressed, and very sensitive. The cure is rare. There's a precious remedy called 'a day off,' but it's a last resort."

"A day off? Last resort?"

It was a difficult explanation for the kid to understand.

I simplified it further.

"The customers were happy to see you, right? That's because seeing you helped cure their Monday Blues. Not completely, but a bit."

"Huh? I didn't do anything, though?"

That's the important part.

It's like a mystique.

If you meet a street cat that doesn't shy away from you, it becomes a story, but a friendly cat might make you wonder, "Isn't this someone's pet?" and the story fizzles out.

"If you're really worried, just greet them. It might help cure their illness better."

After I explained, the kid, who had been staring intently at me, nodded their head.

"Hi there!"

"Not me."

"Are you not sick, mister?"

"I'm immune to Monday Blues."

Working without weekends had naturally built up my immunity.

Should I be happy about this?

As I continued to help customers, it reached 9 o'clock, and just like that, the influx of customers abruptly stopped.

I asked the kid, "Does your mom usually take you to kindergarten?"

"Yes."

"Until what time?"

"Um... she said she'd come by 10."

"That should be enough time."

I hadn't been able to help the kid with her Mother's Day gift for days.

Now we could finally make some progress.

I took out the drawing paper the child brought, removed the rubber band, and placed it in the corner, using four lighters from nearby as makeshift weights.

I considered using cigarette packs but decided against it after looking at the images on them.

The glue stick was conveniently rolling around under the counter, so that was no problem.

The next step was to decide where to place these paper flowers.

"Child, I think you should do this part."

"Me?"

"Yeah. It shouldn't look like an adult did it."

The cut-out flowers were a mix of forget-me-nots and sunflowers, with no regard for their natural habitats, so any attempt to arrange them neatly would just look artificial.

I did give some basic advice, though.

"But don't stick flowers in the top corners. This part is for clouds, and this part is for the sun. That's a basic rule."

"Okay, but... can I skip the clouds?"

"Why?"

"Because... I like clear skies."

"I like clear skies better too."

Nodding at my answer, the kid started staring intently at the drawing paper, clutching the flowers and glue stick in both hands.

Every now and then, they tilted their head, seemingly struggling to picture the scene in their mind.

I tried to imagine it too, but it seemed the paper flowers alone wouldn't be enough.

It would look much better with a crayon-colored background and some drawings.

"Hey, child, do you have any crayons at home?"

"Uh... not at home... oh, but I think there are some at the kindergarten."

"Great. Maybe you can ask at kindergarten―"

I stopped myself mid-sentence.

The kid's expression soured at the mention of kindergarten.

I could guess what was up, but I held my tongue.

The doorbell rang, and a customer walked in.

"Child, keep at it for a bit."

"Okay."

This time, the customer was a kobold, resembling a feline.

With vertically slit pupils, a furry coat, and whiskers around the snout, I could tell it was a kobold, but whether it was based on a cat or a wildcat, I couldn't figure out.

As I wondered if they were looking for a cat tower, they came up to me and asked,

"Snacks, where?"

A foreign cat, it seemed.

I pointed in the direction of the snacks, and they nodded before heading that way.

Meanwhile, the kid was staring intently at the kobold with the glue stick in hand.

"Why are you staring?"

"Uh, mister."

"Yeah?"

"That customer, he's dark."

Dark?

What do you mean?

It didn't seem like he was talking about the fur color.

The kobold's fur was a dark tone, but not so much that you'd call it black.

The kid, looking at me, shook his head and added more.

"His heart is dark."

At the same time, the area around his horns glowed slightly before dimming again.

I understood.

"So... are you saying that kobold is a bad kobold?"

"Yeah."

She hesitated a bit, but her answer was firm.

Given that she brought it up herself, she seemed pretty sure.

So, let's assume she's right, that the kobold is bad...

"Sorry, but let me ask one more thing, kid. Is that kobold a 'bad' kobold 'right now'?"

"Yeah."

It doesn't matter to me whether he's a good or bad kobold.

My job is to take his money and give him the goods, no matter who he is.

But if he's 'bad' right now, it's a different story.

It means he's not here as a customer but as a thief.

Can this kid even distinguish that much?

"Kid, can you see stuff like that?"

"Yeah... It sparkles."

This kid is going to be something great someday.

But her expression wasn't very happy.

Probably because her can't control this ability yet.

The manager said that when she was young, she couldn't control his powers well either...

So praising her would just make her sad.

Instead, I patted her head.

"Thanks for telling me, kid."

"...Yeah."

Now, the problem is me.

I've never encountered someone who came to rob the convenience store on purpose.

How should I handle this...?

Typically, there's only one thing a convenience store worker can do when a thief comes in: open a bag of popcorn.

I'm not joking; there's really no other way.

With hundreds of customers coming in every day, how can a part-time worker know who will steal what and when?

Even if they could, would someone capable of that be working as a convenience store clerk?

They'd probably be running a detective academy.

The best you can do is handle it afterward.

When the stock doesn't match, you check the CCTV, find the culprit, and report them.

That's all you can do.

Even then, the investigation is usually half-hearted because the police don't have time to catch snack thieves.

The security level of a convenience store depends on the honesty of the local residents, making it a tough business.

However, there are two things in my favor right now: one, I already know that guy is planning to steal, and two, this is another world.

Since the manager is a wizard, there must be some magical precautions against theft.

But I don't want to rely solely on that.

Some people work hard all night to earn a living, and here he is trying to take the easy way out.

"Hey, kid?"

"Just wait here for a bit."

I picked up the broom and dustpan from the counter and stood up.

My plan was to pretend to clean and then confront him, ready to whack him with the broom if needed.

However, when I went to the snack corner to check on the kobold, I realized something was very wrong.

He had nowhere to hide anything.

He didn't have a bag, a handbag, a pouch, nothing.

He was just wearing a shirt and jeans, and all he was doing was standing with his back to the display, looking at the snacks.

His hands were even in his pockets.

The only suspicious thing was that he had been standing there for a while, but that was it.

I pretended to sweep around him and glanced at him, but he just looked relaxed.

That, in itself, was suspicious.

Why would it take over a minute to choose a snack?

He's deliberately stalling, waiting for me to get tired and leave.

Not thinking I’d gain anything by watching him further, I returned to the counter.

The wildcat finally emerged from the corner, whistling, with a bag of nacho chips in his hand.

He placed the chips on the counter and asked me,

“How much?”

What was he up to?

I needed to find something to accuse him of, but I had too little evidence.

I couldn’t exactly say, “This kid here says you have a dark heart,” and beat him up….

“Hey, how much?”

“…1,800 won, sir.”

“Okay.”

I had no idea what was going on.

So, I decided to check one last thing.

As I stated the price, the wildcat reached for his back pocket, then changed direction and pulled 7,000 won from his pants pocket, handing it to me.

“Cigarettes. One. Please.”

“……”

“Hey?”

I asked the wildcat,

“Sir, could you please show me your ID?”

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