Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 112

Episode 112. Convenience store employees hide their power (2)

* * *

This time I asked.

“What about the emergency room? Is this guy regretting it now?”

“Huh? Regret it?”

“No, not this one, that one.”

I asked again. How can you tell that the goblin was taken to the emergency room based on just this one video?

“I guess I’ll have to take a detour to explain. Are you okay, officer?”

“it’s okay.”

“What about Chani?”

There’s no way it won’t work. As I nodded, the store manager rewinded the video and paused at a certain point. The moment right before the goblin put down the trash bag and released his hand.

“Here. Take a good look at this goblin’s hands.”

Press the play button, but this time at a slower speed. In the video playing at 0.25x speed, the goblin releases his hand again, but there is one more element that was not noticed before.

The hand release movement was bizarre. The first movement was to clench and unclench the hand.

Clench your fingers three times, then clench your little finger twice, then point to the trash bag with only your index finger extended, and finally once again with your little finger extended… ?

“What is this guy doing? Is he using magic right now?”

“No, that’s not it. If this was a magical gesture, wouldn’t the money bag have turned into a trash bag after this gesture was over?”

That’s true. This guy was carrying a trash bag from the beginning. There’s no way this is a camouflage spell casting move.

“You can think of it as taking over magic that has already been used, um… you can think of it as entering a password. ‘From now on, I will take responsibility for and consume the mana for this magic―’”

I became less and less sure, so I just listened to it from then on. There are two main things a caster needs to do to use magic. A formula, and mana.

However, there is a trick that allows a caster to use magic without having to have both elements. Two casters each take charge of one element. One for the formula, the other for the mana.

If you just listen to it like this, it seems reasonable, but the store manager explains that there is a very big problem with this trick.

“Of course, in the case of one-shot magic, there won’t be any major problems―”

“One-shot magic?”

“Ah. Well, let’s say Chan-i shoots a magic arrow. The arrow will be fired, fly, and disappear after hitting the target, right?”

“Uh… yes. I guess so.”

“This is a one-shot magic. Let’s say the person casting this magic arrow can move around remotely. Then, wouldn’t that consume mana to move remotely?”

This is called a continuous magic. It is a magic that does not consume mana once and then ends, but requires a continuous supply of mana to take effect.

“That’s the magic on that trash bag. It’s a persistent camouflage spell. Someone else cast the spell, and then the mana is passed on to that goblin. What do you think?”

If you ask me how it is, I understand now.

“You’re saying that you risked your life for another race?”

“huh.”

It was said that all living things in this world possess mana.

The more that mana is consumed, the weaker you become, and when it reaches 0… you will die. I haven’t heard it directly, but given the circumstances, that’s what will happen.

But this goblin took over the magic cast by another race, saying he would use his mana to do so. In other words, he signed a guarantee document given by someone else.

“Anyway, that’s the situation, now the question is how this disguise magic works… You saw the third movement earlier. You pointed to the money bag with the disguise magic with your index finger.”

“I remember. Yes.”

“You connected yourself and the bag of money with mana. The folding and unfolding of the pinky finger at the end was a gesture of confirming the promise, ‘Are you sure you’re going to do this?’”

I made a promise because I folded and unfolded my little finger. If you think about it this way, it seems plausible… .

“The reason they intentionally put in a connecting action is because the caster intended to say, ‘Take responsibility for the money bag until the end.’ If you lose this, you’ll be in big trouble, like this.”

“aha….”

“But you couldn’t take full responsibility? Because Chan-i broke the spell.”

“…yes?”

My head went blank for a moment. So, this is it.

‘A disguise spell with the added restriction that losing it would be a disaster.’ A goblin received a bag of money with this kind of magic and was diligently consuming mana from afar.

But if I let it go, what big deal will happen in this case?

“I told you the amount in the money bag was at least hundreds of millions.”

“Ugh.”

“Probably, they would have put that much more responsibility on him. If the connection had been forcibly severed, something bigger would have happened.”

If, really, if. I was working for an organization and I was carrying a bag of money worth hundreds of millions of dollars and the police stole it, it would never end with just one or two broken limbs.

“So that’s why you said you went to the emergency room… ”

“He must have been badly injured, so he went to the emergency room at the university hospital. He must have had to check if the bag of money was being transported properly, so he had to go to this area. He must have felt the backlash right after Chan-i lifted the spell, so he had to go to the early morning that day.”

The manager concluded that on the morning of the day he found the bag of money, he would find the goblin who was admitted to a well-equipped hospital with an emergency room near this store.

And I got a little depressed. I don’t think he did it on purpose and he deserved it, but I’ve never had the experience of sending someone to the emergency room in my life…

“That’s it. Chan-i, don’t just work so much. Sometimes, you should read some magic books.”

“yes?”

“One-shot, continuous magic. Let’s consider it a review this time.”

What is review? This is something I didn’t even study in advance… No. These two types of magic are common knowledge that you should know in this world. Especially now, in front of other people.

“… I don’t have any because I used them as pot holders. Can you lend me a few copies?”

I understood it as a setting that said, ‘I forgot the things I learned in the past because I was so busy working.’ If I showed that I didn’t know things I needed to know, it would look suspicious.

“Then, when I lend it to you later, I’ll give you the pot holder too.”

“Why?”

“Yeah. Of course. Officer, thank you for your hard work.”

As the store manager spoke, the officer raised his head and slammed his notebook shut. I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye before it closed, and it was almost completely filled with conversation.

After putting the closed notebook in his front pocket, he nodded slightly toward the store manager.

“Thank you for your advice. I will personally look into the matters you mentioned.”

“Personally? You didn’t tell me separately?”

“I can’t. Not yet.”

After giving a short answer, he immediately explained it to me, but he said that just because we said we would cooperate, it doesn’t mean we can cooperate right away.

I have to formally report to the West, and I have to ask for the consent of the Magical Bureau, saying, ‘I will conduct a joint investigation with those who hold the qualifications issued by that side.’

“It will take a few days. But if what you said is true, we need to secure the goblin’s safety quickly.”

“You can take your time. That goblin will be hospitalized for about 10 weeks.”

“That’s why. It’s not a very good family, but….”

He touched his lips for a moment and spoke in a flat tone.

“There are probably quite a few people looking for that goblin right now.”

“Uh… aha.”

The store manager seemed to understand right away, but I had to think about it twice before I finally understood. Let’s say there’s someone who needs to receive a bag of money right away, but no matter how long you wait, the bag of money doesn’t come.

Then I’ll ask someone involved. Why didn’t the money bag come? Someone will answer. The porter lost it? What? Where is he?

“Okay, I’ll hurry up a bit. I’ll handle the owner’s qualification inquiry separately at the office. Is that okay?”

“I’m grateful. After work, I just collapse on the bed.”

“Then let’s do that, and the cost for the work that Mr. Lee Chan helped with last time and the work that the owner advised on this time will also be paid later.”

The police officer took out a business card and placed it on the counter while speaking. After confirming that the store manager had accepted it, he put his police hat over his head and bowed his head one last time.

“I’ll go right away. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

“Take care, officer.”

So the elf officer left and I was left alone with the store manager. Even though it was well past 10 o’clock, there was no sign of the manager moving. I asked him while I was at it.

“Manager, do you do any other work besides running a convenience store?”

“Not now. I get tired of taking on so many things.”

“Then why did you do this?”

“Well, that’s because you were fooling around in front of my convenience store!”

If it was a great wizard of old, it was a great wizard-like answer, and if it was a store manager-like answer, it was a store manager-like answer. It was no joke that he left a bag of money in front of the convenience store.

“Still, I just wanted to see the faces of the people who did this…”

“If it’s too long and burdensome, can’t you just let it go? I’m not sure, but the store manager said it would take time to check the certificate. The police officer.”

“No. How can I refuse after I said I would help you? I have pride as a great wizard.”

“Ugh… .”

“And, it’s something I’ve done a few times in the past.”

Certainly, when I watched the recorded video, the store manager’s expression was unusual. If I had spoken to him then, I think he would have responded with something like, “Excuse me, but could you please not disturb me?”

“I’ve done it before so it’s okay, but what about Chani?”

“What is it?”

“Well, this is probably Chan-i’s first time experiencing something like this.”

“If that’s the case… I wonder if there’s anything in this world that isn’t the first of its kind.”

“I know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

I know that’s not what I’m talking about. Making friends with little kids, looking into coffins, solving cubes, making potions together…

I’ve done all sorts of things, but this is something different from them.

It’s a criminal investigation cooperation. And it’s a magic crime. As a model citizen who has driven a company car for two years without getting a single speeding ticket, it’s true that it’s an uncomfortable thing. Still.

“If it was something I couldn’t do, the store manager would have stopped me, right? Right?”

There are many ways to gain confidence. Listen to trustworthy people, listen to experienced people, listen to capable people, and listen to people who tell you that something can’t be done.

The store manager satisfies all four of these requirements. And, I haven’t heard anything from the store manager that says I can’t do it. So, I guess it’s something I can do.

That’s roughly what I think. To conclude, the store manager shared his thoughts.

“Chan-i, I still clearly remember how flustered you were on the first day… ”

“No. That’s….”

“I feel like I’ve become a full-fledged human being in this world now.”

“Oh, do as you wish. Tease me or not.”

“Oh. Is that okay?”

“Is that okay? You should hurry up and get off work. There’s a bus waiting at the traffic light outside.”

The bus arrived just in time. I pointed outside, and he just smiled and glanced at me, probably thinking I was trying to tease him about the station.

“No, I told you I really came?”

The store manager turned around and looked at me as I spoke, then hurriedly packed up his things.

“You really came! I’m going!”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

The store manager ran out and got on the bus, and it drove away. I watched the bus go away into the darkness, then returned to the counter and flopped down on the chair.

It’s comfortable. As the store manager said, I guess I’ve become a little bit of a human being in this world. It’s not true that people are creatures of adaptation.

“No.”

I was about to call Yoonha earlier, but I stopped. I immediately picked up my smartphone and looked at the screen, and there were exactly three KakaoTalk messages from her.

These things just arrived, but the contents are ominous.

[ See you tomorrow night ]

[ Let’s do one thing together ]

[ Going to work overtime ]