Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 118

Episode 118. The Gate’s Effect on the Pyeondol (6)

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A few days ago, there was an incident with twelve orc thugs at the store. It was due to an issue with parking a forklift on the side of the road, and the orcs, whose racial trait is aggressiveness, were determined to pick a fight.

The old man took the blame for my troubles on my behalf, and personally tore off eleven shoulders of the orcs with the cost-effective method of one-punch one-shoulder dislocation.

After that, he was last seen leaving in a hurry, saying that he had received a call from a proxy. When I told the store manager about this old man, he guessed that he was from the Escort Knights.

Now that the two are standing side by side, they look like a high school girl and a middle-aged gentleman, no more or less than that. Judging from their conversation earlier, it seemed like the two of them got along quite well.

“I’ve been doing well too. But how long have you two been talking?”

“It hasn’t been that long, Chan-ah. Maybe 10 minutes?”

10 minutes ago, an elderly person came in without knowing each other and bought cigarettes. When the store manager said goodbye and bowed, the elderly person returned the greeting.

When he took off his hat while greeting me, the store manager saw that I had wolf ears and thought, ‘Oh, what if I’m a werewolf?’ So he told me the name he had heard from me.

The old man asked how he knew that, and the store manager told him about me. From the moment he brought up my story, the conversation between the two of them became very smooth.

“That’s why Chan was talking just now.”

“I’m not really an interesting enough person to be a topic of conversation… .”

“Is that right? Is he a funny guy?”

Then he poked my waist. The old man also came in.

“You told me a little about when you got your license, and I thought, ‘The CEO is a very quick-witted young man.’”

“Uh… Me?”

“Yes. I was just thinking back to the old days. But, sir, what happened after that?”

It seems like you are asking because you are genuinely curious. Looking at you like this, it seems like the store manager and the old man will be talking for over an hour.

It’s pointless to join in on the conversation, I guess I should change into my uniform and pack my things or something…

“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well right now, so I think I should go in.”

“No, that’s not true. I should have found out sooner…”

“I thought you might be like that, so I tried hard to hide it. Chan-ah, handover.”

“yes.”

I went inside the counter right away when the store manager gestured for me. There was nothing unusual about the handover, but the store manager had one personal opinion.

“This is really a bad night, Chan-ah.”

“That, uh… is that the bad thing you were talking about this morning?”

“Yeah. That one.”

I guess this bad mood has also led to my physical condition getting worse. Looking closely, I can clearly see that his complexion is worse than usual.

“I wonder if there’s going to be a magic fight around here….”

That being said, I can’t just say something easy like, “I don’t know, so let’s do this.” I just told him the theory that came to mind.

“Please don’t worry about anything and just go in, manager. Do you think the gate will open?”

“That’s better. Just don’t get too close… .”

“If something happens, I’ll hold on to it, so go in. You must be tired after being here for 12 hours.”

“… Yeah. Be careful, Chani.”

“Yes. Please be careful, too, store manager.”

The store manager left work slowly. An elderly person who had been silently watching the process spoke.

“It seems like you two rely on each other a lot.”

“I don’t know if we are related, but I am learning a lot from the store manager. I don’t know much about this neighborhood.”

“Huh, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”

“I guess you didn’t have a chance to do it? Probably. But sir, I’ll just change into my uniform and come back.”

“yes.”

I just changed into my uniform and came back, and the old man looked at his phone screen for a moment and put it away. He must have checked the call from his agent.

I don’t think this is the situation you were hoping for, with a small, bitter smile. I think it would be better to have a conversation about this topic rather than show off my ignorance. I came to the counter and asked.

“Sir, how is your designated driving job going today?”

When I asked, the old man smiled bitterly again.

“No. I came out around 8pm and haven’t received any calls yet.”

“Oh… .”

“I guess everyone is anxious. I also told my companion not to go outside today.”

“aha.”

“Yes. I also plan to consider today as the Sabbath.”

Let’s imagine the flow. First, companies near the open gates have temporarily closed, and employees who have free time have gone out to play with their families and come back.

What would they be thinking now that it’s evening? If a family member, whether a child or someone else, were to go out, wouldn’t they have said, “But it’s still dangerous, so don’t go out” to stop them?

I said that you never know when or where the gate will pop up. If you think about it this way, it makes sense why there are no aliens on the streets… .

I’m not sure. I’m not a group psychology major, and I’ve never seen or experienced anything gate-related. By the way, companion?

“Sir. This is the first time I’ve heard you talk about your wife.”

“Oh, I haven’t shown you the picture yet?”

“Yes. I was going to show you a picture of my granddaughter before, but because of parking.”

“Ah, that’s right. Could you please wait a moment?”

An old man took out a photo from his wallet very naturally. I looked at the photo, thinking that I was finally relieving the old man’s long-held grudge.

It was a family photo that looked like it had been taken at a photo studio.

There are exactly five members in the photo taken against the backdrop of a red curtain. An elderly man is in the center, and a girl is sitting on the floor with her legs stretched out and smiling – oh my.

“Wow, is this your granddaughter?”

“What do you think? Don’t you think it wouldn’t hurt even if you put it in your eye?”

This is a question with a set answer. If I answer this with, “That sounds like it might hurt a little,” wouldn’t my shoulder turn into an octopus leg?

So I didn’t answer right away and just stared at the picture. The child’s hair was silver-gray and reached down to his waist, and his ears stood out just like the old man’s. Maybe because he hadn’t fully grown, he was still cute.

And the fangs. The fangs sticking out from the corners of his closed mouth give him a strangely mischievous look. He looks like he’d tease his parents to his heart’s content and then burst into tears if he got scolded.

After appreciating it up to this point, I’ll share my thoughts with you in a more refined way.

“You should let this kid be a child actor, sir.”

“Right? By the way, even if I tell my son, he says he wants to be an athlete….”

It certainly gave off an impression of being active. While the old man was bragging about his granddaughter, I looked through the photos.

Next to the old man sitting, there is a werewolf with a very large body. This must be the old man’s son, and this son is putting his hand on the shoulder of a succubus. This must be the old man’s daughter-in-law… .

“Hey, sir.”

“―That’s why I told my son. When I was raising you… .”

“Elder?”

“… Oh, I’m sorry. Please go ahead.”

After adjusting his hat, he spoke in a voice that had lost its smile. He was the type whose personality changed when he bragged about his granddaughter.

“It’s nothing else. I was just trying to find your old lady here. I can’t see her.”

He asked, pointing with his finger. He could guess who the four people were, including the old man, but he had no idea who the one person he was pointing at was.

Based on her appearance, she appears to be a human female in her early 20s. Her hair is light orange, and she has a white flower of unknown breed pinned to her head. She has a faint smile on her face, making her look mature for her age.

At first, I thought this was the old woman’s daughter, but then it turns out she doesn’t have a wife. Judging from the word ‘companion’ you used earlier, it’s not like she passed away first.

Or maybe I was mistaken. I thought I made a slip of the tongue, but the old man kindly answered me.

“He is my companion.”

“……yes?”

“How is it? You’re over 60 years old, but you still look young, right?”

“uh…….”

I checked the photo again. No matter how I looked at it, it was definitely a woman in her 20s. I turned my head to see the old man. He was a werewolf gentleman, estimated to be in his 60s to 80s.

“…that.”

Isn’t this guy a total thief?

I swallowed the words that were about to burst out. There must be something here that is common sense in this other world. I blinked and looked closely at the photo, and I noticed that the eyes of this woman in her 20s were strangely sparkling.

It looks like there’s stardust in its eyes. This companion looks similar to a human, but it doesn’t seem to be of the human race. But if you ask, “What race is this person?”, you’ll probably be asked why you’re asking that…

“… You look so young. You look younger than me.”

“That’s not true. When I talk about my life, my partner gets angry and says that I shouldn’t talk about things that make her look old….”

I think it was the first time in my life that I heard an old man call his wife a companion. The old man’s expression seemed to have softened again, so I thought it was time to ask.

“By the way, how did you meet this person?”

I asked him where he met, thinking that I might be able to make some inferences, but the old man’s expression hardened slightly at this point.

After a while, he answered in a smaller voice.

“…We met during my military service.”

I met him when I was a soldier. This old man was from the Chief Petty Officer’s Guard. If I met him while I was serving in that Guard, then this person is by any chance… .

“I’m asking just in case.”

“Uh… oh, yes.”

“Do you have something else in mind, sir?”

While I was thinking, the old man spoke to me. His voice was piercing in my ears.

He looked straight into the old man’s eyes and swallowed once. His eyes showed his determination to answer the question he had just asked.

I feel like I touched something I shouldn’t have. I didn’t mean to, I was just being honest because I thought beating around the bush would only make things worse.

“You saw that person earlier, right? That is, the owner.”

I have told you what I know about the store manager, just what you need to know. He used to be a magician, and he has experience working with soldiers from a certain unit.

The soldier’s procedure and method of pulling out the shoulder were almost identical to that of the old man, and he guessed that the old man might have been from the old guard unit.

As I said this, the old man looked out the front door with a rare look of surprise.

“Huh. That business owner who looks like a student… .”

“I was curious about that too, so I asked a few times, but he got angry and told me not to talk about making me look old.”

“… I know this may be an impolite question, but what is your race?”

“You are human. Just like me.”

Asking about race is probably considered rude in this world. On the contrary, it means that this issue is important enough to the elders to bring up rude questions.

The old man, who had been lost in thought, took off his hat and placed it on the table. He always did this when he was having a serious conversation.

“… Yes. As the owner guessed, my old duty station was the Special Guards. A secret unit under the 3rd Army Corps.”

I wondered if this was the kind of thing I should be hearing, but I listened anyway since he was talking. The old man finished speaking.