Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 123

Episode 123. It was okay when you came in, but when you left (1)

* * *

The calculation is messed up.

Starting with these words, the store manager’s words were roughly as follows. For one of the many reasons that come to mind, the calculation formula set up in the convenience store is messed up, and because of this, teleportation to any place, not just the world I used to live in, is impossible.

The store manager, who had been talking without taking a breath, immediately continued his explanation.

“I wrote down the coordinates for Chan-i’s home separately on the first day and kept them. There’s nothing wrong with the calculations, so Chan-i won’t be unable to return home. So stay calm. Got it?”

Is it a trait of a great wizard to talk without breathing for a minute? It’s clear that the store manager is even less calm than I am… .

I thought for a moment about what to say, and it seemed much better to say something helpful rather than comforting. So I said it.

“My sister came and went yesterday, store manager.”

“… Huh? Yoon-ha? She didn’t rest yesterday?”

“Yes. The squirrel uses Squirrel Thunder, and the steel dove flies in and breaks the display case. I was going to pass this on as a handover matter.”

This time, I explained it. Yesterday, harmful agents showed up at the store and did harmful things, and it was only with the help of my elder sister and I that we were able to resolve it.

“After that, my older sister told me that there might be a key gate or something around our store. She said that it might cause something.”

“…ah.”

“Does this have anything to do with the equation being messed up?”

I couldn’t think of anything else. It was the only change that happened in one day.

The store manager who heard my explanation said briefly, “That’s it.” and slumped his shoulders. I guess this was one of the many reasons. After a while, the store manager asked.

“You didn’t tell me when Yoon-ha’s situation would be resolved?”

“I don’t think even you know that well. You’ve only said that it’s still in the speculative stage. I heard that this is something that could be embargoed?”

“… I guess so. Yoon-ha must be very busy today… .”

The store manager muttered as if he felt sorry and then fell into thought again.

This made perfect sense. I had been trying to organize the current situation in terms of my common sense throughout my early morning shift, and by morning I had come to a conclusion.

In simple terms, a storm is currently heading towards the convenience store. The difference is that this storm is not a simple storm, but a time-space storm, but anyway.

What kind of business owner wouldn’t be concerned that his or her own convenience store would be swept away by a storm? However, I now know that the store manager isn’t doing this because he or she is worried about this.

“You don’t have to worry so much, manager. I don’t have any particular concerns.”

“… … .”

“If today was my first day of work, I think I would have made a fuss and asked the store manager to meet me at the district court….”

I’m calm now. I’m so surprised at myself.

I don’t know the reason either. It’s a bit complicated. Maybe it’s because I stayed up all night and my senses are dulled, or maybe I’m mentally burned out from Squirrel Thunder and have nothing left…

Or maybe it’s because it’s the time of the wise man, or something. Whatever it is, I have no intention of arguing any further. This isn’t important right now.

“I told you two days ago when I came back from the warehouse. Even if one of you loses your senses, if the other one stays calm, something will work out.”

Only after saying this did the store manager look up at me. His gaze seemed to be asking for forgiveness. I didn’t really want to see him, so I turned my head away.

After a while, the store manager spoke quietly.

“It’s not hard at all to solve this. It just takes some time.”

It was the unique professional tone I heard when working with the elf police. When I looked at the store manager again, he had returned to his usual self.

Instead, it became slightly more serious.

“There was something I promised myself. No matter what happened, I would make sure Chan got off work on time.”

“That’s so touching. When did you even make that promise?”

“On the first day. Chan-i, you wanted to go home a lot.”

Isn’t this not just me, but all the pickpockets? If you work 12 hours at night and can’t get off work, which pickpocket would be in their right mind? It’s legal to run away after emptying all the cash in the POS machine.

“It was a promise I made with great sincerity, but it was broken after just one month.”

“Ugh… .”

“That’s why I was upset. It seems like I’ve only been showing Chan-i my bad side lately… ”

“You can do that to me. How many times have you accepted my whining so far?”

As soon as it came to mind, the store manager smiled faintly and accepted my words.

“I’m like this because Chan-i treats me so comfortably.”

“I’m glad you’re comfortable. But how many days exactly does it take?”

“One day at the fastest, two days at the longest.”

After that, we talked comfortably as if we were handing over things. The curtains were pulled back up, the front door was unlocked again. Only a little bit of content was added.

“You can rewrite the tangled formula. The problem is that the formula needs to be reviewed.”

“So it’s not like it’s the evaluation you received when you opened the store?”

“Yes. The proof of use process is required.”

When you create a new spatial teleportation formula, you must verify that the formula was actually built to teleport a convenience store.

“If you don’t do that, the caster can move buildings like single-family homes at will. If they want, they can even steal the entire house.”

“Oh my.”

I understood right away. I went to see the house over there because someone had stolen the whole house, but when I came back, my house was also stolen and gone. Wouldn’t I cry the moment I saw it?

In addition to this proof of use, there were many other things to do, such as how far the space between the store and the ground should be moved, whether to move the surrounding public properties or other commercial buildings at the same time, etc.

“If I finish it and send it this afternoon, I’ll get the results by tomorrow morning. So even if I can’t do it, it’ll be done in one day.”

“The process seems quite complicated, but are you sure it’s possible?”

If you’re trying to force something, don’t do it. I was trying to say this indirectly, but the store manager tilted his head and asked me back.

“It’s not complicated at all?”

That’s what I thought. I hope I have basic knowledge of teleportation magic, I hope there’s a wizard I know…

After that, the store manager crossed his arms and continued talking while looking at the ceiling. This time, his tone was almost mumbling.

“… But just in case, two days.”

“yes?”

“No, just talking to myself. What does Chan-i want to do now?”

I felt like he was hastily changing the subject, but I didn’t ask any more questions. This was also an issue that needed to be addressed immediately.

I can’t go home today. That means I have to sleep somewhere in this world. Then I can go to work tomorrow or not. I’m not a hunter.

For a moment, I thought about sleeping on a familiar convenience store table, but I don’t think the store manager would like me doing that. I don’t like it either.

For similar reasons, excluding warehouses also narrows down the options considerably.

“Is there a jjimjilbang nearby? I wonder if I could stay there for 12 hours and then come back.”

“I don’t like that. It’s my fault that Chan can’t go home, so I should at least make sure he gets a decent night’s sleep. Um…”

The store manager strongly expressed his refusal. He immediately opened the POS machine, lifted the cash drawer, and took out a yellow envelope from underneath. This time, it was my turn to express my opinion.

“Okay, manager. I paid you so much, so what are you going to give me now?”

“I knew you’d do that, so I took it out. This isn’t my money, Chan-ah. It’s from the person who bought a bunch of gift cards before.”

“… Ah, 500,000 won. I remember.”

There was an old man who bought 2 million won worth of gift cards and left 500,000 won for me, saying thank you for your hard work. I thought he would come and get the money back at some point, because the amount was that much…

“It’s been over a week and you haven’t come, so I think you must have left it here for Chani to use. What do you think?”

“Honestly, I thought the same thing, but didn’t we decide to use this together?”

“Or I can pay you.”

“…I will use it well.”

If I don’t accept this, I feel like the store manager is going to take out his wallet. After accepting it, I asked the store manager a few simple questions.

“Is there a place near the store where you can find lodging, sir? It’s easier to see and enter that way.”

“There’s nothing around here. You can probably get there by taking the subway. Or should I look for one for you?”

“It’s okay. I’ve done this many times.”

One of the things I did every week when I was on a business trip was to find a place to stay with my boss. It had to be a certain price, and the interior had to be nice, things like that…

This world wouldn’t be much different. After checking my phone battery, I nodded to the store manager.

“I’ll find a suitable place and go in, manager.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about anything, just get some sleep during the day. Okay?”

“Yep. See you tonight.”

* * *

After leaving the store, I sat down at the bus stop. I always looked at this bus stop while working during the early morning hours, but this was my first time sitting down there.

I sat down and looked around the street for a moment. It felt strange to be in this world at this hour.

Because I was always walking along the path of my world at this time. Whenever I left the convenience store and walked along the road toward my house, I always checked the time at the small clock tower standing in the middle.

The clock tower always pointed to 10:15, and now it was 10:30. Every minute and every second that would pass from now on was an unknown time, a time I only briefly imagined.

Because there was no point in trying to make it long. If you want to move the entire store, there should not be a single customer inside. Otherwise, wouldn’t that customer be dragged into my world with you?

When that guest asks, “Where are we going now?”, what do you tell them? Say that you’re having a surprise party to celebrate the 1 millionth guest’s visit? The commemorative gift is a tour of another world?

It’s funny. For this reason, moving the store space was impossible except right after 10 o’clock when there were a lot of customers, and I always chose the former option between going home and staying illegally in another world. I have to sleep so I can go to work the next day.

I always imagined that the opposite would happen someday, but I never dreamed that it would turn out this way.

At that time, I could never have imagined that the streets would be this dead. The streets I walked through in my imagination were a bit more lively and everyday than this… .

“… Wow.”

A guy who doesn’t even have a place to sleep right now is thinking about all sorts of things. He took out his phone and turned on the screen, and several messages that he hadn’t seen until the morning came to mind. From two people.

The sender of the first message among them is….

“what.”

Decard. The gentleman who supervised my qualification exam. He is a vampire who is currently my guardian and a professor of anti-magic at the academy district.

In addition, he was a person who lived his life in his own way, which was hard for me to even imagine. When I checked the message out of ominousness, there were only two lines written.

[ I think you must have gotten off work by now ]

[ Please call immediately for confirmation ]