Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 131

Episode 131. Even Chihuahuas Can Roll (3)

* * *

I waited a moment because he told me to. The Chihuahua opened up his laptop, ran a program, and started typing excitedly on the keyboard.

As I was tapping my feet, maps and internet sites appeared briefly on a screen full of English and then disappeared repeatedly. No matter how much I looked at it, I couldn’t understand it, so I asked in the middle of it.

“Customer, what are you doing now?”

“If I tell you, will you understand?”

“That’s not it. Can’t you explain it so that the customer can understand?”

“Just shut up and wait, kid.”

I sat still for three minutes after being told to wait. Since it didn’t seem like it was going to end, I poured myself an Americano in an iced cup.

The moment I put it on the table, Chihuahua turned the laptop towards me, as if he was done with what he was doing. The screen showed a map covered in red dots, but the original shape of the map was not visible because the dots were covered.

“This is the announcement of the current status of the gate by the f*cking Magic Agency bastards.”

“What? So, are you saying that all these hundreds of dots were opened and closed?”

“Then why am I doing this? Watch the rest.”

Then he brought up another map, and compared to the map he had just shown, there were twice as many dots on it.

“This is something those kids haven’t announced yet, it’s something I made up by compiling all the stuff that’s been posted on social media.”

“Why the SNS post… More importantly, how did you do this?”

“If I tell you that, you’re not me?”

“Oh, yes. Anyway, what method did you use? So?”

“There are a few idiots who brag about the gates opening and closing in front of their house. Their certification photos are uploaded as early as 3 minutes ago, so do you think those lazy kids at the Magic Agency would have noticed all the things that opened 3 minutes ago?”

As the gates opened and closed, frozen tuna hail fell from the sky all over the city, and fire hydrants came to life, and people were taking pictures of them and excitedly posting them on social media.

Chihuahua’s explanation was that these types of things are usually compiled by only collecting complaints or reports, so there isn’t enough samples. Chihuahua said as he pulled up another map.

“The more samples there are, the higher the accuracy.”

The third map that appeared on the screen had a change, with a few additional blue dots in addition to the existing dots.

I counted and there were eight in total. The Chihuahua continued talking while poking one of the shops near the blue dot with his claws.

“This is your store. I’ve gathered all the gates that have appeared around here and picked out places that might be key gates or something. Places that might be central.”

“These eight places. No other places?”

“Your area is 1.5km in diameter, you piece of shit. Why are you picking on me?”

I don’t have a car, and it would take hours just to see these eight places. I looked at the dots on the map and let out a thought that came to mind.

“I didn’t know customers would do things like this.”

“What the heck, then I go around bragging about doing this kind of thing?”

“It’s not that I didn’t know. But why are you suddenly helping me?”

I thought you’d reply with something like, ‘Why are you curious about that?’ or, ‘Don’t bother with it since you don’t know anything.’

But when I asked this, the Chihuahua asked me back as if he was really angry.

“No, you idiot, I think the store is going to go under.”

“That’s what happened.”

“If this place fails, where will I work?”

Alternatives include cafes, study cafes, and homes.

Even if it’s not this place, there are many other good places, so why did you have to come to a place with plastic chairs and do this? Did you really get banned from entering somewhere else?

Considering this guy’s swearing, it wouldn’t be strange if a place like a cafe near my house put up a sign saying “Chihuahuas are not allowed in.” The Chihuahua asked, pointing to a map on the laptop screen.

“Can you find that f*cking thing with this?”

“Well, I’ll go check out the places you recommended, but next time… uh…”

“What’s next?”

“I don’t know. It hasn’t even been an hour since I got the job, so I’m just thinking about it and sleeping—”

“Hey, you piece of shit.”

“why.”

“Is it raining outside now?”

What are you going to say this time? I thought to myself as I looked out the window, and just as the Chihuahua said, water began to form on the window, one or two drops at a time.

While I was watching, the rain started to pour down and then stopped. The Chihuahua, who had been staring intently at the road outside being soaked with rainwater, suddenly spoke.

“I’m going.”

“You said you were going to finish all your work just a little while ago.”

“You little punk, are you going to bite me when mold grows on the veranda flooring?”

It seems like he left the window open at home. Honestly, I really hate it, but I thought I had to finish talking to this guy today… .

I can’t force him to go. I don’t want to see this guy’s eyes pop out while trying to hold him back. But I had to accept what I had to give and let him go.

“You should at least give me the map pictures from earlier. I’ll take a look around later.”

“Oh, I just hung out the laundry to dry!!”

“It won’t take long to give me the pictures. Does it take long?”

It didn’t take long, and the Chihuahua began to open the laptop that he was trying to close while growling and showing his teeth. He opened the notepad and pointed to the screen and said a word.

“Write down your phone number, you piece of shit.”

Oh shit, I never thought I’d be giving this guy my phone number on my first day on the job… .

But given the circumstances, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s type in the phone number on the keyboard, and Chihuahua sends the picture by entering the phone number in the computer chat.

After a while, my pocket vibrated. When I checked, I saw that three map photos had been sent to my private message.

“Did you go?”

“I think it’s here. But if I ask for something else later, would you be able to give it to me?”

“What else is that and when do you want it?”

“You both don’t know yet?”

“This son of a bitch….”

He closed his laptop in a disbelieving manner and put it away in his laptop bag next to his chair as he continued speaking.

“If I give it to you, do you think you’ll be able to do what you want to do then?”

“I don’t know about that, but I’ll try my best.”

“Please give me an envelope. An eco-friendly one.”

Why do you want an envelope again?

I wanted to, but if the condition is a 100 won envelope, it’s not a bad deal at all. Thinking it was a favor, I opened two envelopes and handed them to him, and the Chihuahua picked one up and put it in his laptop bag.

And the other one, he put it over his head.

“customer?”

“It feels so comfortable to wear.”

If it’s a dog, don’t use it. The eco-friendly mark on the bag crumples or unfolds as you breathe, so if you need an umbrella, just say you need it. Why are you turning the bag inside out?

Before I could ask this question, the Chihuahua strode out the front door, leaving me alone. The Americano I had left for him to drink didn’t even touch its claws.

So I drank. I took a couple of sips through the straw, and briefly wondered what the hell that guy’s psychiatric diagnosis was. Nothing came to mind.

After that, I looked outside the shop window, which was getting covered in raindrops. The rain was getting heavier.

In this weather, it would be right to take out the carpets and umbrella display stands inside the office… .

“…eight.”

The blue dots were spaced quite far apart. If we start in the morning, we’ll be late.

* * *

I sent a message to the store manager.

[ Please contact us immediately after confirmation ]

I thought I should tell the store manager before I empty the store. I tried calling him a few times, but he kept connecting me to the voicemail.

After that, I wrote down my contact information and a piece of coated paper saying that I was going to the bathroom and stuck it on the front door. After that, I took an appropriate umbrella from the umbrella stand, paid for it, went outside, and locked the door.

After putting my keys in my pocket, I took a look around the street.

It may not be right for an employee to make such a judgment, but the street looks like it is not good for business. It is 11 p.m., a time when drunkards and thugs would normally be swarming around.

Not only is there no sign of any foreign races, there are no cars, and not even a single building with its lights on in the alleyway of restaurants. The heavy rain has hit the dragon’s head…

I figured that if I kept watch over the store tonight, I’d be nothing more than a salary thief, so I’d better get this done in advance. Before I set off, I checked the map.

“… Same as the left.”

The closest blue dot is on the left, in the direction of the food alley. I opened my umbrella and went out onto the street.

In one step, rainwater seeped into my sneakers. I ignored the fact that my socks were getting wet and kept walking. The bus stop’s electronic display board that said the trains had stopped running, and the subway entrance where even the lights were dim.

After walking for another 10 minutes, we arrived at the food alley. The alcohol that most of the convenience store vendors were producing was probably produced here. The commercial area was a barracks, and the vendors were infected Terrans.

Because of that, I didn’t have a very good opinion of this place, but when I actually came here, it was very different from the image I had imagined.

Most of the signs are dark. Meat restaurants, pubs, cocktail bars, karaoke rooms. The only ones with lights on are an unmanned arcade and a doll-grabbing machine shop.

It was desolate. This alley wasn’t like this every time it rained.

“…anyway.”

What we’ve come for is what we’ve come for, now what should we do?

As I walked, I had a brief thought. The reason why the countermeasure committee that the professor was a part of gathered anti-magicians. Preventing and responding to civilian damage, and finding and eliminating key gates before they naturally disappear.

Let’s think about civilian casualties. If a gate had been opened and closed in this area, there would have been damage somewhere.

As the story that came out on SNS earlier, the frozen tuna that fell like hail is defrosting and jumping around, or like my sister said, the car is flipping over… .

Other half-wizards might have a magical way to turn their cars over, but I can’t do something so manly. Would I lose to a thawed tuna?

So for now, I’m going to rule that out and just do what I can do: find the gate.

The professor told me to request personnel from places like the Magical Agency and the Hunter Association, but that was only to a certain extent. Shouldn’t there be some sort of justification for calling in civil servants?

All I have to do is create the basis for that. I still don’t know what the gate’s composition was like, but I remember what came out of the gate. A magic stone.

Since the gate is where magic stones come out from, it must have something to do with magic.

And, if it’s something related to magic, there’s one more thing you can do besides erasing. I closed my eyes tightly and then slowly opened them.

Nothing appears distorted. Not yet.

“no?”

I muttered to myself in frustration. Of course, there was no answer. Was I making a fool of myself because there was no problem in this alley, or was my method wrong?

I closed my eyes again. Once is not enough.

I almost fainted from motion sickness once while doing this before. It was my first practical exam for my license, when I had to check a hundred or so coffins at a glance.

That’s what I have to do. Since there’s nothing left to erase, this is the only thing I can do here right now. I have to get some results, no matter what. That’s the only way I can be convinced. That’s why.

“Let’s see who wins.”

I opened my eyes, clutching the certificate in my hand.

Then, before and after opening my eyes, the surrounding scenery was clearly different. It wasn’t just that one place was distorted.

The whole world seemed distorted. The rain-soaked ground, the night sky, the streetlights.