Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 164

Episode 164. Contrary to expectations (2)

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While the morning store sales are overcast, the sky outside is clear and blue. It’s the kind of weather that makes you think about wearing short sleeves. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming… .

And I’m having a terrible time. What the hell is this woman? How does she know that I’m from another world, and why is she asking me this?

Everyone left, what was the intention? Whether or not she knew that my head was spinning, the woman in front of me just looked at me with her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“…that.”

“You suddenly became silent.”

“I don’t really understand what you’re saying… .”

“Don’t nag me so I can think about it,” I muttered, but the woman frowned slightly at my reaction and asked again.

“Did I make it difficult for you to understand?”

In the meantime, he asks if he has found it difficult to speak. He says it flatly, without any change in tone.

I have no idea who this woman is or how big the flower garden in her head is… .

“… No. You didn’t say it in a difficult way.”

“thank god.”

“But what do you mean, you are not of this world? Are you saying that there is another world?”

I asked back. I had to hear the story.

If you bring tens of millions or hundreds of millions of different races into this world and ask them whether they are people of this world or not, they will all instinctively give the same answer. Did you eat something wrong?

I’m probably the only one who’ll think about it and answer. You have to know why I’m asking this. It’s not like this woman has some kind of special hobby of grabbing the staff at every convenience store she visits and telling them stories from another world…

“well.”

“yes?”

“You asked if there was another world. Whether there is another world or not, in the end, you can’t know unless you see it with your own eyes.”

“Ugh… .”

“Right, oppa.”

I can’t keep track of the flow of the conversation. If you ask me first and then talk like this, what should I say? Are you really doing this as a hobby?

“By the way, you’re not denying it. Are you from another world?”

It’s not that I don’t do it, it’s that I can’t. If I just say no, he’ll say, “Oh, I did it. You worked hard.” and leave. Now that we’ve talked a few times, I can guess that much.

There were a few other things I could guess, too: it seemed like this woman had no intention of doing anything to me with this problem.

If that was his intention, he wouldn’t have quietly waited for an answer like this. He would have threatened me in some way, like reporting me as a spy or something.

Also, it might be related to what we were doing earlier. This woman was sitting at the table just now, writing something in her notebook, and she tore off a few pages and crumpled them up.

I’d rather send this woman away and check the contents of the paper. I looked at the table for a moment, and this woman, like a ghost, noticed this and immediately spoke.

“You are looking at my notebook.”

“No. My eyes hurt for a moment, so I looked outside.”

“Are you that curious about what I was doing?”

“… Yes. Actually, I am curious.”

“I won’t tell you. You won’t tell me whether or not you’re from another world.”

That’s very logical. Let’s put aside whether checking the contents of a crumpled note and asking whether someone is from another world are on the same level.

While I was thinking, I heard the phone ring. It was my phone. I glanced down to check, and it was a call from the store manager.

“Excuse me, I need to take a phone call.”

“Just a moment.”

It’s not something I can do anything about. As soon as I pressed the receive button, the store manager immediately told me what was going on, and his voice was quite loud.

[ Chan-ah. I have something really urgent to do, so would you like to come out for a bit? ]

“Yes? Outside?”

[ Yes. If there are any customers inside, please understand that I will have to empty the store for a moment. ]

That’s what he said. I took the phone off my ear and looked at the woman, and she asked me if I heard what the store manager said. She seemed a little disappointed.

“Should I go out? I haven’t heard back yet.”

“Yes. My boss told me to do it. Please understand.”

“Then I will do you a favor, so please do me a favor too.”

“Why would I… No, yes. Please tell me.”

“Can I come back later?”

If you tell me why you want to come again, I’ll do you a favor, he said, but swallowed his words. It’s not my place to decide whether a customer comes to the convenience store or not. That is, if they’re a customer.

“It’s up to you. If you have anything to buy, just come.”

“Ah. I need to buy something.”

Now that he realized that this was a convenience store, he muttered and grabbed his shopping cart in front of the lobby and went inside. After a while, he came back with the cart filled with all kinds of chocolate.

Then, he took his wallet out of the pocket of the windbreaker he was wearing, placed it on top of the shopping cart, and opened it up. Since he was counting the number of chocolates, he naturally checked the contents of his wallet as well.

The contents of her wallet were as monstrous as this woman’s. There were only dozens of bills, no cards, and they were all 50,000 won bills. What kind of woman is this… .

“Are you selling this basket too?”

“It’s not for sale. Let me scan the barcode.”

It took more than 5 minutes just to take pictures of everything because the inside of the basket was so full that it looked like a Tetris game that would burst if you put even one piece of cloth in it. The price was about 100,000 won.

As I put it in an envelope and told him the price, he took out three bills, placed them on the counter, and then grabbed the envelope handle and lifted it up. It was quite heavy, so it swayed slightly.

“The rest is for tips―”

“Here’s your change. We don’t accept tips.”

“why?”

“It got messed up when I was settling the sales.”

Of course, there was nothing like that, and I was reluctant to receive anything from this woman, so I just said I wouldn’t accept it. It was obvious that she’d use this as an excuse to talk about my world again.

Anyone with even a little experience as a swindler would know right away that what I’m saying is nonsense, but there’s no way a woman carrying around a wad of 50,000 won bills would know that.

She nodded as if she agreed with what I said, took the bill, and walked unsteadily to the table where her notebook was. She walked over and stuffed her notebook and a bundle of torn and crumpled papers into her bag.

After that, he picked up his bag, looked at me, stuck his tongue out, put it back in, and added.

“It’s too bad.”

“Sir, I have a question for you.”

“Yes, brother.”

“You asked me earlier why I was using formal language when you’re older. Since you spoke first, I’ll ask you a more informal question.”

“Since when?”

“From now on. What on earth are you doing?”

There are many questions you will ask. How did you come to say that I am a person of this world? How do you make a living by tearing up that notebook? Did you receive your home education as a fantasy?

No matter what I ask, it’s obvious that he’ll stick his tongue out again. When I ask him questions in a way that lets him know what he wants to know, he answers without a moment’s hesitation.

“I go to that university. I’m a freshman this year.”

“Are you twenty years old?”

“Yes. Now that I’ve answered your question, can I ask you something else?”

“It’s up to you to ask. It’s up to me to answer.”

“If there really is another world, it would definitely be an interesting place. What do you think?”

It’s a boring world, and that’s both a disadvantage and an advantage. As someone who’s been swept away by rainwater and dived into the deep sea, it’s hard to treat it as a disadvantage.

Of course I didn’t say anything. I don’t know what kind of delusions he had, but delusions are basically self-satisfaction. I answered appropriately without breaking the rules.

“That wouldn’t be the case, would it?”

“How can you be so sure, when you haven’t even experienced it?”

“If you’re not going to listen, then you shouldn’t have asked in the first place.”

“I’m joking. Sell a lot, oppa.”

Then he left, and only Mong-Mong, who was still soundly asleep after the conversation ended, me, and the phone that was still on the line were left. Ddal-rang looked at the front door bell and spoke to the store manager.

“Manager. That girl left, do you still have something urgent to do?”

[ Oh, he went out? Then Chani doesn’t have to go out either. ]

“yes.”

I realized this after ringing the front door bell. The guy just put the phone down right after he came in, and he didn’t hang up. The store manager must have heard our conversation over the phone…

The reason I asked you to come out for a moment was probably because the conversation was serious and I wanted you to cool your head for a moment. I asked to confirm.

“How far did you just hear?”

[ From one to ten. While listening, I kept thinking about what kind of race that girl was? ]

“I still wonder. What race is that person?”

[ Probably a hybrid. Something close to human, but mixed with other races. ]

After speaking, the store manager mentioned again what he had said before. There was a war in this world, and in that war, most of the humans died, leaving only a few.

“By the way, were there a lot of humans before the war?”

[ There weren’t many. It wasn’t to the point where it was hard to find them like it is now. ]

If there was only one intelligent species in this world, the history of the world I lived in might have been similar to that of the world I lived in. With a little bit of magic added to it.

However, this world has become a place where, in addition to humans, there are countless species that can think and act, and it is not easy for purely humans to form families among themselves.

My impression after hearing this is that I just had a very novel experience.

Apart from the fact that he’s mixed-race, he was the third human I’d ever met in this world. Yun-ha and the store manager are closer to being inhuman than human, but anyway…

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen a mixed race person, sir.”

[There are surprisingly many mixed race people, Chan-ah. It’s hard to tell just by looking at their appearance.]

“Ugh… .”

[Usually, your appearance is more similar to that of one parent. Is it just one or two features that stand out in terms of appearance?]

“So, did he have something that stood out just now?”

[ Eye and hair color. I said they were silver. ]

“yes.”

[ It’s not that it’s a color that doesn’t occur naturally, but there are cases where the hair or eye color comes out artificially. That is, unless it’s been dyed. ]

It’s possible that the guy really dyed his hair and wore colored contact lenses, so maybe that’s why.

“For example, store manager?”

[ It has to do with the magic you use or the magical power you have, but this is something you have to ask the person directly to find out for sure… ]

“Then, when he comes later, can I tell the store manager then?”

[ huh. ]

After that, it became quiet for a while. Looking outside, which had become empty again, I spoke first.

“Are you on the bus now, sir?”

[ No? Waiting. ]

“Then I’ll see you at 10. See you later, manager.”

[ See you later, Chan-ah. Oh, and also. ]

“yes?”

[ Don’t worry too much, Chan-ah. Nothing will happen. ]

Then the call ended, and I threw my phone down on the counter and sat down. What did that silver-haired guy mean to me just now?

This is the first time. This is the first time they’ve found out that I’m from another world.

I don’t think this will be a big problem. There’s no evidence. If Nana and the store manager just ignore it, what can I do?

But what worries me is that this could become a case in point. Even if I or the store manager don’t say anything, someone else might realize my existence on their own.

I honestly don’t know what would happen to me then. If I have to imagine something ominous, it would be if someone who wants to come and go from my world finds out that they can’t even enter or leave without me.

“…Why are you worrying about buying something in advance?”

I don’t know anything yet. We’ve only talked for 10 minutes.

He said he’d come back again. I don’t know much about it yet, so I guess it’s better to worry about it then.