Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 189

Episode 189. Find the lost item (2)

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So I was assigned to bat first, and before we could finish dividing up the roles, we looked for a bathroom. There was a park map nearby, so I looked at it, and there were two bathrooms in the park.

One on the entrance side, one on the opposite side. Judging that there was no way a criminal would commit a crime near the entrance where it was easy to get in and out, we headed to the bathroom on the opposite side, and as soon as we arrived, the police checked the surrounding terrain.

Then, he pointed to a place far away and spoke.

“I will wait inside.”

The direction he was pointing was a playground, and his fingertips were pointed at a play structure that looked like an igloo. The window happened to be open so that he could see the bathroom.

“I’ll be with you too, officer.”

“Then, if you two do that, will these earphones both transmit and receive?”

“Yes. It shares the code with my radio, and you can just place your finger on the earpiece when you talk.”

He then blew into his radio, which was audible. He tried to transmit a message by placing his finger on it, and the officer said something that seemed a bit random.

“Finally, you two need to decide on a code name.”

“What’s the code name…?”

“It’s to prevent your identity from being exposed.”

It might be different after they’re caught and handcuffed, but before they’re caught, they’re calling each other’s names and if they miss, there’s no telling what might happen.

The reason is understandable, but the slightly excited voice of the officer speaking seems to be more than just that reason. Codename, sir. When I was a little kid and played wrestling, I used to make up my own ring name… .

“I want to be a penguin, officer. I’m going to hide in an igloo.”

“Then let’s unify the names of the birds, and I will go with sparrow.”

I was about to ask if it wouldn’t be okay to just throw it away, but since things are going this way, I think I should think of a suitable bird and give it a name. Nothing came to mind right away, so I pointed to the bathroom and said.

“I’ll stay inside and let you know if anything comes to mind.”

“Are you coming in early?”

“Yes. These guys might not come right at 12 o’clock. They’re dirty guys.”

And, since I have to meet the messenger alone anyway, if I stick with him, my determination to hold on to him will weaken. I didn’t say anything about this.

After parting ways with the two, I went into the bathroom and took a quick look around. The interior was so narrow that there were only two toilet stalls. There was only one small window at head height, and the only entrance was the one I had just entered.

When things get crazy, it seems like it’s hard to get out on your own. You just sit in one of the two toilet stalls and look back and forth between the bathroom ceiling and your phone screen.

For more than 30 minutes. I try to empty my mind as much as possible, but distracting thoughts keep coming to my mind. This is my job, so I wonder if things will really work out well.

The one who was supposed to deliver the money was not me, but the goblin. When the messenger asks, ‘Why didn’t he come and why did you come?’, what should I say then… .

No. Since he already knows that I failed, he’ll probably ask me for something more than just the password. Or he’ll try to do something to me with magic like I thought.

If it’s magic, then it’s okay. I’m confident I can endure it. However, I’m honestly not confident about external things. I’ve only seen this kind of thing in movies and dramas, and I’ve never experienced it myself…

[ iced coffee. ]

“?”

[ This is a penguin. Come out, whatever comes to mind, Oba. ]

Suddenly, the store manager’s voice came to my ear, so I checked the time. It was 10:50. There should still be time to talk. I put my finger on the earphone and spoke.

“Dot… penguin. Can you hear me?”

[ Listen carefully. But, what comes to mind is, do you use polite language towards penguins? ]

“It depends. But what comes to mind?”

[ I said earlier that I would tell you if anything came to mind. That’s why I’m calling you like this. ]

I guess he was just joking. After hearing it, I still couldn’t think of anything, so I asked the store manager about something else.

“Did you receive a separate radio?”

[ Yeah. When I told him that my legs were numb and that I was going to take a quick walk, he let me borrow one of the two he had. He turned off the walkie-talkie for a moment. ]

“Huh? Can I just walk outside?”

[Isn’t that okay? If you just look at me from the outside, I look harmless.]

Well, even if the store manager is a former great wizard, she looks exactly like a high school girl. It’s almost 11 o’clock now, so at best she’ll just look like a strange high school girl walking around the park with the lights off at 11 o’clock…

“I don’t think it’ll be okay.”

[ Then I guess I should just say what I have to say and end it. Are you really nervous? ]

“yes.”

That’s probably why he called the radio. Even though the store manager is somewhat playful, he’s not the type of person to joke around in a situation like this.

Even if I said I wasn’t nervous, you obviously wouldn’t believe me. After all, you know my situation. I sat up straight and continued talking, omitting as much information as possible.

“When I first came here, I never dreamed that I would be doing this. I thought I would just work and leave, work and leave, and then retire.”

[ It’s a lot different from what I thought, right? Anyway. ]

“Yes. Does this happen often?”

[ It varies depending on the industry you work in. In our case, this is what we mainly do. ]

Gates. Demons. Crimes using magic. Etc. People in this world live their lives taking things that were not part of their daily lives as part of their daily lives. However, this is not because they are not dangerous.

Because someone has been solving dangerous problems. Anti-magicians and magicians, magic police, hunters, and other professions that I still don’t know about. I even risked my life once… .

“You know, when I went down the sewer before, store manager?”

[ huh. ]

“Does that kind of thing happen often? Or is it happening now?”

I guess so. I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know.

[ It happened often. After doing it once, I would feel exhausted and say, “Today was really hard~” and then lie down on the bed and go to sleep. ]

“aha.”

[Then, I brush my teeth and wash my hair while looking in the mirror. If I get a call while watching TV, I answer and say, ‘The work you did seems to be going like this, and the penguin~’ Then, I answer all your questions and hang up, and unmute the TV.]

“It was routine.”

[ Right. That was my daily routine when I was on active duty. ]

It’s not exactly what I wanted, but I’m now 80% nerd and 20% half-wizard. Now that I’m in this industry, I’m going to be doing this a lot, and it’s going to become part of my daily routine.

I wanted to hear some advice from the store manager, who is a senior in the same industry. How should I set my mind? After listening to the store manager, I got a general idea. Just do as you have been doing.

[ You can do the same. Or, should we have a beer after work today? ]

“Beer?”

[ Yeah. I also made some changes when I had a hard time at work. Just do whatever comes to mind. ]

“I’ll think about it. But, since you keep saying it’s just something that comes to mind, it feels awkward…”

[ Then just tell me something appropriate. ]

I think I should do that so that I don’t get teased any more. The store manager is a penguin, and Officer Iruel is a sparrow. The store manager is something I thought of in an igloo, and the officer is something I thought of in an image I know…

“… It’s a magpie.”

[ magpie? ]

“Yes. I think they fit my situation perfectly―”

I stopped talking. I heard voices outside. It’s only 11 o’clock?

“… How should I proceed?”

A male voice. The tone is businesslike and even intellectual. If he were a messenger, he would be nothing more or less than someone who runs errands for middle management, so why is he talking… .

“Yes. Then let’s get started right away.”

What kind of work is this? I whispered to the store manager with an ominous feeling.

“Who is here and what do they seem to be trying to do? Please look this way.”

After speaking, I immediately took my hands off my ears and unlocked the bathroom door. If the door is locked, it’s like advertising that there’s someone inside.

Next, I lifted my feet through the crack under the door so they couldn’t be seen, and listened quietly. I could hear the sound of footsteps on the bathroom tiles, and the sound of something being placed on the floor. Once, twice, three times.

Even the sound of putting things down is different. Hard, heavy, light. Did you bring money in several bags? No, were they really bags of money in the first place?

“What order should I do it in? Starting with the magic detection spell. Yes. I confirmed it.”

Detection. What the hell, this guy didn’t come here to deliver the bag of money.

I came to catch the guy who came to get the money bag. He failed to deliver the money bag, it wasn’t recovered, and the goblin guy is under protective custody with the magic removed. There’s no way to shut these guys up.

Assuming that he was fluent, it would have been easy to guess that someone who heard him would come here at this hour. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. Why would you use detection magic to simply carry a bag of money?

While I was thinking, I heard a rustling sound outside, and then a faint flash of blue light. Then came the sensation of my skin being scratched by a filial hand. It was a dirty, prickly sensation.

But this is better. I don’t have a single drop of magic in my body. The flashing light disappeared, and then came the sound of a body getting up.

“There’s nothing wrong. Next is… sealing magic. Yes.”

It’s getting more and more interesting. It looks like he’s been sitting on the toilet all day.

I thought to myself as I heard the lock click. Detection magic.

I guess the detection spell was meant to check if someone else had been here before. It would be easier to check if there was some sort of invisible magic or something, rather than just finding people.

Then what is the blocking spell? Since neither of us knows each other’s identity, they may have imagined me getting beaten up by a muscular orc. It’s to create a situation where I can’t escape by force.

If you think about it this far, he might not be the only one in this area. The guy giving orders right now seems to be a pretty cautious guy. And in this situation… .

… You probably didn’t bring a bag of money. That wasn’t the intention in the first place.

If this is the case, my goal of recovering the money bag before it gets damaged will be lost. Then what should I do? Just as I was thinking about it, this guy said something that made my heart sink.

“You’re telling me to check the inside of the… thing that’s currently in progress? Separate from the detection magic?”

Hey, just say you’re not doing it. You used detection magic earlier… .

“… No. I will do as you say.”

This idiot. There are only two bathroom stalls here, and I’m sitting inside. Three footsteps later, the door to the next bathroom opens and closes.

There was no time to think anymore. Even if I told her that I was constipated and sat down, she wouldn’t believe me. I put my fingers on my earphones and with my other hand, I locked the toilet door lock that I had unlocked earlier.

“…what?”

You must have been confused because the door was locked right before your eyes. So I immediately called the radio.

“Oh, this is a magpie. This is a magpie.”

[ Sparrow is waiting. What’s the situation? ]

“If you don’t come soon, I’m going to get screwed.”

Immediately afterwards, the lock was released again.