Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 19

Episode 19. The crying punk (1)

The reason why working at a convenience store on Friday nights is considered hell is very simple: because the next day is the weekend.

On weekdays, I have to go to work the next day, so I drink moderately and go home after a while, but on weekends, workers are like crazy, so there is no way to stop them.

As the alcohol concentration in the air skyrockets and the alcohol effect becomes contagious like a virus, even the most sane people start saying, “Hey, don’t you feel like having some chicken and beer?” and head to a hostess bar to have a bite of chicken and beer before degenerating into less sane people. It becomes a night of the living dead.

Because the mental limit is completely released, the types of people who make a fuss are bound to be as diverse as their drinking habits. The first customer I received as soon as I got to work was… .

“What is your political stance?”

“…yes?”

“It’s about politics. Conservative? Progressive?”

Why are you asking me that?

I scanned the barcode on the pack soju and looked straight ahead. It was a middle-aged elf in shabby clothes, but it wasn’t the same elf that had come before. His expression was normal, but he smelled strongly of alcohol.

“Why all of a sudden…?”

“I’m just curious. Conservative? Progressive?”

After staring blankly for several seconds, I finally came to my senses and answered.

“Well… it depends on which side is more of a dud each year.”

“That’s true. So which side do you think is more stupid this year? Conservative or liberal?”

I don’t want to say a word on this subject.

Not only was it not something to talk about while scanning the barcode of a pack of soju at a convenience store, but in the first place, talking about politics is the easiest thing to get into trouble for.

If I say I’m conservative, I get called a reactionary, if I say I’m progressive, I get called a leftist, and if I say I’m moderate, I get called a person without beliefs. Why do we have to have a conversation where we get called out for whatever we say?

If it were my neighborhood politics, I wouldn’t know, but this is another world. I have no idea what other world politics are like, and I don’t know which side is conservative between the Dragon Party and the Demon King Party, or whether the president’s race is a dragon or a vampire. So I have no choice but to keep quiet.

“I’m sorry, sir… but I don’t think this is the kind of topic we should be discussing here.”

“Just give me a short answer.”

“Still.”

He answered and held out his card. The middle-aged elf looked at me with a displeased expression, then turned his head away and muttered.

“Anyway, young people these days have no faith, no faith.”

Then he left, leaving the door open.

As I closed the door and returned, a second guest arrived.

“Where are the tissues?”

“Tissues….”

The answer didn’t come out well because no matter how I looked at it, the guy who came looking for me wasn’t in the right condition.

It was a green-skinned orc, probably about 2 meters tall, with a half-blasted right eye socket, and blood gushing from his nose.

The blood was soaking through the front of my clothes. I took a deep breath before opening my mouth, as I felt like I would stutter if I answered right away.

“Would you like to look at the tissue at the bottom corner of the reflector over there?”

“thank you.”

“And… do you need any hemostatic agents?”

I asked him because the amount of bleeding was so severe that I thought he might die from blood loss. However, the orc smiled and answered, revealing his yellow teeth.

“It’s okay. It’ll explode again later, you know.”

“yes.”

I didn’t ask why, because it didn’t seem like it would be any good if I just figured it out.

As soon as Oak finished counting the tissues he had brought, he opened the package, pulled out a dozen or so, held them up to his nose, and left with a grim expression. He left the door open.

As I closed the door and returned, a third guest arrived. This time, it was an elf.

All this rascal bought was a pack of ramen, and up until then there were no problems… .

“Hey!!! Hey, man, hey!!!”

Who. Me?

I looked in the direction where the sound came from, and the middle-aged elf who had bought ramen was standing in front of the water heater that was used to receive ramen water. The expression on his face as he looked at me was filled with anger… .

“Are you kidding me?! The water is so hot!!”

“…yes?”

“The water is too hot!!!”

No, then what do you boil the ramen in instead of boiling it in hot water?

I was speechless because I couldn’t think of anything to say, but then this rascal shouted in a voice filled with even more anger.

“Please give me less hot water!!!!”

Most water heaters have a temperature control function. I remembered this much later and told him that water heaters have this function. When this idiot heard this, he said in a hoarse voice,

“Shouldn’t you have said this a long time ago!!!”

Yeah, you’re right… .

Isn’t this asking for the price of ramen? I was anxiously watching the nobleman’s movements, and this nobleman brought out the same ramen I had bought earlier and paid for it.

And then he just took it and left. The door was left open. If that rascal wasn’t going to take water for his ramen, why did he ask for less hot water?

After closing the door and returning, I grabbed my throbbing temples. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing in this foreign world. Why aren’t there any normal people here…

While I was muttering, a fourth customer arrived. She was a woman with disheveled hair.

To be exact, it wasn’t just hair that was scattered, but rather snakes that were coiling around the edge of her head. I’m talking about Medusa. Medusa.

Her face was soaked with tears, and her heavily applied makeup was a mess, mixed with her tears. The sight was so surreal that I couldn’t open my mouth, but I managed to say hello.

“Come in, Son… .”

As soon as I started talking to him, he glared at me, and I felt like I was going to die from the stabbing in his eyes. So I didn’t talk to him anymore.

Medusa went to where the bread was displayed and began to mutter quietly.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come looking for me?”

It wasn’t me who came looking for you. I looked again wondering what on earth you were talking about, and saw that you had Bluetooth earphones plugged into your ears. You must have been on a call.

After that, he continued to mutter for over three minutes, as if he was possessed by a ghost.

“I’ve told you this several times, so why do you keep coming to my house?”

“I told you I won’t contact you again.”

“I’m going to report this to the police. I’m really going to report this, I…!”

The voices are getting more and more agitated. I tried to sit down for a while until I picked out the items, but the conversation was so serious that I couldn’t even think of sitting down. If you’re not going to buy anything, go outside and talk on the phone. Go outside and talk on the phone…

“Oh, I said I don’t have money!!! How many times do I have to tell you until you understand!!!”

As soon as I screamed, the snakes on my head all rose into the sky and began to flick their tongues. I thought I was deaf.

I looked at the main gate reflexively, and a guest who was about to come in from outside must have heard the sound, shook his head, and passed by. I have to get that guy out. Not only is the guest not coming, but I feel like I’m going crazy right now.

I approached him and spoke to him.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I need to take the call outside…”

When I spoke to them, they glared at me again, as if they were going to kill a person, just like before. The snakes were the same. As I watched them stare at me with their tongues flickering, cold sweat began to rise on my back.

“…Please do it.”

“There are no customers right now, so what does it matter?!”

“Because one customer is screaming, other customers can’t come in.”

I feel like running out, so how much more so must the guests who are trying to come in feel? From Medusa’s eyes, which were glaring at me with her teeth clenched, a drop of black liquid mixed with makeup fell.

Fortunately, that was it. Medusa must have had a change of heart, because she clicked her tongue loudly and strode out.

The door was left open. I was dirty so I didn’t close it.

I returned to the counter, leaving the door open, and called the manager. I had some very important business to attend to.

[ Oh. Chan-ah. ]

“Store manager, please save me.”

[ Sorry… I’m having a hard time right now… ]

A reply mixed with a deep sigh.

The manager’s expression didn’t look too good when we were changing shifts earlier. The sun must have set around 7 or 8 p.m., so he must have received similar customers for the next two hours.

I didn’t really call to beg you to save me. I just had nowhere to vent my frustrations.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before I get grabbed by the collar. When I get grabbed by the collar, can I grab it back?”

[ Don’t be so angry. There’s an emergency bell under the counter, so press it. ]

“Is this an emergency bell?”

[ It’s not something you should press unless absolutely necessary, but if you do, the guests of other races won’t be able to act up as they please. ]

There is a separate report button, but pressing the emergency bell won’t cause the police to come. I asked what effect it would have, and received this explanation.

In very rare cases, when the son of a bitch’s tricks reach their limit, he even uses his own magic power to use the tricks.

In preparation for such a case, an emergency bell has been created. When pressed, instead of making a loud noise, an invisible wave-like phenomenon is said to be generated that disrupts the magic waves. It has no effect on the inside of the counter.

I didn’t want to be convinced, but I couldn’t help but be convinced.

Why else would they have made a separate system where the iron bars would come down when you press a button, calling it a safe zone in my world? I used to be grabbed by the collar when I worked, so I understood why the store manager made something like an emergency bell.

I asked because something occurred to me along the way.

“A while ago, one of the Medusa guests glared at me like he was going to kill me.”

[ uh…. ]

“Actually, that’s why I called. But did I almost become a plaster statue?”

[ … I don’t think it would have gone that far… I think it would have ended with my nerves stiffening for a moment and not being able to move. If it had gone any further, it would have drawn a red line without fail. ]

Then doesn’t that mean that Medusa tried to tease me for about 30 seconds? Even an angry customer can use magic, and being a prankster is such an extreme job.

“How much punishment do you have to endure if your nerves are stiff?”

[ Suspended sentence, fine. Are you feeling unwell now? ]

“No. It’s a bit creepy, though.”

[ eww…. ]

Since my constitution is the way it is, I was lucky and nothing bad happened. Since the store manager was silent for a while, I spoke first.

“I’m not quitting my job, manager.”

[ … … . ]

“In the neighborhood where I live, if the dog owners want to beat up a puppet, they do it anyway. When I think about it, I guess there’s not much difference between here and there.”

It may be a bit optimistic, but wouldn’t it be better to accept the magic that comes with anti-magic constitution rather than get punched by the real ones and suffer the pain?

Even if I leave and throw everything away, I have nowhere to go. There is something to do in my world, so I do whatever I want.

The quiet store manager finally spoke.

[ I guess I should try to find some tools that Chan-i can use. ]

“Is there such a thing?”

[ Now I know that my constitution can be controlled. I have never experienced an extreme case like the one you just mentioned, and it doesn’t happen often… but you never know. ]

“I wish I had a sack that didn’t shed hair.”

[ I’ll arrange that tomorrow. ]

While we were talking, a loud creaking sound was heard from the front door.

I looked up and saw a large hole in the glass door that was leaning back. The metal part of the door hinge was half-dented and creaking, and on the floor of the main door was a punk with a cow’s head rolling around on the floor, groaning.

[ Chan-ah, what did you just say? ]

I couldn’t bring myself to answer, so I put my smartphone down, walked up to the front door, grabbed the doorknob, and tried to open and close it. Perhaps because the hinges were bent, it only made a small movement and didn’t move.

Looking down, a line of blood was flowing down from near the horn of the bull’s head. It looked like a Minotaur, and it seemed to be drunk and out of its mind.

Now I figured out what had happened. This guy was drunk and driving when I hit him. I suddenly felt dizzy and grabbed my eyes.

“This… shit… .”

The groaning Minotaur asked me.

“What did I… get inflicted on…?”

A clear glass door, you punk. A glass door that’s been cleaned so well… .