Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 26

Episode 26. White Heart Pyeondol (2)

“What is the school district?”

I asked curiously. The little boy seemed to think for a moment about my question, then answered with both arms spread wide.

“School… ummm, there are so many.”

“There are a lot of schools?”

“It’s so big. Also… there are a lot of big sisters… and a lot of little sisters… uh…”

Even just spreading out both arms seemed too much to express, so he started to flap his tail from side to side, but it didn’t help much. Since he was 7 years old, he didn’t know many words.

“There are a lot of kids my age… There’s a department store… It’s really crowded.”

I finished my speech vaguely, as if no other words came to mind. I guess I can imagine the rest.

There are many older sisters, and many younger sisters. This seems to be talking about middle and high school students, but since you said there are a lot of schools, I think there must be at least dozens of them in the neighborhood. Since there are a lot of kids the same age, there must be kindergartens and daycare centers… .

There’s even a department store, but I couldn’t even imagine how big it would have to be to accommodate all of that, having lived in a small, quiet neighborhood for over 20 years.

As I imagined, another question naturally arose.

“But why are the schools so crowded together?”

“my?”

There’s no way a 6 year old would know this. I need to change the way I ask questions.

“Well, what are they learning that makes them all stick together?”

In response to my question, the little boy thought for a long time and then muttered.

“Magic and… and… how to catch dogs…?”

“Catch the monster?”

“I think that’s what my sisters did… Actually, I don’t know either.”

He added it as if he had no confidence. But since he said it, it must not be something he said without any basis, so I decided to assume that it was the same.

“hmm….”

I asked because it seemed like information I should know, but after hearing it, I felt like I had heard it for nothing. This is because I remembered something the store manager had mentioned in passing on my first day of work.

This convenience store said it operates in various locations.

I haven’t experienced it yet, but I definitely remember the school district being one of the places the store manager mentioned.

The store manager has no reason to talk nonsense, so he says that he will be receiving customers there someday, but if it is a place where you learn how to use magic or defeat monsters, isn’t it a bit… dangerous?

Besides, while working there, I will have to accept kindergarten and elementary school students, as well as middle and high school students as guests… .

“Ugh, I’m dizzy… .”

Perhaps because he had been thinking a lot while he had a cold, the little boy’s face turned pink and he started sniffling constantly. I finished giving him the honey water and rested for 10 minutes.

After that, the child seemed to have gotten a little better, so we continued the conversation. This time, we talked about something the child knew better and could talk about comfortably.

“If it took an hour to get here by subway from home, my mom must work at a company nearby.”

“I’ll be there soon on my bike.”

“Where are you going?”

At my question, the little boy jumped down from his chair, went to the window of the counter, looked around for a while, and stared up at one spot. When I got closer, he answered by pointing with his finger.

“I’m sorry.”

The building being pointed to is likely to be at least 70 or 80 stories tall.

The peak was so high that it seemed to pierce the sky, and even clouds were hanging on it. If you use your imagination, it wouldn’t be strange to think that there was a dragon at the top.

“Your mom works at a good company.”

“Me. I was there yesterday and came back.”

I heard that there seems to be a separate space for children in the building. I looked up at it out of curiosity, and when I felt someone’s gaze, I looked down and saw that the little one was now looking up at me.

The little boy asked me.

“Hey, where are you, Mr. Ajo?”

This was a question that required some thought. I thought about it for a moment and then answered.

“Three minutes from here. It’s close.”

“Wow. Sir, do you live around here too?”

“Well… I guess that’s what it is.”

When he answered, the little boy’s face became bright.

“Wow.”

“What’s so good about it?”

“Sir, if you live here, you’ll be able to see me for a long time to come.”

“Well, that would be the case if I didn’t quit my job….”

“Uh.”

“If I quit, I won’t be able to see you. I have to eat to live, right?”

I started doing part-time work with the intention of doing it only for a short while until I found a job.

It’s not an uncommon experience to go on a business trip to another world and sell cigarettes to vampires or chat with a dragon kid while making candy, but my remaining life is too long to sit at a convenience store counter just to try out new experiences.

It means that this is not an age where you can be leisurely about continuing good relationships and trying new experiences. It seems like you won’t be able to see any of that for the next few months, so…

After answering, I looked at the child and saw that he looked slightly gloomy. I thought about it a bit more and added.

“I say this out of concern, but it’s not a good idea to get close to adults you don’t know well, kid.”

“What’s wrong with being an old woman?”

“It means I’m worried.”

“Me…?”

“It’s only been two days since we met, and we’ve only spent less than two hours together. Isn’t it a bit awkward to say that you know each other and that you’ve been missing each other for a long time?”

The store manager said that this child can distinguish the minds of different races by color.

So, there’s no reason why you’d get into trouble by following an adult you don’t know, but by my standards, I’m still an adult you don’t know to this kid. We haven’t been together for that long.

In other words, if you want to do any kind of hacking, you can do it.

Of course, I have absolutely no intention of harming this guy now or in the future. However, I also don’t want to become a precedent that says, ‘There are good people among adults who don’t know.’ After all, there aren’t only adults like me who are useless and meddlesome in the world.

“Still….”

The little boy hugged his tail and buried his face in it, looking very sorry.

He was just peeking out from under his buried tail. I couldn’t hear him very well because his tail was blocking his speech, but I decided to listen carefully. I did so because it seemed like something I should do.

“Thank you for helping me. The paper folding… .”

“What is that…?”

“I don’t even cough anymore.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Me. So, you seem like a good adult.”

It was a pure claim. Is it because she is pure, or is it because she is pure at the time?

“And. Hey, Mr. Joa.”

“Good adults are good adults too, kid.”

“Is that wrong?”

“Yeah. That’s because it’s hard to tell if the adults you meet are good or bad.”

“Um… how is it?”

“I told you it’s not easy to know. I don’t know either.”

Of course, this kid’s case is different.

At least it’s not that hard for this little kid to tell who’s a good adult and who’s a bad adult. Even if it’s hard now, he’ll be able to tell them apart by color later.

But I have no color. I have no magic power, so I am colorless.

So, what the little boy is saying to me now is not a uniform distinction based on color, but is purely what the little boy is thinking. He says he likes me. He says he thinks I am a good adult.

The little boy told me his mind, so I thought I should tell him mine. Are you a good boy or a bad boy?

“Hey kid.”

“my.”

“If you can maintain even half of that form until you become an adult, you will definitely go to heaven when you die. I guarantee it.”

“Me…? Going to heaven…?”

“This is a story from a long time in the future. So, after eating about 100,000 bowls of rice?”

“I can’t eat that much….”

Then I can’t die. Live long.

The little one, who had been holding the tail in his arms, cautiously drank a couple of sips of honey water. The cold and the flu seemed to have gone away. Looking at the wall clock far away, it was 9:30 AM.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“My. Thank you, sir.”

“The weather is getting warmer, so you should probably go home. I’ll be home later, too. To sleep.”

“my.”

“Oh, when you come tomorrow, go to the stationery store and buy a sheet of drawing paper. I’ll need to paste the thing you drew. Roll it up so it doesn’t get wrinkled. Okay?”

Our convenience store doesn’t sell B4 paper. When I told him, the little boy nodded and asked.

“Will you be here tomorrow too?”

“Don’t worry, I’m always here at this time every day. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t buy anything.”

“Still….”

This guy is starting to get depressed again. He has really mood swings.

“Okay, then buy me some Chupa Chups tomorrow. Orange flavor.”

“my.”

Only then did he burst into laughter, jump down from his chair, run to the front door, and wave at me.

I waved my hand too, and the little boy went out the bright front door and rode his bike away to the left.

* * *

After about 10 minutes, the store manager came.

“Hello, Chan-ah!”

Her hair, which was usually neat, was slightly disheveled, and her socks were worn high on one side and low on the other. She seemed to have come in a real hurry, as she was breathing heavily when she arrived at the main gate.

“Did you run here?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I meant to come earlier, but something came up.”

“But don’t run. It’s the changing of seasons, so you should be careful not to catch a cold.”

“I’ll do that next time.”

As she spoke, she took out a black smartphone from her handbag and held it in her hand. Is that a Magic Phone or something?

I looked at him for a moment and asked.

“Store manager.”

“huh?”

“What about a hairless broom handle?”

The store manager tilted his head for a moment and then answered, “Ah.”

“Sorry, I forgot.”

“oh my….”

This is a really sad situation.

The broom I use now is an old one that was lying around in the office, so after I clean the tile floor, it leaves fluff on the floor. I have to wait until the fluff dries before I sweep again. This means I burn twice as many calories.

Even these fluffs don’t sweep well. They are literally fluffs, so when you sweep, they all stick to the broom and don’t come off. You have to go outside and pull out the fluff with your hands, and then you have to wash your hands again… .

“If it’s not convenient, I can buy it for you during my next shift.”

“No, I’ll definitely bring it tomorrow. Is there anything else you need?”

“A few more come to mind, but for now….”

First of all, let me start with the most important thing.

“It’s a convenience store door.”

I need to fix that soon. It was new at first, but it’s boring now. The store manager, who was following me and looking at the main gate, muttered as he looked back and forth between his smartphone and the main gate.

“It looks much more broken in person.”

“Can this really be fixed?”

“It’s not that hard to fix… Ah. Chan-i, do you want to try it yourself?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I thought it would be good to learn how to use it while I’m at it.”

He handed me his smartphone, so I took it. But, uh… He wants me to use magic with this? Right now?

“Where should I start?”

I asked because I thought it might require something complicated like placing an order or signing a contract… .

“First, you need to connect to Wi-Fi.”

Yeah, data is important.