Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 43

Episode 43. The one-language idiot (2)

In this world, the dictionary definition of a giant is summarized as follows: a minimum height of 4m or more, and a maximum height of about 30m. On average, this is about the height of a 5-story building.

“What do they do when they need to go to the bathroom? Isn’t it because the dam is blocked?”

[ That won’t happen, they just live somewhere else. ]

When I imagined the reason, it was easy to understand. If I just went out for a short walk, I would probably destroy all the traffic lights and power lines. I also think I would run over a few cars while I was at it…

For this reason, it is said that a special residential zone for giants has been built somewhere in the world, and that leaving it is a felony crime unless it is for business or legal reasons.

The store manager explained that we wouldn’t see any giants on this street, so we shouldn’t worry, but that wasn’t what I was curious about.

“Then what about those… Chinese people?”

[ The Chinese are the Chinese. Why? ]

“I don’t quite understand the criteria for classifying giants and sino-humans… ”

[ People who are smaller than giants and bigger than dwarves. This bigness is― ]

Height is the standard, and anything over 3m but under 4m is classified as a mid-sized species. Isn’t Velociraptor exactly this size?

These guys were too big to be pushed into a neighborhood where regular alien races lived, but it was also questionable to let them live in a neighborhood where giants lived. Wouldn’t they be treated like living soccer balls?

They say there is a special zone just for the Chinese people, but not many people actually live there. They say it’s boring because the land is so big and there’s nothing to do.

Because they didn’t like this, these guys started protesting a dozen years ago saying, “Let’s go and visit where you live too,” and as a result, a law was passed a dozen years ago that allows people to live there on tourist or work visas…

At the same time, a problem arose: the personalities of these Zhong people began to gradually become eccentric.

“why?”

[ Well… First of all, he’s tall. And because he’s tall, he’s also strong. ]

“On the surface, yes. It looks that way.”

“It may be that tall and strong people instinctively develop a sense of superiority when they spend time with small people of different races,” the academic journal said.

I don’t know about academic journals, but if you were to lengthen out the story of big, strong guys who just entered middle or high school becoming bullies, it would probably look something like this. I thought about it for a moment and then asked.

“What do you think, store manager? Other than academic journals.”

[ Hmm… I’ve been a guest a few times myself, but back then I got this impression. A bit, uh… self-centered, you know? ]

“Me too… Ah, manager, I’ll hang up for a moment.”

He said and put down his smartphone for a moment. The giant, no, one of the three Chinese people came back. He put three 500ml bottles of cola on the counter and then took out 4,400 won.

The price wasn’t right. A bottle of cola costs 2,200 won.

Judging from the fact that they only put up the price at 4,400 won, it looks like they came with the 2+1 deal in mind, but the 2+1 cola event ended on April 30th. It’s May now. He said while looking up.

“This isn’t 2+1. The event is over.”

“??????”

“It’s 6,600 won. You have to give me 2,200 won more.”

“??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?”

I’m going to give up trying to understand what this guy says.

When I came out of the counter and pointed to the price displayed on the LCD screen on the back of the POS machine, the Chinese man who had been staring blankly nodded and put the 2,200 won back in his pocket.

After that, he snatched a bottle of cola and just ran away before I could even finish paying.

So there are two bottles of cola and 2,200 won left on the counter. This is really annoying. If you’re not going to buy it, can you put it back where it was displayed? Is this difficult?

This wasn’t the end of their nerve-racking. As I returned to the checkout counter after displaying the cola he had brought out, one of the three men burst into laughter.

“??? ?? ??????????, ??????, ??? ?????????? ?!”

“???? ??????? ???, ???? ?????!”

I waited for a minute or two, thinking that it would calm down a bit, but as time passed, instead of decreasing, the noise became louder. I wondered if they could hear it from beyond the shop window, because I saw the foreigners walking down the street looking inside and shaking their heads.

I called the store manager again and asked.

“Manager, those guys are talking nonsense… .”

[ Well, just talking doesn’t really matter… ]

“?????? ???, ?????!!”

[ … It’s not true. ]

“You can hear me, store manager. I think I’m going deaf right now. They didn’t even write down their contact information or address in their ledger. If they didn’t write that down, wouldn’t it be a big problem?”

[ It’s not a big deal, but I think the elf police will say something when they come later… ]

“Then even now― what are you doing, sir!”

Why are these crazy guys suddenly taking off their tops?

As soon as I hung up the phone and ran over, I saw three Chinese people with their T-shirts and shirts off, waving them around like fans. This was several times more surreal than the sight of orcs beating each other with doors.

“Customer, it’s okay to talk, but please keep your clothes on and talk. Is this a sauna?”

“???? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?”

“Hey, put on some clothes! Where! Where your shirt!”

“??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????????? ? ????? ?”

“What the hell, I need to know how to eat this.”

“??????”

“Put on clothes!!”

I knew they wouldn’t understand even if I told them anyway, so I tried to add some sense of frustration and urgency to my tone. I lifted the hem of my uniform and pointed at the clothes they had taken off, but they didn’t even show any interest.

“?????, ????? ? ??????!”

Instead, he was pointing somewhere and yelling at me, so I looked where he was pointing and it was a window. To be exact, the part where the translucent curtain sticker was attached.

I think what he means is, what’s the problem if you can’t see it anyway? I can see it, I can. What crime did I commit that I have to work while looking at your chest hair?

“It’s not like they put that up to cover up the customers’ chest hair. What do you think the customers will think when they see it?”

“… … .”

“Well, don’t just stay quiet, put some clothes on… .”

When I looked at his face, his mouth was tightly shut and his gaze was directed towards the main door.

I look up and see a police officer wearing a motorcycle helmet staring blankly in my direction. Oh, my God.

After looking at each other, they started to put on their clothes again, muttering quietly as if they were dissatisfied with something. After confirming that the voices of conversation had decreased, they returned to the checkout counter, and a muffled voice came out from inside the helmet.

“This is Police Officer Iruel.”

“…Would you like a drink, officer?”

“I’ll decline. But, what’s going on here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is it an incident?”

When he asked me about the Zhongguo tribe, I said, “That’s right.” I almost saw their strip show. After I finished speaking and waited for an answer, the elf, who had been silent for a while, asked me in return.

“Did you take off your pants too?”

“yes?”

“I am asking whether these Chinese people have committed any acts that arouse the s*xual desires of the staff, cause them to feel ashamed, or violate s*xual morality.”

“uh….”

I wondered if he was saying this in his right mind, but the tone of his voice and the way he took out his notebook made it seem like he wasn’t joking.

“That’s not it, but….”

“Have you committed any other acts that could be presumed to be loud noise, obstruction of business, or destruction?”

“We laughed and chatted for about two minutes.”

“It’s ambiguous.”

What’s so ambiguous? Are you really trying to feed me beans and rice?

This is only the third time I’ve met this elf, but I already feel like I have a rough idea of his personality. He’s the type that strictly separates his work and personal life, and it’s a bit extreme.

It wasn’t that I wanted to feed him beans and rice, but I asked if I could take him out with me when I went out to report on business. He was staring at the Chinese people, so I quickly changed the subject because I thought things would get worse.

“Officer, what happened to that thieving cat?”

“…ah.”

He turns his body and looks at me, and answers in a still dry tone.

“I embroidered it.”

It was an unexpected answer.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. At around 6pm today, the person in question came and turned himself in. The case has been transferred to the prosecution without any changes to the charges I mentioned yesterday, so the staff member does not need to worry anymore… .”

While talking, he glanced at my face and changed the subject.

“… I was going to tell you that it was okay. Your complexion doesn’t look so good.”

Thank you for noticing. How could I not be worried about this?

I don’t know what the laws are in this town, but I don’t think a thief caught robbing a convenience store will end up serving time in prison in the first trial. Why, there are articles like that on the Internet. A vengeful criminal will come back to the scene and do this and that…

“That won’t happen. As I said while turning myself in… It doesn’t seem like that Kobold only committed crimes at this convenience store.”

“It’s not even just here that it’s turned?”

“At least 8 cases, I guess. It won’t end with a suspended sentence, so I won’t be able to come find them…”

He added that he had no idea that he would be caught, as he seemed anxious while being interrogated. While being interrogated, he first asked how many years he would be in prison. He was such a timid guy that he would never dream of taking revenge.

“The wallet seems to have been obtained from the black market, but the magic on it has been removed, so nothing else can be known. The staff member also said that they had no idea…”

“yes.”

“… So, that means there was an additional self-destruct magic applied… ”

I feel like I’ve just created more work because I didn’t speak properly. To be honest, I do want to talk, but it’s hard to say anything now. What if I get dragged in for a crime of contempt?

“Anyway, I don’t think this place will be harmed any more. Do you have any further questions?”

“It’s funny to say this after hearing all that, but is it okay for you to tell me all those things?”

I felt relieved to hear this, but aren’t there other laws that protect the perpetrator or maintain security? I asked the question that came to mind, and the elf stared at me and replied.

“If I don’t tell you, you won’t be able to sleep.”

I thought it was a joke, there was a hint of laughter in his voice.

“…thank you.”

“Is there anything else you are curious about?”

At least I don’t want to talk about this any more. I have something to hide, and I don’t want to make a fuss by talking about this topic any further.

But if I say I have no questions, I’ll just go back, and once I do, those Chinese guys will definitely start talking about the police being out. Isn’t there anything to chat about?

“Ah. Officer, what happens if I don’t write this down?”

I was talking to the store manager about the attendance list earlier. When I took out the attendance list and handed it over, the elf, who couldn’t see it well, took off his helmet and started staring at the list.

Then he pricks his ears and shuts his mouth.

“What’s wrong, officer?”

“… … .”

After pricking his ears several times, he suddenly took out the light stick from his waistband and started tapping his head. Is it some kind of habit?

Then he turned his head towards the Chinese people and answered in an indifferent tone.

“They’re talking about me over there.”