Convenience Store Worker From Another World Chapter 87

Episode 87. It’s okay to be friends with a 5 year age gap (2)

I asked again, but the puppy just looked up at me and whined without saying anything.

Plus, his body is covered in dust, as if he had just rolled around at a construction site for a few days. Unless he had developed aphasia from the rough street life…

I asked again, bending down.

“Is it because of that guy inside?”

“That’s right. I didn’t realize you had passengers.”

This was also a voice right before it crawled in, so I had a hard time understanding it. I wonder if he had said something wrong and got hurt or something.

“I will wait outside until he leaves.”

“I understand you’re worried, but he—”

“Sir, what’s wrong?”

Before I could finish speaking, the little boy poked his head out from behind my back. He looked up at my face, glanced in the direction I was looking, and immediately exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, it’s so stupid.”

“…squeak.”

“Sir, were you talking to that idiot?”

It didn’t seem like he was trying to scold me for being so foolish at my age, but rather that he was asking purely out of curiosity. After thinking about it for a moment, he answered.

“Oh. He speaks so well.”

“word?”

“Caaeng! Caaeng!!”

It was a cry full of urgency. If I were to translate this into human language, it would probably mean something like, ‘Why are you saying that?’ He finished speaking.

“Hey, punk. Remember what I told you when you came last night? I told you that if you weren’t going to be a street urchin your whole life, you needed to build some trustworthy connections.”

“… … .”

“That’s why I told you to talk to the store manager. He’s trustworthy, so don’t worry.”

I’m speaking based on objective facts. I’ve known this kid for over three weeks now, and his mom has never come to the convenience store to scold him for his secret friend.

This little boy didn’t tell his mother. Because I told him not to. He’s a good boy, so if I told him not to tell me that this little dog can talk, he wouldn’t tell me.

Of course, I don’t think a 7-year-old kid will make any meaningful connections in a nomadic life. I think the two of them would just get along well if you put them together, that’s about it.

Not only are these two the most harmless creatures I’ve ever seen in my life, but wouldn’t it be better for both parties if these fluffy guys played together instead of bearded old men?

We also have something in common. The only person I can call a friend is you.

The puppy, who had been whining nonstop, finally made up his mind and spoke in a nervous voice.

“… Eight, that’s right. If you don’t believe what the boss says, who else will you believe?”

“to?”

“Nice to meet you, Miss. Please call me Puppy. That’s all for the introductions.”

The little boy stared blankly at the puppy, seemingly not understanding the situation at all. Then, as if an idea suddenly occurred to him, he shouted.

“Wow! The idiot is talking!”

“Please don’t speak loudly, or you’ll be in big trouble!”

“What the heck? You idiot, you won’t listen if I tell you?”

“It’s always been bad, but today it’s especially bad. It was something that happened at the park earlier… .”

After talking to him for a while, he told me a short story. He said that there was some kind of event going on at the park today. They set up a private stage and there were a lot of different races there.

And it seems that the place where he was sleeping was supposed to be used as a seating area. While he was curled up and falling asleep, one of the event staff kicked him saying, “What is this mutt?”

“What the hell, why don’t you just say it…?”

“When?”

“Oh, sir.”

“You’re a bad adult. Huh.”

I kept quiet and listened. Although this puppy looks harmless, it is actually a mysterious spirit.

Since he has regenerative abilities, he doesn’t get bruised or anything like that, but he does feel pain. He even screamed involuntarily when he was kicked while he was dreaming. Oh my!

“Then, didn’t the person in charge look at the original text and say, ‘What? Oh my?’?”

“So what did you do?”

“I was so flustered that I ran away at full speed. However, it was a bad idea.”

If I had just pretended not to notice and made a sound like a dog, the person in charge might have thought, “I must have misheard,” and let it slide.

However, instead of doing that, he ran away, and the person in charge started chasing him, saying, “Isn’t that what you just said?” What made things even more complicated was that the person in charge was a mid-level manager.

He gave orders to his subordinates to catch him as soon as they saw him, and within five minutes, all the event staff members were chasing him.

“I managed to get out of it.”

“I was hiding under the coffee machine. Thank goodness they didn’t come looking for me.”

This happened when the clock on the park’s clock tower was pointing to 7, and I waited for it to quiet down before leaving the park and arriving at the present.

“For this reason, it seems like it will be difficult to stay in the park for the time being. I don’t know how long the event will last….”

“Well?”

This is something I can find out by searching the internet. Of course, even after the event is over, the officials can still look for this guy like they are looking for a lottery winning ticket… .

“You’re not the only Pomeranian in the world, and those officials won’t try to capture all the Pomeranians in the world. There won’t be any problems, right?”

This dog doesn’t have any special physical characteristics, like one paw being particularly white. It’s just a ball of light brown fur, and if it just keeps its mouth shut, wouldn’t it be harder to detect that it’s a spirit?

“Do you think so, sir?”

“Oh. Anyway, thank you for your hard work.”

After patting his head, I glanced at the little boy crouching down next to me. The boy didn’t seem to understand even half of what we were saying, but he seemed quite impressed by the other half.

“You punk. That bad guy kicked you?”

“That’s right. But since the original is strong, you don’t have to worry about it―”

“You must have been in pain… .”

It was a tone that was not only pitiful but also full of affection. The little boy reached out to the body of the puppy who had closed his mouth as if he had lost his words, and placed his hand on its side.

“Does it hurt here? Hey— should I help you?”

“Uh… I don’t mind what you do, but the original is covered in dust… .”

“It’s okay.”

After that, he started to caress it as if his own hands were his healing hands, and started blowing on the dust and the body. I wondered if that would make the pain of being kicked better, though… .

“… Thank you. You are such a kind girl.”

I decided not to care because the person being stroked seemed satisfied. I think the little one thought this was the best thing to do.

After that, I quietly watched the two of them talking.

“Hey, Mong-Mong. How does Mong-Mong talk?”

“It’s just one of my talents. It’s not much of a talent though.”

“But, I learned that in kindergarten, all puppies bark like ‘woof, woof,’ ”

“Oh, that’s the barking of the lower classes. The masters of the streets don’t make such noises. They make a threatening noise like a grunt.”

“How?”

“This is what I mean.”

He made a sound that seemed to be trying to intimidate by imitating the sound of a master, but to my ears it sounded like the sound of someone drinking water. The little boy muttered in a worried tone.

“Hey, do you have a sore throat? You look tired.”

“It’s not that I’m tired, I’m just not in good condition! It’s because I inhaled a lot of dust under the vending machine…”

“Oh my… .”

“But don’t worry too much. It’s not like there was no benefit.”

“Did you find any coins?”

While listening, I was curious so I asked. The puppy had a proud expression on its face and retrieved a piece of paper from the telephone pole behind it and started humming.

“Ugh, brooding.”

It sounded like I was being asked to accept it, so I took it. When I looked at it, it was a 5,000 won bill.

“It’s a whopping 50,000 won, sir. 50,000 won! Can’t you buy dozens of hamburgers with that?”

“Fifty thousand won?”

“That’s right! As the saying goes, everything is a blessing in disguise. I asked because I thought it was a great honor to have you stay under the vending machine for an hour and a half!”

I think I’d feel good all day if I found 5,000 won under a vending machine. Now that I think about it, I understand why he’s making such a fuss.

But this puppy seemed to be completely mistaken in thinking that he had found a 50,000 won bill. The two were similar in color, and most importantly, this guy couldn’t read.

You could count how many zeros there are, but judging by the way he looks, it’s clear that he can’t think that far. If I say this, he’ll probably make a face like he’s lost his country…

“I’ll buy the real thing today. Give me all the hamburgers in the store! All at once!”

“I ate, Inma.”

“Then take one with you on your way home, and you can have one too. The hamburgers here are really good.”

“Uh… you idiot.”

As far as I know, number games are included in the kindergarten curriculum. The little boy who was counting the numbers on the bills I was holding looked at the puppy and said,

“This is 5-chernon. It has the same number of 0s as chernon.”

“What?”

“For five bucks, you can buy two hamburgers. That’s right, sir.”

“That’s right. You learned well.”

I tried not to say anything. The dog, who had been looking back and forth between our two faces, immediately took on a bewildered expression.

“After all the hard work I’ve put in… two hamburgers? What kind of world is this?”

“Hey, think positively. You can buy a drink with the change.”

“In fact, drinking water is enough….”

I was about to explain to this guy the synergistic effect of drinking cola and eating a hamburger at the same time, when I heard this shout from across the crosswalk.

“Dad!! If you buy me a cola, will you put a blindfold on me?!!”

I think that kid’s dad will come by soon to buy him a cola. First, take the puppy.

“Let’s go in and finish talking.”

“my.”

“eww….”

He came into the store. First, he sat the depressed puppy under the counter, and then he sat the little one on the chair. Then, he put his hand on the horn and said.

“Hanaya. The child will be coming in later. She looks to be around your age. Her voice is like that.”

This guy came and interrupted the flow for a moment, but there’s one more thing I have to do while serving guests: stretching this little horse.

This kid was born a dragon, so kids his age are afraid of him. Even if it’s just a guess, it’s probably true, and in this situation, it was obvious that showing interest would only have the opposite effect.

“Will that kid come with me?”

“I can’t do that. He’s probably busy too.”

I’ll talk to her briefly and her father will bring her some cola, but I think that short time will be enough to gain experience. Also, if possible, it would be best if the other person shows interest…

How can I get this kid interested? I can’t think of a good way to do it.

When I was little, I used to envy people who played with bubble guns. Why don’t you just open up a package of a convenience store bubble gun and give it to me?

“… Boss, boss.”

“why?”

“If you need someone to play with, why don’t I just be the one to match you?”

“I know, but that’s not the problem, so….”

… No?

Looking at this puppy, a plausible idea occurred to me.