Chapter 2
Let's recap.
I came here after seeing a part-time job posting, and suddenly the world changed.
Then I met a store manager who claimed she was a vampire—a True Ancestor.
As soon as I was hired, a translucent window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
The window was laid out like an internet gallery or community forum, with people who looked like users posting and commenting among themselves for fun.
It was exactly like the Convenience Store Gallery I knew.
-Convenience Store Gallery.
Right.
I get that it's the Convenience Store Gallery.
I understand why it's floating in midair, too—that's because I was hired at this convenience store.
For a fantasy novel enthusiast, isn't this the sort of thing they'd always dreamed of?
A sudden possession, reincarnation, and awakening.
The kind of story where a status window appears and you become the protagonist.
I know it well, too.
Of course, it was laughable that the ability I'd gained was merely the ability to view a convenience store gallery.
But here's the thing.
‘An elf? An orc? What is this now……? A lamia?’
Why was something like this appearing?
In this age where AI is everywhere, I know you can't trust a picture just by looking at it.
‘What the hell is this complete set of otherworldly races?’
[Title : Fuck, that drunken snake bitch is back again.]
Author: ㅇㅇ(59.10)
(A screenshot of a drunken lamia hugging the convenience store's heated display case and sleeping)
I went to buy cigarettes earlier and thought there was an anaconda lying on the floor, fuck.
Her tongue was so twisted she was going, "Manageeer~ Heat up one ha-bba (hot bar) for me~"
[12 comments]
파충류극혐 : Ah, that lady's at it again. Last time, she coiled around my leg and I almost died.
ㅇㅇ(118.235) : At this rate, she'll sweep the whole display clean with her tail LOL. The part-timer's going to cry.
꼬리조아 : Wow, fuck, look at that tail line. I want to hug her and sleep, too.
편갤러 : └ Please, just hold your breath.
[Title : Why the hell do these bag-of-bones bastards drink Biggas? LOL]
Author: ㅇㅇ(223.39)
(A screenshot of a skeleton drinking Biggas D with a tired expression(?))
A skeleton guy who had just gotten back from loading and unloading work came in.
Saying he'd get arthritis at this rate, he downed a Biggas D in one shot.
But he had no stomach, so yellow liquid streamed out between his ribs and spread across the floor LOL.
You could see the part-timer's sanity breaking down as he had to clean that up LOL.
[8 comments]
ㅇㅇ(175.223) : Fatigue recovery (literally) LOL.
언데드조합장 : They don't even pay us night-shift premiums, so our bones are wasting away... We have to live, too...
ㅇㅇ(223.39) : └ You guys are already dead, you fucking idiots.
The gallery posts featured an elf causing a scene.
A drunken lamia.
A skeleton drinking an energy tonic because he was tired.
And even an orc buying a protein shake.
The gallery was filled with pictures of things that weren't human.
I thought back to what I'd seen before coming to the store.
Goblins, orcs, people with parts of their bodies transformed into those of beasts, and even beings that looked like slimes and centaurs.
The streets on my way to work had been filled with things that weren't human.
At first, I thought I was seeing things because I was exhausted.
I thought the shock of losing my job had left me dazed and made me see things incorrectly.
I raised my head and looked out the window.
Nonhuman races were still walking around outside.
And.
“Ahem-ahem, I made a spectacle of myself because it has been so long since I met a human. This True Ancestor shall personally explain your working hours.”
Even the silver-haired, red-eyed woman who called herself a True Ancestor.
So what I was looking at was…
‘Reality.’
The silver-haired, red-eyed woman—the manager—who had been gazing at me with shining eyes tilted her head.
“You aren't from Taepyeong City.”
“I'm not?”
“How strange. Those who aren't residents of Taepyeong City surely cannot see Jinjo's posting. How, then, did you see it and come here……?”
“I don't know either.”
“Indeed, if you were a resident of Taepyeong City, you would have run away the moment you saw Jinjo. You are the second human I've met who wasn't afraid even after seeing Jinjo.”
She's suddenly trying to scare me.
I looked at the manager.
Run away after seeing such a beautiful woman?
They say that when someone is too beautiful, you can't even approach them.
Maybe that was why.
“I don't know how you came to see Jinjo's posting, but it is fine. If you saw the posting, there is no problem after all. Aside from being a city with rather many unusual beings, it will not be much different from the place you lived.”
There seemed to be plenty of problems.
I looked out the window.
This was my first time seeing a nonhuman race.
No, more than that, I'd only just learned that such things even existed.
Whether I thought so or not, the manager continued speaking.
“From now on, you need only handle the day shift. This True Ancestor protects this territory in the darkness after sunset, but during all other hours, you, henceforth this True Ancestor's trusted subordinate, shall protect it. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Lunch and dinner expenses will be provided, so take care of them yourself. I shall show you your lodgings when today's shift is over!”
I asked the True Ancestor manager a question.
“Excuse me. I don't quite understand what's going on.”
“Speak.”
“Manager, you're not human, are you?”
“Isn't that obvious? Where in the world could there be a human this beautiful? Jinjo is Jinjo!”
“……”
As expected, she really was a vampire.
Yeah.
If she weren't, hair this beautifully silver would be impossible.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
At first, I thought she was a lunatic Halloween party enthusiast.
Apparently, that wasn't the case.
Yeah.
Where would you find crazy people trying to throw a city-wide Halloween party in the middle of a summer day?
This didn't seem like a place where the ordinary common sense I knew applied.
In that respect, the very fact that this window had suddenly appeared before my eyes was ironic.
I had reached the stage of resignation and acceptance.
A city where countless nonhuman races existed.
That's what Taepyeong City was.
Got it.
I understood it perfectly.
Let's go home.
Rather than getting my blood sucked and dying suddenly at a vampire's hands, going home would be……
‘Oh, right. I don't have a home anymore.’
I was already about to get kicked out for falling behind on my rent.
I'd only come this far because I had nowhere to go back to in the first place.
Even if I went back, it was obvious I'd be hounded for rent.
I couldn't pass up a part-time job that paid 30,000 won an hour and provided room and board just because the people here were weird.
‘The crazy bastards I'd met at the factory were worse, if anything, not better.’
I'd been thoroughly worn down by society.
This much was nothing.
“I'll work hard!”
“Ahem-ahem, excellent. This True Ancestor appreciates her subordinate's enthusiasm.”
The manager folded her arms and nodded.
“By the way, may I ask your name, Manager?”
“How impudent. You dare ask for the True Ancestor's true name? Just call me Jinjo-nim. Manager is acceptable as well.”
“…Understood.”
“Hehe, then I shall tell you how to work. Watch Jinjo and follow along!”
She briefly explained how to operate the POS system and where various items were located.
“This refrigerator contains sealed blood packs. Sometimes centaurs or hoofed beastfolk will ask for horseshoes. When that happens, come to Corner 5. Corner 1 mostly contains food ingredients. However, don't sell any food in Corner 1 with a cross marked on it to undead or demons. If you sell it to them by mistake, the store could be shut down for violating the Food Sanitation Act.”
Hmm.
This felt a little different from the convenience stores I knew.
The difference in the types of products alone was overwhelming compared to an ordinary convenience store.
Corner 2 had magical supplies.
Corner 3 had hunting supplies.
Corner 4 had everyday necessities.
The refrigerated section was packed with all kinds of drinks.
From the outside, it was clearly the size of an ordinary convenience store, but once I came inside and looked around, the interior was far larger than even a Daiso.
As I listened to her list every item that could and couldn't be sold to each race, I wondered if I could really handle this alone.
But the thought of 30,000 won an hour hovering before my eyes helped me pull myself together.
“Since we're in front of Hunter Tower, there'll be a few more troublesome customers. Keep that in mind.”
“Hunter Tower?”
“Hmm…… I keep forgetting you're not a resident of Taepyeong City. Look over there.”
She pointed out the window.
A massive tower rising above the city.
“That is Hunter Tower. It is the heart of this city, responsible for its economy. Twenty percent of Taepyeong City's population works in that tower. Monster subjugation, construction of bases inside it, mining…… It is filled with all kinds of work. The work is rough, so the workers have no choice but to be rough themselves, and as a result, there are many entertainment districts nearby.”
“So that's what you meant by lots of troublesome customers.”
“Exactly. So……”
She gave me a pleading look, as if begging me not to leave after dealing with a few troublesome customers.
“Do not quit, no matter what. If you leave, this True Ancestor will have to run the store alone. Even Jinjo wants to rest during the day now.”
“Understood. It's not difficult, anyway.”
A few troublesome customers were nothing to someone as jaded by modern society as me.
“Ah, and there is one thing you should be careful about.”
The manager said this as though she'd only just remembered.
“Beware the damn elves—no, elves.”
“Elves?”
“Yes. Those ignorant old bastards. Don't even bother dealing with those old fogies who can't even hold a conversation. They're such lunatics that even this True Ancestor can't stand them.”
Weren't elves supposed to be beautiful beings who protected the forest, like the ones in fantasy novels?
Their only flaws were being a little stubborn and believing their own race was the best, but was that really enough to make them so bad?
I used to have such naive thoughts.
Ah.
Now I understood why the humans in the gallery had called elves damn old fogies.
“So, like I was sayiiing~!”
“……”
“Why can't you barter with meee~!!! Do you know what this is? It's a branch of the World Tree, a branch of the World Tree! It's a branch of the World Tree that I, Friella, Queen of the High Elves, personally! Broke! Off! Just one of these will make elves, dwarves, humans, and even zombies shoot up in virility, you know? Huh? You'll be doing it! It's great for men! I'm giving it to you specially because I saw a young human, you know? I'm the one losing out here! A single World Tree branch for one measly bag of Honey Butter-flavored Elven Chips is practically free, I tell you!”
“……”
“Please trade with me! I said trade with meee!”
Fuck.
My very first customer was a fucking nightmare.