Chapter 13
"All right, let's go in..."
"Woof."
After confirming there are no monsters nearby, Momo and I enter the convenience store.
The lights inside the store are off.
The floor is littered with shattered window glass and merchandise. Rather than looking as though monsters had rampaged through the place, it looks like people looted it in the chaos.
"There are surprisingly a lot of things left..."
They must not have been able to carry everything, because quite a few foods and drinks remain inside the store.
I store everything in the Item Box one item at a time.
But there sure is a lot of it.
It might take quite a while to put all of this away.
I walk around the store as I continue storing things.
Then I find something that catches my attention.
"...Hm?"
I reach for the 'thing' lying carelessly on the floor.
It is a blue pebble.
"Could this be a magic stone?"
Its color and shape are exactly like the magic stones of the goblins I've defeated so far.
When I store it, it is displayed as 'Goblin Magic Stone (Tiny) ×1.' Just as I expected.
"Was there a battle here...?"
But if that was the case, why was the magic stone left lying here?
"...Did they flee in a panic?"
For example, if someone ran into a goblin while looting during the chaos, somehow managed to defeat it, and then fled in a panic, there wouldn't have been time to check something like that. And after hearing the announcement that followed, they probably wouldn't have wanted to stay there, either.
"Well, I'll gladly take this."
I hand it to Momo.
Momo happily eats the magic stone.
That was the only magic stone I found.
Next, I head around to the back of the convenience store.
"Huh, so this is what the back of a convenience store looks like."
I go farther inside through the staff entrance and look around.
This is my first time seeing the back of a convenience store. So this is what it looks like.
Oh, I can see the store through a gap between the plastic bottles.
This is kind of a new experience. It's a little exciting.
Fortunately, this side hasn't been ransacked.
Most of the things are still untouched.
That's fortunate for me.
"There are a lot of things in boxes."
Coffee, tea, and alcohol were kept in cardboard boxes, but there wasn't much food, especially bento meals.
Well, it is a convenience store, and expiration dates are strict. Maybe they don't keep much stock so they can sell it quickly before it expires.
Oh, there are even magazines that haven't gone on sale yet.
I'll gladly take these, too.
"Momo, sorry to keep you waiting... Huh?"
Momo doesn't answer.
Wondering what happened, I look around the store and see Momo coming toward me with something in Momo's mouth.
A small bag of dog food is firmly clenched between Momo's teeth.
"...Do you want it?"
"Woof."
Apparently, Momo does.
But the moment Momo replies, the dog food drops onto the floor.
Momo hurriedly picks it back up.
"...Momo, you want that?"
"Woof."
Plop.
Momo drops it again.
Momo hurriedly picks it back up.
Cute.
I'd like to ask again just to watch Momo panic, but teasing Momo too much would be mean.
I take the small bag of dog food from Momo and store it in the Item Box.
"Whine?"
Are you putting it away? Can't I eat it? Momo seems to protest.
"No. You already ate so much dog food earlier. I'll feed you properly later, so be patient."
"Whuff..."
That wasn't a very confident reply.
...No, you can't, okay? I'm not giving you any.
Even with those sparkling eyes, no means no!
I steel myself and endure Momo's gaze.
At last, Momo gives up.
Whew, good grief. That was a tough battle...
A few minutes later.
"Phew... That should be about everything..."
I finally finish putting everything away.
In the end, all the stock that had been in the store fits inside the Item Box.
The list has become ridiculously long, too.
This alone should keep me fed for at least six months.
That is, assuming it's just me.
So, what should I do now?
When I check my watch, it's already past three in the afternoon.
It's snack time. No, I guess not.
I'd like to secure a safe place somehow before the sun goes down.
It would be troublesome if there were nocturnal monsters.
Should I give up searching for today and head back to the apartment for now?
At worst, if Momo and I take turns keeping watch, I should be able to get some rest.
"Hm?"
As I'm thinking this over, I suddenly spot something strange in the distance.
A white cloth is fluttering from the roof of a distant building.
"What's that?"
There was a large shopping mall over that way, if I remember correctly.
I used to visit it often on my occasional days off.
I take 'Binoculars' out of the storage list.
Using them, I zoom in on the white cloth and take a closer look.
The letters SOS are written on it, though they are faded.
"Could it be a survivor?"
What should I do? Should I go there?
But something about that direction gives me a bad feeling...