WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Convenience Store Clerk the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈
Chapter 2: 30,000 Won an Hour
──────
Let's go over this.
I'd come here after seeing a part-time job ad, only for the world to suddenly change.
Then I'd met a store manager who claimed to be a vampire, a True Progenitor.
And the moment she'd hired me, a translucent window had appeared before my eyes.
The window looked like an online forum. People who seemed to be its users were posting, leaving comments, and chatting among themselves.
It was exactly like the Convenience Store Gallery I knew.
-Convenience Store Gallery.
Right.
I got that it was the Convenience Store Gallery.
I also got that it was floating in the air because I'd been hired at this convenience store.
Wasn't this the sort of thing every fantasy novel fan dreamed of?
Suddenly possessing someone, being reincarnated, or awakening a power.
A status window would appear, and you'd become the main character.
I knew those stories well.
Of course, it was pretty ridiculous that the ability I'd gained was just browsing the Convenience Store Gallery.
But here's the thing.
‘Elves? Orcs? What the hell is this... A lamia?’
Why was this stuff showing up?
Sure, with AI everywhere these days, you couldn't trust a photo alone.
‘But what the hell is this nonhuman variety pack?’
[Title: Fuck, that drunk snake bitch is back.]
Posted by: Anon(59.10)
(A picture of a drunk lamia asleep with her arms wrapped around the convenience store's food warmer.)
Went to buy cigarettes earlier and thought some fucking anaconda was lying on the floor.
She's slurring like crazy, going, “Manager~ Warm up a shnack shtick (snack stick) for me~”
[12 Comments]
ReptileHater: Oh, that lady's at it again. Last time she coiled around my legs and I nearly died.
Anon(118.235): She's gonna knock over all the displays with her tail lmao. That clerk's about to cry.
TailLuvr: Holy shit, look at the curves on that tail. I wanna hug it and fall asleep too.
StoreGalleryRegular: └ Please just stop breathing.
[Title: Why the fuck do those bony bastards drink Biggas? lmao]
Posted by: Anon(223.39)
(A picture of a skeleton drinking a restorative tonic with a tired expression(?).)
This middle-aged skeleton dude just came in after loading and unloading cargo.
Said he was gonna get arthritis at this rate, then downed a bottle of Biggas D.
But he doesn't have a stomach, so all that yellow liquid leaked between his ribs and pooled on the floor lmao.
You can just see the clerk having a breakdown at the thought of cleaning it up lmaooo.
[8 Comments]
Anon(175.223): Fatigue relief (physical) lmaooooo
UndeadUnionBoss: No extra pay for night shifts. It's wearing our bones away... We've gotta make a living too...
Anon(223.39): └ You're already fucking dead, you asshole.
The gallery posts showed a knife-ear throwing a fit.
A lamia making a drunken scene.
A skeleton drinking a restorative tonic because he was tired.
And even an orc buying a protein shake.
The gallery was full of photos of nonhumans.
I thought back to what I'd seen before arriving at the store.
Goblins, orcs, people with animal-like body parts, a slime, and even something that had looked like a centaur.
The streets on my way to work had been full of nonhumans.
At first, I'd thought I was seeing things because I was tired.
I'd assumed the shock of losing my job had left me so out of it that I'd mistaken what I saw.
I raised my head and looked out the window.
Nonhumans were still walking around outside.
And then there was...
“Ahem. It has been so long since I last met a human that I made a spectacle of myself. The True Progenitor shall personally explain your working hours.”
The silver-haired, red-eyed woman who called herself the True Progenitor.
Which meant everything I was seeing...
‘Was real.’
The manager tilted her head, her eyes shining as she looked at me.
“You are not from Taepyeong City.”
“No, I'm not.”
“How very strange. Those who do not live in Taepyeong City should not be able to see the True Progenitor's advertisement. How did you see it and find your way here...?”
“I don't know either.”
“Then again, if you lived in Taepyeong City, you would have fled the moment you saw the True Progenitor. You are only the second human who has shown no fear upon seeing me.”
Why was she suddenly trying to scare me?
I looked at the manager.
Running away at the sight of such a beautiful woman?
People did say it was hard to even approach someone who was too beautiful.
Maybe that was why.
“I do not know how you came across the True Progenitor's advertisement, but no matter. Since you have already seen it, there is no problem. Aside from having rather a lot of unusual inhabitants, this city should not be very different from where you lived.”
It looked like there were plenty of problems to me.
I looked out the window.
This was my first time seeing nonhuman species.
No, I'd only just learned they even existed.
Regardless, the manager continued.
“From now on, you shall handle the day shift. The True Progenitor guards this domain in the darkness after sunset, but at all other times, you, my loyal retainer, shall protect it. Your hours are from ten in the morning until seven in the evening. I shall provide an allowance for lunch and dinner, so you may arrange your own meals. Once your shift ends today, I shall show you to your lodgings!”
I turned to the True Progenitor, my new manager.
“Excuse me. There's something I don't understand.”
“Speak.”
“You're not human, are you?”
“Is that not obvious? Where in this world would you find a human this beautiful? The True Progenitor is the True Progenitor!”
“...”
Yep. Definitely a vampire.
Right.
Otherwise, there was no way a silver-haired beauty like her could exist.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
At first, I'd wondered if she was some crazy Halloween enthusiast.
But apparently not.
Right.
Who would be insane enough to throw a citywide Halloween party in broad daylight in the middle of summer?
This didn't seem to be a place where my usual common sense applied.
Then again, the very fact that a window like this had appeared before my eyes already flew in the face of common sense.
I'd reached the stage of resignation and acceptance.
A city inhabited by all sorts of nonhuman species.
That was Taepyeong City.
I understood.
I understood perfectly.
Time to go home.
Going home would be better than suddenly getting my blood sucked out by a vampire and dying...
‘Oh, right. I don't have a home anymore.’
I was behind on rent and about to get kicked out.
I'd only come all this way because I already had nowhere else to go.
Even if I went back, I'd just be hounded for the rent.
I couldn't give up a job that paid 30,000 won an hour and provided meals and accommodation just because the people were strange.
‘The lunatics I met at the factory were at least this bad, if not worse.’
The working world had already worn me down plenty.
I could handle this much.
“I'll work hard!”
“Ahem. Very good. I commend my retainer's enthusiasm.”
The manager folded her arms and nodded.
“By the way, may I ask your name?”
“How insolent. To think you would seek the True Progenitor's true name. Simply address me as the True Progenitor. Manager will also do.”
“...Understood.”
“Hehe. Then I shall teach you how to do your work. Watch the True Progenitor closely and follow my example!”
She gave me a quick explanation of how to use the register and where the various products were.
“This refrigerator contains sealed blood bags. Sometimes centaurs or beastfolk with hooves will ask for horseshoes. You can find those here in aisle 5. Aisle 1 mostly contains cooking ingredients. However, do not sell any food marked with a cross to undead or demons. Sell it to the wrong customer, and we could have our business suspended for violating the Food Sanitation Act.”
Hmm.
This felt a little different from the convenience stores I knew.
Even the range of products was on a completely different level.
Aisle 2 held magic supplies.
Aisle 3 held hunting supplies.
Aisle 4 held everyday goods.
The refrigerated section was packed with every kind of drink.
From outside, it had clearly looked like an ordinary-sized convenience store. But as I walked through the aisles, I found that the inside was far bigger than most Daitso stores.
Listening to her list everything I could and couldn't sell to each species made me wonder if I could really run this place alone.
But the thought of 30,000 won an hour kept me focused.
“We are right in front of Hunter Tower, so there will be quite a few problem customers. Keep that in mind.”
“Hunter Tower?”
“Hmm... I keep forgetting you are not from Taepyeong City. Look over there.”
She pointed out the window.
An enormous tower rose above the city.
“That is Hunter Tower. It is like the heart that keeps this city's economy running. Twenty percent of Taepyeong City's population works there. Slaying monsters, building bases inside, mining... There is all sorts of work. The jobs are rough, so the people are bound to be rough too. That is why there are so many nightlife spots nearby.”
“So that's what you meant by problem customers.”
“Exactly. So...”
She gave me a desperate look, pleading with me not to leave just because I'd dealt with a few problem customers.
“You must never quit. If you leave, the True Progenitor will have to run the store alone. I wish to rest during the day now.”
“Understood. It's not that difficult.”
Problem customers were nothing to someone as worn down by modern society as me.
“Oh, and there is one thing you must watch out for.”
The manager spoke as if she'd only just remembered.
“Beware of knife-ears. No, elves.”
“Elves?”
“Yes. Those ignorant old geezers. Do not even bother dealing with those stubborn old fossils. You cannot talk sense into them. They are such nasty pieces of work that even the True Progenitor is appalled.”
Weren't elves supposed to be beautiful creatures who guarded the forests in fantasy novels?
Sure, they could be a little stubborn and thought their own species was the best, but were they really that bad?
That was the naive thought I'd once had.
Ah.
Now I understood why everyone in the gallery kept calling elves stubborn old knife-ears.
“I'm telling you~!”
“...”
“Why can't we barter~!!! Do you know what this is? A World Tree branch! A World Tree branch! I, Friella, Queen of the High Elves, broke this branch off the World Tree my! self! Eat just one of these, and it'll give elves, dwarves, humans, even zombies a huge boost in sexual stamina! Huh? Hey! You know, for doing that! It's good for men! I'm only offering it as a special favor because you're a young human! I'm the one losing out here! A whole World Tree branch for just this one bag of honey butter Elven Chips is practically a giveaway!”
“...”
“Please trade with me! Come ooon, trade!”
Fuck.
My very first customer was already a total pain in the ass.
Footnotes:
Daitso and Biggas D parody the discount chain Daiso and the restorative tonic Bacchus-D. Daitso's Korean name also suggests “we have everything.”
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