WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Convenience Store Clerk the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈
Chapter 8: Twins?
──────
“You and Lumina seem close, Manager.”
“Not in the slightest. Close, indeed...”
The manager firmly denied it.
They'd seemed awfully comfortable around each other for that to be true, though.
“The True Progenitor is merely humoring her. Heh.”
She denied they were close with her arms crossed, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.
Apparently, she was embarrassed to admit it.
“How did you become friends?”
“Hmm. A thoroughly ill-fated connection, if I had to describe it. We fought on the same battlefields during the Arcane War long ago.”
“The Arcane War?”
“Yes. We may be a delivery driver and a convenience store manager now, but we once climbed that Hunter Tower together, watching each other's backs. Mind you, she was so reckless even then that the True Progenitor had to keep looking after her.”
An odd mixture of nostalgia and pride filled the manager's red eyes as she recalled the past.
I paused while moving a delivery box and tilted my head.
Having only recently arrived in Taepyeong City, there was still so much I didn't know.
“About Hunter Tower...”
I looked at the enormous tower in front of the convenience store.
“What exactly is it? I've never seen a tower that big where I used to live. Even the customers who come here seem to be getting off work there.”
“Hmm. Of course you wouldn't know, my trusted minion. You're not from this city.”
The manager cleared her throat, then settled into the chair behind the counter with a self-important air.
“When humanity and the Demon King's Army were still at odds, during the Arcane War, an enormous tower suddenly rose from the ground. Monsters of kinds we'd never seen before poured out of it. They had unfamiliar forms and destroyed places all over the world indiscriminately. That was clearly not the kind of destruction the Demon King's Army wanted.”
“So that's why you joined forces.”
“Indeed. Those creatures were nothing short of a disaster. Ironically, that tower strengthened the alliance between the different species.”
I nodded.
I thought I understood the general idea.
“Because you had a common enemy?”
“Correct. Humans and demons, elves and orcs who'd been trying to cut each other's heads off just the day before had no choice but to join forces against the monsters pouring out of the tower.”
Her gaze turned toward the enormous shadow rising over the center of Taepyeong City beyond the window.
“The alliance was forced upon us at first, but comradeship is a powerful thing. As we shed blood together and cut down monsters, the walls between us naturally fell away. Lumina originally belonged to the Demon King's Army, but when we climbed the tower, she and the True Progenitor made the finest party.”
“You weren't in the Demon King's Army, Manager?”
“Hmph! The True Progenitor serves no one! The Demon King's Army approached me several times, but I always went my own way!”
The manager shrugged.
She seemed proud of the fact that she'd never served under anyone.
I more or less understood now.
The reason all these different species lived together in this city, even though they didn't seem compatible, was that tower.
“Of course, the tower has now become the greatest gold mine supporting Taepyeong City.”
The manager gestured with her chin toward the delivery box I was opening.
“More than half the products we carry are made from things found in the tower.”
Hunter Tower was practically a symbol of disaster turned into opportunity.
“Then why don't you climb the tower anymore, Manager?”
“...”
Her shoulders gave a small twitch at my question.
“Ahem. Fighting has simply become a bother. I absolutely did not choose an easy job because I got hooked on mobile games! Absolutely. Not!”
“...I see.”
“At any rate, hurry and check the goods. I shall watch the counter. You may clock out once you've finished.”
“Understood.”
I moved the delivered goods and checked them against the list.
[Cowfolk Milk - Packs of 5 each]
[Mandrake Cup Soup (Corn Soup Flavor) - Pack of 10]
[High Potion Six (HP/MP) - 2 boxes]
[Slime Jelly (Random Mix of Grape and Acid Flavors)]
[Holy-Element-Coated Dental Masks (KF-94) - Pack of 50]
They certainly looked like the snacks, canned drinks, cup soups, and masks sold in convenience stores on Earth, but their contents were completely different.
‘How strange.’
There were even...
[Blood Packs (Catfolk Flavor)]
Blood packs catered to vampire customers.
“These products really are fascinating.”
“Hahaha! Are you surprised? I suppose everything here must seem mysterious to a human. Look, we even have fertilizers popular with ents.”
“You sell fertilizer too?”
“There is nothing the True Progenitor's convenience store does not have.”
Then I checked the item at the very bottom and couldn't believe my eyes.
“This is...”
[Dwarf-Made Two-Handed Sword (Holy-Element Enchantment)]
An enormous sword.
The greatsword lay in its own separate packaging, giving off a soft white glow.
“Ah, so it has arrived. I ordered it now that I have a trusted minion who can move it for me.”
“You sell this at a convenience store?”
“Hehe. Hunters use our convenience store too. Sometimes those who cannot make it to a smithy come here to place orders. I didn't previously carry holy-element weapons or items, but now that I have a human minion, I intend to sell them!”
“Where should I put this?”
“It goes in the storeroom, not on the shelves. Once you've finished sorting the goods, I'd like you to take it there.”
“Understood.”
It struck me all over again.
This really was a mysterious convenience store, completely different from the world I'd lived in.
After checking the greatsword, the last item on the list, I began putting the sorted goods in their places.
I set aside the cans of high potion that belonged in the warming cabinet.
In the snack section, I hung up or arranged the slime jelly, cup soups, and other goods.
Then I placed the blood packs and milk in the refrigerated section one by one.
While I was stocking the shelves...
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The manager was dealing with a flood of customers.
It was past six in the evening.
Hunters who'd just finished their shifts at the tower and construction workers getting off work poured in for the evening rush.
“Hey! Two cans of that potion-flavored energy drink!”
“Cigarettes! Give me a carton of the strong stuff for orcs!”
More than a dozen people crowded in within moments, turning the area in front of the counter into a noisy market.
The manager handled the customers skillfully at the register.
“Stop making such a racket and line up.”
At those words, the noisy hunters and orcs obediently formed a single line.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The manager's hands moved too quickly to see.
The way she scanned barcodes, bagged goods, and handed over change was like a work of art.
And on top of that...
Vmmmm.
Red shapes rose from her back and moved like living arms, holding barcode scanners and scanning the goods one by one.
She was operating three registers all by herself.
How many people's jobs was she doing at once?
That was insane.
I could see how she'd managed to run the store alone all this time.
Just five minutes.
After handling that chaotic crowd in one go, the manager dusted off her apron and turned toward me.
“Have you finished sorting the delivery?”
“Yes. I was just about to take the remaining goods into the storeroom.”
“Hmm, I see. Then just put that holy-element greatsword in the storeroom.”
Her lips twitched as though she were considering something.
“Hmm. You haven't been to the storeroom before, have you?”
“This will be my first time. Is there anything I should watch out for?”
When I'd first started working here, she'd told me the convenience store had a very large storeroom.
But she hadn't explained how large it was or where it was located.
“The True Progenitor shall guide you personally. You might get lost on your first visit.”
“Get lost?”
Come on. No matter how big it was, how could I get lost in a storeroom?
“I should be able to leave the counter for a moment. Follow me.”
The red shapes that had helped the manager serve customers earlier took their places at the registers.
After checking that they were ready, the manager led the way.
“Be careful not to lose your way.”
I followed her toward the back of the store, where we opened an iron door with an “Employees Only” sign.
The door was tucked away in a corner that was hard to spot even from inside the store. The moment it opened, I saw a staircase leading underground.
With the heavy greatsword on my back, I carefully followed the stairs down.
And then...
“This is... the convenience store's storeroom?”
An enormous underground bunker stretched out so far I couldn't see the end.
Glowing spheres floated like stars near the distant ceiling, brightly lighting the space.
Endless rows of metal shelving filled the underground storeroom.
I felt as though I'd entered a huge distribution warehouse.
Now I understood why she'd warned me I might get lost.
“There is no need to be surprised. I merely went a little overboard with the space expansion magic.”
The manager led the way with her hands clasped behind her back, looking very pleased with herself.
I followed, staring around as though in a trance.
“This is where we keep items suitable for long-term storage. Everything is stored here, from unidentified artifacts mined deep within Hunter Tower to magic swords forged by dwarf craftsmen and top-quality magic reagents destined for the nearby academy.”
“Our convenience store even supplies an academy?”
“Of course. The goods sold at the True Progenitor's convenience store are the finest in Taepyeong City!”
She lifted her chin proudly.
The manager guided me to a set of metal shelves holding artifacts.
[S-14: Magical Artifacts]
“Now, go and place the item over there. The True Progenitor shall wait here.”
“You're not coming with me?”
“T-the True Progenitor detests holy power! There's no reason to approach a power that makes me sick just from touching it! You do it, my trusted minion.”
I carefully lowered the holy-element two-handed sword from my back and placed it on a rack.
Ziiing.
The moment the sword touched the rack, a barrier activated and contained its light.
Only then did the manager, who'd been standing far away, approach with a relieved sigh.
“Phew. Having a human minion really is convenient at times like this.”
“Can you not touch this, Manager?”
“I-it isn't that I can't touch it. It merely makes me feel ill. Why do something unpleasant when I don't have to? Before you came, I'd put such things in thick lead boxes and kick them along. Though the hunters did complain about scratches on their goods. Anyway, well done. Let us go back upstairs.”
So it did make her uncomfortable.
With our task finished, we climbed the spiral staircase back to ground level.
“The customer will come to collect that weapon tomorrow morning. Payment has already been received, so you need only hand it over here when the customer arrives.”
“Understood.”
“Then go and clock out. Well done today.”
* * *
The next day.
I'd only been behind the counter for a short while after taking over the morning shift.
Ding.
A tired-looking hunter entered the store.
With a worn silver breastplate and a shallow sword scar on their right cheek, the hunter looked like a typical veteran warrior.
“Has the holy-element greatsword arrived? I placed an order...”
“Ah, yes. It arrived in our underground storeroom yesterday. If you could give me your name and order number...”
I was just tapping the register screen to check the order when...
Ding!!
“Stop! I'm the one who ordered that holy-element greatsword!”
An angry shout rang out.
I looked away from the register monitor toward the new customer.
My breath caught, and I froze.
A worn silver breastplate.
A shallow sword scar on the right cheek.
Even the same hollow eyes filled with exhaustion.
The hunter who'd just come through the door looked exactly like the first customer standing at the counter.
“Huh?”
What was this now?
Twins?
Footnotes:
High Potion Six echoes Hot Six, a Korean energy drink brand.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried