The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

26 – 26. Commencing Evening Shift (2)

I should have known when I first looked it up on Tree Wiki.

This Tree Wiki, known as the ocean of knowledge, was a place that either faithfully reproduced everything as it was, or provided the most rational description based on all records and situations.

“Far away, following the wind, heading towards the cave~ searching for gold and jewels sleeping in the deep mountain range~”

Sure enough, the dwarves, after emptying several beer cans, started singing.

-Kim Hyun-woo-

“Can we just leave those dwarf customers alone?”

-Manager-

“Are you going to keep repeating the same thing? I clearly said that for 8 hours, we won’t interfere. If it’s so loud that you can’t stand it, press the red button.”

I asked the manager how I should handle that, but as always, he came out with an unchanged attitude of just watching.

Well, he was the kind of manager who ignored even when bullets were flying in the convenience store, so he probably wouldn’t even care about a song.

I can’t say that I can’t tolerate it compared to during the day…

Or can I? Was the day too intense, and is it still intense enough right now?

My perception started to become strange.

“Oh my, look at those dwarves over there.”

People passing by in front of the convenience store laughed and giggled at the dwarves who were heavily intoxicated and singing.

Why is the embarrassment mine?

Especially because the counter is in a position where my face can be seen from outside, it’s even more embarrassing to make eye contact with people.

“Look over there, aren’t those regular dwarves at Imir’s tavern?”

They seem to be famous dwarves even in this neighborhood.

And they’re famous dwarves for that reason.

“Quite a lot of trouble, bachelor. Those dwarves don’t stop until they’re completely drunk. They used to have a regular tavern they frequented, but it seems the owner has been ill lately and can’t open the place, so they’ve likely come here.”

As I gathered the stories of the customers who had come to the convenience store, it turns out that these dwarves had their own preferred tavern, but it’s currently closed due to the owner’s illness.

So, they’ve been wandering from one bar to another, and thanks to the dwarves’ reputation, they kept getting turned away at the door. It just so happened that I, who knew nothing about it, was able to buy alcohol here, and they even served snacks inside.

Thanks to that, they’ve settled in and are even singing.

Darn it, I wish I had just bought the alcohol and left…

Should I try asking if I can leave now? Fortunately, the dwarves don’t seem too violent or anything like that, so if I ask politely, they might let me go.

If that doesn’t work, I can always press the red button.

“Excuse me… Guests?”

I cautiously approached the dwarves.

“Oh! Look at this young lad! Drink up, drink up! The entrance to the cave hasn’t collapsed yet! Let’s gather as much gold and gems as we can!”

“If you’re too loud, you’ll disturb other customers…”

“Let’s go find the gold vein! We’re going to turn this mountain upside down!”

But my voice didn’t reach them at all.

Their own voices were so loud that no matter how loudly I spoke, it was drowned out and ignored.

Even when I tried to tap their shoulders after having a bit too much to drink, they didn’t react in the slightest.

I couldn’t help but give their shoulders a strong shake.

“Huh? Is there a bug?”

But all the dwarves did was briefly scratch their shoulders, as if they had a bug.

On the other hand, my hand was in pain to the point where it was trembling.

These dwarves, even though they didn’t seem to be wearing any armor, were as tough as rocks.

It’s not working.

I have no choice but to press the red button and forcibly drive them out.

“Where are you going? There’s still so much gold and gems left! You can’t leave until you’ve made your share!”

“What?”

But why am I clinging to them again?

I reluctantly tried to press the red button on the counter, but the dwarves grabbed me and forcibly seated me.

Could it be that they noticed I was trying to call the police?

“Drink up, drink up!”

It wasn’t that.

The dwarves sat me in a chair and pushed a can of beer toward me.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t drink alcohol…”

“I knew that, so I prepared in advance! There happens to be something good here!”

Moreover, since he couldn’t drink alcohol, he was forced to gulp down non-alcoholic beer against his will.

By the way, it wasn’t long after dinner, and I was already full.

And to make matters worse, pouring beer on top of it made my stomach feel even more bloated, as if it were about to burst.

Originally, if you didn’t feel like drinking a beer without alcohol, it was just a barley-flavored drink that filled your stomach.

After selecting the immortal masterpiece for about two hours, the dwarves finally cleaned up and left.

I’m grateful that they cleared away everything they brought for themselves, but who in their right mind comes to a convenience store, drinks beer for three hours, and sings?!

“Is there no normalcy in the universe?!”

Alone in the now silent convenience store, I sighed in despair.

Until this afternoon, I had thought deeply and sympathetically about their seemingly serious story.

But I still didn’t know exactly who they were, and in my current situation, dwarves who suddenly barge into a convenience store and start drinking were more frightening than some unknown and unknowable something.

“Next time they come, I should press the red button right away…”

Still, it’s fortunate that they at least cleaned up and left.

To be precise, it seemed like they brought the beer cans separately because they were made of interesting metal, but whatever, I’ll be satisfied if my workload is reduced.

Moreover, thanks to the dwarf named Lagos, who I had bumped into earlier, realizing that I was uncomfortable, he suggested to his friends to go to another place for a second round, so I was able to finish a bit earlier.

“…As it gets darker, the number of customers seems to have decreased a bit.”

To be exact, when it became 9 o’clock, people walking on the street seemed to have noticeably decreased.

There didn’t seem to be any curfew or anything like that, but just like in reality, when it’s past 11 o’clock at night, there are almost no people on the streets, so it seemed to be the same here.

Seeing this, maybe I don’t need to worry too much about working 24 hours.

Even during working hours, if there are no customers, I can go to the break room and rest, and if a customer does come, I can just get up and go to the counter without any problems.

“Give me one Az Forest.”

“…Excuse me?”

Damn, what is this now?

“Do you happen to know what that is? Over there, in the second row, third column. It’s made from dried leaves of the World Tree.”

Looking at the cigarette display case as he said, there was a cigarette that was almost identical to the popular convenience store cigarette I knew.

However, as with most U.C convenience store items, there were slight differences from the conventional ones, but that’s not important right now.

In front of me was a slightly taller child than the dwarf who had left earlier.

She had short green hair. Probably.

She was wearing a hat like Ceretini, but it didn’t show any halo, and it didn’t have horns, so it seemed like she was just a child.

-Kim Hyunwoo-

[Do you also sell things like cigarettes or alcohol here? Is there an age restriction?]

-Store Owner-

[Yes, of course. It is a law established by the transcendent beings of this universe and U.C convenience stores when they entered Universe-1221. Items with addictive substances such as alcohol or cigarettes are restricted from being sold to mentally immature sentient beings.]

“I’m sorry, but if you’re not an adult, you can’t buy cigarettes.”

I tried my best to calm the child outside of the counter.

I wanted to punch through their ignorant brains and smash their heads if they were foolish enough to try to get alcohol or cigarettes. But this child was too young for me to even consider such thoughts.

Let’s just calm them down and send them away.

I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble anymore.

“What? Are you kidding me? Who are you calling a child?”

This time, the child took off their hat and started getting angry.

“Hey, human. Are you deliberately teasing me?”

As the hat came off, it became clear that they were indeed a child.

However, their pointed ears gave away that they were some kind of elf, and a part of their hair was made of leaves.

Could it be a dwarf after all?

“Just when the bar I frequently visit is closed, now humans are disrespecting me by calling me an elf?”

The green-haired elf seemed to have gone through something unpleasant, as they were extremely angry to the point where their eyelids were trembling.

Or maybe I touched on some kind of complex.

But if they were an elf, they would have told me so from the beginning. How am I supposed to know when they cover their ears and hair with a hat?

Anyway, thanks to them, I realized something.

No matter what kind of convenience store it is, it’s natural for nights to be busier than days.

And on top of that, whether in the city or in the countryside, even if it’s in a different world, there are often crazy things happening during the night after the sun has set.

“I’m 20 times older than your mother and father combined, you! This is a good chance! Just today, I was kicked out of 20 nearby bars for being too young, and now let’s relieve some of the stress that has been building up here!”

The elf grabbed me by the collar.

The elf’s grip felt like the blow of an elderly person from the convenience store I used to go to.

I had no urge to resist, and I didn’t even have the thought of resisting.

“Oh, I see…”

Completely losing my humanity in just three days, I replied dryly.

“So that’s how it is. Be careful not to die from that.”

The elf became even angrier at my attitude and crushed the silver coin they were holding in their hand with their strength.

“Are they trying to fold me up like that?”

“Well, hold on a moment. There’s something I need to take care of before we meet.”

Doesn’t matter.

“…What?”

After requesting a brief extension, I went behind the counter.

Whether it was surprisingly kind or just unexpected, the elf willingly let go of the hand that was gripping their neck.

Even if they hadn’t let go, I was about to lick their hand with my tongue to make them release it. But I guess I don’t have to do something weird for no reason.

Or maybe I could use pepper spray.

“Just wait for about five minutes while I tidy up. I’ll make it up to you afterwards.”

“Why do I have to do that?”

“Anyway, elves don’t have a long lifespan, right? So why can’t you wait for just five minutes after living for so long?”

“…Ha, that’s right! Good, you’re an interesting human. I’ll let you write my will even though I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“No, I already wrote my will.”

“?”

[♣ The Universe of Knowledge You Cultivate ♣]

[Welcome to the Treewiki!]

[The Red Button at the U.C. Convenience Store]

[Summary: A very small and precious button that protects the employees of U.C. Convenience Store. If pressed for more than three seconds, it automatically reports a situation.]

[Features: When the button is pressed, the U.C. Convenience Store system automatically assesses the situation and reports it to the police. Depending on the situation, the police officer from that universe or the police officer stationed at Universe-1 may respond. The arrival time is generally faster for the former than the latter.]

Without hesitation, I pressed and held the red button for more than three seconds, then returned and the elf willingly held their neck again.

“…What were you trying to do-“

As the elf continued their sentence, a knight in a plate armor, whom I had recently met with Allensia, arrived in less than a minute.

“You coward, reporting so sneakily-“

Thunk!

Following that, a very clear and crisp sound was heard.

In the midst of the elf’s great confusion and hesitation, the knights delivered a satisfying blow to their head with a wooden cudgel.

Thud!

And so the elf lost consciousness and collapsed.

The knights took care of the elf, giving me a thumbs up, and I nodded my head in return, cautioning them to be careful as they left.

Ah, I should have done this earlier.