The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

58 – This, too, shall pass (5)

“I’ll call you later if I need anything. Since Father and Amanda enjoy getting wet in the rain, they’ll be going out to see the festival.”

“But it’s raining outside…”

“Rain? Don’t you know that some of us didn’t get wet in the rain, and instead followed Father all day?”

Mari spoke harshly to the weretigers she called carriers.

It was already annoying enough to be drenched in rain, but as soon as they arrived, they were told to go out again, making the expressions of the weretigers even worse.

“You guys will just come in all wet and dirty the store anyway. And you can’t even make your fur waterproof like Father or Amanda.”

“Okay, we understand.”

But can that tiger lady make her fur waterproof? It seems possible when I see that her fur doesn’t get wet at all even when it’s pouring like this.

Amazing, isn’t it? What could be the principle behind such a thing?

“It’s okay if we put boxes on the floor…”

Anyway, it was pitiful to leave the weretigers outside when it was raining like this.

They all had large builds, but it reminded me of stray cats with no place to go, and on rainy days, I would imagine cats hiding from the rain under the convenience store.

“Leave them alone.”

But Mari shook her head and recommended not to let the weretigers inside.

She didn’t look as if she wanted to keep her subordinates outside on a rainy day, but was there some other special reason?

“They originally came here with Amanda and Father, supposedly to take care of them and act as interpreters. In reality, I’m the one taking care of both Father and Amanda, as well as doing the interpreting. I mean, how much do they earn as monthly wages if they’re only doing this much work?”

Ah.

Now that I think about it, those subordinates don’t seem to be very good at their jobs.

Thinking back on the situation, that feeling becomes more apparent.

In fact, it had been like this a little while ago, and when I first met Marine, those subordinates had always arrived later than she did.

You had to wait at least 10 minutes for them to show up, even if they hurried.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have come alone as usual. Father said he wanted to come himself and brought an interpreter and bodyguard, but it turned out that I had more work to do.”

And looking at Marine’s reaction, it seemed like this wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Now it makes sense to me.

To understand Marine, you can think of it like hiring a guide and interpreter when you go on a trip abroad, but they turn out to know less about the local area and have worse language skills than you do.

Thanks to that, all the interpreting and guiding work had fallen on her, and those who were supposed to do the actual interpreting and guiding work were just hanging around like Lupin the salaryman.

So, it’s only natural for them to be like that.

“Thanks to them, I’ve been running around with Father and Amanda all day, and I haven’t had a proper rest. They seem so active, just like you can see.”

In a way, not firing them seems merciful.

Now, it doesn’t seem as mean as it did before.

Of course, from what I saw, it seemed like they weren’t incapable of working, but rather that they were too tired from chasing after the tigers in front of them.

“They do seem pretty active, as you said.”

“Don’t they?”

Even now, the two women were still wrestling.

To the point where their relationship as subordinates was starting to seem doubtful.

I never expected to see a human with a tiger’s head and a tiger wrestling in a convenience store like this.

And the human side was winning.

Of course, it didn’t really look like a human.

“Anyway, don’t just stand there and gawk. You two work, and I’ll pay generously, so buy whatever Father and Amanda want to eat. If you need anything, just get it one by one.”

“Oh, thank you!”

“Father and Amanda won’t move from their spot until they get everything they want to eat, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes! We’ll be on our way then! Please call us anytime if you need anything!”

Furthermore, Marine didn’t treat them with hostility.

She took out a purse and handed it to the subordinates, and their faces brightened as they followed the two tigers back out onto the rainy street.

Money sure seems to have a powerful influence.

Until just a moment ago, the tiger suin who seemed completely soaked in water shook off the moisture and regained their energy.

Indeed, there are people who are willing to endure even the most difficult tasks if they receive suitable compensation.

“Ah… Now I can finally relax a little.”

In the end, the tiger suin left the convenience store, leaving only me and Marine.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to sit here for a bit. I ran as soon as I got up and now my legs hurt too much to stand.”

Finally, Marine sighed and stretched out on the table as if she was exhausted.

“Can you really rest properly in a convenience store like this? The chairs here aren’t very comfortable.”

“Other shops have closed to watch the Saintess’s giu festival, and if I go to a shop that’s open, there are too many people who recognize me so I can’t rest comfortably.”

Somehow, there were no other customers in the morning, but I don’t know exactly why. Perhaps people gathered to watch the giu festival.

“It seems like you’re famous. You’ll definitely catch people’s eye because you’re beautiful.”

“Me, beautiful? hahahaha, thank you. Well, beauties tend to get tired. But I don’t want to be tired because of something like this…”

Is it similar to celebrities?

“I hope there are people who approach me without any ulterior motives. There are so many people who approach me for political reasons, even though I’m just enjoying my time in a nice shop.”

As if irritated by just imagining it, Marine yawned and flicked her tail.

“As long as I’m with Father, those people won’t come near me. The problem is that because of Father, I can’t relax properly.”

“It’s difficult no matter which way you look at it.”

“Yes, and on top of that, I have to take care of both Amanda and Father.”

Her attire itself would stand out as it was not the usual clothing worn in the Papal State.

Moreover, if she’s a member of the royal family, there will be many intentional approaches for diplomatic or personal purposes.

I can understand why she’s so tired.

“But Hyunwoo, don’t you want to go see the giu festival?”

While chewing on her churro, Marine asked with her mouth full.

“I do want to see it, but I have to guard the store, so I have no choice.”

It’s Alencia’s giu festival, and I’m curious about many things, but I couldn’t leave the convenience store.

And even if I asked the store manager for permission to see the giu festival, I doubt he would grant it.

Moreover, the rules clearly state that I cannot leave for purposes other than work.

Although I may not know much else, I do diligently follow the rules in the manual.

“You could leave the store for a moment, couldn’t you? It’s not like many customers will come in when it’s raining in the morning.”

“There are circumstances that make it impossible for me to do that. I also want to go out for a walk if I have the chance.”

For some reason, I have a feeling that if I don’t strictly follow the rules, something bad will happen.

My instincts were telling me to follow the rules no matter what happens.

Otherwise, I might face something worse than death.

“I see. You’ve been through a lot too.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Marine chuckled and turned her gaze out of the window.

It was still raining outside.

Moreover, whether it was the manager’s preference or not, the convenience store played soft classical music, creating a pleasant atmosphere along with the sound of rain.

To put it briefly, it helped sleep come easily.

Perhaps because of this, Marine also seemed to be enjoying the music and the sound of rain, with a pleasant expression on her face.

“…Sitting in the chair for a long time isn’t very comfortable, is it?”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

However, since the convenience store chair wasn’t made to be comfortable for long periods of time, Marine smiled uncomfortably and kept shifting in her seat.

“Just wait a moment. There’s a spare cushion I can bring you.”

“Really?”

There happened to be some unused blankets and cushions in the break room.

Since there were no customers at the moment, it seemed fine to spend time like this.

“Here you go. It should be better than nothing.”

“Thank you. Hyunwoo, you have good sense, don’t you? You must be popular with women?”

As I handed her the cushion in the break room, Marine settled back into her seat, saying that now it felt a bit more comfortable.

“Me? I haven’t really had deep relationships with the opposite s*x before coming here.”

Of course, it’s closer to saying that I haven’t had any relationships, let alone deep ones. And even if I did, I never had any personal connections beyond public matters.

“Ah, then you must have a good face, right? Why aren’t there any pretty female customers coming to this store to see you?”

“If pretty female customers come, then…that’s…”

“Don’t they come often? I thought so.”

“Yes, they do come quite often.”

“…Why did your expression suddenly darken? Did something bad happen with those customers?”

I did experience quite a lot.

And not only do they not come to see me specifically, but when there are two or more of them together, the convenience store becomes noisy.

What happened when Allenzia and Ceretini met at the convenience store?

It was a relief that we were able to resolve it through conversation for now, but at the time, filming an action movie in a convenience store was so exhausting that my head felt like it was going to explode.

Somehow, even now, I can still feel a chill at the back of my head.

“I didn’t go through something that dangerous. Probably.”

“Well, you must have had a hard time. In many ways.”

“I did go through a lot of hardships, just as you say.”

Maybe Mariné sensed my inner thoughts, but she didn’t ask any further about the customers.

And so, today passed peacefully in the morning at the convenience store.

Maybe because it was raining and everyone was going to watch the festival, I was just passing the time, having a simple conversation with Mariné.

Ding dong-

“Oh, welcome!”

For having had two tigers come barging in since the morning, the convenience store was quite peaceful.

“…Wait, Hyeonwoo, step back behind me.”

“Yes?”

It was until Mariné showed her fangs, as if she was on guard, when the customers came around lunchtime.

While having a conversation, a customer came to the convenience store and I was about to greet them as usual when Mariné suddenly grabbed my shoulder and hid me behind her.

“Why are you doing that…?”

At first, I didn’t understand why Mariné suddenly acted like that, but when I saw the customers who had come to the convenience store, I roughly understood the reason.

“I see.”

Yeah, that’s why the convenience store was quiet, even with two tigers.

Outside the convenience store, there were men wearing sunglasses and dressed in black suits gathered together.

Moreover, they even had black umbrellas, and it wasn’t a joke to think that the black thing on their heads was horns, right?

“What business do the warlocks have in the Holy See?”

Mariné asked with displeasure, furrowing her brows.

“…We’re looking for demons.”

Out of nowhere, dozens of warlocks flocked to the convenience store.