The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

39 – 39. What Came from Outside (5)

“You saw red eyes outside the window?”

“Yeah, but nobody else sees them except for me, and they disappear when customers come. Just like right now.”

First, I told Diana about the unidentified eyes.

Surprisingly, Diana had spent the second most amount of time in the convenience store, after me.

For some reason, at night, she would sit in the convenience store, welcome customers with me, or just chat when we were bored.

“?”

So, I asked her, and Diana suddenly placed her hand on my forehead.

“…It doesn’t seem like you have a fever, but did you really get hit on the head by someone?”

Diana was genuinely worried, speaking from the heart.

“I didn’t get hit. I’ve almost been shot or stabbed, but I’ve never had my head hit like you.”

“But staring at some strange red eyes from outside, honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about from my perspective.”

I expected Diana to also be clueless.

– Manager –

[Things outside the convenience store are neither my responsibility nor my concern. It’s best if Mr. Kim Hyunwoo doesn’t take much interest. In reality, the more attention you give to such things, the closer they come to you.]

The manager said he didn’t know what he was talking about, but others might not know either.

“Still, when people talk about red eyes, they usually associate them with a monster’s eyes.”

“Monster’s eyes?”

But it seemed Diana wasn’t entirely ignorant, or perhaps she had heard something, as she blinked her eyes.

“Yes, there’s an old saying that red-eyed creatures have consumed a lot of beautiful things, so their eyes turned red.”

“Old saying? Isn’t that just baseless nonsense?”

“No, it’s not nonsense! We elves pass down wise sayings that are worthy of the ages by having our chieftain personally inscribe them on the World Tree. This is one of the sayings inscribed on the World Tree!”

“That World Tree is just a big piece of firewood, right?”

“It’s not like that! How do you even know about that?!”

Indeed, it seemed Ceretini’s master had a reason for having the chieftain inscribe it personally.

For example, if there had been a World Tree in the Joseon era, no one within a hundred leagues would have frozen to death.

It must have been large enough to last even after thousands of people used it as firewood.

“Anyway, the red ones are said to be very flavorful and dangerous, with an intense sweetness.”

“Changing the color makes it sound racially discriminatory.”

“No, we elves don’t discriminate based on race!”

But it sounded quite plausible.

After all, when people advertise beautiful and dazzling things, the color that comes to mind is usually red, isn’t it?

“Why are you teasing me like this? My head still hurts from when you broke it, you know?”

“That’s not it.”

Of course, I wanted to hit her again.

The sound when I broke someone’s head was beyond imagination, like a clear and pure sound. I wanted to record it.

“And when you look at the window, you can see the scenery inside the convenience store, right? Perhaps you’ve mistaken the reflection in the red light here?”

“That’s not it. I’m sure.”

I thought so at first, but after appearing not just once but several times, it didn’t seem like a mistake.

“Then, are you always there alone without any customers?”

“I don’t know if it’s always, but usually until you close the door at night. Even just now, it appeared briefly when you opened the door and the customer came and went.”

“Maybe I should go outside and wait for the red-eyed creature to appear? It probably won’t, though.”

Well, it doesn’t sound like a good idea.

“I think you won’t be able to see it outside. Just now, when you were outside, you had those red eyes, but I couldn’t see them, right? And I’ve never seen those red eyes through the open door, only through the window.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m even more concerned that you might have had a concussion. What on earth are you talking about?”

Maybe I really have some kind of mental illness.

Moreover, that guest said that ordinary humans go crazy just by seeing themselves, and the things I’ve experienced in this convenience store for the past week were far from peaceful, so it’s possible that I’ve lost my mind.

The reason I came here in the first place seemed insane enough.

“Oh, should we try this once?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

It seemed like a good idea came to mind about the unidentified red eyes.

“You said those red eyes don’t appear when there’s a customer in the convenience store. So, let’s try having you transform into someone who isn’t a customer, Diana.”

“…Transform into someone who isn’t a customer?”

“Elves can transform into plants, right? They’re good for disguises too, so maybe it’s possible to deceive it.”

Diana had already transformed into a convenience store plant before.

Although I can’t guarantee that it will work 100%, it seemed worth a try.

“Oh…! Come to think of it, you’re right.”

Diana seemed to agree and brought the plant to the counter.

“But can we really deceive it with that? Unless one is really stupid, I don’t think they’ll be fooled…”

“Maybe they won’t be fooled? Even if they’re not fooled, they’ll probably still react.”

Just seeing the red eyes for a moment would be a success.

I didn’t intend to investigate anything in particular, I just wanted to let Diana know that the red eyes were constantly watching her.

“But what if, by some chance, those red eyes are real… Wouldn’t it be dangerous after all?”

“It’s alright, you won’t die. This convenience store has strict security measures and the doors can be locked from this side. And if things really go wrong, you can always report it to the outside like when you broke my head.”

I had prepared emergency plans on this side as well.

The manager said that pressing the red button could solve almost anything, and if not, we could enter the warehouse or emergency exits and start a siege.

For example, even if someone like Seretini goes mad and starts shooting, as long as we evacuate properly, it won’t be a big problem whether it’s the break room or the warehouse.

“…Can I trust you?”

“What’s the worst that can happen if you trust me? And dying isn’t as big a deal as you think. It’s just a moment of loneliness, coldness, and emptiness.”

Are you talking as if you’ve already experienced dying?!”

I actually died.

By the hands of none other than Pepsi.

I’m talking about the black demon cola that’s proudly displayed on the shelf over there.

Now that a week has passed, the news about my death has probably spread. I wonder how it was reported in the news? A convenience store part-timer named Kim was found dead, with the culprit unknown. Ah, there must have been CCTV in the convenience store, so Pepsi falling and hitting my head would have been captured on it. At least one thing is certain, Darwin would definitely be confirmed as a candidate.

“I understand. If we’re going to do it, we should deceive them thoroughly, right?”

“That’s true, but how are we going to do it?”

“Heh… Elves are actually more versatile than you might think. Much more so than those psychopathic White Wizards.”

Diana made a nonsensical statement and plucked a leaf from her head.

“Watch closely.”

Poof!

As the leaf she had plucked fell to the ground, a second elf, identical to Diana, appeared along with a small puff of smoke.

“How is it? Ancient Elven sorcery?”

“Wow, that’s really amazing.”

“…Would you like to read a book, by any chance?”

Somehow, the image of a monkey from a myth came to mind, but I didn’t bring it up.

“For now, we look exactly the same, right? Although it can’t last long, it was definitely made as part of me, so it’s hard to tell us apart. This is also the secret to elves’ longevity.”

“When something dangerous happens, use a clone as a decoy and run away?”

“Yes! It works even against opponents who are impossible to defeat!”

I didn’t know why, but Diana said proudly.

In other words, doesn’t that just mean running away and giving up?

“Wouldn’t it be better to cut off your tail and throw it instead?”

“What do you take me for, a lizard elf?! I’ve already shown two of the Elf’s spells before, like transforming into a tree, but why are you not surprised at all?!”

“Well, that’s…”

If I had met Diana for the first time, I might not have known, but there had already been one grand battle in this convenience store.

An angel who maneuvered through the labyrinthine store with pinpoint accuracy and a saint who caught bullets flying at supersonic speeds with her bare hands and counterattacked.

“I have already experienced many things like this.”

If the convenience store hadn’t been sturdy, it would have collapsed long ago and there would have been nothing left here.

From Noble mtl dot com

But now, the ability to transform into a tree or create a clone with a hair…

Honestly, it’s a bit strange.

“Sigh… I understand. Since it seems we’re dealing with a crazy psycho angel, I won’t bother asking further.”

Diana eventually gave up, exhaling loudly, and proceeded as originally planned.

“I’ll hide in the potted plant here, and then I’ll send out my clone. Next time, just think of the clone as me when you send it out.”

“Got it, then I’ll do that.”

The real Diana concealed herself in the potted plant, while her clone, like the usual Diana, went outside the convenience store.

“Goodbye.”

I greeted her as I would any regular customer.

Normally, when Diana leaves, it’s closing time for the convenience store, but now there’s plenty of time left, so the red eyes will probably appear sooner or later.

I immediately prepared to lock the door, and if necessary, to press the red button or run to the emergency exit or storage room.

Now, all that’s left is for them to appear…

“Aren’t they showing up?”

Five minutes have passed since Diana’s clone left the convenience store, but there were still no red eyes outside, not even any redness was visible, it was just a pitch-black night that made it hard to see anything.

“They’re not showing up…”

Ten minutes passed, and nothing happened. An uncomfortable silence filled the convenience store.

“Is there nothing there?”

Diana, tired of waiting, reverted to her original form, undoing her transformation.

“Yeah, normally they show up right away when there’s no one around. Did they catch on that the one outside was a fake?”

“Or maybe there was nothing from the beginning. Seeing no trouble even after all this makes me think maybe it was just a false alarm. You usually have trouble sleeping?”

On the contrary, I slept quite soundly.

Maybe I really saw something that wasn’t there, or perhaps, it’s one of these unexplained things after all.

Thump! Thump!

“Huh!”

Suddenly, a thumping sound was heard, and Diana was startled.

“Oh, that’s fine. It’s just something strange that’s inside.”

However, I wasn’t surprised.

“What did you put in there to make it thump on its own?”

What had just thumped was the drawer where the customer had left the dice.

Come to think of it, the dice was far scarier than those red eyes.

“Dice. But now it’s a dice with tentacles.”

“What on earth is that dice?!”

Did I not properly tie it up with a handkerchief after showing it to the shopkeeper?

I should continue to fiddle with it and rebind it.

But when I opened the drawer, it was securely tied up.

Even though Seretini had tied it up well with the handkerchief he gave, the dice had moved on its own.

What’s going on here?

“Um, Mr. Hyunwoo…”

“Just a moment, I’ll check this dice.”

I unraveled the handkerchief, wondering if something unusual had happened.

“…6?”

Strangely, all the numbers on the dice had turned into 6.

Moreover, the dice, which had been golden in color, was now dyed in red.

Why did this suddenly happen? Could it be that I got food poisoning after eating the tonkatsu Seretini gave me a while ago?

“Mr. Hyunwoo!”

“Why have you been like this?”

Already feeling concerned about the dice, I turned my head as Diana kept calling me.

“Isn’t something strange outside the convenience store…?”

“It looks fine to me. It’s just a bit dim. You can’t see the red eyes that need to be shown.”

I heard Diana’s words and examined the area outside the convenience store, but I didn’t see anything particularly unusual.

The red thing on the nose was also not visible.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just too dark, even for darkness…”

“Come to think of it…”

Not only the red thing, but nothing at all could be seen outside the convenience store that should have been visible.

It was just dark.

There was nothing visible due to the darkness.

It’s as if when guests from another universe visited last time, but it seems a little different from that.

Flash-!

“What’s going on?!”

“Eek…!”

Then, the lights in the convenience store suddenly went out.

Thanks to that, it was originally dark only outside the convenience store, but now it was completely dark inside the store too.

-Kim Hyun-woo-

[Manager, did you happen to see us fooling around? We’re sorry for doing something weird during work, so please stop playing these pranks.] 1

At first, I thought it was a prank by the manager.

The manager can see everything that happens in the convenience store, and there was a time before when he turned off all the lights in the store.

-Kim Hyun-woo-

[Manager?] 1

However, I had a strange feeling.

The manager didn’t read the message.

I wondered if he was busy with something else.

But.

-Message sending failed-

[The system connection has been lost for unknown reasons. :(]

“?”

This time, a notification that I had never seen before appeared on the messenger.

“No way…”

I turned my gaze back outside the convenience store.

“W-what is that-“

Diana, who was standing next to me, gripped my hand so tightly it hurt.

That’s how terrifying it was.

Normally, I would have thought Diana was just a scaredy-cat, but now I understood why she was so scared.

Outside the window, crimson eyes were gazing at us.

At first, there was one.

Then, another pair of eyes opened.

This repeated, creating countless pairs of eyes emerging from the darkness.

At the end, numerous pairs of eyes were staring at us from the darkness, too many to count.

Thanks to that, I was able to reach one conclusion.

“…We’re screwed.”

That was the conclusion I came to upon seeing this situation.

There was no need to think twice about it.

I’m screwed.