The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

36 – 36. The Unexpected Visitor (2)

As I looked at the customer in front of me, it felt like my thoughts came to a halt.

I’ve met all sorts of strange customers in the past, but this is the first time I’ve seen a customer with tentacles hanging from his face like that.

Is that really a mutant, or rather, should I consider it a fishman (어인) since it has tentacles?

Even if it’s an alien, I’ve never seen a creature with green skin and tentacles on its head among the marine life I know. Perhaps it’s a specialty product from another universe? If not, then is it just a person with tentacles on their face?

I have absolutely no idea who this guest is.

“Well, we do sell earplugs. You can find them on that display shelf over there,” I offered.

The green-tentacled guest walked over to the display shelf, appearing to ponder for a moment, then promptly grabbed earplugs of various types.

But the real mystery is, why would someone without ears need earplugs?

“Ugh, you humans are such a peculiar bunch.”

As the guest placed the earplugs on the counter, he let out a deep sigh and once again used the term ‘peculiar.’

It seems that ‘peculiar’ refers to humans.

When the tentacled guest referred to me as ‘peculiar,’ it felt more like he was making a general comment about humans, rather than specifically addressing me.

What is the identity of this guest, anyway? For some reason, his appearance reminds me of exhausted office workers who have been working overtime.

I’ve seen many such workers before even coming to U.C. Convenience Store, so I can recognize them at a glance.

Thump!

“Why is it that you humans, when your wishes are granted, often choose the path to destruction… you peculiar beings who can’t even eat what I provide.”

The green-tentacled guest sighed in genuine exasperation as he said this.

Suddenly, what is he talking about? Granting human wishes and then mentioning the path to destruction out of nowhere. Could it be that this guest is the one who grants wishes if you collect seven balls? But those balls are usually associated with creatures that aren’t tentacled monsters but rather dragons.

And the cause of humanity’s destruction is more the fault of the extraterrestrials living on Earth rather than humans.

“Is there something you need?”

“Even if I explain to you in terms comprehensible to peculiar beings like you, you probably won’t understand, but to put it as simply as possible, there are some lunatics who call on me every day to grant their wishes. So I checked what they were, and it turns out you humans were asking me for your wishes.”

When the green-tentacled guest flicked his finger, the chair at the table flew towards the counter on its own.

I was pretty sure these things didn’t move beyond a certain distance from the table, but this one did.

I feel like I should offer my condolences, but I can’t just ignore him or ask him to leave like I would with other regular customers. My every survival instinct is warning me that something bad might happen if I do something like that.

For now, let’s just hear him out.

“One of those humans who called me wanted to be the world’s strongest human, so I granted his wish. As a result, he killed all the other humans except himself.”

“… What?”

Oh, as I listen to the story, I think I can roughly figure out what’s going on.

The guest who grants any wish and truly fulfills it as you desire. However, it’s a story with a process different from what one might normally expect, which leads to regrets later on.

I’d heard something like this briefly on the internet a few times.

“If there are no other humans, that guy would be the most powerful human on Earth. I merely granted wishes as they were asked. But those uncivilized humans, after having their wishes fulfilled, committed suicide…”

“Oh, I see.”

I listened to the story, giving a vague nod.

“So, reluctantly, I had to resurrect the humans, even if it was bothersome, to let them live again because there are those who get angry if humanity goes extinct. But then they called me again and asked for another wish.”

“What did they wish for this time?”

“They asked me to make humanity intelligent. So, I granted their wish for wisdom as they desired, but it resulted in the entire human race’s brains melting down. How foolish must they be that they can’t even handle the wisdom of a newborn child?”

It’s quite…

It seems like they didn’t provide a detailed explanation of what being “intelligent” means. They should have specified that it should be according to the standards of human intelligence, not just making humanity intelligent as per the guest’s own standards.

“I only revealed the purpose of the universe’s existence and the truth of life, but they couldn’t even bear that… sigh.”

Well, maybe it’s better not to know the purpose of the universe’s existence or the truth of life. If you know too much useless information, you might end up either dead or crazy.

“Every time I grant a wish, those foolish humans end up ending their own lives. How incredibly stupid they are…”

“Then, why don’t you just stop granting wishes?”

“If I don’t grant them, they keep calling me, and they start doing crazier things. Imagine ants outside your place calling your name, offering sacrifices of their own children’s blood and flesh until you grant their wishes. What would you do if they continued doing that?”

Wow, that sounds terrifying.

“I guess I have no choice but to go out.”

“Even though humans are uncivilized, their actions are beyond our wildest imaginations. Maybe that’s why those above find them amusing?”

Even if it were me, I’d leave as soon as possible if I encountered such crazy things in front of a convenience store.

“Moreover, those crazy humans, if I ignore them to the end, they offer sacrifices, including themselves, calling on me. If I avoid them just because it’s bothersome, they’ll eventually go extinct.”

“… That’s quite a burden. Truly.”

“Yes! But the higher-ups get angry at me for granting strange wishes, which ultimately lead to the extinction of humanity! Damn it! Why do they keep preserving these uncivilized beings who are worse than dodos and are on the verge of extinction for some reason?”

The tentacled guest was indignant, tears even welled up in their eyes.

It’s quite impressive to see them wiping their tears with tentacle-like hands.

At first, this tentacled guest was terrifying, but now, I can’t help but feel sorry for them in a strange way.

I still don’t exactly know what this guest is, but are they some kind of middle management for divine or godly beings?

Originally, being a middle manager is the most irritating thing.

“Sometimes, they would call me out and suddenly stick a strange knife in my head, the pain at that time was really…”

“How was it?”

“If I had to compare it to you humans, it would be similar to stepping on Legos barefoot and then immediately crushing my pinky toe on the corner.”

“Wow… just hearing it makes my feet hurt.”

It’s not oddly pitiful, it’s definitely pitiful.

Although I’m not exactly sure what it means for a knife to be stuck in my head, based on the metaphor, it is an extremely terrible pain.

Experiencing just one of them is already painful enough, but to go through them consecutively…

“Afterwards, I just made excuses and pretended that I didn’t hear anything, and I walked to the convenience store to buy earplugs, whether humanity perishes or not, I decided to leave it alone. It’s a bit inconvenient since there is no convenience store nearby, but I came all the way to this galaxy, about 5 minutes away, to buy them.”

“I hope these earplugs are useful.”

“Since I don’t have ears, they are ineffective for me. Just an excuse.”

He himself knows that he doesn’t have ears.

“Even if the original effect is absent, I hope that customers can use it for their desired purpose.”

Still, if I can use it for the intended purpose, then it’s fine.

I’ve come all this way, and if I take unnecessary steps, it will only make me feel more aggrieved.

I hope these earplugs can become a suitable means of defense.

“…Well, that’s fine. It’s not the worst since it’s from humans in another galaxy.”

The green tentacle customer nodded its head as the tentacles squirmed.

I proceeded to ring up the earplugs brought by the customer.

After putting several earplugs in a plastic bag, the customer handed me a card with a cute green octopus drawn on it.

This is… some kind of check card…

“Use that to pay and make sure to accumulate points as well.”

“Yes, of course.”

This is my first time processing a card payment at the U.C convenience store. Fortunately, it’s not much different from what I already know.

This customer even carefully accumulates points.

“If those uncivilized humans could at least resemble half of you, then it would be great. Usually, just by seeing my true form, they go crazy. You’re so composed and even had a conversation with me.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Oh, and I don’t need this, so keep it. It was offered to me as a sacrifice by the humans who just perished. I was already having trouble disposing of them, so you can have it.”

“T-Thank you. Have a nice day…”

Like that, the unidentified green tentacle customer handed me a similarly unidentified polyhedral die and left the convenience store.

A dice decorated with green gemstones that looked like gold.

The recent guest was more normal than I anticipated, and their complaints were not too long, so it wasn’t bad. But what is this dice they handed me, saying it was difficult to handle?

Flash!

When the guest left, the scenery outside returned to normal.

The dark background disappeared, and the original landscape of Space-1221 began to appear.

“Did we return to space?”

Just as I was about to feel relieved that we had safely passed through.

Whizz-

From Noble mtl dot com

“Ha, we still have bugs coming in instead of beastlings.”

A mosquito flew in through the open door.

Even in Space-1221, where even extinct creatures exist, I thought it was better to kill them right away. But the mosquito landed on the dice that the tentacled guest had handed over.

I was going to catch it at that moment, thinking it was a fortunate coincidence…

Gulp!

“?”

I stopped when I saw the dice swallowing the mosquito.

Green tentacles extended from all sides of the dice, turning the mosquito into something it had previously been.

“…Mosquito repellent?”

Can I touch this dice with my bare hands?

I can’t keep the dice on the counter when guests come.

Would it be okay to catch it with a thick tissue?