The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

37 – Intruder from Outside (3)

-Kim Hyun-woo-

[Honestly, you should have told me about this in advance, but you didn’t, did you forget to tell me?]

-Shop owner-

[I informed you at an appropriate time. Isn’t it evident that I haven’t shown any regrets towards you, Mr. Kim Hyun-woo?]

Thinking back, it was unbelievable, so I pressed the shop owner for an answer, but they responded indifferently as if nothing was wrong.

Of course, I managed to send off the unidentified guest safely, but somehow, just having that guest in front of me made me nervous and diminished my ability to think.

Moreover, even after the guest saw themselves in person and said they were unharmed, it was surprising.

No matter how I think about it, it seems like I did something very dangerous.

-Shop owner-

[Mr. Kim Hyunwoo, listen. When foreign journalists visit our U.C convenience store, we apply a filtering process to the employees’ minds, making them perceive it as a dream.]

-Kim Hyunwoo-

[What is that supposed to mean?]

-Store Manager-

[The most powerful mental defense mechanism possessed by intelligent beings is dreams. Especially humans, when something unrealistic happens in a dream, they don’t feel strange about it and just swim through the dream as it is. They fail to recognize that it is a dream.]

The store manager was trying hard to justify.

-Store Manager-

[Mr. Kim Hyunwoo must have experienced this as well. Even if he wakes up from a dream and realizes that it was a dream, he ends up dismissing and forgetting the terrible nightmare without much concern. In U.C convenience store, we filter the mind using the same principle, so there is no problem if we come into contact with supernatural beings from other universes.]

The story sounded quite plausible.

Even when absurd things happen in dreams, many people fail to recognize it as a dream.

-Store Manager-

[Additionally, when transcendental beings from other universes visit the U.C convenience store, they send low-ranking representations of themselves, so there haven’t been any issues with employees perceiving them as ordinary customers.]

-Kim Hyunwoo-

[So, it was safe anyway?]

-Store Manager-

[Yes, as long as Mr. Kim Hyunwoo doesn’t behave rudely. Even if he makes a mistake once, he can just brush it off as if it never happened once he wakes up from the dream. Because everything was just a dream. If he continues to make mistakes afterward, then it will be solely his own fault.]

-Kim Hyunwoo-

[I understand. Please let me know in advance next time. I almost thought it would be a ten-year sentence.]

-Store Manager-

[I will try my best. However, I cannot manipulate all the systems, so U.C convenience store directly manages the parts related to the manual.]

He sighed and closed the messenger.

Since it was already over, there was no need to dwell on it further.

Although it couldn’t be determined by just one person, at least the customer who just left seemed much more intelligent and normal than the customers of this universe-1221.

At least they didn’t thrust a knife or a gun.

They just threw a dice of unknown origin, calling it a gift.

“I tried to grab it with a tissue, but ended up swallowing the tissue…”

I can’t possibly move this, how do I move it?

Should I ask the store manager?

Or should I close my eyes and try to grab it with my bare hands?

“What did I swallow?”

“Ah, Seletini. Welcome.”

And there was Seletini, walking into the convenience store.

He instantly appeared as if he had thought of something frightening.

This time, he entered wearing the same white trench coat as when he first came.

The bright light bulb still hovered above his head.

“What’s that strange dice?”

“One of the customers who came earlier gave it to me as a gift. I’ll show it to you.”

He brought the bread that he ate in the morning and gave me a piece.

The tentacles of the dice reached out and swallowed the bread in one gulp.

“It’s uncomfortable to touch it with bare hands. But having it on the counter, as you can see, makes it difficult to calculate. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Hmm, indeed, it wouldn’t end well if you touched it with bare hands and got a few fingers bitten.”

Is Seletini also a transcendent being like the angel?

The bugs that come into the convenience store go crazy and get closer to the dice, but luckily she didn’t show any of that strange behavior.

Although she did keep her distance from the dice.

“For now, try moving the dice with this. It seems to be an item related to transcendent beings from another universe. Even if there were only a few contents left, it is still a transcendent being, so it should provide some protection.”

While saying that, he handed me a white handkerchief.

It was a pretty handkerchief adorned with golden threads that emitted a pleasant scent.

“Now, let’s see…”

Oh, indeed, the tentacles of the dice didn’t come out when I held it with the handkerchief Seletini gave me.

It was the complete opposite of when it chewed and swallowed the wooden chopsticks.

“Wrap the dice with it and hide it somewhere that can’t be seen. If that brain of hers had the same power as a muscular woman, I might not mind. But other customers would be significantly affected just by seeing it.”

“Understood.”

I tied the handkerchief neatly and put it inside the counter drawer.

Let’s ask the manager about it separately after work. After all, the customer gave it to me as a gift, so I can’t just casually throw it away.

If all else fails, I thought about discreetly throwing it in the space waste bin, but now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem like a good idea either.

“But what brought you here this time? Seeing you in those clothes makes me think you came secretly.”

“Hmm, it’s not that I came secretly. If I use the excuse of a meeting as a reason for visiting, there shouldn’t be any issues. But still, if they hear that I’m a white mage, people tend to get suspicious.”

Despite that, the light bulb still hovers above his head?

“And the Churro I bought last time, I personally can’t eat it, but my subordinates, the cat spirits and water spirits, loved it. So I thought I’d drop by since I was in the neighborhood.”

“You’re kind. Coming to the convenience store personally, considering your subordinates.”

“Right now, I’m restricting going outside of the Tower for safety reasons, so if there’s something you need that requires going out, I’ll do it instead. Plus, the management of the Tower is taken care of by others, so I have nothing to do and it’s boring.”

In other words, you went out for a walk because you were bored.

Serehtini smirked and picked out some cheese and simple snacks from the display shelf.

“I’m going to pay for this and use that kiosk again, can you help me with that? I’m still not familiar with how to operate it.”

“Alright. But what are you buying this time?”

“Grenades.”

No brain freeze this time at Serehtini’s response of grenades, but considering I had already purchased a gun before, it wasn’t that surprising.

“It’s a secret, but it doesn’t matter to you anyway. We’re developing holy grenades with the Papal State this time.”

“Oh, so you’re just looking for samples to see.”

“No? This time I’m buying it for my hobby.”

I don’t know what kind of hobby he has to deliver grenades to a convenience store, but since the store manager will package it safely, it won’t be too dangerous.

“The grenades you can purchase through this Rocketbang are no more powerful than small fireworks, but when combined with magic, their power increases significantly. In fact, in my White Tower, we replicate and improve various weapons like that.”

“But if there are better ones available, wouldn’t it be better to buy them separately? They probably have a decent price.”

“It’s also good to examine the originals sometimes. The ones we are currently producing are all replicas and improvements, so we can no longer replicate the original.”

So there are only improvements, and the original can no longer be found.

From the way they say replication instead of production, it seems there is no factory here where they produce firearms separately.

“Besides, we don’t have any new technology for developing completely new firearms in our universe, so it’s more efficient to purchase and replicate improved versions like this. However, without U.C. convenience stores, we wouldn’t be able to replicate new firearms.”

So they buy guns through U.C. convenience stores and then modify and replicate those firearms.

But is that even allowed? Ah well, it’s a different universe, so there probably aren’t any legal issues.

“And once we modify something, we can’t return it to its original state, so I want to buy the same thing again, but that annoying inspiration won’t allow it.”

Now that I think about it, I heard there are firearm regulations in Universe 1221 as well.

Originally, U.C. convenience stores used to sell guns inside the store like Walmart in the United States, but the store manager said they can no longer sell them directly due to regulations.

“Can’t we just replicate one original and then make improved versions?”

“It’s impossible. Even if the minerals with the same name exist in different universes, their compositions are slightly different. We can’t completely replicate the technology of other universes. Besides, making improvements is our way of making it replicable.”

Well, it seemed like a pretty good idea, but there’s no way people smarter than me couldn’t think of it.

Even if they have the same name and appearance, they aren’t exactly the same, so there seems to be a problem with trying to imitate the technology of other universes.

“Even when it comes to the bullets we’re using, the ones purchased here are fired using gunpowder. But we replace gunpowder with magic stones containing the power of fire.”

“Is there really no difference from gunpowder?”

There’s almost no difference. It’s not accurate because each universe is different, but the production cost is probably cheaper and the weight is lighter compared to most universes. Yet, the power is stronger.”

Instead, they find substitutes like that and try to make them as similar or even better.

“Isn’t it amazing? You can praise it as much as you want or even sing its praises. Go ahead, do it to your heart’s content. I permit it.”

“Oh… Yes, you’re truly amazing.”

“…Your response seems somewhat underwhelming.”

“No, it’s amazing. I just thought you’d simply replace bullets with magic, but the fact that you actually make them is a bit disappointing…”

Thud!

Suddenly, Ceretini pushed me against the wall.

“Why would you replace bullets with magic? Don’t you understand the romance in it?”

His expression seemed genuinely angry.

“What?”

“The explosive force when you pull the trigger, the smell of gunpowder, or, for example, the clear and pure sound when loading an M1 Garand – they’re all like beautiful works of art created by the existence of bullets. By replacing it with magic, you’re giving up all that romance.”

Ceretini’s intense glare made it clear that he was genuinely angry.

It’s scary how he can be smiling while pushing a gun, and now he’s truly furious.

“No, that’s not it! When you run out of bullets, it becomes inconvenient at crucial moments. So, I thought using something like magic for bullets would be better. It would also be more convenient to carry. hahahaha…”

From Noble mtl dot com

I nervously waved my hands as if I had touched an untouchable sore spot.

“Guns are excellent weapons that anyone can use to protect themselves, as long as they aren’t misused. But by replacing bullets with magic, you might create people who can’t use them, and in the end, that’s also using magic. Not everyone in this world can use magic.”

Only then did Ceretini release his grip and gave me a disapproving fist bump.

“I hope that everyone living in this universe can have the power to protect themselves.”

At first, I thought he was just a crazy angel lost in some bizarre romanticism. But he probably had his own reasons for thinking that way.

“You know, threats you might encounter while living your life aren’t limited to this universe. If you’ve already met them, it’s as good as losing hope, but at the very least, you should resist to some extent. Isn’t it too unfair and futile to die without doing anything?”

He lowered his gaze with a shadow cast over his face.

Come to think of it, it seemed like there were giants in the white marble tower, and giants couldn’t use magic, according to what I read on the Tree Wiki.

After hearing his story, I somewhat understood Ceretini’s thoughts.

Dying is a bit sad when you can’t do anything.

I don’t know about dying in a way that has some meaning or that you can understand on your own, but I can’t understand it, and it’s not a particularly meaningful death.

“I’m sorry for not knowing. I can’t replace what you’re doing, but I’ll do my best to help you find the item you want. Will you forgive me?”

“Hmph, then go and help quickly. And while you’re at it, teach me how to manipulate that kiosk.”

“Alright, I’ll help you right away. Just don’t grab my sleeves too tightly…”

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t too angry as Ceretini grabbed my sleeves and rushed off to shop.

“But, isn’t pointing a gun at someone without warning also exploiting the power that protects them?”