Chapter 16
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Internationalist II
Shin No-a
3
First, I lightly cleaned out convenience store distribution centers across the country.
Of course, it wasn't a simple task that could be summarized in a single line. The National Assembly had been blown away and fallen into a half-paralyzed state. The quick-witted were already trying to coil around the distribution centers.
"Who goes there!"
"Stop! Don't approach!"
But who am I? At this point, I'm a regressor who has lived 90 lifetimes.
Screams echoed from the distribution center's barricade entrance. Before long, I had developed a relationship with the center managers where we were calling each other brother.
"Do you understand? If the trucks don't arrive by Friday of this week, you'll be spending some very meaningful time."
"Yes, yesss! I understand!"
Soon, a procession of trucks poured out from distribution centers in the northern and eastern parts of the metropolitan area. The destination was naturally our store. The 6th International Convenience Store.
There was interference from military units and police along the way, but I brushed them off lightly.
I had experience cooperating with the National Intelligence Service and government in previous iterations. The first thing Mr. Sho and I did together was collect personal weaknesses of the government officials.
In the end, our store became a black hole that instantly sucked up all convenience store-related logistics.
"Hwek... Store Manager Comrade! The boxes are piled up like mountains! Thinking that all of this is the product of material capital created from the blood and sweat of workers makes me so sad!"
"Now it's ours."
"The laughter won't stop...!"
Typical signs of a revolutionary starting to corrupt.
A massive warehouse was begun in the convenience store basement. It was a major construction project that would have been difficult to even guarantee a completion date if human labor had been mobilized, but the power of fairies made many things possible.
The fairies completed the ultra-large underground warehouse and then arranged the products neatly.
"Hm?"
Yes, not fairy but fairies.
Before I knew it, three fairies were buzzing around moving products.
I called Fairy Number 264.
"Number 264."
"Yes! Store Manager Comrade!"
The fairy stood at attention.
"Answer me. Why did the fairies suddenly multiply?"
"Yes! I requested support from the [Fairy Revolutionary Club]! Comrades from the club, moved by Store Manager Comrade's great revolutionary line, are joining the front one after another to participate in our great cause!"
What.
"Surely the fairies will increase even more?"
"Probably? The great cause of revolution is like a river that swells as it flows downward. Except for the dirty and ugly royalist reactionaries!"
"Hmm..."
This was an unexpected situation. I had just brought Number 264 along because I needed a competent slave I could work without pay.
But there was no problem. No, it was actually good.
In a 'vacation iteration,' the more unforeseen events that occurred, the more enjoyable it tended to be.
"Ho, perhaps my unilateral decision resulted in overly adventurist consequences?"
"No. You did well."
I looked around. Anything handy?
Fortunately, green Saemaul hats were piled high on a logistics box. I tore open the plastic and placed a Saemaul hat on Fairy Number 264.
Wearing a hat larger than its own head, the fairy tilted its head questioningly.
"What is this?"
"All fairies are equal, but some fairies are more equal than others! Comrade 264's pure and fervent passion for revolution has moved me. I hereby appoint you as the leader of all fairies who will participate in the 6th International."
"...! Store Manager Comrade...!"
Staff secured.
The fairies knew how to use magic, and even had the ability to separate a specific domain from reality. It was because of this ability that the Busan Station waiting room had been isolated from the outside.
"Deploy the domain in the underground warehouse."
"Yes!"
Using that ability and freezing magic in combination, I extended the expiration dates of products stored underground indefinitely.
After obtaining generators and finishing the wiring and installation work, a convenience store with lights flashing 24 hours a day was complete.
Now there was nothing left but to receive customers.
On the 6th day after the grand reopening, the first customer finally visited.
"Welcome!"
"...."
Ding, and the glass door opened.
A woman wearing thick clothes with a ponytail.
Why hide it. The monumental first customer was none other than the Saint. She lived in this area to begin with, and since she would have spied on my eccentric behavior with [Clairvoyance], she was bound to visit.
The Saint glanced at me standing at the register.
"...Are you open for business?"
"Yes. Our store operates normally 24 hours."
"What is that?"
The Saint pointed behind me.
There, a poster titled [Store Usage Rules] was posted.
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1. Please be kind to the staff of this store. Even if their appearance differs from humans, they are all valuable human capital and private property of this store.
2. This store handles not only Korean won but also overseas currencies such as Japanese yen and US dollars.
3. Smoking inside the store and under the parasol is strictly prohibited.
4. This store has limits on purchase quantities. The number of products one person can purchase is limited to what one person can 'reasonably' consume in a day. The standard of common sense is determined by this store's manager. (Example: You cannot purchase 100 sandwiches at once)
5. All physical disputes are prohibited within 300m of this store.
6. Unlimited sanctions may be imposed for violating these rules. Your understanding is appreciated.
7. Have a happy shopping experience!
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I put on my service smile.
"The rules are as written, customer. As long as you follow the rules properly, this store always sincerely welcomes all customers."
"...."
The Saint's face was, hmm. Hard to describe.
She prowled the store like a cat with its guard fully raised. After watching me until the very end, when she reached a certain corner, the Saint hesitated.
It was the pet products corner.
"Ah. Fish food..."
"This store specially maintains a pet-only corner for customers who don't give up on their pets even as the world is ending."
"...Driftwood for the aquarium, filter media, soil, adhesive, aquatic plants, oil film remover, and even a filter..."
The Saint muttered blankly.
"Professional... With this, maintaining the aquariums would be much..."
"Do you like it, customer?"
"...Please wait a moment."
The Saint left the convenience store.
A short while later, she re-entered carrying a bundle of 50,000 won bills. And as if possessed, she started putting aquarium maintenance supplies into her shopping basket.
I faced the Saint at the counter.
The look of the spending god descending was there.
"Please give me all of this..."
"Thank you! Customer! This coffee is complimentary. Our store hasn't been open long. Please spread the word to people nearby."
"...Yes. I'll come often."
Regular customer acquired.
With all proper marketing means gone, acquiring the Saint as a regular customer had enormous advantages. The Thrones would do the advertising work on their own.
Sure enough, before long the number of customers visiting the convenience store started to increase in earnest.
"Can't I buy a carton of cigarettes? Huh? Please!"
"I came all the way from Chungju to come to this store."
"Boss, I'll give you as much money as you want. Just cooperate with our unit..."
It was truly a booming business.
Of course, as customers increased, so did the bastards. The logic of the world for balance adjustment was always severe.
"Fuck, the owner here, come out!"
"Yes, I'm out, you customer bastard."
"Huh?"
Without a single exception, the bastards were beaten like dogs by me.
Guys who insisted on buying excessive amounts at once out of greed, guys who sat under the parasol puffing out cigarette smoke, guys who opened soju bottles and started drinking parties—I didn't care about that—but then took it a step further and started fights, and so on.
They were all punished.
"Spy bastards planted by imperialists to collapse the International! Not a shred of mercy is allowed for you! Everyone's going to the gulag!"
"Fuck... why is a fairy..."
"Quiet! Reactionaries!"
Under Number 264's supervision, the bastards were used to clean the Han River banks. Thanks to that, the area around our convenience store was as clean as if it alone had dodged the world's destruction.
At this point, reactions came up on the internet too.
-ㅇㅇ: Hey, why is the International store owner so strong?
-ㅇㅇ: I saw yesterday, 6 awakened ones rushed at once but they all went down in just a few seconds. Even our guild master got taken out in one shot. Is this a convenience store owner or a swordmaster? Isn't he just the strongest?
-ㅇㅇ: That person was really strong.
-ㅇㅇ: Are there still people causing trouble at the International? They're crazy.
-ㅇㅇ: That's a fairy den...
-ㅇㅇ: But why are the fairies there wearing Che Guevara t-shirts?
-ㅇㅇ: Don't know.
-ㅇㅇ: I asked last time and they said those are their employee uniforms.
-ㅇㅇ: No, why on earth are fairies wearing Che Guevara t-shirts as uniforms?
-ㅇㅇ: Really don't know.
Ah, right. This site wasn't SG Net. The name SG Net itself was my idea to begin with.
When Seo-gyu was active alone without me, a site called 'Hunter Community,' abbreviated Hun-Com, was established. It wasn't a membership system but a space where anyone could freely access and write anonymously.
Having heard of my reputation, sometimes awakened ones came to the convenience store not to buy anything but to see me.
"I am called the Sword Marquis, the sword hand of the Huashan Sect. I have long heard by rumor of the International Store Owner's high-level martial arts. May I request a lesson?"
"...."
A crazy concept freak in his 60s who had read too many martial arts novels, gone mad, called monsters demon yokai, called awakened ones martial artists, and referred to clerks as shopkeepers.
There will be another chance to talk about this old man someday. He's someone I traveled with during other vacation iterations, not the 90th.
Anyway, the 6th International was a success.
Small and medium guilds flocked to the Han River banks that had been desolate after the gates burst, and even awakened ones who stubbornly played lone wolf without joining guilds established themselves nearby.
A so-called convenience store zone was formed.
If it were before the world ended, I wouldn't know, but currently in Korea, there was only one convenience store zone. Perhaps it was unique on Earth.
Thus about 12 years passed.
4
One day.
"Store Manager is quite an amazing person too."
A customer said at the register. It was a guild master who had brought her entire guild membership to have a company dinner in the convenience store's front yard.
One of the two major mountains in Korea, treated as a super-large guild. Samcheon (Three Thousand). It could be said to be a group with quite a deep connection to me.
Wearing one of Samcheon Guild's characteristic conical hats turned upside down, that guild master beamed.
"In what way?"
"Whenever I come here, it feels like a lie that the world has become this way. You know? Nowhere else deals with paper money anymore. Today when I tried to buy potato chips and saw the price was over 3,500 won, I flinched for a moment. Wondered if that price was right."
She looked very pleased.
Through the slightly open glass door, the sound of awakened ones laughing and chatting could be heard from afar.
"The fact that I can still worry about things like that wasn't bad in itself. You're a good person. I don't know what your identity is at all."
"Thank you, customer."
"Oh right. And thanks to Store Manager's store, the security around here is relatively safe, you know. Do you know what we call Store Manager's store among ourselves?"
"Convenience store?"
"No, police station. Because whatever disputes arise, if you just come to this store, they get resolved appropriately. No matter how hot-headed you are, when you see fairies wearing Che Guevara t-shirts and Saemaul hats, you calm down out of sheer absurdity."
"Hmm."
Seo-gyu wouldn't do that.
He's the kind of guy who always starts with "this fucking bastard" even at the Busan Station waiting room.
"Anyway... Our guild is going out to seal the gate that opened yesterday. The execution date is the day after tomorrow at 1100 hours. If you're interested, let me know. I'll give you a vice guild master position. Our guild is a bit closed to outsiders, but skilled people are always welcome."
"I appreciate the offer, but I have no intention of getting directly involved in fighting."
"I see. That's how it is after all."
"Customer, don't overexert yourself in battle either."
"What."
The Samcheon Guild master snickered and placed a money bag on the register. Must be the company dinner bill.
I handed the money bag to Fairy Number 264, and the Samcheon Guild master took out one more 1,000 won bill. And placed it in my hand.
Surprisingly, this wasn't a blue 1,000 won bill but a red one. A bill that was hard to find these days.
"Customer, this is...?"
"Tip."
The Samcheon Guild master chuckled.
"I wrote my signature on the back."
I turned the bill over.
[This place is a coffee restaurant. Three Thousand Worlds, Dang Seo-rin]
Written with what seemed to be a brush pen, the handwriting was very elegant. One could tell she had formally learned calligraphy.
I was inwardly surprised because her writing something with a brush pen was rare unless she was in a very good mood.
"A valuable item."
"Well, when you go to famous restaurants, celebrities put up their signed bills, right. If you feel like it, display my bill too. It's a bit embarrassing to act like a celebrity myself... but anyway, there aren't many awakened ones left in Korea. So I qualify as a famous person, right?"
The Samcheon Guild master walked away.
Lightly waving her hand behind her back.
"Bye-bye- I'll come again after closing the gate. Please have the affogato service ready then. Store Manager."
A few days later, the coffee beans and vanilla ice cream I had specially prepared went unused. The Samcheon Guild failed to clear the gate, and all 301 guild members died.
An infinite regressor telling a story.