Starting a Night Shift Part-time Job at a Convenience Store.

From what my sister told me, specters that dropped in or passed by were still safe, however, significantly stronger or hazardous specters would haunt customers or staff and continue to haunt them or cause adverse effects.

Even for those with supernatural ability, prolonged periods of time in an environment with a strong negative aura can be perilous, and if it were a normal person, outrageous things would ensue… apparently.

“What do you mean by outrageous things?”

“Who knowsー”

After finishing her caramel pudding, my younger sister turned back to the PC and continued her words.

“Even I don’t know what’s going to happen. Besides, for some reason a lot of accidents are reported every year near the sea of trees there, and the other day there was a motorcycle accident in which a motorcyclist jumped over the guardrail and crashed down a cliff.”

“isn’t that unrelated to the convenience store?”

“We’re talking about the danger around that place, you know.”

“That’s just an accident, and shows about specters are made up.”

“Good grief… You still don’t buy that kind of story.”

“Oh, I don’t believe it. What’s the point of believing it? People who say such things are just trying to freak people out.”

And then the usual pattern was for them to become convinced and fuss over it.

“Misuzu have real supernatural powers, though!”

“Well, I don’t know about that. You can’t prove that she can see or not see the specters.”

“Tch, no good, I have to do something about you at once… Misuzu said to me. If you meddle excessively in those places, even those who can’t see will be able to see.”

“I will not be able to see it. Cough, oi, I have to work the night shift again today, so let me sleep again and don’t wake me up.”

Even before I could say so, my younger sister had slipped her headphones back on and was doing a somersault into the world of video websites again.

…I figured to go to sleep but I was starving.

I should boil somen noodles.

After taking the somen noodles out of the cupboard, I put them in a small pot of water and boiled it.

“…”

While watching the rising air, I recalled the security camera monitor I observed two days earlier during my break.

At that time, the monitor caught something inexplicable, something mysterious but distinct, some kind of small, grayish shadow.

I wondered what that was.

The grayish shadow was coming and going near the automatic door of the store.

The sight was so bizarre that I was so taken aback that I spilled my canned coffee all over it.

『A small boy is playing in front of the door.』

No way that shadow I couldn’t make out was the boy.

I had never glimpsed anything like that before.

Furthermore… I remembered the sensation of the boy’s foot slipping through the side of my leg. Even now, I remembered it vividly. That warm wind and the goosebumps that crept over my skin.

Honestly speaking, I have not shared that story with Aoyama.

Even though he talked a lot, he was timid.

On my first day at work, I remembered him shouting all alone.

Despite his seniority and career, he was still extremely frightened. So I asked him why he didn’t pick another place to work and he replied, “It’s terrifying, but if I can accumulate a lot of money here it’s better to be patient…!”

He, no, she (?) apparently was quite zealous about re-constructing the lower half of his/her body.

The pot was spilling when I was spacing out, and I hurriedly turned off the stove.

“…”

That shadow…

…No.

I must have been sleepy and seen it wrong.

No customers came at that time of the day, and I was too bored and sleepy.

That was not a specter.

In the first place, I couldn’t see such a thing. I doubted that I could see it.

I mean, my conclusion was that no such thing as a specter existed.

Convinced in my mind, I put the boiled somen noodles in the colander.

Speaking of which, it seemed like the person I was working with on the night shift today was that rumored Takenaka…

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“Ya, I suppose it’s time for shift change.”

Just before 12:00, I entered the store and took over with the evening shift worker.

Since we worked different hours, our relationship was not very close, though our greetings were exchanged repeatedly like this and we would talk for a while before the shift change.

While taking off my uniform from the hanger in the back room and changing, I cast a quick glance around the store.

At this hour, many customers were still coming in and out of the store.

“How is it? Are you accustomed to working the night shift?”

The one who spoke to me was Nagase, the evening shift worker, who was already getting ready to go home. He was a university student with a long, waxed wolf hairstyle and mole under his left eye that exuded sex appeal.

All in all, he gave off the image of someone who would look good in a band.

“…Even if you asked me that… I’ve only worked a few days here.”

“I see, I have heard that the night shift is often too free, but it makes people feel sleepy, right?”

“Oh, that happens when there is too much free time. But lately, my days and nights are reversed, so I don’t get that sleepy.”

“Right, I suppose that’s how it is. I heard from Aoyama the other day that something happened.”

“What?”

“That the door opened? About that.”

“Ah…”

I glanced at the automatic door from the side.

Whenever a customer entered or left, it would chime and open systematically. Other than that, of course, it never opened.

“Wasn’t that frightening?”

“Not really, I just found it strange.”

“Haha, you’ve got a lot of guts, don’t you? The last person who joined the night shift kicked up such a fuss that they quit within three days.”

“Heh, is that so?”

“The manager occasionally inspects it, but apparently it’s not malfunctioning, which is odd, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t it clogged with trash or something?”

When I said that, Nagase laughed.

“Hahaha! That’s the way to think of it, the night shift workers must be able to hold their positions.”

“I know, right? If someone makes a fuss about specters and such, there’s no end to it.”

I was caught in the moment and laughed back.

After exchanging small talk, Nagase got ready to go home and I went to the counter.

Even so, Takenaka was late…

Even though it was almost time for him to start his shift, he hadn’t arrived yet.

“Ah. I forgot to mention it.”

Before exiting the convenience store, Nagase paused as if reminded of something.

“Today, Hirai has replaced Takenaka. I heard they switched shifts at the last minute.”

So that meant Hirai would be with me today?

“She will be here soon, I guess. Hakamada, do your best on the night shift.”

With that, Nagase climbed on his large two-wheeled bike and left.

After sending Nagase off from the store, I started to attend to the remaining three customers one after the other.

The old man with three beer cans, dried squid, and fried chicken sticks.

A young man who brought a plastic bottle and potato chips on top of a sexually explicit magazine.

A sweet bread and a pack of milk… And daily necessities for women only.

The office lady that brought it to the cashier made a very disgusted face.

Ah, yes, yes, you hated showing these things to men, right?

I can understand that.

Without a trace of concern, I placed it in a transparent bag under the register and handed it back to her, along with the other items in the bag.

“Thank you very much.”

I sent the three customers off with equally the same words, and in no time at all, silence descended upon the store.

I looked at my watch and noticed that it was past 22:00.

The night shift began at 22:00.

Hirai… Was she late…?

It did not really bother me that much whether she was late or otherwise, since it was the night shift and I would not be so occupied that I would be overwhelmed…

That was my thought a few dozen minutes ago.

Standing alone at the counter was on the contrary too quiet and unnerving for me to relax.

Being alone was too boring.

I wondered what happened to Hirai. Even if I wanted to contact her, I couldn’t e-mail or call her because I hadn’t met her yet.

Or rather, more importantly…

My gaze shifted from the clock to a diagonal angle.

Behind the shelves lined with magazines and comics, I looked toward the glazed casement.