Was it a welcome or torment for the newcomer?

On my very first day at work, late at night following the interview, I caught a glimpse of such a phenomenon for the first time in my life.

“Oh, you’re 25, huh, how young.”

On my initial shift, I was first introduced to Aoyama, the most experienced member of the late-night group.

As a shy person, such an easygoing and caring nature from the other party was appreciated by me.

I was taught everything I needed to know about the job in a thorough and detailed manner as a newcomer.

“Ask any questions you don’t understand, because you are the newcomer I expect a lot from you.”

“Expect?”

“Oh my, the manager said the new recruit is going to last a long time!”

“O-Oh.”

“Not only is it late at night, but due to the nature of the place, it’s rare for people to show up, and at times no one shows up until the morning. So when you’re with me, feel free to spend time chitchatting.”

Saying this, I was patted on the shoulder.

When I heard the word “late night”, the image I had was more of free time than a hectic schedule, therefore, being able to talk and occupy myself with time was quite a blessing for me.

This made me somewhat feel like a good-for-nothing employee, though, and Aoyama laughed when I mentioned this, remarking, “Indeed, you’re right.”

Within an hour or so, I was completely at ease with Aoyama. It was a relief to know that I would not have to be concerned about human relations right after joining the establishment.

Well, this person happened to be a man though.

He was the so-called “effeminate man.”

His physique was stout and he was bald. In terms of height and width of his shoulders, you would assume he was a foreigner, yet his tone of voice was precisely that of a woman.In fact, he apparently worked here part-time to earn money to carry out a rush job for the lower half of his body.

Still, a rush job…

Coming out to someone he had just met for the first time was terrific… and then there was a lot of body contact for nothing… but I should just pretend I was imagining it.

He was individualistic, but a nice guy.

“You’re here because of the hourly wage, Aoyama?”

“You’re the same, aren’t you, Hakamada?”

“W-Well… 1300 yen is dazzling.”

“Haha, I know, you can be more open about it, you know. Even the manager is aware of it.”

A fearless smile spread across his face as his shoulders moved up and down.

“But then everyone quit at once after saying that.”

The ingratiating smile that had surfaced until now vanished instantaneously as if a candle had been extinguished.

“Did many people quit after all?”

“Yes, dozens a year. Among them, only me, Takenaka, and Hirai remain, though those two are exceptional.”

“Heh…”

“A typical person usually lasts about a week. Occasionally, there are a few who still hold on, but it seems they get mentally overloaded. A couple of them ended up in the hospital.”

“Sent to the hospital!?”

My voice betrayed my incredulity.

I wondered what had transpired.“Around a few months ago, there was a girl by the name of Kawachi. magic

The manager became worried and contacted her parents when he didn’t hear from her for around ten days… and it was discovered that she slit her wrists in her apartment―that she had attempted suicide.”

Suicide―

The vivid account involuntarily sent a shiver down my spine.

“Wow… But was this related to this part-time job?”

“Well, I suppose young people must have all sorts of difficulties in their private lives. The same Takenaka who is in the late-night group said that she―”

Right about the time Aoyama was on the verge of explaining, the automatic door opened and a middle-aged man in a suit entered through the open automatic door, accompanied by a tensionless melody that everyone must have heard at least once before.

“Oh my, look, we have a customer.”

Hang on. Wasn’t that a terrible opening remark to make after a customer had just arrived?

As though to mask Aoyama’s words, I hurriedly raised my voice in greeting.

The man, probably passing by on his way home from work, came to the cash register promptly carrying a PET bottle of tea and a bento in the basket.

It was a common sight.

Even though it was not my first time working as a cashier, it was my first day, and I wanted to see how Aoyama would handle the customer service. That said, a convenience store operation flowed very similar to that of a supermarket. Basically, all that was required was to hit the cash register and return the change. Ordering, cleaning, inspecting, and many other things were involved, but once familiarized with them, it was not difficult at all.

“Thank you very much.”

The man received his change, got into his car parked in the parking lot, and drove away. After the man left, another hour went by without seeing another customer.

Aoyama and I resumed our conversation.

Having done most of the cleaning and inspections, there was little else to do, to be honest.

Even the occasional sound of a motorcycle engine from outside passed by without interruption, and hardly a soul was on the street, with the road in front of me being surrounded by the sea of trees.

Everywhere was pitch-dark.

At this time of the day, anyone wandering around in a place like this would be odd.

Indeed, it seemed to be an unusual place for customers to come by.

“So, what was the continuation of that story you were about to tell me earlier?”