After leaving school, Qiluo headed straight for the shopping district in front of the station.
She had an identity, a place to live, and a school. However, she had fewer than ten magic crystals left. Three of them were powering the warming array and the small light in her room, and the rest constituted her entire disposable assets. She needed income—real currency of this world.
She wandered through the shopping district, checking every shop with a recruitment poster. The restaurants required health certificates, the bookstore required at least a year of experience, and the manager of a clothing store took one look at her resume and politely told her, “We’re looking for someone a bit more... lively.”
As Qiluo walked out of the clothing store, Star-trail let out a low, muffled growl from inside her bag, sounding as if it were getting angry on her behalf.
“It’s okay,” she said, standing under the arcade of the shopping district and watching the crowds pass by. “There will be a place for me somewhere.”
The place that finally took her in was a twenty-four-hour convenience store at the other end of the station.
The manager was a man in his forties named Murai. He had thinning hair, deep bags under his eyes, and a habit of pushing up his glasses with his index finger while speaking. He looked over Qiluo’s resume and identification, asked her a few questions, and then took a long look at her.
Qiluo Tian Gong was very beautiful. She had a small face, a straight nose, thin and pale lips, and deep purple eyes. In most lighting, they simply looked like a cool, dark brown. Only when the white fluorescent lights of the convenience store hit her face directly did the purple clearly manifest.
Her hair was naturally a shade between flaxen and moonlight-white. Under the light, it gave off a very faint silver sheen.
Her overall aura was soft and quiet, and she seemed a bit cold when she wasn't smiling. But when she did smile, her eyes would crinkle slightly, and her entire presence would shift from “unapproachable” to “someone you could chat with.”
If a once-in-four-millennia beauty like this becomes a clerk in my store, sales will skyrocket, the manager thought.
“Do you have any scheduling requirements?”
“Evenings to nights would work,” Qiluo said. She had calculated that school let out at 3:30 PM, leaving the rest of the day free.
Manager Murai remained silent for a few seconds before nodding. “The evening shift happens to be short-staffed. 6 PM to 10 PM, with an hourly wage of 1,200 yen. The hours are consistent, so it’s good for a student. Can you handle it?”
“I can.”
“Then we’ll try a three-day trial. If there are no problems after that, we’ll set a formal schedule. The uniforms are in the locker in the back; find one that fits.”
Qiluo’s first evening shift began that very night.
At 5:40 PM, she changed into the convenience store uniform: a blue polo shirt and a beige apron with the store’s name embroidered on the chest. She tied her long hair into a low ponytail and checked herself in the mirror. The person in the reflection looked like an ordinary high school girl who had come to work after class.
She left Star-trail back at the apartment. Even if it was invisible, a magical creature wasn't suitable for a convenience store.
Star-trail sat in the corner of the room, curling itself into a small silver-white ball and entering a low-power standby mode.
At exactly 6 PM, Manager Murai left after giving her a few brief instructions. Working the shift with Qiluo was a male college student named Nishikawa. He wore black-rimmed glasses, spoke in a very small voice, and had an even weaker presence than Qiluo. He spent a few minutes teaching her how to operate the cash register before heading to the back to organize inventory.
The hours from 6 PM to 8 PM were the busiest. Office workers on their way home stopped in for beer and snacks, housewives carried shopping baskets while picking out ingredients for dinner, and students finished with club activities crowded in front of the ice cream freezer, debating which flavor was better.
A line formed in front of the register. Some people counted out their change precisely, while others threw their bills onto the counter in a hurry to leave.
Qiluo was frantic at first. She made two mistakes with change, spilled a bit of a customer’s oden broth into the bag, and even grabbed the wrong brand of cigarettes for another. But no one actually got angry.
The middle-aged office worker whose broth she spilled just waved his hand and said, “It’s fine, I was going to drink it anyway,” and the older woman whose cigarettes she got wrong even smiled and said, “This brand isn't bad either, I’ll give it a try next time.”
This was because Qiluo Tian Gong was beautiful, especially when she looked flustered.
When the regulars in the neighborhood saw such a youthful cashier, they unconsciously bought more items than usual.
After 8 PM, the flow of customers gradually decreased. Qiluo took advantage of the gap to organize the items near the register and restock the drinks in the cooler. Nishikawa came out of the warehouse and handed her a bottle of water.
“You’re doing pretty well for your first day,” he said.
“...Thank you.”
At 9 PM, the store became almost silent. Occasionally, one or two customers would come in, buy a few small items, and leave. Qiluo stood behind the register, looking out at the street through the glass doors. The streetlights cast an orange-yellow glow on the ground, and the convenience store sign in the distance was lit up.
She looked down at her hands. A faint scent of oden broth still lingered under her fingernails.
At 10 PM sharp, the night shift clerk arrived to take over. Qiluo changed back into her own clothes and walked out of the convenience store. The night breeze was slightly cool, and the sky had turned completely dark.
Back at the apartment, Qiluo pushed open the door.
Star-trail jumped up from the corner and ran over in a few quick bounds, climbing up her leg to her shoulder and pressing its entire body against the side of her neck. Starlight particles scattered across the floor in its excitement, looking like a tiny galaxy in the dim entryway.
“I’m home,” Qiluo said softly.
Star-trail let out a long cry that carried the scent of the starry sky, sounding like an answer and an affirmation that she had indeed returned.
Qiluo walked into the room and sat down at the low table. She took a plastic bag out of her school bag, which contained a pineapple bun she had bought today with her employee discount.
Tearing open the packaging, the golden grid pattern appeared before her eyes. She took the first bite. The bread was soft, with a thin layer of sugar granules on the surface that made a faint crunching sound between her teeth. The sweetness and the aroma of wheat surged together.
“This really is the best,” she said.
Star-trail crouched across from the low table, quietly watching her eat, its tail slowly swaying from side to side.
She placed the remaining half of the pineapple bun on the table and pushed it toward Star-trail. Star-trail lowered its head and nudged the bread with its nose, leaving a layer of fine silver-white powder of starlight particles on the surface.
“Want a taste?” Qiluo asked.
Star-trail tilted its head to look at her, then opened its mouth and carefully took a small bite. It chewed, its ears twitching, and the star charts in its pupils spun a bit faster than usual.
The one who actually tasted the flavor was still Qiluo; after all, Star-trail was essentially the same person as her.
Rate on N.U.
