Starting a Night Shift Part-time Job at a Convenience Store - Chapter 17.3: Alone at the Convenience Store III

Chapter 17.3: Alone at the Convenience Store III

Long black hair hanging down. Knee-length skirt.

Without a doubt.

“Hyu… ga…”

Right there. In the immediate surroundings. Beyond the doorway, Hyuga was there.

A chill crept over me, which even provoked nausea. The petite woman on the monitor was downcast, standing directly before the door, not more than a short distance from me.

From the other side of the door, the sound of something that did not resemble liquid dripping down could be heard.

“Senior―”

Right, I promptly covered my ears out of fear that she might at any minute call me out and shrank down on the spot.

Just like when I was in the sea of trees. Fear threatened to consume my consciousness, wavering my vision. At last, Hyuga had come for me. To kill me.

I must face her, it was my responsibility to bring her to peace.

Even after all the vanity in my heart, I realized that in the end, when the kairotic moment came, the only thing that would prevail was―”fear”.

I was horrified. No. I didn’t want to be killed. No. I didn’t want to die.

I―

I didn’t want Hyuga to kill me like this―What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do―

Evidently, when cornered, human beings sought to cling to life with a desperate struggle under such circumstances. I was racking my brain about how to avert this situation. If I could make contact with Hyuga and somehow, in some way, accept her resentment and let her return to her rightful place… Such a convenient scenario was conjuring up in my head, regardless, there was certainly no way it was going to work out that smoothly. The way she stood silently before the door with her downcast eyes, waiting patiently for me to come out, and the atmosphere she elicited, all made me realize this.

That it was hopeless for me to communicate with her.

No doubt if I walked out, Hyuga would undeniably pounce on me, and―

She would kill me.

Just as Takenaka said, in order to do something about Hyuga, I had to be prepared to die, after all.

What should I do?

I was all alone now.

What should I do?

But I knew someone who could handle this situation, even if it was only one person.

What should I do?

Would Hyuga be content if I were to let myself be meekly killed here? Even if she were to be contented, would it lead to her resting in peace? I couldn’t even envision what would follow. Not even what to do.

If so… All I could do was to struggle and seek help from someone who knew how to save Hyuga.

That person should be able to offer me solid advice right now. I couldn’t care less what people would say. I didn’t want to die. But I wanted to save Hyuga as well―

Being a self-serving person to the utmost, I took a once-in-a-lifetime gamble.

To get out, no other way was conceivable except to break through this single door. Once opened, I must run at full speed. Regardless of what I saw, regardless of whether Hyuga attacked me. I was resolved to hurl everything away―

Run―!!

After unlocking the door and turning the doorknob vigorously, I flung it open without even shutting my eyes. The door swung open with such force that it slammed into the wall. My body fell forward. I gasped and focused on the situation in front of me.

Not here―

Hyuga was not here… Huh…

I was sure she was there. Hyuga, who had been spotted on the monitor, had disappeared from behind the counter.

Even after scanning the store, no Hyuga, no petite woman in a sailor suit was in sight.

I cast a glance at the ceiling as well.

N―

Not there…

…No way, I mean, just now…

D-Did I mistakenly see her… That couldn’t be… that couldn’t be true…

Forgetting to even run, I swept my eyes over the store, the ceiling, and my feet…

And then. Once again.

Unconsciously, I turned my gaze to the security camera monitor.

A-Ah. Ahh. Ah―

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhh―!!”

―Was there.

Hyuga was…

There…

On the monitor…

Standing…

Right…

Behind me…

At such a distance that she could touch me by reaching out with her finger―

I was seized from behind―With an instantaneous sensation, I slammed my body against the counter, ran through the store as if tumbling, and leaped out of the store.

With my legs and feet unsteady, I fell down several times, and then I straddled my bike vigorously. I didn’t look back. There was no way I could look back―!

The sound of her slowly emerging from the depths of the store and approaching me―

Accompanied by an inarticulate scream, I inserted the key into the keyhole and twisted it to the hilt.

“Hey…!!”

You gotta be kidding me. At a time like this, the engine was―Damn!!

No way, hey, hold on, please…! Gripping the clutch lever, I repeatedly pressed the start button, yet… the engine wouldn’t start! No kidding―! You meant to assure me that this was the way things were going to unfold!! The timing was so awful. Screw you, damn it, get started!!

This was beyond impatient. Every organ in my body felt like it was about to burst.

The graphic, ominous sound and the dragging sound of a broken leg came to me near the automatic door.

Please, I beg you! Get started! Please get started!!

“Get started!!”

Drenched in sweat, my fingers tirelessly pressed the button over and over again. As if sneering at me, the sound of the engine broke off and never connected.

Get it moving! Come on, come on! Please―damn it―!!

As the sound of the engine died down again, a bead of perspiration spread across my temple.

Ah, her presence was there already. No, no, no. I couldn’t get away―

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!”

Did my heartfelt exclamation reach the bike?

The engine… started!

Having heard the sound of the engine connecting, I hit the accelerator pedal with all my might to get the bike moving. Grasping the steering wheel emphatically, I drove through the forest at breakneck speed, illuminating the pitch-dark roadway… And then!

My phone was set to speaker mode, the fifth line in the phonebook. That person’s name. While praying fervently, I pressed the call button with my ever-shaking fingertips, hooked the strap on the handle, and looked forward.

Darkness spread out in front of me, and the ridiculously loud ringing made me even more impatient.

…Pick up, pick up, please…!!

I was clinging to God.

The only person I could rely on now was this person.

If this failed to connect… Thinking of this, I nearly lost strength in my hands gripping the steering wheel.

How many times have I heard the looping ringing?

[―Yes, it’s me.]

Finally, after a long series of calls, that person’s voice rang out from the cell phone.