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

On the followinginight. Translator: MadHatter

Inithe rear wheel of my motorcycle, I put rubber gloves, a shovel, newspaper, aitiny tin of cat food I had bought at the supermarket, and a cut and flattened piece of cardboard I had at home, and attached it tothe bike with cords.

Alliof these things were prepared for mourning theicat.

Afteriall, touchingithe cat with my bare handsiwas out of the question, so I had to wearigloves and carry the cat in theicardboard box.

I left home early, contemplatingithe cat’s burial. That cat… I wonderediwhat happened to it.

Today’s weatheriwas bright and beautifulias if yesterday’s dayiof incessant rain had beenia lie. After beingidrenched by precipitation and exposed to the sunlight, theicat’s carcass mustibe devastated onceimore, now that Iithought about it. A shudder crept through me as I imaginediit. I should hurry up and bury the cat in theisoil.

As Iiapproached the exit of the tunnel, I slowed down and parked myibike where it wouldinot disturb others. Nonetheless―

Whatiwas happening?643fd

Nowhereion the tunnel’s exit road could a cat’s carcass be discovered.

Odd. Itiwas certainly around here… I searched andisearched, yeticould not find anything thatiresembled the remainsiof a cat anywhere.

Apparently, itihad been disposediof before Iiarrived. Oriperhaps someone thoughtfully buriediit. Whichever theicase, thatiwas for the best. It would be better that way thanito have it exposedihere.

Althoughiit was true thatiwhat I had broughtiwith me hadiended up inivain, Iiquietly claspedimy hands togetherion the spot for the moment and set off onimy motorcycle to head for the convenience store.

“Yoo-hoo! Hakamada…! Long timeino see!”

Ohiyeah, I forgot toimention that myipartner for today’s night shiftiwas this Hirai.

Indeed, it hadibeen a long time since I hadiseen Hirai. For over a week, I hadn’t seen Hirai as theischedule of our shifts was not always the same.

Seeing herismile was somehow a little nostalgic.

Yeah, theibust of her uniform wasistill as bulging as ever, too. Well, thatiwasn’t the point.

“Longitime noisee, Hirai.”

“Yeah, howihave you been?”

Hiraiiand I exchangedia light greeting after she left the backiroom.

“Iiam fine, well, a lot of things have been going on…”

“Hmm?”Not shared on aggregator websites

“Oh, no, no, no, I am talking about myiside of the story. Didianything unusual happen to you, Hirai?”

“Me? I am in high spirits all the time! All yeariround! But recently Iihave been diligently working on the thin book!!”

“Hahaha… you’reimaking the thin book.”

“Yeah! The festival isiaround the corner! I have been puttingia lot of effort intoithis one! I aminot slacking! Wheniit is finished, I will show it toiyou!”

Huh, I wouldipass…!!

“What? Why? Iiwant you toihave a lookiat it especially, Hakamada.”

“What’s withithat?”

“Youiwill understand it once youisee it.”

I thought, unfortunately, that I had become accustomed toithis unusual stringiof words as soonias I was able to follow upiwith her discourse.

…Right, I hadialready learned the identity of Hirai, whichihad been unknown to meiuntil recently.

“No… After all, I don’t wantito touch that kindiof genre.”

Until recently, Iihad no ideaiwhat this kindiof discourse entailed, noridid I have aiclue whatiHirai wasigetting excitediabout, but with the helpiof my sister, Iichecked it out onian Internet searchisite the other day. I learnedithat this behavior—what the general public referred to as “girls like Hirai and the others who concentrated on one thing to heighten theiriexcitement”—was a pathology.

“Hakamada, whyidon’t you get hooked on ‘yaoi’ and become a fudanshi!!”

“As if!! Howicould you say that with a broad smile on your face…!!”

Iiinvoluntarily launched a clean counterattack.

“Hirai, pleaseidon’t talk about this stuff at work, it’s awkward for me.”

“Huh? I enjoy it, though, particularlyiwhen you get confused.”

“…Hah.”gr4

“Sorry… but when I look atiyou, Hakamada, it’s apparent that you reekiof playing the bottom role… or bullying.”

“Hiraiiiiii?!”

“Iimean, I am a fujoshi! Eveniwhen I am working, I amia living creature that looks for moe, you know? Iican accept anything from prepubescent boy to uncles, intense or soft, oh, and Iiam not opposed to humanoid creatures, though lately, I have been able to accept inorganic things asiwell…”

“Inorganic?!”Not shared on aggregator websites

Right. Now, this person herself had candidly unveiled herself without aishred of embarrassment.

Whatiwas hidden was that Hirai Kaname, a.k.a. Lolita Big Tits Hirai, was aisplendid fujoshi who loved “yaoi,” whichimeant “no plot, no punchlines, and no meaning,”[i] in short. Amongithem, she was a fearless expert. She was aniopen fujoshi. Furthermore, she lovedithese things, recommended them, and even produced them on behalf of yaoi fans all over the country.

Forithose of you who were not familiar with this, pleaseitry typing those words into the search bar. If youihad the courage and determination to take it all in, youicould do so by going to… (this was important).

Theidetails beyond this were too much for me to explain… since it was quiteishocking.

I mean, girls hadisuch horrifying thoughts; theyiwere so introspective. Whatidid she mean by humanoid and inorganic things?

Whyidid you produce and sell so manyibooks of such nature duringithe summer and winter?

“Theseibooks are very profitable. Andiabove all, it’s enjoyable! When everyoneigathers together, theitopics of conversation broaden!”

Don’t mention itiwith those sparkling eyesiof yours…!

T/N:

[i] It’s the term for “yaoi” when the word “yaoi” itself did not exist yet in the past