Chapter 1: 1,300 Yen Per Hour on Night Shift

Chapter 1: 1,300 Yen Per Hour on Night Shift

T/N: This is a literary novel. Please check the meaning of literary novel before reading it if you have never heard of that term before as it would affect your reading. All translations here are of horror, dark, seinen and literary novels only. Do refrain from reading it if you are uncomfortable with such themes

Genre: Horror

T/N: If anyone experiences a problem with the visibility of the text, read here. Your problem will not be dealt with if you choose not to follow the given solution.

Hmm, let me ask you once more, is this really fine?

Yes?

The person who asked me with a glistening, sweat-drenched face while dexterously twirling a ballpoint pen with his finger was the manager of the convenience store I was being interviewed ata somewhat minor convenience store called Nico Nico Mart.

I was just getting interviewed for a part-time job at a convenience store in a certain city in a certain prefecture by this barcode-hairstyle old man whose countenance was bizarrely glistening with sweat. Was there a problem? As the interview was drawing to a close, he asked me with a rather apologetic look on his face.

What did he mean by is this fine?

Well, I assume that you applied for this part-time job because you were attracted by the hourly wage here.

Oh, this guy sure has it all figured out. That being said, nodding frankly might be considered a demerit, therefore, I tried to display a good-natured smile.

No, no, thats not true.

Its okay, its generally true, isnt it? Its not like this is a city, and 1300 yen an hour is awfully attractive, right?

Hah.

But the average person can work here for a week at a time.

Eh?

If you want to quit, nows the time to do it.

The manager fluttered his right hand over my meticulously written resume.

Whatever he meant to say, it was totally out of my grasp. When I made a face as if I didnt get what he was trying to say, the barcode manager dropped his pretentiousness and directly addressed me.

You see, this place, it appears quite often.

Appear?

Ghost[I].

Were short on hands, so you might have to come in quite a bit.

No problem at all.

I would be more than willing to do it, manager.

As if to emphasize my statement, I grinned and the manager tapped his head a couple of times with a ballpoint pen.

Hmm. Well then, youre hired.

Really!?

What a shock.

They must be understaffed. I was promptly hired on the same day. He asked me to start working tomorrow, and I gladly agreed to do so.

The place of my new part-time job was a convenience store in a certain city, in a certain prefecture. Let me clarify a little more about it.

It was a convenience store facing the sea of trees, which has been called a famous place for suicides.

Thank you very much.

However At that time, I didnt have a clue yet.

That I was going to be working part-time in an extraordinary place. My common sense, which I had thought had no connection to such things, had been drastically inverted, and the most dreadful experience of the summer of my 25th year was lying dormant before me.

I was a fool who was tempted by the hourly wage of 1,300 yen.

Nice to meet you, Hakamada.

On that day, I became the first of many.

A/N: This piece of work was released as a literary book by KADOKAWA on 8/10/2018.

Thank you for both the web version and the book version!

T/N:

[i] Ghost and specter are practically the same. Only the words are different so I will be using different terms. As for the meaning in Japanese, a ghost is a strange-shaped creature while a specter is the spirit of a dead creature. Remember to support the author by voting (pressing three stars after creating an account) on the Kakuyomu page. The book can be bought on Amazon or depending on some places like Singapore, you can buy it via Kinokuniya. Please check it out.

By the way, I read the sample of the book via Amazon and it seems that the book versions one is more refined. If youre interested in it, do read the book one. Its a published novel, not a light novel.

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