After searching the area the manager mentioned, I found something that looked like a green thermometer.
[Did you find it?]
"The small green machine, is that it?"
[Yes, that's it. Can you tell me what's displayed on the LCD screen after you press the button on top and point it at the customer's bare skin?]
The operating mechanism is similar to a non-contact body temperature sensor.
I picked it up and approached the succubus, briefly pondering where to aim it.
The most convenient spot would be the face, but I didn't think the customer would appreciate having a laser pointed at their face.
"Sir, could you please show me your hand for a moment?"
"...."
Unsurprisingly, she didn't listen, keeping their arms crossed tightly.
As I briefly scanned her body, I noticed fluttering wings near their shoulder.
That should work.
I aimed the device at the black wings and pressed the button, causing the LCD screen to start flashing a faint purple.
"Manager, the screen is flashing purple."
[ What's the flashing pattern like?]
"It's blinking regularly, once every 2 seconds."
A sigh of relief could be faintly heard in response.
The manager then continued explaining.
[That's good.]
"Is the customer, okay?"
[No, they seem to be cursed... but I think we can solve this with something we sell at the store.]
It's surprising that a curse exists, but even more so that it can be resolved with something sold at a convenience store.
"Is it the kind of curse that gets better if you put a band-aid on it?"
[Not a bandage, but there's a case with over-the-counter medicine on the counter opposite the cash register. Take the medium-sized one from the second row and give it to the customer.]
"How much is it?"
[4,000 won. Oh, and two pills should be enough.]
So, it doesn't seem too serious if a 4,000 won medication can resolve it.
Following the manager's directions, I found the pink-packaged medicine in the middle row of the medicine case and noticed the large text above describing its effectiveness.
"'Cures workaholic syndrome in one shot?' Manager, do you also sell antidepressants here?"
[It's not an antidepressant, and the curse this customer has isn't exactly workaholic syndrome... but it should be effective.]
"What on earth is it then... ah, excuse me for a moment."
Another customer had arrived - pale skin, gray hair, red eyes, and a pale complexion.
This seemed to be a vampire again, though taller than the previous one.
Assuming they were around middle school age.
"Welcome."
"Blood packs... where might those be?"
This one's voice also sounded rather young.
I felt something was weird about this but went through the usual procedures.
"Are you looking for any with alcohol content?"
"Yes. Umm, 13 degree* one."
"Try checking the liquor section at the far end."
I didn't bother asking the manager, since anything with alcohol content would be classified as liquor, and the blood packs would likely be in the refrigerators to keep them fresh.
Soon the vampire returned with four blood packs.
Seeing the blood packs, I couldn't tell if this was an emergency room or a convenience store.
Especially since they contain alcohol.
"And, a pack of cigarettes, please."
"What kind would you like?"
"That one."
I didn't immediately grab them, as the earlier feeling still bothered me, so I decided to double-check.
"The 6mg ones here, is that okay?"
"Uh... yes, 6mg."
The ones I had were 5mg.
Is this kid trying to pull a fast one on me?
Underage customers trying to buy cigarettes are often referred to as "Minja" - a derogatory term.
While using such colloquial terms might seem off-putting, it's fair to call those trying to buy cigarettes at convenience stores not just "Minja" or naive kids, but outright motherfu*****.
It can also be called much worse.
After all, the person selling to them faces criminal punishment.
In this case, that's me. I'd have to pay a fine for violating the youth protection law and get a red mark on my resident registration - becoming a criminal record holder.
It may seem excessive for just one pack of cigarettes, but that's the reality.
The convenience store could even face business suspension.
Given how easily they're willing to ruin people's lives, I can't bring myself to call them anything nice.
"Could I see your ID, please?"
"Sure."
This ID is definitely not a normal one.
I pretended to look closely at the vampire's id and then glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
Her complexion was already so pale that I couldn't tell anything from their facial color, but the rigidity was clearly visible.
I then took a quick look at her ID card as well.
Since it's 2021 now, anyone born in 2002 or earlier would be an adult, and sure enough, the ID showed the owner was born in 2002.
But why was the hologram around the numbers peeling off?
I scratched it with my fingernail, and the area around the "02" started to peel off.
As I handed the ID back, I said, "The sticker on this is starting to peel off."
"...Yes, what?"
"Should I peel it off completely, or try to melt it with a lighter?"
The vampire didn't choose either option.
She just grabbed the ID, threw away the blood pack that she had taken out, and quickly ran out the front door.
I just let her be.
I don't have the authority to confiscate a minor's cigarettes or alcohol, and if I reported them to the police, they could countersue for assault, making things more complicated.
Plus, seeing the peeled sticker, this wasn't their first time doing something like this.
If I tried to trace back where they bought the cigarettes, it would just create a bigger mess.
So, the four blood packs she left behind remained there.
I picked one up and it felt squishy.
I wonder how vampires are supposed to drink these - I didn't see any kind of transfusion equipment in the store.
[Hey Chan, how's the succubus customer doing?]
"I haven't fed her the pills yet, the minor just came in to buy alcohol and cigarettes and left."
[Really? That was close! Who was it?]
"A vampire. Didn't you say those types come in sometimes?"
[That's right. Looks like you had a rough time today.]
"No matter how much work I do, time just doesn't pass. Why are these things happening to me? What on earth..."
[But how did you know? I didn't hear the alarm go off.]
"Alarm? Is there some kind of magic set up for that?"
The convenience store normally doesn't have any alarms or anything.
[Yeah, we have it set up to trigger an alarm if someone comes in with a forged ID. That's how we usually catch them.]
"I just did it the old-fashioned way. Scratched off the numbers with a box cutter, then discovered the forged sticker on top. She did seem a bit young and inexperienced too."
I thought I just used my keen eye for details.
But apparently there's more to it.
In my 3 years working, I've never actually encountered anyone younger than me at the stores or construction sites I visit, so I've naturally developed a good sense for these things.
I didn't know I'd end up using that skill in this way, though.
But the manager was firm on this point.
[That's even harder to catch. The IDs issued by the government have so many anti-forgery measures built in, it's really difficult to tamper with them. Undoing all that magic must have taken a lot of effort, and they probably put their own magic on top of that too...]
"Enough to bypass the alarm magic?"
[The alarm is not that powerful. It's been working fine so far.]
"So that minor vampire must have some impressive magical abilities then. I guess that makes sense, being a vampire and all..."
[No, it's not that... Vampires generally come from wealthy families.]
A vampire not yet 20 years old wouldn't have substantial income; it seemed more like a forged ID made by using their parents' blood.
If you have money at home, go play golf.
You never know, you might become a pro golfer.
Anyway, this seemed like more than just a simple case, so I tried to summarize what I understood.
That minor vampire's ID was actually a heavily enchanted forgery, as the manager had explained.
But I couldn't sense any of that magic myself.
"Hmm..."
The manager also seemed hesitant to give a definitive answer.
Deciding to give the manager some time to think, I resolved to feed the succubus some medicine.
After unwrapping the package and picking up two pills, I stared silently at the succubus.
How should I feed this to her...
Ah, whatever.
I just pushed the pills into her lips with my fingers.
So much for my first skin-to-skin contact with a woman.
The dazed succubus chewed the two pills in her mouth and then began to moan softly.
I immediately reported this to the manager.
"I fed her the medicine, but will this really cure the curse?"
[She will be cured, but... strictly speaking, it's not really a curse, more like an occupational hazard.]
What kind of nonsense is that, treating an "occupational hazard" with medicine?
[That succubus looks like a young professional, doesn't she?]
Now that I looked closer, her suit didn't seem too expensive, and the briefcase she was carrying also looked fairly new.
The manager then went on to explain further, and it was quite different from the image I had of a succubus.
The image I had of a succubus was roughly this:
They seduce and enchant people with false love, then feed off on that love.
A demonic being, in essence.
The succubus in this world weren't too different, but their methods were much more wholesome.
Essentially, the succubus species works in various love-related professions, with "love" as the core of their activities.
For example, they might work at a pharmaceutical company and develop drugs that increase or decrease the emotion of love, become a psychiatrist and counsel people on love, or work at a condom company.
All within legal boundaries, of course.
I had a hunch about this, but I still asked.
"Why?"
The manager answered as I had guessed.
[That's just how succubi are.]
It was a racial characteristic.
And in the case of this young succubus employee, the manager's guess was that her magical power was overcharged, not from being drunk, but from the work she was doing at their new job.
[There just happens to be a pharmaceutical company nearby. Maybe she is an employee there?]
"So, this has happened before, huh."
[Yeah, last month there was a case where a succubus came in naked and asked for two boards, a rope, and a marker. I figured I should get them out of here quickly, so I sold it to them. Right there, she wrote "Give me a hug" on both boards and put them on their body and left.]
"...."
[The police took her away.]
It sounds like I might be getting a customer like that soon too. I need to be careful, but how can I be careful when I can't turn away the customers that come in?
[Ah, just in case, you should try the curse detector on yourself too, Chan.]
"Me too?"
[Yeah. The problem is that succubus earlier was dangerous because the infection spread to a few people back then.]
I immediately tried the curse detector.
The display wasn't flashing purple, but it wasn't completely silent either.
It started beeping, as if an alarm had been triggered.
Feeling a sudden fear, I asked:
"Manager, can you hear the sound?"
[Yes, I can hear it clearly.]
"What does this mean in this case?"
[There are two possibilities. First, is if there is a complete lack of magical power. In that case, it's extremely dangerous and you need to go to the hospital right away. But since you're from another world, that problem probably doesn't apply to you...]
From my perspective, the manager is the one from another world.
The manager continued:
[The second possibility is that the scanner isn't working due to some kind of resistance magic.]
Since I didn't understand, I waited for the manager to explain further.
After pondering for a bit, the manager suddenly said:
[Chan... You might be immune to magic somehow.]
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
TL Note: 13 degree refers to the alcohol content of the drink.