(Discontinued )
(Work Dated: May 24 2021)
The streets of Shikagami City have a secret.
To save themselves from paying their severe debts with their soul to a Verdish Goddess of the Underworld, a desperate restaurant mascot has to help a Junhic fox...
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You push the metal barred trolley down the aisles holding fresh produce, eyes searching for the 'Herbs' sign hanging overhead. The wheels are creaky and they resist your pushes, often sliding instead of rolling across the squeaky clean floors. You finally arrive at the fresh fruits section and stop for a quick breather.
A goon and her posse of baseball bat weilders hang around the fruit section, making you crouch behind the trolley as you roll by. She's a henchwoman working under the loan shark hunting Sienna down. You keep your eyes fixed on the gang symbol across the woman's black leather jacket. She examines a tangerine while scratching her chin and returns it to its pyramid. The structure collapses promptly, and a salesperson nearby covers his mouth with his hand. He dives to catch the tangerines rolling away as the goon lady watches passively.
You perform a grab-and-run from the herbs section, towards the stringy haired cashier watching the incidents unfolding. She casts a knowing smile at you, and scans the herb bundles. You note the absence of her cashier uniform and the display of fake conifers behind her, all prepped up for the holiday season.
"First time here?" she asks while swiping the barcode on the cilantro bundle left and right across a red laser. You watch the koi fish gang symbol swimming across the goon lady's leather jacket.
"Nope. What about them?" You ask her leaning against the cash counter, tilting your head towards the gang leader. The cashier notes the steel in your eyes and turns to packing the herbs.
"Easy there, vigilante," she says, laughing and handing you a brown bag containing the herbs. "They're just here to, what's the lingo you kids use these days, hang out."
The lady looks millennial enough to you; she doesn't look a day past her thirties or late twenties.
Suddenly you scrunch your eyebrows. You blink once, twice and thrice and turn around facing the aisles and humans disappearing into the darkness. Your breathing rate accelerates as you feel dizzy, and your eyes wait for the spinning world to stop.
"Mmh," says the cashier holding you steady. For some reason, a glow has entered her skin and her black hair-strands. You regain you footing and clap the cold sweat on your cheeks.
Before you is infinite darkness, spreading on across all of the now empty aisles. Fear seizes you as the cashier opens the register with a loud ching. The tune echoes away down the darkness, succumbing to silence.
"How did the both of you mortals manage to pile up a debt of two million mirre within a year? I'm bamboozled by the sheer determination that went into hitting that number, and I'm a goddess," says the cashier as she turns the screen showing the amount to be paid. You count the six red, digital zeroes following the mirre symbol and the two.
The pine needle smell in the air is concentrated to the fullest. It heals you out of your sudden fainting spell and gives you the strength to stand up on wobbling legs. You're done feeling useless for the umpteenth time by now and ask back.
