Endurance System

Consumer Disturbance

Since that incident, Elric has continued to interact with the manager. No… more accurately, the manager has been keeping a close eye on Elric’s movements. You could say the man has begun to gain broader access, which, unwittingly, has sparked a flicker of envy among the other employees.

Like this afternoon, when Elric was arranging items on the shelves, the manager came over with a can of coffee in his hand.

He took a leisurely sip while leaning against the nearest shelf and said, “You’re on night shift again, right?”

Elric instinctively turned his head and looked back. “Just me?”

“No, with Mark. I have to go to another branch,” the Manager replied, straightening up.

Elric fell silent for a moment before nodding obediently.

The manager approached Elric, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “If there are any issues, you can handle them first. Just let me know when I get back.”

That day was extremely busy, leaving Elric overwhelmed and with no time to rest.

When evening came, Mark, who was supposed to take his place at the cash register, was instead engrossed in conversation with a friend who was shopping.

Elric glanced in his direction several times, but as if oblivious, Mark continued his conversation until he was laughing heartily.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Elric said to the customer with a smile as he handed her the shopping bag.

As soon as the person left, he stepped away from the cash register to approach Mark. “Please watch the cash register. I need to take a short break.”

But Mark didn’t respond.

“Mark,” Elric called out. “Can you hear me?”

“Mark.”

“Ugh! Yeah, I know!” Mark snapped irritably.

Elric’s eyebrows furrowed instinctively; he didn’t like Mark’s response. “Be careful with the cash register. I’m going to the back for a bit.”

Mark just nodded indifferently, waving his hand impatiently.

Although he felt hesitant, Elric still walked toward the storeroom to eat.

“Well, I’m heading out then.” Mark’s friend hurriedly said his goodbyes, not wanting to interrupt his friend’s work.

“Hey, why the rush? The store’s quiet. Stick around and chat with me for a bit.” But Mark stopped him instead. “By the way, how about playing basketball tomorrow? It’s been a while since we played together.”

“But don’t you have an early shift tomorrow?” Mark’s friend asked.

“Ah, that’s not a problem. Elric’s here. I can ask him to switch shifts with me,” Mark replied with a light chuckle.

Soon after, people began entering the convenience store one by one until it became crowded. Mark was overwhelmed and panicked when three customers got into a commotion.

“Oh no, what am I going to do?” Mark muttered anxiously.

It was clear he was scared.

“I saw it myself. You were trying to touch this girl’s butt,” said a middle-aged woman, pointing at a middle-aged man who glared at her in disbelief.

“What? Touching… touching what? Don’t just make things up! That’s defamation,” the man retorted, trying to keep his voice down so others wouldn’t hear.

However, ever since the older woman had confronted him, everyone had been watching them. So no matter how quiet he spoke, it was still audible because the room had suddenly fallen silent.

“There’s a security camera here. Do I need to ask the staff over there to play the footage?” The older woman looked defiant.

She pulled the girl who had nearly been molested behind her. The girl’s small body trembled slightly. Her eyes were glistening with fear. “Sir, you’re this old—how can you still want to commit such a vile act? This girl might even be the same age as your own daughter, yet you have such filthy thoughts.”

“Apologize! You must apologize!” The woman’s voice grew louder.

“Hey!” the man snapped angrily, shoving her shoulder so she stumbled back a few steps.

The tension was mounting.

Mark, standing behind the cash register, could only watch from a distance with a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

“You’ve crossed the line. You’ve gone too far! I came here to shop, but you’re accusing me. You have to take responsibility for this humiliation!” the man snapped, glaring.

He slowly stepped closer, causing the adult woman and the girl behind her to step back in fear instinctively.

“There are a lot of people here. What do you plan to do?” Though she tried to sound brave, the woman’s voice trembled.

She looked at the people who were watching them and shouted, “Help! Quick, call the police to subdue this crazy man!”

Smack!

The man slapped the woman hard, knocking her to the ground with her face turned away.

“Hey, why aren’t you doing anything? Quickly break them up and call the police before it’s too late!” A middle-aged female customer scolded Mark in a panic.

However, instead of following her instructions right away, Mark ran toward the warehouse. “Elric! It’s chaos! There’s a fight out front!”

“Elric!”

Elric, who had just come out of the restroom, looked at him in surprise. “What’s going on?”

“Hurry up and go out front! There’s a problem!” Mark grabbed Elric’s hand and pushed him out of the storage room. Meanwhile, he chose to peek through the partially closed door.

Although confused, Elric still walked steadily toward the sound of the commotion.

When he arrived, the man was about to strike the woman again—she was already curled up, hugging the girl with her.

Elric frowned disapprovingly and swiftly grabbed his arm. “What’s going on here?”

“Who are you? Let go of me! I need to teach them a lesson!” The male customer glared at Elric angrily as he tried to pull his arm free.

“I’m an employee here. Can you explain what’s going on?” Elric responded calmly, glancing briefly at the two women below him. “This is a public place. And what you’re doing could get you in legal trouble.”

He released the male customer’s hand with a slight jerk. Then he turned to help the two female customers to their feet. “Is anyone hurt?”

“He slapped me once,” the woman answered honestly. “But he almost molested this little girl.”

Elric’s gaze immediately fell on the girl, who looked like she was still in high school. “Are you okay?”

The girl nodded fearfully. Her grip on the woman’s arm beside her tightened.