A Monster's Influence: Route C

Chapter 3

Ayanokouji's POV

After we set our reservation at Kurokiya at noon, we continued to explore the mall for places of interest. The mall was definitely a lot bigger than I had first thought. There was another Pallet Cafe, selling not only beverages and pastries but their own bags of coffee and tea blends as well. There were also several tables with velvet-cushioned seats, phone charging stations, and a small lounge with loveseats, and a bookcase filled with the latest popular novels. Similar to its counterpart in the school complex, it was filled to the brim with students and some mall employees.

There were also several juice bars with exotic western drinks. There did not seem to be long lines, but it turns out there was an application available on our phones that allowed students to order online ahead of time and pick up their drinks.

There were many izakayas, more illustrious than the Kurokiya we made a reservation at before. It would be foolish to go to those places while we have a limited amount of points available. Those who have accumulated many points through budgeting and those that have a steady income of points could afford to frequent such places. A bespectacled student with a strong build and a girl with purple hair tied in two buns entered one such place.

We also discovered several hot pot dens serving sukiyaki or shabu-shabu that my friends explained were affordable for large groups of people. Perhaps we'll visit with our classmates sometime in the future. It was odd that these types of restaurants were not listed in the mall directory. Was there a reason for this?

In other stories of the mall, there were stores designated for accessories such as jewelry and watches, all guarded by police. There was no point in the existence of these shops in the mall, for no student can reasonably afford such products. Like the products they contained, they were an accessory to the mall. I did see a student my age with dirty-blond hair tied in a ponytail examining a few stud earrings, however.

It turns out we did not even cover even a quarter of the total area of the mall. Nishino and Tokitou were noticeably tired, so we decided to relax on one of the benches in front of Kurokiya.

"Hey, Tokitou," Nishino said, catching her breath. "check if what you posted in the forum gained any traction."

I pulled out my phone as well, tapping the application for the forum as well. I noticed that said post was trending. I tapped the thread and immediately flinched while reading the comments.

[Kyaaaa! Who is he? He's so handsome!]  👍18

[Put him on the list!]  👍25

List? Am I going to be arrested? Do I have a hit on me?

[I saw him at the ceremony and thought he looked gloomy. Looks like I was wrong!] 👍5

[He rocks that sad boy aesthetic] 👍20

[I want him to rearrange my guts] 👍70

Why would they want me to kill them? Are normal people this odd? Was it a mistake to leave that place? Was this what made that man discard this society?

In addition to those comments, there were a lot of negative ones.

[Ikemen must die!] 👎 4

[Riajuu go explode!] 👎 6

[There's another one? Hirata was enough, now this fucker is here?] 👎 15

I must find this Hirata. He must be suffering from the same ailment as me.

"Pfft. Hahahahahaha!" Nishino and Tokitou were chortling.