The weekend. Even though we had completed our second week at this school, there was still a lot for me to explore. The majority of my time spent here was in my room where I read and slept for most of the time.
I had only ever visited the bookstore in the expansive Drachma Red area to purchase some new novels. They were lined up on a snazzy bookstore that was pre-installed in my room.
I had yet to visit either Higashi or Nishi Mall. They were very popular, with both staff and students. It was one of GEN Academy's other big attractions.
Due to my current situation of lacking any close friends, I wasn't invited out to go play, so I didn't check it out since there was no reason for me to. I wished someone like Yukina or Matsushita would invite me to play with them. I'd feel like a riajuu if they did.
I woke up around 9am today, and went to go make some breakfast in my kitchen. I decided on eating some cup noodles since it was the least time-consuming to make.
As I scrolled through my phone, I slurped my cup noodles at the same time.
I was checking out the school forums on our preinstalled school app. The main conversation point was about Zyriot and Takemoto's fight. A video of it was going around and being uploaded to just about everywhere.
Akihiro said that he was somewhat glad that it happened, since the fight had pulled attention away from his incident. He said that when he visited the card shop, lots of people told him to get lost just because they perceived him as a delinquent. The fight happening shortly after the incident meant people moved on quite quickly.
School gossip and drama is always like this, isn't it? People lose interest in one drama when something more severe and interesting comes up. New and fresh stories are always better than the same old repeated ones.
After finishing reading everyone's opinions, I checked my private messages. I had only contacted a few people, one of which were Suzune. Yesterday after school, I tried messaging her, though, she didn't reply to me. I guess I might have to give up after all and accept that she sees me as a creepy stalker.
I wouldn't be surprised if she blocked me afterwards.
Well, no matter. I decided that today I'd stop being a shut-in for a day so I could buy a new laptop with my incredible amount of points still in my account. While my phone is great, I wanted something larger to type up essays and format notes on.
I slung my lanyard around my neck and headed out to Nishi Mall. I decided to take the bus there, since it was the cheapest option. I didn't feel like getting a taxi and paying extra. Plus, I might run into somebody I recognise and start up a conversation.
At least, that was the dream scenario I had in my head. When I boarded the bus, it was pretty empty. One or two students were on it, but because it was the weekend, no one had their uniform on. I had no clue which class this guy was from.
I sat down at the back and sighed to myself. Why did I get my expectation up again?
After fifteen minutes, I departed the bus with the other student. He immediately ran over to his friends with a wide grin, while I wandered to the mall alone. I felt embarrassed for being such a loser.
I entered through the automatic doors and felt tiny in comparison to the size of the mall. Seriously, what is something so grand doing here on an island? For students no less?
There were a lot of people around, mainly hanging out with their friends and such. Being alone, I stood out like a sore thumb. I decided to check the map on my phone for how this place was laid out. There were three floors, and each floor had it's own set of shops.
The technology store at this school, Denki Electronics, was located on the first floor. I headed to an elevator and went on it, sharing the space with a couple other people. Of course, they had friends with them... ah, the life of solitude.
After leaving the elevator, I headed straight to the shop. Denki Electronics is a popular retail store that's known for selling cheap computers and laptops. I decided that I'd get one of the older models as it'd be less expensive.
When I entered the store, it was clean and looked pleasant. Lots of computer parts and laptops were on display, and a few students were browsing the store.
Most of them looked like the nerd type and a lot of them were also alone. I could only assume they were technology enthusiasts who had little friends like I did.
I'm not a big tech guy, so I don't feel like I'd survive a conversation with them. Plus, going up to people and talking to them wasn't one of my strong points.
Strangely, one person caught my eye. There was a girl with light green hair checking out the items on display. I found myself entranced by her out-of-place presence at this store.
Her head whipped in my direction as I stared at her. As our eyes met, she raised an eyebrow.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
I was caught completely off-guard. What do I do? I stiffened up, walking up to her.
"You were staring at me for awhile. Are you some kind of pervert or something?"
Did rumours about my interaction with Suzune yesterday spread around the school or something? I couldn't even tell which class this girl was from, because we didn't wear our school uniforms. Though, she was pleasant to look at.
"N-no, I'm... here to buy a laptop."
Why did I stutter? It makes me look like I'm lying or something. The girl gave me a shifty gaze, looking at me up and down.
"What a coincidence. Me too."
Her voice was full of sarcasm. If only I was a riajuu... I'd be able to keep up this conversation and maybe become her friend. My ideal scenario had dropped right into my lap, but due to my incapability of talking to others, I let this perfect chance die in front of my eyes.
I felt a bit awkward just standing next to her in silence, so I began stepping away slowly, as it seemed neither of us were willing to continue our brief talk. I guess I shouldn't disturb her, since she came alone like me. Perhaps she was the solitary type like Rinbayashi.
As I stepped away from her, the girl sent me a blunt look of... disappointment? It was such a deadpan and serious expression, I couldn't tell what she was trying to convey. Was it a look of disgust? I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
I panicked and walked away from her while scratching the back of my head like I was an ikemen or something. Even though I couldn't see her face, I'm sure she was sending a judgmental gaze my way.
I really hope she was an upperclassman or something. If she was in the same year as me, there'd be no doubt rumours about me being a creep towards girls would spread sooner or later. If she was friends with Suzune, it'd be even worse.
If that kind of rumour broke out, it would burn so many bridges because of it... including my already fragile friendship with Yukina. I shivered at that thought.
I perused the shop's laptop sections and was in awe at the models on display. Of course, they were the new ones with all the extravagant features, so it costed a lot of money.
I went up to an employee sheepishly and asked if they had some cheaper ones. The employee lead me to the back of the store where they kept their other devices.
With the employee's help, I ended up picking out a laptop that was made last year. It was a smaller model, but was fairly up to date with all the essentials I needed. Happy to pick this one up, me and the employee went up to the cashier desk so I could pay for the item.
"Before you pay, are you a student?"
"Yes."
"Ah, you're just in luck. Which nation are you from?"
"Drachma Red."
"Perfect. This store offers a discount to Drachma Red students."
"Really?"
"It's a Drachma Red owned building."
Drachma Red owned building? I haven't heard of this up until now. The employee clicked on the screens behind the counter and gestured to the plate integrated on the counter.
I scanned my phone, and the employee handed me the laptop in a large durable bag.
"Thank you for buying from Denki Electronics. Enjoy the rest of your day."
"You too." I waved goodbye and walked out of the store with my newly required laptop.
After hearing his mysterious words, I checked the online receipt in my phone. The laptop should've costed 11,900 points, but the receipt showed I had paid only 10,900 points for it. A considerable discount.
I checked my balance. I was sitting at a comfortable 72,550 points. I still wondered what the employee meant by Drachma Red owned building. I checked the map to see if I could get more information, but it was limited. The colour of the store on the map however was red, which might be a hint.
Checking the other colours on the map, they were blue, yellow, green, white and grey. At the very least, four of those other colours matched with the other nations. However, the colour red dominated the map heavily. It seems that our nation owns a lot of these buildings, huh?
Well, after all. We weren't in the Drachma Red area, or the Zoa Green area, or anything like that. The places that everyone had access to were neutral zones, and thus there was no monopoly on any of the buildings in these areas. At least, that's what I thought.
This little realisation seemed to hint that nations could somehow own buildings and get a perk because of it. That was my hypothesis anyways, due to what had happened to me in the electronics store.
While I scanned the map, a coffee shop caught my attention. It was called Cafe Yuzu. In school, I heard this shop's name be thrown around by my classmates quite often. It seemed popular, among the girls especially. Since I'm already at the mall, I might as well check it out to find out what all the buzz is about.
Cafe Yuzu was on the ground floor, so it was very accessible to students. I felt a bit stupid going to the store after making my purchase, as I was walking around with a massive bag in my hands. I really hope my laptop doesn't get damaged while I transported it around with me.
When I arrived at the cafe, it smelled very strongly of coffee. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, with dim lights setting a relaxed mood. The store was dominated by females and couples, making a lonesome guy like me stand out even more.
I feel like I would be troublesome, so I almost left the store. However, I talked myself into getting line and trying the coffee. My throat was a bit parched anyways, and the coffee did smell good.
However...
"This is a horrible coincidence."
"It's you again..."
Standing next to me in-line was the same green haired girl from earlier. Just how bad was my luck? I'm never going outside of my dorm room again.
"That's my line. I can't believe I get to run into the same pervert twice."
"I'm not a pervert..."
"You were staring at me very intensely earlier today."
"Well... that's..."
I wanted to say that she looked out-of-place, which is why I stared at her for so long, but she cut in before I could since I kept stumbling on my words.
"In actuality, are you some kind of playboy?"
"No... I'm neither a pervert or playboy."
"So, you're just a socially awkward creep."
This girl... was seriously getting on my nerves.
"I'm... well, I'm not a creep."
"So you're just socially awkward?"
"...unfortunately."
"I see. Considering your appearance and bravery to step foot into this shop alone, I thought you were some kind of confident ikemen."
"I wish I was anything close to resembling an ikemen. I'm just thirsty, honestly."
"There's a free water fountain in the mall you know. You don't have to go out of your way to buy coffee."
Everything I said, this girl had a sharp counter to it. How cheeky...
"I heard this cafe was popular, so I wanted to check it out. I didn't realise there'd be so many girls here."
"I almost feel like admiring you. Even if you were a ikemen, walking around in public with that stupid looking bag would be embarrassing."
I'm embarrassed even talking to you. I don't even know your name...
Even though I was ready to let this conversation die, the girl continued talking to me.
"Is this your first time here or something? I've never seen you in this cafe before."
"Well... yeah."
"I guess that explains a lot."
"What's that supposed to mean...?"
"Are you a shut-in?"
"No... I just prefer solitude, I guess."
A total lie, but I didn't want to look like a loser in front of her. The truth was, I had very little friends.
"How lame."
"Aren't you here alone too?"
"Hmm? I have friends sitting at that table over there, you know."
"Then what are you doing talking to a guy like me?"
"Aren't you glad we're talking? I mean, a shut-in probably doesn't have many friends. Say, do you want me to be your first friend, hm, hm?"
At this point, she was teasing me needlessly.
"I have friends."
"But I thought you liked solitude. Or was that a lie because you're too ashamed to admit the truth?"
"I have nothing to hide..."
"Oh, really? Then, what's your name?"
"We should've started off with that, in all honesty... my name's Takanori Yuuto. Yours?"
"I'm Megami Mizuki. Weren't you involved in that incident where Adachi-senpai got threatened by Ishima-san?"
Oh no... she was from our year... I'm gonna see more of her face outside of lesson, aren't I?... What terrible luck...
"I was just sitting at the table."
"Oh, so you do have friends. Here I thought you were some kind go socially awkward loser. My bad, teehee."
This girl... I really don't like her attitude.
"Takanori-kun, it's your turn now, you know. Don't hold up this line. Maybe you got cold feet just before talking to the employee? Are you really that incapable of living? Do you want me to order for you because you're so useless by yourself?"
"...I'll do it myself. Don't worry."
"Alright, make sure to mess up! I'm rooting for you!"
I think the whole cafe was staring at us. Her antics were really annoying.
I ordered a plain coffee to go. If I stay any longer in this shop, I might get eaten alive by Megami and her cheeky personality.
I left Nishi Mall after getting my drink. I tried some of the coffee outside, and was stunned by it's clear taste. It was unlike any other coffee I've drank before.
I boarded the bus, feeling a bit better and energised from the drink. At least when I got home, I could be excited over opening my new laptop.