Third-person POV
The night was peaceful and busy in the City of Love. They went to a hotel a few blocks from the Jaro Bus Terminal, and they managed to secure three hotel rooms, all on the third floor, and each can fit 3 people. The nightly cost was 2,000 pesos, and they booked it for 2 nights, which will be spent exploring the biggest city on Panay Island. After that, they ordered some pizza and fries from a Greenwich place in SM Iloilo and had them delivered to their hotel rooms. The meal was 3 thin pizzas, 2 boxes of French fries, and drinks of water and Iced Tea for a total price of 899 pesos (a group special).
As they ate their dinner in their hotel room, Taro checked his family group chat on his phone. His police officer father from Nara City was asking questions regarding his presence in the media in Metro Manila during the closing of the LRT Ripper case. The messages are like:
"Taro-kun, what was that?"
"Did you take care of a scary criminal, the one that rips out hearts?"
"When you come home, please explain. I am worried for you…"
Taro's heart hammered hard; he was used to taking care of the supernatural beings like the aswangs, but it had been the first time he had taken care of a human who was a notorious serial killer in the LRT Depot.
"Wow…" he muttered as he checked the other messages from his mother, as well as from his younger sister Kana.
"What's wrong?" Hoshi asked.
"My dad…he was raising questions on my involvement with the LRT Ripper," responded Taro.
Realizing that, Hoshi checked his family group chat with the Takadas. They were also asking questions and were as worried as Taro's father about Taro. "Ate, when we landed in Osaka City soon…" he said to Mariya, "…let's spend some time with the Takadas for the box and the questions to answer regarding the news coverage we had made on the LRT Ripper case before we can catch a train back to Nara City."
Mariya realised that mid-bite on her thin pineapple pizza and nodded.
The same thing goes for the families of Bokuto and Saki in the other two rooms across the corridor.
And so, their first day in Iloilo City was spent on the historical attractions of the inner downtown, and most of their travelling was on foot and by cheap public transport. Saki flustered almost every time Hoshi readjusted his glasses and looked around.
"Hoshi, I thought that, in your memories, Paris is the City of Love," Kuro within Hoshi said, "but Iloilo City, too. Probably the Philippines' City of Love is this city."
"Yeah, probably…" Hoshi replied through an internal voice.
For lunchtime, they swung by a local carinderia to save up some money and for delicious local tastes. They also purchased a couple of cheap souvenirs and a few books. One of the books is a book called the Noli Me Tangere (Hoshi wanted to try it), while Bokuto's is a copy of the Divine Comedy.
Dinnertime was burgers at Robinsons Iloilo, and by tomorrow morning, they will check out the SM Iloilo. The day after that will be their day trip to Roxas City by land.