"Granny, this should be all of it," Yuto said, handing the basket of selected vegetables over.
"Mhm," Granny acknowledged softly, taking the basket.
As soon as she placed the vegetables on the mechanical scale, she launched her trap.
"By the way, don't you young people all use that... L-Line app on your smartphones to chat nowadays? Why don't you and Megumi add each other as Line friends? You can chat whenever you both have free time!"
Yuto froze.
Up until this exact moment, Yuto only had Utaha listed as a friend on his phone.
For a modern young adult, it was a genuinely pitiful social network!
"Uh... this is..." Yuto stammered.
"It's no problem at all! Come on, add each other!"
Yuto felt incredibly awkward.
Forcing someone he barely knew to add him as a friend felt highly intrusive.
But Granny wasn't taking no for an answer.
She grabbed a large heavy tomato and slapped it down onto the wooden counter with a loud thud.
Her momentum was suddenly incredibly forceful, completely different from her usual sweet, elderly demeanor.
"Megumi, listen to me. Yuto is a very, very good and reliable boy. Getting to know him will be very helpful for you," Granny turn to look strictly at the girl and lecture her.
She praised Yuto with an extremely satisfied tone.
Megumi glanced at Yuto, her eyes were unreadable and then gave a slight, compliant nod.
It seemed she wasn't going to argue with her grandmother's forceful matchmaking.
"Yuto-chan, quick, take out your phone and add Megumi," Granny ordered, looking back at him with genuine urgency.
Feeling cornered by the aggressive elderly woman, Yuto helplessly pulled his smartphone from his pocket.
He looked over at the quiet girl.
"Are you really okay with this?" he asked softly, offering her an out.
Megumi just nodded gently. She pulled her own phone from her apron pocket and opened the app.
Scanning the QR code was quick.
After adding each other, both of their phones buzzed with a quiet notification.
Yuto's friend list officially doubled, increasing to a grand total of two.
If he had been able to peek at Megumi's screen, he would have found that her own friend list only had three people on it.
"Well, that is just wonderful. Make sure you two chat often," Granny smiled contentedly, the fierce aura vanishing as she watched them connect.
She quickly bagged the fresh vegetables and handed them over.
"Yuto-chan, today I am giving you a special twenty percent family discount. The total is 4,560 yen, but just give me 3,600 yen," Granny beamed. For some reason, the old lady was in an incredibly good mood.
Naturally, Yuto refused to take advantage of an elderly woman's business.
He pulled a crisp 5,000 yen bill from his wallet and shoved it directly into Granny's hand.
"Keep the change, Granny. See you later!"
To avoid giving the old lady any chance to force the change back into his pockets, Yuto grabbed the heavy bags of vegetables and practically sprinted away toward his bicycle.
Megumi watched his frantic retreat, a rare look of genuine surprise flickering in her eyes.
Granny sighed, reluctantly putting the extra money into her cash box.
Then, she turned her full attention back to the girl.
"Megumi, did you see that? Yuto-chan is a very good and honest boy. If it's him, I truly believe you two can become good friends," Granny said softly.
Megumi's lips twitched slightly, and she blinked twice.
"You are both sensible, quiet, good children. Spending time together will surely be very comfortable for both of you," Granny continued her campaign.
"By the way, Megumi, aren't you going clothes shopping tomorrow?"
Megumi nodded.
"Then why not ask Yuto-chan to go with you? You don't have any friends around to help, and I worry about you wandering the shopping districts all alone."
Megumi pouted slightly.
"I can go alone," she finally spoke, her voice flat but carrying a hint of stubborn determination.
She seemed highly protective of her solo shopping trips.
"How can one person shopping be as convenient as two? Besides, Yuto can help you choose which clothes actually look good. You know, girls shouldn't just dress up for themselves; sometimes you have to consider how the opposite sex views your outfits," Granny lectured.
The old woman's thinking was definitely a bit old-fashioned and traditional, but Megumi wasn't visibly annoyed by it.
"You can message Yuto on that Line app later tonight. No, actually, I will help you arrange it tomorrow..." Granny continued, her tone shifting into a relentless persuasion.
Megumi simply nodded in quiet agreement.
But her flat expression betrayed a heavy hint of tired helplessness.
...
Yuto rode his bike back to Ichinosuke Street.
Most of the stores along the street were already closed.
He arrived at the alley entrance, pushing his bicycle into the restaurant.
He put the vegetables and other items into the refrigerator.
Then he picked up the backpack Ainz had given him.
The bag didn't look very big. Just an ordinary-looking, light yellow backpack. From the moment Yuto first saw this bag last night, the thought crossed his mind: only a game backpack would be this plain!
He sighed helplessly.
After some thought, he decided not to wear it on his back.
He'd just carry it by hand. Having made up his mind, he picked up the bag and walked out.
Although Yuto hadn't traveled far in this world, he'd been learning about its related knowledge.
During his previous conversation with Utaha, she mentioned the ultimate hub of otaku culture to him—Akihabara.
What was striking was that a place like Akihabara was actually located in Chiyoda Ward.
This somehow created a sense of contrast.
Chiyoda was, relatively speaking, Tokyo's most traditional and profound area.
Totsuki Academy was also in this ward. The last time he came here, Hisako brought him.
This time, he came alone.
Carrying his backpack, he boarded the train.
To avoid others' gazes, he deliberately found a corner to stand in.
But he still couldn't escape being noticed.
Many eyes, upon first seeing his appearance, naturally conveyed a look that said, "Ah, this child is so cute."
But when they turned to see the backpack in his hand, their eyes shifted to a somewhat pitying expression.
However, some gazes grew even more intense!
Yuto didn't understand why their eyes changed so drastically upon seeing the backpack
. Could there be some deeper meaning to it? He was puzzled.
When the train arrived at the station, he hurriedly got off.
As soon as he stepped out, he froze.
Hiss—
This truly was Akihabara.
Even inside the station, there were vertical signs of various anime characters. The walls were plastered with advertisements promoting light novels and manga.
The station's screens scrolled with 2D characters.
Yuto suddenly felt out of place here.
He tightened his grip on the backpack. He felt the need to speed up and make the most of his time.
He walked toward the west exit of the station.
Crossing the station passageway door, an even more spectacular scene greeted him.
Rows of tall buildings stood in orderly formation.
On the exteriors of these buildings were countless banners featuring anime characters, scenes, or announcements of the latest manga releases.
The electronic screens on the outer walls continuously played 2D videos. The crowds coming and going wore expressions of delight or curiosity.
Most people held manga or light novels in their hands, stopping on the streets to read. In front of some storefronts, there were character models five or six meters tall.
Beneath these models, groups of people gathered to take photos.
The number of people gathered around the models of certain revealing characters was large.
Yuto simply watched this scene.
He felt a peculiar atmosphere.
This peculiar atmosphere seemed similar to the feeling conveyed by Rimuru and Ainz last night!
This... is... the world of anime and manga.
Yuto was shaken inside.
At this moment, he probably understood why the people on the train looked at him differently.
He noticed many people in Akihabara carrying backpacks.
Some of those backpacks even had exaggerated stickers of certain characters or comic scenes on the surface.
In comparison, the backpack in his hand was as plain as it could get.
Huff— Huff—
Yuto took a deep breath.
He needed to finish this quickly. Right now, he wasn't suited to stay here!
'Light novels... light novels...' he silently repeated to himself as he began scanning the stores.
He found the largest store and walked in.
The sales staff were all cute girls. Yuto glanced at them and sighed inwardly.
This is specifically targeted at men!
He sighed and walked up to the counter and many people noticed him.
To them, such a youthful, handsome boy was rare.
As soon as Yuto reached the counter, he attracted seven or eight female employees to his side.
Each of them looked at him with curious, sparkling eyes. In the past, Yuto wouldn't have felt awkward.
But now, he inexplicably felt a bit nervous.
"Customer, what would you like?" a gentle female voice asked.
Yuto cleared his throat.
"Could you help me get the best-selling light novels from the past year?" he said with a smile.
He felt a bit stiff at this moment.
"Of course, please wait a moment." The female employee responded and went to find the books for him.
Yuto waited quietly where he stood.
Not only waiting, but also enduring inquiries from several women.
"Oh? Are you also a light novel enthusiast?"
'Sorry, I'm not.'
"Which light novel do you like to read?"
'Sorry, I haven't read any.'
"Do you know XXX Master?"
'Sorry, I don't know.'
Yuto felt the only time comparable to this level of awkwardness was when he first arrived at Ichinosuke Street.
Fortunately, he'd been through it before.
Yuto handled the situation quite well, until the employee brought a stack of books to him.
"This is the best-selling light novel from the past year, 'I Became a King in Another World.' There are seven volumes in total, and the next volume will take some time to be released."
"I'll take them. Please pack them up."
Yuto straightforwardly took out his bank card and swiped it quickly.
He wanted to leave!
'Rimuru! Ainz! I promise I won't buy anything for you ever again!'
Beneath his smiling expression hid resentment toward a certain Slime and a certain skeleton!
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