The massive popularity brought by the light screen caused tangible trouble in Kuchiba Hiro's daily life. Though he personally didn't care, labels like "murderer" and "dangerous Transcendent" acted like invisible barriers, isolating him from the lives of ordinary people.
Not everyone would openly insult or attack him, but the fear, exclusion, whispering, and the way people avoided him like the plague were even more suffocating.
For instance, right now, as he stood by the roadside trying to hail a taxi, several empty cars would see his face from a distance and either suddenly speed up to bypass him or simply make a sharp U-turn to flee, as if he were some source of a human plague. He had chosen to take a taxi specifically to avoid drawing attention and causing unnecessary commotion, yet because of this face, he couldn't even catch a ride.
"Troublesome..." Kuchiba Hiro muttered to himself. It seemed he needed a disguise. His gaze swept across the street, spotting a brightly lit convenience store, and he headed toward it.
Just as he pushed open the convenience store door, a sharp reprimand hit him square in the face.
"Your voice! Where's your voice?! Higashiyama! How many times have I told you? Service with a smile! A ninety-degree bow! You have to make the customers feel our passion and corporate spirit!"
A middle-aged, slightly portly man in a manager's uniform was shouting at a petite female employee who had her head bowed. "Cowering like that and speaking like a mosquito—which customer is going to be satisfied?! Do it again! Shout it out!"
The female employee called Higashiyama was the same unlucky soul who had made a brief appearance on the light screen—the one whose new car had been crushed into scrap metal: Higashiyama Akai.
Her eyes were currently rimmed with red, her body trembling slightly as she tried to shout in a tearful voice, "W-welcome..."
"Haven't you eaten?! I can't hear you! Louder!" the manager roared.
"Welcome!" Akai shouted, her eyes nearly closed, her voice sharp and trembling.
Amidst this cycle of "Welcome" and the manager's roars, the convenience store's doorbell chimed crisply—Kuchiba Hiro walked in.
In an instant, the air in the store seemed to freeze.
The fury on the manager's face froze instantly, turning into an expression of extreme terror as his face went deathly pale. The two other female employees nearby also gasped in fright, instinctively taking a half-step back and pressing themselves against the shelves.
After the global broadcast, the recognition of Kuchiba Hiro's face had reached unprecedented heights, far surpassing any celebrity or politician, and it carried a terrifying sense of deterrence.
Although everyone logically knew he was unlikely to suddenly lash out and hurt people in a convenience store for no reason, his status as a "Transcendent" and the cold, immense power he had displayed on the light screen were enough to make ordinary people tremble with fear.
It felt like seeing someone walk in carrying a heavy machine gun; even if they said they were just there to buy a bottle of water, it was enough to scare everyone out of their wits.
Kuchiba Hiro's gaze swept casually across the room, noticing Higashiyama Akai, who was being scolded and looked ready to curl into a ball from fear. He had a slight impression of this "passerby" who had appeared briefly on the light screen, but that was all.
Thousands of bystanders had appeared on the light screen; she was just unlucky enough to get a close-up. Kuchiba Hiro didn't think there was anything special about her.
The muscles on the manager's face twitched as he forced a smile that looked worse than crying, his voice trembling as he shouted, "W-welcome!!!" His volume far exceeded what he had just demanded of Akai.
As he spoke, he nudged the frozen clerk beside him with his elbow, urgently whispering, "G-greet the guest! A distinguished guest! This is a distinguished guest visiting us! Making our humble shop shine with glory!!"
The two female clerks were scared out of their wits, their lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Kuchiba Hiro completely ignored this farce of a welcoming ceremony. He walked straight to the checkout counter and pointed to the individually wrapped masks hanging behind it, speaking succinctly: "I want a mask."
Standing behind the register was the helpless Higashiyama Akai. Being directly addressed by Kuchiba Hiro, she jolted in fright and stood frozen, her mind going completely blank.
Seeing this, the manager hissed urgently, "Higashiyama! What are you dazing off for! Hurry up and get it for the guest!"
Akai finally snapped out of it. Trembling, she turned around, stood on her tiptoes, and carefully took down a mask. Holding it like a fragile antique, she gently placed it on the counter and nudged it toward Kuchiba Hiro. Keeping her head down, not daring to look at him, she said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's and thick with tears, "T-two hundred billion yen... Th-thank you for your patronage..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the entire convenience store fell into a deathly silence.
The color drained from the manager's face instantly, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. He roared inwardly: Two hundred billion?! You idiot, do you want our shop to be torn down?!
He rushed forward, bowing and scraping to Kuchiba Hiro, explaining incoherently, "Wr-wrong! She said it wrong! It's two hundred billion... ah, no no no! It's two hundred yen! Two hundred yen! It's two hundred Japanese yen!"
Seeing Kuchiba Hiro's unchanging expression, his panic intensified, and he quickly changed his tune. "Oh no no no! No charge! It's free! Please, take it! If you like it, just take it! It's our honor!"
Akai was also stunned by the astronomical figure she had blurted out. Tears flooded her eyes instantly as she bowed repeatedly in apology. "S-sorry! I s-said it wrong! I'm s-s-s-so incredibly sorry! I said it wrong!"
Kuchiba Hiro watched this slapstick comedy expressionlessly, his heart untroubled. He took out his wallet, pulled out a ten-thousand-yen bill, and placed it gently on the counter. Then he stopped speaking, simply watching quietly.
The atmosphere became eerie and stagnant once more.
Akai looked at the ten-thousand-yen bill on the counter, then at the manager. Because the manager had just said it was free, she didn't dare move.
The manager, having said it was free while Kuchiba Hiro clearly intended to pay, was caught in a dilemma. Fearing any move might provoke the other man, he could only swallow nervously, his forehead dripping with sweat.
Kuchiba Hiro's patience slowly wore thin in this meaningless standoff. His eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly, and he finally spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence: "Change."
These two words were like a divine reprieve to the manager. He immediately barked at Akai, "Did you hear that! Don't just stand there! Hurry up and ring up the guest!"
Scared out of her mind, Akai nodded repeatedly and fumbled to open the cash register. However, her extreme nervousness made her lose all composure. Not only did she pull out several extra bills, but she also grabbed a large handful of coins, then tried to stuff the heap of change into Kuchiba Hiro's hand.
Before Kuchiba Hiro could even reach out to take it, her hand jerked violently from the stress—
Clatter!!!
The bills and coins scattered like flower petals, most of them landing on the counter while many others rolled noisily onto the floor.
The manager slapped his forehead and let out a pained groan. "Higashiyama Akai! What are you doing?! So clumsy! Pick them up, quickly!"
Akai was so distressed that tears streamed down her face, leaving four distinct tracks. Even her nose seemed to be leaking tears. She frantically tidied the money on the counter, gathered the pile of change again, and tremblingly offered it to Kuchiba Hiro.
However, the more she hurried, the more she messed up. Because her hands were shaking so badly, she slipped again—
Clatter!!!
History repeated itself. The change scattered across the floor for a second time, even more widely than before.
The manager completely broke down. He leaned against a shelf with a look of utter despair, completely giving up on any attempt at management.
Even Kuchiba Hiro's perpetually frozen expression showed a tiny, infinitesimal crack. He began to suspect whether this woman named Higashiyama Akai was mocking him in some extremely subtle and foolish way.
"S-sorry! Apologies! I'll be quick! Please wait just a bit longer!" Akai apologized with a tearful shout. Seemingly thinking it was too slow to pick them up, she actually abandoned the coins on the floor, turned around, and grabbed a new stack of change from the register to start over... As one might expect, in her state of extreme panic and frantic haste—
Clatter!!!
A third pile of change, accompanied by the crisp ringing of coins, scattered once again!
This time, even Kuchiba Hiro silently watched the bills and coins strewn across the floor, and the female clerk who looked ready to faint from crying as she continued to apologize and pick up money. That tiny bit of suspicion in his heart actually wavered—perhaps she really was just... exceptionally unlucky and clumsy?
The manager had completely checked out, staring blankly at the ceiling as if contemplating the meaning of life.
Kuchiba Hiro sighed silently, giving up on waiting for the change. He silently picked up the solitary mask on the counter, unwrapped it, put it on, and turned to leave the convenience store amidst the mess and the continuous stream of apologies.
As for that ten thousand yen? He'd consider it the ticket price for this absurd farce.