Chapter 172 – Awareness (7)

Normal, but different from me.
He is responding to customers who are out of focus with a nonchalant expression.
Don’t these people feel that the other person is strange?

Then why do these people look normal to me?
What is the difference between a normal person and a normal person?
Confusing.

Why is it only normal here?
Why does it feel normal only here?
Am I normal?

I want to ask the people around me, but I can’t.
I don’t know what to ask, and I don’t know what answer will come.
Why do these people treat people who seem abnormal?

“Huh? Wait for a sec… Hey!”

As I headed towards Rapid, I inspected each shop and made eye contact with all the shop owners. I stopped in place when I saw the man calling me loudly.
Focusing on me, the man from the tempura shop approaches me while wiping his hands.
Upon closer inspection, one arm was prosthetic from the elbow.

“It’s a face I haven’t seen before… Are you new?”
“… Yes?”

I hurriedly turned my brain around as to why he had to say such a thing to me in this situation.
Why the hell are you calling me a rookie?
The expression is a smiling face.
It’s not rejecting me, it’s welcoming.

Why are you welcome?
I don’t understand.
Newcomer… Newcomer… Do you think I’m a newcomer?

It’s not something to say to guests.
If you are a newcomer… The question is whether this person has entered the place where he belongs.
The man at the tempura shop belongs to the shopping district.
A newcomer to the mall… Are you talking about

“By the way, the eyes are especially good! Is it because you’re still young?”

Deep in my thoughts, I quietly swallowed my breath at the words that came out of the mouth of the tempura shop man.
The eyes are good.
This person is looking into my eyes right now.

I recognize that my focus is right, and I feel that other people’s focus is different.
That’s why I came to talk to you now after seeing that the focus was normal.
It’s an action that you can only do when you know that other people’s focus is strange like me.

Asking if I was a newcomer was an act committed by misunderstanding that I was a newcomer to the company I belonged to.
The reason for the misunderstanding is because the eyes are normal.
A place where you belong is a place where people who are in focus are gathered.
Everyone is noticing the abnormalities of the people around them and living their lives as if nothing happened.

But why, why… ?
Why are these people out of focus?
Why did you say that you are a newcomer the moment our eyes met?

I don’t know what it is, but it’s an opportunity to answer my curiosity.
We need to talk a little more and dig up information.
The moment I thought that, my experience as a salesperson moved my body on its own.

“Oh, yes, hello.”

I lowered my head with a smile on my face and tried to retrieve a business card from my pocket, but realized there was none and held out my empty hand.
Coincidentally, the hand I held out was the hand of the man from the fry shop wearing the prosthetic leg.
Then, the man at the tempura store smiled and took my hand and shook it loudly.

Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve been new to this. I thought the mall was full, so I didn’t come in anymore.”

As soon as I let go of my grip, my head rotates so quickly that my temples hurt.
The mall is full… No more people can enter the mall…
It collects information from the uncle’s horse and returns the horse as it is.

“I didn’t even know there was a senior. I’m not coming into the mall.”
“Then what do you do? An environmental cleaner? Or not… Could it be that now it’s not just the mall, but all the customers?”

It’s not going to be a shopping district, but it’s true that I belong to this side.
As soon as I said it so as not to raise any doubts, the man answered with concern.
The word “Customer” Means… This means that customers can also become ‘newcomers’.

Now, the customer is also a newcomer, saying no way…
Inferring from these words, everyone except the customers in this shopping district belongs to the same place as the man.
And they misunderstood me as a new member of the group I belong to…

The reason for the misunderstanding is because my eyes are focused.
All the people in the shopping district have their eyes focused.
In other words, if you look for commonalities between the people in the shopping district and you, you will be able to see the reason why the focus is right…

In order to find out, it is necessary to pretend to be a new member of the group without clearing up the misunderstanding of the man at the fry shop.
I kept my mouth shut for a while, then smiled a little awkwardly.

“I don’t know about that either, I just heard that I should go…”
“Huh? Did you just tell me to go? Even though he’s a bit cold, I’ve never been like that…”

Him
The word “Him” Came out.
Who is he?

When a newcomer is put in here, a person called him is involved.
Through him, people enter this shopping district.
People who are cold, people who are tall, people who put people in the mall…
Sensing the eyes looking at me with questions, I answered by assembling what I had learned so far without being able to resolve all the questions that arose inside me.

“I think it’s because the mall is full. I’m also a newbie, so I don’t know much yet… I came because they told me something really simple and asked me to go, but I still don’t know what it is.”
“Her… Is it like that? Um, well… It’s just confusing. Anyway, welcome, everyone will be happy to say that a newcomer has arrived. Please follow the instructions carefully.”

The man at the tempura store greeted me with a smile and crossed arms.
It seems that I definitely believe that I am a newcomer to this shopping district.
I carefully asked questions to get more information.

“Yes, over there… But isn’t it hard? I get a little scared when I look into other people’s eyes… I’m still a bit confused.”
“Ah~ don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon. Everyone’s eyes are like that, and their actions are no different from ours.”

What we do is no different…
This is different from what I feel.
People who are out of focus show abnormal behavior that makes it clear that they are different from people who are in focus.

The moment I saw the scene, a video of Rapid and Grape was playing on a large screen nearby.
The mall in District 4 is unusually composed of a mall before the negatives appeared, as if time had stopped, and there is no such thing as a large screen for emergency alerts and guidance anywhere.
In other words, the customers here don’t do the weird things they do when seeing a magical girl on a large screen.

Not seeing it conveys two pieces of information to me.
One is that this person is always tied to District 4 and doesn’t see people who are out of focus elsewhere.
Another thing is that as long as you don’t see magical girls, people who are out of focus really go about their daily lives as usual.
I don’t know why yet.
Continue to ask more questions.

“It would be nice if everyone had people like us.”
“Haha… Shouldn’t we work harder to make that happen? For him and for the lady.”

Emphasizing our sense of belonging and trying to dig up other information, a familiar word came out.
In District 4, Rapid is the only one called a lady by the people in the shopping district.
I asked, wondering why Rapid was suddenly appearing in the story.

“If you are a lady… Rapid… ?”
“Shh! Didn’t you see your notice? Then what if I provoke you!”

Then, the uncle of the tempura shop immediately looked around in surprise.
Are you stimulating… What the hell
Who?

“No matter how new you are… Wait a minute, does that sound strange?”

The reaction of the man at the tempura store became strange in an instant.
It is visible that the trust built up so far through lies has been blown away at once.
I think it was a very dangerous move to bring the name of Rapid out of my mouth.

“You… Wait a minute, look at the chat room number.”

I received the nervous glances from the tempura shop uncle and sent chills down her spine.
I acted too hastily out of curiosity and confusion.
I’m suspecting that I’m not a newbie.

“The chat room number? A chat room where everyone is in… ?”
“Look!”

I don’t even fall for judo anymore.
Judging from what they say, it seems clear that everyone belonging to the mall is in some sort of group chat room.
In other words, the conversation you have now is likely to spread to other people in the mall later.
You can’t hypnotize people in the shopping district.

What should I do?
I don’t know what happened, but I know that this is not a good situation.
I have to somehow alleviate the suspicion of the tempura shop man.

But I don’t know how.
In order to clear the doubt, I need to be able to prove that I am affiliated with the fry shop man.
To prove that, a chat room number is required.

You cannot hypnotize this bearded old man who is not a magical girl.
Inducing conversations no longer work.
They are asking for clear evidence that they belong to the same party as you.

Should I run away?
That’s not a good way
All the people in the shopping district are affiliated with the tempura shop man.
You never know what will happen the moment you run away.

Conversation is denied.
Hypnosis doesn’t work.
There is no means of proof.
The moment I was in confusion, my head suddenly went blank and my body moved on its own.