Shopping Trouble Part-02

Kuro and Aurelia walked toward the shopping street. Kuro led the way, while Aurelia followed a few steps behind, her posture graceful yet cautious.

As a former princess once renowned for her beauty, Aurelia naturally drew attention. People around them stopped to stare, mesmerized by her charm.

Realizing the gazes fixed on her, Aurelia quickened her pace, closing the distance between them. Leaning forward, she whispered,

“Is it normal these days for people to stare like that… or are they looking for an opening to ambush us?”

“Don’t pay attention to them,” Kuro replied, eyes straight ahead. “They just find you… unique, that’s all.”

“Hmm… does that mean I look strange to them?” she asked, stopping to glance down at her clothes.

“You could say that,” Kuro sighed, turning back to her. “But first—at least walk beside me, not behind. It looks like I’m forcing you to tag along.”

“But as a slave, walking beside my master would be disrespectful,” she protested, her voice rising.

At the words *slave* and *master*, nearby people turned toward them, whispering in shock.

Kuro sighed at the attention. Then he snapped his fingers, and the onlookers—once entranced—suddenly returned to their routines, their memories of her fading as if nothing had happened.

“Was that you?” Aurelia asked when she noticed.

“Yup,” Kuro said calmly. “You could call it large-scale hypnotization. But from now on, don’t mention that master-and-slave thing again. I only lifted your curse because I felt bad for you. And from now on, just call me Kuro, okay?”

“Okay, Kuro-sama,” she said, smiling softly.

“Kuro-sama, huh? Well, better than being called master,” he muttered, shaking his head.

As they continued through the streets toward the department store, Aurelia couldn’t hide her wonder. Every new sight—a passing car, gleaming skyscrapers, even automatic doors—left her wide-eyed with amazement.

Finally, they arrived at the department store. Inside, Kuro picked up pencil cases and stickers, as Akari had requested, while Aurelia followed closely behind, still absorbing the modern scenery.

“So, what did Mei-san ask you to buy?” Kuro asked, turning to her.

Aurelia fished through her pocket and pulled out a folded note.

“Let’s see… hmm? Strange—I can’t read it,” she said, handing it over.

Kuro glanced at it. “It says glass cleaner and some vegetables. Probably for dinner.”

They started walking toward the grocery section—but before they could reach it, a loud shout echoed through the store.

Suddenly, a smoke grenade burst through the department store windows, spreading thick smoke around the area.

Everyone in the store crouched down, coughing hard, as the sound of heavy boots entered. Several armed men stormed in, pointing their weapons at the people, red laser dots shining on their foreheads.

“Everyone, please cooperate if you value your lives!” one of them shouted, waving his gun toward the counter.

Everyone gathered together, trembling in fear. One of the armed men pointed toward Kuro and Aurelia.

“Hey, you two! Go stand near the counter—move it!”

Aurelia, taken by surprise, was already on guard and tried to step in, but Kuro stopped her with a nod.

Kuro raised his hands calmly, and Aurelia followed. They walked toward the counter and knelt on the ground with their hands behind their heads, like the others.

Aurelia whispered to Kuro,

“Why are we following their commands? Shouldn’t we save these people?”

“I know that,” Kuro said quietly, “but doing anything in the crowd will make us stand out. Plus, there’s already someone who suspects me of being a Shinigami. If I use my power now, that suspicion will only grow.”

“ ‘Shini’ What?” she asked, confused.

“I’ll tell you later,” he replied. “For now, let’s let the police handle it.”

“Then as you wish, Kuro-sama,” she said softly. “But if they decide to harm anyone, I will act accordingly.”

“Well, that’s fine,” he said. “If they try to hurt anyone, you can do what you please.”

Meanwhile, outside, the police quickly surrounded the store and set up barricades. Reporters arrived, broadcasting the situation live.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” a chief officer called through a loudspeaker. “We have you surrounded! Release the hostages and surrender!”

“Hahaha… are you stupid, officer?” the leader of the armed men shouted back. “If we wanted to surrender, we wouldn’t have done this in the first place!”

“So, what do you want in exchange for releasing the hostages?” the officer demanded.

“Release our boss, Minamoto-san, whom you caught last week! And bring us fifty million yen and a helicopter!” the man shouted.

“Chief, what do we do? We can’t release their boss,” another officer said anxiously.

Frustration flickered across the chief’s face.

“Hey, tell me—are you…” the leader started, but trailed off as he felt something wet trickle from his nose.

He wiped it with his hand and froze when he saw blood. Fear spread across his face, his body trembling. Before he could even turn, his vision blurred, and his head toppled to the ground.

“Wha—what happened?!” one of the others shouted, but his head too fell moments later.

Everyone in the department store screamed in terror. The remaining gunmen tried to calm the crowd by threatening them, but one by one, each of their heads dropped to the ground too.

Outside, a policeman shouted as he saw through his binoculars, “Blood—there’s blood everywhere!”

“Everyone, charge! We have no choice—if we don’t act soon, they’ll all be dead!” the chief ordered, and the police rushed to break down the doors.

Inside, chaos and screams filled the air.

Aurelia looked toward Kuro, who remained calm. Confused, she whispered,

“Kuro-sama?”

But Kuro was sitting beside her, taking a nap.

She shook him gently. “Kuro-sama?”

Kuro yawned, wiping his eyes. ".....huh.....what.....? Oh if you are asking about this.Well, that wasn’t me. But if I’m right… then there—”

He picked up an apple from a nearby shelf and threw it toward an empty space.

As soon as it flew, every remaining armed man’s head was severed from his body.

An aqua-haired man, around twenty-six, suddenly appeared in the space Kuro had aimed at.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I have—”

Bam!

The apple struck the blue-haired man squarely, knocking him backward and smashing the table behind him.

“See? He was the one doing all this,” Kuro said casually.

“I guess… yeah, you’re right,” Aurelia replied awkwardly, watching the heroic entrance turn into a comedy moment.

“Do you know him? Judging from his skills, he must be…” she began, but Kuro interrupted,

“Probably an S-class one. But honestly, I don’t feel anything special about him compared to you. If you two fought, he’d be defeated within five minutes, I’d say.”

“Isn’t that too detailed?” she asked.

“Well, I have to explain it so everyone can understand,” he said with a sigh.

“Everyone?” she repeated, confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kuro replied.

Moments later, the police stormed into the department store, shocked by the blood and headless bodies.

The chief stepped in behind them, words slipping from his mouth.

“What…the hell… even happened here?”

“Sir, all the hostages are safe, and all the gang members are found dead!” one officer reported.

“Good. Everyone, please remain calm,” the chief announced. “The situation has been handled. We request your cooperation so we can evacuate you all safely.”

“Kuro-sama, they seem to be handling things now,” Aurelia whispered, glancing at the flashing red and blue lights outside.

“Yeah,” Kuro murmured, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Let’s get going before they start questioning everyone about what just happened.”

“Sir, we found someone unconscious near the broken table,” one of the officers called out while investigating the area.

Aurelia looked back at the devastated store, thoughtful. “It seems that man fell unconscious after being hit by the apple you threw?” she asked softly.

“This wasn’t my fault,” Kuro replied calmly. “He’s just too weak to withstand being hit by an apple.”