The people were too riled up from arguing with each other that they hadn't realized that the man they wanted to hire had already disappeared without their notice.
***
I got off to wherever the automatic sidewalk took me as I absent mindedly went through the nearest door I could find.
Although I couldn't feel it, I could see the bangs in front of my hair get swept up as a large fan blasted its air towards me once I had entered. I couldn't hide my irritation as I visibly glared at the fan that slightly surprised me.
"Sale! 30% off sale on shoes! For all sizes, extra small or extra large!"
"Does your back seem to be aching too frequently nowadays? Does your whole body feel as if it could break down wherever you go? Well, boy, do I have the product just for you!"
"Come to Hugo's Happy House! Our restaurant serves you with the best meals imaginable! Discounts are accepted for customers who are of seniority and those who have VIP membership!"
It was only then did I realize that I had entered the vicinity of a mall once I listened to each of the statements said by the employees and mascots standing outside the place they worked at.
The robot still hadn't returned to its senses, so I decided to test my luck as I gambled on whether or not the repair shop was located here in this mall. There were countless possibilities, so assuming that the repair shop was here wouldn't be too bad of a guess. That was how I thought of it, at least.
I strode with confidence as my eyes darted through every direction known to man. My vision thoroughly analyzed each of the stores in case there were any signs relating to mechanics and robots. Due to the fact that I was too focused on searching for the repair shop, I hadn't noticed that the employees gazes were filled with awe as they watched my every move. Even the people whose purpose was to shop for what they required or felt like buying also had their shopping hindered as they often stood still just to take a proper look at me.
A sign that faintly swung back and forth caught my eye as it had a gear and a wrench engraved on its surface. My mind came to the simple assumption that it was the repair shop I had been looking for this entire time and I happily made my way inside.
***
Yawn...
She heard her coworker yawn beside her, causing her to dig her face deeply into her palms. Her coworker was slightly surprised after seeing her slap herself in the face and he lazily asked about her wellbeing.
"You good..?"
"Ugh, hearing you yawn gave me flashbacks of my kid waking up and immediately crying right after."
The woman was a mother of two. The eldest was 4 years old; on the other hand, the youngest had only recently turned a year old. Despite her husband offering to look after them on her behalf while she was at work she still couldn't escape the majority of her responsibilities as a parent since both of her children would bother her whenever they had the chance.
Her coworker knew this all to well as he also takes care of his younger siblings at home; meanwhile his dead-beat parents go off getting themselves drunk or doing whatever they wanted to without a care in the world.
Both of their moods worsened as they indirectly reminded themselves of the reality they lived in.
Cheing~
The bell above the entrance to the store chimed as a potential customer opened the door.
The two cashiers lost their motivation as they slowly turned to greet the customer. But contrary to the image they had conjured up for the customer, their expectations were blown away as they were instead met with a man who looked like a supermodel.
The way he had his coat held in his arms rather than draping it over his body made them think that a camera crew was mostly likely nearby just to take photos of him. Though nothing came out of it as the handsome headed straight to the payment counter.
The woman was too shocked to the point that she was left speechless, thus leaving it up to the teenager to speak to the man. He gulped as he mustered up the courage to speak.
"Good Morning... How may we help... you?"
The man was confused by his strange attitude but pushed it aside as he looked to his left and right and slowly unveiled what was underneath his coat. They could only see a portion of the robot, but it was enough for them to understand that the robot was in dire need of repairs.
Though the biggest problem was that their repairman, also known as their manager, hadn't arrived yet. Their boss was quite the... odd guy. He would often clock in late to work and tell them excuses about him performing an important experiment with his machines and etc. This fact would usually cause their customers to have their appointments scheduled for another day due to their boss not taking their job seriously.
The teenager apologized as he scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Our repairman usually arrives late, so I would suggest that you schedule an appointment for another day."
"Give me your number."
The teenager was startled by the woman's bold remark, but she coughed in vain to cover it up with a shameless explanation.
"We'll contact you once our repairman is available."
The teenager squinted his eyes as he criticized her for asking another man's number and using her job as a cover-up.
'I don't have a number though... Actually, I don't even have a phone in general.'
I blankly stared at them before gesturing that I'd rather wait for the tardy repairman to arrive instead. I sat on a bench nearby as I awkwardly avoided the reactions they wore on their faces. The teenager was on the brink of bursting into a fit of laughter as he witnessed that his coworker had failed to obtain the handsome man's number. The woman stood lifeless like a statue as she realized that she probably got herself rejected.
Cheing~
As if they were given a blessing on their business that day, another customer entered but she only pretended to search around the sections inside the store while also stealing glances at the handsome man who was sitting on the waiting bench made for actual customers.
Cheing~
Then another... and another... and one more...
The store was cramped up with people who weren't even interested in what the store had to offer. The majority of people consisted of women pretending to make an appointment just to get a chance to sit beside the handsome man. They made it obvious that they came here for one person and one person only.
'What the hell is this timing... Did everyone have their appliances break down the same day??'
The crowd of people was enough to dizzy my head as I stood up and decided to leave the store. I thought about coming back another day like the cashier had suggested, but I quickly froze once I saw what awaited me beyond the door outside.
Various people were gathered as if they came to witness the arrival of a celebrity, and I hurriedly ran over to the cashier. I slowly mouthed the words I wanted to say to ensure that they could understand me.
'B a c k d o o r ?'
The two cashiers looked at each other as they also knew the reason behind the new 'customers' they gained that day. They sneakily tried to help me escape, but one of the people was quick to catch on as they spoke with a moderate volume enough for everyone to hear.
"Isn't that the emergency exit..?"
Their statement created an earful of whispers which soon turned into an uproar as they transformed into an angry mob. The two employees were determined to get me out of there as they sacrificed themselves to temporarily hold the crowd back.
Slam!!
The door behind me was closed shut, but I could already hear the banging outside and see the doorknob aggressively shaking.
I inwardly thanked the two employees for aiding me despite their work being on the line. My legs swiftly began to run down the stairs. I hadn't even gotten to the 3rd set of stairs yet when I abruptly heard the door bursting open accompanied by tons of people's voices arguing. My irrationality kicked in once more as I immediately jumped down the space in-between the staircase and my body smoothly fell down with my feet first.
Tadak-
Feeling quite optimistic, I gradually started to experience the benefits of possessing the main character's body as I landed down without feeling any pain at all. I ran straight to the door in front of me and I was met with a whole new scenery. The surroundings were messily piled up with scraps from the left over parts and unusable plates of metal.
I reluctantly strolled through the gloomy alleyway as I firmly held the robot in my arms tighter. Rustling came from one of the heaps of scraps behind me and I anxiously glanced towards it.
A child who had dirt smeared along their face shyly peeked at me from behind the stacked up pieces of metal. My anxiety meter lowered as I thought that it was just a harmless lost child.
"He has a robot..!"
'... Eh?'
I gazed down to my arms, only to find that the coat I used to hide the robot had fallen off in-between the moments when I was escaping from the angry mob a while ago. Out of nowhere several children suddenly appeared as they simultaneously aimed to snatch the robot in my arms.
'Is everyone in this dimension insane?!'
Just as I had barely escaped the feisty group of children, another voice chimed in, shattering the tiny ounce of hope I had left.
"Boss, it's him! He's the one I wanted to recruit!!"
The fashion agents whom I had one-sidedly acquainted with and were the main cause of all this happening to me to begin with, had their eyes sparkle as they marched towards me and yelled out their names and waved their business card like a person fanning themselves on a hot summer day.
'godDAMMIT, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!'
I darted to the opposite direction, and I heard a set of familiar voices now making their reappearance. The people from the mall, the robot obsessed children, and the modeling agents had all joined forces in order to catch me.
I was nearing a cliff and I immediately halted my feet to stop.
"Sir, can I take a photo with you!?"
"We won't hurt you, mister, if you hand us the robot!"
"You won't regret contracting with our company!!"
My eyebrows hardened as I narrowed down my choices. I prepared my body for the upcoming stunt I was about to pull off and I weakly smirked. Half of the crowd went wild as they flashed their cameras at me without my consent.
'Imagine being so unbearable to the point that a person would rather choose a one-way ticket to the afterlife instead of having to deal with your annoying *sses.'
These were the words that I wanted to say to those maniacs who chased me to no avail. Really, for what did I do to deserve this awful 'warm welcome'? Perhaps it was due to the fact that I had knocked a man unconscious, but I still had some dignity left since I was aware that I only did that out of pure instinct.
I purposely stepped backwards and my feet no longer had a platform beneath me to support them as I stoically fell back. The voices which I had found extremely burdensome were now slowly beginning to fade as the height between us widened. Some could say that I was like a peaceful angel falling from heaven.
'PEACEFUL MY *SS!!! FIND A PLATFORM, FIND A PLATFORM, QUICK!!!'
In the state of panick my vision turned hazy, as I could no longer think with a clear mindset. All of a sudden a net binded each of the corners around my body, preventing me from further falling to my doom, and it raised me up.
The sound of a machine cranking passed through my eardrums accompanied by an exhausted young man's voice scolding me.
"Do you have a death wish?! If you're going to be depressed and suicidal, can't you do it in another place? You know, a place where there wouldn't be any bystanders that might possibly get traumatized??"
His tone was sassy, yet he wore a visibly distraught expression, and he hurriedly took back his harsh statements.
"I'm sorry. That was a joke. You know, haha, dark humor..? Anyways, pleasedontkillyourselfitisntworthittrustme."
Golden dust formed out of thin air as it circulated and materialized into a scroll.
{|Steampunk Dimension|
Missions:
•Enter the portal(Complete)
•Attend the evening party(Complete)
•Meet Lumiere Welle(Complete)
•Damage a robot(Complete)
•Take the damaged robot to meet the mechanic(Complete)}
I had hit the jackpot as the young man before me was none other than the mechanic.
I could still recall his name from the webnovel, as the letters were displayed vividly in my memory.
'Ainsley Oseth.'