The King's Mandate: Anomalous System

"Are you sure? You said you don't like crowded aces, and I think the mall would be crowded." Elena questioned.

"It's fine. I am fine with shopping malls and theatres because everyone is focused on their work, unlike other crowded places where everyone stares at you."

"I see."

Das suggested Elena to go somewhere to avoid going home, and Elena requested to go to the newly opened shopping mall.

"What's so new about this shopping mall you are talking about?" Das asked.

"Uh... I am not sure, but on the ads, it said that there are many hotspots for attraction."

"That's not something unique."

"I don't know. Maybe we will buy some clothes and stuff?"

"..."

"What's with that face again?"

"Don't forget that we still have to study."

"I know, but let me enjoy a little more."

"You can enjoy as much as you want after your exams, you know?"

"I have been hearing that since childhood."

Elena didn't grow up to be an idiot. She was as smart and as dedicated as her twin sister, but soon-- their differences were apparent. They were no longer the same-- only their appearance.

They couldn't be together like they used to be. Like any other siblings, they started fighting and beating each other. And their parents couldn't do anything. They sometimes even mistook them and mixed their names.

Then Caleb suggested adopting one of them, and Selena started living with her grandparents.

They would still meet once every month or talk over the phone.

Selena kept advancing the grade and graduated from high school. While Elena couldn't, she had lost the will to do anything.

Slowly, the distance between the two sisters started decreasing, and they were back to how they were after some time.

Selena still stayed with her grandparents because of her university, and though she could take of her grandparents. 

"We are here." Elena grabbed Das' hand and pulled him with her as they entered.

"Slow down," Elena ignored him and kept pulling.

The first thing they saw after entering was a giant statue in the center.

The statue was the same height as the mall. What's more, the statue's movement. It was acting as an elevator. It was transporting people from one floor to another.

"Wow!" Elena said with a resolute expression on her face as she let go of Das' hand.

"Yeah," Even Das was awed by this.

'The statue reminds me of the Edens Palace.'

Elena once again grabbed Das' hand and started jumping as she pointed her finger at the statue, then said with a huge smile on her face, "Let's go there!"

Das couldn't help but chuckle and think, 'She is just like some kid.'

Seeing Elena happy made him happy.

"We can't go there." However, the smile disappeared soon from her face after Das denied going there.

"Why?"

"Look at the waiting line. It would take hours to go there."

Certainly, more than a hundred people were standing in the line, and only three people were allowed at once for one ride.

Elena winked and said, "We can just force our way to the front." 

"Wow." Das sighed. 'Why am I not surprised? Elena would definitely say something like this.'

"But I really want to go there."

"We can come again. This mall is still new, so it would be hard, but once everyone gets used to this, not many people would want to go there."

"We will come again?!" Elena grabbed Das' other hand.

"Ye..ah." Das averted his face. 'What's wrong with me? I was here to change the mood, not to accelerate it.'

'This is seriously bad. Staying alone with her is risky.'

"Say, Elena...."

"Hmm?"

"How about we go and study at the library after this?"

"Why?"

"Uhh... we can find materials in the library, and... we can also find many reference books." Das made a logical excuse.

"But we can also find all of that online. There is no need to go to the library. Moreover, libraries nowadays are just a place to find old and ancient books, nothing else." Elena gave a logical answer.

'Dammit! Why is she smart at stuff like this?' He was wrong. It wasn't like Elena was trying to act smart; she just didn't want to go to the library. She just also made a logical excuse not to go there.

"Fine..." Das reluctantly gave up and said with a tired voice, "Let's look at the rest of the mall and go home."

"We will also do some shopping on our way."

After wandering on the two floors, Elena almost gave up on walking more. 

"I can't.... this is too much. Why are malls always this big?"

"They are big, and that's why they are called a mall."

"There are small malls too." Elena retorted.

"The bigger, the merrier, is what they say."

Elena grabbed Das' arm and rested her body on Das. She was clinging to and pressing her body against him.

Das wanted to shrug her off. But after looking at her tired face, he let her do whatever she wanted.

"I saw it on the screen feature tab."

"Huh?"

Elena looked at Das, then at the floor above, and said, "There was an 80% discount on something. Let's buy it."

"Why?

"What do you mean why? The discount is that big! We have to buy it. How can we miss a deal like that?"

Das sighed and fixed Elena's hair. "You know, they say it's an 80% discount, but in truth, there is none. The actual price of the stuff is the same. And Once this discount period ends, they sell that stuff at ml most the similar price and put something else as a discount. It's a cheap marketing trick."

Elena squinted her eyes and said, "Then what about the online discount? The actual price does decrease when they are o discount."

"If you buy the exact same thing from retail, I am bet my bank balance that you would get it at a cheaper price.