Standing outside the convention hall, a girl in a red knitted dress and a white headband looked at the long line of people waiting at the entrance, visibly irritated.
Her arms were habitually crossed in front of her chest.
The ribbed knit of her dress, which normally highlighted her curvy figure, was now stretched taut by her posture.
Her thick thighs clad in sheer black tights shifted as she kept tapping her heels impatiently.
Luckily, she wore white flat sneakers; if she'd worn heels, the back might've snapped by now.
Several passing otaku couldn't help but turn their heads for a second look.
But the moment she cast a glance at them with her wine-red eyes full of disdain, they immediately turned away as if reminded of being rejected in middle school after confessing to their crush.
'Ugh, what do I do now? Should I ask Machida-san for help?'
Just as that idea popped into her head, Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately dismissed it.
She could already imagine what would happen if she told her editor, Machida Sonoko would contact the event organizers in a heartbeat and turn this into a surprise autograph session.
'Should I ask my dad to sponsor the event last-minute? Then I could just go in through the back as a VIP sponsor...'
She kept brainstorming possible solutions, none of which involved the most basic one: lining up like everyone else.
The reason the line was so long was because this event only sold tickets on-site.
Typically, doujin events in Japan are either free or ticketed.
For ticketed ones, there's usually a pre-sale though not online, but in physical bookstores or via mail.
Some events, however, only allow same-day, on-site ticket sales.
Suddenly, a familiar spiky yellow hairstyle appeared in her field of vision.
'Right! Kyousuke-kun said a bunch of his guys would be here today', she recalled from the group chat.
Carefully weaving through crowds of excited otaku discussing how many doujin books they were planning to buy, Utaha made her way to the front of the ticket line.
"Good morning, Eikichi Onizuka-san."
Eikichi Onizuka, currently boasting about the explosive success of his 'GTO Duo' at the last Sakura Festival, camera in hand and surrounded by his underlings was so startled by the voice behind him that he nearly dropped the camera.
'No way… am I hallucinating from all the excitement?'
'That voice sounded just like the terrifying Miss Kasumi Utako. But no way she's in Tokyo… right?'
He didn't even dare to look back.
Instead, he patted his buddy Danma Ryuji on the shoulder, pretending everything was fine.
"Hey, uh, Ryuji… did you just hear a voice that sounded a lot like Kasumi Utako-sensei? You know, black hair, red eyes, kind of scary?"
The delinquent next to him, still in his black school uniform even on a holiday, replied in a low voice, "You mean the super gorgeous one? She's standing right behind you."
"What?! How do you even know that?"
"She's right there, man. Look."
Onizuka whipped around like a frog springing into the air, and the moment he saw her, his expression froze in horror. "Kasumi, Kasu—Ka—"
"Onizuka-san," the black-haired, red-eyed beauty spoke with the calm, melodious tone of a weather anchor, "I understand that when one is confronted with something far beyond their expectations.
"Their brain tends to short-circuit and all they can do is make animal noises. But could I trouble you to shut up and not disturb the people around you?"
Her expression was perfectly composed, even wearing a polite smile.
But to Onizuka, it was more terrifying than anything else.
"I sincerely apologize, Kasumi Utako-sensei!"
Sure, she already knew about him leaking the recommendation letter she wrote, but she also held evidence of his involvement in the "Utako Fan Club" that worshipped her.
Onizuka, a man who had once read The Analects out loud while sitting in a wheelchair, bowed deeply in apology.
"Good. You only look halfway decent when you're not talking," Kasumigaoka said coolly.
"Now, hand over your spot in line."
She hadn't even bothered asking him if he knew where Kyousuke was.
Instead, she turned slightly to the side and waved two crisp 10,000-yen bills in front of his face.
"Yes, ma'am. Would you like just one spot or two?" Onizuka, eyes locked on the money, took it with both hands and grinned obsequiously.
Utaha didn't even look at him. She simply wiggled her fingers, motioning for him to move.
Onizuka obediently stepped out of line.
The others in the queue shrank back, making room for the girl radiating pure intimidation.
"Hey, Ryuji… I'll give you ten thousand yen for your spot, too," he whispered to his partner.
"The hell?! I saw you just got twenty thousand from her, you snake!" Danma Ryuji snapped, grabbing the bill anyway.
Thus, one by one, the members of the GTO biker gang transformed into cheerful scalpers, trading their tickets for cash and wandering off to kill time elsewhere.
Kasumigaoka bought a guidebook that was 300 yen more expensive than the ticket, flipping through it as she searched for any circles Kyousuke might belong to.
'If he came this early, he must be attending as a participant, not a guest.'
'And since he's just confirmed his manga serialization, it's not a stretch to assume he's also drawing doujinshi…'
"Egoistic-lily." There it was.
His pen name in the group chat was EGOIST.
She looked up and spotted the booth listed in the guide, it wasn't far from the entrance.
Standing in front of it was a handsome boy in a white T-shirt layered with a light beige denim shirt, holding up a sign, surrounded by a group of fangirls.
With a warm smile, he chatted amiably while showing them a copy of a doujin book.
Seeing all those girls giggling and swooning over him made Utaha feel a strange irritation.
'Seriously… what gives them the confidence to shove their faces that close to Kyousuke-kun's?'
'Just because he's polite doesn't mean you can take advantage of him, you shameless hussies!'
She moved around to the side of the booth and subtly listened in.
"This is Eiri Kashiwagi-sensei's debut work! It's going to skyrocket in value one day, I'm telling you."
"Helping her make her first sale basically makes you a founding fan of the circle!" Mitsuha shouted over the crowd.
"Will it come with your signature?"
"Ah, no, I'm not the author. But if you're interested in a signed copy, please check out egoistic-lily's official site. We'll be doing some giveaways for fans later on."
'No way Eir-samai signing anything in person. She's still hiding her otaku side, after all…'
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The conversation at the booth continued, but Utaha could no longer hear any of it.
'Kyousuke-kun is helping someone else sell their doujinshi!?'
The moment she realized this, it felt like the bustling crowd around her had vanished—transported to another world.
The shouts from other booths, the fans taking photos, the nerds proudly showing off rare cards they just bought… everything faded into silence.
The noisy world was swallowed by stillness.
In that absolute stillness, her vision was filled with just one person—Hojou Kyousuke—standing there as if illuminated by a spotlight.
The world around him dimmed, while he radiated energy and charm, passionately recommending a doujinshi... but it wasn't hers.
It was someone else's work.
It felt like she had fallen into a bottomless pit.
"Ah, sorry."
A girl accidentally bumped into her shoulder, breaking Utaha out of her thoughts.
She looked at the girl, startled and her expression was so intense that the girl instinctively apologized again and again, clearly nervous.
That was when Utaha noticed the doujinshi in the girl's hands, it was the same one Kyousuke-kun was promoting.
"I'm sorry, but could you sell me that doujinshi?" Utaha asked, already pulling out her wallet and offering a crisp 10,000-yen bill.
"Um, I mean… I guess, but… this only cost 500 yen," the girl replied, clearly surprised.
Utaha didn't seem to care about the price. "The rest is a thank-you tip. I appreciate it," she said, stuffing the money into the girl's arms and taking the doujinshi.
She moved to a quieter spot, holding the booklet tightly, and began reading.
'I need to see it with my own eyes... just what kind of work is this? What made Kyousuke-kun want to recommend it so passionately?'
Because clearly, her own work wasn't enough...
Sure, if you compared pure numbers, none of the doujinshi here could outsell Love Metronome.
Even the doujin being sold at Kyousuke's booth probably had only a tiny fraction of her sales.
So by those metrics, Kyousuke's support for her had been overwhelming compared to this "Kashiwagi Eiri."
But even so… it hurt. So much.
Trying to push down the sinking feeling in her chest, she flipped through the doujinshi.
The story was cliché, something you'd see a hundred times.
The only real strength was the artwork—beautiful, detailed, and dynamic.
'Definitely good enough to be an illustrator for my novels,' she admitted to herself. 'But that's all it is.'
She looked up from the pages, eyes locking onto Kyousuke, who was still cheerfully promoting the book.
'So... if it's not the quality of the work, then it must be the author.'
Kashiwagi Eiri.
Yes, she'd known it almost immediately.
Even though some male artists draw in a very "feminine" style, Utaha could tell—this was a girl's work.
After all, Kyousuke-kun didn't seem like the type who'd go this far to promote another guy's doujinshi.
'So this is it, huh? A battlefield on a whole different level...'
Utaha's crimson eyes sharpened as she looked past Kyousuke and toward the back of the booth.
According to him, this was Kashiwagi Eiri's debut work.
He said she wasn't at the event, but Utaha was sure that was a lie.
No author could stay calm during their first release.
Even she had secretly loitered outside the bookstore on her debut day, just to see how things were going.
Compared to this, her own debut seemed like child's play.
That dark memory crept back into her mind, and she rubbed her forehead as if trying to shake it off.
Her long, black hair swayed with the motion.
'So it's true... what I lacked all along was Kyousuke-kun.' Even a subpar doujinshi like this could become popular when it had his support.
If it had been her work with his recommendation, the results would've been explosive!
Frustration twisted her lips as she scanned the booth, searching for this "Kashiwagi Eiri."
A woman in a kimono? Too old.
No way Hojou would go for someone like that.
A blonde foreign guy? Not a chance. Even if he was secretly a girl, still no.
Then—
A tiny girl, looking like she was in third grade, crouching behind the booth.
A beret on her head, thick black-rimmed glasses hiding most of her face.
'That's her. It has to be her.'
Target confirmed.
Utaha was about to sneak closer and observe when something at the booth caught her attention.
Although Eriri had finally worked up the courage to help out at the booth, she stayed hidden in the back, quietly restocking books.
Every now and then, like a nervous prairie dog, she peeked out from behind Mitsuha, her vivid blue eyes, blurry from near sightedness but still sparkling scanning for familiar faces.
If she spotted anyone she might know, she immediately ducked behind Mitsuha like a frightened kitten.
Mitsuha, on the other hand, had no shame.
As a shrine maiden who had once performed a kagura dance and made mouth-chewed sake in front of a huge crowd, her embarrassment threshold was on another level.
And now that she was in Kyousuke's body, she boldly raised a sign above her head and shouted:
"Bad Boy x Princess Romance!"
"Gorgeous Artwork!"
And more questionable slogans.
To this point, Mitsuha hadn't actually read the content of the doujinshi—she was just going off the ad copy Eriri had given her.
If she had known what was really inside, she probably wouldn't be shouting it so confidently.
Thanks to Kyousuke's idol-tier looks, the booth was soon flooded with female customers.
The guys who were lured in by the flashy signs couldn't even squeeze through the crowd.
Mitsuhara was both thrilled and annoyed, thrilled that they'd likely sell all 500 copies in no time, but annoyed that some of the girls were getting way too handsy in the chaos.
'Damn it!' She blushed furiously.
'Even I never dared to touch Kyousuke's body this shamelessly, and now these strangers are—ugh! It's like someone's stealing something precious from me!'
Then, suddenly, a boy in a blue T-shirt and black-rimmed glasses forced his way through the sea of girls and reached the booth.
"Hi! Can I get three copies?" he said, handing over two 1,000-yen bills.
"Thank you for your support!" said Sayuri-san, giving him a 500-yen coin as change.
"Huh? Sayuri-auntie?" the boy blinked, looking up at the booth.
"…Uncle Robin? Eriri!?"
Even in the noisy crowd, his voice rang out loud and clear, filled with shock.
Unlike the curious strangers nearby, the four key people behind the booth all reacted with a visible jolt the moment they heard the name Eriri.
Originally, the Spencer couple had looked ready to greet a familiar face but the moment they recognized who it was, their expressions turned cold.
As for Mitsuha, she instantly realized who the boy in front of them was.
There was no way someone as meticulous as Kyousuke wouldn't have prepared a personal file on Taki Tomoya for her.
Back on Friday, he had already gotten the basics from Mrs. Sayuri, and then had Ao collect additional information including recent photos.
So the moment this guy blurted out Eriri's real name, Mitsuha immediately knew—this was that unpleasant Taki Tomoya.
Just thinking of Eriri, Mitsuha quickly turned to check on her.
As expected, the girl who just moments ago had been smiling like a dope from the excitement of seeing her work flying off the shelves… had completely frozen.
Her face had gone pale, and she was crouched down, clutching tightly to Mitsuha's pant leg, paralyzed as if someone had cast a petrification spell the moment her real name was shouted.
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