A short while later, Eriri, who had disguised herself, came downstairs.
Looking at Eriri, Tanaka Masao and Sawamura Sayuri fell silent.
Eriri was still wearing her green tracksuit.
Her blonde hair was tied up and covered by a baseball cap.
Black-rimmed glasses and a white mask covered Eriri's entire face.
Eriri put her hands on her hips and said proudly,
"How about it? Didn't I do a good job disguising myself? This way, no one will recognize me."
Tanaka Masao nodded and retorted,
"Others certainly won't recognize you, they'll just think you're a stalker or a pervert."
Hearing this, Eriri said indignantly, "I don't want to be told that by someone who looks like a perverted otaku at first glance."
Sawamura Sayuri stepped in to mediate.
"Oh, oh, don't argue. Although Eriri's disguise is a bit strange,
but since we're going to a doujinshi store, this kind of outfit is quite normal."
Tanaka Masao nodded. The last time he went to a doujinshi store, he indeed saw many people dressed like this. He asked,
"Xiao Baihe, do you have any extra masks and baseball caps? Could you give me a set too?"
If he went out with Eriri, her outfit would definitely attract attention.
She wouldn't be recognized, but he couldn't say the same for himself.
So, Tanaka Masao also planned to hide himself.
It's fine if it's a bit strange, anyway, no one will recognize him.
"Yes, I'll go get them for you now."
Sawamura Sayuri walked to the room to prepare a baseball cap and mask for Tanaka Masao.
Eriri, on the other hand, puffed out her chest like a victorious rooster.
"As expected, when going to a doujinshi store, this is the outfit one should wear, right?"
...
A short while later, Tanaka Masao also disguised himself and went out with Eriri.
As for Sawamura Sayuri, she said she had other things to do and told them to go out on their own.
As soon as Tanaka Masao and Eriri appeared on the street, they attracted everyone's attention.
There was no other way; their outfits were simply too strange.
Some people couldn't help but want to call the police.
Eriri naturally noticed the current situation and muttered softly,
"I was careless. I shouldn't have dressed like this right out of the door. I should have found a hidden corner to disguise myself when I was closer to the bookstore."
She looked at Tanaka Masao next to her and asked,
"Being stared at by so many people, how come you don't seem nervous at all?"
"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?"
Tanaka Masao was very confused.
"Although my current image is very strange, everyone doesn't know it's me. I'm not Tanaka Masao right now."
Hearing this, Eriri's eyes lit up.
"That's right, I'm not Sawamura Eriri right now either, I'm Kashiwagi Eri.
Kashiwagi Eri is a pervert, what does that have to do with me, Eriri?"
Eriri became confident again.
The two walked confidently, without the slightest hint of guilt, which reduced the number of people around them who thought they were perverts.
In addition, although Eriri was disguised, it was still clear that she was a beautiful girl.
Some people speculated whether Eriri was a celebrity or idol who disguised herself to avoid being discovered.
As for Tanaka Masao, he naturally became her manager.
...
The two arrived at the doujinshi store where they last met.
"This is the place."
After saying that, Eriri walked in first.
Tanaka Masao followed closely behind.
The doujinshi store was a very harmonious and quiet place.
People who came here rarely spoke, mostly picking out their favorite books on their own.
No one would disturb others, and no one would be disturbed.
When checking out, the owner would thoughtfully provide paper bags to protect their privacy.
Eriri led Tanaka Masao to a corner and whispered,
"Alright, stay here for a while, and you'll be able to see how your doujinshi is selling."
Tanaka Masao followed the direction Eriri's finger was pointing and saw his doujinshi placed not far away.
There were many copies, and they were placed in a prominent position, making them easy to spot.
In just this short while, Tanaka Masao saw several people stop to look at them as they passed by.
Then, quite excitedly, they picked them up and quickly walked to the counter to check out.
Although the name 'Takeda' was appearing in the doujinshi scene of this world for the first time,
the doujinshi was placed in the recommended section of the bookstore.
These were books that the store manager thought highly of, high-quality books that could be bestsellers.
Customers who came to the store usually took a look at the books placed in this position.
Because of the protective plastic film, customers couldn't see the content inside, but just by looking at the cover, they felt it wouldn't be bad.
There were also some people who came specifically to buy it because of Sawamura Eriri's recommendation online.
"It looks like the sales are pretty good."
Eriri commented.
"By tomorrow, even more people should come to buy it."
Looking at Eriri's confident expression, Tanaka Masao asked,
"Why do you say that? Is it experience from Kashiwagi Eri-sensei?"
"It's considered experience, I guess."
Eriri nodded, "Otaku also have their circles, and people who read doujinshi also have their own circles.
When they see works they like, they will also recommend them online, and more people will buy them.
Many unknown but high-quality works become bestsellers this way.
Of course, this is only limited to excellent works. Even if low-quality works are heavily promoted and achieve good sales, they won't gain a good reputation in the end."
"Everyone is creating out of love."
Tanaka Masao sighed, thinking of the great artists on a certain wallpaper engine in his previous life who 'created out of love'.
"Creating out of love."
Eriri murmured the phrase, "It's a very apt description."
Her family background was excellent, she was not short of money at all, and drawing doujinshi was indeed purely a hobby.
...
The two stayed in the doujinshi store for almost half an hour before leaving.
Tanaka Masao asked,
"Are the doujinshi only sold in this one store?"
"How could that be?" Eriri rolled her eyes at Tanaka Masao.
"There are several other stores that sell them, but this store is the largest and is in Akihabara, with a good location, so it has the most customers.
And because of its rich content, it even stocks many niche and obscure works, so not only locals in Tokyo, but also many otaku from other cities come here."
"Niche and obscure works?"
Hearing this term, Tanaka Masao became interested, "Does Eriri's humiliation series count?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Eriri seemed to feel some kind of humiliation, "Although some people don't like the humiliation series, it's not considered niche or obscure, okay?"
After saying that, she crossed her arms, "It seems you haven't encountered that type of work, but it's good that you haven't.
Let me tell you, those works can only be described as bizarre and twisted. I really don't know why anyone would like that kind of thing."
As she spoke, Eriri recalled the content she had seen before and couldn't help but shiver.
Looking at Eriri's somewhat frightened expression, Tanaka Masao probably understood.
This 'niche' might be the most bizarre of the bizarre, probably beyond what ordinary humans could bear.
He didn't want to leave himself with psychological trauma, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Eriri, let's go get something to eat and rest."