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Summer vacation. The break that all students waited for, the longest break of the school year. Going to the beach, the pool, summer festivals, fireworks displays, roadtrips… it was a time filled with events that made my heart dance.
Yes, there were also short summer classes and summer homework, so there were still things about summer break that weren't perfect, but even then I don't think any high schoolers would go so far to say that they hated summer break.
Of course, that applied to me as well. It was my beloved summer holiday. Viva the bright spring of youth! Come hither, wonderful free time! I didn't have any particularly important plans for the break, but I did plan to sleep until noon everyday. Woohoo! I was in a great mood. While working diligently to study for my exams, I planned to pass each day slowly and peacefully. But…
"Come on… they're not even open yet, so what's with this damn crowd…? Hey, come on, do something."
"Don't look at me. It's not like I can do anything about it!"
It was the Sunday right after Obon. I was with my conceited sister, and can you guess where I've been ever since the early morning?
"Ugh. Ughhhhhhh. Even though this is my precious summer break… if I knew it was going to be like this, I would have preferred just going shopping with Karin a hundred times over this."
I'll give you a hint. I was being crowded by a large number of people, and I was in the city. Also, from our house, we rode a train for two hours, and at Shin-Kiba we switched to the Rinkai line. And that's how we finally got here. For those people who have gotten the hint, you can probably roughly guess where I am. Well, everything will be gradually revealed anyways.
"Ugh, I'm so bored. Why is it that I had to get up so early in the morning just to come to such a swelteringly hot place? Hey, are you listening?"
But… even though she had nagged and nagged and finally got me to go here with her, all she's been doing since we've gotten here is complain. Just shut up and go play your PSP, geez.
In the middle of this disgusting crowd, I sighed and looked up at the sky. It was cloudy today. It wouldn't rain, but the midsummer sun was masked by heavy, thick clouds. It was almost as if the weather reflected my own feelings, but thinking about how long I've had to wait here, maybe the clouds were a godsend instead. If the sun were shining completely through, I wouldn't be surprised if I collapsed from heatstroke. Just the thick heat emanating from this crowd was enough to make me feel ill.
"Ugh…" Wiping the sticky sweat from my forehead, I gave a glance to my side. As if she had lost interest in complaining to me, she was quietly fiddling with her PSP.
PSP… PSP… I sort of wanted to play a bit with one too. As someone who never got games bought for him as a child, seeing my sister like this made me a bit jealous, but because my sister spent her own money to buy her own PSP, I can't really say anything against her… dammit, maybe I should get a part-time job and buy one too…
Today, Naruko was wearing a orange camisole with a miniskirt, and had on a stylish pair of sunglasses. She was also wearing plenty of accessories, such as bracelets, earrings, and rings on her fingers. She was cheeky and arrogant, but even so, I would be lying if I didn't say she was also really cute. It's not like I'm saying that bitterly or anything. And it's not like we're dating or anything. No matter how much I say my sister is beautiful, I'm honestly not trying to say anything in particular.
Naruko and I have been squatting in this line for over an hour… and this may be the first time in my life I've stood in line this long.
"… Dammit, I can't do this." I muttered to nobody in particular. But, no matter where I looked, my vision was filled with other people. People, people, people, SO MANY DAMM PEOPLE!
Ugh… geez… it seemed like such a long time ago since we got here, and I had mentioned wryly that these people were way too excited to be getting here three hours before the opening. When we had arrived, there had already been so many people crowded around… why the hell were there already so many people!? There must have been thousands of people here! I thought I already knew what otaku were capable of, but I obviously completely underestimated these people!
I probably don't have to tell you anymore, but right now, I was at a large-scale otaku summer event, the Comiket, having come with my sister, and her otaku friends, to the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center. A lot had happened before I got to this point… Well, just listen.
(◕ω◕✿)
If I recall correctly… it happened on the same night when I had made up with Karin. Feeling refreshed after realizing that my troubles with Karin were a complete misunderstanding, I returned home, and went to return the laptop I had been always borrowing from my sister back to her. It was because I was facing the end-of-term exams soon, and I knew I had to focus. And laptops… especially the Internet… would probably lead me to wasting way too much time and not studying. So, because I was aware how bad it would be for me to have this computer, I thought it would be wise to get rid of it before the sun rose. At least, I wanted to get rid of it for this period when time was precious.
I'm being pretty responsible, aren't I? Furthermore, talking with Naruko also helped me out a lot with the Karin situation. So it was only reasonable that I would want to go and properly thank her for that.
Knock knock. I knocked on the door to Naruko's room. After waiting for a little while, the door opened a smidgen and Naruko peeked out, looking annoyed.
"What?"
"Well… I finished the game so… I thought I would give this back to you…"
For some reason, I had a strange feeling that something like this had happened last month too…
While instinctively feeling nervous, I responded.
"Umm… before that. I have something I wanted to say… uhh… umm… thank you." I gave my thanks for her advice the other day.
"Because of you, I was able to make up with Karin. She also seemed to really like my present." These were words I finally managed to spurt out through my blushing face after getting over my own terrible nervousness, but…
"… Hmph. I see." With those curt words, Naruko shut the door with a bang.
What the hell!? I had tried so hard to give her my thanks sincerely, shouldn't she give me a bit longer of a response than that!? And of all things, she chose to slam the door. I can't believe this. My mood darkening, I began to harshly beat on the door.
"Hey, Naruko… didn't you hear me!? I came to give you back these games!"
The door opened once again, and my sister's annoyed face appeared.
"Tch… you're so annoying. So… what? Did you clear the campaign?"
"Hmph, yeah I guess. Here, I'm giving you back the laptop."
"So that means that you can battle with me now."
Taking the notebook from me, Naruko's expression seemed to lighten. I had no idea what she was thinking.
"Yeah, eventually, we'll play each other but I have to study for tests, so let's just play after they're over."
"Studying for tests? What? You're still cramming this late for the tests?"
Shut up. You might say that I'm "still cramming," but the reality is that I haven't studied for them at all.
… For some reason, it felt like someone was laughing at me, saying something like "Well isn't it nice that you've been playing eroge all this time even though you should have been studying for your exams!" But no. That's not it. Seriously, there's just been a lot on my mind recently, so I haven't been in the mood to study… Karin also hasn't been offering to study with me… and so I haven't been playing anything other than eroge. Ugh, even I knew that this way of thinking was pretty disgusting. It really wasn't a good excuse.
W-Well… anyways! At the very least, I would start studying for the tests from today, so I would return the laptop and all the eroge back to Naruko! Naruko was also giving me just as much of a scornful look as she always did, but because I had progressed a good deal in the game, she didn't have much to complain about on this matter. And so the day ended without incident.
… What does this story have to do with where I am now? Well, just be patient. It wasn't until the next day that Naruko came at me. That day, I had finally gotten a chance to study with Karin, and feeling refreshed, I returned home humming happily. I opened the door to our house. Suddenly, Naruko appeared, looking ferocious. She looked absolutely furious. Her face was bright red right up to her ears. But for some reason there were tears in her eyes.
"… N-Naruko? W-what's wrong…?"
First, I was worried that her eroge habit had been accidentally exposed to our mother. I mean, she seemed the same way last month right after she was scolded by our mother.
With intense anger, Naruko began to stutter.
"D-D-Don't ask me… w-what's wrong! Y-Y-You… y-you…"
"Me? Huh…? What did I do to make you so angry…?"
Naruko began to yell with an even more terrifying voice. While teardrops flew from her eyes, "You used my laptop to look at porn sites, didn't you!?"
"Wha-" For a second, my face went completely white, but… "N-N-No I didn't! W-what the hell are you saying so suddenly!? Don't accuse me of weird things!"
Waving both my hands in front of me, I denied her accusation with all my might. But Naruko showed no signs of calming down. Rather, the minute I denied the charges, she got even more violently fired up.
"Don't lie to me! I have proof!"
"Huh? What…?"
I was sure I had erased all the sample images from the computer. There wasn't any reason any evidence should be left, right? I had definitely cleared out the recycle bin on the computer. Even though I'm a complete beginner when it comes to PCs, I at least knew how to do that much.
I boldly held up my nose. But if I thought about it, if I had really gotten rid of all the evidence, there really wasn't any reason Naruko would be this mad…
"Y-you didn't clear the cache…! Don't try to play dumb!"
"… What's a cache?"
Upon hearing a word I wasn't familiar with, Naruko stared right at me, and began to explain while veins throbbed in her forehead.
"In the browser… it's a place that records what sites you go to… what words you search for… that kind of information!"
"A-Ahhh… that's the first time I've heard of that…"
What!? Dammit, was that really true…? This must be how thiefs feel like when they're cornered by the police with their high tech gadgets…
As I desperately tried to avoid my sister's gaze, Naruko's voice became ominously quiet.
"Eheh, ehehehe… ah, I was surprised. You know, I was trying to save some images of kitty nabe-pots, and I saw that there was still some image data in there… 'what could it be?' I wondered… so I took a look…"
Crap, this is the end for me… I could hear my sister's fury thundering in the background, and along with the most furious thunderclap, she yelled the following.
"What. The. Hell. Are you showing me!? Aaaaaaghhhhhhhh you're the worst! I can't believe you! Hurry up and go die!"
"D-Don't cry! I'm sorry!"
"I'm not crying!" Swish. Naruko wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
She really seemed shocked by all of this… I don't think she was this distressed even back when she was being ignored during the offline meeting…
Ugh… even though she dresses so suggestively, maybe she's just weak with this kind of stuff…
What the hell. Isn't this weird at all? She plays so much eroge… was she angry because the images were of real people? Or maybe, that she could only stand little sister ero stuff? No, this wasn't the time to be thinking about this stuff. W-What should I do… well, it wasn't like I could do anything…
I began sweating profusely. Regret and self-loathing churned in my chest. Ugh… why is it that of all things, I would be standing here being accused by my sister of looking at porn sites? I knew I was getting what I deserved, but… dammit… what has become of my life…? I really want to just die right here…
Without hesitating, I fell to my knees and begged for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Naruko-sama."
"Definitely not!"
"W-What do I have to do… for you to forgive me…?"
"I already said I wouldn't forgive you, didn't I? I already said something like that before too."
That's certainly true. Having no other option, I decided to make a stand. Clicking my tongue loudly, I raised my head.
"I mean, I already apologized properly to you… so do whatever you want. Call me whatever you want. Honestly, I only took a quick look at that site…"
"Uh huh. But don't you know? When you double-click the search engine window, all the words you've searched for up until now are shown. So I know all the words you did a search for! So, what the hell is up with this 'cousin, mending relationship, what to say' stuff? No matter how many times you search, there's no way Google would give you anything useful for that, you know?!"
"S-Shut up!"
As I blushed, Naruko faced me with a blush of her own on her cheeks for some odd reason.
"A-Also! That stuff about doing things 'while her g-glasses are on…'"
"Sooooooooooooorry! It was my baaaaaaaaaaaaad!"
Changing my attitude on a dime, I threw myself before my sister.
N-Not good! Those were definitely not words that junior high school girls should be saying!
Taking ragged breaths, Naruko suddenly became expressionless and murmured absent-mindedly.
"From now on, I'm going to call you Glasses-Hentai!"
"T-That's not funny! And also, don't you seem just a bit too familiar with all this stuff?!"
"I-I don't know that much about it!" Flushing completely red, Naruko shouted and seemed completely serious. Her eyes never wavered from mine… like Mom, she was a woman who would never go back on her word.
"Hey, do you really like girls with glasses that much?"
"Please don't tease me like that…! Seriously! I'll do anything…!"
But, you know? what do you think happens when you give a high school guy a computer, and let him search the Internet? Within a few hours, he would definitely be able to find what he's looking for! The ero world! Even if he doesn't try to search for it, while he's going around normal sites he'll naturally just be sucked in! This was unavoidable! There was nothing that could be done about it! Even if nobody teaches him how to do it, if it's a guy, he would be able to find this stuff as if it were an inborn instinct! So it's not my fault!
There was no reason Naruko could hear these thoughts as they were being shouted in my head, but after I had told her I would do anything, she seemed to begin hatching a plan.
"Anything? Really?"
"I-If it's something I can do…!"
"I see. Then…"
Naruko looked down at me while I was still prostrated before her, and made a proud declaration.
"You, take responsibility for making me unhappy."
"You want me to dance naked or something?"
"A-Are you an idiot!? Why the hell would I want to see something dirty like that!?"
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I mean… it's not that… this is about summer vacation! I'll be really busy with club activities this summer… so I won't be able to have much fun."
In summary, it was like this. Because of Naruko's performance in some prefectural track-and-field meets, she was invited to participate in a track-and-field training camp. The upcoming summer vacation… especially from mid-August onwards, Naruko would be very busy. She would be up to her neck in training camp and practices, and wouldn't have time to have fun.
She even would have to take a break from modeling. But before that, before she wouldn't have any free time anymore, she wanted to make some fond summer memories. It's not like she said any of this to me directly, but this is what I guessed she wanted to say. I'm not sure why she was telling me all of this, but if she told me to help her with this, then I really had no choice but to obey. I'm her brother, so I should help… pretty admirable of me, right? But she really still hasn't told me what exactly she wants me to do.
"So… what do you want from me?"
"Like I said, take responsibility." Naruko quickly turned the other way.
Hey, you know, I've realized something lately. My interactions with my sister would often end up like this. It was extremely annoying, but when it came to this point, I would have to piece together what she wanted from me, make a guess, and then on top of that grant her wishes, or else she would get angry with me. But what made the situation more bothersome was that I wasn't in any position to tell her "How the hell should I know what I'm supposed to do, dumbass!?"
… Looking up at Naruko from my position on the floor, I knit my eyebrows. What in the world does she want to make me do? Even if she tells me to "take responsibility for making her unhappy," it's not that easy… does she mean I should try to make her happy or something? I decided to somehow guess what my sister wanted, and my brain began turning.
"The mountains… or the beach… or the movies… do you want me to take you somewhere like that?"
"Huh? Why do I have to go on a date with you? That would be torture, it would embarrass me to death… If you think about it just a bit more, you should know, right? If I wanted to go to places like that, I would go with Ayase."
Well that was pretty harsh. Dammit, does she really think being with me is torture?
"Ayase?"
"Yes, the black-haired, stylish girl who came over recently. That's Ayase. We've been in the same class since last year, and we also often work together, so she's the one I talk to the most out of my friends at class."
When I mentioned her friend's name, Naruko began to sing her praises even though I had never asked. She had the same proud expression on her face as when she would talk about eroge… so that's how it was…
"You said you worked with her… so she's a model too?" Now that I think about it, Ayase had said something like that before.
"Unlike me though, Ayase is attached to a modeling agency. I helped her out a lot when she was doing her first job, and from there we got pretty close. And now, well, we're close friends… fufu."
Ahh… until now, I really haven't seen Naruko talk about any of her friends so candidly. I was certainly surprised, but at the same time it was quite a pleasant sight.
"I see. Close friends, huh?"
"Yeah. So you would never be able to take her place. It's ridiculous to even compare you two. Understand?"
"Yeah yeah… so what exactly do you want me to do then?"
"Why don't you think a bit harder? After all there isn't exactly a long list of things you would be able to do for me." Leaving off with that statement, Naruko slammed the door shut, leaving me alone in the hallway.
This brat… she was never planning to actually tell me what she wants, was she? But given how she was acting, there was probably something she wanted to do this summer. However, she just didn't want to say it out loud… hm, I wonder what it could be…
For a little while, I stood in that place and thought about it… and then suddenly I hit my palm with my fist. I remembered that I had the phone number for someone that I could depend on in a situation like this. Taking out my cell phone, I stared at the two phone numbers I had recently entered into my phone.
First, Naruko's classmate and close friend, the one we had just been talking about now, Ayase Aragaki. Next, Naruko's otaku friend, Rias. Well, which one should I call? Both of them were good-natured people, so whichever one I chose to call, I'm sure that they would help me think about what Naruko wanted.
Hm… but, Naruko had already said it. The list of things that I could do for her wasn't very long. Well, that was true. It's not like I can really do anything important for her. So then…
"Hahaha. If that's the case, I'm glad. I really wanted to invite Naruru-chi and Naruto-chi to the Summer Comiket."
"Summer Comiket? What's that?"
After a bit of thought, the one I chose to call was Rias. Rias was the leader of otaku community, and might have some good idea as to how to get Naruko to make some good memories for the summer… at least, that's what I thought. And I mean, when it came to what I could do for Naruko, this really was the only option, right? So, I don't think I was mistaken in giving Rias a call. And then, Rias listened to my question cheerfully and with an "I'm glad," told me about Summer Comiket.
"Ah, Comiket is…" According to Rias, Summer Comiket was a three-day international exhibition that happened in the middle of August. It was held in the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, and was a large-scale otaku event. It was a bit hard to imagine what it was like without actually seeing it though…
"I also wish that Naruru-chi and Naruto-chi can create some fond memories this summer, so please come!"
If she puts it like that, there's no reason for me to say no. Well, she really is a pretty dependable person, isn't she? Even though I was asking only about Naruko, she just naturally tacked my name onto the list of "people to give fond memories to." Being able to meet Rias could have been a godsend, for me and for Naruko. In any case, I was thankful. I smiled wryly.
"… Well, can I ask you to take us there, then? I'll tell Naruko about this. Thanks a lot for your help, Rias-san. Umm… can I ask you a few more questions? If we want to go to this event, can we go at any time during the three days? My dad's vacation pretty much is at the same time as the event. So when he comes home, we have to go visit a our grandparents graves, and so I don't think we'll be free on any day except Sunday…"
"Ahh, I see. If you can only go on the third day, that's perfectly fine. Well, I'll also go invite Kuroneko-chi now, so we'll settle on the particulars at a later day."
(◕ω◕✿)
And so… right now, bringing Naruko along, I had come to the Summer Comiket. It was still nine in the morning. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was pretty low for summer, but because of the crowd, a sultry heat was lingering about. The crowd of otaku milling about were all tidily standing in line, waiting for the doors to open at ten o'clock. I mean, Rias had warned me that there was going to be a crowd, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad…
"… Dammit, why did I have to come here on a holiday? Hey come on, when is the line going to move? My legs are starting to get sore…" While still staring at the screen of her PSP, Naruko flexed her elbows behind me.
"I don't know. Seriously, all you've been doing for a while now is complaining."
"Hmph." Naruko faced the other way and scowled. What a bad attitude.
Don't you think that's rude to Rias, who went through the trouble of inviting us? But my choice to take Naruko to the Summer Comiket seems to not have been a bad one. Because if Naruko really thought this was all so annoying and that she didn't want to come, then she definitely wouldn't be sitting here obediently like this. If she didn't want to come, she wouldn't have accepted the invitation, and the minute she began to regret it, she could just go home. So she was probably just spouting foul language to hide her embarrassment…
Hey. For some reason, it seems that I'm gradually beginning to be able to understand my uncooperative sister. Dammit, not good this wasn't the time to be learning how to be my sister's butler. As I impatiently thought of these things, I scratched my head and began to talk with Rias, who was sitting next to me.
"Rias-san, thank you. Honestly, you've been a great help… I wouldn't have been able to come up with any good ideas about how to get Naruko to 'make good memories' by myself."
"Fufufu… why are you being so shy, Naruto-chi? I'm the one who invited you two, right? It's natural that Naruru-chi and Kuroneko-chi, and of course, Naruto- chi would want to try to have a lot of fun, isn't it? And I also have more fun this way. So really…"
In other words, she didn't need to be thanked. After saying all that, Rias smiled happily.
"Hey hey, why are you staring at me like that? Haha, I see, so you were just admiring my beautiful face, hm?"
"N-No What are you talking about."
I'm really not admiring her… I know she had beautiful face, but she's pretty cocky, isn't she… as I sat in amazement at this huge aloof girl's attitude…
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! What the hell are you doing!?"
I heard a shriek come from my sister next to me. It was already pretty hot and humid outside, but somehow her yelling out so loudly made it seem even hotter and even more humid. Feeling annoyed and turning around, I saw Naruko glaring at her PSP screen with an angry expression.
"Don't be so loud, Naruko. What happened? Have you lost your mind or something?"
"No! S-S-S-She… s-s-she…" Naruko was pointing at Kuroneko dressed completely in black. She was sitting opposite Naruko, and also was holding onto a PSP.
As Naruko pointed accusingly at Kuroneko, Kuroneko gave a curt, condescending response without any emotion in her voice.
"Hmph. All I did was shoot a bit at your character for fun. A lot of people do that as a joke during cooperative play, you know? Don't get so angry about it. It's just Monster Hunter. Stop raising such a fuss about it. It's embarrassing if you yell like that."
"Huuh!? Every single time I kill an enemy and try to loot it, you shoot at me and stop me from getting the loot! What kind of excuse is that!? I spent thirty minutes killing that monster, but in the end I couldn't get anything from it!"
"Well, I already have all the loot from that boss. So I have to look for other ways to have fun or I'll be bored to death."
"Wha-this is fun!? Shooting at your allies is fun!?"
"You heard me wrong… but in general, you should be thanking me for being so kind as to play with an idiot like you who lets her guard down."
"B-But I died because of you, didn't I…?"
"How rude, blaming things on other people."
"Nooo! Right after I set that huge bomb, you casually went over and set it off and the explosion killed me! And then every time I tried to heal, you got in the way! Attack the enemy, not me!"
"Hmph, but that was quite thrilling."
"… I'm never playing games with you ever again!"
There was no point in me trying to butt in here. In the first place, I had no idea what they were talking about, and also, when these two got together it pretty much always got like this. I had already given up on trying to stop them. I had no choice but to let them continue to go at each other.
Well well, it seems that when it came to games, Kuroneko had more skill than Naruko did.
"Fufufu… what a pleasant sight, don't you think, Naruto-chi?"
"It's… pleasant…?"
Hey hey, Rias. Are you being serious? These two both had pretty nasty mouths and personalities, so whenever they talked with each other they couldn't help but start spewing insults. How resistant can you be to this kind of abuse? Are you paralyzed or something? See, look, the people standing next to us are starting to notice them, aren't they? Well, I guess you could say that it's nice that they can be so frank with each other though…
Ugh, but also, I had to drag this girl with me here, and now I'll have to attend an event I know very little about… will I really be alright? I have a reaaaally bad feeling about this…
"Hey, Naruto-chi, where are you going?"
"I have to use the bathroom. I've been thinking about a lot of things, and my stomach is starting to hurt…"
Lifting myself up off the floor, I answered Rias's question. Rias took out a wristwatch from her rucksack, and after checking it, her expression clouded over.
"Hm, you should hurry then."
"Why? It's not like there's a bathroom that far away, is there?"
"It's not as bad as it is in the winter, but… if you're unlucky, you might have to wait half an hour for it. So if you don't go quickly, you might not get back before the line starts to move."
Wah… there was even a line for the bathroom… Summer Comiket was scary. With a heavy heart, I looked upwards at the sky. The line would start moving soon, in less than an hour. It was so hot that I was breaking out in sweat just by sitting here. I could feel my energy draining. And the noisy pair next to me wasn't helping the heat.
"You cat bitch! Stop secretly setting depth charge needles in my blind spot!"
"Shut up, blond bitch. Did you forget that depth charge needles are effective against Ganototosu?"
As usual, the two girls were arguing with each other while playing the game.
"Hey, you two… hurry up and stop playing. The line's beginning to move." I reluctantly spoke up. But Naruko and Kuroneko were determined not to listen to me.
"Don't you understand me when I say your last lightning attack dragged me into it too!? This is why your name shows up on the xlink kai message boards!"
"T-That's definitely just someone else with the same name."
"Hah, there's nobody else with such childish naming sense. Ah, seriously, I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but did you seriously think it was cool to put that messed up symbol before and after your name? Seriously, stop embarrassing yourself."
"What did you say…? Yeah, that's what I thought, so what? Rather, I should be the one doubting your style for not realizing how great it is. Seriously, it's like all the other dimwit pigs who just jump on what's trendy… saying that putting † on both sides of a username is childish, that it's holy or that it's dirty, that only dumbasses would use such a beautiful symbol in their name… what the hell is that? Don't go and just label things like that so thoughtlessly. I'll decide what's cool or what's not cool by myself."
"Yes yes, I really sympathize with you. So please, put away the games and let's start moving, alright?"
Even though we still hadn't gotten into the building, my anxiety was already reaching its peak. The line slowly moved forwards.
"Please move forwards as much as possible! You there! Move please, move!"
Came shouts of the staff all around us, but Naruko and them were still slow to respond. The staff were already drenched in sweat, and their jobs did not seem easy. I can very firmly say that I really dislike people who can't follow rules or directions. Although it's not like I'm trying to claim that I'm that law-abiding and obedient. More simply, I just don't like fighting with my surroundings. I want to live a calm and quiet life. But even more fundamentally, it's not good to be causing such trouble for the people around you over such a trivial thing.
Geez, I guess there's no helping it. Picking up my sister and Kuroneko's bags, I put myself between them while they were still arguing, and urged them both to go forwards by pushing on their backs.
"Hey, you two, come on, move. You're holding up the line."
"Don't touch me!"
Hey hey… so now they choose to harmonize… I guess they are good friends after all. While my lips thinned in annoyance, Rias faced me and laughed.
"Hahaha. You're popular, aren't you?"
"Shut up, you!"
The crowd slowly moved forwards. With a scowl, I began to walk through the large passageway that had developed. Finally, the line of people went up the wide stairs, and we walked towards the giant inverted pyramid building — the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. It was almost like a line of the dead walking towards Yomotsu Hirasaka. By the way, I'm used to getting stares from boys and girls when I walk together with my pretty sister, but right now there was nothing of that sort. It's probably because everyone was excited for the event that was right about to start.
When we had ascended the stairs, Kuroneko whispered something to Rias. "Today, can we start from the East side?"
"Yeah. First we'll do what we came for, to look at the doujinshi displays."
"When we were waiting, I read through a bit of the catalogue, but… what do you mean doujinshi displays? I mean, there's really one thing I don't understand. Doujinshi is, in short, books that people make by themselves right? Books that they don't sell at normal bookstores. So this is an event where people get together and sell these things… so it's just like a big version of that Tora-something place we went before?"
As we walked, I asked my question and Rias nimbly gave me a response.
"You could say selling doujinshi is like that, but for me it's a completely different feeling… hmm, how should I put it… perhaps the important thing to keep in mind is that Summer Comiket is an event that was created out of everyone's efforts."
"… Aren't there companies behind this event?"
"Of course. In fact, there's a corporation that's responsible for the event. But they're more there just to set the stage so that everyone can have fun… to the end, this event is something that's brought to life by the staff you see, the participating doujinshi circles, and the many many general attendees who gather together."
"Sorry. I still don't really get it."
"You came here without even figuring this stuff out?" Naruko sent me a snide remark after hearing my remarks, and sighed in disbelief.
Hey, aren't you the host today? If that's true, shouldn't you be trying harder to make me feel more comfortable? At least, I wanted to say that.
"Shut up, you. Hmph, well, you sure know everything about this, don't you?"
"How would I know? This is the first time I've come to this event too…"
This girl… she's so arrogant… and she still hasn't thanked me for carrying her things. As sparks flew between Naruko and me as we stared at each other, Rias interjected.
"Come on, you two. Isn't this a good opportunity? You can participate and then find out for yourselves."
"Well…"
"I guess…"
Reluctantly, Naruko and I stopped glaring at each other.
After that, we continued walking until the stream of people began to branch off.
Hmm? I took out the catalogue from my hand luggage, and opened it to the page with a map on it.
I see… it seems that this was the entrance plaza, which was where you could get access to each of the buildings.
Following after Rias and Kuroneko, Naruko and I turned left at the directional signs and entered into the building.
"Uugh…"
"Uwah…"
Naruko and I gave out weary groans. The moment we took a step into the building, we were hit by a stifling wave of heat. The entrance hall to the Tokyo Big Sight felt just like a fully crowded train. There were so many people that it was difficult for me to see what was going on. All I could see was people people people, people people people. Like this, it would be really easy to get swept away by the crowd and lost if we weren't too careful.
"Whoa… this is… hey Naruko, are you alright…?"
"Hoooot…! And smelly…! Ugh! Do they not have air conditioning!?"
With a terribly displeased expression, Naruko grabbed my shirt.
"Ugh, that fatty got sweat on me when he walked by!"
"Hey! Don't wipe it off on my shirt dammit!"
Being able to see Rias's head poke out of the crowd, I tried to follow it without getting lost in the crowd. Uuuugh… it must have been ten times hotter in here than it was outside! It was hard to breathe! I need oxygen! This is serious! Ugh… this… this is impossible! I don't even know how to describe this if you haven't been in this situation before… this… this… ugh… If I had to compare it to something… if I really had to… well… Imagine you were on a fully crowded train in the summertime without working air conditioning, and you had to walk from the first car all the way back to the last car by foot… it's something like that… crap… I really wanted to go back now… I can't take this anymore. To think that Summer Comiket would be as tough as this… if the weather were also sunny, I seriously might have collapsed!
"Don't run! Please do not run!"
Suddenly facing the direction I heard that voice, I saw an armband wearing staff member with an almost terrifying expression, issuing warnings out of his megaphone. At his order, a group of otaku who looked almost like they were in a speed walking race slowed down. But even then, I could feel their impatience at wanting to move forwards.
"What's up with them… where are they rushing off to in such a hurry?"
"To the line of popular circles. If they don't get there quickly, all the popular doujinshi will be be sold out."
Looking back, I saw that the one who had answered my question was Kuroneko. Hm… so it was like that… Naruko seemed a bit affected by the hustle and bustle around her.
"S-Shouldn't we hurry too?"
"Nah. Let's not rush too much today. I talked with Kuroneko-chi earlier too and that's what we agreed on. Certainly, standing in line waiting to buy doujinshi is one of the greatest pleasures of this event, but…"
Rias expertly navigated the crowded spaces and led us forwards. Following after the dependable leader, we walked along the path to the Northern Concourse: Tokyo Hall.
"If you're going to turn your first event into a life or death struggle, I think that would pretty tough on you. Doing that also eats up a lot of time… and I wanted you to be able to experience more of what this event is about, so I thought we wouldn't stand in line today and would just stroll around and take a look at what's going on…"
Life or death struggle huh…? Well, certainly, it seemed fitting to compare this situation to a battlefield. Or maybe just to hell… earlier, while we were waiting, I had read the event catalogue in preparation for the event, and there were many fine details written on warnings and rules, as well as a page spared for information about the first aid room… so it's no wonder I would be wondering about how exaggeratedly crazy this event was. But no warning could have prepared me for something like this. Looking around at the crazy crowd of people around me, I nodded, finally beginning to grasp the situation. But Rias… she seriously had thought a lot about our feelings, hadn't she?
"Hmph. Judging by what you're saying, you planned ahead and launched a funnel, didn't you…? If you did, make sure I get in on it too."
"Ahh, I'm really sorry. Unfortunately, I'm really just not planning to buy very much on the third day this time around… I wasted a lot of money at the Wonder Festival too … honestly, if I stuff any more figures or doujinshi into my room, my parent might start getting angry at me. Ahaha."
Rias shyly put one hand on the back of her head and looked down. I interjected in response to this exchange I didn't really understand.
"What's a funnel?"
"Umm, how should I explain it…? Ooh! Naruto-chi! Look that way!"
When I looked in the direction Rias was pointing, I saw a middle-aged man wearing a flight jacket and with his long hair tied behind his head, zealously giving instructions into a headset.
"This is Skull Leader, this is Skull Leader, requesting status report, over. - - - - A28 new publication secure, acknowledged. A87 new publication secure, acknowledged. A69 battle ongoing, acknowledged. Message to Skull 2 and Skull 3, proceed with Plan B, continue to cover wall circles, and be on alert for warnings from the enemy search party. Skull 5, head towards island center, and rendezvous with me. - - - - Do you copy, Pixie Platoon? Requesting status report on the corporate booth."
"Did the heat get to him or something? What the hell is wrong with that idiot?"
"No, no, nono! Naruto-chi! He's not talking to himself!"
Rias seemed alarmed, and quickly waved both her arms back and forth.
"He's managing his own funnel over there. He's communicating with his partners wirelessly, see? Umm… one way to put it is that it's an efficient way to obtain all the really popular doujinshi. And the names are based off of similar names used in Gundam to remotely control troops."
"A… ahh… so it's like that…"
As we were talking, we continued to walk, until finally a giant sign saying "East 4" appeared on our left. Glancing intermittently at the map in my hand, I spoke.
"Is this where we're going?"
"Down a level. We need to go down on the escalators." Kuroneko murmured her response.
After that, in no time an escalator appeared before us. Two staff members were standing next to it.
"Please leave a step between you and the person in front of you when getting on the escalator!"
That and other such warnings were being yelled by the staff. As for us, Kuroneko and Naruko rode the escalator together, while I got on with Rias, and we slowly descended onto the lower flower. While we were riding, we got a splendid bird's eye view of the scenery down on the bottom floor. The expansive passageway below us was completely buried under the huge amounts of people.
"You know… there was a scene like this in Resident Evil. When the zombies were rushing into the shopping mall."
Stop it, Naruko. Don't say "zombies." If you say it like that, they're going to start looking like real zombies to me. As I wearily took in Naruko's statement, this time it was Kuroneko that started making outrageous statements.
"Every time I come here, when I'm up here looking down at all these people crowding around, I wish I could kick them around with an AoE attack."
"Hahaha, for me, this scene reminds me of Samurai Warriors."
Even you, Rias? And all their analogies seemed to be related to games… I wasn't very knowledgeable about games, so for me this scenery reminded me more of the zombies from a George A Romero movie.
In any case… at this point, I didn't exactly have the best of impressions of this Summer Comiket thing. I mean, I never had any interest in coming to this event in the first place, I'm exhausted, it's damn hot, all Naruko's been doing is complaining… there wasn't a single redeeming quality to be found.
(◕ω◕✿)
Having arrived on the lower level, we entered into the hall from the entrance marked "East 4."
"Big bro~… I'm thiiirstyyy~… it's hooooot~… I feel groooss~… ugh, I'm feel like I'm going to die…"
"I felt the same way you did, Naruko… but there's nothing I can do now."
For a while, Naruko had been hanging onto my shirt while we were walking, and had been ceaselessly complaining. Can she really make "good memories" this way? I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Arriving at the sales floor, I twisted my neck to and fro, taking stock of my surroundings. Of course, the terrible crowd was still here. The ceilings were incredibly high, and bare concrete was showing on the walls. It seemed like a factory or a warehouse, and its lack of decoration seemed unrefined. There were tables in large quantity lined up in a row, and each one was selling some kind of doujinshi or other goods. And there were quite a number of these rows of assembled tables.
"You probably already know from reading the catalogue, but these shops are each called circles. You can use the same word to describe colleges and things like that, but in the case of doujin, the word is usually used to refer to much smaller groups. It refers to the author or authors, and those people who help them."
Rias offered me that simple explanation. Ah, I see now. Last month, I had gone to a doujinshi shop, but Comiket felt different. Comiket was… well, how do I put it… this is probably a bad way to say it, but… it was much more barbaric.
"Hm. It's like a huge, blown up version of a high school cultural festival."
"Hahaha. Because everyone who comes here is a child at heart."
Was she trying to say something clever or something? In any case, Naruko was gasping for breath as she followed behind me, continuing to hold onto my shirt. She began to pull on my shirt more strongly, and mumbled.
"I can't take it anymore. I'm at my limit. Break… let's take a break soon. Somehow or other, quickly…"
She's annoying, isn't she? Even if she tells us to do that "somehow or other…" Watching my sister who had already completely lost interest in buying doujinshi and was completely exhausted, I raised my eyebrows.
"Alright… for now Let's take a break, can we duck outside for a bit through that door 2 over there, Rias-san? I'm pretty tired too."
"Ah I see… let's do that then."
Going out through the door, a gentle breeze from the cloudy skies wrapped itself around us. A long line snaked its way out from the hall, but the population density out here was not as high as it was inside. Being able to take a small break like this definitely hit the spot.
"Ahhh… it's so much cooler outside."
"Ugh, I can't believe this. My head is spinning."
Naruko and I wiped the sweat off our faces, our energy drained.
"How pathetic, you two… the weather wasn't like this at all yesterday or the day before yesterday, you know?" Kuroneko, who had come to the event all three days, sent Naruko and me a scornful look.
Well, even if you put it like that, it's not like I can do anything about it. It was really sunny the day before yesterday, and it was raining yesterday… so today's weather was probably actually more agreeable. But even so, to beginners like us, this was definitely tough.
By the way… and this might be a stupid question… this event… was it actually supposed to be fun? Frankly, wasn't it just tiring? As I began to regret ever having come, Rias handed me a bottle of cold tea.
"Come on, everyone, if you don't keep hydrated you won't last very long. For now, let's rehydrate, shall we?"
Could it be that she actually froze plastic bottles to make these drinks…? Ahh, I'm grateful. Downing around half of the tea I was given, I let out a single breath. Rias, almost seeming like she could read my mind, spoke.
"Well, you two… what do you think? Any thoughts on Summer Comiket?"
"It's really boring, It's hot, gross, and I want to go home!" Naruko spoke sulkily.
It was a pretty inappropriate thing to say to the person who had gone through so much trouble to invite her… but unfortunately, I felt the same way. But, in spite of Naruko's abusive words, Rias did not seem hurt at all. Rather, she looked as if she was expecting a reaction like this.
"Fufufu… so it's like that, hm? Well, there's no helping that. Because at the start, you have to deal with all the troublesome parts of Comiket at once."
"Huh? What's with that attitude? It's like you were expecting me to react this way or something… annoying."
Seeming very irritated that Comiket turned out to be much more boring than she was expecting, Naruko once again began to tug on my shirt.
"Bro, you're the host, aren't you? So entertain me."
"I did say I would, but…" Well, what exactly do you want me to do? Feeling lost, I put on a stiff smile and turned towards Rias. "Hey… Rias-san. Is there anything here that she might enjoy…?"
"Well…" Rias slowly shook her head, and then turned the edges of her lips upwards. "That depends on Naruru-chi."
"What do you mean?"
"Hm… well… how do I put it…"
Carefully choosing her words, Rias began to explain it to me.
"Well, in my opinion, Summer Comiket is a festival where the attendees have to be actively participating to enjoy themselves. So, for example, it's not like an amusement park, where they deliberately prepare things for the guests to enjoy. Taking this to the extreme, I could say that if you don't like manga or anime or games, even if you came here you would definitely not find a single thing that you would enjoy. In the same way, if you come to this event treating it like some leisurely excursion and think that you'll be able to find something entertaining here, then in the end you won't be able to have fun at all."
"In other words, nobody forced you to come." Kuroneko summed up the situation in a short sentence.
So, if you're not already an otaku, or if you have a casual attitude about this event, you really shouldn't have come in the first place. That's what I got from their explanations. But…
"Hahaha… but well, in this case, such worry is unnecessary! It'll be alright! For me, this place is a mountain of treasure! Leave it to me to navigate your way through this thing with a bang!"
And as she said, she hit her chest with a bang.
"Well, Naruko's one thing, but I'm not an otaku."
"I'm not an otaku either."
Naruko, you shameless liar. Hearing her statement, Rias began to laugh uproariously.
"Hahaha. Well, if you can last the entire day without enjoying yourself a bit, then you two are certainly not otaku."
Oh, how interesting. I'll accept that challenge. Spurred on by Rias's words, my mood improved a bit. In retrospect, this might have been part of Rias's plan all along, but I'm not sure. Naruko also seemed to have decided on something, and suddenly stopped her complaints.
Continuing to pull on my shirt, Naruko spoke with an arrogant attitude.
"We've rested enough. Hey, stop talking so much and guide us."
"Yeah. Thanks, we'll leave it to you, Rias-san."
Geez… as the princess's humble servant, I had to communicate the princess's intentions to her navigator.
"Leave it to me!"
Holding her chin with her hand, Rias laughed heartily. Right after, Kuroneko snorted with a "hmph." And so… taking a single breath outside the convention center, we once again headed into the hall.
While skillfully finding her way through the crowd, Rias began to talk with Naruko.
"By the way, Naruru-chi, did you take a look at the doujinshi I sent you?"
"Eh? Well… of course I read them all… why do you ask?"
"Well… did you like any of the authors in particular?"
The minute she was asked, Naruko let loose the joyful expression that had been waiting just below the surface… and then barely managed to push it back down, making her expression stiff again.
"W-Well… none in particular… b-but, if I had to pick any… there's Yamanashi Ganma-san's Mado-chan book, and QQQ-san's Homuhomu book… and then, oh right! That art collection… that one by Sakura G Sakura-san, the one that made Madoka into a manga! Ehehe! That one was reaaaally cute~~~!"
She really gets pretty excited when she talks about stuff she likes, doesn't she? What the hell is up with that "ehehe"? When you do that, it's really pretty sickening. Geez, I seriously can't see how you're the same person as that one who up to now had been groaning nonstop about how super boring everything was. As these pleasant thoughts made the edges of my lips turn upwards, Rias said something that got Naruko even more excited.
"To be honest, all the doujinshi I sent you that day were made by people I know."
"Huh!? R-Really?!"
"Yes, really. I was going to go around to say hello to them right now… does Naruru-chi want to come along?"
"I-I… I-I-I…."
Naruko repeated that sound intermittently quite a few times, and then painfully spit out her next words.
"I-I guess I'll keep you company…! If you say so!"
Her breathing labored and her posture stiff, Naruko looked like she was going to go meet an Idol or something.
"Oh no…! But! What should I do?! Ehhh~~~?! I'm so nervous…!"
"Hahaha, you seem to be pleased by this surprise I planned for you. Kuroneko-chi, Naruto-chi, how about you two? If you want, you are more than welcome to-"
"I'll pass."
Speaking in a tone of voice that ruined the happy mood instantly, Kuroneko turned her back towards us.
"Unfortunately, I have a sublime mission to go collect the decent looking Blazblue doujin from the center island circles that do not consign their books to bookstores."
"I'm fine too. It would be strange for me to go meet with the authors of books I don't know… I'll just stroll around here and look around. You two just go by yourselves."
"Huh!? W-wait just a second, what irresponsible things are you saying?!"
"Rias is going to be your guide, so it's not like you need me to follow you around, right?"
Why is she angry?
"Or rather, do you have a reason why you need me to follow you?"
"N-No, but…! That's not the issue…! Are you an idiot!?"
"Hey, hey," went Rias, trying to calm down Naruko, who had suddenly started looking quite menacing for some reason. With that, Naruko obediently quieted, but began to rapidly click her tongue in what appeared to be annoyance.
What the hell… why is she acting that way…? Is there really something that disagreeable about this situation…?
Sparks flew as Naruko and I stared at each other. Whether or not she was trying to diffuse this dangerous situation, Rias raised her voice.
"Well! For now, let's split up! Umm… when we're all done doing what we need to do, let's meet back here, wherever Naruto-chi is strolling around! If you can't find him, then at eleven thirty, let's meet in front of that bathroom over there."
That's a pretty ridiculous meeting place… well, certainly, the bathroom was very easy to find.
"So with that settled… let's go!"
Well, and that was that. For a little while after that, just like I had said before, I stayed around that area and casually strolled around while watching the buying and selling of doujinshi around me.
As I thought, the closest analogy I could make for Comiket was a culture festival. Occasionally, I would pass someone dressed in a strange costume and my eyes would widen, and then I might find a doujinshi from a manga I knew, and with a "ohh, so they have stuff like this too…" would casually pick it up and flip through it. Even long after the event ended, I remained surprised that such a majority of these books featured girls.
Wiping the sweat off my face with a towel, I continued to walk around.
Hm. Occasionally I would find a really terrible book, but… I guess this was pretty fun.
As I browsed like that, one of the shop sellers called out to me.
"Hey, that cool onii-san over there!"
"Huh… me?"
"Definitely, definitely take a look at our new publication!"
Smiling, she held out a book to me… it was a voice that I could have sworn I heard before. You could definitely say that this girl in a maid outfit was cute, so while I was being swept away by her, I opened the doujinshi she probably drew without even taking a look at the title or the front cover.
"…!"
It was an Hentai book in which a maid was doing ero things.
Nervous sweat erupted on my face. I wonder if I've ever been so lost for reaction before in my fifteen years of life. I mean, this book… the author of this book, who's also a maid too, right? She's wearing the same outfit as the character in the book. And what's more, she even looks like the character is standing right next to me while I look at pictures of this maid with her breasts exposed and her legs spread.
"How is it?"
That's besides the point. Rather, I should be thinking about what I should do. And also, she really looks like that maid at the maid café last month who brought me the "Little sister's handmade curry, zaraki flavor" or whatever. Although, she looked slightly younger than that other maid, so it might just be an accidental resemblance… If she really was the same person, you could call it an unexpected meeting, or rather, an unwanted second encounter.
"Do you not like it~?"
"No… it's not… well… the drawings are pretty good…"
"Thank you~. Ehehe… ah, I was pretty happy with how that position turned out~."
"… A-Ahh…" … I felt sick.
Of all things, why did I have to be here having this conversation with this cute maid? This is unbelievable… I feel so dirty… damn it all. Right now, in my head, I was trying with all my might to keep myself from saying that. I wanted to quickly run away from that place, but the pervy maid girl in front of me was smiling at me with upturned eyes, and staring at me as if she was expecting something, so I was rooted to the spot.
W-What? What do you want? Exactly what are you expecting from me? I know, I know. "Please buy this for 500 yen" is what you want to say, right? I know. I know all too well. But, I mean… right now I was seeeeriously close to blowing a fuse. Could it be that she wanted more of my impressions…? I couldn't help but thinking that. Ugh… I was in agony, and I creased my brow.
"?"
The shy maid leaned her neck to the side. Quit it with that cute expression, dammit.
Ah, crap… I can't come up with anything else to tell her. Tch, well, I might as well ask the thing I've been meaning to ask. Getting desperate, I steeled myself and summoned up the courage to make my comment.
"Umm… This maid in this manga, could it be that you were the model for her?"
"What the hell are you asking her!?"
Bang! A staggering interjection came from behind me. A slap landed squarely on my back head.
"Aww…!? Naruko, you… when did you get here!? And why the hell did you slap my head! That hurt dammit!"
"I-It was you who was sexually harassing that shopkeeper over there! I can't believe you! Even here, how could you be such a pervert!?"
"You've got it all wrong!"
She's the one who first started sexually harassing me! Right!? Don't you think so!? Completely flustered, I turned back towards the maid.
"Stop sketching us!"
"Eh? A, ahaha… it's just… suddenly… I thought this would make a great drawing… hehe."
Hugging her sketchbook to her chest, the maid looked quite embarrassed. What the hell… so this is what doujinshi creators are like…? I sent a puzzled expression her way, and the doujinshi author happily clapper her hands together.
"Ah, yes! For my next publication… let's make an brother & sister S&M themed book~!"
I vowed to myself that I would never come near this damm circle ever again!
(◕ω◕✿)
It was five minutes later. Having left the doujinshi marketplace area and feeling pretty peeved, I walked while carrying the maid's ero book under my arm. Soon after that event, we had met up with Kuroneko and Rias and once again were a group of four. And… in the end, I was forced to buy a doujinshi… but why the hell did my first doujinshi have to be a maid ero book? Or rather, I should be asking, why the hell were there so many ero books being sold in the doujinshi marketplace? I mean, of course there were non-ero things being sold as well, but clearly the ratio of ero books to non-ero books was pretty large.
Well, in the first place, if I had to say it… it's a fan event, so why exactly did they have to draw all their favorite characters naked and do ero things? It didn't feel like they loved the characters… instead it felt rather dirty. Was it because that kind of stuff sells? Was that really the reason?
Geez, ero stuff is everywhere, isn't it? And of course, in this world, guys who didn't think so and who weren't into this stuff didn't exist. This commonality was a shared system of values whose power exceeded that of even the Christian church. Even now, even though I had been pushed to buy an ero book, I didn't really feel that bad about it! As these thoughts were running through my head, I spoke up to Rias.
"Hey… having this book out in the open like this while walking… I don't think my heart can handle this for much longer…"
"Hm. Why don't we go over there and buy a paper bag?"
I see. That was a good idea. I turned in the direction Rias was pointing.
"Rias-san… can I ask you one thing?"
"Ah, what is it?"
As Rias leaned her head to one side, I calmly muttered my question.
"Do you seriously expect me to walk around with a paper bag that has a huge picture of a half-naked girl printed on it?"
"I thought you meant that you didn't want the people around us to think that you were into maid moe."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! Don't they sell normal paper bags somewhere? Something I can bring with me on the train."
"On the train, hmm… well, how about that one over there?"
"Didn't I say I didn't want a perverted drawing!? Do you really think I have the guts to bring something with a pervy drawing on it with me on the train!? Seriously, I'll be arrested!"
I saw big official Comiket paper bags being sold over in a corner, 300 yen each, and I bought one. On this one too there were many summer-like color illustrations, but at least I could go on a train with this one without feeling self-conscious. Returning to where the rest of my party was waiting, I walked in while Rias was talking with Kuroneko.
"By the way, Kuroneko-chi, you didn't participate in a circle this time around, did you?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be standing here right now, would I?"
It was an impatient, brusque tone of voice, as if she was trying to ask "Why are you asking me that now?" Hm. From the flow of the conversation, it seems that Kuroneko was also involved in that kind of thing. And then, misunderstanding some part of the conversation, Naruko interjected happily.
"Whaaat? You wanted to hang out with me that badly?"
"Don't say such disgusting things, please… hmph, it was simply because I applied but they didn't accept my application."
"Hmph. Well, why didn't you just give your doujin to another circle to sell? Ah, I'm so sorry! I forgot that you don't have any friends! How rude of me to ask that!"
Even I could understand that Naruko said that on purpose. Don't clap your hands so happily like that. Are you a toy monkey or something?
"Tch…" Kuroneko bit her lip while remaining expressionless. As if Naruko had hit the bulls- eye, she unhappily turned the other way.
"N-Not really…? I don't exactly have that much money to spend either, so… if my own circle can't put out anything, then I didn't want to try entrusting a new publication to another circle."
"Huh. What kind of stupid excuse is that, you id-mpph!"
Clapping my hands over Naruko's mouth which was just about to spit out more poison, I tried to change the subject.
"Hey, so as I thought, it costs a lot to publish a doujinshi, doesn't it?"
"It depends on how you make it too. If all you're doing is copying a manuscript and stapling it together, which is what's called a 'copy-book,' then all you really have to pay for are the paper and the copies… that's fine if all you want to do is print something."
Kuroneko faced towards the circle booth right next to her, and pointed towards the doujinshi on the table.
"But if you want to make a genuine 'offset book' like that, in the end you'll end up spending a lot more."
"Offset?"
"It's a way of printing the books."
"Oh…? Around how much would it cost?"
Perhaps she was trying to tactfully prevent Naruko from interrupting our conversation, but with a casual "Naruru-chi, Naruru-chi, look at that Madoka book over there-," Rias led Naruko to a nearby booth. Kuroneko seemed to be choosing her words carefully, and slowly opened her mouth.
"Depending on the method of printing, the ratio of color pages to uncolored pages, and additional options, it can really vary… for me personally, it's relatively expensive, and for fifty copies I would have to spend around thirty thousand yen."
"Damm… that… is definitely pretty expensive…"
For me, thirty thousand yen was an amount I could at least imagine, so my response was quite genuine. But if I calculated it, at a rate of five hundred yen per book, even if she sold everything, she would still lose five thousand yen, wouldn't she? Furthermore, if she really were to put out a real book, there would be various other expenses as well. Of course, there were the travel and food expenses… she would also have to buy the tools she needed to draw the original copy. But Kuroneko didn't seem to be as nonchalant about money as Naruko was.
"Yes it is. So in many ways, it is very difficult to make doujinshi as a junior high school student like me. In my case, I also spend quite a bit of money for other hobbies as well…"
"Yeah… and there's not much you can do about not having enough money…"
It's not like anyone could just go be a model and earn money like Naruko.
"I help around the house… and I also secretly get part-time jobs. It's enough for me if I can put out one or two books every half year."
"You'd go that far just for this? Just to put out this kind of 'offset book'?"
Looking at me with a stare that said "well, it's not like I expect you to understand," Kuroneko nodded deeply.
"Doujinshi authors each have their own motivations for making doujinshi. It could be for networking purposes, or simply because they want other people to see their work… or rather, it could be some mix of reasons like that. For me, I just really want to create a book by myself. So, I pick the higher price options and put out an offset book. Even if they don't sell well. So even though for me this is about self-satisfaction, there's no meaning to making anything if you don't approve of what you're doing, right?"
"Yeah."
I thought she was a pretty introverted, reticent person, but like Naruko, whenever she started talking about her own interests she became quite talkative. I had recently come to understand that the minute you flipped the right switch in otaku, they would start talking. I mean, everyone likes talking about their own hobbies after all. I continued my questioning.
"So, do you get any feedback? After you make your books and sell them. Do people tell you what they think about them?"
"Occasionally. After I distribute the books… at the following event, people who come to buy my books sometimes give me their opinions. Well… yeah, there's also the internet…"
"Internet?"
"Yeah. There are a few blogs that have posted their impressions about my books. I've also sometimes gone on search sites after events… and looked up how well- received my books are."
How unexpected. She didn't seem like the type to care about what other people thought about her books. I was surprised, and Kuroneko continued to talk expressionlessly.
"But, it's really awkward when I search for my book's titles on SNS and I find some article flaming it. Because, from that article, people track down and come to my site. Hmph, I wonder what they would think if they knew that author herself was reading their insults."
As if I would know! I didn't even say anything, so why was she turning the topic onto something so disagreeable!? Damnit… she's just as difficult to deal with as Naruko, but in a different way…
"But, I mean! When you see that people like your work, you're happy, right?"
"… I guess."
And then, Kuroneko, ever so slightly, ever so faintly, turned the corner of her lips upwards. It wasn't exactly what I would call a smile… but I thought it was certainly an expression filled with no small amount of emotion.
"Being happy when something you make is praised… that's a motivation shared by all creators, I think…"
"I… see…"
"Wait… are you making fun of me? I'll curse you."
"No, I really think it's quite a meaningful thing."
It really wasn't a bad thing… I had thought exactly the same thing last month.
"Hmph." As if thinking about how exactly to interpret my words, Kuroneko suddenly turned the other way.
"If you think that, then maybe I'll show you a few of my books later."
"Sure. But if you could, show me a few that aren't ecchi please."
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.
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