Chapter 132: And The Strongest Rival Appears!

In Yuzuriha's booth, a group of girls had formed a decent line, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Oh, Kanata! Please take a look!"

Yuzuriha came out of the booth and rushed towards me. She wore a beaming smile.

"It's amazing! It's really amazing! It's selling well not only to friends and family but to others too!"

"Oh, that's great! Congratulations!"

Yuzuriha hugged me, and I patted her on the head.

"By the way, what about those folks over there?"

Yuzuriha looked at Mashiba and the others with a puzzled expression.

"Don't tell me they came to mock my doujinshi?!"

"Your thought are so negative."

"Are you going to take pleasure in exposing my doujinshi on the back site of the school? I will never be defeated by such a thing! Kieee!"

For some reason, Yuzuriha seems to be full of nervousness and excitement.

"They're not like that, Yuzuriha. These three came to buy your doujinshi."

"Eh? Is that so?"

Yuzuriha calmed down, and at the same time, Mashiba pulled her aside.

"Woe, I can't believe it, but is Momiji Yuzuriha a Milk Bag Chest-sensei?"

Mashiba wore a face that couldn't believe it, but it was the truth.

"Yes, your favorite author is her."

"Seriously ... ugh, my boundaries are shaking. The afterlife is too close!"

I wish she'd stop using those incomprehensible terms. Well, it's like something out of a manga when someone you know turns out to be a favorite author.

"Oh, really? Yuzuriha writes novels? It's impressive to be good at both math and language."

Igarashi seemed genuinely impressed.

"Writing novels doesn't necessarily require language skills. By the way, Kanata, what's with the line in front of that girl in the male cosplay?"

Tsukasa gestured towards Milan in her cosplay and the line of girls in front of her. They all had Yuzuriha's doujinshi.

"I wonder what's going on. But it doesn't seem like a good thing."

We approached the line to see what was happening.

"Don't you dare shake your country-smelling butt in my sight, you sweet potato girl!"

Milan berated the girls in front of her with a cold expression and tone.

"""Kyaaa! Please insult me more!""""

What is this...? I turned my attention to Yuzuriha. She had a triumphant expression.

"It's one of the purchase bonuses! You can be insulted by the Yakuza Prince Harrington and get a check photo together!"

Milan, dressed as Harrington, and the girls who had just been insulted happily took check photos together. I noticed Milan's booth was piled with drinks and snacks. Offerings? No, tributes?!

"Wow, that looks fun! I want to try too!"

Igarashi joined Milan's line with excitement. When her turn came, Milan was astonished.

"Why is Igarashi here?!"

"Your male attire is so cool! Cosplay suits you well! Fantastic!"

Milan was clearly confused.

"Um, does lining up in this queue mean you want me to say the character's lines from the original?"

"Original? I'm not sure, but I'm excited!"

"Hmm? Cough! You sweet potato girl! Don't approach me, or my suit will smell like sweet potatoes! What will you do about it?"

"Huh? That's mean. Why would you say something like that? It makes me sad..."

It's hopeless. Igarashi really isn't cut out for the world of two-dimensional culture.

"Uwawa. That was just now! It's a line from this character's cosplay! Igarashi isn't the sweet potato girl, so don't misunderstand!"

Milan was frantically trying to explain, but Igarashi still looked downcast.

"Uh, um! Boobs! Can I touch your boobs?"

"Huh? Is it okay?!"

"Yeah, it's okay ... ahaha..."

Igarashi became quite cheerful and went around Milan to touch her chest through the cosplay suit.

"Huh? Did they get bigger?"

"N-No, that's not true..."

Other girls blushed as they took pictures of Igarashi touching Milan's chest. Is this a breakthrough in the original work? Character derailment is not good. Well, let's leave these fools alone.

"Uh, um, Milk Bag-sensei. Please sign this autograph board!"

Mashiba, blushing, earnestly asked Yuzuriha for an autograph. Yuzuriha took the board, shed a tear as she signed it, and then the two hugged.

"I signed for the first time! Waaah! Now I can also call myself a novelist!"

"Milk Bag-sensei always writes interesting things, so you're definitely a novelist! Uwaaaah!"

It's heartwarming to see these two shy individuals empathizing with each other.

"That's nice. It's precious."

Tsukasa also smiled warmly.

"Hey, those precious girls in such a relationship, I want to have a threesome with them."

"Please stop when that dream comes true, otherwise, the preciousness will disappear."

Everyone here is undoubtedly foolish. I entered the booth, placed the purchased drinks on the floor, and handed a bottle of mineral water to Ayashiro.

"How is it going? Is it selling well?"

"Yes, it's selling like hotcakes. It was worth making. It's so much fun."

Ayashiro smiled gently.

"But it's strange. Honestly, I didn't expect it to sell this much. Even doujinshi by authors who have serialized works as books don't sell this well. It's becoming even more mysterious why Yuzuriha's work hasn't been turned into a book."

"Thinking about it, it does seem strange. But if the publisher hears that this doujinshi is selling, won't they offer her a deal?"

"That makes sense. It would be weird if they didn't."

We pondered the mystery once again. Despite higher PVs and stars, it's strange that other works are getting book deals while this one isn't. Numbers are important, that's why there is a rating system, but it seems unnatural that other works are being published in book form while ignoring her.

"Um ... can I interrupt for a moment?"

Mashiba awkwardly inserted herself into our conversation.

"What's up?"

"It was strange to us too that Milk Bag-sensei's work wasn't being turned into a book, but when we found out it's Yuzuriha, it made sense."

Just from Mashiba's tone, I could sense the situation. It was the worst-case scenario that I didn't want to consider.

"Hagiri?"

"...Yes, I think it's Hagiri's doing ... he probably researched Yuzuriha's personal information, knows her hobbies, and is likely pressuring the publishing company to intentionally prevent the book adaptation. Maybe he'll use the book deal as leverage against Yuzuriha in the future."

Hagiri is a guy who never disappoints, especially in the worst ways. Both Ayashiro and I could only exchange distant glances and forced smiles.

"For now, keep it a secret from Yuzuriha. I'll handle something behind the scenes."

I have more than enough money. Even if it means aggressively acquiring stocks from a certain publishing company, I'll eliminate Hagiri's pressure. Well, now that she knows the behind-the-scenes details, Yuzuriha's participation in this Comiket must have been a significant plus for her creative activities. At that moment,

"Excuse me! One copy, please!"

A familiar voice reached my ears. I turned to see a girl dressed in a high school uniform cosplay. She had red hair in twin tails, a beautiful mischievous face, and an otaku princess-like aura.

"Moo-chan?"

"Oh? Kanata! Amazing! Who would've thought we'd run into each other! Is this fate? No, wait, I'm a physicist, and I just said something unscientific. I take it back."

This is practically confirmation that she likes me, right? (Probably not.)

"Are you participating in the university's cosplay circle?"

Moo-chan is also part of the cosplay circle. Or rather, she should have conquered all the otaku-related circles.

"That's part of it, but ... there's someone I want to meet. Yes, there's someone I really want to meet..."

I felt a shiver in her intensely serious and cold voice. Why do I feel this pressure?! Is it because my introverted instincts are responding to an otaku princess getting upset?

"Yes. I came to meet her. Milk Bag Chest-sensei! Hyaha!"

It was an incredibly ominous and fierce smile. Not the kind of expression an otaku princess should wear. Her sharp, insane eyes were fixed on Yuzuriha, who squeaked and hid behind me.

"W-What do you want from me? If you're an otaku princess, shouldn't you be taking photos in a cosplay booth, showing off ahegao faces or something?! What business does a shy introvert like me have with you?!"

Well, aside from ahegao faces, with Moo-chan's good looks and her cosplay of a JK character, she'd undoubtedly be a hit in the cosplay area. Naturally, I decided to use my intimidating gaze to play traffic cop for the turtle girls.

"Hey, hey, do you know this cosplay character? If you're a light novel enthusiast, you should know her, right?"

Moo-chan spun around in place. Due to cosplay regulations, she wore tights under her skirt, and nothing was visible.

"If you're someone who's crazy about light novels, you'd know. It's Tsutsumi, the heroine of 'My Best Friend's Girlfriend is Erotic Only for Me,' or in short, Kanero. If you're an otaku princess, there's no doubt you'd choose her, the currently popular character, right?"

While Yuzuriha's words had some thorns, Moo-chan seemed completely unaffected. Her smile, filled with madness, remained unshaken. It's getting scary. I don't think a girl cosplaying at Comiket should be making that face.

"Yes, that's right. 'My Best Friend's Girlfriend is Erotic Only for Me' author, 'Matatabi-Neeso-Schrödinger.' That's me."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Three months later. Book adaptation confirmed."

"Stop it! Don't say things like that! You might not understand, but words like 'cumulative series' make my head glitch!"

Then, with her lips stretched to the limit, Moo-chan said,

"And two months after that, a manga adaptation confirmed."

"Nooo! Don't say that to someone like me who hasn't even had their work adapted into a book!"

What's with this atmosphere full of madness? Moo-chan is cornering Yuzuriha. But for what purpose?

"Currently, the series has surpassed 10 million copies in circulation (including manga and e-books)!"

"Stop it! Hearing words like 'cumulative series' is making me lose my mind!"

And with her lips stretched to the limit, Moo-chan declared,

"And an anime adaptation confirmed!"

"Please don't talk about such distant dreams! Don't do it!"

Then Moo-chan burst into laughter triumphantly.

"Kukuku, fuhahahahah!"

"Why are you laughing so loudly? You're just a cosplayer, not even the author."

Well, even if a mere cosplayer says something like that, it only makes them look like a cringey fan. But Moo-chan is not that kind of person. The Moo-chan I know ... in any situation, she's the hero who always takes the lead against girls!!

"To be honest, until a moment ago, I was also selling my own doujinshi. It was tough. Handing out each copy to customers while wearing my character's cosplay was incredibly exhausting."

"W-What are you talking about...? What are you saying?"

It seemed like Yuzuriha also sensed something unpleasant.

"You've probably already figured it out, right?"

Then Moo-chan pulled out a doujinshi from her bag. It was labeled "My Best Friend's Girlfriend is Erotic Only for Me: Anime Adaptation Commemorative Official Doujinshi."

"It's Matatabi-Neeso-Schrödinger. That's me."

"No way! Aaaaaaahhh! Stop iiiiiiiit!"

Yuzuriha's scream echoed.

"Amazing! Moo-chan successfully took the lead! I've never seen that before! Awesome! Moo-chan is awesome!"

I couldn't help but be surprised that Moo-chan had successfully taken the lead for the first time.





***Author's musings***

"My Best Friend's Girlfriend is Erotic Only for Me" is a romantic comedy idea that the author seriously considered. I'm still hoping for a chance to write it.





Synopsis:

Lately, my best friend got a girlfriend, Tsutsumi. She's the girl of my dreams, with red hair in twin tails that look incredibly cute. However, one day, I witness her playfully chewing on the back of my gym shorts after school.

Surprisingly, Tsutsumi has a peculiar condition that makes her feel erotic only towards me! Thus begins our secret and erotic life, hidden from our best friend. We mustn't go all the way, or it'll turn into NTR. But I find myself sinking into this impure love...





Something like that, maybe? If I were really writing it, I'd twist the plot more.

Also, if possible, the author is currently participating in the MF 10th-anniversary contest.

"Middle-aged Man Abandoned by His Wife"

Participating in the Wife Contest with

"Bride of the Grasslands"

If you could check them out, I would be delighted.

Thank you for your continued support.