I, Aki Tomoya, will not be a simp.

Completely being led by the nose by the other party, she originally wanted to talk about her current status and wait for Aki Tomoya to come over, but found that the other party no longer cared about such things.

Or to be more precise, they chose a path with higher risks and rewards.

Aside from expressing admiration, Iori Hashima had little else to say.

Chapter 63 Women are such a hassle! (5/12)

Aki Tomoya was genuinely happy to reunite with Hashima at sea, but her reunion with her brother Hashima Iori was a bit more complicated.

He was deeply moved that Iori Hashima considered him a partner who would reach the pinnacle of the otaku world together, or perhaps a destined rival.

Unfortunately, the place Aki Tomoya was going to was different from what Hashima Iori had hoped for.

After the graduation ceremony, summer vacation began, and his parents had already paid for his tutoring at the cram school.

After finishing up the last things in July, August began.

The CM doujinshi convention, which starts on the 11th, is just around the corner. Aki Tomoya asked for leave from Aomine Gakujuku in advance because he was going to the booth on Saturday the 12th, the second day of the doujinshi convention, to go out to sea from Hashima Island.

"I never imagined I'd actually return to CM..."

I thought I was cut off from ComicMarket because of exam preparation, but then my junior moved back from Nagoya and invited me to participate as a creator for the first time.

It feels pretty good to have a junior who still cares about you.

He had originally wanted to invite Yoshihiko Uego to work as a laborer, but the guy had gone back to his hometown. He had been crying to him about being caught and forced to do hard labor back home.

Maintaining his sympathy for Comrade Uesugi Yoshihiko, Aki Tomoya decided to relax properly on that day.

However, because of this incident, Aki Tomo also thought of Eriri, after all, that blonde twin-tailed girl is also a famous artist.

Although the doujinshi were not suitable for open sale, they were kept out of the public eye thanks to Sayuri Sawamura's help.

"Troublesome guy..."

Aki Tomoya felt a headache coming on whenever he thought of Eriri.

Tomorrow is the second day of the CM doujinshi convention. As promised with Boshima, I need to prepare properly.

"Don't say I don't consider you a friend."

Aki Tomoya sent her a message explaining that he would be attending the CM exhibition the next day and asking if she wanted to come along.

After sending Eriri a LINE message, Aki Tomo casually tossed his phone aside, not caring how she would respond. As a friend, he had already done his best to take care of her.

Rubbing his eyes, Aki Tomoya circled a number on the schedule on the wall before taking a shower.

When he returned half an hour later, he found many messages on his Line.

"When?"

Which exhibition hall?

"What are you doing there?"

"Are you there?"

……

So after all that talking, they still didn't clarify whether they were going or not, and instead asked a bunch of questions.

"Go? Or not?"

Aki Tomo replied irritably.

"go."

The next second, the other party replied with a new message.

Aki Tomoya's eye twitched, and he muttered unconsciously, "This guy isn't staring at his phone the whole time, is he?"

His feelings were somewhat complicated, and he then told the other party where they would meet.

He didn't bother thinking about anything else. After explaining the time and place, he put his phone aside and went to bed.

……

August 12th, the second day of the Summer Comic Market.

Don't underestimate the enthusiasm of otaku. On these bustling days, they'll line up very early, as if heading to a battlefield, waiting for the exhibition hall to open.

They lined up outside in an orderly fashion, a sea of ​​dark figures stretching as far as the eye could see, like a tide.

This is a carnival for otaku, held twice a year for three consecutive days.

The largest doujinshi convention in Japan and even the world, attracting otaku from all over Japan and other countries.

After preparing in the morning, Aki Tomoya left home very early. Thanks to his past knowledge of ComicMarket, Aki Tomoya was very familiar with the place.

Outside the exhibition hall on the east side, Aki Tomoya was already waiting for Eriri's arrival.

"so slow……"

Aki Tomoya checked the time. They had agreed on a time to meet, and if they were any slower, he would be late for his scheduled boat trip with Hashima.

Just as he was getting impatient, he suddenly noticed a person wearing a beret and a mask sneaking towards him.

Beneath the beret, Aki Tomoya could see a few strands of golden hair.

At this point, he had already guessed that the sneaky person must be Eriri.

Is attending a doujinshi convention really that much like being a thief?

"A fool?"

Aki Tomoya had black lines hanging from his head.

Seeing Eriri sneaking over, he turned his gaze away with some disgust.

"Yo, hello..."

Wearing thick glasses, sweat had already beaded on her fair forehead in the sweltering summer heat.

Aki Tomoya really didn't want to look, and could only say helplessly, "There are clearly a group of like-minded people here, why pretend to be someone else? Nobody knows you're some kind of artist..."

Everyone who comes here is an otaku, there's really no need for them to pretend anymore.

Or was she feeling awkward?

Or perhaps, she was shy because it was the first time they had agreed to come to a doujinshi convention together?

Regardless of the reason, Aki Tomoya is certain that she would definitely suffer from heatstroke if she stayed like that for two hours.

"Oh, let's go."

Seeing that Eriri had no rebuttal, Aki Tomoya sighed and took the exhibition pass given to him by the boat trip from Hashima to the designated entrance.

Eriri, who was behind, caught up with the entrance and realized that something was wrong with it, so she couldn't help but ask, "Isn't this entrance wrong?"

"Didn't I say? Today, Chuhai invited me to her booth."

Aki Tomoya casually replied that he didn't seem to have said that.

If he hadn't gone out to sea from Po Island, he wouldn't be here today.

"Going out to sea...going out to sea from Po Island?"

Eriri's eyes flickered, and it was unclear what she was thinking at that moment.

"That's right, you know Hashima Sailing, right? This is their first time exhibiting as an artist. They came all the way from Nagoya to invite me, and I couldn't refuse their kind invitation."

Aki Tomoya nodded.

Eriri still remembered the sea trip to Hashima, but Aki Tomoya's explanation sounded incredibly exciting to her.

After thinking about it all night, she finally understood why Aki Tomoya had time to attend the CM doujinshi convention during the summer vacation. It turned out to be for that junior named Hashima Izumi!

It makes me so angry just thinking about it. If it weren't for that junior, I wouldn't have had the chance to be remembered by Aki Tomoya.

She finally understood why her mother, Sayuri Sawamura, had told her this morning that people were trying their best to be considerate of her feelings and that she should be more mindful.

"calm!"

Eriri held her head and took deep breaths.

There's nothing to be jealous about!

"Don't just stand there, you're going to be late."

Aki Tomoya reminded her, because Eriri was going to be late, and he didn't like being the kind of person who wasn't punctual.

"And take off your mask, or you'll get heatstroke later and I won't blame you for not reminding you."

As they walked into the exhibition hall with Eriri, Aki Tomoya gave her another reminder.

With so many people in the exhibition hall, bundled up like this, she's going to have a hard time later.

"I know, stop nagging!"