My dear wife, I still love you more.

"Kenichi, how are your preparations going?"

"Prepare?" Hasegawa was a little taken aback, not quite understanding what Aki Tomoya meant on the phone.

After summer vacation started, Aki Tomoya spent most of his time working, so the two of them didn't practice much. Today, Aki Tomoya suddenly called Hasegawa and the first thing he said was to ask Hasegawa about his preparations, which surprised Hasegawa a little.

"It's a comic convention! It's a comic convention! Tomorrow is the start date, you don't have any preparations at all, do you?" Aki Tomoya said loudly.

"Uh, comic convention? Is it tomorrow?" Hasegawa hadn't thought about the comic convention at all.

"Of course! Are you out of your mind? It's the second Friday of August. Let me tell you, I've been preparing for this anime convention for ages. I've been working like crazy, but I've saved up a huge sum of money. This time, I'm definitely going to buy everything I like at the convention!" Aki Tomoya said excitedly.

"Um, so when you say 'prepare,' you mean prepare the money?"

"Of course, of course we need to have the money ready."

"If that's the case, then I have no problem with it at all."

"Uh, I forgot you're a super rich guy now. I'm so envious. Writing a light novel and making so much money, unlike me, I have to work every day to make ends meet." Aki Tomoya's tone was tinged with envy.

"I think you could write light novels if you wanted to. After all, you know so much about light novels and anime. You can talk about every single one you've read in great detail. You should be able to write light novels too."

"Well, that's true, but as for writing it, I'd rather not. I can write reviews, but I'm completely hopeless when it comes to light novels," Aki Tomoya said regretfully. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. How about we go to the anime convention together tomorrow?"

"No problem. I'm really interested in comic conventions."

After hanging up the phone, Hasegawa was still a little excited. He was really curious about anime conventions. He had attended an anime convention in China once after graduating from university, but that was the only time. After that, he worked like a dog to earn money to buy a house, a car, and save for his dowry. After getting married, he had even less time to attend anime conventions.

Now he has the time, the energy, and the money, especially since this is a comic convention in Japan, which makes Hasegawa very curious and interested. Therefore, he doesn't intend to miss this opportunity to attend the comic convention.

Just as Hasegawa was thinking about going to the comic convention the next day, his phone rang again.

"Sawamura-kun? Why are you calling me?" Hasegawa asked, a little curious.

"My mom just asked me to ask you if you're going to the anime convention tomorrow. If my mom hadn't insisted, I wouldn't have called you." Eriri's voice still carried that anime convention vibe.

"Oh, I see. Of course I'll be attending the anime convention. By the way, Tomoya's going tomorrow too. What about you? Want to come along?" Hasegawa smiled. He felt he had done a great service this time, giving Eriri and Aki Tomoya another opportunity.

"What does it matter to me whether he goes to the anime convention or not?" Eriri seemed to have exploded, her voice rising considerably on the phone, making Hasegawa feel like his ears were being deafened.

"Alright, alright, Tomoya has nothing to do with you. So, do you want to come to the anime convention tomorrow?" Hasegawa asked with a smile.

"I was going to the comic convention anyway, not because of... Hmph, since you've begged me, fine, I'll wait for you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Hasegawa looked at it and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. This Eriri, her personality is really tsundere, so tsundere. She clearly likes Aki Tomoya, she clearly wants to go to the anime convention with Aki Tomoya, yet she still says this. Hasegawa, however, hadn't considered that Eriri hadn't mentioned Aki Tomoya at all when she was talking to him.

However, having formed a preconceived notion, Hasegawa genuinely believed that Eriri liked Aki Tomoya.

I had just put my phone down when it suddenly rang again.

"Why are there so many calls today?" Hasegawa said, picking up his phone again and looking at the caller ID. He frowned slightly, but still answered the call.

"Hasegawa-kun, it's been a long time! Did you miss me?" A voice with a coquettish tone came through the phone.

"Kasumigaoka-senpai, please don't say things like that. What's wrong with calling me at this hour?" Hasegawa said in a formulaic manner.

"How heartless, Hasegawa-kun. I really missed Hasegawa-kun after we parted ways last time, but he treated me like this. It's really heartbreaking."

"Kasumigaoka-senpai, please stop fooling around. Is there something you need? If not, I'll hang up now. I have some things to take care of," Hasegawa said rudely.

"Alright, alright, Hasegawa-kun is such a heartless man. I'm just asking you, are you going to the anime convention tomorrow? If you are, how about you come with me?" Kasumigaoka Utaha then mentioned the anime convention tomorrow.

"Sorry, I have something to do tomorrow, so I won't be attending tomorrow's comic convention."

"Huh? You don't even go to comic conventions? There are only two a year."

"I'm sorry, but I really have something to do."

Hasegawa unceremoniously rejected Kasumigaoka Utaha's invitation.

After hanging up the phone, Hasegawa felt a bit of a headache. This Kasumigaoka Utaha was far too proactive. Although Hasegawa didn't dislike proactive girls, he just felt that if you showed even the slightest possibility to such a proactive girl, her attacks would likely come one after another.

So Hasegawa used this method to try to let Kasumigaoka Utaha know that he was not her type, so that Kasumigaoka Utaha could give up.

The next day, Hasegawa headed to the comic convention early in the morning. At an intersection not far from the convention, Hasegawa saw Aki Tomoya, who seemed to have arrived long ago.

"Kenichi, over here!" Aki Tomoya saw Hasegawa and waved as he shouted.

Although Aki Tomoya's voice was quite loud, it didn't attract much attention, since there were quite a few people waiting outside for others to rejoin them.

However, a few girls subconsciously glanced back and their eyes lit up when they saw Hasegawa.

"That guy is so handsome!"

"He's so handsome, just my type."

"If you like it, go up and ask for their contact information."

"Don't talk nonsense. A guy this handsome must have a girlfriend."

Ignoring the whispering girls, Hasegawa quickly walked up to Aki Tomoya.

"Rinya, it seems you've been here for quite a while?"

"Of course, I can't be late. Let's go, let's line up at the front, and we can go straight in once the convention starts." Aki Tomoya said, pulling Hasegawa along to join the queue.

"Wait, there are still people who haven't arrived yet," Hasegawa said with a smile, stopping Aki Tomoya.

"Someone else hasn't arrived? Did you make plans with other people?" Aki Tomoya was taken aback.

"Yes, they should be here soon. Let's wait a little longer." Hasegawa nodded with a smile.

"In that case, let's wait a bit. By the way, Hasegawa, you said you wanted to write a traditional novel, how's that going? Are you still writing it?"

"I'm still writing, and it's almost finished," Hasegawa said with a smile and a nod.

"You're really writing traditional novels."

"Of course, haven't I already said it? Of course I have to write it."

"Well, if you want to write, then write. But can I see it when you're done? I'm quite curious what it would be like if you wrote a traditional novel."

"No problem, I'll show you after I finish writing it."

While Hasegawa and Aki Tomoya were chatting, two girls walked over. Leading the way was Eriri with her twin tails, wearing a green tracksuit and a green hat. Although the colors were bright, her outfit wasn't particularly eye-catching in the crowd. However, behind Eriri was Kasumigaoka Utaha, whose attire was quite beautiful, attracting attention wherever she went. Many boys couldn't help but cast glances at Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"Kasumigaoka, couldn't you have changed your clothes? We're here for a comic convention, and you're dressed like this." Eriri couldn't help but complain to Kasumigaoka Utaha, wondering if she was attracting attention from others.

"Well, don't worry about that. Besides, it's just a comic convention, you don't need to be so covered up."

"What if someone I know sees us?"

"So what if you see him? Look over there, isn't that the person you're looking for?" Kasumigaoka Utaha noticed Hasegawa, her eyes lighting up as she pointed in that direction.

“Yes, it’s them. Let’s go.” Eriri said and walked in that direction.

Hasegawa noticed Eriri at this moment, but when he saw Kasumigaoka Utaha smiling beside Eriri, he couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling a little awkward. After all, Hasegawa had told Kasumigaoka Utaha that he had something to do and wouldn't be attending the anime convention. He just didn't expect to run into her so coincidentally. No, it wasn't a coincidence. Hasegawa should say that he didn't expect Kasumigaoka Utaha to know Eriri, and that the two of them had even come together.

"Eriri? It's you. I thought Kenichi was talking about someone else." Aki Tomoya said with a smile after seeing Eriri.

"Hmph, I just happened to be attending a comic convention. Hasegawa invited me, and I just happened to be passing by." Eriri gave a haughty snort, shifting her gaze from Aki Tomoya to Hasegawa.

Chapter Sixteen: Doujinshi

"Long time no see, Hasegawa-kun." Kasumigaoka Utaha greeted Hasegawa with a smile.

"Long time no see, Kasumigaoka-senpai," Hasegawa replied somewhat awkwardly. However, to Hasegawa's surprise, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't say anything else, which made Hasegawa feel a little uncomfortable. Hasegawa felt that if Kasumigaoka Utaha had launched into a tirade of sarcastic remarks at this moment, Hasegawa could have reacted more naturally, but Kasumigaoka Utaha's current demeanor made Hasegawa feel rather uncomfortable.

"Huh? Hasegawa, you know Kasumigaoka?" Eriri looked at Hasegawa and Kasumigaoka Utaha with surprise.

"Yes, I once pursued Hasegawa, but I was rejected without hesitation." Kasumigaoka Utaha laughed nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Eriri couldn't help but exclaim again.

"Ahem. Well, since we're all here, let's go line up." Hasegawa coughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, let's hurry up and line up. There are already so many people. If we don't line up now, who knows when we'll be able to get in," Aki Tomoya said hastily. He wasn't saying this because he felt the atmosphere was off; he was genuinely anxious.

Seeing this, the others could only follow behind Aki Tomoya.

At this time, an extremely long queue had already formed outside the comic convention, comparable to the morning and evening rush hours in big cities.

Of course, unlike the morning and evening rush hours, the people here are dressed differently. People like Hasegawa, wearing ordinary clothes, are only a minority. Many others, like Eriri, deliberately conceal their faces; of course, this group is also in the minority. Then there are those dressed in outlandish costumes, dressed in flamboyant and outlandish styles.

People holding all sorts of bizarre weapons, with all sorts of outlandish designs, and various cosplays—all of these are sure to catch the eye.

Even before entering, people were already taking photos with these people. The atmosphere was quite lively.

"Hasegawa-kun, you said you weren't coming to the anime convention today," Kasumigaoka Utaha whispered to Hasegawa from behind.

"Um, sorry. I... I've taken care of my business, so I have time again."

"There's no need to explain it like that. I know that Hasegawa-kun is just making up this excuse because he doesn't like me and thinks I'm difficult to deal with, right?"

"..." Hasegawa didn't know what to say, because that was the gist of it.

"I'm so sorry. I've caused Hasegawa-kun this trouble." Kasumigaoka Utaha apologized, seemingly sincerely.

"Huh?" Hasegawa looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha with some surprise.

"I was too one-sided before. Hasegawa-kun made it very clear that he already has someone he likes, and it was a bit much for me to keep bothering him. So, Hasegawa-kun, let's be ordinary friends. Let's get to know each other again. Kasumigaoka Utaha, the author of Love Metronome, Kasumigaoka Utaha." Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled innocently and extended her right hand to Hasegawa.

Hasegawa looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha in surprise. Seeing her serious expression, it seemed she was really going to give up. This made Hasegawa quite happy, and a sincere smile appeared on his face. He gently grasped Kasumigaoka Utaha's right hand: "Kenichi Hasegawa, the author of Tokyo Ghoul."

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Eriri suddenly saw Kasumigaoka Utaha and Hasegawa shaking hands and talking. She immediately looked at the two suspiciously, especially when she focused her gaze on their hands, a strange look flashed across her face.

"Make friends." Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled and voluntarily withdrew her right hand.

“Yes, she’s making friends.” Hasegawa noticed Kasumigaoka Utaha’s actions and said with a smile.

"You two are acting strangely," Eriri said, still maintaining a suspicious attitude.

"Is it strange? Hasegawa and I are both light novel authors. If we become friends, we can exchange ideas on writing. No, I should say I can get guidance from Hasegawa. This is a good thing for me, so naturally I want to make friends with him." Kasumigaoka Utaha said to Eriri with a natural smile.

"Really? I'm a writer too, though I'm a manga artist, but you can still talk to me." Eriri's tone carried a hint of sourness.

"So, Eriri, you're my friend too," Kasumigaoka Utaha said to Eriri with a smile.

Eriri pouted. She suddenly felt that Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed a little... well, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was just a little unhappy.

As for Aki Tomoya, he was excitedly looking around, snapping photos with his camera in hand. He had bought the camera specifically for the anime convention; although mobile phones also have cameras, Aki Tomoya felt that they couldn't compare to this professional camera.

Eriri glanced at Aki Tomoya, who looked like this, and couldn't help but roll her eyes. Then she huddled together with Kasumigaoka Utaha and whispered something to each other.

"here we go!"

Someone shouted something, and the crowd started to get a little chaotic, but thankfully, everyone remembered to line up and moved in little by little in order.