Tokyo: Oreimo

"The booth fees at this electronics festival aren't expensive. Ayumi and I are thinking of setting up a booth there. It would be best if we could clear out our inventory and at least recoup some of the costs."

"Set up a stall?"

“Yes! You should come too!” Tian Zhongxue clasped his hands together. “It’s less about selling things and more about experiencing the atmosphere of a fan-made content stall.”

Ayumi had given up on the idea of ​​immediately explaining the painting, looking at Tian Zhongxue's anxious appearance.

She sat with her legs crossed and explained, "He said he was going to set up a stall, but actually he wouldn't get many customers even if he set up there all day. He just wanted people who could come to go and have some fun in Akihabara."

"Hey, don't just call me out on it."

Tanaka, whose intentions had been exposed, was somewhat dissatisfied. He turned to Ryosuke and said, "But Takashiro-kun will definitely come, right? You just joined the club, so it's a good opportunity for you to get familiar with the doujinshi community. It will also help with your future creations."

Ryosuke had no reason to refuse.

Although he had attended many fan-made comic book sales events in his previous life, he did so as a creator.

In this life, he had set up a stall at the Comic Market, but that was a business activity as the president of ANIPLEX, completely different from a stall set up by a university club, which was purely for hobbyists.

"Okay, I don't have any plans, let's go together then."

"Great!" Tian Zhongxue clenched his fist in a victory gesture. "It's a deal then, Saturday at 10:00 AM, meet at the Akihabara Station electronics district intersection!"

"So excited, you've found some labor, right?" Ayumi added insult to injury from the side.

"Ayumi, you are too! You're a member of the workforce! We're all members of the workforce!"

Tian Zhongxue was already happily humming the theme song of the anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" while taking his precious new graphics tablet out of its box and examining it carefully under the light of the activity room.

As Ryosuke looked at the scene, something suddenly came to mind.

"Speaking of which, will there be any game-related booths at the electronics district festival?"

“Of course!” Tian Zhongxue nodded immediately. “Although the Electric Town Festival is not large in scale, it is easier for doujin game circles to participate. Last year, I saw several circles that were making visual novels. I even bought a disc. The quality was okay, but of course, it is far inferior to Aniplex.”

"Is Takashiro interested in this?"

"I'm slightly interested in learning more about the level of development of doujin game circles," Ryosuke said tactfully, but his real intention was to investigate the preferences of Aniplex's core user group within the community.

"That's perfect! There are a few doujin game specialty stores in the electronics district. I know them very well, so I'll take you there later!"

Tian Zhongxue patted his chest and guaranteed.

"Does the chairman know the store manager in the electronics district?"

Ayumi interjected at the opportune moment.

"We say we know each other, but we've only chatted a few times when we went there to buy game discs. Anyway, we're somewhat acquainted."

"Does that person recognize you?"

"Hey!"

The manga club activities club became noisy and chaotic because of Tanaka's arrival.

However, Ryosuke didn't dislike this atmosphere; on the contrary, he found it novel.

They are so youthful and energetic; being with them even makes me feel more vibrant myself.

......

On Friday night, the only sound in Gao Cheng's living room was the low hum of the television.

Mieko and Yuu had already gone upstairs to rest. Ryosuke came out after taking a shower, drying his half-dry hair as he passed by Ryouno's room. The door wasn't closed properly, letting in a sliver of light. He was about to walk right past when a soft "Hey" stopped him.

Ling Nai sat leaning against the headboard, her notebook lying on her knees, a pencil between her fingers, as if she were drawing something.

She didn't look up, but simply tapped the edge of the bed with the end of her pen.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Ryosuke leaned against the door frame, a towel draped over his shoulder.

"For club activities, we need to go to Akihabara, where there's a doujinshi (fan-made comics) auction."

Ling Nai then raised her head, her brows furrowing slightly.

"It's that club again. You've only been enrolled for two weeks, how come you're busier than the club?"

"It was the president who dragged me to help set up a stall, saying that there was a batch of doujinshi left over from last winter's COMI, and they were taking advantage of the electronics district festival to clear out the inventory," Ryosuke confessed truthfully.

Ling Nai stared at him for two seconds, as if judging the truth of his words, then closed the notebook and put it on the bedside table.

"I'll go as well."

"Didn't you have a study session with Liuli tomorrow?"

"Cancel it."

Her straightforward tone surprised Ryosuke.

Ling Nai had already grabbed her phone from the bedside table and was typing rapidly, probably sending a message to Aragaki Ruri. Ryosuke watched her move so quickly and suddenly understood.

"You don't think Saori will go too, do you?"

Ling Nai paused for a moment while typing, then pressed the send button even faster and placed the phone face down on the bed.

"It has nothing to do with that woman. I just haven't been to Akihabara in a long time."

Ryosuke knew his younger sister too well. When she said "it has nothing to do with that woman," it was usually when she was most involved.

He didn't expose him, but instead shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Leave at nine o'clock tomorrow morning and meet at the intersection of the electronics street."

"understood."

Ling Nai picked up the notebook again, adopting a "you can leave now" posture.

As Ryosuke closed the door for her, he heard a very soft "humph" coming from inside the room.

.....

The following morning at 9:40, at the Akihabara Station Electric Street intersection.

The September sun was still scorching, and the shops on both sides of the electronics street had already hung up banners advertising discounts and promotions. Fan art stalls lined the street, one after another, stretching far along the sidewalk.

Tanaka and Horiuchi Ayumi had already arrived.

Tian Zhongxue, carrying a bulging hiking backpack filled with unsold doujinshi, was handing out flyers to Ayumi to assign tasks.

"Ayumi, you're in charge of collecting the money, I'll handle the sales pitch..."

Before he could finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of Ryosuke walking towards him from the direction of the station out of the corner of his eye, and subconsciously raised his hand to greet him.

Then his hand froze in mid-air.

Ryosuke didn't come alone.

Half a step behind him was a beautiful girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and fair skin.

The girl wore a simple white coat and jeans, with a slender waist and long legs, making her stand out in a crowd.

Her expression was somewhat impatient, her arms were crossed, and her eyes were scanning the stalls in the electronics street.

"morning."

Ryosuke walked up to the stall and casually greeted them.

No one responded to him.

Tanaka stood there with his mouth agape, his gaze darting back and forth between Ryosuke and the blonde girl.

Horiuchi Ayumi was also quite surprised, her gaze lingering on the girl's distinctive blonde hair.

The president of the manga club let out a scream that could almost be described as a "terrible scream".

"—Girlfriend?! Takashiro-kun, you have a girlfriend?! And—"

Tian Zhongxue's gaze quickly swept over Ling Nai's face and figure. "And this is the quality?! This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Why is there such a big difference between us, both being otaku?!"

His wailing drew the attention of several stall owners nearby.

Ling Nai, who had been browsing the doujinshi at the stall, blushed instantly upon hearing this. However, instead of reacting angrily as usual, she simply turned her head slightly and muttered in an almost inaudible voice, "Idiot, what girlfriend...."

Ryosuke showed a helpless expression.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my sister."

"younger sister?"

Tian Zhongxue opened his mouth wide, looked at Ryosuke and then at Ling Nai. After confirming that Ryosuke was not joking, he carefully examined the appearances of the brother and sister.

"Wait, you two don't look alike at all?"

"Siblings in remarried families are not related by blood."

Ryosuke offered a brief explanation.

"Oh, so it's my stepsister."

Tian Zhongxue immediately suppressed his shock, patted his chest and let out a long breath. His face instantly transformed into a fawning smile. He darted forward to Ling Nai, clasped his hands together in a standard pleading gesture, and said, "Then, little sister, if it's convenient for you...?"

"inconvenient."

Ling Nai decisively interrupted him, while simultaneously taking half a step to Ryosuke's side, using this subtle movement to announce her vigilance range.

"Wow! I got rejected instantly!"

Tian Zhongxue exaggeratedly clutched his chest, pretending to be pierced by an arrow, and staggered back two steps, collapsing into the seat next to Ayumi. "Ayumi, say something! Shouldn't the vice president say something at a time like this?"

"I have nothing to say to those perverts who can't move when they see pretty girls."

Horiuchi Ayumi mercilessly delivered the finishing blow.

"What should I call you, little sister?" Ayumi ignored Tanaka's wailing and looked at the girl instead.

Ling Nai turned her head and met Ayumi's gaze.

Their eyes met briefly in the air, lasting less than a second.

"Takashiro Ryouno, that idiot's little sister, nice to meet you." Ryouno nodded slightly and said in a very polite tone.

In her opinion, although Ryosuke's clubmates were also otaku, they were not "suspicious people," and they should still be treated with the proper etiquette.

Tian Zhongxue had recovered from the earlier blow and was about to continue the conversation when he suddenly remembered his main task for the day. He took a stack of doujinshi from his backpack and stuffed them into Ryosuke's hands.

"Anyway, more people is a good thing! Come on, Takashiro, help sell a few copies too! This is an S;G doujinshi published by COMI last winter, priced at 500 yen per copy!"