Tokyo: Oreimo

"You're with Saori now, and I don't want to disturb you, but I can't sleep whenever I think about it. What will I do if you end up choosing her...?"

She buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled.

"I only have you."

After saying that, she didn't say anything more.

After a while, her breathing gradually became even, her body relaxed, and her forehead gently rested on Ryosuke's shoulder. Like many nights before, she finally fell asleep.

The room fell silent again, with only the occasional sound of a car passing by outside the window and the slight clicking of the radiator.

Ryosuke opened his eyes in the darkness.

He stared at the light streaks on the ceiling, his chest feeling as if it were being squeezed, not exactly painful, but suffocating.

He closed his eyes, listening to the girl's even breathing beside him, and felt her forehead still pressed against his shoulder.

When she falls asleep, all her usual arrogance, temper, and stubbornness disappear, leaving only a quiet profile and the occasional gentle furrowing of her brow in her sleep.

He reached out to tuck the blanket around her, but then withdrew his hand halfway through.

Forget it, it would be troublesome if I woke him up.

Just lie here, it's not the first time anyway.

......

On the last day of Winter COMI, the manga club gathered once again.

Ryosuke and Ayano arrived early, and everyone gathered together.

As the members of the comics club had predicted, the number of people on the last day of the holy war was indeed less than the day before, but to their surprise, long queues formed in front of the booths.

what's the situation?

When Tian Zhongxue saw this scene, he was completely dumbfounded.

Yesterday we printed an extra 1,200 copies, which we originally thought was enough, but judging from the current situation, it seems we are still not prepared enough.

"What's going on here?"

Shota Okubo stood on tiptoe and peered over the sea of ​​heads in front of him.

He was still clutching the canned coffee he had just bought from the convenience store. The icy temperature emanated from his palm, but he felt no coldness at all because of the scene before him.

"There were a lot of people queuing yesterday, but not to this extent? It's only been five minutes since it started, and the queue is already this long?"

Misaki Asakura pulled her scarf down, revealing half of her face, which was red from the cold. "And these people don't seem to be just browsing around; they seem to have come specifically for our stall."

Ayumi put down the paper bag in her hand, glanced at the queue, and then at the stall table.

The additional 1,200 copies were already stacked under the table and packed into three kraft paper boxes.

She had repeatedly calculated the number last night and thought that the number of visitors to the third day of the Winter COMI should be sufficient, but now it seems that she may have underestimated something.

"Never mind why! The fact that people are here is a good thing!"

Tanaka slapped Okubo Shota hard on the back, making the latter stagger forward. "Hurry up, this is the last day of Winter COMI, we absolutely can't let customers who have waited so long go home empty-handed!"

"President, please put your glasses on before you speak."

"Huh? Where are my glasses?"

Ling Nai stood inside the stall, using a tape dispenser to attach price tags to Ayumi, her gaze sweeping over the crowd in line.

That's definitely not right.

She's attended so many CM conventions, seen countless events from doujinshi to corporate events, and the foot traffic always seems to decline on the third day.

The weekend is over, and most of the people who came from afar have gone home. Even the most popular doujinshi should be easier to buy than they were a couple of days ago.

But the queue is still growing.

"what is that?"

Ling Nai, with her sharp eyes, noticed that several people in the group were holding mobile phones, and the pages displayed on the screens looked very familiar.

That's the interface of the Future Dimensional Forum.

.....

"Two books!"

"Please give me two books!"

"I couldn't buy any yesterday, so I made sure to leave home at six o'clock today!"

"I came from Osaka, and I stayed an extra day specifically for this doujinshi!"

One by one, the customers queuing in front of the stall announced the quantity they wanted to buy, their voices filled with the anticipation they had suppressed all night.

Ayumi was in charge of collecting money and giving change, her fingers flying back and forth on the calculator.

Misaki Asakura stood at the front of the line, taking on the role of maintaining order, while Kobayashi and Okubo each stood on one side, acting as wheeled shelves.

Tian Zhongxue was also busy, restocking while thanking each customer, his voice never stopping from the beginning.

"But this speed is too fast today." Shota Okubo took out his phone to browse the forum during a break from restocking.

Then he froze.

"Hello, hello, hello..."

"What's wrong?" Tian Zhongxue took a stack of new books out of the cardboard box, placed them on the table, patted the dust off his hands, and came over.

"Look, you all."

Okubo flipped his phone screen over, his fingers trembling slightly.

In the top section of the FSN forum on Future Dimension, a title has a prominent red pinned label.

"[Official Recommendation] Winter COMI Special Project: Kara no Kyoukai Doujinshi Introduction & Booth Guide"

The post was made by an administrator account, and it started with only a few lines:

"I recently discovered a noteworthy work in the forum discussion area."

"This work is based on the Type-Moon universe and builds a brand new independent story. The original female protagonist design and the narrative completion are both excellent. After evaluation, this work is given an official recommendation."

"Readers who are interested in purchasing can visit the Waseda University Manga Research Club at booth 'Waseda University Manga Research Club' in East 4-127b of East 4 Hall on the third day of Winter COMI."

Below is a thumbnail of the cover of "Kara no Kyoukai" (The Garden of Sinners), showing Ryougi Shiki's silhouette holding a short sword under the moonlight, next to the line that has been recited countless times: "If it's alive, I'll kill even a god."

The post was made at 11 p.m. last night.

In less than eleven hours, the number of views has exceeded 10,000 and the number of replies has surpassed 800.

"Official recommendation?!"

Tian Zhongxue's voice suddenly split into two.

Ayumi's coin fell onto the table, rolled twice before Asakura Misaki caught it. Kobayashi Yosuke's action of pushing up his glasses froze in mid-air, his mouth agape, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Everyone knows what this pinned post means.

The official account of Future Dimension Forum only posts serious announcements related to Aniplex, such as game updates, anime information, and merchandise pre-orders.

In their experience, it was unheard of for a forum to give a pinned recommendation to a work by a fanfiction group.

"Aniplex has officially approved our doujinshi?"

Shota Okubo kept refreshing the page, his tone as if he were talking in his sleep.

Ayumi stood still, her gaze passing over her phone screen and landing on the worn-out trial book on the stall table. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

She has been drawing for so many years, from the art department of middle school to the comics research group in college. She was officially recognized by Aniplex at the Winter COMI. A year ago, she would never have dared to dream of this.

“No wonder there are so many people today.” Yosuke Kobayashi pushed his glasses back into place, his voice half an octave lower than usual. “After that pinned post came out last night, there must have been quite a few people who originally only planned to visit the corporate area but made a special detour to the East Fourth Building.”

Tian Zhongxue suddenly held his phone above his head, almost shouting "Hooray!" on the spot: "Official recommendation from Aniplex! What kind of treatment is this! What kind of treatment is this!"

"President, keep your voice down!" Ayumi reflexively slapped him, but she tried her best to keep her mouth down.

Misaki Asakura grabbed Ayumi's sleeve, her eyes slightly red: "Ayumi-senpai, is this really not a dream? Our doujinshi has been officially recognized by Aniplex?"

Only Ling Nai's expression was different from theirs.

She stared at the red pinned tag on Okubo's phone screen, her lips pursed almost imperceptibly, then turned to look at Ryosuke standing inside the stall.

This guy?

Ryosuke was putting the thermos back into the canvas bag, his face expressionless.

wrong.

Ling Nai dismissed this guess in her mind. Based on her understanding of this person, if Ryosuke had really given the order, his first reaction would definitely not be like this.

He would inform Tian Zhongxue or Ayumi in advance that he would arrange countermeasures before the event started. His work style has always been to "incorporate all variables into the calculation".

Furthermore, if Ryosuke wanted his doujinshi to be recommended, he could have simply given the order as president of the company. Why did he have to wait until today?

The Winter COMI event only lasts three days, so if I had to recommend doing it two days in advance, it would be more efficient.

Ling kept her thoughts to herself.

"Gao Cheng, did you see that? It's officially recommended!"

Tian Zhongxue grabbed Ryosuke's shoulder and shook him so hard that the thermos cup in his hand almost flew out of his hand.

"I knew your work was exceptional! Even Aniplex recognized it! Look at this post, it says 'After evaluation, this work has been given an official recommendation,' evaluation! Official evaluation! This shows that Aniplex really took it seriously!"

"I saw it." Ryosuke switched the thermos to his other hand and patted the back of his hand.

"Aren't you excited?! Show some excitement! We've been officially recognized!"

Tian Zhongxue clearly had no intention of letting him off so easily, and began to shake him violently several more times.

"This is Aniplex, the company that made Fate, Madoka Magica, and Steins;Gate! They actually read our fanfiction and recommended it to everyone on the forum!"

Yosuke Kobayashi pushed up his glasses, his tone unusually wistful: "To be officially recognized by the very organization that owns my favorite work, it seems that Takashiro's writing is indeed ridiculously strong."

Ayumi was equally excited, but because she was mindful of her responsibilities as vice president and felt she couldn't lose face, she remained much more composed than the others.

But the curiosity in her eyes as she looked at Ryosuke grew stronger.

Ryosuke, standing to the side, suddenly felt like laughing.

He found it interesting.