Tokyo: Oreimo

A few minutes later, the door to Ling Nai's room opened slightly again, revealing a crack.

The pounding of my heart could be faintly heard in the dark and silent environment.

"What am I even saying...? Calling that guy 'brother'...it's so embarrassing..."

.....

On the second day of the CM exhibition, Ryosuke got up early and took the train with Ryono.

This was the first time the two of them had gone out together. Their parents hadn't gotten up yet; they had only left a note on the dining table in the living room.

Along the way, Takashiro Ryono appeared to be somewhat sleep-deprived and couldn't help but fall asleep in her train seat, leaning her head on Ryosuke's shoulder next to her.

"Honestly, you were clearly exhausted yesterday, didn't you know to get some rest earlier?"

This posture is probably the result of having a crazy day at the CM exhibition yesterday and staying up late last night.

Ryosuke didn't move, just let her lean against him until the train was about to arrive at the station, then he woke the girl up.

Am I asleep?

Ling Nai rubbed her eyes, still a little dazed.

"Isn't that obvious? He's snoring too."

Ryosuke couldn't resist teasing her.

"How is that possible? Even if you weren't fully awake, it shouldn't be like this!"

The blonde girl immediately blushed, her face turning shy.

This is a public place.

But she quickly noticed the smile on Ryosuke's face, realized she had been tricked, and glared at him fiercely.

"You're still as annoying as ever!"

As if she was angry, Takashiro Ryouno turned around and stepped off the tram first.

"What a jerk! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been so embarrassed last night that I couldn't sleep until the early hours!"

The girl muttered to herself, noticing that her older brother hadn't kept up. She turned around and saw Ryosuke following not far behind, his expression showing a hint of dissatisfaction.

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and catch up!"

.....

When the two arrived at the exhibition, Phoenix Inu Saori was already organizing a new batch of game discs.

Mao was unable to attend today due to work commitments, and with Ryosuke present, the three of them were perfectly capable of managing.

"Good morning, Shi Yuze and my sister-chan."

Phoenix Courtyard greeted them.

Takashiro Ryōno noticed that the other person wasn't wearing the jacket with 'Artoria' printed on it today; instead, they were wearing another Heroic Spirit character from the game—Medea.

"This is for you, Shi Yuze, it's a club uniform."

A brand new coat was tossed to Ryosuke Takashiro by Saori Hououin.

The back of the clothes is painted with a man's face, belonging to Medea's Master, and in the game, her official partner—Kusuke Souichirou.

Takagi Ryouno immediately glanced at Hououin Saori with slight displeasure, involuntarily releasing hostility.

This guy, saying he wanted to marry him, wasn't he just joking?

If yesterday's incident was a coincidence, this one is definitely intentional, isn't it?

Ryosuke didn't think much of it, since he had already confirmed last night that Phoenixin was joking, and he put on his coat without any hesitation.

So you just put it on like that?

This guy is so frivolous, didn't he notice that?

"What's wrong?"

Ryosuke noticed his sister's unhappy expression and was a little puzzled.

"Leave me alone!"

Takagi Ryou snorted heavily, suddenly feeling that the 'Emiya Shirou' outfit she was wearing wasn't so appealing anymore, and ran off to help tidy up the stall.

I don't think I've offended her, right?

Ryosuke was confused.

Phoenix Inu Saori witnessed this scene and couldn't help but smile.

Looks like we won today.

.....

As the second day of the CM exhibition began, long queues quickly formed again in front of the booths.

The large number of tourists who missed the opportunity to buy things yesterday due to arriving late also contributed to the increased popularity of the area.

Within an hour, the "sold out" sign was put up on the stall again.

The surrounding stall owners cast envious glances at him, and many of them came over specifically to express their gratitude.

After all, with such a large flow of visitors from the 'neighbors,' tourists who are scattered around don't mind wandering around the area, and even if the quality of the works is limited, it has boosted sales quite well.

After they finished dealing with the remaining cardboard boxes and eating their boxed lunches, the CM exhibition had just entered its second half.

"I won't stay long today. I have to go to Uncle Yamazaki's shop. What are your plans, Shigaze?"

Phoenix Inu Saori slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared to leave.

"I'll probably stay and experience the CM exhibition, since there's nothing to do when I get back."

Ryosuke glanced at Ryouno beside him.

The girl's eyes were already darting towards the other stalls, looking eager to try them out.

"Really? See you tomorrow then."

Phoenix Inu Saori winked at Ling Nai, and the blonde girl seemed a little guilty, turning her head away and not daring to meet her gaze.

I just can't get along with the female giant.

Every time Ling Nai faced her, she felt like she was confronting her natural enemy.

After saying goodbye to Saori, Ryosuke followed his sister and strolled around the various stalls. Occasionally, he would see some eye-catching works and buy a few without hesitation.

After wandering around for a while, he noticed that the flow of people seemed to be consciously converging towards Hall B.

"What's going on here?"

He couldn't help but ask Takashiro Ryōno a question.

"It seems a celebrity has arrived?"

Ling Nai seemed to suddenly realize something, "The announcement says that there will be a Moon Witch transformation performance today, and it is said that a certain idol group has been invited."

Ryosuke: "Shall we go take a look?"

"Of course, the official performance is an hour later, so I'll go then."

Ryoko Takashiro's expectations for this were far lower than yesterday, since it was an idol group whose name she had hardly heard of.

......

At this moment, Asakura Mirai was backstage in Zone B of the performance venue, feeling somewhat uneasy.

She would occasionally peek out to check on her agent's whereabouts.

Shinpei Ito led the team to the performance preparation room and then left to check the stage lighting and sound source. He wouldn't be back for at least half an hour.

Only the three Dream Chaser members are currently in the room.

"Shizuka-chan is so bold, she actually sneaked away before the performance..."

"How romantic! Running away just to see someone you like."

"Don't talk nonsense. Shizuka was just expressing her gratitude. It's not allowed by the company for someone who has just debuted to be in a relationship."

"Hehe, anyway, the captain is usually so tense, it's okay to relax a little once in a while, right?"

"As long as Uncle Ito doesn't catch me, it'll be fine."

"Hopefully, half an hour... anything longer and we'll definitely be exposed."

Chapter 85 The Runaway Idol Girl

Tokyo Big Sight, Zone C.

Shizuka Hayakawa, wrapped in a coat, wearing a mask and hood, jogged through the crowd, hiding her already changed performance outfit underneath.

"C93...is this the direction?"

The girl found the right direction and hurried over. It was a rare opportunity to meet, and she had to say hello no matter what.

His sudden appearance might startle him.

To her disappointment, when she arrived at the stall, she did not see the benefactor she had always remembered.

Instead, it was a completely empty scene.

—Sold out for today.

A notice sat alone on the stall.

"Sold out so quickly?"

Was it a miscalculation? Was there too little stock, or was it simply too popular?

Hayakawa Shizuka felt a pang of regret. If she had known things would turn out this way, she should have sent a text message to Ryosuke beforehand.

Are you looking for the stall owner?

The 'neighbor' nearby cast a curious glance at them.

It's August now, and the weather is sweltering. Tourists wrapped up like dumplings are really eye-catching and hard to miss.

"Hmm, do you know where he went?"