Utaha Kasumigaoka at the Comic Convention  

"...It's really hot. I knew there would be a lot of people at the convention, but this is still a bit beyond what I expected." 

In the plaza outside the convention venue, Utaha Kasumigaoka, wearing a hat, gazed wearily at the bustling crowd ahead. 

As a light novel author, Utaha was, by nature, an otaku at heart—so her presence at a comic convention was hardly surprising. However, the types of works she enjoyed differed slightly from what most male and female otaku typically favored. But today, there was indeed a booth at the convention that piqued her interest. 

Since the works at that booth weren't particularly popular, Utaha saw no need to squeeze through the crowds early in the morning. Instead, she deliberately waited until noon to arrive. 

She had assumed the venue would be much less crowded by then, but to her dismay, there were still quite a few people inside. The sight made her frown slightly. 

Still, it was better than the morning. If she had come earlier, the sheer density of the crowd would have been unbearable. 

Just as Utaha was considering whether to wait a little longer for the crowd to thin out before entering, she caught sight of two familiar figures passing by the convention entrance. 

She recognized both of them—Eriri and Shin. 

"Oh?" Utaha's curiosity was instantly piqued. 

She knew Eriri, and she knew Shin, but in her mind, the two shouldn't have had much interaction. 

At school, Eriri and Shin only met during lunch breaks, so none of their classmates had noticed how close the two actually were. 

On top of that, Eriri was the star member of the art club, while Shin had founded the paranormal research club—two groups that had absolutely nothing in common. 

So, in the eyes of most students, Eriri and Shin shouldn't have had many opportunities to interact, let alone develop any kind of special relationship. 

Yet now, Utaha saw Eriri happily holding Shin's hand, her eyes—visible even behind her mask—radiating joy. 

"Interesting. I didn't expect to stumble upon such a discovery." 

A faint smile curled on Utaha's lips. Since she wasn't in the mood to squeeze through lines right now, witnessing such an amusing scene naturally made her want to join in on the fun. 

She had been wanting to find a chance to talk to Shin for a while now—especially about those "paranormal incidents" he was involved in. This was the perfect opportunity to get some answers. 

--- 

"Uwah, this is so lewd..." 

At one of the booths, Eriri, her face flushed, was flipping through a photobook filled with cosplayer images. 

Though the poses were relatively lame, Eriri, being a doujinshi artist, was particularly skilled at drawing female characters. She often bought these kinds of photobooks as reference material for her work. 

But this time, having Shin—a boy—standing beside her while she browsed such content gave her a strange, thrilling sensation. 

The girl running the booth also shot Eriri and Shin a slightly odd look. 

Shin, the boy, seemed completely disinterested in the photobook, while Eriri, the girl, was making perverted noises as she flipped through the pages. 

It was such a bizarre scene that the booth attendant would probably never forget it. 

"I'll take one." 

After confirming that the photos inside were suitable for reference, Eriri closed the book and seriously handed over the payment. 

"Thank you for your purchase..." 

The girl at the booth accepted the money with a complicated expression, then placed the photobook into a discreet bag before handing it to Eriri. 

Since the cover wasn't exactly something one would want to carry around openly, these bags were designed to hide the contents—not for convenience, but for secrecy. 

After purchasing the photobook, Eriri excitedly tugged Shin's hand as they walked away, chattering happily: 

"Some of the poses in this photobook are great references! I was thinking maybe we could try them out when we—" 

As expected of a doujinshi artist, she immediately started discussing that kind of topic after buying the photobook. 

Then, mid-sentence, Eriri suddenly stopped walking. 

Her cheeks turned even redder as she fidgeted, her voice dropping to a whisper. 

"...Or, um... maybe we could find a place to practice right now?" 

It seemed Eriri had developed a taste for it after their last encounter and had been looking for another chance to be with Shin. This private outing with him was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity. 

Shin had a feeling that when she invited him yesterday, she had already planned something like this. 

But before he could respond, a teasing voice suddenly came from behind them: 

"Oh? And what exactly do you two plan to practice?" 

Eriri jumped in fright, her twin pigtails practically standing on end as she whirled around to see who had spoken. 

Shin, on the other hand, remained calm—he had already sensed someone approaching earlier. 

Sure enough, standing behind them with an amused smile was Utaha Kasumigaoka, who seemed to have been following them for a while, having overheard their entire conversation. 

"Utaha Kasumigaoka!? What are you doing here!?" 

Eriri immediately bristled, her face full of hostility. 

She hadn't interacted much with Utaha before and only knew of her from occasional mentions at school. But a few days ago, when Utaha applied to join Shin's paranormal research club, Eriri had grown suspicious. 

Just as Shin had suspected, Eriri also believed Utaha had joined the club for him—and worse, she thought Utaha might have feelings for him. 

Which meant, in Eriri's eyes, Utaha was a love rival! 

Naturally, she wasn't about to be friendly with a rival. 

If it were someone like Megumi, whom Eriri had grown familiar with, she wouldn't have been so openly hostile. 

But with Utaha? No such courtesy was necessary—her animosity was practically written all over her face. 

Especially since Utaha had clearly eavesdropped on what she had just said to Shin...!

To be continued…

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