Chapter 147

Seeing the disbelieving look on her Childhood Friend's face, Hasegawa Izumi felt nothing; she even wanted to laugh.

"Eriri, what will you do if one day you find that the world is really not what you imagined?"

He looked up at the sky and asked a meaningful question.

"What's different?"

Eriri turned her head and stared at his expression, wanting to know what trick he was playing.

"For example, miracles and magic are real."

He provided a definition.

"Izumi, I'm not a child anymore. I can mimic the transformation moves of Magical Girl in anime, so this kind of question is meaningless."

Clearly, the girl no longer saw 'light'.

"I mean, what if it actually happens someday?"

"Then I'll..."

The words of reply were lost in the wind.

As the first day of the comic exhibition came to an end, the attendees began to leave one by one.

Cleaning staff began to enter the venue and clean up the area to prepare for the next day's activities.

As dusk approached, the legendary Demon Hour into darkness.

"Hey, have you guys heard about that rumor?"

"What rumor? You're not thinking of the thing that caused this year's exhibition to be delayed by a week, are you?"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about? Stop being so secretive."

"Alright, since you want to know, I'll tell you..."

The workers who were cleaning and tidying up stopped to rest and gathered together, and they started chatting about something out of boredom.

"The real reason the exhibition was delayed is... someone died here!"

The older worker said this with an air of seriousness.

Someone's dead!?

The young worker was immediately startled.

"You're not making this up, are you? If someone really died, wouldn't everyone know?"

"Ha, young man, this world isn't as simple as you think! Most people die anonymously... But that's not important. What's important is that the people who died here are very strange. It's said there are no signs of homicide, but it doesn't seem like suicide either. In short, it's very strange."

"Heh, uncle, you're just making this up! It wasn't murder, it wasn't suicide, so how did he die?"

How would I know? I just heard it from others.

The two were having a lively conversation when

Suddenly, a young man wearing a black vest, a blue trench coat, and trousers, with a bizarrely colorful hairstyle, appeared in the venue. He also had a cell phone and Duel Disk with him.

Did you leave something behind?

A staff member turned to look and asked the other person.

The other person's outfit had a cosplay feel to it, but the staff here were used to it and didn't make a fuss.

"Want to have a duel with me?"

Instead of answering, the other person asked a question, then reached out and revealed a stack of Yu-Gi-Oh!! cards.

"I don't play this."

The staff member was completely baffled.

"I see. It seems you're all people without Duel Spirit."

The other person glanced at everyone in the room, then turned and left, disappearing from his sight.

"Wait, that person looks like the Yu-Gi-Oh!! card game enthusiast who died here before..."

In another corner of the venue, a man who witnessed this scene suddenly showed a look of horror.

38. Next chapter: The Death of Gokou Ruri

That evening, an urban legend spread like wildfire.

People encountered a man near the Tokyo Big Sight who claimed to want to have Yu-Gi-Oh! -Oh! card duel. He looked very much like Sato Yugo, who had won the Yu-Gi-Oh! several times and was known as the modern Yu-Gi-Oh! -Gi-Oh!.

If that were all, people would probably just think the other party was doing performance art and laugh it off.

However, at that moment, someone posted a comment on the forum. "Mr. Sato has passed away. Please don't make such a malicious joke."

"How could that be? I'm a regular Yu-Gi-Oh! -Oh! player, how could I not know the famous Mr. Sato! Could he have a twin brother and be cosplaying him?"

"Mr. Sato didn't have a twin brother, and even if he did, Sato just passed away, so it's impossible for him to impersonate him to do such a thing."

Seeing that the other party was so certain, the original poster had no choice but to look up the information themselves, and only then did they notice that in a corner no one had paid attention to, Sato Yugo's family had posted his obituary.

"How could this be? What I encountered back then was..."

The poster, deeply disturbed by the thought, broke out in a cold sweat, recalling his encounter with Mr. Sato, whose demeanor seemed lifeless and gave off a sinister feeling.

Afterwards, he posted another message online, trying to confirm if there were others who had experienced the same thing.

It turned out that, besides him, there were indeed other people who had encountered the same situation.

The next morning, news broke that someone had gone missing at the Tokyo Big Sight, and the missing person happened to be a fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! -Oh! card game.

This immediately made people connect these pieces of news together.

"Could someone have accepted the invitation? And then..."

Those who have had this experience turn as pale as a sheet of paper, and feel a wave of fear wash over them.

The second day of the comic convention.

As agreed, after exiting the station, Hasegawa Izumi and Eriri first met up with the other three otaku girls outside.

Apart from Kousaka Kirino had clearly changed into a more stylish outfit, everyone else's attire remained largely unchanged.

In such hot summer weather, especially after yesterday's high-intensity exercise, it's like going to a sauna while still wearing clothes, so your clothes are bound to get dirty.

This is clearly not because the girls are unclean, but because they all prepare the same clothes as spares.

He could understand why Miss Kuroneko wore the same clothes to maintain her style.

As for Eriri and that Miss Saori, they're still wearing those outdated otaku outfits. They're really going to great lengths to hide their identities. Could this Miss Saori also be Young Lady from some wealthy family?

Because they had agreed to meet together, when they arrived at the venue, they found that a long line had already formed in the crowd.

"It's so hot, so humid, and so stuffy! I thought there would be fewer people today, but it's practically the same as yesterday!"

Kousaka Kirino, recalling the torment of yesterday, immediately felt deflated, her head drooping, her hands perpendicular to the ground.

"Can you please be quiet for a moment? My annoyance level has increased because of you."

Gokou Ruri crossed her arms and said irritably.

"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, it's a major event that only happens twice a year. It would be abnormal if it weren't popular."

Makishima Saori spoke from the side.

"The summer doujinshi convention has started. Please do not push or shove, and line up to enter at one time."

A staff member supervising nearby used a megaphone to remind everyone.

"At this rate, it'll probably take us an hour or two to get to the front of the line. In this sweltering heat, are you sure you can handle it, Eriri?"

Hasegawa Izumi looked up at the bright red sun and said something meaningful.

Eriri pouted, glanced at the sea of people, and quickly made a decision.

"Everyone, follow me."

She suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.

"Sawamura-shi?"

Makishima Saori asked doubtfully.

"What are you doing? If you don't line up now, it'll be even later if you do."

Kousaka Kirino frowned.

"You're not trying to say you have some secret plan, are you?"

Gokou Ruri scrutinized her.

"Stop talking nonsense and come with me."

Eriri held her fair neck high.

Hasegawa Izumi remained silent and walked alongside him.

The remaining three looked at each other, but ultimately decided to follow.

They followed them to the outside of the queuing area.

"Come here quickly!"

After the two people not far away seemed to have been talking to the staff, Eriri turned around and waved to them.

They then proceeded smoothly through the side path to the venue.

"Sawamura-shi, could it be that you're also participating in the exhibition?"

Makishima Saori quickly figured out the key point.

"Well, I guess so."

Eriri neither confirmed nor denied it.

Without saying a word, he made the three of them look at him in a new light.

Curiosity followed.

"Don't ask anymore, I won't tell."

Eriri anticipated everyone's remarks and immediately blocked their way.

Although they were curious, they were too embarrassed to ask any further questions since they were using the other person's privilege.

Enter the venue.

"I'll buy Teacher Kashiwagi Eri's new work first. I checked the fan reviews online this morning and they were generally positive."

Makishima Saori pointed to the queue that was quickly turning into a long line not far away.

"Really? I'll buy one then."

"I'll buy a copy for Sawamura's sake, even though I've never been interested in Doujin manga."

Kousaka Kirino and Gokou Ruri were also curious.

Ten minutes later, they got their hands on the notebooks.

However, the girls will have to wait until they get home to tell Eriri, their 'fan,' about it online.

Next, the group spent another hour exploring the individual exhibits in this area.

"This is no good. The quality is much worse than the first day. I don't see any doujinshi that I like."

"After all, the competition on the first day is the fiercest. To dare to compete with famous teachers for popularity, one must be confident in the quality of their work."

"Yesterday it felt quite novel, but today it's starting to feel a bit stale. Luckily, I received a really nice Meruru doujinshi."

They went to an open space to talk.

"We've finished looking around here. Shall we go to the company exhibition area in Hall 34 (West)?"

Eriri still looked like she wanted more.

"Of course I'll go! I have something to do at the Alice+ booth!"

Kousaka Kirino clenched her fists in front of her chest, looking extremely excited.