I Got Cheated On, so I Thought I’d Cheat Back and Went to a Group Date, I Ran Into a Classmate Who Used to Boss Me Around and Now We’re Living Together - Chapter 42

“Sousuke, today’s that thing, right?”

It was August 11th.

While eating breakfast together that morning, with the Obon holidays just around the corner, Nene-san asked me that question.

“…That thing?”

“You know, um…Comiket? You’re going to help out, right?”

Nene-san wasn’t really into otaku stuff, so the word came out a little awkward when she said it. I nodded.

“Yeah. I’m helping Umi.”

That’s right, today was the day Umi had a booth at Comiket.

She had asked me to help her. I had a circle ticket from her, so I could get in earlier than the general crowd. It’s not just me; Mishiro-san was also helping.

“What about Nene-san? You’ve got training again today?”

“Mm-hm. Though I’ll be off once Obon starts.”

“I see. Then good luck and be careful.”

“You too, Sousuke… And, don’t get too carried away.”

Nene-san narrowed her eyes at me.

It felt like she was warning me.

I more or less understood why she was acting that way.

After that night at the love hotel, it’s not like our relationship had made a huge leap forward.

But I had already made some decisions for myself.

So, I planned to face Umi properly.

After the event today, I wanted to make some time to talk with her.

“Don’t worry. I won’t get carried away.”

Since I had already decided what I wanted to do, all that was left was to act on it.

Nene-san let out a small sigh of relief, while I finished my breakfast and left the house first.

After switching trains a few times, my destination was Tokyo Big Sight.

When I arrived, there was already a massive line outside, even before the doors opened. Honestly, standing out there under the burning sun looked like hell. But I had a circle ticket, so it didn’t matter. I’m sorry, everyone, I thought to myself, slipping inside ahead of the crowd with a bit of a smug feeling.

Umi and Mishiro-san were already there, setting up at their assigned booth.

After wandering around for a few minutes, I finally found the spot—

“Ah—good morning, Sousuke.”

“Good morning, Shiraki-kun!”

Standing there were two striking girls. One was a beautiful black-haired girl, and the other a blonde half-Japanese.

“…What are those outfits?”

To my surprise, both of them were in cosplay. Not of any specific character, though. Umi was in a classic maid uniform, while Mishiro-san wore a kimono.

“Oh, this? Mia-san brought them for us. She thought it’d be fun to sell books while cosplaying.”

“Huh… So Mishiro-san’s into cosplay or something?”

“Yes! I made this myself.”

Handmade… That was impressive. While I was still surprised, nearby circle members started asking, “Can we take a photo?” Both girls agreed, letting people snap pictures. Maybe they were hoping the attention would boost sales.

On the long table, Umi’s freshly printed erotic doujinshi were neatly lined up… There sure were a lot.

“Hey, how many copies did you print?”

“One hundred.”

A hundred… For someone unknown, that was kind of overkill. Still, the quality was obvious. I just hoped they’d sell fast enough that a hundred wouldn’t feel like too much.

“By the way. I’ll just focus on selling today, so Sousuke will be the one acting like the author.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because I don’t want people thinking I drew something this dirty.”

“What kind of reason is that…”

Well… I could kind of understand.

She was basically embarrassed.

And so, Comiket finally began.

We had no idea what kind of crowd to expect, but with two cute girls like Umi and Mishiro-san running the booth, people started gathering around pretty quickly.

People flipped through the sample copy, saying things like, “Ah, the art’s really good,” before buying, while others just looked at the cover and picked one up. Either way, the stock was shrinking at a steady pace. At this rate, a hundred copies might not be too much after all.

And the good surprises didn’t stop there—

“―Excuse me. I’m from this company.”

A woman approached and handed me her business card.

When I glanced at it, I saw she was an editor from a major light novel publisher. I’d heard stories about editors scouting illustrators at Comiket, but seriously…?

“Would you be interested in drawing illustrations for light novels?”

―Just as I thought.

“Your art is very delicate and beautiful. I’d love to set up a proper meeting another day, if that’s alright?”

Not that I could say yes or no, I wasn’t the artist…

“…Hey, this is a bit out of my league.”

“Right.”

So Umi dropped the act of being just a booth assistant and stepped forward to handle it herself.

From what I overheard, she seemed eager.

Well, of course. She had told me not long ago that her goal was to move from erotic work to the main stage. This was exactly the kind of break she wanted. If things went well, she might even get a chance at manga. I hoped this would be the start she needed.

And that only made me more certain, I had to be clear.

Everyone had their own path to follow.

If I kept avoiding an answer, I’d just become noise that got in the way of her dream.

So…

With those thoughts, my resolve hardened once again.

“―Wow, we’re sold out!”

By late morning, Umi’s erotic doujinshi had completely sold out, and we decided to take a lunch break.

Mishiro-san had brought sandwiches for us, so we all sat down to eat.

“Um, Shiraki-kun”

While Umi stepped away to use the restroom, I was left alone with Mishiro-san.

“Shiraki-kun, you’re planning to tell Tokitou-san something important today, right?”

Her words made me stiff in surprise.

“…You can tell?”

“I can. You’ve seemed restless all day.”

…So that’s how I looked.

“I think I can guess what you’re trying to say… It’s probably something very important, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“One thing…”

“One thing?”

“If someone like me is allowed to… to step in and say just one thing—”

After that preface, Mishiro-san took a breath, as if gathering her courage, and spoke.

“—I like you, Shiraki-kun.”

“…Eh?”

The sudden confession left me stunned.

Mishiro-san lowered her gaze, her voice shy as she continued.

“But it’s not exactly… how should I say, not really romantic love. It’s more like admiration… like cheering for a hero.”

“…A hero?”

“When you reached out to me about the harassment issue and even helped resolve it… Thanks to you, I was able to take a new step forward. Now, working hard every day to keep up my series under Rogiku-san has been fun. This new life you gave me makes you nothing less than a hero in my eyes. And because of that, I want to cheer for you and to make sure things go well for you, too.”

“Mishiro-san…”

“I do like you, but I’m fine with watching over your happiness as a supporter, not as someone directly involved. That’s why I want you to make a choice you won’t regret… No matter which of the two you choose, I believe that will be the right answer. And for the one who isn’t chosen, I’ll be there to support them.”

“…Thank you.”

Her unexpected and reassuring words made my resolve even stronger. For Mishiro-san’s sake, too, I had to take a step forward today.

And so, after the event wrapped up, we planned to hold a little after-party at Umi’s place.

Maybe being considerate, Mishiro-san said she had something to do and didn’t join, so in the end, it was just me and Umi heading to her apartment together.