Vol 1 Chapter 16 – Cosplay

“That’s finally over.”

After making the rounds to greet the other circles, Segawa-chan and I trudged back toward our own, the “Modern Culture Research Society.”

“Making all those greetings was rough, wasn’t it?”

“Totally.”

It was all about the boy. Didn’t you bring that boy with you?

How much did you buy him for? Introduce me! If it’s money you need, I’ll sell a kidney to get it! The pressure had been intense.

They were all good people, good otaku, so no one tried to use force, but the sheer pressure from everyone wanting an introduction was something else.

It was obvious Kajiwara-kun would hate that, so I refused, but the cries of “It’s not fair to keep him all to yourself!” were endless.

Look, he’s a student at our school who joined our circle. He’s not my property or anything, so this “keeping him to myself” stuff is nonsense.

Besides, while they’re few and far between, there are other guys at these conventions. I really wish they’d aim for one of them.

There are even a handful of male cosplayers.

…Though the difficulty level of approaching one of them is sky-high.

Higher than Chomolungma, higher than Everest, but that’s none of my business.

“Let’s hurry back. I’m worried about Kajiwara-kun.”

At this rate, I had no idea what was happening back at our own circle’s table.

I was worried about Kajiwara-kun.

I had thought about spending the morning chatting with the other circles to deepen our friendships, but forget that, we had to get back.

A glance at the clock showed it was already past ten-thirty.

Was Kajiwara-kun managing to work the booth safely?

I returned to our circle space with a slight sense of dread.

What I witnessed was a line as long as a wall circle’s.

“What is going on?!”

There was a massive queue at our circle’s table.

This was a first.

Sure, our circle sells a decent number of books, but never enough to form a line.

“Ah, Chihiro!”

Hatsune was waving her arms frantically, calling for backup.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I had to hurry.

“The problem was… Kajiwara-kun?!”

Kajiwara-kun was cosplaying.

He was dressed in the gentlemanly white dress shirt of a character from a popular shonen manga.

It was a cosplay of the young protagonist’s partner—a ridiculously ripped, musclebound macho man.

His well-trained arms were visible where he’d rolled up his sleeves, and the healthy sheen of his skin stirred a primal desire in us women to just devour him.

To say it suited him incredibly well would be an understatement; honestly, it was irresistible.

For someone like me, with zero experience in romantic relationships, it was way too much.

“That’s not a cosplay, is it? That’s not a muscle suit.”

“They’re real, they’re real. Those are real muscles.”

The customers in line were buzzing.

Of course they were. Kajiwara-kun, who possessed the physique of a top-tier athlete, was cosplaying in a dress shirt that looked like it was about to burst from his muscles.

It must have been irresistible for everyone watching.

It was irresistible for me, too.

“…P-President. President Takahashi. Thank goodness you’re back.”

Ema called out for help, her voice trembling on the verge of tears.

She wasn’t the kind of person who could handle crowds or manage a huge number of customers.

“Um…”

Why was Kajiwara-kun cosplaying?

I wanted to ask, but…

Now was not the time.

“New issue, please!”

“Thank you very much! That’ll be 500 yen.”

Kajiwara-kun was moving books at an incredible pace.

I mean, our usual pace is to sell out sometime in the morning.

At ten-thirty, we were already on track to be sold out. How was I supposed to help in this situation?

Ema was clearly asking for help, but things were moving too fast for me to just butt in.

“Excuse me, would it be all right to take a photo with him?”

“I’m sorry, he’s working the booth right now. And besides, photography is prohibited inside the hall.”

Hatsune immediately stepped in to stop them.

It seemed she was managing to cover for Ema’s weaknesses.

She was amazing, as always.

“Then will you be at the cosplay area in the afternoon?”

A general attendee was asking if he’d be at the cosplay area.

Well, we didn’t have any plans for that.

Kajiwara-kun looked at me with pleading eyes.

“…Um, we don’t have any particular plans. Oh, right, what was the circle planning to do? I think our plan was just to check out the other circles together.”

“Well, the plan was to decide what to do based on how book sales went.”

Usually, we’d watch the table for a while, then pack up the remaining books, and head back to the club room.

But just working the booth would be boring, so I had considered taking Kajiwara-kun around the convention.

So.

I looked at the remaining stock.

There was almost nothing left.

“What do you want to do, Kajiwara-kun? Do you want to go to the cosplay area? If you do, I’ll go with you.”

This was something I couldn’t decide on my own.

I had to let Kajiwara-kun make the call.

He—

“Um, honestly, I’m a little interested.”

I see.

In that case, I had to go along.

I steeled myself and spoke to the attendee and Kajiwara-kun.

“We’ll be at the cosplay area in the afternoon, so please take photos then.”

“Okay. Thank you very much!”

The attendee bowed repeatedly as they accepted their purchase and walked away.

How in the world did things turn out like this?

To be honest, I was a little confused.

Confused, but I had to cut the line off somewhere.

Because we only had five copies left.

“Alright, this is the end of the line. Right here. The books are sold out!”

Segawa-chan shot forward and broke up the line with only five people left to go.

Cries of “Aww!” rose up, but we were out of books, so what could we do?

Besides, how many of you trollops in line are actually here because you like our books?

You artificial insemination brats.

I wanted to say it, but…

“I buy this circle’s stuff every month for the wonderfully twisted fetish depictions!”

“Print more, dammit!”

“I came here this month looking forward to the book about getting kidnapped and locked up by mafia men in black suits!”

Apparently, there were some dedicated fans among the remaining customers.

I felt bad about that.

Ema’s uniquely perverted style had a particularly devoted following.

“We’ll do a reprint of this month’s new issue and bring it next month, so please look forward to it!”

Segawa-chan promptly raised her voice.

Our circle’s promotions manager was a keen businesswoman.

“Well, can’t be helped, I guess…”

“I wanted to hold the boy’s hand…”

Muttering things like that, the customers dispersed.

They were such understanding otaku.

The clientele at this convention is great, it really is.

“I-It’s finally over…”

Ema let out a sigh of relief as the last of the customers left.

I looked at Kajiwara-kun.

“We’re sold out, thank you for your purchase!”

He flashed a ridiculously charming smile at the last customer as he handed over the final new issue.

Looking closer, I saw that our reprinted back issues were also gone.

Just how many did you sell, Kajiwara-kun?

“It’s late, but welcome back, President Takahashi!”

“…I’m back.”

I mean, I didn’t know what to say.

I guess I should be happy that we sold so many books, but I don’t get the situation!

Why was Kajiwara-kun in a cosplay of such a handsome character?

And now, with my approval, it was decided that we’d be going to the cosplay area this afternoon.

In any case, I demanded an explanation.

Once the customers had cleared out, Hatsune explained.

“Kajiwara-kun cosplayed as a surprise. He said he wanted to help you out, Chihiro, and sell a lot of books.”

“I would have preferred a heads-up about that surprise…”

If he had told me, I wouldn’t have been this shocked.

I gave Kajiwara-kun a troubled look.

“I didn’t work up the nerve to do it until yesterday. You know that Center Plaza where we first met, President Takahashi? I stopped by the cosplay specialty shop there on my way home, and they happened to have an outfit that fit my build. Well, it was actually a little on the small side.”

“Right. I mean, well. It looks good on you, but…”

I’m happy about it, of course.

Honestly, the fact that he did it for me, for the club, there’s no way I couldn’t be happy.

I was genuinely happy.

Still, I would’ve liked some advance notice, even if it was just when we met up this morning.

But strangely, I didn’t feel like blaming him.

If you were to ask me why…

“That’s a pretty sexy getup you’ve got on, Kajiwara-kun.”

Kajiwara-kun’s outfit was, frankly, sexual.

There wasn’t much skin showing, but the muscles underneath that dress shirt were captivating me.

The honest praise just slipped out.

Primarily in a sexual sense.

I’m a huge fan of the massive type, like Kajiwara-kun!

“It’s pretty fun once you try it. To be honest, being fawned over is fun!”

He’s so honest!

“What do you think, President Takahashi? Of how I look.”

“Huh…?”

You’re asking me that?

You’re asking me, whose love life is a constant hurricane?

If only I could just scream, “I love you, Kajiwara-kun!”

But I held it back.

Because that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“Y-Yeah. I think it looks really good.”

What came out was a cliché phrase.

So incredibly cliché.

I blushed, embarrassed at how timid I was.

“Thank you. My main goal was to get a compliment from you, President Takahashi! Though I genuinely wanted the books to sell well, too!”

Oh, so that’s it.

He cosplayed hoping I would praise him.

Hmm.

What do I do? I’m so happy.

“Hey, Chihiro.”

thud

Hatsune’s hand-chop jabbed into my side.

Why a hand-chop and not a fist?

Is this violence born of jealousy?

“What’s the plan for the afternoon? Not that I even need to ask.”

“Yeah. If all the books are sold, there’s no gear to pack up, right? And besides, it’s dangerous to leave Kajiwara-kun on his own.”

“That’s true. So, we already know what we’re doing, right?”

Hatsune said it nonchalantly.

It was just as I had told the attendee earlier.

“…Let’s all go to the cosplay area. I’m worried about Kajiwara-kun.”

“You’re coming to see me? Thank you so much!”

Though really, I’m going so I can respectfully gaze upon Kajiwara-kun’s sexy form, yeah.

I wasn’t exactly Kajiwara-kun’s guardian.

I didn’t have the right to claim such a role.

But I hid my true feelings, deceiving myself with the excuse that I had a responsibility as the club’s president.