Like a flood opening, a surging crowd of people suddenly poured in from outside.
It was a spectacular scene hundreds of times greater than during peak hours on the tram.
It was almost like "Wow", and the venue that seemed empty just now was instantly overwhelmed by the dense flow of people.
What happened in an instant was even more unreal than the 38-degree temperature outside, like a mirage in the heat wave, illusory and misty.
"Please give me three, no, five copies of each of Kashiwagi Eiri-sensei's new works!"
“Excuse me, are there any gifts for this event!?”
"Um, is egoistic Lily's team here??"
…
"Wha, what!?"
"Uh-huh, what's going on with these people??"
"At least come one by one!"
Facing the swarming crowd, the Santo group, who had never seen such a scene before, swallowed unconsciously and instinctively took two steps back, obviously at a loss.
Even Shiyu, who was sitting on the seat, widened his eyes in astonishment, his brain went blank for a moment, and he subconsciously grabbed the hem of the boy's clothes next to him.
Just when everyone was wondering what to do, Kato Yusuke stood up from his seat without hesitation, then raised his arms and shouted.
“The end of egoistic lily’s queue is not here! If you want to queue, please go out and go to the left!
The gift of this event is a club brochure designed by teacher Eri Kashiwagi. In addition, if you purchase the "Love Metronome Special Pack", you will receive a limited full-color paper card by another artist. Thank you for your cooperation -!"
After saying that, he turned his attention to the three people who were forced to huddle together.
"Sato, Ito, please keep order in the team and be careful about congestion. Saito, you just need to be responsible for unpacking, and come behind me."
"Yes, yes——!" x3
The three of them took action immediately.
"Customers who want to queue up for Brother Kato, please come with me. The end of the queue is here——!!"
"Egoistic Lily, right? Idiot Sato!!"
"Yes, I'm sorry...!!"
Like loaches burrowing in the mud, the two people waving signs struggled to squeeze outside.
"I'll leave it to you to collect the money, Senior Shiyu. Each person is limited to one copy of the flyer, and the full-color paper card comes with the bonus."
"...Yeah! I understand."
The steady and powerful voice continued to echo among the crowd.
Under Yusuke Kato's loud command, the situation was barely brought under control, and the people who were originally crowded in front of the booth gradually took the shape of a team.
In view of his shouting so loudly.
For a time, no matter whether they were lining up for "egoistic Lily" or not, everyone around them couldn't help but focus on him.
"...Huh? Is that person a model invited for the event?" A man at the next stall murmured.
"No, no. That guy is Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's new partner, the "Eromanga-sensei" who went viral on Twitter some time ago. He's really handsome, isn't he?" The long-haired woman in charge of the reception touched her hand.
Cheek said with a gentle smile on his face.
"Eh...that's it. Sorry, I don't do Twitter much."
The man shook his head in confusion, and then immediately reacted, "——Ah! No! If you can, please sign the clothes for me, Mrs. Ibuki Ena!!"
As he spoke, he handed out a pen and stretched out his belly. It was a short-sleeved T-shirt with a cute character printed on it.
"Hey, but this is an oil-based pen, right? Is it really okay?" A woman who seemed to be an author tilted her head and said.
"Yes! It's no problem at all!! Rather, please do this——!!"
"Is this...? Then I would be rude~"
"Oh hoo~! Oh hoo~!"
Squeak, squeak.
The subtle scraping sound of the pen tip was mixed with bursts of cries that made people blush inexplicably.
So the people at the back couldn't help but speak.
"Damn it, I'm going to do it later too—!"
"And I!"
"I'm in trouble too!"
"Okay~ everyone please line up one by one."
…
On Shiyu's side, it was a different scene.
"Five copies of each of Eri Kashiwagi's works, twenty copies in total... I will charge you 25,000 yen, and I will ask you for 2,000 yen. Thank you for your patronage."
"Thank you, um, could you please sign here..."
"Shut up. The painter you are looking for is not here. I'm just here to help. Next one!"
…
"Three copies of each of Eri Kashiwagi's works, twelve copies in total... I'll charge you fifteen thousand yen, I'll give you one thousand two hundred yen for the next one."
"Thank you, thank you...!"
"Saito-san, restock."
"Yes Yes!"
…
Just as Kato Yusuke said before, the number of people queuing up easily exceeded three digits at the beginning. Looking at it, the long queue of people has reached tens of meters, and is still being followed by new entrants.
And keep growing.
Until I don’t know which or dozens of people it is...
"——Please give me two copies of each of Kashiwagi Eiri-sensei's works."
"..."
Faced with the request made by the man in line, Shiyu did not prepare the goods as before, but raised her head and asked.
"I remember you were among the group of people who entered early, right?"
"Uh...? Do you have any questions?"
"No, it's just that compared to authors with stable painting styles, don't you want to see truly excellent works? For example, these works by Mr. Eromanga here."
"Even if you say so..."
The man rubbed the back of his head in distress and said, "But compared to the short-lived Eromanga, Eri Kashiwagi's works are more valuable on the Internet. Everyone thinks so."
"I see. It seems that the so-called doujin speculators are just a group of guys who blindly follow the trend and have no vision." - Just when Shiyu couldn't help but want to say this, a voice immediately interrupted.
Come in.
"You want two copies of each of Mr. Eri Kashiwagi's works, right? The total is 9,200 yen. I charge you 10,000 yen and give you 800 yen. Thank you for your patronage!"
Having said this, Yusuke Kato handed over what the other party wanted in a serious manner, without any emotion on his face because his work could not be sold.
You must know that by now, Saito is almost ready to open the third box of Eiri's works, but none of his works have yet been sold.
Even with the temptation of full-color paper cards, the people in front still showed a lack of interest, so much so that Shiyu couldn't help but secretly become anxious.
After the man who had snatched the product left with a satisfied look on his face, she reached out and pulled the boy next to her who was bowing slightly to watch him off.
"Is this really okay? Kato-kun."
Kato Yusuke then turned around and said: "It's okay. What the other party said is actually true. Even if it were me, I would probably do the same thing, so don't worry about it. Let's continue."
After saying that, he returned to the reception work.
So Shiyu didn't feel like saying anything more, so he just quietly cooperated with the other party.
And in a certain conference room on the second floor, this scene was also seen by someone without reservation.
"...The psychological quality is quite good. Are you the type that won't be overwhelmed by pressure? It seems that with a little training, you can grow into a monster."
The woman with her hands on the railing said this, looking at the young man below as if looking at a piece of jade that could not hide its brilliance without being carved, with an enthusiastic smile on her face.
Probably because of the hot weather, the black suit he was originally wearing was now draped over his body, revealing his slim curves underneath.
Paired with a dark vest, it naturally exudes a strong ladylike temperament.
It makes people feel as if they are a head shorter than the other person.
The man standing nearby couldn't help but pull the tie around his neck uncomfortably, and then said thoughtfully: "Excuse me, why did you come to see me? Miss Akane Kurisaka."
"Ah, that's right. There is indeed something I want to discuss with you."
Akane Kurisaka turned around with a smile on her face, "Speaking of which, how many poster wall spots did my club occupy this year? Chairman."
Although he didn't understand what the other party meant, the middle-aged man who was called Chairman still thought thoughtfully and responded: "If I remember correctly, there should be four places for "rouge en rouge" this time, and they are all in very conspicuous positions.
, I wonder if you have any questions?”
"It's not a big deal. It's just that starting from tomorrow, one of the contents will probably have to be changed, so I'll have to trouble the preparatory committee then."
The man frowned slightly at this, "Although it's not impossible, what content do you want to change?"
At this point, his tone became slightly more urgent: "Does it mean that Miss Zhu Yin has any new plans that she personally directs? If so, we will be very happy to cooperate!"
But Akane Hongsaka waved her hand boredly.
"Ah? It's not that kind of thing. Although I do have a big plan in hand, it is still in the preparation stage. It will take at least a year to actually implement it, so it is nothing like this one.
relation."
Even though she knew that was not what the other party wanted to hear, she still kept talking.
"Egoistic Lily" No. A28b, give them the poster wall we have on the left side of the entrance to the East Building, and let the kid named "Eromanga" submit a piece of work, and the cost will be borne by me.
"
"This seems...not quite according to the rules."
The man frowned deeply and said, "Although 'Egoistic Lily' is considered a popular club, there are not many clubs at the same level as them. If we give them that position without authorization, I'm afraid it will cause dissatisfaction among others."
"That kind of thing doesn't matter. At the worst, we just need to secretly release the news that "this is Akane Benisaka's personal behavior, and the preparatory committee just has no choice but to cooperate." Then you won't have any pressure, right?"
"That's what I said."
The man couldn't help but smile bitterly, "But in a sense, isn't this equivalent to admitting in disguise that we acquiesce in this kind of thing?"
Akane Hongsaka made a gesture of holding a wine glass, "Hey, stop being so mother-in-law, or I'll treat you to a drink later, right?"
"That's not the problem...Miss Zhu Yin."
The scene was somewhat stalemate for a while.
Faced with the indifferent expression on his face, Akane Kurisaka couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
"This is really a pity. Originally, I thought that if it were you, you would be able to coordinate such a small matter easily. Now it seems that the project I have will have to be handed over to another publicity company.
Speaking of which, my newly appointed successor to the club has been persuading me to put the main body in Nagoya, so maybe it’s time to consider this matter... Then I won’t trouble you, Chairman."
After saying that, he made a move to leave.
As soon as she finished speaking, a nimble figure blocked her in front of her.
"Ahem... Oh my, young people, don't be so impatient. In fact, we can discuss this matter in detail, what do you think?"
A deep arc appeared at the corner of the vermilion mouth.
"good."
…
Yusuke Kato naturally doesn't know what happened behind the scenes.
When they received an unknown number of customers in their booth, they finally met someone who immediately pointed out the works of teacher "Eri Kashiwagi" without coming up.
"Well, can you let me take a look at the works here?" The boy with a large two-dimensional style tote bag on his shoulder said, pointing to "Early Summer Time" on the table.
Even though the surrounding environment was extremely noisy, there was still a brief silence at the scene.
"..."
Before Yusuke Kato could speak, Shiyu on the side couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, with the softest smile on her face since the beginning.
"...Hmm~ Of course, not just this one, you can read carefully any of Mr. Eromanga's works? No need to worry."
"Huh? Uh, thank you, thank you..." The boy nodded stiffly, looking a little shy.
Yusuke on the side said quickly: "No, I'm really sorry for this guest, because there are more people queuing behind, so I can only give you five... no, eight minutes. I hope you understand."
"
"Oh, that's it, I understand."
From outside, Sato and Ito yelled, "The end of the team is here."
After about an hour, the queue in front of their stall not only did not stop at all, but even formed a queue of dozens of meters outside.
Facing those participants who were exposed to the scorching sun, no matter what thoughts he had in his heart, Kato Yusuke, as the representative of the club, could not abandon the order that had been maintained with great difficulty, and finally had to give an 8-minute time limit.
Fortunately, the boy didn't express any dissatisfaction and just started to read through the book quietly.
Swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
Along with the slight sound of pages turning, time seemed to slow down for an instant.
Whether it was Shiyu or Yusuke, their eyes were involuntarily focused on the face of the ordinary-looking boy, as if there was some magical power on the other's face that could attract people.
Seeing the boy's hands moving slower and slower, an inexplicable tension quietly filled their chests.
Kato Yusuke held his breath for a moment, while Shiyu shook his legs for a while, and then secretly looked at him, but no one spoke.
finally--
Including the first and last pages, when the book with a total of 24 pages was put down from the boy's hand.
They saw the other party let out a heavy breath as if they suddenly lost strength, and then wiped the sweat from their foreheads with the wet towel they brought with them while shaking their heads at them.
Shiyu's eyes suddenly shrank, "I'm talking about you...!"
The next second, a deep and full shout sounded in front of the stall.
"—a tauren or something! That's awesome! Yahoo!"
"……Eh--?"
In Shiyu's stunned eyes, the boy with a flushed face suddenly said in shock.
"Please be sure to give me a copy of each of this teacher's notebooks——!!"
After finishing speaking, a 10,000 yen banknote was placed heavily on the table.
Shiyu suddenly became speechless.
Kato Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief, with a heartfelt smile on his handsome face.
"Thank you for your support. The total is 3,900 yen. I will give you the change right now."
Looking at the banknote in his hand, he suddenly felt that this was the most pleasing one, the ten thousand yen one.
The scorching sun shines high in the boundless sky, illuminating people with warmth.