There was really nothing worth living for.
The works I primarily sell aren’t really popular for second creation in the country. I mean, sure, there are items that caught my eye while getting shoved around in the crowd, but those were mostly series of works over ten years old that managed to survive until now. I glanced briefly, but didn’t feel like buying anything.
In the end, I came out empty-handed. Even Charlotte didn’t find anything she particularly wanted to buy.
Mia bought a badge with a magical girl’s face printed on it. She seemed really happy since she could buy the faces of all the characters from the latest series.
Claire bought an alarm clock featuring a character from a comic I didn’t even know.
“Is it from a work you know?”
“Hmm? Nope. I just thought it was pretty.”
Yeah, it really did have a nice drawing. The flowers were drawn in various colors, and the unknown cute girl was pretty too.
In the end, I had no idea who she was.
Well, it’s common for people to buy fancy products without knowing the character. Maybe it’s a character made solely by the illustrator.
Alice was similar.
Alice was holding an eco bag. Instead of a fancy drawing, it had a neatly drawn cute girl in a more straightforward art style. The character drawn with blue lines without any coloring… Honestly, it did look like a cute girl character that an otaku would love, but since Alice was holding it, it looked a bit more appealing.
Back when I was really into it, I used to buy a ton of doujinshi. But these days, I just don’t have that kind of passion anymore.
“Phew…”
After making a round looking at all the booths, we finally sat down outside. We were lucky to find an empty bench and all five of us squeezed in, so it was manageable.
“It’s tougher than I thought.”
Mia, who had the weakest stamina among us, said that.
“Agreed.”
But seeing Alice say that meant everyone was feeling drained in many ways. I mean, it wasn’t just that we were tired from walking for a long time; it was more about being squeezed between people.
“But it was still quite fun. It’s just about people bringing things they like to sell. Isn’t that filled with passion?”
Claire said something that sounded vaguely familiar. Her way of thinking is definitely positive.
“Really. Today was quite enjoyable.”
Even Charlotte said that, and I felt a surge of warmth in my heart.
“Still, I have no intention of getting on stage, though.”
“That’s true.”
At Charlotte’s comment, we all nodded seriously in agreement.
Doing cosplay together felt like we were in a festival, and since we were all close friends, we noticed a lot more details than when I went alone without any friends. It was way more enjoyable than when I came here alone before.
But still, I didn’t have the courage to get on the designated stage and perform. I’d rather be satisfied with just watching it on broadcast.
“…Should we start heading back?”
When I said that, everyone nodded.
*
In the past, even before I entered the body of this cute girl, whenever I wandered around the event hall, I would have plenty of time left. I didn’t have the stamina to stay until the end, and more than anything, as time went on, the items at the booths would run out, and there would be nothing more to see or buy.
So after a few laps around the booths and buying all the merchandise related to the anime I was watching, there would be nothing more to do.
Since I came out early in the morning to roam, I had a lot of time left in the afternoon. If I had been alone, I would have started heading home, but now I was with friends.
Going home without doing something felt a bit regretful.
“Let’s eat something.”
I said as we were on the subway.
Lunch was decided to be pork cutlets.
Since we were already on the train, we planned to get off at the transfer station and eat at a nearby delicious place.
Well, since we found it through a search, we wouldn’t know if it was actually good until we tried it.
Ever since I started living here with these guys, I’ve been experiencing a lot of this “good” phrase.
“It’s delicious!”
Seeing Mia’s eyes sparkle as she said that, it seems we hit the jackpot again.
She must have been so hungry from all the wandering that she didn’t even realize it. Everything going into her mouth was delicious.
As we were enjoying our meal, Claire suddenly opened her mouth.
“But Charlotte, that outfit really suits you.”
“Pfft.”
Charlotte almost spit out her food, unlike her usual self. Luckily, she managed to close her mouth and didn’t embarrass herself completely.
She hastily grabbed a tissue to dab around her mouth, quickly chewed and swallowed her food before hastily speaking.
“Uh, is that so? That’s good.”
She seemed to be trying hard to act, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be going very well.
“You must really like that character, huh?”
At Claire’s words, Charlotte’s shoulders flinched.
I was a bit fascinated as I poked a piece of pork cutlet with my fork and put it in my mouth, seeing her act like that was a rare sight.
“Um, not really. I don’t like it or anything.”
Hmm.
I had the impression she liked not just that character but all the princess characters from that company.
If I counted all the advice Charlotte had given me throughout the day, I’d likely run out of fingers.
“Really? Last time at the movies, your eyes were sparkling.”
But since Claire was doing an excellent job of sinking Charlotte on her own, I didn’t need to intervene. Of course, Charlotte did glance at me, seeming worried that I might spill a secret to them.
I shook my head.
“Did something happen between you two?”
Alice, who was watching, asked.
“No, not really.”
I answered that, and Alice tilted her head in confusion.
Even as Alice was talking to me, Claire was busy questioning Charlotte about this and that.
“Why? Isn’t it fine to say you like what you like?”
“Uh, that’s…”
“Are you holding back because of modesty?”
Claire hit the nail on the head.
“Mia, take a picture of this too. It’s delicious.”
“Wow, thank you!”
“No, you two are having a serious conversation! Can you not focus on that?”
I said, pushing the curry sauce meant for the pork cutlet toward Mia, and Alice gave me a jab.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”
“See? You knew something!”
“……”
I shut my mouth.
“I also liked the movie. Especially the princess who wore a purple dress—”
“……It was purple, right?”
Thud.
Oh.
I just heard a sound like something snapped. But since nothing visibly snapped in front of me, it seemed I just thought that on my own.
But even if they couldn’t hear the sound like me, it seemed everyone noticed Charlotte’s mood change.
Oh, this is bad.
I had sensed it a bit earlier, but it seemed Charlotte was a peculiar type of strict enthusiast in a strange way.
Come to think of it, Charlotte did have a stubborn side.
“Purple?”
Claire, who was caught on a strange point, cautiously asked back.
“Um, the dress color you mentioned was purple.”
“Oh… Isn’t dark purple and purple the same?”
Claire wasn’t very perceptive in these matters, so she didn’t seem to write colors down in great detail.
In fact, she often showed quite a sensitive side in games regarding such things, but it seemed her personality changed a bit due to a different living environment.
I liked this version of Claire more, though.
“……Is it the same?”
Charlotte’s expression became one of shock.
Ah, right. Come to think of it, she was from Velbur.
And the motif for Velbur was France and Belgium, with France being well-known for design as well.
“Did you just say it’s the same?”
“Uh? Uh-oh?”
At Charlotte’s words, Claire became so flustered that she couldn’t even speak properly.
“Mia, what sauce is that?”
“Oh, this is yuzu sauce, I think. Want to give it a try?”
“Thank you.”
“No, you both. Listen to the conversation, will you?”
With Alice saying that while I casually talked to Mia, she looked a bit anxious.
*
“……I’m sorry, Claire. I got a little overexcited.”
“Oh, um, it’s fine. Thanks to you, I think I can be more precise with color distinctions when I do my makeup from now on.”
Claire comforted Charlotte, who was sulking as we returned home.
“And… If you ever want to see any works from that company in the future, let me know. I’ll watch them with you anytime.”
“Claire…”
Charlotte said with a slightly touched expression at Claire’s words.
See?
At least in this house, no one cares about what hobbies anyone has.
Isn’t that what freedom is?
That day, watching that warm scene, I couldn’t help but smile—
But a few days later, I was shocked to see an endless stream of princess figures coming out of a giant box that arrived at my doorstep.
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