âI said that I wouldnât be disappointed,â Izawa responded. âI have no intentions of retracting or changing what I said before.â
âThank you.â Seiji smiled. âMay I call you Izawa-kun?â
âOf course. Please allow me to address you as Haruta-kun as well, or should I use Harano-kun?â
âLetâs go with Harano. I typically use this name.â
âAlright then, Harano-kun.â
And so, the two of them set new ways to address each other.
âMy master wishes to see you, so I hope that Harano-kun is able to wait in this general area here for her and Yoruhana-san to arrive,â Izawa requested.
âSure. My companions and I were going to stay in the cosplay area for a while longer anyways,â Seiji told him. âIf by the time my friends want to leave that area but the two ladies weâre waiting for still havenât arrived, Iâll stay behind and wait together with you.â
âThank you.â
Afterwards, Izawa indicated that he wanted to quietly wait here in this corner, with no interest in returning to the cosplay area. So, Seiji exchanged cell phone numbers with him and went back by himself.
Halfway back, he saw Chiaki and his other friends pop up.
âSeigo, who is that beauty? Why did you abandon us to be so intimate with him!? Are you already tired of us!?â Chiaki made an expression and pose as if she was an abandoned lover, acting pitifully.
*Smack!* An iron fist of justice knocked her on the head.
âWahâŠâ Chiaki was defeated.
âI apologize, your words were so foolish, that I didnât even have time to retort before I reacted automatically,â Seiji said expressionlessly as he took back his hand.
Mika, Yukari, and Kaho were all rendered speechless.
âI met him at a party on the day of the Winter Snow Festival,â he explained.
âOhâŠâ
Chiaki, Mika, and Yukari instantly understood. That was someone that he met on his date with Natsuya Yoruhana⊠whoops, when he was accompanying the student council president.
Kaho was the only one who didnât know about it, believing instead that Seigo had joined some ordinary activity and made a new otaku friend.
âHe said that he was a bit tired from standing so long in the cosplay area, and wanted to rest for a while⊠no need to mind him, letâs go back and look some more in the cosplay area.â Seiji looked at the girls. âOr, are you guys done looking around?â
The girls exchanged awkward glances.
They noticed that he evidently didnât want to go into detail about that handsome boy.
Mika and Chiaki knew what this was â that boy was definitely someone who was from the âmysticalâ side of society!
Yukariâs curiosity intensified, and she wanted to know more, but she felt that it was imprudent to pry.
Kaho was somewhat confused, and didnât quite understand the situation.
âOf course we havenât looked around enough yet. Itâs just that we were concerned about you, so we followed you to have a peek,â Chiaki smiled. âFortunately, it doesnât seem like youâre having an affair, which is nice.â
âWhatâs with having an affair!?â
âItâs also known as cheating.â
âWhoâd cheat on who!?â
They kept joking around.
With Chiakiâs help, Seiji was able to change the topic of conversation.
They returned to the cosplay area and continued looking at cosplay that they were interested in.
Seiji turned on his stream again and put on his Bluetooth headset, which caused him to instantly receive a question from Hana.
âWho was that boy?â
âMaster⊠sister of mine, do you know about Yin-Yang Masters?â
Hana instantly fell silent for a moment.
She didnât respond for quite a while.
âOf course I know about them.â
âAs expected,â Seiji thought in his mind.
He had never discussed the topic of the âmysticalâ with her before, but he figured that his younger sister probably knew about as well. This would the first time he had ever discussed this topic with her.
âThat boyâs name is Ryuuno Izawa, and heâs Kanna Fujiharaâs Spirit-branded Retainer. Kanna Fujihara isâŠâ
He gave a brief explanation of what happened at the Winter Snow Festival, as well as his relationship to the student council president of his high school.
Hana silently listened to his story and furrowed her eyebrows.
âAre you really a hero from a different world?â She asked in a complex tone of voice.
âI am.â
âStop lying.â
âIâm not lying. In a way, itâs the truth.â Seiji chuckled. âAt least, thatâs what I believe. As for what you believe, thatâs up to you.â
Hana fell silent for the third time in a row.
âTell me about what youâve experienced, and I want to hear a more detailed version.â She finally spoke up after a long silence.
âSure. But right nowâŠâ
âIt doesnât have to be right now.â
âWhen, then?â
âWhen I want you to.â
âOhâŠâ
ââŠDoes our older sister know about whatâs happened to you?â Hana asked in a light voice.
âShe does, other than the part about me coming from a different world,â Seiji answered.
âHave⊠you met with our older sister yet?â
âSort of, just in passing⊠back then, I thought that it was just a coincidence, but I donât know if thatâs the case anymore.â
Hana fell silent for the fourth time.
âBrotherâŠâ
She wanted to say something else, but didnât say anything in the end.
After remaining silent for a while, Hana turned off the voice chat and logged offline.
Seiji wanted to leave her a message, but after thinking for a while, he didnât know what else to say, so he silently turned off the conversation as well.
After they finished looking at all the cosplay that the wanted, Mika and the others were ready to leave the convention.
Seiji indicated that he wanted to chat with the handsome boy⊠Ryuuno Izawa some more, asking them to leave by themselves first.
After sending off the girls, he met up again with Izawa.
At this moment, Izawa had already changed back to casual attire, and was patiently waiting in a corner.
âYour companions have all went back already?â He spoke up when he saw Seiji approaching.
âYeah. Your master sure can explore this place.â
âActually, sheâs already come out together with Yoruhana-san, and is currently waiting in one of the stores outside,â Izawa explained. âPlease follow me, Harano-kun.â
Izawa led Seiji inside and they took an elevator to the top floor, a VIP area. They walked to the room labeled #1, where Izawa pressed the doorbell.
âWhatâs the password!â They heard Kanna Fujiharaâs voice from the speaker system.
âSky cliff,â Izawa responded.
Then, the door opened.
Seiji followed Izawa inside.
This was a wide room with tatami mats, a kotatsu, cushions, a small sofa, computers, virtual reality sets, a small bookshelf, a tea set⊠a complete set of various items.
Kanna and Natsuya were sitting by the kotatsu, with the kotatsuâs table having a pile of books on it that were obviously purchased from the doujinshi convention.
âHeya, Shiroya-san.â Kanna greeted him. âWelcome to my secret base!â
âHello, Fujihara-san,â Seiji responded. âThis place indeed feels like a secret base.â
âI like it here. Thereâs endless amounts of manga and anime, as well as games. I can go on the internet as much as I want, without worrying about a thing, and the environment is so comfortable as well. Itâs basically like heaven!â Kanna exclaimed in a sincere tone. âYou believe so as well, right?â
âThatâs right, I agree,â Seiji chuckled. âThis place is indeed quite comfortable, and I could probably stay here for a week with no problems. But if I only play games here, Iâll get bored of that as well.â
âRather than being bored, isnât it better to describe it as not wanting to continue in depravity?â Kanna looked at him. âYou didnât want to stay in a dark room anymore and remain depraved, which is why you did your best to change yourself, right?â
âIndeed.â Seiji smiled. âNice to meet you, Fujihara-san. Iâm Seiji Haruta, the famous piece of trash from the Haruta family.â
âNice to meet you, Haruta-kun. Iâm Kanna Fujihara, the Fujihara familyâs nameless otaku girl.â Kanna smiled back as something flashed in her eyes.