Watching the two of them leave, Homura turned to the other fans and said, "I'm really sorry, everyone! Unexpected things happened, but please rest assured that I will make up for the time we've lost later!"
"It's alright! We understand! Who hasn't had a little accident before?" shouted one fan, and the others nodded in understanding, all smiling kindly.
Homura smiled as well and said, "It seems like everyone here is understanding! Please give us a little time. The staff will clean up the scene, and I also need to change my clothes! Or do you all want me to continue like this?"
He pointed to his clothes and looked at everyone with a smile.
"Go change your clothes already!" someone shouted, and everyone burst into laughter.
Homura clenched his fist to everyone and followed Ayano out through the side door, while other staff members began to clean up the scene, and the fans started chatting with people around them.
On the continuously buzzing blog, news of the unexpected incident at the manga book signing event began to spread rapidly...
"(Attached image) Comrades! There's an incident at the event!"
"Wow, what's going on here? Why does it feel like something happened to Minamiya-sensei's body..."
"That's right, he got covered in vomit by a little fan. But honestly, he's actually a truly good man. Despite being covered in vomit, he didn't show any disgust and gently comforted the child."
"(Attached image) By the way, did any of you capture the girl's face? I feel like Minamiya-sensei is intentionally blocking the photo shoot."
"Is it true? If it's intentional, then I really don't know what to say. All I can say is that Minamiya-sensei is considering everything thoroughly. After all, if a girl became viral in an instant and the reason is not a good one... she might even consider suicide."
"Minamiya-sensei is awesome! :D"
===
Nayuta sat on the return trip in the car.
Scrolling through the blog, she looked at the messages on it with a face full of shame.
"Ahh!!! How could this happen?! I finally had the chance to meet Minamiya-senpai for the first time! And I messed it up like this!"
If the space in the car weren't limited, she would probably be rolling around.
"That's right, you vomited all over him on the first meeting... After the signing event is over, let's apologize to him properly together."
"Huh?!" Nayuta was surprised, "Do you know where Minamiya-senpai's home is, Editor-san?!"
"I don't know."
The silver-haired girl in the back seat immediately became downcast.
"But his editor should know, right? That would be Editor Iida Ayano."
"Oh~!!!" Nayuta perked up again. "Then I'll leave it to you, Editor-san!"
"Guhehehe..." She then chuckled, as if she had thought of something, her laughter sounding increasingly peculiar and somewhat creepy.
With her eyes darting around, she took out the manga book that Homura had put in her bag and muttered to herself, "Why is Senpai not signing for 'Your Name.'?"
She continued, "I promise I will find you, no matter where you are, because you are someone important to me... Senpai..."
The editor who was driving listened to her muttering and responded with a bewildered expression, "Isn't 'Your Name.' not solely the work of Minamiya-sensei? It's a collaborative work of his circle. How can he sign it alone?"
Nayuta retorted indignantly, "But everyone knows that without Minamiya-senpai, 'Your Name.' wouldn't exist at all!"
The editor had a wry expression, "Although that's true..."
"But it's okay! After all, I got Senpai's signature!" She lovingly caressed her manga book and talked to herself.
Editor: "..."
"Wow!!!"
"What now?" The editor had a helpless expression.
"Hehe! My signature is different from others! This chibi drawing isn't Chiyo, it's mine!"
Almost going crazy with joy, Nayuta, disregarding the limited space in the car, bounced up excitedly.
The editor shook her head helplessly, feeling like she had no way to deal with this young lady, but who asked her to write such high-quality novels?
===
At the book signing venue, Homura, who had changed his clothes, was on his way back to the inner area.
Suddenly, Ayano exclaimed, "Homura, I had a feeling that the person beside that girl looked familiar, and now I finally remember!"
"Oh? Tell me," Homura raised an eyebrow. It could only be a few possibilities: family, friends, or another editor.
"It's the editor under Sonoko!"
"What?!" Homura was genuinely surprised this time!
Did fate play with him? So, Nayuta, Utaha, and Muramasa were from the same publisher?!
"Oh?" Ayano expressed astonishment. "It's rare to see you so surprised."
"Considering that she is in the same publisher as Utaha-senpai and Muramasa, can I not be surprised?"
"Well..." Ayano pondered for a moment and then smiled. "So, it's highly likely that the little girl is also a novelist."
"She's probably a brand-new author," Homura shrugged. "Perhaps her works haven't been published yet."
"I'm not sure, but I'll ask Sonoko when I get the chance," Ayano patted his back. "Let's go! Your fans are waiting for you!"
===
As time continued to pass, it quickly came to the evening.
It was almost 8 o'clock in the evening when Homura started feeling hungry, really hungry!
The fans had brought their own snacks like biscuits, and they were munching on them while waiting in line. Once they reached the front, they would pack them away and continue munching!
However, Homura couldn't do it. There was no way around this situation. He gritted his teeth and endured it! After all, it was only once in a while that he had to go through this.
He sighed in his heart, 'They're really enthusiastic! Even at this time, the queue doesn't seem to be getting any shorter.'
*Gurgle~*
His stomach made a sound of protest, which caught the attention of the girl in front of him.
"Pfft~" The girl couldn't hold back her laughter and covered her mouth, giggling.
Homura awkwardly scratched his cheek and stretched his body, saying, "Ahaha... sorry, I'm a little hungry."
"It's only natural!" The girl seemed very talkative. "We didn't expect that Minamiya-sensei would persist from noon until now."
"Because everyone is so enthusiastic about my work. With such love and support from everyone, I obviously have to show my gratitude."
The girl smiled, clasped her hands near her mouth, and shouted, "Everyone! Minamiya-sensei's stomach is growling! Can we give him some time to have dinner?"
Silence fell, and then...
"Go ahead and eat!"
"No problem!"
"Haha! What's wrong with having a meal? It would have been nice if you had said it earlier, Minamiya-sensei!"
Responses came one after another, accompanied by many kind-hearted laughs.
Homura smiled and handed the signed book to the girl. He took out a megaphone and said, "Thank you all! Just wait for me for seven or eight minutes, that should be enough!"
The crowd immediately responded, "No problem! Take your time!"
Ayano on the side also smiled. These fans were really heartwarming!
After instructing the other staff members to eat something, she took out a bento that Homura had entrusted to her earlier.
In front of everyone, all the staff members at the signing event started having a simple dinner.
===
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