Chapter 414: Magical Girl Mafuyu
Soon, Hachiman and Yumiko arrived at the agreed location.
There, they saw Ebina sitting on a bench, dressed in summer clothes and wearing a sun hat, looking like she had been waiting for a while.
Seeing Ebina, Yumiko quickly let go of Hachiman's hand and ran over to her friend.
"Sorry, sorry, Hina. I'm late."
Glancing at Yumiko and then noticing Hachiman approaching from not far away, Ebina seemed to understand something and smiled.
"It's okay, Yumiko."
Seeing the smile on her friend's face, Yumiko smiled too and spoke quickly.
"Hina, you go ahead and shop today. I deliberately brought Hachiman here to carry our things, so we don't have to worry about buying too much."
Hearing this, Hachiman felt a vein pop on his forehead.
So now I'm just a pack mule again?
And it's just a few books, how heavy could they be?
Ebina obviously didn't buy her friend's lame excuse and pushed her glasses up, flashing a white glare at Hachiman as she greeted him.
"Good morning, Hachiman."
Hachiman nodded back at her. "Yeah, good morning, Hina."
Although he and Ebina didn't have a deep relationship, after over a year of acquaintance, calling each other by their first names wasn't a problem.
"Let's go, we should head to the venue before the lines get too long."
Standing up from the bench, Ebina nodded at the two of them.
Hachiman and Yumiko didn't object, so the three of them headed towards the venue of the summer exhibition.
...
It's worth noting that the summer exhibition, along with the winter one, is a feast for otaku culture enthusiasts. With the prevalence of Japanese anime culture, the number of attendees is always substantial.
As they arrived at the plaza in front of the exhibition center, they were met with a bustling crowd. Men and women dotted the area, with fewer children and elderly individuals, predominantly young people.
"Wow... so many people," Yumiko remarked, taken aback by the large crowd.
"Yeah, with only two events like this each year, it's always packed. Alright, let's get in line first. We need to maintain order," Ebina said, pulling Yumiko's hand and motioning for Hachiman to follow as they joined the queue at the entrance.
Despite the hot weather, people's enthusiasm didn't wane. Excited attendees formed long lines at the entrance, with more joining continuously.
As they progressed in line, the trio smoothly entered the venue. Stepping inside, they were greeted by a cool breeze from the high-powered central air conditioning system.
The spacious venue was filled with booths, visitors, and numerous cosplay enthusiasts dressed as characters from various anime and games.
With the popularity of "Sword Art Online," Hachiman noticed many cosplayers dressed as Kirito and Asuna.
Excited by the bustling atmosphere, Ebina, a fujoshi, suggested, "Let's take a casual stroll first before rushing to buy doujinshi. There might be things here that interest you guys too."
Hachiman and Yumiko agreed, intrigued by the exhibition as first-time attendees.
While exploring, Hachiman once again witnessed the prevalence of "Sword Art Online" cosplays. Every fifth person seemed to be dressed as characters from the series, particularly Kirito and Asuna.
Yumiko nudged Hachiman and whispered, "I didn't expect your novel to be this popular. Everywhere we look, people are cosplaying your characters."
"It's alright," Hachiman replied with a smile.
Observing his nonchalant demeanor, Yumiko rolled her eyes and muttered, "Geez, hypocrite."
Hearing this, Hachiman chuckled and mentally noted her remark.
Continuing their exploration, Hachiman suddenly spotted a familiar face among the cosplayers—a tall, beautiful woman holding a pink magic wand, dressed in a pink magical girl costume, clearly cosplaying as the magical girl.
But with her pink waist-length hair, straight bangs, and two braided strands on the sides, along with her deep blue eyes and that familiar face, there was no mistaking her for anyone else but Mafuyu Kirisu.
At that moment, Mafuyu was posing for photos in her highly embarrassing magical girl costume.
Seeing this scene, Hachiman couldn't help but smirk.
What's this? Another peculiar hobby of Mafuyu's?
It's fine if she likes cosplay, but coupling it with her teacher identity always feels a bit odd.
Do you know that if this were to happen in some perverse hentai or doujinshi, immediately some unscrupulous individuals would use it against her, forcing her into various situations?
Just then, as Mafuyu finished taking photos, she turned her head, and her deep blue eyes met Hachiman's peculiar gaze.
In that instant, the light seemed to fade from Mafuyu's eyes.
"H-Hachiman-kun... What are you doing here?"
Oh no, everything's ruined.
The two girls beside Hachiman also noticed his unusual behavior. Yumiko blinked in confusion and asked softly, "What's wrong? Did you see something?"
Following Hachiman's gaze, the girls spotted Mafuyu in her magical girl outfit.
"Huh?! I-Is that... Kirisu-sensei?" Yumiko exclaimed in a hushed tone.
Hearing this, Ebina also looked over and saw the completely stunned Mafuyu.
"It really is Kirisu-sensei!"
She was about to wave and say hello, but Hachiman quickly stopped her. "Don't call out to her randomly. This might just be her personal hobby. Let's not expose her identity."
If this really was just Mafuyu's peculiar hobby, it wouldn't be good if they casually called out and exposed her teacher identity.
But since they had already come across her, they couldn't pretend not to have seen her. After some thought, Hachiman spoke up, "Let's go greet her."
The two girls nodded in agreement.
Approaching Mafuyu, Hachiman greeted her softly.
"Good morning, Sensei," Hachiman greeted softly.
Yumiko and Ebina also whispered their greetings.
"Good morning, Kirisu-sensei."
Hearing their words, the stunned Mafuyu finally reacted and hurriedly began to explain.
"Hachiman-kun, it's not what you think, actually, I..."
But before she could finish her sentence, Hachiman interrupted her.
"It's okay, Sensei. Everyone has their own hobbies, and we won't judge."
Yumiko and Ebina nodded in agreement.
"Alright, we just wanted to say hello, Sensei. We won't disturb you any longer," Hachiman smiled, about to turn away.
Seeing Hachiman about to leave, Mafuyu's face showed a hint of panic.
If they left, she feared she would never live it down.
No, she couldn't let them go!
In a moment of desperation, Mafuyu grabbed Hachiman's hand.
"You can't leave!"
Surprised by her sudden grasp, Hachiman naturally stopped in his tracks and turned back.
"Is there something else, Sensei?"
Seeing Hachiman and the others stop, Mafuyu breathed a sigh of relief and stammered, "You... you have to listen to me. I don't have this hobby, I'm just helping Miharu."
"Miss Miharu?" Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly, it's Miharu," Mafuyu nodded repeatedly. "Because Miharu's friends in college are members of the anime club, they asked her for help, and then Miharu asked me for help, so, so it turned into what it is now."
"It's true, you have to believe me."
With hopeful eyes, Mafuyu looked at Hachiman, hoping he would believe her words.
Understanding the situation, Hachiman nodded.
He had thought so too. Mafuyu didn't seem like someone who would enjoy cosplaying. So, it turned out that it was at the request of that little sister otaku, Miharu.
With this realization, Hachiman was about to say something when a clear voice rang out beside them.
"Onee-sama, I got the drinks!"