The venue for the doujins.h.i.+ convention was a modern large showroom, which included a unique looking building that resembled several pyramids connected together.

This entire place had sufficient s.p.a.ce for over ten thousand displays, but even so, there still weren't enough s.p.a.ces. There were just too many groups and individuals that applied for s.p.a.ces for their stalls, and they even had to go through a lottery system to receive a s.p.a.ce.

There were many stalls, and even more partic.i.p.ants. In the three days that this doujins.h.i.+ convention would go on for, the total number of people entering would easily surpa.s.s five hundred thousand! The most vivid display of the number of people would come from the long, long lines that people had to wait in.

"So many people…"

"That's such a long line; just how long will they have to wait for?"

This was Mika and Chiaki's first ever time seeing such a scene, and they widened their eyes in surprise.

Although they were somewhat mentally prepared, when they saw the teeming h.o.a.rds of people and the scarily long lines, the two of them were still astonished.

Not only that, people continuously added themselves to the end of the line, further increasing the scarily long length.

"Hurry up and get in line!" Seiji rushed at the forefront.

"Follow his lead!" Yukari followed after him, and Kaho who also had experience with doujins.h.i.+s silently followed as well.

Mika and Chiaki regained their senses and hurriedly followed.

Their small group instantly rushed to the back of the line and carved out a small s.p.a.ce for themselves.

After Mika and Chiaki stood in their place in line, they turned around to look behind them, and saw many people, male and female, coming over to stand in line behind them…

"Welcome to the holy battle, newcomers," Yukari said laughingly. "This is just the most ordinary scene of battle. Before all this, there were even fierce warriors that would wait all night beforehand in order to be the first to enter and have a chance at buying the most precious, limited-edition goods in short supply. The doujins.h.i.+ convention doesn't recommend doing so, and has even forbidden it in the past. But even though the convention forbade lining up on the previous night, fierce warriors would simply spend the night at a nearby location, so the ban was lifted in the end. The way things currently are, compared to those fierce warriors' battle, is much more relaxing."

"Waiting in such a line is called 'relaxing?'" Chiaki turned to look at Yukari. "I feel like going home already…"

"This is a major even that only 'warriors' with pa.s.sion and belief can enjoy, which is why we call it the 'holy battle,'" Yukari shrugged. "As for ordinary people that aren't 'warriors,' it is a bit much."

'If you don't want to have a difficult time here, then go back now.' There was that faint undertone in her words.

Chiaki blinked at this.

"I'm here already, so it'll feel like I've lost if I turn around and go back now."

'I shall persist.' That was the meaning that she responded with.

"I've prepared heat pads as well as water here, so if you need anything, let me know," Seiji told them. "During the time that we're in line, we can browse the convention's website on our cell phones to see everything that's for sale, and confirm what we want to buy. That'll make things quicker when we go inside to look around."

The moment he finished saying that, he heard his cell phone beeping.

That was a notification from his chatting application.

Seiji opened his chatting application and saw that it was a message from his sister Hana.

"So slow! My familiar, why haven't you started streaming yet?"

"I just arrived, and am currently waiting in line."

"Too slow! You should have waited in line last night to be among the first to enter."

"I could have done that if I was by myself, but I have companions…"

"Companions are a burden, and only by abandoning them can you become stronger!"

Seiji was rendered speechless.

His NEET younger sister just said something that resembled a cla.s.sical line a villain would say.

"Don't say something so overboard like that. As a hero, I couldn't possibly do so!"

"This is an order from your master!"

"You don't know the right incantation, so I refuse to follow your orders."

"You… a mere familiar dares to resist against me!"

"Let's stop messing around, master. Go ahead and watch some anime or something, and I'll begin streaming when I enter the convention."

Seiji closed his conversation window and put away his cell phone.

"You were talking to that person who wanted you to stream?" Chiaki asked.

All the other girls looked at him as well.

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"She was just asking why I haven't started streaming yet, and I told her I would begin after I went inside the convention."

"Oh…"

Their group slowly moved forward in the line.

Judging by the current rate, it would take about an hour for them to finally be able to enter the convention.

"I'm quite interested in the Shaloha Company's games, and would really like to buy their newest game. I hope that there are still a few copies remaining… What are you guys interested in buying?" Seiji began a topic of conversation.

And so, everyone began chatting in order to pa.s.s the time while waiting in line.

"Reiko" was Yukari Asamiya.

Kaho recognized her by her voice.

When Yukari was confessing to Seigo, Kaho had been secretly spying on them, so Yukari left a deep impression on her.

Afterward, she heard some rumors that although Seigo didn't agree to go out with Yukari, they became close friends… something like this.

She never expected that the "Princess" of Year 1 Cla.s.s 3 was actually an otaku girl!

Yukari didn't want others to know that she was an otaku, which was why she concealed her true ident.i.ty. Kaho understood.

Kaho wondered, should she pretend that she didn't find anything out and silently keep Yukari's secret? Or, should she tell Yukari that she discovered Yukari's ident.i.ty, and then promise to keep it a secret?

If she told Yukari, Kaho would also have to explain how she even knew Yukari and had such a deep impression of her. But, to tell Yukari that she was spying on her during her confession… that was rather awkward.

She didn't want to bring this up, so she decided to silently keep Yukari's ident.i.ty a secret, as a way of apologizing for secretly spying on Yukari's confession that time.

And so, she set this matter aside. What Kaho really concerned herself about the most was that Seigo and the others were discussing how they were currently creating a dating sim game together.

Hearing this topic, Kaho impulsively wanted to join in and create the game together with Seigo, but she couldn't think of anything that she could do.

Even though this was clearly a chance to help him out, she didn't have the ability to do so.

At this moment, Kaho hated how she was a consumer otaku girl, without any specialties that could be helped in production.

It was time for her to do something as well.

The person she idolized not only became published as an author, he even gathered his companions to work on a game together, and would definitely progress farther and farther in the future.

If she was unable to help him… basically, if she was unable to improve her own level and follow in his footsteps, she would definitely be left by the roadside. Or, at the very most, she wouldn't be anything more than an ordinary friend.

She had to work harder.

In order to help him… no, for her own sake!

'He believes that I'm an outstanding girl who can become an excellent person in the future. And, I believe in him that believes in me, and want to become an excellent person who can be of a.s.sistance to him in the future.'

Something flashed in Kaho's eyes as she considered what she should do.

Time pa.s.ses, and their small group continued to the front of the line. Finally, it was Seiji and his friends' turn to enter the convention.

Things were a lot more comfortable after entering the convention.

"Ahh, that was so hard, waiting so long in line in winter weather." Chiaki rubbed her cheeks. "My face is almost frozen solid."

"Congratulations, newcomer! You've already pa.s.sed the entrance examination, and have become a novice warrior." Yukari congratulated her.

"Thank you. Although, I don't particularly feel happy about it."

"The fun part is just beginning," Seiji said.

He turned on the camera attached to him and connected to the convention's wireless internet and began streaming. He set a pa.s.sword to make his stream private, and then sent the pa.s.sword to Hana and s.h.i.+ka.

"My stream is online. Can you see it, Master?" Seiji sent a message to Hana.

"I can see it, idiot familiar."

Hana saw Seiji's "companions" through his stream.