Akira signed the final book and slid it back across the table.
The last fan bowed and left.
Machida announced the end of the signing event, and the remaining people slowly began to disperse.
Finally…
Akira leaned back in his chair.
Still wearing the SD Gundam helmet, he slumped against the backrest.
"Finally… it's over. I survived…"
His voice faded.
Machida quickly walked over.
"Sirius-kun? Are you alright?"
Akira slowly raised one hand.
"…Low power mode."
"…Too many people."
"…Cannot speak."
Machida had absolutely no idea what had just happened to him.
Fortunately, Erika entered the room at that moment together with Shiro, carrying a bag.
She took one look at Akira and sighed.
"Yeah… I figured you'd end up like this."
She walked over, removed his helmet, then took a milkshake out of the bag and casually pushed the straw into his mouth.
"Here. Drink this."
Akira, still with his eyes closed, obediently began drinking the milkshake.
Erika then handed the bag to Shiro.
"Here. Give him the rest after he finishes that."
Shiro nodded.
"Okay."
She peeked into the bag.
Several more milkshakes were inside.
"…Can anyone even drink all of this?" she wondered.
Meanwhile, Erika turned and walked toward Machida.
Machida looked relieved, but still confused.
"Is everything alright?"
Erika nodded calmly.
"It's fine. He's just tired after meeting too many people."
She glanced back at Akira.
"He'll recover after getting some sugar."
Machida looked at the bag Shiro was holding and the milkshakes inside it.
"How many does he need?" she asked.
Erika replied calmly.
"All of them."
Machida looked surprised for a moment.
Then she sighed and returned to her professional mode.
"Today's signing event was a huge success. Even we didn't expect this many people to show up."
She straightened slightly.
"So… well… please thank Sirius-kun for today."
Erika nodded.
"I will."
Machida glanced at Akira again. He was already halfway through his second milkshake.
She sighed.
"Please tell Sirius-kun to get some rest. And I'll contact you later about the next volume."
Erika nodded again.
"Sure. Thank you for today too, Machida-san."
Machida waved her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm just doing my job."
Erika nodded.
"Then I'll take him home."
Machida smiled slightly.
"Alright."
Then she raised her voice.
"Akira-kun, take care!"
Akira, who had regained a little energy, raised one hand weakly.
"Yeah… thank you."
After that, Erika returned to him and dragged him toward the exit, saying goodbye to Machida and the shop staff along the way.
After three milkshakes, Akira finally had enough energy to walk on his own again.
As they stepped outside, he let out a long sigh.
"That was a tough day. I'm not doing that again for a while. Definitely not."
Erika sighed.
"You did a good job today. You worked hard."
Akira shook his head.
"I'd rather fight a dragon than do this again."
Then he looked at her.
"So how did you two spend your day?"
Erika replied,
"Well… I tried walking around Akihabara…"
She paused slightly.
"…but everyone kept thinking I was cosplaying as Lyra."
Akira almost choked on his milkshake.
He coughed.
"Oh. I see. Hahaha…"
His laughter sounded a little nervous.
Erika didn't continue that topic.
Instead she asked,
"So how did you spend your time? Did you meet any interesting fans?"
Akira thought for a moment.
"Well… I don't know."
He paused.
Then he suddenly remembered the endless line of fans.
His expression stiffened.
"…Actually, I don't want to remember that."
Erika raised an eyebrow.
Shiro giggled quietly behind them.
Akira shook his head slightly.
"Anyway, I did meet someone interesting."
He looked at Erika.
"I met Rias today. She came with her friend Akeno."
Erika blinked.
"Rias?"
Shiro also looked curious.
Akira nodded.
"She's a devil. The heiress of the Gremory family. An old friend of mine."
Erika frowned slightly as she thought about it.
She didn't know much about the supernatural world, but she had heard of devils before.
And the Gremory family was one of the high-ranking noble houses.
Then something suddenly clicked in her mind.
"…Wait."
She looked at him.
"Is she the red-haired girl on the cover of Volume Two of your novel? The second heroine?"
Akira nodded casually.
"Yeah. That's her."
Erika immediately stopped walking.
Then she slowly turned toward him.
"Tell me everything."
Akira blinked.
"…Huh?"
Erika stepped closer.
"Tell me everything that happened."
Akira tilted his head slightly, confused by her sudden seriousness.
But he explained anyway.
He told her about the signing event, about Rias arriving in disguise, about Akeno, and about their conversation in the staff room.
When he mentioned that Rias had asked about his relationship update…
Erika suddenly went quiet.
She looked thoughtful.
Meanwhile, Akira was thinking about something else.
Thinking about Rias reminded him of something.
Utaha's words from earlier echoed in his mind.
About Orion.
About how Orion had shared romantic moments with many girls.
A harem.
Akira frowned slightly.
"…That can't be right."
But he didn't really understand relationships very well.
He had never cared enough to think about them deeply.
So instead of thinking about it alone—
He asked directly.
"Erika."
Erika looked at him.
"Hm?"
Akira asked,
"Do you think she has feelings for me?"
Erika froze.
She stared at him in shock.
"…You're asking me that?"
Akira nodded.
"Yeah."
Erika frowned slightly.
"Why would you think that?"
Akira shrugged.
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."
Erika was silent for a moment.
Then she asked slowly,
"What do you think she feels about you?"
Akira thought for a moment.
"Well… she treats me well. We're friendly. She helps me if I get into trouble. And we can talk about a lot of things."
He shrugged.
"I guess that's it."
Then he added honestly,
"But that just sounds like friendship, right? Is that really romantic?"
Erika crossed her arms.
"That sounds like normal friendship. But I can't say for sure without hearing everything."
Then she looked at him and continued,
"In the first place… how do you even tell the difference between a friendly conversation and a romantic one?"
Akira thought for a long time before answering.
"I don't know, but…"
He paused.
"I just don't feel it with her."
Erika tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Akira replied slowly.
"Well, when I talk to her, it feels normal. Like I'm speaking with someone I know… or a friend."
He looked at Erika.
"It's completely different from when I'm with you."
Erika blinked.
"Huh?"
Akira continued.
"When I'm with you… it feels different."
He hesitated.
"…I don't really know how to explain it."
Then he gently took her hands.
Looking into her eyes, he said quietly,
"Whenever I'm with you, I feel happy. Like I belong there."
Erika's breath caught for a moment.
Akira continued.
"But I don't feel that with her."
He tilted his head slightly.
"So that means she doesn't have feelings for me… right?"
Erika froze.
She immediately realized what had happened.
Akira wasn't sensing anyone else's feelings.
He was simply describing his own feelings for her, without realizing it.
But even knowing that…
What he said made her heart skip a beat.
She looked into Akira's beautiful star-like eyes.
For a moment, the world around them seemed to fade away.
For a moment, they saw only each other.
Then—
"Excuse me."
Both of them snapped back to reality.
They turned and saw Shiro standing behind them.
Her face was bright red.
"…I'm still here," she said quietly.
"And this is a public place."
Only then did they realize how close they were standing.
They quickly let go of each other's hands and stepped back.
Erika turned away, her face slightly red.
"Let's go home. We can talk later."
She began walking quickly.
Akira hurried after her.
"Wait for me!"
Behind them, Shiro sighed softly before following along.