Under the tablecloth.
Eriri, seeing Yamada Elf's shy and flustered expression, no longer cared about whether her identity would be exposed. Right now, she only wanted to crawl out and demand an explanation from Ryosuke.
But then, a force from behind stopped her. Also hiding under the table, Yamada Elf tugged on the strap of her overalls.
The Elf pressed a finger to her lips, making a hush gesture.
Machida Sonoko hadn't gone far yet. If Machida turned back out of curiosity and saw Kashiwagi Eri, then it would be even easier for Yamada Elf herself to be exposed.
Eriri sat back down under the table, glaring wide-eyed as she whispered harshly:
"You… what were you just doing under here!?"
Her flat chest rose and fell as if fueled by anger mixed with resentment, burning fiercely.
Eriri even felt a bit wronged. It was her booth, her tablecloth.
She'd only stepped away for a moment—so why was there now a dazed, flushed, adorably blushing girl hiding under the table?
Yamada Elf didn't seem to notice Eriri's accusatory tone.
Instead, her eyes sparkled with excitement as she held up a manga in her hand.
"Kashiwagi Eri, this is your work, isn't it? It's so ecchi!"
"Eh!?"
Eriri suddenly realized—the other girl had been reading her doujinshi.
A flood of embarrassment rushed up from the depths of her heart, her small face turning red all the way to her ears.
Being praised online was one thing.
But having someone in real life hold her book and gush about how ecchi it was—that was another matter entirely.
"R-Really…?" Eriri stammered, voice faltering with embarrassment.
"Mm-hmm!" Yamada Elf nodded eagerly, then suddenly shifted gears. "But there are still some shortcomings. For example, here you should add a little more…"
Listening to Yamada Elf's eroge theory, Eriri was utterly shocked. She never expected that Elf didn't just think about full nudity.
And so it began.
A light novel author with a head full of ero ideas and an eroge illustrator equally overflowing with ero material…
The two of them launched into an academic discussion about the weaknesses of Eriri's book under the table.
"Ah!"
Just as the debate heated up, Eriri let out a little cry.
She felt a kick on her backside. Reflexively, she stood up to turn and see who had kicked her.
Bang!
She forgot she was under a table. The moment she stood, she hit her head against the underside of the board.
Rubbing her head in pain, she turned—and saw yet another girl under the table, staring at her in surprise.
…
Meanwhile, Hiratsuka Ryosuke sat on a chair behind the booth, waiting for customers.
No customers came. Instead, a girl came sprinting toward the booth.
The girl wore a spotless, pure white lace veil and a golden bracelet.
Before Ryosuke could even greet her, she slid dramatically and dove under the table.
Thud-thud-thud~
In an instant, the sound of footsteps drew closer.
The footsteps stopped. A large group of middle schoolers stood nearby, scanning their surroundings.
"I'm sure of it—that was the Master of the Dark Testament!"
"Ke-ke-ke, I finally did it! I've returned to the world line where Shinka-sama exists!"
"Shinka-sama, where are you? Please come out and guide your lost believers!"
At those words, Hiratsuka Ryosuke's face darkened.
He recognized some of them—they were Shinka's old elementary school classmates, the same weird bunch.
He vividly remembered the scene from their graduation chorus.
But why was Shinka running away this time? Normally, she'd revel in this kind of attention.
Ryosuke soon learned the reason.
Several police officers approached the kids to question them, but this only made the middle schoolers even more agitated.
"We'll never betray Shinka-sama!"
"Give it up! I'll never abandon my faith!"
One of the officers sighed helplessly and began asking nearby stall owners for information.
"Have you seen any suspicious individuals? We received a report that someone was here brainwashing children."
Children were the future of this country. As police officers, they would never allow cult leaders to deceive them.
At Summer Comiket, people wore all sorts of outfits, but most attendees were introverted otaku.
And as otaku, of course they could tell these middle schoolers were just in the middle of a collective chuunibyou episode. Many of them had gone through the same phase.
If anyone looked suspicious here, it wasn't the kids—but the police, who stood out for seeming too normal among the otaku crowd.
But the officers saw everyone shaking their heads, leaving them at a loss.
The report had sounded urgent, detailed, and convincing. But on-site, there were only a bunch of kids—and no suspicious adults.
Finally, after exchanging glances, the officers decided to leave and write up a report later.
"Sorry for disturbing you all. It's the duty of the Japanese police to protect citizens from evil forces. Please trust us—any evil will eventually be brought to justice!"
…
Under the table, Yamada Elf whispered as she held the book:
"Shinka-sama, you're here too, huh?"
Shinka suddenly lunged forward and clamped her hand over Elf's mouth, making a hushing gesture.
She never expected her elementary school classmates to become this terrifying.
At first, running into them had made her happy.
But as more and more gathered, their words grew more outrageous.
Talking about their brains trembling… even saying they'd sacrifice their hearts for her.
And then the police showed up.
Though she didn't know why, being chased by both classmates and police left her with no choice but to run.
Nibutani Shinka pricked up her ears, listening to the footsteps outside fade farther and farther away. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Yo, what a coincidence, Elf—"
She turned, ready to greet her, but the words froze in her throat.
Because she saw the R-18 content in Yamada Elf's hands.
Shinka's face instantly went crimson, steam practically rising from her head, leaving her frozen in place.
In that instant, it felt like she'd suddenly grown up.
Snapping out of it, Shinka averted her eyes from the book, still blushing, and looked toward Eriri.
Back in Fukuoka, she had already learned Eriri's true identity, but hadn't paid much attention.
She knew Ryosuke and Kashiwagi Eri were collaborating to publish light novels.
But she didn't know Ryosuke was also helping Eriri sell this kind of thing. R-18 works—even she hadn't bought any.
Nibutani Shinka studied Eriri carefully.
This girl, Eriri, didn't seem simple anymore.
With her sharp sense for reading the mood, Shinka immediately noticed Eriri's unease.
No, her thoughts were written all over her face. She was still the same little blonde from Fukuoka.
Unless… someone was secretly guiding her?
Yamada Elf waved a hand in front of Shinka's eyes.
"You okay?"
Shinka waved weakly. "I'm fine… but what are you two doing under the table?"
"I was hiding from Machida."
"I was hiding from classmates."
The two blonde lolis answered, then asked softly in unison:
"And you?"
"I… I guess I was hiding from the police," Shinka admitted uncertainly.
Even she didn't really know why classmates and police were both after her.
Eriri and Yamada Elf were stunned at this heavy revelation and immediately looked at her with newfound respect.
The three girls, huddled under the table, began sharing how each of them had ended up chased into hiding.
After some time, it was Eriri's turn. Once she finished, she lowered her head.
Elf and Shinka exchanged glances, then both turned to look at Eriri.
They were both otaku, but unlike Eriri, they had never been ostracized for it.
Instead, they'd gathered followers, building communities that only grew larger over time.
Shinka didn't bluntly ask, "What's so bad about being exposed as an otaku?" Everyone had their own circumstances.
Instead, she gently embraced Eriri's head, her expression serene and kind like a Madonna.
"It's okay, Eriri. Do you have your phone? Want me to add you to the group? There are plenty of friends like us."
Hearing this, Eriri was touched.
But before she could answer—suddenly, from outside the tablecloth, a strong hand reached in.
It grabbed Nibutani Shinka's head in one swift motion.