“Ahhhhh!” She let out a raging groundhog scream. Sayocho, who was precisely the editor for Miyanaga Kohime, looked like she’d just been hit with the world’s biggest crisis.

“Oh no, oh no! The chief editor said if I don’t fix this, I’m being shipped off to Siberia to dig potatoes…”

Wow, your publishing house sure is embracing the Soviet style.

“Okay, okay, calm down. Are you saying there’s no way the author can show up to the signing? What’s the reason?” Marika, seeing Sayocho panic like a frightened animal, immediately reached out to soothe her—literally patting her head—and tried to help brainstorm.

“Why not reach out and explain the situation to them first? Maybe they’ll understand?”

Before Sayocho could answer, the Lilim staff nearby let out a sigh and said, “Actually, Sayocho-sensei has never met the author in person. All the communication has been through the author’s older brother.”

Flash wiped the sweat from his forehead and voiced the worst-case scenario: “So… this so-called debut teen girl author might’ve just been a marketing stunt?”

“No way!” I waved him off with exaggerated confidence, grinning with a mysterious air. “Miyanaga Kohime is 100% a real teenage girl!”

“Not necessarily…” Sayocho, who was nearly thirty and still getting head pats, shook her head, clearly skeptical. Her gaze dropped to the floor, avoiding my eyes.

“Honestly, I’ve had my doubts too. I’ve been an editor for years, and you start to get a feel for these things. Miyanaga-sensei’s writing is so polished—I mean, it’s hard to believe a sixteen-year-old could write like that. But the books were selling like hotcakes, so I didn’t push the issue.”

Wow, this editor is actually doubting her own author.

But all I could imagine was Cangyu peeking out from behind Brother Feng Wu’s back, timidly introducing herself with a soft “I’m Miyanaga Kohime… it’s nice to meet you,” like a shy little woodland creature. God, I’m weak for little sisters. Little sisters are the best!

...Okay, but realistically, this wouldn't even happen with her. To be frank, her personality wouldn’t win many fans in real life. She’s kind of hard to deal with.

“That might not be the case, isn’t it always the quiet ones who end up being geniuses?”

“Oh? Young man, you sound like you know Miyanaga-sensei personally? Her author bio doesn’t say anything about her personality!”

Like a wolf catching a scent, Sayocho suddenly lunged forward and grabbed me by the collar. She may be tiny, but she had enough strength to almost yank me off my feet.

“Well, yeah… I have seen her. And I can say for sure she’s a girl—and she has serious social anxiety. But as for getting her to show up for the signing… I’m afraid I can’t help. We only met once.”

Sure, we’d been to Aqua World together, but that was through Haitang. I barely said two words to her. And with her brother Feng Wu around—classic overprotective sis-con—there was simply no way to start a conversation with her.

Sayocho’s signature ahoge perked up at the start of my sentence, then drooped down sadly when she heard the rest.

Meanwhile, Flash had been scrolling through his phone. “Some of the more… intense fans online are threatening to trash the booth if she doesn’t show. Even said they’d send funeral wreaths. Should we call the cops?”

He paused, then waved it off. “Nah, it’s just trolls. Probably never even read the book.”

Sayocho took a deep breath, finally regaining some composure. “Trolls or not, if their posts go viral, media outlets are gonna run with it. The only way to shut this down is for Miyanaga Kohime-sensei to show up and clear the air.”

Marika frowned as she scanned a look at Flash’s phone. “This isn’t just a PR nightmare for the publisher—it’ll hurt the author and the book’s sales, too.”

She was right. This wasn’t a situation a PR spin alone could fix.

Sayocho nodded grimly and walked off to a corner with her phone to make a call. Her ahoge poked at the wall as if drawing sad little circles.

Marika turned to us. “Alright, you two head back to the booth. Captain probably needs help with setup. I’ll handle things here with Sayocho-sensei.”

Flash, who was not involved in the first place and was just here for some popcorn, nodded and wheeled his cart back.

“Then I’ll come check in again later, Miss Marika.”

To be fair, this didn’t really concern me… but Cangyu is Haitang’s friend, and a friend of a friend is still a friend. If I bailed now and she found out later, she’d never let me live it down.

“Wait—what’s your name?” Marika called out.

“Chang Kai.”

“No, no. I meant your codename.”

Seriously, what is it with this group?

“Everyone’s been calling me ‘young man’ anyways. Let’s just go with that. It’s simple and easier to stomach.”

Back at the Witch’s Workshop booth, Wu Qinglan was handing out drinks to reward the team. When he saw me returning, he chucked a bottle across the room. Lucky for me, his aim was decent.

It was a bottle of Vita Lemon Tea. Addictive stuff. Though honestly, I still think the boxed version tastes better.

Wu Qinglan sauntered over, slinging an arm around my shoulders like he was about to pitch a pyramid scheme.

He smelled… nice? Like a soft cologne. Something that made my pulse spike—what the hell, why is a guy making me flustered?!

“Hey, Xiao Kai… we’re friends, right?” He grinned like a shady door-to-door salesman.

Danger! Danger! All my instincts were screaming. Something was definitely up.

I glared. “What do you want?”

“Relax, I’m not selling you to the black market.”

“No, but my gut says you’re about to screw me over.”

He gestured at the small stage behind him.

“I mentioned this yesterday, right? We’ve got a cosplay performance and a signing event tomorrow. Thing is, the cosplay group we hired just backed out.”

That could only mean one thing: he wanted me to step in.

“You want me to fill in? No way! Your whole manga is about magical girls! I’m not dressing up as one!”

“Come on, it’s the modern age. Boys can be magical girls too!”

“Sure, but your story doesn’t have any male magical girls!”

I shook my head like a broken bobblehead. But he didn’t give up—gripping my shoulders, eyes full of desperate sincerity.

"Please, I'm begging you! It's way too late to find someone now, and online cosplayers always look way better in photos than in real life!"

He leaned in close again. That fragrant smell. Damn it. And now I could see just how delicate his features really were. Fair skin, fox-like eyes… honestly, he was more feminine-looking than most girls. We were the same type.

“Why don’t you dress up instead? Isn’t this your project? And with forty-plus members in your group, not one girl can cosplay? You even had to outsource a cosplay group?”

I must’ve hit a nerve—he clutched his face and dropped to the floor in mock agony.

“Yeah, we have over forty members, but only eleven are girls. Not all of them suit cosplay, and the ones who do aren’t available… so we’re down to two. Marika’s one, and there’s another girl who couldn’t come today.”

“How many do you need?”

“The main cast of Magical Girl Paradise has five girls. Even if I dress up too, we’re still one short.”
He stood and dusted himself off.
“So if you can find three cute girls to help, you won’t have to wear a dress.”

“Nice try, but even if I can’t find backup, that doesn’t mean I have to crossdress.”

“I didn’t want to do this… I didn’t want our friendship to be tainted by something so crude…”

He suddenly threw open his hand, fingers splayed dramatically.

“500 yuan!”

“F-F-F-Five…! I’m not that cheap!” I bit my tongue to snap out of it.

“Per hour!”

“GAH!”