At 1:30 in the afternoon, Mai-chan came running over herself to tell us she’d be doing a one-hour autograph session in thirty minutes.

She was visibly excited—despite all her previous worries and hesitation, I guess a novelist is still a novelist at heart. The idea of meeting readers up close at a signing clearly lit her up.

By this point, Miss Marika’s session had already wrapped, and things around the Witch’s Workshop booth were starting to quiet down. Not surprising, really—at this hour, there weren’t many new visitors showing up. The crowd inside was only thinning out.

Rinka, still in her Madoka cosplay, dragged along Xiao Yao—also in costume—and skipped off to line up for Mai-chan’s signing.

Honestly, I didn’t think there was any need to line up at all. Mai-chan could just sign their books backstage if they asked. But Rinka shot that idea down fast: “Kai-chan, you don’t get it at all! The point is to be part of it!”

Yeah, I guess I really don’t get it.

So I didn’t follow them. Instead, I slipped behind the publisher’s booth with Sayocho, and we watched the scene unfold from the shadows.

On a side note, the tiny Sayocho had dragged over two chairs to stand on, just so she could see over the crowd to get a glimpse of her author.

Guess that’s to be expected from someone riding a wave of internet drama and bestseller success.

While other booths were starting to empty out, Lilim Publishing’s booth was absolutely swarmed. They’d even cleared out the giant central book pile, but the 100-square-meter space still felt packed.

“Even more people than I imagined,” I said.

Sayocho grinned. “What’s with the surprise, young man? This turnout is totally normal. Sure, the publisher hyped it up, but those sales figures? All real. No funny business.”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement—though in her case, I figured it was more about her performance bonus in sight rather than artistic pride. After all, Kohime was her author.

“And most of the fans lining up are young women…”

The place was packed with girls in their teens and twenties. Kind of made me regret not tagging along with Rinka and Xiao Yao after all.

“Well, we’re a publisher that specializes in women’s literature. Feeling left out? Maybe you should write a novel too, kid.”

“Me? Yeah, no thanks. Knowing my luck, I’d write 300,000 words and barely scrape 200 bookmarks. That’d be a whole new level of public humiliation.”

“What are you talking about? We’re a print publisher!”

The booth didn’t even have a proper stage—just a single table pushed up against the wall. Mai-chan sat there holding a pen, stiff as a student waiting for their exam paper.

In front of her, a long line of readers clutching copies of Dreamlike Fragrance waited for staff to give the signal to start.

At 2:00 p.m. sharp, Miyanaga Kohime’s signing event officially began.

“She just told me she’s not gonna expose herself this afternoon. Said she’ll do her best to maintain her good image,” Sayocho said from atop her chair, one hand resting on my shoulder, the other shielding her eyes dramatically like a scout on the lookout.

“You’re seriously my lucky charm, young man. Boss just gave out bonuses—let’s go have a drink tonight! My treat, as thanks~”

“Actually, it was someone else who talked her down. I didn’t really do anything.”

“Then let’s invite them too. Big Sis here’s treating everyone.”

I gave the vertically-challenged “Big Sis” a sideways glance. “I’m seventeen. No drinking. And you don’t exactly look of age yourself. Won’t the restaurant staff throw you out?”

She smacked the back of my head and burst out laughing.

“Ha! Don’t be ridiculous. I’m twenty-nine, okay? Totally legal!”

Then her smile froze, and her expression darkened dramatically.

…Age is the ultimate taboo. Sure, she said it herself, but that alone might be enough reason for her to erase me.

“You didn’t hear anything, right, young man?”

“Oh! A hopelessly single twenty-nine-year-old? Didn’t hear a thing!”

“You added hopelessly single?! Nope, that’s it. Young man, you know too much! I’m gonna have to silence you!”

Please don’t!

She tightened her grip on my shoulder, and it became impossible to wriggle free. Her long ahoge swayed wildly like a scythe—one swing away from decapitating me.

“You don’t look a day over nineteen! So young and beautiful! I’m a huge fan!”

Survival instinct: maxed out.

“…Fine, fine. Since you know how to grovel properly, I’ll let you off the hook. But—you’re following me for drinks tonight, got it?”

I let out a long sigh of relief.

“I already told you, I can’t drink. How about… we go for barbecue instead?”

“Sure, as long as there’s booze.”

She looked like a fake loli, but apparently she was a full-on boozehound.

“I’m bringing some friends too. You paying for everyone?”

“Of course! No problem!” she said, thumping her chest confidently—then added, much more cautiously, “Uh, how many people exactly?”

I did some quick mental math. Me and Mai-chan for sure, Lei Meow Meow and Tian Xi would wanna come, plus Rinka and Xiao Yao. Miss Marika was obviously in as Sayocho’s close friend, and if Scarlet-chan joined, that’d be perfect… Wu Qinglan… hmm, maybe not.

“Seven or eight?”

“You trying to bankrupt me?!”

The signing was only supposed to last an hour, so Mai-chan kept the line moving fast. Even so, there were still readers asking things like “Can I hug Kohime-sensei?” or “Can we take a photo together?”

That kind of request was only allowed from female fans, of course. Male fans who tried would get dragged off by staff and glared at by every girl in the room.

Girls can’t resist cute things. And petite little Mai-chan? She was basically weaponized cuteness. No surprise she was a hit.
Being adorable really does mean you can get away with anything.

Honestly, maybe we should just talk Mai-chan into living the rest of his life as a girl.

But no rush. As long as Brother Feng Wu plans to keep being Miyanaga Kohime, he’ll need to transform again sooner or later. After enough repeated exposure and slow, steady nudges… we can talk about it properly then.

I wonder if Mai-chan could even qualify as one of my quota targets. Losing her parents is rough, but her life with her sister seems… pretty happy, all things considered.

As for this month’s quota, Rinka’s basically locked in already.

And if I follow that thread, I might even learn something about Old Feng’s situation from her. Two birds with one stone.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”

Divine assessment? Might as well be a sip of water.

Since Rinka and Xiao Yao lined up early, they were near the front. Xiao Yao got her book signed and quietly made her way back. Right after her, Rinka managed to snap several selfies with Mai-chan, hugging and cheek-to-cheek the whole time…

I leaned in and whispered to Xiao Yao, “You didn’t tell her that’s really Brother Feng Wu, right?”

“Nope,” she replied, shaking her head.

Thank god she’s not the talkative type.

I watched Rinka rubbing cheeks with Mai-chan and pictured the male Brother Feng Wu—scruffy, unshaven, a full-on burnout—and felt a cold sweat coming on.

“Yeah, best to leave it alone…”

I rubbed my forehead.

If Rinka knew she was cuddling up to a transformed crusty dude, she’d totally lose it. Not good for her emotional health.

Anyway, the signing went off without a hitch. None of the online trolls showed up. Not a single one. The ones who ranted about Miyanaga Kohime, trashed the publisher, insulted the readers, or even threatened to send funeral wreaths? Total no-shows.

Just like Flash said—keyboard warriors never have the guts to show up in person.

At that moment, all the nasty rumors and online mudslinging vanished into thin air. In their place were threads like:
[Breaking! Miyanaga Kohime-sensei is an actual super-cute girl! (Photos)] [Fluent and charming—definitely the real deal] [Confirmed: The one I love] [Back off, she’s mine!]

3:24 PM.

The “one-hour” signing dragged on an extra thirty minutes until Mai-chan finally raised her hand in surrender, saying her hand was too sore to keep going.

The venue closes at 4, and now the crowd has mostly cleared out. Even Miss Marika and Wu Qinglan had wandered over to the publisher’s booth. Clearly, things over at the Witch’s Workshop have cooled down significantly.

So quiet now. Compared to the crowd during the signing, it was like night and day.

“I see. She really is professional-level,” Sayocho said, flipping through Xiao Yao’s sketchbook that Mai-chan had handed her, nodding with approval.

Miss Marika peered over and visibly stiffened. She gasped, jaw slack, losing even her usual mature composure.

“Such strong fundamentals skills at that too… Xiao Yao—no, Yan Yao-Sensei! Please help whip my skills into shape!” Miss Marika’s even calling her sensei now?

Even Sayocho was surprised. “Huh? She’s even better than you?”

“I only started drawing in college. My basics are weak… but Xiao Yao’s work shows years of polish. I can’t compete. I have to rely on experience to cover the gaps.”

“No, your figures are so expressive—they look like they’re about to move. I’ve only trained in still-life, so I actually envy your work. I’d love to learn from you too.”

Marika clenched her fist. “No slacking—I’m also a Gambare-knight!”（オレも頑張れないと）

“Alright, alright, no more mutual commercial flattery,” Wu Qinglan cut in. “Xiao Yao, come join our circle and draw manga! Your skills are exactly what we need to complement Marika’s.”

No way the Witch’s Workshop leader would pass up on talent like this.

“Hey! She’s gonna be an illustrator for our publishing firm! Hands off!” Sayocho pulled Xiao Yao behind her protectively.

“She said she wants to illustrate Dreamlike Fragrance, a published novel. Can you give her that?”

“She can illustrate for Kohime-sensei’s new release!”

The two of them immediately started bickering. No surprise—top-tier talent is in high demand.

Even though Sayocho’s only nearly 160 cm tall, Wu Qinglan was hunched over, so the two locked eyes at exactly the same height…

And in the blink of an eye—

Sayocho’s long ahoge twitched like a whip and jabbed straight into Wu Qinglan’s eye. The latter immediately dropped, clutching her face and flopping around like Neymar on a dive.

Wait, that thing’s alive?! Is she a secret agent from the Ahoge Planet?

I was about to step in and say something when a weird crackling sound started coming from right above me…