Crossover: After deciding to give up, i became popular

"Kanade, is that store clerk staring at me? D-Do you think she noticed?" Eriri tugged on Kanade's sleeve, her tone fraught with nervousness. Her other hand was clenched into a fist against her chest, as though trying to calm herself.

"Don't be paranoid; it's just your imagination." Kanade attempted to reassure her, though he turned to glance at the clerk. Unfortunately, he locked eyes with the young employee, who quickly averted her gaze in a suspiciously hurried manner.

"...At most, she's probably just confused about your suspicious outfit," Kanade muttered with some uncertainty. The clerk's behavior was odd, but it felt less like she was scrutinizing Eriri and more like… she was sizing him up?

Could it be that he looked even younger than Eriri?

"My outfit is suspicious? I think it's perfectly normal!" Eriri protested, glancing down at her ensemble. She saw no issue with it whatsoever.

"If you've ever watched romance dramas, you'd realize you're dressed exactly like a stereotypical private detective," Kanade explained in a low voice.

The irony was that her conspicuous outfit, with its oversized hat and exaggerated layers, only worked in TV dramas. In reality, professionals would wear plain, everyday clothing to blend in. Dressing like this? She might as well hang a sign around her neck that said, "I'm sneaking around!"

"Let's stop wasting time. Go find the doujinshi you're after. I feel like people are already starting to stare at us," Kanade said.

This bookstore was quite popular, and even early in the day, a stream of otakus in their distinctive outfits had been browsing the aisles. However, most of them came alone. Kanade and Eriri, standing together, were a rarity—especially since one of them was a cute girl.

If looks could kill, Kanade would already be riddled with holes from the jealous glares being sent his way.

"R-Right."

Eriri glanced around, quickly realizing that Kanade was right. People were indeed casting curious glances at them.

From an outsider's perspective, they probably looked like a couple, right? Not a bad assumption, she thought with a blush.

She scurried behind Kanade, using his body as a shield to avoid the stares.

"Not this one... not this one either... found it!" Eriri's eyes lit up as she pulled her target from the shelf—a doujinshi her mother had requested.

Eriri herself, being a perfectly ordinary artist of the "dubious consent" genre, generally stuck to heterosexual themes. Her mother, however, was an unapologetic fujoshi who thrived on forbidden love stories.

"Got it? Let me see—" Kanade leaned over out of curiosity.

"No way!" Eriri clutched the doujinshi protectively, refusing to let him glimpse it.

Everything else was fine, but she absolutely couldn't let Kanade see this. What if it somehow set him down the wrong path? That was unacceptable!

Kanade shrugged, unfazed by her reaction. "Fine, keep your secrets."

With nothing else to do, he started browsing the shelves himself.

Since they were already here, it wouldn't hurt to pick out something for himself, right?

After flipping through a few options, a particular cover caught his eye—a doujinshi featuring a slender, busty blonde girl with her hands clasped in prayer. Her golden hair was slicked with a glossy sheen that looked suspiciously like...

Kanade froze.

The image immediately brought to mind the dream he'd had that morning. In the dream, Mahiru Shiina had struck a pose eerily similar to the one on the cover...

Eriri, noticing Kanade's focused gaze, leaned over to see what had captured his attention.

The blonde hair, the slender figure, the hairstyle...

It was her.

Eriri's cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she stared at the cover. Her mind raced with mortifying scenarios in which she became the doujinshi's protagonist.

Meanwhile, Kanade, standing over her with a mischievous grin, might as well have been saying, "Swallow it..."

Eriri's shame reached critical levels.

Desperate to distract him, she began stammering, "W-What is this trash? T-The hair color isn't even vibrant enough, the character's face isn't well-drawn, and her slim body with t-those huge b-boobs is totally unrealistic! Kanade, stop looking at it already!"

The more she spoke, the more flustered she became.

Kanade didn't even respond, yet his captivated expression made it clear he was impressed by the girl's assets.

What about mine?! Eriri thought furiously.

Sure, hers weren't that big yet, but there was potential! She drank milk religiously, after all!

"Y-Yeah, okay... anyway, you've got what you came for, right? Let's just go." Kanade, shaken out of his daze, felt a sudden sense of urgency.

Initially, he'd planned to take a doujinshi home for himself, but now? After the sheer embarrassment of this moment, the idea felt impossible. If he brought something back, he wouldn't be able to look Mahiru in the eye ever again.

With a quiet grumble, Eriri followed Kanade to the register. She slipped her doujinshi between some normal books and handed them to him. Kanade took them with a calm expression, then passed them to the clerk with the practiced composure of someone who did this every day.

The key to success in such situations was exuding confidence. Any hesitation would raise suspicion.

"That'll be 3,000 yen. Do you have a membership card?" the clerk—a mature, onee-san-type woman—asked with a sly smile.

"No, I'll just pay directly," Kanade replied smoothly, handing over the money.

After completing the transaction, the two of them turned to leave the store.

But just as they reached the door—

"Excuse me, wait a moment!"

Kanade and Eriri froze.

The clerk hurried after them. "What's your relationship?" she asked in a low voice.

"Uh... siblings," Kanade replied, his tone hesitant.

"Wonderful!" The clerk beamed, pulling out a slip of paper and slipping it into Kanade's hand.

"Be sure to contact me!" she added with a wink before retreating to the counter.

Kanade stood there, dumbfounded.

Eriri peeked over his shoulder, equally confused—until she saw the slip of paper.

"What the heck?! She wasn't checking our ages—she was checking you out!"