The day after Rita arrived from England was the weekend.
The "Owner Wars" between Nanami and Rita were in full swing.
After a night of brewing tension, the scent of gunpowder was thick in the air starting from breakfast.
The "pet" at the center of the battlefield, Mashiro, acted as if nothing was wrong... she had them both wrapped around her finger.
It was unclear if Mashiro was a natural-born player or if she had just been corrupted by Rin.
She lived with Rita under the guise of giving Nanami more time to chase her dreams.
Then she would often tell Rita things like, "If it were Nanami, she would do..."
The result of their competition was that Mashiro got exactly what she wanted.
With a rival to compare against, neither wanted to be the "lesser owner."
To avoid losing, they would both push themselves to satisfy Mashiro's most shameful requests.
It was the weekend, but Rin had no time to watch the female ego-battle.
Today was the official signing event for Utaha and Elf's new books.
It wasn't their first signing, but usually, these were held in small bookstores.
This time, the publishers were hyping it up as a "Beautiful Novelist Duel."
The fanbases were already hostile toward each other, and now neither side wanted to lose.
Fan clubs and chat groups had organized massive turnouts for the event.
Due to the sheer number of fans and the different publishers involved, they had rented out an indoor sports stadium.
On the temporary stage, thousands of copies of their novels were stacked neatly by their tables.
They weren't expected to sign all of them; only the first 1,000 buyers would get a signature.
The rest were just for show—a visual representation of sales to fan the flames of the rivalry.
With a one-copy-per-person limit, thousands of books were impossible to sell out instantly.
If the event was a hit, they planned a national tour to see who could sign their mountain of books first.
But the marketing was the publisher's problem. Rin didn't care.
Rin arrived at the stadium at 9:00 AM.
The event started at 10:00 AM, but two massive lines had already formed.
At the end of one line, a staff member held a sign for "Utaha Kasumigaoka," while the other side held one for "Yamada Elf."
Supposedly, people had been lining up since midnight.
Rin was just glad he didn't have to wait.
Utaha and Elf were already inside getting ready.
Outside the stadium, Rin easily spotted Megumi Kato and Eriri in the crowd.
To avoid being recognized, Eriri was still in her green tracksuit, complete with a mask, hat, and glasses.
Megumi, standing beside her, was dressed quite adorably.
She wore a peach-orange shawl over a white dress with double-layered ruffles.
A sea-blue square bag hung from her shoulder, and her legs were encased in white lace-trimmed socks.
Her white beret was tilted perfectly on her head.
Rin recognized this as Megumi's "Classic Look."
"Megumi, you really have a wicked streak," Rin chuckled helplessly. "Still holding a grudge?"
"It's just a coincidence~" Megumi gave him a sly wink.
"???" Eriri looked confused. "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing." Rin smiled and lowered his voice. "By the way... Megumi, are you wearing a toy?"
"I am." Her bright eyes scanned the surroundings before she reached into her bag.
She pressed an oval remote into Rin's hand.
With so many people around, she didn't dare let the remote hang out like a "tail" as she had at the dinner.
Eriri looked on with a sigh... Megumi seemed to be stuffing herself with a toy or two every single day for school now, playing with them during breaks.
Combined with her "lack of presence" trait, as long as she didn't let it fall out on the teacher's podium, no one would ever notice.
Rin turned the remote on and set it to the lowest setting.
This would give her a constant, subtle buzz without hindering her ability to walk.
"It's time. Let's head in."
Rin led them to the "Lucky Fan" entrance.
Normal fans would start the process when the clock hit ten, but this event was being live-streamed, so there were pre-show activities.
Rows of chairs were set up below the stage.
The "Lucky Fans" could sit through the event and then go straight to the front for their books and signatures without the line.
The lucky fans were supposedly chosen at random, but there were internal slots—like the ones for Rin and his group.
As they walked past the winding, massive queue, Megumi and Eriri finally got a visual sense of just how popular the two authors were.
The crowd was mostly male.
Elf's line was 90% men; the remaining 10% looked like women, but Rin wasn't sure if they were femboys.
Because of the genre of her novels, Utaha's line had a higher female count, about 25%.
"So many people. I feel like if I get in there, I'll be covered in sweat and stench."
"Megumi, you haven't been to enough conventions. This is normal. If you're late, you miss out on the merch. After the huge hype from the launch, this turnout is expected."
"I'm just glad we don't have to wait." Rin looked at the sea of heads with lingering fear.
"If I had to line up for this, I'd rather not have the signature at all."
They passed through the crowd and into the stadium.
In the Lucky Fan section, many seats were already taken.
Rin noticed they were organized into two distinct blocks separated by a center aisle.
Both blocks had people distributing custom support T-shirts and light sticks for their respective authors.
The event hadn't started yet, so they were all chatting in groups.
Some were from the same chat groups, live-streaming the scene to their members who couldn't make it.
"Which side are you supporting? Fans of Utaha Kasumigaoka sit here; fans of Yamada Elf sit there."
"I support Elf, obviously." Eriri headed toward the Elf block.
Someone immediately handed her a light stick and a T-shirt.
Eriri was used to fan passion. She threw the T-shirt over her tracksuit without hesitation.
It looked weird, but wearing the shirt made her an ally! Especially as a rare female fan!
"I'm a fan of Utaha Kasumigaoka~" Megumi gave Rin another sly wink and headed to the other block.
Now, everyone's eyes—from both the Utaha and Elf camps—were fixed on Rin.
They had been envious seeing a guy show up with two girls, but now they were in "chaos-loving" mode.
The live-streamers aimed their phones directly at Rin.
Rin looked at the center aisle, stuck between a laugh and a sigh.
"Can I just bring a chair and sit in the middle?"
The staff member suppressed a laugh. A guy sitting dead center would be great for the stream's engagement.
"Hold on, let me check." He made a quick call. A moment later, he returned with a small plastic stool and handed it to Rin.
"Thanks... Miss, give me an Utaha light stick. Brother, give me an Elf light stick."
Holding an Utaha stick in his left hand and an Elf stick in his right, Rin placed the stool in the middle of the aisle.
Megumi and Eriri took the seats closest to him in their respective blocks.
Seeing Rin caught in the middle made half the crowd burst into laughter.
A few people even came up to take a selfie with him.
Eriri and Megumi took photos and posted them to the Baumkuchen group chat, tagging the two authors.
Rin wasn't a celebrity, so after a few social butterflies got their photos, he was left alone.
As he looked down at his phone waiting for the start, a voice caught his attention.
"Kato-san? I didn't think you were interested in novels. And Eriri~ I didn't know you liked Elf's work."
Rin turned his head. Sitting right next to Megumi was a high school boy.
He was wearing an Utaha support shirt, thick black-rimmed glasses, and a "Go For It" headband.
After greeting Megumi, he leaned over to wave at Eriri.
Rin knew exactly who this was without even thinking.
He discreetly slid his hand into his pocket and then...
"YIPE!!"
At the moment he clicked the remote, a totally unprepared Megumi let out a sharp, short cry of pleasure.
Rin immediately leaned toward her with a look of concern.
"Megumi? What's wrong?"
The boy next to her looked at Rin, then back at Megumi, hesitant to speak.
"It's nothing. My chair just slipped."
Megumi's cheeks were dusted with a cherry-blossom pink.
She pursed her lips and introduced the boy to Rin.
"This is Tomoya Aki, the person I mentioned before. He's a classmate of Eriri and mine."
"Ah... so you're Tomoya Aki. Eriri mentioned you're working on a galgame using Megumi as the heroine prototype?"
Rin looked at Tomoya with a half-smile.
He wasn't surprised to see him here. As Utaha's number one fan, even her editor knew him.
Receiving an invitation from the publisher was only natural.
This was the first time Rin had seen Tomoya in person, but it wasn't the first time he'd heard his voice.
Back on the island while he was "using" Utaha and Eriri, Elf had wickedly stolen Utaha's phone to call Tomoya.
Megumi was currently wearing the exact same outfit she had worn when she first met Tomoya on that hill.
It was his "Ideal Heroine" classic look.
However... this classic heroine currently had a toy stuffed inside her.
"Y-yes." Facing Rin, Tomoya seemed nervous. "Um... excuse me, but what is your relationship with Kato-san?"
"My relationship with Megumi?" Rin shot a meaningful look at her. "Are you very concerned about that, Aki-kun? Do you like her?"
"No, it's not that, it's just... it's just..."
Tomoya looked pained. He didn't know how to describe the feeling.
That first meeting on the hill had truly moved his heart, giving him the drive to make her his "heroine."
He had truly modeled his game's heroine after her. She was his muse.
Tomoya had thought that was enough—until this moment.
But...
But...
Seeing Megumi acting so intimately with Rin made him instinctively project Rin onto the male lead of his game.
It felt like... it felt like...
It felt like Rin was cucking his game's heroine!
It wasn't that Rin was stealing Megumi away—because Megumi didn't belong to him—but it felt like Rin was "violating" his heroine's image!
But he couldn't say that out loud. Megumi had the right to date anyone.
He couldn't exactly say, "You're my prototype, so you can't have a boyfriend."
The feeling of being stifled and frustrated made his skin crawl.
His heart was aching with the pain of an incompetent husband.
"Megumi, why don't you tell him? What is our relationship?"
Rin's words snapped Tomoya out of his trance.
He looked at Megumi with pleading eyes.
Whatever the truth is, at least tell me you're just friends in front of everyone!
"Mmm..." Megumi pondered for a moment, putting on a show of deep thought.
With a flash of little-demon mischief in her eyes, she lowered her voice until only the few around them could hear.
"I guess we're just... fuck buddies?"
"!!!!" Tomoya nearly stopped breathing. He felt the sky was falling.
Fuck buddies!? What kind of logic is that!? I'd rather she said they were in a serious relationship!
Beside them, Eriri nearly burst into laughter.
Megumi is still so spiteful. Her heart is so tiny. She rarely speaks, but boy, does she hold a grudge.
Eriri could roughly understand Tomoya's mental state.
Tomoya was making an all-ages galgame with zero R18 elements. To him, his heroine was sacred, pure, and perfect.
And now the prototype was... the lover was a "fuck buddy"!
It was like an idol/VTuber fan situation.
Tomoya loved the "persona" of the heroine, which was essentially Megumi's skin.
But as any fan knows—you have to separate the skin from reality.
Otherwise, you end up asking: "Do you think XX-chan is still a virgin?" and the answer is always: "Stop making your sister laugh, she's currently being refreshed daily."
Tomoya had the ability to gather a team and make a game, but he was just too obsessed with the 2D world.
A shaken Tomoya lowered his head and staggered back to his seat like a zombie.
When his friends asked what was wrong, he just shook his head with vacant eyes.
Tch, tch, tch... Eriri clicked her tongue.
Like a child finding out how a magician does a trick, some things can never be unseen.
Eriri felt that every time Tomoya looked at his game's heroine now, the "fuck buddy" tag would pop up in his brain.
"Feel better now?" Rin teased.
"Mmh." Megumi watched Tomoya's soul-crushed retreating back. "I feel much better."
She had worn the "Hill Meeting" outfit specifically for this moment.
Any other outfit wouldn't have had nearly as much lethality.
"Sigh... you just destroyed a young boy's dream. Do you really hate him that much?"
"Hmph..." Megumi pouted cutely.
"We were classmates for nearly two years. He picked up my hat on that hill and didn't even recognize me or know my name."
"During the entrance exams, he got trapped on the rooftop. I was the one who called a teacher to help him, and yet when he walked into class, he still didn't know who I was."
"And then he asks me to be his 'heroine.' I was actually ready to help him, but then he threw me aside because of a few words from Mashiro."
"Pfft..." Rin almost laughed. "Honestly, not knowing your name after two years is a bit of a dick move."
"By the way," Eriri leaned in curiously. "What if Tomoya still hasn't learned his lesson? What's your next move?"
Megumi: "I'll tell him you became Rin's 'fleshlight' just so you could keep drawing manga, and that you dragged Utaha down with you."
Eriri: "..."
Megumi: "And if that fails, I'll tell him that on that day during summer break when you called him... that was the moment you both lost your virginity to Rin."
"Tch, tch, tch... now that would be a critical hit."
One of a man's greatest despairs is finding out his childhood sweetheart/love, who he thought was pure, has actually been someone else's toy all along.
Finding out they were actively being used while talking to him on the phone? That was beyond despair.