Inside the convention hall,
Yuki pulled Kuzeha in front of a row of capsule toy machines.
She pointed excitedly at the promotional sheet on one machine.
"This one just came out a couple days ago! I can't believe it's already here!"
Then she turned to Kuzeha and said enthusiastically,
"Big bro, come on, come on, come on! Draw with me!"
Kuzeha looked closer and twitched slightly.
It was a gacha line based on his ultimate siscon-themed masterpiece.
Normally, when a work got made into merchandise, the publisher would send a few sets to the author.
Kuzeha had received many at first, but as his popularity grew and the merchandise piled up, he told the editorial department to stop sending them altogether—or he'd need a whole separate room just to store them.
"If you want to collect them, I can ask the editors for a full set,"
Kuzeha said with a sigh.
Unlike Alisa, Yuki knew about his identity as an author.
She had been a little girl hugging his early manuscripts and reading them with sparkles in her eyes.
"Absolutely not!" Yuki shot up and shouted.
"That kind of collecting has no soul!"
"Gacha figures must be pulled from gacha machines. That's what makes them meaningful!"
As she eagerly clanged away at the self-service coin exchange machine, Kuzeha shook his head.
"2D money really is the easiest to earn..."
He glanced at the nearby capsule machines and suddenly thought of trying out his Lucky Fruit ability.
The area was crowded—perfect test conditions.
The only catch was he had to touch someone to absorb their luck.
He tapped a boy standing nearby.
"Hey bro, mind giving me some space?"
"O-oh, sure."
The boy stepped aside politely.
As Kuzeha passed him, he frowned slightly.
"Empty?"
He hadn't absorbed any luck at all.
Turning to glance back, he saw the boy inserting coin after coin into the machine with a miserable face, a whole basket of empty capsules piled up at his feet.
Clearly, this guy wasn't just unlucky—he was cursed.
"Good thing I don't absorb misfortune too..."
Kuzeha shook his head.
Scanning the area, he realized most of the people at the machines were just like that—down on their luck.
Makes sense.
The lucky ones get their prize and leave.
So he decided to change locations.
"Yuki, you go ahead and play. I'm gonna hit the restroom."
He waved and disappeared into the crowd.
Meanwhile, at a personal artist booth—
Eriri Spencer Sawamura, wearing a tracksuit and thick-framed glasses, was busy handing out change.
Next to her, her mother, Sawamura Sayuri, wore a red-and-white striped kimono, chatting cheerfully with customers.
"Are you Eri Kashiwagi-sensei?"
"Nope, but thank you for your support!"
In under thirty minutes, they had already sold dozens of books.
"Looks like we'll sell out before noon,"
Sayuri nodded with satisfaction.
"Mom, grab me a coffee."
Eriri mumbled from her chair.
"You can just walk over and get it..."
"I'm too tired... I don't wanna move..."
She had barely slept three hours since yesterday.
Coffee was the only thing keeping her awake.
Sayuri shook her head in exasperation.
Kids these days were way too fragile.
Back in her day, she once pulled two all-nighters binging a 100+ episode anime.
She handed over the coffee.
"Thanks, Mom..."
Eriri reached out—but her hand trembled.
The cup wobbled.
Half the coffee spilled.
It drenched her stomach and thighs.
"Ah!"
"Oops..."
Sayuri gasped and quickly handed over tissues.
Eriri's light red tracksuit immediately darkened where it got wet.
And the spots were... unfortunately placed.
She dabbed with tissues—no use.
Tried dabbing with purified water—only made it worse.
"It's ruined..."
She looked utterly defeated.
The scent of coffee was now unmistakable on her body.
"Shouldn't you just change clothes?"
Sayuri suggested.
"No way! If I change into my school uniform, I'll be recognized!"
At school, she was the picture-perfect ojou-sama.
If anyone saw her here—it would be a total character collapse.
"It's not your school uniform~"
Sayuri smirked and pulled out a fresh outfit from her bag.
"Tadah! A cosplay!"
"I even prepped it for today!"
Eriri stared.
It was really a cosplay outfit.
Of all things—it was the costume of the little sister character from that infamous, peak-siscon anime.
"Mom, aren't you in your 30s? Cosplaying a little sister?!"
Sayuri bonked her daughter on the head.
"How dare you! I was a loyal fan back when it aired! So what if I cosplay a loli?"
That made Eriri pause.
"...Wasn't that anime written by Feather-sensei?"
"Yes! He's my favorite light novel author!"
Seeing her mother's fangirl expression, Eriri hesitated.
"By the way, Mom... someone introduced me to work on Feather-sensei's new novel as the illustrator. I'm meeting with him next week to discuss the new character designs..."
Sayuri grabbed her shoulders.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"You've made it, my girl! You're working with Feather-sensei!"
"I'm going with you!"
"I never imagined I'd meet him face to face..."
Watching her mother get so worked up, Eriri felt a migraine forming.
"I'll go change..."
"The changing booth's on the other side—but the main stage has a cosplay-only one too, if you're tired!"
Sayuri clearly knew the layout like the back of her hand.
Eriri nodded.
If it saved her ten steps, she'd take it.
She wrapped the new outfit in a protective plastic and held it in front of her waist to hide the coffee stain.
After a few minutes, she reached the main stage area.
Behind it, a row of changing stalls had been set up.
She sighed in relief and hurried up the stairs to an empty stall.
Peeling off the plastic wrap, she looked at the outfit.
A Lolita-style skirt—full of energy and cuteness.
At least it wasn't revealing.
Reluctantly, she undressed.
But upon seeing her underclothes also soaked in coffee, she froze.
No backup underwear.
Going commando? Out of the question.
"Guess I'll deal with it..."
She clumsily dressed in the cosplay and tied her signature blonde twin-tails up before putting on the wig.
Then she stuffed her old tracksuit into a bag and stepped out.
In the mirror—a cute, energetic little sister had arrived!
"Hmph, I am super adorable!"
Holding her chin high, she strutted toward the stairs—only to misstep halfway down.
She stumbled, about to fall from nearly two meters up!
Panic surged through her.
Her hands flailed wildly—then her eyes caught a glimpse of a pillar beside her.
Without thinking, she leapt and hugged it tightly.
"I didn't fall!"
She exhaled in relief.
But… something was off.
The "pillar" was warm... soft...
Looking down, her face flushed red in an instant.
The pillar was a boy.
She was straddling his shoulders, her arms wrapped around his head.
She awkwardly tumbled off him.
"...Coffee?"
The boy murmured, slightly confused by the scent.
Her brain shut down.
Face red enough to bleed.
"T-thank you! I'm sorry!"
She stammered and bolted away.
"...If he smelled coffee, then that means—"
Thinking back to her pose, she wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
After running a bit, she stopped to catch her breath.
"That boy… seems familiar?"
"Wait, could he be—"
She pulled out her phone, opened the reference image for the protagonist in Feather-sensei's new work...
And froze.
"Exactly the same..."
Read advance chapters on: patre on.com/Bored_Mortal