Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 333, Section 1: "I am a well-known author, and I will not accept rebuttals."

"Asami."

"..."

"Mami, can you hear me?"

The entire carriage swayed slightly due to the wind pressure. The girl on the seat swayed her body in rhythm with the tram, her head nodding frequently as she leaned her weight on his shoulder.

Today, in preparation for going out, his perfectly combed black hair, without a single curl, flashed before his eyes, and the scent of shampoo made his nose itch.

"Hmm...I heard you..."

"This answer, given an hour later, sounds completely unconvincing."

Masumi looked helpless and said to Mami, who was sitting to his left and had been sleeping soundly against him since they got on the bus.

"We're almost at the finish line, wake up! If this keeps up, we'll be sitting all the way to Akihabara..."

Just as Masumi was about to continue her吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments), Mami, who had been dozing off nearby, suddenly opened her eyes.

"Ugh! No...! This time, our destination isn't Akihabara!"

She woke up and looked around in a panic.

"Where are we now, Masumi-kun? Tokyo Station?"

"Sorry, I was just exaggerating on purpose, and besides, the Hankyu Railway doesn't even go to Tokyo."

Masumi sighed.

"Ugh! Masumi-kun, why did you lie to me?"

Mami tied a tight knot between her eyebrows and gently punched the shoulder that Masumi had been resting on.

"If we don't do this, Mami will probably just keep sleeping like this. By the way, she's drooling."

"...No."

Mami blushed and turned her head away.

"Don't you dare use my shoulder to wipe your drool."

Asami wiped her mouth with the tissue that Masumi handed her.

"It's alright, it's not dirty, and Masumi-kun is wearing dark clothes today, so you can't tell the difference at all."

Asami yawned lazily, slowly straightened up from her seat, and her every move exuded the aura of someone who had just stayed up all night.

"...If we weren't in a public place, I would have spanked you until your butt hurts every time you sit down."

"Ugh!"

This threatening remark caused Mami to accidentally speak in a cute, adorable voice.

"Eek! Masumi-kun's eyes are so scary! How could you bear to bully someone as cute as me?"

"If you don't want to be bullied, please rein in that dangerous thought that naturally leads you to provoke others..."

The tram's announcement sounded at the right time.

"Okay, I understand. Alright, let's get ready to get off the bus."

Asami jumped up as if fleeing and rushed out of the car with the crowd.

The two of them got off at Nipponbashi Station in Osaka.

◇

Late May, a sunny Thursday, the Starry Night Cafe's regular day off.

For Masumi, this should have been a time to stay at home, touching this and that (Rinne) and (Umizuki).

Wait, there seems to be a strange name mixed in, but it doesn't matter.

All of this was shattered when Mami appeared before him fully armed...

"Masumi-kun, come with me~ I want to buy manga and light novels!"

"Oh, sure, where to? Sannomiya? Junkudo?"

"neither."

Asami denied it, then immediately raised the corners of her lips in a mysterious way.

We're going to—

She deliberately drew out the sound, as if revealing the answer to a riddle.

"Osaka!"

◇

Stepping outside where there was no air conditioning, Masumi realized that the weather was also extremely hot today.

The weather forecast says this year will be a dry plum rain season, and summer will arrive directly without any warning, with the highest temperature since the beginning of summer. But it feels like the same thing was said last year.
Also, why does this "scorching heatwave that only occurs once every ten years" happen every year?
The wind carries moisture, giving pedestrians a warm embrace.

Masumi's mood truly felt like she had opened the door to summer.

The outlines of the sky and buildings are quite clear. The colors are not vibrant, but the tones are strong.

Masumi doesn't like hot weather, but he likes the summer scenery.

The weather was hot in late May, but I didn't mind at all when walking side by side with Mami.

Today, unusually, she didn't don her deceptively charming "intellectual literary girl" disguise, but instead...

"Speaking of which, you...are you really planning to go shopping dressed like that?"

Masumi looked her up and down, asking her the same question before leaving the house and when they passed through the station gates.

"What? Does Masumi-kun have a problem with this?"

"No, that's not true. But I just went to Nihonbashi to buy manga. Asami dressed up way too much."

She wore a gorgeous and eye-catching dress covered in lace and ruffles, which was entirely black.

The edges of the black over-the-knee stockings clung tightly to the upper thighs, creating a small, fleshy, rounded curve that seemed to describe the soft feel of the inner thighs.

The section of skin between the hem of her skirt and the top of her stockings was so white it seemed to be rejecting the sunlight.

Instead of her usual disheveled hair, she wore it tied with a fancy white lace ribbon, and even her black ankle boots were decorated with bat wing-like embellishments...

A genuine gothic beauty from head to toe—that's right there.

"Just so you know, Halloween is over... wait! It hasn't even started yet."

Once Mami shuts her mouth, Masumi falls into a delusion.

It's as if that silly beauty, who even drooled when being spanked and had quite the potential to be a masochist, disappeared. In its place, another demon beauty named "Mami" emerged from the gate to another world and descended into the world, residing in its body.

“Masumi-kun, I’m no longer the Seno Asami you know.”

She said it with a serious expression.

"Are you playing the kind of character who makes a grand entrance but turns into a comedic figure after just two or three episodes, the one who gets persecuted in the anime?"

"No, that's not true!"

Mami, who had given herself away when she denied it for a moment, immediately reverted to her indifferent attitude, looking at him with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

"Since we're outside, Masumi-kun, please give me some face."

"Good good."

Masumi nodded helplessly.

"So what should I call you? Ryujin-in-sensei."

"You know this very well, Masumi-kun."

Mami blinked one of her eyes, revealing a sweet smile that was incredibly charming to anyone who looked at her.

This guy……

By slightly disguising their true nature, they can become invincible.

"...Speaking of which, isn't this Masumi-kun's first time here?"

"Yes, I only went to Shinsaibashi last year."

"Then you should definitely take a good look around this electronics street."

Asami puffed out her chest at him as if she were proud of him.

"This street is called 'OTA-ROAD,' an electronics district that's considered one of the 'Three Great Electronics Districts of Japan,' alongside Akihabara and Osu in Nagoya. 'Akihabara in the Kansai region' is another holy land for us otaku, much like Rome and Constantinople are the two great Christian holy sites of the East and West."

"Does this mean that, like Akihabara, this place has a business model that preys on otaku from both domestic and international markets?"

Masumi said in a calm tone: Indeed, there are many bandits who specialize in robbing pilgrims on the pilgrimage route to the Holy Land.

Otherwise, the "Poor Knights of Christ and Solomon's Temple" would not have been born, but all that's around here is the police station keeping a close eye on each other.

"That's why having the discerning eye to avoid shady shops and the unwavering commitment to comparing prices are essential skills for us otaku!"

Asami said with great enthusiasm.

"Alright, let's not delay any longer, Masumi-kun, let's explore this whole place now!"

She tugged at Masumi's sleeve.

"Huh? All of them?"

"That's right, the main street runs along Sakaisuji from Nihonbashi 3-chome to 4-chome, and it's about 1 kilometer long. Suruga-ya, Compass, Melonbooks, K-books, Animate and other well-known otaku shops are all gathered here..."

Asami spoke fluently and incessantly, as if reciting a familiar story, managing to finish her speech without uttering a single mistake. Just how is her tongue structured?!

"Okay, I understand."

Masumi pressed her forehead and looked up at the tall buildings in the electronics district.

"However, all of these shops have branches in Kobe, right?"

"Yes, Kobe does have one too, but the scale is completely different, and the emotion it evokes is simply overwhelming!"

Asami emphasized this point.

“…That’s really great.”

Not quite understanding what she meant, Masumi agreed without thinking twice.

"What a perfunctory job!"

Mami shrugged, looking helpless.

"Let's go inside anyway, I don't want to chat with the sun above my head the whole time."

"Ah! I haven't finished speaking yet, Masumi-kun, don't rush in!"

"Your passionate chatter in front of the building might be a nuisance to the shop owners and pedestrians. Hurry up and go inside to finish your business and then go back to Kobe."

After saying that, Masumi walked into the Animate building without looking back.

"Wait, wait a minute, Masumi-kun!"

Mami pouted, clearly displeased, but still followed him.

"And then, why did you bring me here today?"

Upon entering the store, you'll find a variety of currently popular comics, light novels, and magazines.

"I was kicked out of the Knights Order because I was supposed to die in 99 days. Now I live a slow-paced life while using my invincibility to defeat the villainous saintess and demon king in the dungeon."

Being my sister's gigolo isn't so bad; let's start spoiling her today.

Student Council's Love Trap ~The Sweet and Icy Student Council President~

However, Mami's purpose was not that. She pushed Masumi and hurriedly went upstairs, her destination being Melonbooks on the third floor.

"Hmm, it's quite bright here, and the store is more spacious than the one in Kobe. Where do you sell manga?"

"Over there, behind that are doujinshi (fan-made comics)."

"I don't understand. If I want to buy comics at Melonbooks, can't I just order online? Or I can make an appointment to pick them up at the Kobe branch. That would be very convenient."

"Did Masumi-kun take some kind of bribe from them to promote this so enthusiastically? Our purpose today isn't to shop!"

Asami uttered words that completely contradicted what she had said when she met Masumi earlier that day.

However, having known her for so long, Masumi no longer cares about such small details.

"...Huh? Won't it bother the staff and other customers if you just stay in the store without buying anything?"

"Not at all!"

A happy smile appeared on Asami's lips.

"Instead of saying that my presence here has made this shop more honored, it should be their honor to breathe the same air as Lord Ryujinin."

"Don't learn an idiom and then use it indiscriminately."

Masumi made a troubled sound.

"If it weren't for your pretty face, you would have had a miserable life growing up."

"My personality isn't that bad!"

With sharp eyes, the gothic beauty glared at him fiercely.

"So what exactly do you want?"

"Masumi-kun, even though you're a web novel author, you should occasionally go out and experience the current trends among otaku!"

"Say it simply."

"In short, it's...this!"

Following the direction Asami pointed, Masumi looked at the display book tower that the shop assistant had laid flat and piled up.

"Huh? Isn't this..."

"Our comic, 'The Brave Squad is Full of Demon King's Army Spy'!"

Asami said firmly, her face filled with smug satisfaction.

"...Suddenly pronouncing this name in a serious manner makes me feel a little shy."

"What's wrong?! Is Masumi-kun going to betray the otaku community?"

"It was just a casual remark, oh, and there's your autographed drawing on it."

"Yes, I finished drawing it and sent it out after I returned from Shikoku. They said it would be displayed in their store in Nihonbashi."

Ma Mei said with a smug look on her face.

"I never imagined that I would actually see my own comics and autographed illustrations displayed in a bookstore. It's quite an emotional thought."

A genuine smile played on her lips.

"At this time last year, I was still going to Junkudo Bookstore in Kobe with Masumi-kun, looking at other people's books."

"Oh……"

Oh, so that's how it is. Mami came here specifically to see her own comics and autographed illustrations displayed in the bookstore.

She must not have forgotten the creator's original intention and pure heart. Thinking this, Masumi couldn't help but feel a little gratified...

"whispering sound!"

Mami suddenly made a very disdainful sound.

"In terms of treatment, the manga published by Shinazugawa Bunko is only ranked outside the top five, which is a bit disappointing."

"...After all, he's a new comic artist who's only been in the industry for less than a year, so don't have too high expectations."

While the number of manga volumes available at Shinazugawa Bunko is much smaller than that of some of the most popular titles, at least the two currently released volumes are neatly displayed on the flat bookshelves.

However, Mami still seemed to be holding a grudge.

That's understandable; no creator doesn't want their work to be popular.

To change her mood, Masumi gently touched her shoulder.

"Alright, let's go check out the current trends."

"No, I'll keep watch over the staff here. The rest is up to you, Masumi-kun!"

"Huh? What are you giving me?"

"That goes without saying! Of course, Masumi-kun should fill the entire bookshelf with the manga 'The Hero Squad is Full of Demon King's Army Spy'!"

Asami said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"..."

Masumi sighed helplessly.

He will never use the word "pure" to describe her again...

"Ah! Masumi-kun, someone's coming!"

Two young women walked towards the flat bookshelves of Shinazugawa Bunko from the entrance, chatting and laughing.

Mami suddenly grabbed Masumi's arm and pulled him behind a shelf filled with copies of "The Love Story That Began with Being Stepped On ~Barefoot Limited Edition~".

(End of this chapter)