This is not the date I wanted.

Although at the beginning, judging from the length of the team, Erya still had the advantage, but as time went on, the flow of the crowd began to change.

There were only a few people at first, but at Gokawa Shidao's stall, there began to appear customers who were not recruited by Tohka and the others, nor were they agents, but were customers who truly wanted to buy books.

Soon after, as if recommended by the customer who had just bought the book, another group of customers appeared in front of their stall.

(The mobile phone again…)

Erya saw that the reaction was almost the same as the people he saw at noon. After buying the comics, the customers all picked up their phones and started reading something when they turned to the end of the comics.

The same scene was repeated over and over again in the "Ratatoskr" community, and the number of people in the community kept increasing. Word of mouth spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, like a snowball. After only forty minutes, the originally empty stall was lined up in an exaggeratedly long queue that was no less than that of the Erya stall.

Even the people on Erya's team seemed to be attracted by the sudden surge in the number of people.

(What happened?)

The scene before her was beyond Erya's understanding, and she couldn't help but pick up her phone and search for the keyword "Ratatoskr".

Then, she discovered that the entire SNS forum had been flooded with comments about "Ratatoskr".

[Oh my god, are all the newbies so ruthless nowadays? ]

[The last page changed the style of the whole story. 】

[It's PV fraud. No, should I say it's the text fraud? ]

[I couldn't access the website after scanning it once, and I couldn't even take a screenshot. The author of this club is too unique! ]

[Ah... I feel mixed emotions. I bought this with the intention of watching a mindless harem.]]

[This comic is totally different from the one before and after reading the webpage. The author is awesome! ]

[But the ending is too suspenseful. Does this mean there will be a sequel at the next comic exhibition? ]

【Blow it up! Blow it up! 】

[What's going on with this explosive comment? The newcomer expressed curiosity. ]

[Selling novels at comic conventions, the Ratatoskr club is really creative. 】

[Upstairs, no spoilers allowed. ]

"……what's the situation?"

After reading the comments online, Erya felt even more confused.

Due to being detained for a long time by DEM, Erya is not very familiar with the recently popular online social software, and only has some knowledge of it.

"Although I heard that the Internet can spread information very quickly, it's only been noon, it's too...!"

Erya muttered to herself in confusion. Then, she seemed to understand something, put her hand under the counter, and calmly summoned her angel.

"It's Bili-chan indeed."

Scrolling through the comments in chronological order, Erya soon discovered that the identities of the thousands of users who initially sparked the explosive public opinion could not be traced.

In this world, there are only two people who can avoid the detection of the omniscient angel, and the only one who would do such a thing is Liang Yi Meng Yue.

"Water army... Bili-chan you are too cruel."

The corners of Erya's mouth twitched slightly.

On the surface, he pretended to be indifferent to winning or losing, but he actually made such a big move behind the scenes. Erya couldn't help but sigh at the other party's insidiousness and cunningness.

However, as Erya just said, no matter how much publicity is done or how many unconventional methods are used, if the story itself is not interesting enough, such an effect cannot be achieved.

Just like the readers’ reactions I just saw, the comics sold by Ratatoskr must have some amazing developments that can catch up with this wave.

“——Gurgle.”

Thinking of this, Erya couldn't help but swallow secretly.

Right in the drawer of her desk, there was a comic book drawn by Shidou and others.

It is a custom for club members in adjacent areas to exchange each other's works. This is exactly what Nia got from Shidao and the others before the opening.

(Not good... I actually want to watch it...)

After hesitating for a while, Erya finally pulled her hand back from the drawer. After all, she had agreed to decide whether to read the book based on the outcome of the match. If she opened the book now, it would mean she had admitted defeat.

Then she glanced at Shidou secretly. Unfortunately, Niya's eyes met Shidou's. He smiled smugly.

"Well, no one knows the outcome until the end."

"…Tsk, what a smug look on your face."

She frowned in dissatisfaction, and at this moment, a bit of stubbornness was aroused in her heart.

"Just wait and see, soon I'll be--"

At this moment, the next guest who appeared in front of him made Erya's voice stop abruptly.

She was a woman in her twenties with a pair of very high-degree thick glasses, and her homely temperament was even more than Erya's.

"Long time no see, Honjo-sensei. I heard that you were participating in the club exhibition after a long time, so I came here."

"Teacher Takashiro..."

22 Resolving the Knot

==============================

"Hello, long time no see..."

Perhaps he did not expect Gao Cheng to appear in front of him, Erya looked a little embarrassed and his voice sounded very stiff.

"…I'm sorry for causing you any discomfort. If I did something wrong without paying attention, please allow me to apologize to the teacher."

Perhaps he noticed Erya's expression and thought that his unexpected visit had caused trouble for Erya. Gao Cheng slowly lowered his head, with a hint of apology in his voice.

"No...that..."

That's not true! In my heart, I really wanted to deny Gao Cheng's words loudly, but when I actually opened my mouth, my voice was as faint as the flapping of mosquito wings, so small that it was easily buried by the background music in the venue.

He closed his mouth in distress, and Erya felt a little disgusted with himself for being so timid.

"But, if possible, could you let me say a word?"

As he spoke, Gao Cheng raised his head and looked directly at Erya through the lenses of his glasses. Unable to bear such a straightforward gaze, Erya awkwardly looked away.

"Even if the teacher hates me... I will still look forward to Mr. Honjo's book."

"..."

I dare not raise my head. No, I should say that I am not qualified to accept the friendship that I have abandoned without my permission.

Erya clutched his trouser legs tightly with both hands, pursed his lips, and couldn't say a word.

Such silence continued between the two of them. Perhaps because he didn't want to keep the customers behind him waiting for too long, Takagi smiled bitterly, picked up a book, and put 500 yen into the coin box.

"Well, sorry to bother you, Mr. Honjo."

"what……"

Erya let out a wailing sound that he himself was not even aware of, and looked at Gao Cheng who was gradually disappearing in the crowd with a look of loss on his face.

"Well, please give me one."

"...Okay, five hundred yen. Thank you for your patronage."

Hearing the customer's voice, Erya suddenly came to his senses, wiped the sweat from his neck, and continued to work.

"Di Ya."

Hearing someone calling her name, Niya subconsciously turned her head, only to see Shidou looking at her with some worry.

“…Ahahaha! Sorry, young man, I made you laugh. But don’t think that this is a competition—”

"Aren't you going to chase her?"

"Um—cough—"

Because Shidou's words were so unexpected, Nia choked on her own saliva in the middle of her words.

"Why do you say that suddenly, young man?"

"Why? Don't you like that person?"

"——Ahem!" Choking on his own saliva again, Niya looked at Shidao with a resentful look, "Young man, I don't have that kind of interest."

"Eh? No, no, you misunderstood. I meant the kind of love between friends."

"...Don't go against the rules in a place like this. It's against the rules, young man."

Seeing Shidou's embarrassed expression, Niya sighed helplessly.

"I've answered your question. Young man, I won't chase you. We're in an important match right now, and I won't split myself up for unnecessary things. Besides, we're not friends."

"…Really? If you don't chase her now, I think you'll regret it later."

"That's too much, young man. This isn't a life-and-death separation, right?"

"..."

If he chased after her, it would be like admitting that Gokawa Shido thought that Honjo Nia would die today. Using this somewhat cunning way to hint to Shido, Nia forcibly ended the conversation.

"Sorry, Kotori, I'll leave the change to you from now on."

"Hey, I know it, really."

Originally, Nia thought that Shidou would continue to remain silent, but unexpectedly, Shidou suddenly left his seat and walked straight towards Nia herself.

"Hey!"

--Eh?

Before Nia could react, she was picked up from her seat by Shidou.

After gently putting Nia down, Shidou sat in Nia's seat as if it was a matter of course.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. How many books would you like to buy?"

"Um, that...I want three."

"That's 1,500 yen. Here's the change. Thank you for your patronage."

"Why can you take my place so naturally, young man!?"

Erya couldn't help but complain loudly.

"I'll help you watch the stall, you can take this opportunity to look for Gao Cheng."

"Huh?" Hearing Shidao's words, Niya raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Young man, you didn't forget that I'm competing with you guys right now, right?"

"Don't worry, I won't be lazy. Thank you, a total of 1,000 yen."

"That's not the question! What about your own stall over there?"

"Just leave it to Kotori. Don't look at her as she is only in junior high school. She is much more capable than me as her brother. Ah, a total of 2,000 yen, thank you for your support to Mr. Honjo."

"That's not what I was talking about... ah, damn it..."

Looking at Shidou who had completely transformed into a staff member of "Honjo-do", Nia scratched her hair a little irritably. After thinking for a moment, she drooped her shoulders and asked.

"Young man, why did you ask me to find Gao Cheng even after going to such lengths? Do you want me to have no regrets if I really die?"

"…It has nothing to do with the so-called separation of life and death." Shidao said in a calm but firm tone, "I just feel that if you retreat here, it will be difficult to muster up the courage to talk to Gaocheng when you see her next time."

“Sa, Sa…what are you talking about? I just…”

Neither admitting nor denying, Erya answered evasively.

"——I won't run away!" Suddenly, Shidao said in a very low, middle school tone, "I won't use any excuses to escape the past anymore. It's enough to regret it just once."

Erya's eyes widened in surprise.

"The lines of Toki Night..."

It was a battle in the later period of "Time and Space Tale". The enemy used necromancy to summon Yun, Zhu Luye's dead sister and lover, from the underworld, and manipulated Yun to deceive Zhu Luye into killing his friends Long and Hu.

On one side is the unforgettable but illusory love, and on the other side is the brother who has been through life and death together on the journey. After a period of painful and contradictory thinking, Zhu Luye made his own choice.

[I will no longer use any excuses to avoid the past. It is enough to regret it just once.]

I remember that when I saw Yun gradually disappearing in Zhu Luye's arms with a smile on TV, Honjo Niya cried all night.

Then, I became a complete homebody.