Chapter 250 People selling books at the comic convention (2)

Shimizu Mi knew before that Ayase Kotone was an Eromanga teacher, but in fact, she didn't only draw those R18 adult comics, she also occasionally drew some healthy ones for all ages.

So when Ayase Kotone mentioned that she wanted to sell doujin comics publicly at comic conventions, Shimizu Mi subconsciously thought that she was going to sell comics with normal content.

This is also the reason why he agreed so easily before.

But unexpectedly, what Ayase Kotone wanted to sell was actually a pornographic book, which really surprised Shimizu Ken.

But when you think about it carefully, it makes sense, after all, she is dressed like this today.

If you're just selling comics with healthy content, there's no need to be so secretive.

In that case, could it be that the reason she called him here today was...

"Um...Shimizu-san."

After Ayase Kotone sorted out the erotic books that were about to be sold and placed them on the table, she looked at Shimizu Mi beside her.

Qing Shuijian looked at each other, and although the gaze was very pure, he felt a hint of uneasiness.

"Shimizu-san, if a fan comes to buy comics later, could you please pretend to be 'Suzune-sensei'?"

The 'Teacher Suzune' that Ayase Kotone mentioned is actually the name she took as a painter, which is somewhat similar to a pen name, and she is the author of these erotic books.

"Let me pretend to be 'Suzune-sensei'?"

When Qingshui heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Um……"

Ayase Kotone nodded slightly, with a hint of pleading in her eyes.

"how about you?"

"I...will be Shimizu-san's assistant."

Sure enough, Qingshui's premonition was correct again.

Ayase Kotone called him here today, probably because she wanted him to pretend to be "Teacher Suzune" to sell these erotic books.

Although Qing Shuijian had guessed it from the beginning, it was a bit too much to ask him to sell the book...

Although she was somewhat reluctant, it would probably become more troublesome if she let Ayase Kotone sell it herself.

After all, Shimizu Mi had heard a lot of related news, such as having boxes opened by fans, or being stalked and harassed by some extremely fanatical fans. Such vicious incidents often happen.

Therefore, Ayase Kotone dresses like this to protect her privacy.

Gradually, more and more stalls were set up to sell goods around. Shimizu glanced at other stalls casually and found that all they were selling were R18 erotic books.

Could this be a large-scale sale of homosexual copies?
However, having said that, when everyone saw the two large boxes of comics on Shimizu's stall, they all showed expressions of disbelief and surprise.

Five hundred copies is not a small number, especially since they have to be sold in about half a day.

Surrounded by circles of astonished and curious gazes, Shimizu felt as if he was really regarded as a super popular cartoonist.

"But if I pretend to be him, won't I be exposed?"

Qing Shuijian was still a little worried.

"Don't worry, I usually draw online, so I won't know my real identity."

Ayase Kotone shook her head and assured Shimizu Michi. She looked as if she was already accustomed to such behavior and it was obviously not her first time doing this.

This can be seen from the way she skillfully tidied the long table just now and her natural and smooth movements when she arranged the comics.

After all, this level of proficiency and composure cannot be acquired in a day or two.

"President, this shouldn't be your first time, right?"

"what?!"

Ayase Kotone let out a surprised cry, which immediately attracted the attention of many of her colleagues nearby.

She quickly lowered her voice and asked, "Why did Qingqingshui say that?"

"Because the president looks very experienced."

"Are you familiar with it? No, I don't have it either."

"So this shouldn't be the first time that the president has come to attend this kind of exhibition, right?"

"Exhibition? Shimizu-san is talking about the exhibition."

For some reason, Ayase Kotone showed a very surprised expression, and then her cheeks began to turn red from under the mask, extending all the way to her ears.

"President? Are you okay?"

"Ah... I'm fine."

Ayase Kotone nodded slightly, and then continued:

"What Shimizu said is indeed correct. I did attend such exhibitions every year, but the last time I attended was three years ago."

As if she was recalling the past, a smile seemed to appear on the corner of Ayase Kotone's mouth, but a barely perceptible loneliness flashed in her eyes.

The only thing that puzzled Shimizu Mi was that before this, had Ayase Kotone always sold the products herself when she participated in exhibitions?

Or... should I ask someone else for help?
"Then why didn't the president continue to participate?"

Although he knew it was rude to ask such in-depth questions, Qingshuijian couldn't help but be curious about this matter.

After all, given Ayase Kotone's love for painting and comics, it is absolutely impossible for her to miss the exhibition for three years without any reason.

"..."

As soon as Shimizu asked this question, Ayase Kotone's face was filled with sadness and her eyes dropped to the ground.

Shimizu thought he had said something wrong, but Ayase Kotone continued talking.

"I have a friend..."

She has another friend?
"A true friend."

Ayase Kotone said without denying it.

It seems that this time there is such a person.

Shimizumi continued to listen to Ayase Kotone.

"At that time, I would attend the exhibitions every year with her, and she was also the one who took care of the sales of the comics..."

Ayase Kotone's face inadvertently revealed the kind of sincere emotion that can only be evoked by the nostalgia deeply engraved in the heart.

“She’s also a painter?”

Since she always attends such exhibitions with Ayase Kotone, she must be a cartoonist as well.

However, Ayase Kotone shook her head.

"No, although she likes comics, she has no talent for drawing."

Having said that, Ayase Kotone seemed to recall some interesting memories and smiled softly under her mask.

"Then she is?"

Ayase Kotone thought for a moment before she continued, "If we use today's terms, she should be a cosplayer."

"Coser?"

Of course Qingshuijian knew what this meant.

In recent years, cosplay has quickly become popular among young people, and its influence and popularity are growing day by day.

More and more young people are attracted by this trend and are keen to dress up carefully and transform themselves into classic characters in fictional works such as animation, games, and movies to express their love and tribute to the original works.

At the beginning, he thought that Ayase Kotone's exaggerated outfit with a mask and sunglasses made her look like a suspicious person.

But not long after the comic exhibition officially opened, the exhibition hall was crowded with people, with all kinds of colorful hair and clothes, and there was an endless stream of strange costumes. Just now, several Rems walked past Shimizu.

The familiar blue and white color scheme and iconic hair accessories seem to have brought the two-dimensional fantasy world directly into reality.

"But unlike other cosplayers, she is really an excellent cosplayer. Her pretty face can always perfectly restore the charm of those characters. She also pays great attention to details every time. From carefully selected costumes to meticulous makeup, she spends a lot of time to achieve perfection. Even her skin is very white, and..."

Ayase Kotone suddenly stopped here.

"And what?"

Qing Shuijian asked subconsciously.

"And she is willing to be my nude model"

Nude model? That couldn't be...

The image of Ayase Kotone involuntarily appearing in my mind is of her room, sketching the graceful body of the beautiful girl in front of her, stroke by stroke, on the manuscript paper.

Shimizu Miki was not sure whether the model that Ayase Kotone was talking about was the one he imagined.

If you ask it to my face, it would probably be really embarrassing.

But what can be heard is that Ayase Kotone and that friend have a really good relationship.

But then again, did she just let it slip?
Ayase Kotone seemed to realize this belatedly, and then she covered her mouth and lowered her head as if feeling guilty.

"Then the president won't invite your friend this time?"

Shimizu Ken just asked casually, but he didn't expect that Ayase Kotone was obviously stunned.

"Because I can't invite them... Even if I invite them, they won't come..."

A faint feeling of sadness emanated from Ayase Kotone.

"President, no matter how sad this is, it cannot be changed. I'd better accept my condolences..."

"Huh? She's not dead..."

Ayase Kotone looked at Shimizu Ken with a strange look.

"..."

Qingshui saw that she looked so sad just now, and said that she couldn't be invited and couldn't come, so he preconceived that something had happened to that friend.

"Then she is..."

"We just had a fight."

Ayase Kotone said it lightly, but the seriousness of the situation can be imagined since the two of them haven't reconciled in three years.

So, Ayase Kotone basically has no friends in school, and when they went to Kyoto for the school trip before, Shimizu Mi remembered that she seemed to have said that she seemed to have met someone she knew near Kiyomizu Temple.

"Is the friend the president is talking about the one we met at Kiyomizu Temple last time?"

"..."

When Ayase Kotone heard this, she was visibly stunned.

"I didn't expect Shimizu-san to still remember it. Yes, the friend I was talking about is Ichinose, but it seems that I accidentally saw it wrong that time."

“Ichinose…”

Qing Shuijian subconsciously read it aloud.

"what happened?"

Ayase Kotone cast a questioning look: "Could it be that Shimizu-san also knows him?"

Although Shimizu Miyabi had known a girl named Ichinose, that was a long time ago, and there was no way she had any relationship with Ayase Kotone.

"No, I just think that the president actually has..."

Shimizu originally wanted to say that he didn't expect Ayase Kotone to have such a good friend, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed a bit inappropriate to say so.

"It doesn't matter. I really don't have many friends."

Ayase Kotone seemed to be showing a self-deprecating smile under the mask. Although she didn't seem to care much on the surface, Shimizu Miyabi understood that it was better not to continue talking about this.

As the comic convention began, more and more people came in.

At the entrance of the comic exhibition hall, there was a girl who seemed to be COSing a cat girl character and was handing out free gifts to attend.

The COS clothes were soaked with sweat and became transparent, but the clothes that were close to the skin were obviously more eye-catching than those small gifts.

However, the otakus that filled the venue did not look at the girl, but all followed the team into the exhibition hall.

Not long after the start, Qingshuijian's stall soon welcomed the first customer of the day.

Because the booth was located in the eastern area not far from the entrance of the hall, a male participant who was obviously just passing by here took a look at the sign on the booth and stopped immediately.

Facing the pencil-draft poster that looked strange no matter how he looked at it, he looked at it with a strange gaze at first, then walked closer and stared at it for a moment.

"Excuse me...are you Mr. Suzune?"

The man looked a little cautious and asked Qingshuijian.

The poster on the stall had the artist's name written on it, and the other party seemed to be attracted by it.

When Shimizu saw the look from Ayase Kotone beside her, she had no choice but to nod.

Then, the look on the other person's face became a little strange, and then a puzzled expression appeared.

After some hesitation, he finally said, "I thought Teacher Lingyin would be a girl..."

Anyone who hears such a name will subconsciously think that it is a girl, but Ayase Kotone has never revealed her identity and has never shown up.

"Can I take a look first?"

The man seemed a little skeptical about Shimizumi's identity, but that was understandable.

"Please feel free to do so."

Then the man picked up a notebook on the table and started flipping through it.

He compared the name of the artist Qin Yin on the board with the contents of the notebook and flipped through the pages one by one.

Qingshuijian sat down on a chair behind the long table and watched the other party's actions.

After reading a few pages, I turned a few more pages...

After a few beats, the man's reaction changed. It should be said that his strength in turning the pages was obviously getting stronger.

The man turned the pages faster and faster.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly turned back to the previous pages and reread the book.

In an instant, Qingshui saw that his face was getting redder and redder.

I don't know what he read, but the man closed the book and nodded his head repeatedly: "Yes, it's Teacher Lingyin. Only Teacher Qinyin can draw at this level."

"Excuse me, I'll buy one."

“Thank you for your patronage!”

Ayase Kotone, who was standing next to Shimizu Mi, handed him a comic book on the table.

Then, unexpectedly, the man turned around and started shouting to the people around him.

"Everyone come and take a look, Suzune-sensei has a new comic book out."

The man's loud voice seemed particularly clear in the noisy hall.

After hearing this name, more and more people gathered towards Qingshuijian's stall.

(End of this chapter)