"Thank you, Mister Smith!"
John let out a tired smile and waved. "You're welcome."
The person... It seemed like a girl. A high school girl? Probably. They were all starting to blur together now.
Anyway, that person hugged the signed copy of the Project MirAIs pamphlet to her chest and then ran off, mixing back into the rest of the crowd.
"That's the last one for now." John let out a deep sigh and then turned to check on the merch area... which was all cleaned out now. But that didn't stop a crowd of people from forming there and chatting with the girls.
Which was weird. That was still weird. Because John knew for a fact that Rin, Asako, and Alphy weren't streaming right now. And he also knew that those monitors weren't hooked up to wi-fi... so it was weird.
Then again, John felt that it would be a giant headache if he dug into it too deep right now without Titor around, so he decided to set that issue aside for the moment.
Though he made a mental note to tell the girls about what happened. And that they might need to come up with an excuse about what they were doing and why they didn't remember things if the chat brought stuff up.
But that was again, a later issue.
John looked away and then stood up to stretch. After that, he took a bit of inventory.
At the moment, he was still manning the front table by himself. Most of the pamphlets and promo stuff was gone by now. He still had a few things packed away in his car... Or rather, he could conjure up a few more things if he went inside and opened the trunk.
But he was kind of liking not having people drifting over for free stuff.
He couldn't help the people gathered around the monitors off to the side of the booth, but John could at least stop the flood of people charging to get free stuff signed by him.
...And maybe it was a good thing that he quietly tucked away the Jenny Smith merch. *That* would have been a hassle and a half. Maybe even a whole Hasslehoff.
Heh. Hasslehoff. That was a deep cut... How long had it been since he watched that sponge cartoon now?
John reached under the countertop in front of him and then pulled out a bottle of Dk Pep from the cooler tucked beneath there. He cracked it open and took a sip, relishing it after talking all morning.
It also gave him a better appreciation for Rin and Asako's hard work streaming. Those girls chatted for hours on end with their chat and were completely fine afterwards.
Alphy did that too, but she wasn't human and couldn't be physically worn down. She could accumulate mental fatigue, sure... but she also really liked spending time with her chat, so it was more like having fun every day than work for her.
Unlike John who sat through hours of smiling, chatting, taking pictures, and taking questions from both persistent fans and persistent trolls.
...It was fine if he used a bit of mental suggestion on the latter, right? After all, he *was* cosplaying as an evil Demon Emperor that united the world by making a big bad...
John sighed and took another sip from his Dk Pep. After that, he leaned back in his chair and focused his attention on the convention center and the other booths.
For a brief moment, he was tempted to use his spiritual sense to see where everyone else was. Just... take a peek and make sure there weren't any problems.
Like some snotty brats trying to flirt with his cute daughters. Or idiotic perverts and arrogant assholes trying to flirt with his wife and sisters.
And if there were, to teach them a lesson. Just a small one. Maybe to relieve a bit of his stress.
But that was just a brief moment.
After taking another sip of Dk Pep, John decided against it.
He was not going to be that guy. His daughters were perfectly competent and trained to handle creeps. And all of his sisters were... very vocal in dealing with men who were a bit too pushy and couldn't take a hint. Not to mention that Yue was with Daji and Xuannu, both women with a history of being very vindictive and sadistic towards idiots who kept trying to flirt with them...
It would be fine.
And if it wasn't... Well, he'd just go back in time, punch himself in the face, punch 'that guy' in the face, punch all the people responsible in the face, and then reset everything.
Because fuck that.
John shook his head and took a deep swig from his Dk Pep, draining the bottle. Afterwards, he sighed and tossed the empty bottle back into the cooler. "...Okay. Maybe this is getting to me more than I thought it would."
When he was still a kid, John had wanted to attend an Anime convention. And Comiket was THE Anime convention. It was a dream come true.
Younger John would have loved running around, buying merch, talking to voice actors, chatting up random strangers in cosplay... it would have been heaven.
But to him right now, it was hell.
Because there were so many people packed together, it was hot. Cosplayers were cool, but most of the people walking around were in half-assed cosplay. And hadn't bathed since they were standing around in line... which meant that it reeked. Then people were all touchy... Especially the people who came in from overseas. Since John wasn't Japanese, they thought it was instantly okay to run up and give him a hug and all that noise.
He didn't mind it too much. After all, they were genuinely excited to see him. But he got tired of fame a long, long, *long* time ago.
John frowned and then leaned forward, grabbing another bottle of Dk Pep. After that, he stood up to stretch.
It seemed like the girls said something to the crowd since it was slowly dispersing.
Good. That meant John could finally get a bit of breathing room and his personal bubble back.
"Note to self: No matter what, grab somebody else to help starting tomorrow."
John didn't care if it was Bai, Qing, Titor, Kai... whoever. He was *not* about to go through another two days of just him fielding the crowd of people.
...Maybe he should just get Yue. His cute wife could give moral support. And he could also piss off some of the hardcore otakus and weebs with some public displays of affection. Not to mention that Yue was also actually good with inventory management...
Yeah. That was a plan. Not to mention he was already missing his cute wife and-
"Wow. Looks like you really have some star power, Mister Smith. You're completely cleaned out." A calm and slightly monotone female voice.
Looking up, John saw a cute young girl in a high school uniform standing in front of him. Red-rimmed glasses, a black hairband and long braided twin tails tied with purple ribbons...
She was familiar. Both in terms of the costume and the real person.
For the costume, it was because she was a major character from a certain magical girl Anime that mentally scarred people on episode three.
As for the person...
John blinked and said, "I didn't think you'd be walking around since you've got a booth, Chihiro."
Chihiro adjusted her glasses and said, "Papa was kind enough to take over."
"Pft."
Takashi. That traditional former cop... sitting behind Chihiro's booth and selling doujins? And not just doujins, but the explicit doujins? And not just the explicit doujins, but the explicit yuri doujins that had some weird tags that could make even a cultured individual blush?
John shook his head and said, "Your father definitely loves you a great deal."
Chihiro smiled.
"Ugh. Why did we even stop by here, Chi-chan?" A beautiful young woman with blonde hair walked up to Chihiro and shook her head.
Like Chihiro, she was familiar. In terms of her costume... It was the same as a certain 'zero' who summoned an ordinary Japanese high schooler as her familiar. As for who she really was, it was Yuri Miyamoto... who had dyed her hair a light pink to match with her cosplay.
"Yes, Chihiro." A beautiful young shrine maiden with crimson hair walked up to Chihiro as well. She turned towards John and smiled briefly before looking back at Chihiro. "We should not cause too much trouble for Mister John. And besides, being here could be an issue later... could it not?"
"You worry too much, Suzu-chan. And it's because I was tired of walking around, Yuri."
"H-Hey!" Yuri flushed and rounded Chihiro. "I'm your Senpai!"
"Wrong. Since you dropped out, we'll be classmates. And even then, I'm the Senpai. Or do you want me to leave you to fend for yourself the rest of Comiket?"
"Grk." Yuri flinched and lowered her head. "...Sorry."
"Sorry...?"
"...Sorry Chi-senpai."
"I thought so." Chihiro turned to Suzume and said, "You see this, Suzu-chan? Sometimes, you have to show tsunderes their place in life."
Yuri's ears turned red, but she didn't say anything else.
Suzume let out a wry smile. "I... see what you mean, Chi-chan. But... that seems kind of mean."
"It's fine. Besides, I'm paying for her merch, so she doesn't have the right to complain."
John blinked. "You three seem like you're getting along well."
Chihiro gave John a blank stare and said, "No, Agent Smith. We're fighting every day. Of course we're getting along. What do you think we are, children?" She paused and said, "Well, Yuri might be."
"Hey!"
John laughed.
HappyVainGlory Didn't quite manage to get to the twist I wanted to since John ended up ranting a while. Oh well.
Anyway, we're getting close to the climax of this mini(?) arc. All the peeps are slowly drifting closer, and some guns are being quietly placed down here and there.
Thanks for reading! And cookies for catching the references.
"Thank you, Mister Smith!"
John let out a tired smile and waved. "You're welcome."
The person... It seemed like a girl. A high school girl? Probably. They were all starting to blur together now.
Anyway, that person hugged the signed copy of the Project MirAIs pamphlet to her chest and then ran off, mixing back into the rest of the crowd.
"That's the last one for now." John let out a deep sigh and then turned to check on the merch area... which was all cleaned out now. But that didn't stop a crowd of people from forming there and chatting with the girls.
Which was weird. That was still weird. Because John knew for a fact that Rin, Asako, and Alphy weren't streaming right now. And he also knew that those monitors weren't hooked up to wi-fi... so it was weird.
Then again, John felt that it would be a giant headache if he dug into it too deep right now without Titor around, so he decided to set that issue aside for the moment.
Though he made a mental note to tell the girls about what happened. And that they might need to come up with an excuse about what they were doing and why they didn't remember things if the chat brought stuff up.
But that was again, a later issue.
John looked away and then stood up to stretch. After that, he took a bit of inventory.
At the moment, he was still manning the front table by himself. Most of the pamphlets and promo stuff was gone by now. He still had a few things packed away in his car... Or rather, he could conjure up a few more things if he went inside and opened the trunk.
But he was kind of liking not having people drifting over for free stuff.
He couldn't help the people gathered around the monitors off to the side of the booth, but John could at least stop the flood of people charging to get free stuff signed by him.
...And maybe it was a good thing that he quietly tucked away the Jenny Smith merch. *That* would have been a hassle and a half. Maybe even a whole Hasslehoff.
Heh. Hasslehoff. That was a deep cut... How long had it been since he watched that sponge cartoon now?
John reached under the countertop in front of him and then pulled out a bottle of Dk Pep from the cooler tucked beneath there. He cracked it open and took a sip, relishing it after talking all morning.
It also gave him a better appreciation for Rin and Asako's hard work streaming. Those girls chatted for hours on end with their chat and were completely fine afterwards.
Alphy did that too, but she wasn't human and couldn't be physically worn down. She could accumulate mental fatigue, sure... but she also really liked spending time with her chat, so it was more like having fun every day than work for her.
Unlike John who sat through hours of smiling, chatting, taking pictures, and taking questions from both persistent fans and persistent trolls.
...It was fine if he used a bit of mental suggestion on the latter, right? After all, he *was* cosplaying as an evil Demon Emperor that united the world by making a big bad...
John sighed and took another sip from his Dk Pep. After that, he leaned back in his chair and focused his attention on the convention center and the other booths.
For a brief moment, he was tempted to use his spiritual sense to see where everyone else was. Just... take a peek and make sure there weren't any problems.
Like some snotty brats trying to flirt with his cute daughters. Or idiotic perverts and arrogant assholes trying to flirt with his wife and sisters.
And if there were, to teach them a lesson. Just a small one. Maybe to relieve a bit of his stress.
But that was just a brief moment.
After taking another sip of Dk Pep, John decided against it.
He was not going to be that guy. His daughters were perfectly competent and trained to handle creeps. And all of his sisters were... very vocal in dealing with men who were a bit too pushy and couldn't take a hint. Not to mention that Yue was with Daji and Xuannu, both women with a history of being very vindictive and sadistic towards idiots who kept trying to flirt with them...
It would be fine.
And if it wasn't... Well, he'd just go back in time, punch himself in the face, punch 'that guy' in the face, punch all the people responsible in the face, and then reset everything.
Because fuck that.
John shook his head and took a deep swig from his Dk Pep, draining the bottle. Afterwards, he sighed and tossed the empty bottle back into the cooler. "...Okay. Maybe this is getting to me more than I thought it would."
When he was still a kid, John had wanted to attend an Anime convention. And Comiket was THE Anime convention. It was a dream come true.
Younger John would have loved running around, buying merch, talking to voice actors, chatting up random strangers in cosplay... it would have been heaven.
But to him right now, it was hell.
Because there were so many people packed together, it was hot. Cosplayers were cool, but most of the people walking around were in half-assed cosplay. And hadn't bathed since they were standing around in line... which meant that it reeked. Then people were all touchy... Especially the people who came in from overseas. Since John wasn't Japanese, they thought it was instantly okay to run up and give him a hug and all that noise.
He didn't mind it too much. After all, they were genuinely excited to see him. But he got tired of fame a long, long, *long* time ago.
John frowned and then leaned forward, grabbing another bottle of Dk Pep. After that, he stood up to stretch.
It seemed like the girls said something to the crowd since it was slowly dispersing.
Good. That meant John could finally get a bit of breathing room and his personal bubble back.
"Note to self: No matter what, grab somebody else to help starting tomorrow."
John didn't care if it was Bai, Qing, Titor, Kai... whoever. He was *not* about to go through another two days of just him fielding the crowd of people.
...Maybe he should just get Yue. His cute wife could give moral support. And he could also piss off some of the hardcore otakus and weebs with some public displays of affection. Not to mention that Yue was also actually good with inventory management...
Yeah. That was a plan. Not to mention he was already missing his cute wife and-
"Wow. Looks like you really have some star power, Mister Smith. You're completely cleaned out." A calm and slightly monotone female voice.
Looking up, John saw a cute young girl in a high school uniform standing in front of him. Red-rimmed glasses, a black hairband and long braided twin tails tied with purple ribbons...
She was familiar. Both in terms of the costume and the real person.
For the costume, it was because she was a major character from a certain magical girl Anime that mentally scarred people on episode three.
As for the person...
John blinked and said, "I didn't think you'd be walking around since you've got a booth, Chihiro."
Chihiro adjusted her glasses and said, "Papa was kind enough to take over."
"Pft."
Takashi. That traditional former cop... sitting behind Chihiro's booth and selling doujins? And not just doujins, but the explicit doujins? And not just the explicit doujins, but the explicit yuri doujins that had some weird tags that could make even a cultured individual blush?
John shook his head and said, "Your father definitely loves you a great deal."
Chihiro smiled.
"Ugh. Why did we even stop by here, Chi-chan?" A beautiful young woman with blonde hair walked up to Chihiro and shook her head.
Like Chihiro, she was familiar. In terms of her costume... It was the same as a certain 'zero' who summoned an ordinary Japanese high schooler as her familiar. As for who she really was, it was Yuri Miyamoto... who had dyed her hair a light pink to match with her cosplay.
"Yes, Chihiro." A beautiful young shrine maiden with crimson hair walked up to Chihiro as well. She turned towards John and smiled briefly before looking back at Chihiro. "We should not cause too much trouble for Mister John. And besides, being here could be an issue later... could it not?"
"You worry too much, Suzu-chan. And it's because I was tired of walking around, Yuri."
"H-Hey!" Yuri flushed and rounded Chihiro. "I'm your Senpai!"
"Wrong. Since you dropped out, we'll be classmates. And even then, I'm the Senpai. Or do you want me to leave you to fend for yourself the rest of Comiket?"
"Grk." Yuri flinched and lowered her head. "...Sorry."
"Sorry...?"
"...Sorry Chi-senpai."
"I thought so." Chihiro turned to Suzume and said, "You see this, Suzu-chan? Sometimes, you have to show tsunderes their place in life."
Yuri's ears turned red, but she didn't say anything else.
Suzume let out a wry smile. "I... see what you mean, Chi-chan. But... that seems kind of mean."
"It's fine. Besides, I'm paying for her merch, so she doesn't have the right to complain."
John blinked. "You three seem like you're getting along well."
Chihiro gave John a blank stare and said, "No, Agent Smith. We're fighting every day. Of course we're getting along. What do you think we are, children?" She paused and said, "Well, Yuri might be."
"Hey!"
John laughed.
HappyVainGlory Didn't quite manage to get to the twist I wanted to since John ended up ranting a while. Oh well.
Anyway, we're getting close to the climax of this mini(?) arc. All the peeps are slowly drifting closer, and some guns are being quietly placed down here and there.
Thanks for reading! And cookies for catching the references.
