"Next destination—Animate? Gars? Toranoana? lonbooks? COMIC ZIN? Or maybe Shosen Book Tower? Choose, boy."
"Eh?"
Hearing Nia suddenly throw out a bunch of words he couldn't understand at all, Shido was instantly dumbfounded.
"They're all stores specializing in 2D rchandise. It's just that their product focus is different. Original books, derivative doujinshi, gas, figures, and all kind of products—they have almost everything. Also, the bonus items offered by each store vary."
Yutsuki sighed, gave Shido a simple and clear explanation, and then turned to instruct Nia:
"Nia, this guy Shido is completely at the beginner level when it cos to this. Don't expect him to understand that jargon. Let's not go anywhere with too high a difficulty level."
"Understood~ Then let's just pick a store nearby."
"I feel kinda sorry..."
Feeling that he completely couldn't keep up with their pace, Shido couldn't help but feel a bit ashad.
"Well, don't worry about it. Let's go!"
Nia waved her hand and led Yutsuki and Shido to the nearest store.
"Ooh—Ooooohhhhhhhh!"
As soon as they entered the store, Nia's eyes were captivated by the dazzling array of rchandise before her, and she scread excitedly.
"I-Isn't this Kasamura-sensei's manga? It's already at volu 25? The art style has completely changed too. Ti passes way too fast."
"Hey! Nia! Your voice, your voice is too loud! Keep it down!"
Feeling the strange glances from surrounding custors, Shido couldn't help but feel embarrassed and reminded her softly. However, Nia didn't care about the surrounding gazes at all. She held the manga and flipped through it with great interest.
"Give up, Shido. Otakus are creatures like this."
Yutsuki sighed lightly, patted Shido's shoulder, and signaled him that there was no need for useless struggle.
It had to be said, coming from Yutsuki—who could shalessly read manga for free in bookstores while ignoring the clerks' interference—this was very convincing.
"Alright..."
Shido chuckled bitterly, his shoulders dropping helplessly in surrender. Just then, Nia's eyes widened in surprise as if she had discovered a new continent.
"Th-This is Kurauchi-sensei's new work!?"
"Oh, this. It's currently serializing, right? An ani adaptation has already aired too," Shido chid in. Nia was talking about a very veteran manga artist, whose fa was such that even Shido, who wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, had heard of him.
"Are you a fan of Kurauchi-sensei?" Yutsuki asked curiously.
"Of course! A die-hard fan at that!" Nia nodded without hesitation and answered firmly. "Kurauchi-sensei's Chrono Phantasma was the work that got into the otaku culture. It was after reading his book that I decided to beco a manga artist. Tokiya is my bride. Even though he's a man, he's my bride! What do you think, Biri-chan?"
"Uh..." Hearing Nia's words, Yutsuki answered sowhat awkwardly. "Although I've read Kurauchi-sensei's new work too. But Chrono Phantasma is from too long ago. I'm not quite used to the art style so I..."
Nia abruptly raised her head, closed in on Yutsuki nacingly, and said in disbelief,
"Nonsense! Not reading it is a major loss in life. I'll lend you the BDs and original manga later, you absolutely have to finish it!"
"Hah... I understand. I'll gratefully accept your offer."
Facing Nia's strong recomndation, Yutsuki didn't refuse and obediently nodded.
"Ah—Damn it! It's all DEM's fault. There are more things to catch up on than I expected. As I thought, relying on online shopping isn't enough. Next, I'm going to sweep up all the books in one go!"
Saying this, Nia grabbed an armful of manga and ran to the checkout counter in one breath. Then, she put the purchased books into the empty suitcase she had prepared beforehand. And then, she made Shido carry it.
Next, they went to the second floor. Like the first floor, it also sold manga, but the genres were slightly different.
"Ooh—this one! And this one too! Kyaa—this is amazing. Oh no, my hands won't stop, hehehehehe—"
Nia, who lacked stamina, was currently acting like a basketball player who had entered the "zone." She shuttled back and forth between the stalls with lightning speed, her low, wicked laughter rising and falling.
Honestly, it was a little bit creepy.
"Hah~ A massive haul!"
"You bought a lot... wh-what is this!?"
Looking at Nia returning satisfied with a huge pile of loot, Shido first sighed. Then, getting a clear look at the reading material in her hands, he couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
The covers of the books Nia was holding mostly depicted scenes of two pretty boys intimately embracing—what is commonly known as BL (Boys' Love).
"Well, I'm a professional in this area. When I see two n, I can instantly match them up. And I can imdiately tell who is top and who is bottom."
Saying this, Nia proudly puffed out her chest. Then, putting down the books, she ford a fra with her hands and looked at Shido, analyzing him.
A few seconds later, Nia reached a conclusion.
"You are a timid ultimate bottom!"
"—Pfft!"
Yutsuki instantly couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Wait! What makes you say that!?"
Seeing Yutsuki's reaction, Shido instinctively felt that what Nia said wasn't anything good, and hurriedly retorted.
"Well, this kind of thing is engraved in one's bones. No matter how much you deny it, it's useless, boy."
Nia answered with a smile, then turned her target to Yutsuki.
"In contrast, even though she's a girl, Biri-chan gives off more of an aggressive top vibe. Oh? It feels like you guys could make an unexpectedly good pairing."
"Don't project your delusional glasses onto , you fujoshi."
Yutsuki rolled her eyes at Nia in annoyance.
"Yutsuki... you can understand what Nia is saying..."
"Don't lump in with her. In your eyes, Akihabara and Ikebukuro might be the sa kind of creatures, but in reality, there's an insurmountable gap between the two."
"Uh..."
Unable to understand what Yutsuki was saying, Shido could only reply with a sweatdrop.
"Well. Strictly speaking, I'm just an omnivore. I don't just read BL.I also read things like mystery novels, shoujo manga, and sci-fi thes."
"I see."
Yutsuki nodded, not doubting it. After all, the manga she just bought did include works from those genres. In fact, thinking that an author who draws shonen manga would only read that genre would be a rather childish prejudice.
"What matters is the author's creative passion."
Seemingly inspired, Nia took out a book and enthusiastically began explaining to Shido and Yutsuki.
"Like this one, for example. Set in a fantasy world, it starts as an orthodox story of a prince and a knight. But in reality, it's a story full of forbidden NTR. Just reading it, you can feel the author's imposing spirit of 'This is what I want to write, got a problem with that?!'. Especially the part in volu three where Orpheus is captured by the enemy. The psychological depiction of wanting to refuse but welcoming it when his body is conquered is practically on a foul level..."
So it IS BL in the end!
"Ah, sorry, sorry! Got a little too excited."
Seeing the indescribably subtle expressions on Yutsuki and Shido's faces, Nia playfully stuck out her tongue.
Afterward, paying for the mountain of selected books, Nia said she wanted to thank Shido and take him to a good place. She walked into a computer store.
"Um... I'm not good with computers."
Scratching his head in distress, Shido turned his gaze to Yutsuki, feeling she was more likely to need to buy sothing here.
"No need. I already bought the parts for the latest specs a while ago."
Yutsuki shook her head and answered.
"No, no, no, no, boy, you're mistaken. It's over here."
Nia waved her hand, pulled Shido to a counter, and pointed at the items on it.
"Boy. Choose whatever you like. It's my treat."
Following Nia's pointing finger, Shido lost his words for a mont. Displayed on the counter was a pile of ga boxes featuring half-naked beautiful girls on the covers, and without exception, each corner had an "R18" sticker attached to it.
"Th-This is!?"
"Mhm, eroge."
"I'm still a second-year high school student!"
At Nia's unabashed explanation, Shido couldn't help but shout a retort.
"Eh? Boy, you don't play eroge? Even though you have them in your room..."
"—Shh! —Shh!"
Seeing Nia seemingly about to expose personal secrets acquired using Rasiel, Shido hurriedly raised a finger, gesturing for Nia to keep quiet.
"Haha~ I see. No need to be shy, boy. Sexual desire, appetite, and the desire for sleep are called the three great desires of life. People will die if they don't eat or sleep. Similarly, if they don't reproduce, humanity will go extinct."
"Don't you know how to speak a little more subtly!?"
"My~ no need to hold back, boy. It's perfectly normal for a healthy high school boy to have these thoughts. You rarely have the chance to visit a store like this normally, right? It's a rare opportunity, just experience it."
"This..."
Hearing Nia's seductive voice, like the whisper of a devil, Shido couldn't help but hesitate. Honestly, as a normal guy, he did have a tiny little bit of interest in this kind of thing.
However—
[Oh~ So you're interested in this kind of stuff. Isn't that great? It's the perfect ti to see if your tastes have changed, you monkey in heat year-round.]
Shido hadn't forgotten that his sister and the Fraxinus staff were watching him from the other side of the cara.
He wasn't that brave yet.
"Sorry... I appreciate the thought, but I'll pass."
"Eh... what a sha."
Seeing Shido chicken out and back down, Nia slumped her shoulders in disappointnt.
However.
"This one, the latest release. This one, I couldn't find it last ti. Oh, this limited edition added a new conquerable character."
While the two were talking, Yutsuki swiftly picked out the gas she wanted and tossed them into her shopping basket without hesitation. Her montum was not inferior to Nia's when she was picking out BL reading material earlier.
Shido's expression beca very colorful in an instant.
"Yu-Yutsuki..."
"It's fine. On Kotori's screen, I already asked Marina and the others to mosaic the covers of the ga boxes."
Yutsuki answered nonchalantly.
Is that the issue here?!
"Nia. Are you sure you're paying?"
"Oh, rest assured. I keep my word."
Receiving Nia's confirmation, Yutsuki turned around. Ignoring the dumbfounded Shido, she carried the eroge and walked towards the checkout counter with a righteous air.
Then, Nia patted Shido's shoulder and said with absolute certainty:
"You timid, weak bottom."
In an instant, Shido felt as if he had taken a heavy blow, falling to his knees in agony.
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