Chapter 93 – Nobody Writes Tally Marks Better Than Me (Patreon)

Shimokitazawa Exhibition Center!

Before the afternoon session opened, the Sawamura mother and daughter plus Kouma finally made it inside the venue. The doujinshi they were selling had already been hauled over to the exhibition center the day before, so now all they had to do was set up their booth and they could basically start selling right away.

Just as Kouma was about to flip through some of Eriri's latest work, Mrs. Sawamura beside him suddenly seemed to remember something. She pulled out a brand-new set of clothes and handed it to him.

"Oh, right, Kouma—these are the clothes I prepared for you before. I forgot them back at the house. Go put them on while you have the chance!"

Kouma paused, looking a bit startled. "I have to cosplay too?"

"It's not cosplay. Just a rather nice outfit. The changing room's right over there, so go change quickly... or would you like Auntie to help you change?"

Seeing the glistening, suggestive light shimmeriring in Mrs. Sawamura's beautiful eyes, Kouma took the clothes and shook his head. "No need. I can manage on my own."

If he let Sayuri Sawamura join him, this change of clothes would probably take an hour.

"Well, at a convention, wearing something a little special isn't going to attract that much attention..."

Kouma stepped into the men's changing room. The first thing he saw was a few young men dressed in women's clothing, striking poses and preening.

Other than that, the enormous changing room was practically empty.

"Thought so..."

Aside from cross-dressers, what guy actually needed to use the changing room anyway?

Kouma pulled open the nearest changing stall, unwrapped the clothes, and his expression immediately turned a little helpless. Sure enough, just as Sayuri had said, they were normal clothes. Except in style and color they were obviously a couple's outfit matching the one Sayuri was currently wearing.

"Heh... women."

Back home she'd been telling her daughter about growing old and faded, and now here she was having him change into a matching couple's outfit. Kouma was rather curious what kind of expression Eriri would make once he was wearing it.

"Shinju-chan! Over here!"

A pleasant voice rang out from nearby, somehow remarkably distinct even amidst the noisy environment.

Shinju Inui immediately looked toward the source. A super adorable girl dressed in a black Gothic Lo[li]ta high-waisted skirt was waving at them. Then, on her long legs clad in black mesh stockings patterned with unique designs, she jogged over.

"Marin-san, no need to run so fast."

Seeing the beautiful girl stop before her, breathing a little heavily, Shinju said gently.

"Nope, this is my perfect chance to get an up-close look at Juju-sama!"

Marin Kitagawa drew in close to Sajuna Inui, the one cosplaying a magical girl, her beautiful eyes blazing with fangirl fervor.

Sajuna Inui, nicknamed Juju, was a cosplayer of considerable renown within the community, boasting hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.

She was also someone Marin deeply admired. Some time ago, Marin had posted a half-finished cosplay outfit online, and Sajuna's older sister, Shinju Inui, had taken notice of it.

That was how they'd gotten to know each other. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that the cosplay outfit she'd been making by hand was finally finished, and they'd arranged with Shinju to attend today's Shimokitazawa convention together.

"Marin-san, you made this entire cosplay yourself by hand? That's incredible!"

Shinju raised her camera and fired off a flurry of shots at the girl before her, her praise never pausing for a moment. She complimented her so much that Marin herself grew a little embarrassed.

"It's still a little rough around the edges..."

Though she said that, the adoring look in Marin's eyes as she glanced down at the cosplay outfit she'd made with her own hands and the slight upward curve of her crimson lips betrayed a certain pride. After all, she had made every bit of it herself.

"Let's head inside. Once the afternoon session starts, the lines are going to be insane again."

Sajuna withdrew her faintly amazed gaze from Marin and spoke in her usual cool tone.

The three walked through the exhibition hall. Even in a place packed with cosplayers, they instantly became a brilliant spectacle, drawing the eyes of countless people.

That was especially true of Sajuna, a well-known cosplayer, but what surprised Shinju was that even though this was Marin's very first time cosplaying, the attention she attracted was in no way less than her sister's.

With that ultra-high level of looks, practically no one whose gaze swept over Marin could tear their eyes away in that first instant—especially when such a transcendentally beautiful girl's cosplay happened to be a character from an eroge.

"Marin-san, your first-ever cosplay and you chose Shizuku Kuroe? You're pretty bold."

Shinju walked alongside Marin and spoke quietly.

Marin's reaction to this was the expression of someone who had finally found a kindred spirit, her beautiful eyes brimming with delighted surprise. "Shinju-chan, so you've also—"

Marin's words were cut off midway as Shinju covered her mouth. "Yelling out the name of that game wouldn't exactly be great!"

Sajuna, who had been walking ahead on her own, suddenly turned back to look at Marin and Shinju lagging behind, a slight frown creasing her delicate face. "What are you two talking about?"

Shinju promptly shook her head at top speed. "Nothing!" Then she took Marin by the arm and hurried to catch up.

"Right, the thing is, I left the house in such a rush this morning that my cosplay still isn't totally complete."

Having finally found a good friend who knew about the character Shizuku Kuroe, Marin immediately launched into an eager, unstoppable conversation.

"What part isn't complete? It looks pretty good to me!"

Shinju gave Marin a once-over from head to toe and spoke sincerely. While Marin's outfit wasn't exactly exquisitely crafted—it was practically held up almost entirely by her own body and looks—for a first attempt at a self-made costume, it was already pretty impressively complete.

Just as Shinju was puzzling over this, she saw Marin pull a short marker out of her pocket. Shinju instantly understood. Her gaze drifted slightly downward, toward Marin's pale, creamy thighs.

"Marin-san, don't tell me you're planning to..."

"A fellow connoisseur indeed. Shinju-chan, you really do get it!"

At this, Shinju's face immediately flushed a faint pink. She was making her sound like some sort of veteran pervert.

Marin held the marker and gestured over her own leg. "I've actually already written a few strokes, but I ran out of time. There are still a few marks left to finish. If you're going to cosplay, you have to go all-out, right? Those tally marks absolutely have to be there."

Hearing Marin's words, Shinju looked at her with genuine admiration. "In terms of pursuing total character accuracy, Marin-san, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. Most people wouldn't even be willing to cosplay a character like that, let alone actually write the tally marks on..."

At this, a bright, confident, utterly unconcerned smile bloomed across Marin's lovely face. "Heh-heh, I've got pretty wide-ranging tastes, you know! Also, there's a doujin author I really like who's got a booth at this convention. Later I have to go support her at her table."

"Then let's go check it out together later too."

Shinju glanced toward her sister Sajuna, who gave a cool nod. In truth, she hadn't understood practically a single thing Shinju and Marin had been talking about just now. What she liked was mainly magical-girl shoujo-aimed anime. She cosplayed purely for her own satisfaction.

Shinju turned back to Marin, looking at the marker in her hand, and asked curiously, "Marin-san, where were you planning to write them?"

Marin's gaze swept around their surroundings as she answered. "I remember this Shimokitazawa convention has changing rooms. I can go use the changing room..."

"Do you want me to help?"

Hesitantly, yet with a certain budding eagerness, Shinju voiced the question.

Marin waved her hand in response, her pretty face finally coloring with a tinge of pink. The base of the thigh was, after all, a rather private spot. Even if they were both girls, it was still a little embarrassing. More importantly, those "tally marks" carried a certain meaning—an achievement, a record of sorts. Having someone else write them on her body... it just felt weird to Marin. Outwardly adventurous as her tastes were, deep inside she was still fairly conservative about some things.

"That sort of thing... should definitely be left for my future boyfriend."

She thought this quietly to herself.

As her gaze roamed about, her beautiful eyes abruptly lit up. "Found one! The changing rooms are over there! Shinju-chan and Juju-sama, wait for me just a bit, okay? I'll be back real quick."

Marin strode off on her long black-mesh-stocking-clad legs, following a "miss" dressed in a Playboy Bunny cosplay into the changing room.

The Shimokitazawa Exhibition Center's generous proportions showed themselves in every aspect, even the changing rooms. It was equipped with individual stalls arranged in two opposing rows. At a glance, there had to be at least several dozen changing stalls.

"Why's it so empty?"

But scattered here and there, she could see practically no one. This was completely different from the women's changing rooms Marin had seen before. After all, women changing clothes was a complicated, slow-moving affair.

"Bro, your cosplay's seririously amazing!"

Just then, two guys stepped out of the changing room. As they passed the Playboy Bunny "miss" in front of her, they clapped the bunny on the shoulder with genuine admiration.

Right as Marin's beautiful eyes widened in shock, she heard the Playboy Bunny "miss" reply in an utterly gruff, rough voice: "The hell, don't just touch me!"

A... a guy?!

Marin's breathing stopped for a beat. Her neck turned stiffly as her beautiful eyes shifted toward the letteriring on the wall beside her. The words "Men's Changing Room" were written there, as clear as day.

Marin froze. Then, in the next instant, she reacted—and a trace of panic surfaced in her eyes. She'd been way too careless! She hadn't checked the sign at the entrance and had just followed the bunny in! Even though she'd long since heard that at conventions, the men's changing rooms and men's restrooms were full of cross-dressing guys.

In a fluster, marker in hand, Marin pulled open the door of the nearest changing stall and slipped right in. The door slammed shut, but Marin found herself colliding into a small figure, her footing lost, and she tumbled straight to the floor.

"I-I'm so sorry..."

Marin opened her beautiful eyes—and met a pair of pure, clear ones directly.

"So... so cute..."

Gazing at the incomparably handsome young boy before her, Marin couldn't help but let out a sigh of wonder.

Just as she was about to get up, she felt a hand brush against her leg. In an instant, it was as if every ounce of strength drained from her body. A sensation she had never once felt before surged up from deep inside her.

Marin's crimson lips parted slightly, and she collapsed powerlessly back onto the floor once more. The black marker slipped from her hand and rolled to a stop right in front of the young boy. He picked up the marker and looked at the half-finished tally marks, his refined brow arching just slightly.

"Say, Onee-san... I'm really good at writing tally marks. Want me to help you finish the rest?"

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