Chapter 155: [Side Story] Oneness of Self and Object
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: [Side Story] Oneness of Self and Object
There was a small incident in the changing room, but after we all got changed, I waited for the two of them in the first-floor hall of the West Wing, as we had arranged beforehand.
Unlike men, who are done as soon as they change their clothes, it seems women have a lot more to prepare, so it takes time.
"Excuse me, could I take a picture?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. But I haven't done my makeup properly yet."
"Then I'll take another one after you've done your makeup."
"..."
And for some reason, I kept getting asked for photos by people passing by.
I hadn't even put on my makeup yet, so to be this popular was honestly unexpected.
Among them, there was even someone who recognized me from my cameo in The Blue ~Youth Academy Apocalypse~ and asked for an autograph.
Of course, since I had no aspirations of becoming an actor, I just made a polite excuse and sent them on their way.
I was playing a game on my phone, waiting for the mother-daughter duo of Maria and Rika to appear.
"Ryu-chan! Have you been waiting long?"
Hearing the familiar voice, I reflexively looked up and froze for a moment.
"Rika?"
The reason I called her name like a question was because of her completely different appearance.
Her usual blonde hair and green eyes were nowhere to be seen. With black hair, red eyes, an eyepatch, and a gothic lolita outfit, she looked remarkably similar to the cosplay photo I had seen in her album.
Honestly, if I hadn't seen her face almost every day, I wouldn't have recognized her at a glance.
Above all, the size of her 'assets' had shrunk considerably.
She was probably wearing some kind of body-shaping underwear.
"You look so different, for a second I wondered who you were."
When I said that with genuine sincerity, Rika scratched the back of her head and giggled.
"Mama was egging me on, saying if we're going to do it, we should go all out."
Still, it was a relief to see she was in a better mood than before.
"What character is that?"
"Oh, this is the outfit for Samael from 'Rondo of the Fallen Angel,' an anime I liked in middle school. To be precise, it's the third season version that came out this year."
In contrast to her initial negativity, Rika now seemed delighted to explain the character she was cosplaying.
As expected, Rika is an otaku.
The type who doesn't care about what others think when she's enjoying her hobby.
"Right, right, that's amazing."
As I was playing along with Rika's torrent of explanations, Maria's voice followed.
"Rika, dear. You're overwhelming Yoo-Sung."
I turned my head at her words and was startled.
Just like Rika, Maria's appearance had completely changed in that short time.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it less of a cosplay and more of a full-on disguise.
"Oh, Maria-san? That character is..."
"It's LISA."
"Pardon?"
"My nickname as a cosplayer is LISA, so from now on, call me LISA, not Maria."
As she said this, Maria—no, LISA—casually swept her incredibly realistic-looking black wig over her shoulder.
"Anyway, to answer your question from a moment ago, this character's name is Sophia. She's the protagonist's childhood friend who gets kidnapped by Overlord Baou midway through the game. In Last Fantasy 7, the love triangle between the protagonist Theo, Sophia, and Overlord Baou carries immense weight in the story."
"I see."
It was such an old game that I had only heard the name, never the story.
Still, I felt like I got the general idea.
Overlord Baou would ultimately be defeated by the protagonist, a character who has to lonely send off the woman he loves.
I felt like I'd seen the whole thing without ever watching it.
"Alright, there's not much time left until the official opening, so let's get your makeup done quickly."
"Ah, yes."
"Then, would you like to sit here?"
I sat on the bench as Maria... no, LISA, instructed.
LISA then opened a makeup box that looked anything but ordinary, holding cosmetic tools in both hands with a meaningful smile.
"It'll be over in a flash, so don't worry."
...Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?
*
"Kore ga watashi?" [Is this me?]
After LISA's handiwork, my face felt like it belonged to a completely different person.
She had applied shader to add shadows around my eyelids, giving my eyes a much deeper look, and the red eye makeup she'd applied to emphasize my fierce gaze.
And the large knife scar running across the bridge of my nose looked like a real wound.
"Isn't this practically special effects makeup?"
As I touched the scar on my nose in fascination, LISA spoke with a stern look.
"Ah-ah, don't touch it already. If you get sweat on it, it'll ruin the makeup."
"Ah, right."
Heeding LISA's warning, I hastily pulled my hand away from my nose and decided to just look without touching.
My reflection in the large glass wall.
I thought the cosplay's quality was quite high even without makeup, but now it felt like a character had literally jumped out of the game and into reality.
I hadn't even known this character existed until I looked him up on the wiki today, but seeing the full set definitely sparked an interest I didn't have before.
If it looked this good to me, what would others think?
Already, a few of the passing cosplayers were stealing glances at me.
And the ever-perceptive LISA, noticing the situation, said playfully.
"You're quite the popular one, Yoo-Sung."
"...Don't tease me."
When I averted my gaze, LISA smiled brightly and said, "Are you shy? You have a surprisingly cute side to you."
In any case, with all three of us gathered, all that was left was to wait for Comiket to open.
This West Hall has a passage connecting to the East Hall, and the plan was to sprint to the target artist's booth the moment the doors opened.
"So, Yoo-Sung, if there's anything you want to buy, you should check for it in advance. Popular artists sell out of their books quickly."
Even if she tells me that...
She said Day 2 was focused on female-oriented and all-ages content, so there wasn't really anything for me to buy.
"Well, if there's nothing you want, let's just take a look around. You might find something you want to buy."
"Understood."
I decided to follow the advice of the more senior LISA.
If we do a lap around the booths, I'm bound to find at least one thing, right?
As we laughed and chatted, about thirty minutes passed, and the doors of the Tokyo Big Sight officially opened.
"Let's run!"
"Huh?"
"Hurry!"
It was a true open run.
The cosplayers who had changed into their costumes and were waiting at the West Hall entrance all started sprinting towards the East Hall.
And that included Maria and Rika.
Without knowing why, I started running along with them.
*
The East Hall, which had been quiet and empty at first, was already a sea of people by the time we had bought everything we wanted and came out.
"Wow, there are so many people."
And the proportion of women was overwhelming.
It wasn't that there were no men at all, but today they were clearly in the minority.
And scattered throughout the venue were quite a few circles selling BL or Yaoi-type doujinshi that targeted special tastes.
What is commonly known as fujoshi taste.
"By the way, are there no age restrictions here? There are some rather risqué-looking pictures openly displayed on signs."
"Oh, that? Usually, if you report it to the organizers, they'll take some action. Though it's mostly a slap on the wrist."
"So they do at least do their job, I see."
"If they didn't do at least that much, they wouldn't have the right to charge an entrance fee, would they?"
Every word she said was true.
Having purchased all our target items, we left the East Hall and headed towards the cosplay plaza near the West Hall.
This was also a kind of rule; it seemed that cosplayers participating in Comiket could only interact in the cosplay plaza.
"Ah, Yoo-Sung. I have a little surprise for you."
"A surprise? What is it?"
"For that, just wait a moment."
LISA winked as she said that and made a call to someone.
Soon, a van entered the parking lot area where people were lined up.
As I stared blankly, wondering what was going on, a foreign man got out of the van and spoke with Maria in fluent English.
It seemed the two were friends.
Then, the foreign man took out a long box from the back of the van.
Thud!
The wooden box made a heavy sound as he set it on the ground.
"Yoo-Sung, go ahead and open it yourself."
By this point, even I, who hadn't been interested, was curious about the gift LISA had prepared.
Creeak!
Finally, as I carefully opened the wooden box, I saw a massive greatsword inside.
No, calling it a greatsword felt like an understatement—it was too big, too solid, too crude.
It was practically an iron club.
"The Demon Sword Barisada! I had a 1:1 scale replica of Overlord Baou's beloved sword made!"
Honestly, this was irresistible.
The very essence of a man's romance.
Feeling like King Arthur pulling Excalibur, I lifted the giant greatsword from the box with both hands.
The grip fit my hands so perfectly it felt like something I had used for a long time.
Then, a crucial point suddenly occurred to me.
"Is this okay with the sword possession laws?"
"The blade isn't sharpened, so it's okay."
LISA said, then smiled refreshingly and gave a thumbs-up.
Having received the go-ahead, I once again savored the overwhelming thrill of the life-sized greatsword.