Chapter 154: [Side Story] Comiket Of Great Chaos

Chapter 154: [Side Story] Comiket Of Great Chaos

August 10, 2017.

Friday, 8 a.m.

Normally at this time, after my morning exercise, I would be eating breakfast at the store.

But right now, I was outside the house.

And not of my own volition, but rather due to someone else’s.

“Hehe, I’m relieved that Yu-seong is helping.”

Ms. Maria, sitting next to me while driving the white mid-sized sedan, said that.

“I felt it would be impolite to refuse since you even prepared a costume for me...”

Then Ms. Maria gently smiled and said,

“After seeing you as a cameo in the drama ‘The Blue,’ I thought you’d be perfect. No one else but Yu-seong can play the role of Paewang Baoou.”

“Paewang Baoou?”

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar name.

“Oh, you don’t know? He’s a character from Last Fantasy 7. Perhaps it’s too old?”

Hearing the words “Last Fantasy 7,” I was shocked.

That was because Last Fantasy 7 was a game released well over 20 years ago.

“Anyway, it was hard to find someone tall and muscular enough for the role. I had thought about it but never tried, and then I saw you.”

I understood why they wanted me for the role.

But why...

“Is Rika also here?”

Then Rika, sitting in the back seat, popped her head forward and said,

“Ryu-chan! I’m mama’s chaperone today! Without me, mama might go wild!”

“Oh boy, what does she think of her mom?”

I watched the mother and daughter bickering and then turned my gaze out the window.

It felt like it was going to be a rather eventful day.

Comic Market.

Shortened as Comiket.

One of the world’s largest doujin events, Comiket was held twice a year, in mid-August and late December.

The summer event was called Natsu (Summer) Comi, and the winter event was Fuyu (Winter) Comi. This time, we were participating in the summer event, Natsu Comi, specifically c92.

Here, ‘c’ stood for Comic Market, and the number 92 indicated the number of times it had been held to date.

So, this Comiket was the 92nd event in its history.

Considering that it used to be held three times a year and is now held twice, it shows how long its history is.

While riding in Ms. Maria’s car to Tokyo Big Sight, the venue for c92, I read a brief explanation on a wiki site and, realizing I was going to Comiket for the first time, asked Ms. Maria,

“Which day of the event are we participating in?”

“It’s the second day. I was too busy with work to come any other day.”

“I see.”

I was relieved it wasn’t the third day.

According to the wiki, the third day of Comiket, where most of the doujin booths were male-oriented, was the busiest day among all the event days.

Imagining people packed like bean sprouts in a cramped building made me feel like I was going to throw up.

As someone who didn’t like crowds, I would have gone home halfway if I had been told to wait from the beginning.

Fortunately, there was one special perk for cosplayers participating in Comiket.

“Early entry?”

We arrived around 8:20 a.m., and since almost an hour had passed since the cosplayers’ entry began, we were able to enter the changing rooms inside the building without waiting too long.

Before entering the women’s changing room with Rika, Ms. Maria explained to me,

“Change into the clothes inside, and I’ll do your makeup separately. If you don’t know how to wear the wig, you can ask people around.”

“Okay.”

Reassuring them not to worry, I took my suitcase and entered the men’s changing room.

It was sweltering!

As soon as I entered, my first impression was the overall stuffiness.

Whether it was due to the rain last night or the sheer number of people in a confined space, it felt like a sauna.

I started unpacking my things in a coin locker in the corner.

First, I wanted to check out the costume of the character Paewang Baoou, as mentioned by Ms. Maria.

Thud!

“......”

Then, I belatedly realized one thing.

A character from a game 20 years ago meant the fashion sense was also stuck 20 years in the past.

I was speechless at the sight of the enormously thick and long shoulder pads.

‘They want me to wear this?’

After changing into the Baoou costume prepared by Ms. Maria, the quality was even better than I had expected.

The finish looked even better than my regular clothes.

After properly wearing the red wig that came with the armor and putting on a large helmet with horns, I posed in front of the mirror.

It wasn’t bad at all.

In fact, it was great.

I was lost in self-admiration when...

“It’s Paewang Baoou!”

“What quality!”

“Those huge muscles, were they trained just for cosplay?”

People around me started whispering about me.

But unlike usual, the gazes cast on me were not of fear or dread, but mixed with admiration and fondness.

What’s this? What’s happening?

As I stood there, bewildered,

“Excuse me...”

Someone approached me.

Turning around, I saw a man with a pink Mohican hairstyle and a black mask with a skull mark, standing awkwardly.

“Could I take just one photo, if it’s alright with you?”

“What? Oh, sure.”

I agreed somewhat dazedly, and the man, visibly elated, thrust his smartphone forward.

Snap! Snap!

He then quickly bowed in gratitude and hastily left the changing room.

‘This is... well... What just happened?’

It happened so fast, it was a bit disconcerting.

But it didn’t feel bad.

Was this why people cosplay?