Whatever hobbies they had, they bought whatever doujinshis; whatever characters they wanted to cosplay to serve Producer, they bought whatever character doujinshis. However, they didn't dare to "buy" too many either.
"Buying" the doujinshis and cosplay outfits sold at the hot spring anime convention meant they had obtained the admission tickets to participate in the game; after the Service Game began, they could justifiably request Producer to act out the doujinshi stories with them.
But if they couldn't complete the quest and resolve the doujinshis and the many disposable "gloves" that came with the cosplay outfits, then the hard-earned fruits of their labor, paid for with massive amounts of sweat, would be confiscated.
Although to prevent a scenario where nothing was gained at all, regardless of whether they were willing, the latter parts of the doujinshis generally featured a lot of unprotected storylines.
But even losing three or four bags wasn't acceptable; those were the fruits of their hard work, so how could they be willing to share them with others?
Therefore, they all had to act according to their limits; even if they weren't full, they couldn't be overly greedy and have the fruits of their labor confiscated.
The three mermaid songstresses, on the other hand, found themselves in a dilemma.
Although they were idols and songstresses, neither of these career paths were considered highly distinctive, because their distinctive trait was being mermaids.
Aside from casting couches, what exclusive gameplay did idols have? Even if there were any, other minor idols could play them too; it wouldn't showcase their mermaid race's characteristics at all.
Moreover, mermaid doujinshis were very rare. It seemed they also had to ask Her Highness Meroune to recruit more beautiful girl illustrators, to have people tailor some doujinshi stories specifically for their mermaid race.
Among the several people gathered around Hachiman right now, only Shiba Miyuki had the least to worry about, because her hobbies were relatively mainstream.
As long as it suited her hobbies, she could play not only young ladies, gyarus, and idols, but she wouldn't mind considering even other little branch characteristics that could be added in.
Switched at birth during infancy, betrothed by both sets of parents, forced to live together and turning a fake relationship into a real one...
Parents remarrying and living under the same roof, adolescent boys and girls whose relationship gradually draws closer...
A bit more extreme, ignoring storylines that were somewhat disrespectful to her aunt and the others, parents dying, returning to the countryside without a friend in the world...
All in all, whether biologically related or not, as long as it satisfied this little hobby of hers while making Brother happy, any doujinshi was a good doujinshi.
However, because the themes were mainstream, she actually had many competitors in the Service Club; whereas the mermaid songstresses had niche themes and thus no one to compete with.
Shiba Miyuki chatted with Hachiman while collecting doujinshis suitable for her and Brother, imagining the scene where she would defeat several younger sisters in a row once the true Play segment descended.
In just a few more minutes, the sky would turn completely dark.
The hot spring anime convention would also welcome its all-night revelry Play segment.
"Hachiman, Hachiman!"
At this moment, an enthusiastic voice came from behind them.
"Marin, isn't Lumilia with you?"
Hearing the enthusiastic voice, Hachiman immediately knew the newcomer was Kitagawa Marin; he pinched Shiba Miyuki's subconsciously puffed-out cheek while turning to look at Kitagawa Marin with a smile.
"They're making their final preparations. Tonight, our goal is to make sure you can't go to school tomorrow, Hachiman."
Kitagawa Marin, cosplaying Yoimiya with bandages wrapping her chest, rushed up to Hachiman before stopping; after explaining, she immediately introduced the girls jogging over behind her.
"Hachiman, let me introduce you to my fellow hobbyists."
"Even though you've seen many of them before, new friends have joined this time. To prevent you from accidentally mixing them up, Hachiman, I should tell you first."
"Club President Hikigaya! Hello! I am Amano Ririsa; thank you very much for agreeing to let me participate in this hot spring anime convention!"
Amano Ririsa, with pink short hair and bangs that just covered one eye, wearing a white short work uniform and a pair of glasses, bowed ninety degrees to Hachiman with utmost sincerity.
When she straightened her back, the eyes she directed at Hachiman were still full of fanaticism.
"Hachiman, Ririsa is also from Sobu High's Manga Research Club and is a hobbyist who really loves cosplay. After hearing that we were holding a private anime convention, she also wanted to participate in the hot spring anime convention; this time, her cosplay character is Mash from Fgo."
Kitagawa Marin added the introduction from the side.
"Actually, her favorite character is Angel Lilliel, but Ririsa doesn't have blonde hair. If she wanted to cosplay Angel Lilliel, she'd need to make major changes to her appearance, so Ririsa didn't cosplay Lilliel this time."
"Yes, I've always wanted to perfectly cosplay Lilliel and made many preparations for it. But coming here, I realized that the cosplay I thought was very accurate is still far off."
Amano Ririsa, cosplaying Mash, nodded earnestly.
Initially, when she saw the Service Club providing so many exquisite cosplay outfits, she wanted to cosplay her favorite Lilliel.
But seeing that the others could cosplay so accurately without relying on wigs or makeup, purely relying on their own beauty and temperament, she couldn't help but feel a sense of inadequacy.
Although many people also used the magical items in the Service Club and didn't use things like wigs, after seeing so many highly accurate cosplays, she temporarily lost the desire to continue cosplaying Lilliel.
However, the character Mash seemed to be tailor-made for her, with a hairstyle and height very similar to hers. After trying it out, she decided to participate in this hot spring anime convention as a Mash cosplayer.
"Your current cosplay, Ririsa, is already very accurate; your friends are all very good, Marin."
Hachiman looked at Amano Ririsa's Mash cosplay and was also somewhat amazed.
It was too similar, without the slightest trace of makeup or dressing up; it was simply a natural physique born for cosplaying Mash.
"Hehe, let me take a picture for you guys."
Kitagawa Marin naturally took the gravure camera to take photos of Amano Ririsa and Hachiman, while introducing a pair of red and blue-haired sister cosplayers wearing black-and-white maid outfits beside her, and two pink-haired cosplayers with a stark difference in height.
"Sugawara Fumika, the cosplay hobbyist you met last time, Hachiman; this time, with our encouragement, Fumika also began her first attempt, and she chose to cosplay Rem from Re:Zero."
"Watanabe Akane, a university student; we brought her in to cosplay Ram, forming a sister group with Fumika."
"And Juju-sama and her younger sister; they are..."
"Eh, wait!? I haven't finished introducing everyone yet, Fumika, Akane-nee, why did you just... uh..."
Kitagawa Marin saw Watanabe Akane and Sugawara Fumika, who were cosplaying the Ram and Rem sisters, suddenly fall to their knees with a thud, shuffling forward on their knees in unison to hug Hachiman's thighs and perform a grand gesture of servitude. Just as she was about to ask, she couldn't help but pause.
Because at this moment, the sky had turned completely dark.
Night fell; the daytime cosplay segment of the hot spring anime convention, which had some restrictions, had already rotated to the night's all-out revelry Play segment.
All the members still remaining in the Service Inn, whether veteran members or reserve members, could not leave without permission.
The lights rising one by one from the various stalls at the anime convention shone not only on their black-and-white maid outfits but also on their cheeks that were as red as blood.
As if reflecting the desires deep within their hearts, the faces of Sugawara Fumika and Watanabe Akane, who were cosplaying Rem and Ram, were filled with blankness, confusion, infatuation, enjoyment, ...
"???"
Seeing the bold actions of the two cosplaying the oni twin sisters Ram and Rem, the Fu Xuan cosplayer and the Timido cosplayer behind them, who hadn't been introduced yet, stared at the two of them dumbfounded.
Didn't they say they were also invited to participate in the hot spring anime convention just like them?!
Didn't they say it was everyone's first time participating in an anime convention and cosplaying?!
This was completely different from what was agreed upon beforehand!
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