December arrived, and winter vacation came as scheduled.
Tokyo.
Sato, Sawamura Eriri, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Katou Megumi walked out of the subway station together. The cold winter wind made all of them shiver involuntarily.
"Brr! It's so cold!"
Eriri's blue eyes trembled slightly as she hugged her arms and stomped her feet on the spot, breathing out a cloud of white mist.
"Didn't I already tell you not to wear a skirt before we came? Your body isn't good at handling the cold in the first place, but you refused to listen."
Sato wore a long down jacket with a knitted scarf wrapped around his neck. Hearing her complaint, he calmly glanced at Eriri and sighed.
Although his words sounded like criticism, aside from the two people involved not noticing, the other two girls present could clearly hear a trace of doting affection in his tone.
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Katou Megumi unconsciously glanced at Eriri, different emotions flickering in their eyes.
"H-How was I supposed to know Tokyo would be this cold too?!"
Eriri turned her head away unhappily and huffed lightly, her flowing blonde twin tails swaying gently.
But before long, she turned back and lightly glared at Sato.
Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her wine-red eyes slightly, feeling that she couldn't let the two continue like this.
"Ahem."
She deliberately coughed twice to attract everyone's attention.
After succeeding, she turned toward Katou Megumi and asked,
"Katou-san came this time to meet an online friend, right? So is your schedule the same as ours?"
Katou Megumi nodded softly.
"Yes. Since Nohara-kun also knows that online friend, our schedules are the same."
"I see..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded thoughtfully before suddenly asking,
"That person wouldn't happen to be a pretty girl, would she?"
Katou Megumi looked up at her in surprise.
"How did Kasumigaoka-san know?"
"Hmph, just as I thought."
Kasumigaoka Utaha let out a soft snort and looked teasingly at Sato.
"After all, Miyabi-sensei has the special habit of only making friends with beautiful girls."
"Hm?"
Katou Megumi blinked at Sato, but asked an entirely different question.
"Miyabi-sensei? Why does Kasumigaoka-san call Nohara-kun Miyabi-sensei?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her mouth, then looked helplessly at Katou Megumi.
Was something wrong with this person?
"Katou-san, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing? The important part isn't the name Miyabi!"
"You mean that special trait? I already know about that."
Katou Megumi's expression remained calm. After speaking, she glanced at Sato.
"Katou-san already knew?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked surprised.
"Yes. I've actually noticed it before. Every girl Nohara-kun knows is very pretty."
"Ara, so it's already become common knowledge? I really wonder what Miyabi-sensei thinks about this as the person involved."
Kasumigaoka Utaha showed a surprised expression, the corners of her lips curving upward slightly as she looked at Sato meaningfully.
Under the gazes of several pairs of eyes, Sato remained perfectly calm.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Miyabi-sensei doesn't think that's strange?"
"What's strange about it? After all, anything is possible in this world."
"Maybe the probability is only one in a million, or one in ten million, but as long as it's possible, then it can exist."
Sato calmly explained the fact.
Although the situation did indeed look strange, it truly wasn't the result of deliberate selection on his part.
After speaking, Sato glanced at the passengers continuing to emerge from the subway behind them and said,
"Alright, let's get moving. We'll block other people if we stay here."
...
The reason Sato and the others had come to Tokyo this time was to attend Winter Comiket.
CM, short for Comic Market, was the largest doujinshi convention and sales event in Japan and even the world, organized by the Comic Market Preparatory Committee.
Most of the doujin books people usually read originated from here.
As for Katou Megumi coming along, she had been invited by Yuuki Asuna. In fact, Asuna had also invited Sato and Kirito, but Kirito was busy grinding in games, so he didn't come.
Originally, she had planned to show everyone around Tokyo's famous sightseeing spots, but after learning about Sato's schedule, she thoughtfully changed her plans.
Tokyo Big Sight.
Having never witnessed the holy war of otaku before, Katou Megumi looked at the crowds moving around in surprise.
There were actually this many people?
Eriri looked at everything before her with excitement shining in her eyes, already eager to rush inside.
Although she normally presented herself as a gentle and cute rich girl, in reality she was a hardcore otaku.
Because she had been busy drawing manga, she hadn't released a doujinshi for this Winter Comiket. Now she could finally enjoy this holy war as a regular attendee!
Eriri couldn't help turning toward Sato and asking,
"Sato, hasn't your online friend arrived yet?"
Sato turned to look at Katou Megumi.
Katou Megumi lowered her head to check her phone, then looked around.
"Asuna has already arrived. She should be somewhere nearby."
But there were simply too many people around them.
The area was packed with a constant flow of visitors. Everywhere they looked, there were people.
The plaza outside the exhibition hall was filled with countless cosplayers. Many famous cosplayers were surrounded by crowds, blocking large portions of the view.
No choice then.
Sato sighed inwardly as an invisible wave of Observation Haki spread outward around him.
Using something like this just to find someone... I really am extravagant.
He thought to himself with mixed feelings.
Very quickly, Sato withdrew his Observation Haki and casually said,
"Let's walk around nearby first. Maybe we'll run into her."
The others naturally had no objections.
Sato then led them slowly toward the direction he had just sensed.
There was a familiar presence there.