It had been a long time since I had been to Suko, but I felt bad about just going back, so Lara was walking around outside, mingling with people.

There were many robed gentlemen cosplayers outside the building. Normally, I would have stared at the high-quality cosplay, but strangely, my eyes didn’t go there. It was because of the robed gentleman I had met that night who seemed so real.

I was wandering around the entrance to shake off that mysterious handsome man from my mind. Luckily, I was able to spot an acquaintance walking across the street.

“Oh, acquaintance!”

Lara happily approached her acquaintance. She was quite concerned about leaving her behind earlier. The bag in her acquaintance’s hands was filled with colourful doujinshi.

As Lara glanced at her with envious eyes, her acquaintance spotted the doujinshi in Lara’s arms.

“You saved it?”

“Yes, haha… … . It was hard.”

“As expected, Yuri-nim’s fanzines are fierce. But we’re lucky that we’re noble ladies. If we were commoners, it would’ve been really hard to get them.”

Lara nodded silently. She had heard that being a fangirl among commoners was like trying to find a star in the sky. Lara was grateful that she was born as a baron and could be a fangirl so easily.

“More than that, aren’t you really looking forward to today’s auction? I’ve already bought a lot, so I’ll just have to watch the auction.”

“Huh? What’s that… … .”

“Oh my, Miss Lara, didn’t you hear? I thought you’d know about the auction.”

Knowing that Lara had been a consistent fan for several years, the acquaintance tilted his head even more.

“I heard that a limited edition special figure of the Robe Gentleman made by a figure craftsman is coming out. I thought rumors had already spread among Robe Gentleman fans?”

“Huh?!!”

“You really didn’t know. I thought you knew.”

“I’ve been busy lately, so I’ve been taking a break from fandom… … .”

With tears of relief in her eyes, Lara knelt down in front of her acquaintance as if she was about to kneel.

“I almost passed by without noticing, but thank you.”

“Fandom is something you should help each other with. Isn’t that the love of a fan?” “Sob… … . You’re the best.”

Lara barely managed to get her hands on the auction ticket and entered the auction house 5 minutes before the auction started. There were already so many people sitting that it was almost full. Lara sat down in the two remaining seats at the very back and talked to her acquaintance about doujinshi.

“I’ve been eating mostly Dark Magician X Robe Gentleman lately, so I’ve been going around the BL booth three times since morning.”

“You’re amazing. I should’ve come earlier.” “Did you see the episode where the Robe Gentleman and the Dark Magician fight?”

“Of course I did. I’ve only seen the original series a few times, haha.”

“Oh my, this time, Scarlett-sama solved what would have happened if Robb-sama had lost in a comic book, but since it’s based on the original, it’s even more immersive. The fact that the black magician was after not Lillica but Robb-sama’s body is actually quite plausible, and it’s really awesome.”

“I’ll tell you.”

Lara, who only digs heteros, honestly didn’t think much of the BL comment. It seems that people who share the same passion for fandom have more things to do with.

When the bell rang to signal the start of the auction, Lara stopped talking and turned to face the front. The number plates were given out in order from the front, and Lara received a round number plate with ’46’ written in large letters.

She must have waited in her seat for a while. Soon, the auctioneer came up on the stage. The event organizer gave a short speech, and the auction began right away with the auctioneer’s cheerful greeting.

“This is the first item.”

‘It won’t come out from the beginning, but somewhere in the middle… … .’

“It’s a limited edition special figure of the Robe Gentleman.”

‘What the heck!’

Lara bit her tongue reflexively and quickly picked up the number plate. The bidding competition was so fierce that everyone had their hands up from the beginning of the auction. Even acquaintances who had been chatting nicely just a moment ago were now enemies they had to overcome.

A professional cosplayer appeared on stage, showing off his high-level walking skills. The male nerds cheered softly at the high-quality cosplay that recreated Lillica’s transformation. The cosplayer stood in the middle of the stage and lifted the golden cushion holding the figure high.

At that moment, a plump man who seemed to be an auctioneer suddenly hurried up onto the stage. The male nerds cheered, but the man ignored them and whispered something to the auctioneer.

“… Oh, I’m sorry. I heard that this auction item had a separate pre-order winner. We apologize again for the inconvenience caused by the auction organizer’s mistake. We ask for your understanding. Then, we will move on to the next auction item.” The auctioneer skillfully continued the proceedings, but several bidders complained. In the midst of the commotion, the auctioneer raised his voice to bring the atmosphere back to a heated one.

“For those who are disappointed that you missed it, the next turn is when this auction really begins! You can look forward to it! It’s… … .”

The auctioneer mischievously paused for a beat and scanned the faces of the bidders from the first row to the last. Lara waited for him to continue talking, but the auctioneer did not finish. Instead, he smiled meaningfully and reached out to the curtain behind the stage.

“Please welcome with loud cheers and applause! This is a perfect reproduction of the gentleman’s cane, born from the hands of a craftsman with 30 years of experience!”

Lara licked her fingers in regret, but her eyes rolled back when she heard about the next auction item. A handmade cane of a gentleman’s robe. It was of no use in daily life and there was no place to hide it in the room, but my whole body was responding that I absolutely had to buy it. Just as everyone was busy holding up their license plates and calling out high prices, the stage curtain opened and an auctioneer appeared through it. Boos erupted louder than before. Once again, secret words were exchanged between the auctioneer and the person concerned.

“… Yes?”

The auctioneer couldn’t hide his absurd reaction, so it seemed like there had been another mistake. The auctioneer hurried down from the stage, but the auctioneer couldn’t hide his troubled expression.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I just received word that someone has made a reservation to buy all of this auction.”

The auction house became noisy all at once. The auctioneer tried to calm the bidders’ excitement by saying that he would refund 100% of the auction rights, but the heated atmosphere did not easily subside.

“Are you kidding me!”

“Do you think I came to Suko early in the morning for this!” “Where’s the host!!” “Tell the general manager to come out!”

Small pieces of trash were thrown onto the stage. It was a situation reminiscent of a scene of mayhem.

At that moment, someone came out from behind the slanted stage curtain. The long poster sticking out over his shoulder and the way he was holding the dakimakura securely were unusual, and Lara immediately recognized him.

‘That, that person… …?’ “Everyone, calm down.”

The tone of his voice was heavy and powerful, not matching his light tone. It seemed to be quiet for a moment, but the place became even more noisy.

“No way… That person is the legendary otaku!”

Ah. At someone’s shout, Lara finally realized the author’s identity. When she first encountered him, she thought she had seen him somewhere.

The legendary otaku.

Lara had seen him once. Although she had seen him from afar, not up close, she could not forget his strong presence.

He was a man famous for appearing at the annual Only Exhibition and sweeping away secondary creations in the Robesinsa X Lilyca genre. Rumor has it that he was an early diehard fan of Magical Girl Lilyca and had been a fan for over 10 years. However, since he never had any external activities like regular meetings, his identity was shrouded in mystery.

As you can tell from the titles he was given, he was almost a legend among nerds. And Lala had provoked him.

“Listen, whoever made me angry. How does it feel to have all your auction items stolen right in front of you?”

He brought in a carrier and set it in the center of the stage, then glanced around the room.

“The owner of this carrier and the culprit who stole the doujinshi from me should confess.”

“Um, isn’t that Lala-san’s carrier…?”

“Shh! Be quiet.”

She quickly covered her friend’s mouth, but it seemed that he had already reached the stage. “Come out on stage.”

“… … .”

Lara raised her hand to cover her face diagonally, lowered her body, and walked toward the exit. After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped in her tracks at the sound of a shout from behind her.

“Are you planning to run away so shamefully! Magical girl!” ‘That line… … .’

It was one of the famous lines of the robe gentleman. Her mouth tickled. She knew the line that Lilyka used to say. Her trembling, trembling lips eventually opened, unable to overcome her instincts.

“… I’ve never run away, robe gentleman.” “Then why don’t you look at me?” “That’s… … .”

Her emotions began to build. This episode was like a holy war for the nerds who sold robe lilies, and it was also an important starting point for the change in the relationship between the two. As expected of someone who has read comic books so many times, her mouth moved on its own.

“Because I don’t want you to know what kind of person I am.” “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be caught in your weakness. Even if it’s not you, anyone would be disappointed if they found out who I am. … I’m just an ordinary high school girl. My grades are average, and my appearance isn’t anything special. You only see me after I’ve transformed, so I’m not that great of a person you think I am… … .”

“Even if you don’t say so, I know who you are. A magical girl who always gives people dreams and hope. Even if you cry behind their backs, even if others don’t know, I know you better than anyone else who fights for world peace.” The low voice was husky but conveyed emotions well. As the voice got closer, Lala’s heart started to beat wildly. It really felt like there was a gentleman standing behind her. She seemed to understand the importance of the drama CD.