As the time spent sightseeing grew longer, the number of people increased.
By around 10 o’clock, a line had formed so long that its end was no longer visible, making it understandable if all those people had entered.
For hours, I drifted through the crowd like a jellyfish in the waves, being pushed this way and that, taking in the sights.
I took photos with people who didn’t even know what series they were cosplaying from and bought some merchandise…
I was also surprised to see someone cosplaying as a male character in the women’s bathroom.
To put it negatively, I filled my bag and smartphone with memories that would be burdensome, but positively, they would become cherished recollections.
After all the hardships and memories, it was 1 PM.
The event itself was supposed to last until 4 PM, but I had already seen most of what I wanted to…
Yet, heading home right at closing time might mean overlapping with the crowd exiting, so it felt like returning a bit earlier was the right choice.
Others who seemed to have similar thoughts were slowly making their way out of the venue.
‘That long line has disappeared.’
As I stepped outside, I couldn’t help but marvel that the long line had fully entered the venue and vanished.
Wow, so they all got in.
The time spent looking around was much shorter than the more than four hours spent waiting.
If I were to weigh the benefits and losses, it was naturally closer to a loss since we didn’t have a clear goal…
“Did you have fun?”
“…Kind of?”
In any case, the memories we built together, and the unique experience of a rare event in everyday life were both true.
After a brief silence to Shiyeon’s question, I gave a moderately positive response.
A battlefield where money exchanged hands instead of weapons.
That’s how I could sum up a few hours at Comic World.
Lunch was a satisfying meal of pork cutlet and cold noodles from Kimbap Heaven, which had been firmly closed in the early morning.
The flavor of a reliable combination that rarely fails.
After filling my stomach well, I boarded the train home.
In the relatively sparse subway car, Shiyeon whispered in a low voice so that the people around wouldn’t hear.
“Should I sneak in a transformation next year?”
“……”
I just shook my head in response to such a playful question.
It felt like today, being in crowded places, had drained my energy like never before.
It took a full hour just to get back to my home, and when I checked the time on my phone, it was 2:43 PM.
Even after such a long journey, there were still things left to do.
That was the organization of loot… or, in other words, the tidying up of my bag.
“Guhhhh…”
“You worked hard.”
As I unzipped the largest pocket on top, a groaning sound reminiscent of a zombie escaped as Gomtengi crawled out laboriously, rolling onto the floor.
I muttered a word of encouragement to the squished Gomtengi while pulling out several large pieces of merchandise bought at Comic World.
Initially, my bag had plenty of space.
But practical goods like cushions take up a lot of volume.
The bag, which already contained a charger and clothes, swelled up as if it would burst due to the influx of cushions.
Worried about losing Gomtengi like last time at the amusement park, I had tucked him inside the bag.
He must not have been comfortable being squished in there.
“Did we really need to bring you…?”
“Just in case; after all, you were relatively cushioned.”
Hearing my words implying ‘you were lucky in misfortune,’ both Shiyeon and Gomtengi shifted their gaze towards Shiyeon’s bag.
Determined to buy a little more, there were stickers, acrylics, keyrings, pens, and various large mousepads…
…and cushions too.
Shiyeon’s bag, which was likewise stuffed to the brim, held her mascot, who was squashed beneath hard items.
Though it had struggled to climb out of the bag, it now looked bent and twisted like an old toy known as a Snake Cube.
It seemed to want to be contorted into a ball shape…
Feeling awkward at the sight of her mascot, which evidently didn’t look alright, Shiyeon asked:
“Baemi, are you okay…?”
“Yeah… no.”
Even the usually resilient sea serpent, when faced with such treatment, reflexively said it was alright but after a moment of thought, replied with a no.
After a short while, with the bag emptied enough to be less inflated…
I spread out the merchandise on the wide dining table and snapped a photo.
It seemed Shiyeon intended to upload it to her social media account, as she kept tapping away at her phone screen while humming a tune after taking the picture.
The goods we had gathered, including my share, were placed on the dining table for the photo.
“Is that it?”
“Yeah!”
As I asked if it was done just after the click sound, Shiyeon nodded vigorously, leaving me with an energetic reply.
Among the merchandise set out on the table, my belongings consisted of just a badge of Mun character attached to my bag and about three cushions.
A reasonable volume that wasn’t excessive and could be held in one go.
The cushions were placed at inconspicuous corners of my bed where I could rest my head while sleeping.
I didn’t know which game, anime, or comic they were from, but the character cushions were cute enough for me to buy.
Their plump, protruding cheeks made me want to grab them immediately.
Once everything was organized, I felt a sudden release of tension.
After spending a day in crowded places that were unfamiliar, I was hit by waves of drowsiness and, without thinking about the tasks ahead, I turned off the lights in my room and drifted off to dreamland.
“Shiyeon?”
“Shiyeon-nim?”
A rare situation where two mascots simultaneously called out one person’s name.
Having such a rare occurrence shaken Shiyeon, who was organizing the goods in her room, wide-eyed as she alternated her gaze between the two mascots.
If a mascot were to call a magical girl, there was usually a set reason behind it.
It could be her own mascot, Baemi, but why would Gomtengi?
As Shiyeon pondered, she turned her gaze towards Mary’s mascot first.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, well… it seems like monsters will come out…”
Mary’s mascot gestured for her to come closer for a moment.
What could it be? Following the gesture, I headed toward Mary’s room.
In Mary’s dark room, only faint colorful sounds could be heard from beyond the door.
Mary, fast asleep with the curtains drawn.
Had the trip to Seoul been more tiring than I thought?
Careful not to make any loud noises, I cautiously closed the door and returned to the living room.
“Normally, I would just wake her up, but since it was such a schedule and she just fell asleep…”
Gomtengi explained, scratching its neck as it conveyed why it hadn’t woken Mary.
Thinking back, I remembered how Mary had taken it upon herself to deal with monsters without complaining when I said I was going to the academy.
With her right fist tightly clenched, she proudly declared that she would go today, feeling sorry for always leaving it to her.
“Oh, you don’t have to think that way.”
Still in her clothes except for her outerwear, with her warm padding covering her upper body, I zipped it all the way up and grabbed my wallet containing the shared entrance keycard from one pants pocket before stepping outside.
The mascots each settled into one pocket of the padding!
Now, it was time to find an empty place to transform and defeat the monsters!
As I searched for a deserted alley.
Even the alleys that were usually vacant were surprisingly crowded, causing a delay in my transformation.
After finally transforming and taking to the skies, Baemi and Gomtengi slipped out of the padding pockets.
“Are we just going to run away again this time…?”
“Oh, right… they say monsters disappear when they see the Sun’s face, right? Without even fighting.”
A conversation between the two mascots.
It was the first time I heard that monsters run away at the sight of Mary’s face.
Disappear? Where to? How? Why?
“Oh, really? How? Why?”
“If we knew that, we wouldn’t be here, right…?”
Despite my overwhelming curiosity, Gomtengi shrugged with its arms crossed mid-flight, just tilting its head in confusion.
During the flight time toward our destination, Gomtengi continued, “The best way would be to capture one and ask, but the last time, it ran away from a heart attack as soon as it saw Sun-nim’s face…”
“Does that mean it really got killed by Mary’s face?”
“That’s right. We managed to recover one weird small device… but we have no idea what it would do, so for now, it’s just in Sun-nim’s room.”
“Hmm…”
The mascots’ conversation was complicated and hard to follow.
What was this strange small device, and how did it end up in Mary’s room?
The only part I could grasp was that capturing a monster would help learn something.
Moreover, since Mary had failed, I felt an unreasonable challenge arise within me, convincing myself to try it.
“If we need to talk… should I try catching one?”
“Eh?”
At that moment, countless questions and answers coursed through Gomtengi’s mind.
Would it be alright? Given her abilities, Shiyeon would work, but…
Even if capturing one was possible, could Shiyeon properly ask them something?
There’s also the possibility of directly asking, but mascots are typically told not to engage in conversations with monsters…
But regardless of whether I do it now or later, it’s something that has to be done eventually.
If there’s a quicker way to find out, wouldn’t it be unnecessary to postpone it?
The probability of Mary getting mad for making her do something unnecessary seems lower than the chance of her saying I did well.
In Gomtengi’s mind, countless queries bounced around.
Not understanding the emotional aspects, it ultimately leaned toward a rational and practical decision.
“Let’s give it a shot.”
“Yeah! I’ll do my best!”
