"Attention, attention!"
"There are 10 minutes left until Ms. Kasumi Shiko's book signing begins. Please get ready."
The staff standing at the entrance of the Fushikawa Bookstore shouted while placing their hands on the "one-meter line," waiting for the store doors to open so they could immediately release the tape blocking the way.
At the front of the line.
Kitahara Kaede, who was first in line, was ready to go, waiting for the 10 minutes to pass so he could be the first to rush in and buy the seventh volume of Shiori Shinozaki's "Love Metronome," and get her autograph and a handshake.
Counting this time,
he had already attended Shiori Shinozaki's book signing event seven times, and each time he was first in line.
To be first in line.
He arrived at the store entrance at 3 a.m. and waited patiently until 8:30 a.m.
Heaven is my witness.
How much does one have to love Shiori Kasumi's novels to go to such lengths?
The familiar faces behind him in line all admired Kitahara Kaede.
But if anyone thought he was doing this solely because he loved the novel, they were completely mistaken. In truth, he was only marginally interested in Shiori Kasumi's novels. What he truly desired was Shiori Kasumi's body.
To be able to lick Shiori Kasumi, he had no qualms about transforming into a "licking dog."
There's an old saying that a licker ends up with nothing. As a time traveler, Kitahara Kaede's previous life was Lin Feng, and he was exactly such a licker who ended up with nothing. But after time traveling, he had an epiphany—
Licking once makes you a dog, licking a hundred times makes you a wolf.
In his previous life, he had been licking one person obsessively, and when the goddess ran off with someone else, he naturally ended up with nothing.
So this time, he must make a change.
When he discovered that this world had the female lead he had admired in his previous life's anime, he immediately decided to resume his old ways, becoming a "lapdog." However, this time, he no longer fixated on one person; instead, he licked every female lead he encountered.
In his previous life, as an anime-obsessed otaku,
his affection for these anime female leads was equally intense. His greatest dream was to marry a girl in real life who was as beautiful as the female leads in anime.
So as long as he licked enough of them,
he believed that eventually, he would be able to "flatter" one of them, right?
Quantitative change leads to qualitative change—it's clearly stated in dialectical materialism.
As long as he could "flatter" one of them, Kitahara Kaede felt that his life would be worthwhile!
That's right.
His lifelong goal was to marry one of these female protagonists.
…
Ten minutes passed quickly.
Guided by the staff, he entered the Undying River Bookstore where the signing event was held and approached Shiori Kasumi, saying, "Ms. Shiori, I've finally waited for the seventh volume. Thank you for bringing us such a wonderful story."
"It's all thanks to everyone that we've come this far."
Kasumi Shiharu reached out her hand and shook North Original Maple's: "Without everyone's support, this light novel might have been canceled long ago... Especially, especially I want to thank North Original-kun for his constant support and encouragement."
Looking at North Original Maple in front of her, a smile flashed in Kasumi Shiharu's eyes.
She first met North Original Maple at the first signing event.
At the time, she was a newcomer just starting out, and there were few attendees at the signing event. Only Kitahara Kaede was there waiting before the event even began, and he immediately bought three copies of the novel.
It was then that she first took notice of him.
If it had ended there, she might have forgotten about it soon enough, as the novel became a bestseller and her fan base grew.
What truly made her take notice was the third book signing event.
She was surprised to discover that Kitahara Kaede had been the first person in line at all three events.
By the time the fifth volume was released, she had fully remembered Kitahara Kaede and regarded him as her number one fan, as no other fan had gone to such lengths to support her.
She learned North Original Maple's name shortly after the fifth volume was released.
While leaning against the window reading, she happened to see North Original Maple during PE class on the playground. Upon discovering that her number one fan was a student from the same school, she inquired and learned his name and class.
After that, she went straight to him.
She was somewhat of a celebrity at school and often spoke on behalf of the students, so there was no reason for Kitahara Kaede not to know her identity. She confronted him, asking if he had known all along that they were in the same school and why he hadn't come to find her.
Kitahara Kaede seemed startled by her appearance and eventually admitted it.
What she didn't expect was that Kitahara Kaede's answer was that he didn't want to cause her trouble or make her think he was an annoying fan, so he kept his distance.
After that day.
They exchanged contact information and truly connected.
Until this seventh volume signing event, ten minutes before it began, she saw Kitahara Kaede standing first in line outside the transparent glass door.
The fact that Kitahara Kaede was still the first in line.
Though it was already within her expectations, she couldn't help but feel a bit happy and reassured.
For her now, Kitahara Kaede was a reassuring presence and a symbol. As long as she saw him enter first, the tension she felt about the signing event would fade away like a tide.
One could even say.
she had never even considered what the signing event would be like without Kitahara Kaede.
Habit becomes second nature.
The hardest thing to change in life is habit.
She signed her name on the first page of the book and handed it to Kitahara Kaede with both hands: "Although I'm happy that Kitahara-kun is first in line, please don't feel obligated to do so next time. Just coming to my signing event is enough."
"Also…"
Kasumi Shiharu whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "For the seventh volume, I recommend starting from page 45."
"I understand. Then, goodbye, Ms. Kasumi."
Kitahara Kaede smiled: "We'll always be cheering for Ms. Kasumi here."
...
After leaving the Fujikawa Bookstore, Kitahara Kaede yawned tiredly.
He had arrived here at 3 AM to queue up, and now it was past 9 AM. Six hours had completely drained his energy, and all he wanted now was to get home quickly and catch up on some sleep.
After all, today was Saturday.
Even if he slept until the sun went down, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone disturbing him.
But before that...
Why did Shiori remind him to look at page 45 first?
With a puzzled expression, Kitahara Kaede flipped to page 45 and saw a white note card.
"Meet at the family restaurant near the subway station at 12:30 PM."
The moment he saw the note, Kitahara Kaede's sleepiness vanished.
After groveling for half a year to get Shiori Kasumi to remember him, he had thought this situation would continue for a long time. He never expected Shiori Kasumi would actually initiate a meeting!