𝙴𝚈𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄

Chapter 4

And so, Takuro ended up at a bookstore. He had gone through the many, many aisles filled with thousands of different books. He figured he'd be able to find works by L/N easily. But, that wasn't the case.

He was hesitant to ask one of the employees. That was until he overheard a girl asking one of them what he wanted to know.

"Excuse me. Where do you have works by the author L/N-sensei?"

"L/N-sensei? Oh, I believe they're this way," the employee said with a smile, "Please follow me."

Takuro watched where the employee led the girl to see them end up a good four aisles away. Once he saw the employee returning to their desk and the girl heading off to checkout, he quickly made his way over.

He didn't have to walk too far down the aisle when he saw the same magazine his sister had bought. He bent down, reaching for it, and flipping through the pages. Soon enough, he came to the exact page on which chapter eleven started.

But then, his attention drifted away from the magazine and to a colorful cover just above the other magazines. There were two volumes available of a manga named Lovely Deception.

He reached up and grabbed the first volume. On the cover was the title written in a cursive font along with two characters. One was a prince and the other, a Knight. They were standing together, back to back. The prince wore a gold crown, which was adorned with polished jewels, and a navy-blue silk mantle that was draped over his shoulders.

The Knight was clad in armor, the crest of the royal family on the chest plate. On his back hung a sword with a dark blue handle. The details on the characters were eye-catching, the colors used blending together perfectly. Overall, it had an eye-catching cover.

He looked left and right, relieved to see nobody near him. So, he proceeded to open the manga.

On the next page were the same two characters. The prince had his hand over his heart, clutching the fabric tightly. The knight, clad in armor, had a two-faced theatrical mask in his hand. Half of it showed a smiling face while the other half showed a sad face.

He continued flipping through pages, reading a few dialogue bubbles, and looking over a few panels. 

Alright. Looks like this is the one.

Takuro once again looked left and right, making sure no one was nearby. He grabbed both volumes and dashed toward the checkout counter. The cashier was taken by surprise by how fast Takuro ran to the counter.

"Will this be all for you today, sir?" the cashier asked, scanning the items.

"Yes."

He prayed in his mind that the cashier wouldn't question why he was buying such a manga series. 

"You like this series?" they asked, making Takuro wish he could just vanish into thin air.

"I--"

The cashier smiled. "Not that I blame you. L/N-sensei puts out some good stuff," they said as they put the books carefully inside the bag, "Do you have a loyalty card with us?"

"No, it's...my first time here."

"That's okay. Would you like one? For every ten books you buy, we'll give you three additional ones on us."

Takuro thought about it for a second.

If and when L/N releases the next chapter, I'll have to come back and buy it.

He nodded. "Alright."

Once everything was filled out, the cashier handed him a card. "Thanks."

"L/N-sensei does have more available works here."