Chapter 82: Are you, by any chance, that guy who was fighting in the gallery?

“A Cosplayer’s Hive and the Insult to Venus”

I decided to check out the Magical Girls Chronicle gallery again after hearing about the scenario writer’s signing event and the upcoming mobile game.

Once a dominant force of an era, Magical Girls Chronicle had become eerily quiet, likely due to the long hiatus.

To be specific, less than ten posts were made per day.

Thanks to the movie and the new game announcement, the gallery was barely clinging to life.

Yet, among those few posts, one particularly irked me.

[Author: Nyangppung] [Title: Venus is Honestly a Poorly Designed Character… Total Turn-Off]

[Her body is completely unrealistic… It just feels like blatant sexualization ㅠ
Even if she were an adult, it would still be bad, but she’s a middle schooler… Did they really have to include a character like this?
I bet people will start ranting about 2D rights again. But just the fact that she’s a middle schooler makes it disgusting…
I really wish she didn’t exist ㅠ]

Magical Girls Chronicle had always been criticized for its dark and intense plot, which made it lean more toward male audiences.

However, it didn’t contain excessive panty shots or full-body fan service scenes. Since the protagonist and her team were middle-school magical girls, the series had also attracted a decent number of female fans.

The gender ratio was reportedly around 7:3 or 6.5:3.5 in favor of men.

In fact, female participation was higher at offline events.

This is infuriating.

Venus’s only crime is being beautiful and having a great figure—why should she be criticized for that?

This is the anime industry we’re talking about. If they don’t like it, they could simply not watch it.

People always push things further. First, they say “at least there’s no excessive fan service,” and now they demand the removal of any pretty female characters.

That’s crossing the line.

But what annoyed me even more was how many comments were agreeing with the post.

[- LOL, approaching Magical Girls Chronicle with a sexual perspective is blasphemy.]
[ox ox]
[- It is a bit over-the-top. Why couldn’t they make her look more like a realistic middle schooler? LOL]

What the hell? Why are they looking for realism in anime?

Has the gallery completely turned into a female-dominated space?

Then, I noticed something else.

[Author: Nyangppung] [Title: (TGMN) Cosplayed as Ranmi Yuki ㅠ]

[(A heavily edited cosplay photo that makes it hard to tell the original features)]
[(Photo 2)]
[(Photo 3)]
[(Several more photos)]
[Sorry for posting something from another anime ㅠ
But this place feels like home, so I thought I’d share…
You’ll forgive me, right? ㅠ]

[SSS-Tier…]

[Heh…]

[- Kyaaa!]

[Oh my god LOL]

[What the hell, why does it actually look good?]

[Why does it actually look good? LOL LOL LOL]

I had a realization.

This place was a cosplayer’s hive led by their queen bee and a swarm of worker bees.

Could it be that Magical Girls Chronicle’s gallery had collapsed due to these people’s clique culture and gatekeeping of newcomers!?

I had assumed it naturally died out due to the lack of new content over the years.

But now, I just wanted to blame them.

No, I needed to blame them.

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this person insulted Venus.

It just seriously bothered me.

Frustrated, I went back to their post criticizing Venus and left a comment.

[What’s wrong with you… Are you seriously feeling insecure about an anime character? Are you jealous of Venus?]

Let’s be real.

There’s only one reason to dislike Venus.

She’s just too perfect.

How insecure do you have to be to feel threatened by a 2D character?

[? LOL, another pervert obsessed with middle schoolers? Please, hold your breath for just three hours…]

[How much do you suck at getting along with real women if you’re this jealous of an anime character? This is just sad.]

[Who is this guy?]

[Are you the one feeling insecure about Nyangppung? Hiding behind an anonymous account to stir up trouble, huh?]

[No way this guy would reveal his face LOL. He’s definitely just another ugly otaku.]

As I continued arguing with Nyangppung, their knights showed up and started ganging up on me.

Of course, I wasn’t dumb enough to reveal my face.

So, I pulled out my ultimate counterattack.

[L]

[A]

**Nyangppung was flat as a board.

[WTF, is this guy insane?]

[I’m reporting you for slander.]

Nice. Massive damage dealt.

…Would just saying “A” be enough for legal action?

…Probably not, right?

Mission accomplished. Time to leave.

Yet, even after closing the gallery, my irritation wouldn’t go away.

This person insulted my goddess, Venus.

Venus’s only crime is being beautiful and well-endowed, and yet she gets this much hate!?

Still fuming, I went back into the gallery to investigate.

And sure enough.

Even after Magical Girls Chronicle had faded into obscurity, Nyangppung and their followers had continued lurking in the gallery.

And they had all announced their plans to attend Kuroichi’s signing event.

So, if I show up all dressed up and make them feel absolute defeat and despair…

I looked at myself in the mirror.

Flat.

“…Guess it’s time to break out my disguise gear.”

“The Ultimate Victory Over the Queen Bee”

Wearing it would basically be a confession that I’m Jeon Jeonseol!

A woman with suspiciously small hands and an exceptionally large chest?

Way too distinctive!

And if, by any chance, they discovered that the chest was fake, it would be game over.

“I just want to make her uncomfortable!”

The obsessive otaku inside me, wounded from the insult to my beloved character, was screaming for vengeance.

There was a forbidden card, an absolute taboo I could play—one that should never be used, one that should never even be touched.

I mustn’t.

I must not.

…

Traveling across Seoul, I made my way from Gangnam to Mokdong.

The signing event was being held at a movie theater inside a department store.

“It’s so nice to be out with you, unnie! Let’s go on dates like this more often!”

Seeing Seol Yoon smiling so brightly, my conscience stabbed at me like a triangle of moral judgment.

I had lied to her, saying that I really wanted to go to this event but was too scared to go alone.

Truthfully, I was fine in crowded places.

As long as it wasn’t an awkward situation where 99% were men and I was the only woman.

Looking around, today’s gender ratio seemed to be about 50:50.

First, they were screening the Magical Girls Chronicle movie, followed by the signing event.

I had thought this was a completely dead fandom, but surprisingly, a decent crowd had gathered.

Where did all these people even come from?

And “that group” stood out immediately.

Four men and one woman.

That woman—Nyangppung—was in cosplay.

I already knew she would be cosplaying.

She blatantly posted about it in the gallery.

If she hadn’t worn cosplay, I wouldn’t have even bothered coming up with this plan.

“Whoa.”

“Wowww…”

Looks like we were also standing out.

Seol Yoon, being exceptionally tall for a woman, naturally drew attention.

With a beautiful face and an artistic figure, people couldn’t help but admire her.

Thankfully, no overconfident weebs got too bold and tried anything.

And so, we entered the theater.

Watched the movie.

No matter how many times I see it, the emotions overwhelm me every time.

Venus, I love you.

From the deepest part of my soul.

Then came the signing event.

Was this really a signing event?

Or just a massive advertisement for the new mobile game?

During the Q&A session, some cringe-inducing otaku attempted to speak in broken Japanese despite there being an interpreter.

Why do they do this!?

If you’re going to speak, at least do it properly!

Finally, it was time to get my signature.

I handed Kuroichi-sensei the bouquet I had prepared and even took a photo together.

When I told them I loved Venus, Kuroichi-sensei asked if Seol Yoon was my older sister.

“I’m the older sister, actually!”

“Whoa, really? The smaller one is the older sister? That’s amazing!”

“It’s like an anime character come to life!”

I already knew I looked younger than her!

Kuroichi-sensei actually saw me!

Damn.

I must have made a strong enough impression to be remembered for a long time.

It felt strangely complicated…

But not in a bad way.

Magical Girls Chronicle is still alive!

This isn’t over yet!

It’s not a dead franchise!

Though, with the way things were going, I had a terrible feeling I was about to be financially exploited by a garbage gacha game.

There’s nothing I can do.

They say the one who loves more is the one who loses…

And now for the final stage of my plan.

Time to destroy the queen bee cosplayer who insulted Venus and monopolized the gallery while raising her little worker bees.

Did she even get permission from the theater?

Nyangppung was standing near the exit, posing for photos with attendees.

If she were an officially hired cosplayer, she would have been part of the stage events.

Since she wasn’t, this was just a personal cosplay.

Honestly, it’s not like she had the face or body to get officially hired anywhere.

I turned to Seol Yoon and whispered.

“I’m a huge fan of Nyangppung… Could you take a photo with her for me?”

“Of course!”

Bringing Seol Yoon along, I approached the woman and, pretending to be shy, spoke up.

“Can we take a picture together?”

Nyangppung’s pupils shook violently.

Because I had dressed Seol Yoon in a certain T-shirt before coming here.

A T-shirt with a single letter printed on it.

“A.”

A capital A, stretched out across a massive chest, warped and tortured by its sheer volume.

I could only imagine what must be going through Nyangppung’s mind.

Of course, my own T-shirt was hidden under my coat.

It was still cold outside, after all.

‘She can’t just ask, “Are you that bastard I fought with in the gallery?” out loud, can she?’

My absolute victory.