I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Unlike previous years, since the first and second days of Golden Week were busy with errands, I holed myself up at home for a couple of days.
Well, I did go downstairs to help out with my parents’ restaurant, so saying I was “holed up” might not be the most accurate expression.
Anyway, it was already the fifth day of Golden Week.

Since the holiday ends on a Friday this year, and the [N O V E L I G H T] weekend immediately follows, we get a total of nine days off—so we were only halfway through.
On the first day of Golden Week, around 10 a.m., I left the house and headed to Akihabara to buy some new manga I’d decided on while writhing around in boredom.
***

Akihabara.
Though it’s widely known as a sacred ground for otaku, it used to have a much stronger image as an electronics district until the early 2000s.
Its central Tokyo location makes it convenient to get to, and there are so many businesses big and small in the area that it’s also crawling with suited-up salarymen.

In that sense, it’s a strangely positioned neighborhood where otaku and salarymen coexist in a sort of bizarre harmony.
“Excuse me. Coming through.”
During Golden Week, the subways are always packed no matter when you ride them, and the first thing that greets you when you get off are all kinds of game ads and anime posters.

As if to say, “Ordinary people not allowed,” the station walls are plastered with subculture advertisements you wouldn’t see anywhere else, overwhelming your vision.
Climbing the stairs from the platform to ground level, a dense forest of towering buildings unfolds before your eyes.
But unlike other districts, their walls are covered in anime and game ads, giving the area an uncanny atmosphere.

At first, I studied all this out of necessity—but I do recognize that I’ve become what people would call an otaku.
Even so, whenever I come to Akihabara to buy manga, I always find myself overwhelmed by the eerie aura the district gives off.
Honestly, I guess you could say I lack resistance to it?

Even with Kim Yu-seong’s memories, I still couldn’t get used to the unique atmosphere of this place.
“Was it to the right from here…?”
My destination today was Shosen Book Tower.
It’s a subculture specialty bookstore in Akihabara that focuses on new manga and light novels, making it the perfect place for someone like me who’s just here to buy books.

Following the familiar streets, I quickly arrived in front of the bookstore.
Inside, the shop had a calmer vibe than expected.
Sure, most of what Shosen carries is subculture or hobby-related, but its atmosphere isn’t all that different from a regular bookstore.

Compared to places like Animate or Gamers over on Chuo-dori, this place felt like a literal sanctuary.
I scanned through the shelves organized by genre and publisher, picking out any titles that looked interesting.
Usually, when I come to bookstores, I pick up volumes of series I enjoyed reading in Jump, or love comedies serialized in other magazines.

Even within the same genre, the tone of a manga can differ drastically depending on the magazine.
If it’s Shonen Jump, they mix in some battle elements. If it’s Shonen Sunday, you get traditional rom-coms. If it’s Shonen Magazine, which has more adult readers, they go heavy on panty shots.
So if you want to stay on top of the latest trends, you have to keep checking like this regularly.

After about 30 minutes, I’d selected ten volumes and paid at the counter. I packed all of them into the backpack I’d brought from home.
With my business in Akihabara done, I figured I’d grab a quick lunch and head back home.
Just as I thought that and stepped out of Shosen Book Tower, I checked my phone and saw that it was almost noon.

To save time, I decided to take a shortcut to my usual ramen shop.
Besides the crowds on the main street, this was also around the time when all the shops in Akihabara would start their aggressive customer-dragging tactics.
Since it’s a holiday, Golden Week is pretty much their peak season.

Just as I was hurrying toward the ramen shop—
“Out of the way!”
A sharp, clear voice suddenly rang out from above my head.

“!”
Startled, I looked up—only to have my entire field of view filled with black panties.
The intricate embroidery told me they were probably super expensive… Wait, that’s not the important part.

I quickly opened my arms to catch the falling girl.
The very same girl who had just yelled at me to move clicked her tongue—“Tch”—and curled up in the air.
That made it much easier for me to catch her properly with both arms, and as I set the girl down, who had literally fallen from the sky, I was about to ask what the hell was going on—

But before I could say anything, a group of burly foreigners in suits burst out from the spot she had just jumped from and shouted down at us.
“Милая (cute)!”
I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it sounded like Russian.

Just as I turned my head to ask what was going on, the girl in the checkered beret grabbed my arm and shouted.
“Help me!”

After yelling that, she took off running—and without knowing what was going on, I ran after her.
I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I had to help her.
I mean, this is how most shounen manga begin, right?

After running frantically for a while, we found ourselves on Chuo-dori.
Just like the saying “hide a tree in the forest,” this street was so packed with people that those foreign men probably wouldn’t be able to find us easily.
We ducked into the nearest building to catch our breath, and as I leaned against the wall, the girl held out her hand to me.

“I’m Sasha. What’s your name?”
I absentmindedly shook her hand and replied.
“Kim Yu-seong.”

“What, you’re not Japanese? A tourist?”
“Technically, I’m second-generation Korean-Japanese.”
When I explained that, the girl in the beret let out an “Ah~” of realization.

“So, why exactly are those guys chasing you? They looked seriously dangerous.”
Sasha scratched her cheek and replied.
“There’s kind of a complicated situation, so I’d rather not say.”

“…Then I’ll be on my way. Good luck with your escape.”
Panicking, Sasha grabbed onto me.
“Wait a second! Isn’t it common sense to help a cute girl like me when she asks for help?!”

“That kind of common sense doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”
As I coldly tried to shake her off, Sasha frantically unzipped the handbag strapped to her waist.
“Money! I’ll give you money! I’ve got tons of cash on me!”

Seeing the bundle of blue banknotes she pulled out, I instinctively froze.
Unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, they were all Yukichi bills.
Just one of those could buy me double the amount of manga I picked up today.

At first, I planned to ignore the whole thing, thinking it would be too much of a hassle—but faced with cold, hard cash, I faltered and asked:
“If you tell me why they’re chasing you, I might help. So how about it?”
Sasha hesitated for a moment, then said “Fine,” and put the money back into her handbag.

“Let’s change locations first. This place doesn’t feel safe.”
***
The place I took Sasha, this mysterious foreigner, was the ramen shop I’d originally planned to go to.

From the standpoint of avoiding attention, it was a pretty good choice.
The shop was buried deep in Akihabara’s maze of alleyways—one of those hidden gems known only to locals.
“Welcome!”

As soon as we stepped inside, the owner’s booming voice greeted us. We chose a table in the far corner.
There were dividers between seats, so unless someone came all the way inside to check, it wasn’t easy to spot us.
Since Sasha was a foreigner, her Japanese intonation was a bit off. I asked her what she wanted to eat.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sasha replied, “Tonkotsu.”
Well, the shop’s signature dish was a tonkotsu ramen made from pork bones simmered for ten hours, so that was definitely the right choice.
I picked tonkotsu as well, bought our tickets from the vending machine at the entrance, and returned to the table.

Sasha was sipping a cup of water with a sullen expression as she looked at me.
I placed the meal tickets on the table and sat down across from her.
“So, why exactly were you being chased?”

Sasha took off the hat that had been pulled low over her head and replied.
“My papa is kind of a big deal in Russia. I think those guys were trying to kidnap me for ransom.”
Cascading naturally over her shoulders—silver hair with a faint blue tint.

“……”
For a moment, I was speechless.
I hadn’t noticed before because she was hiding under that hat, but now that I saw her face, it was extremely familiar.

One of the main heroines in 'Scramble Love', ranked second in the popularity poll.
Some Russian character named… Alex-something.