All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 127: Kitagawa Marin, the Girl Who Loves Cosplay

After getting off the plane, they waited for their checked luggage and then walked down the long airport corridor.

As soon as they reached the pickup area, they saw a cute blonde girl holding a sign with the name Yukima Azuma.

Seeing the blonde hair, Eriri had a slight startled reaction.

"Azuma! Are you hiring her as a guide just because she's pretty?" Eriri exclaimed, questioning sharply.

However, when she looked at Yukima Azuma, she noticed he also seemed a bit surprised.

"No, I've only chatted with her on Line, this is the first time I've met her in person," Yukima Azuma replied.

Hearing that, the other three girls were somewhat skeptical.

After all, who would hire a guide and easily end up meeting such a beautiful girl?

The blonde girl holding the sign also noticed the four people and tentatively waved at them.

Yukima Azuma raised his hand in response.

Soon after, the two sides met.

"Hello there, are you Yukima Azuma-san? I'm Kitagawa Marin, you can call me Kitagawa or simply Marin," Kitagawa Marin said.

"I'm the Hokkaido tour guide introduced by MEM, hehe. Although I've only been studying here for a year, I look forward to working with you."

Kitagawa Marin appeared very energetic.

Whether her personality had always been like this or if she was just passionate about her job, she displayed a very enthusiastic attitude.

At least, she made a very good impression on the four of them.

"Kitagawa..." Eriri felt like she had heard that name before.

Yukima Azuma nodded normally and asked, "Has the car been rented?"

"Umu, it's just nearby!" Kitagawa led the group toward it.

Yukima Azuma had rented a large car that could comfortably fit the four of them.

However, the procedures were handled by Kitagawa Marin.

She opened the trunk, and Yukima Azuma began placing the three girls' luggage inside.

Kitagawa wanted to help, but Yukima Azuma politely declined.

Normally, the girls' luggage would be quite heavy.

But this time, there wasn't anything heavy in the suitcases.

Shower products and villa supplies would all be provided fresh.

Products like sunscreen were also available.

Sleepwear and similar items were also prepared.

The only things they needed to bring were the clothes they wanted to wear.

With this light load, Yukima Azuma had no trouble carrying the luggage.

Once in the car, the three girls immediately fell silent due to the presence of a stranger.

They had been talking non-stop on the plane, but now, no one said a word.

Yukima Azuma noticed the atmosphere and decided to break the ice.

If he let the girls feel uncomfortable throughout the trip, it would be better to have Kitagawa Marin quit her job.

After thinking for a moment, Yukima Azuma chose a topic that could create an opportunity for communication.

"Kitagawa-san, you're studying at Hokkaido University, right? Why did you take up a tour guide job?"

Hearing this, Kitagawa Marin, who was driving, froze for a moment.

She quickly replied:

"Did MEM not tell you, Yukima-san? Actually, there's no special reason, I'm just a bit short on money."

After saying this, she sighed.

"Haizz, I love anime and am passionate about cosplay, but cosplay costumes and wigs are really expensive!"

This topic immediately caught Eriri's attention, being a long-time otaku.

After all, she was a stranger, and they were in Hokkaido.

Eriri instantly switched from her refined oujou-sama persona to that of a veteran otaku.

"Kitagawa-san likes anime too! I'm a fellow enthusiast! It's so hard to find someone with the same interests～～!"

"I knew it, your name sounded so familiar! Kitagawa-san, were you the one cosplaying a character from 'Fantasy Demon Sword Legend' at the Tokyo anime exhibition last year?"

At this, Kitagawa Marin, who had been sighing, instantly became lively.

"Yes, did we meet at the exhibition?"

"I even collected your stamps!" Eriri exclaimed.

"Hehe, stop flattering me, it's a bit embarrassing," Kitagawa Marin chuckled.

The two immediately hit it off.

Their relationship progressed quickly.

In fact, when Kitagawa Marin learned that Eriri loved anime but had never tried cosplay, she offered to bring her own cosplay costumes for Eriri to try out.

"Right now, my favorite characters are Sayaka and Kujou Megumi!"

"I took this tour guide job specifically to prepare a Sayaka cosplay!"

"Kujou Megumi is just so gentle, with her white dress and beret, it barely costs anything, she really made me cry!"

Kitagawa Marin seemed to be healed from her worries.

While the two girls, Kato Megumi and Kasumigaoka Utaha, didn't quite understand what was happening, they were suddenly pulled into the conversation.

Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her arms in front of her chest, with an expression that seemed to acknowledge Marin's ability to judge people.

Normally, when this icy-senpai made such a face, it meant that even if someone started a conversation, they wouldn't be scolded mercilessly.

Kato Megumi, meanwhile, placed her hand on her white beret.

With her other hand, she secretly reached over to Yukima Azuma's hand, lightly scratching the palm of his hand with her pinky.

The atmosphere in the car immediately became lighter.

"Tell me, Yukima-san, are we going straight to the villa or will we stop by Otaru first?"

After driving a little way from the airport, Kitagawa Marin remembered her job.

"We'll be strolling around Otaru. Eriri mentioned on the plane that she wanted to visit Tanuki-koji shopping street," Yukima Azuma answered with a gentle smile.

Kitagawa Marin nodded.

"Eh? Aren't we going back to drop off our luggage first? I'm... not in a hurry!" Eriri, hearing Yukima Azuma's words, felt a bit embarrassed.

"This is experience," Yukima Azuma said firmly. "Even if it feels like there's plenty of time, if we get to the villa and lie down on the bed, then want to get up and continue the trip, it'll be very hard. I'm sure Eriri won't be able to get up before 10 AM tomorrow."

Eriri, who had been a bit embarrassed, immediately became angry at this.

"Definitely not!" Eriri huffed, showing her small fang. "It's you, Azuma, who's lazy!"

"You're the kind of fool who always procrastinates until the last minute to finish drafts, so not being able to get out of bed is no surprise."

Kasumigaoka Utaha added a teasing remark from the side.

Eriri:!

She was furious and wanted to argue back, but the words were, unfortunately, true.

"If it's about enthusiasm, Sawamura-san wouldn't be chased by deadlines either," Kato Megumi said gently, trying to mediate.

Eriri hugged Kato Megumi tightly.

This world is so cold!

Only Megumi is this gentle!

Up ahead, Kitagawa Marin was driving, glancing in the rearview mirror at everything in the car.

Her lips involuntarily curled into a smile.

As an otaku, she usually wouldn't be interested in these kinds of casual conversations among "realistic" people.

But Kitagawa Marin felt that these four had a special kind of youthful atmosphere, like something straight out of a light novel.

There was a feeling that even standing on the sidelines, she would be drawn in.

Speaking of the black-haired young lady over there, she kind of resembled Kasumi Utako-sensei, right?

And then the gentle girl.

Before getting in the car, Kitagawa Marin hadn't even noticed her existence.

Her presence was subtle, but once noticed, she was incredibly cute... almost like Kujou Megumi!

Kitagawa Marin shook her head and smiled bitterly as she thought.

What was she even thinking about?

This tour guide job was just a random job she picked up, and it was already strange enough that she had met Kasumi Utako-sensei.

Let alone meeting a girl who only existed in a light novel, the cute Kujou Megumi.

If this gentle girl was Megumi...

Could the young man beside her be Yukimi, The Lonely Boy, the protagonist from the light novel?

There had to be limits to daydreaming.

Although she knew these were just random thoughts, Kitagawa Marin honestly wanted to become friends with these four people.

When she was first introduced to the job of being a tour guide online by MEM, Kitagawa Marin had felt some hesitation and worry.

But now, she just felt incredibly happy to have taken this job.

.....

The car stopped in Otaru.

Hokkaido, known as the best tourist city in Asia.

There are plenty of travel guides online.

The most popular suggestion is, when you come to Hokkaido, ride the snow train and visit the romantic Otaru.

In winter, you can see the stunning scenery from afar, where snow and the sea meet.

You can also admire Mount Tengu, which looks like Mount Fuji, with its snow-covered landscape that's truly mesmerizing.

However, it's summer right now.

Not the best tourist season as most people would think.

On top of that, the recent storm had passed.

Now, in Hokkaido, there aren't many tourists around.

But that doesn't mean the summer scenery in Hokkaido isn't beautiful.

As soon as Eriri got out of the car, she immediately ran toward the Otaru directional sign.

Kato Megumi handed the camera to Kitagawa Marin.

Then she pulled Yukima Azuma and Kasumigaoka Utaha to go with her.

The background was a bustling shopping street, with bright neon lights, and in front of them, there were extremely good-looking young men and women.

Kitagawa Marin looked through the camera lens, taking a deep breath.

It felt like she was shooting for a live-action movie.

Just a quick snap, and it could be a perfect wallpaper.

Yukima Azuma stood behind the three girls, raising both hands to make a V-shape above Eriri and Utaha's heads.

It looked like rabbit ears.

After making the pose, he realized his hands weren't enough.

So he pulled Kato Megumi into the picture.

Kato Megumi silently extended her hand, helping Utaha and Eriri form the rabbit ears.

Yukima Azuma smiled happily.

As Kato Megumi posed, her gaze shifted to the young man beside her.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked helpless, but there was a smile in her eyes.

Eriri, on the other hand, didn't seem to know where to look.

When the photo was finally taken, Yukima Azuma noticed where Eriri was staring and saw that it was a souvenir shop in the shopping street.

The shop had a huge penguin plush toy at the entrance.

Clearly, Eriri was captivated by the object.

So, Eriri got hit on the head.

Kitagawa Marin found the scene amusing, so she snapped a few more shots.

As a result, the photo of Eriri being "bullied" became Yukima Azuma's phone wallpaper throughout the trip.

"Azuma!"

"We are taking pictures, Eriri, what are you looking at?"

"But... that thing is really cute, don't you think?"

"What's so cute about a penguin? In my memory, penguins always open their mouths and ask, 'Do you want to recharge money?'"

"Huh? What kind of penguin is that?!"

Eriri immediately imagined a penguin asking if she wanted to recharge money, giving Yukima Azuma a pitiful look.

To make up for the mental scar,

Eriri headed toward the souvenir shop.

"I'll buy a cute penguin plushie or a keychain to erase this mental scar!"

Kitagawa Marin returned the camera to Kato Megumi.

Hearing the conversation, she asked:

"Eh? You like penguins? You could go to the Hokkaido zoo, they have live penguins there."

"Also, the small animal area doesn't have barriers, so you can observe and interact closely."

"If the staff agrees, you can even raise your hand and touch them."

Hearing this, even Kato Megumi and Kasumigaoka Utaha were clearly intrigued.

"Let's go tomorrow morning!"

Eriri raised her hand and called out excitedly.