[The secret mission. Today at the campsite, there’s a comic convention cosplay event. I’ve brought the gear, and the goal is to sohow get Sophie into a cosplay outfit and make an appearance at the event. You want to see Sophie in cosplay too, right?]
This was the ssage Isabella had sent to herself before leaving ho, the so-called secret mission.
As for the barbecue and everything else earlier, it was all a setup for this mont.
Of course, Sam knew Sophie’s temperant all too well. It was hard enough to get her to go to crowded places, let alone have her dress up in ’fancy dress’ and show up at a cosplay event.
For her, it might be akin to social suicide.
She wouldn’t find the idea of basking in adulation appealing.
Because she was confident in her beauty, knowing it was no ordinary asset. If all it took was her looks to garner such attention, she could be anyone—a superstar, an internet sensation, a model—but she would never just be Sophie.
The Sophie who leaves an unforgettable impression, the one who remains etched in the mories of youth.
So Sophie’s resistance was expected.
First, Sam thwarted her imdiate intention to flee.
Then Isabella quickly played to her strengths.
In private, Sam was willing to call Isabella ’Sophie’s Noble Phantasm.’
This girl always found a way to make Sophie comply, effortlessly, often with just a few words, like a miracle.
"Sophie, listen to ," Isabella said.
Sophie’s face flushed with anger, refusing to look at Isabella, her gaze fixed on Sam as if trying to make him feel guilty through her stare.
Indeed, Sam felt a twinge of guilt.
So he turned his face away, avoiding her eyes.
Then she heard Isabella continue.
"We’re not tricking you. Don’t you think that so things in life need to be experienced at least once to be aningful? That’s the creed of our The Ultimate Human Departnt—trying things that should be tried, ensuring our youth is without regrets. It might lead you to discover what you’re truly good at and passionate about. It’s also a way to find the aning of life."
Sophie looked at Isabella with a cold laugh.
"I may not know the aning of my life, but it’s definitely not about dressing up in this thing and playing cosplay for people to admire like a Barbie doll."
Isabella spoke softly to Sophie.
"Why would you think that? Appreciation isn’t a bad thing. Isn’t it good if people recognize your beauty? And cosplay isn’t the sa as providing erotic services or making exaggerated gestures just to stand out. It has a core, a soul. It’s about respecting the original work while bringing out your own charm.
That’s the essence of cosplay.
And I think you can do it. You’re so beautiful, so attractive, so elegant. If you put on the right outfit and get the right look, you could be unforgettable. Taking photos to look back on when we’re old would be so aningful!"
I have to say.
Sam thought Isabella had the makings of a great salesperson.
With that kind of talk, most people would be thoroughly convinced.
Unfortunately, Sophie was not most girls. If she were so easily fooled, it would be a waste of her sharp intellect and vigilance.
"Save it. There are many ways to commorate youth, and my philosophy definitely doesn’t include this one. Besides, wearing fancy dress... You might be able to do it, but I don’t have such a thick skin."
At this point, Isabella pulled Sam aside and whispered in his ear.
Sam’s ear was enveloped in a warm, moist breath.
The breath of a beautiful girl is always so captivating, especially when it’s from soone as special as Isabella.
"Still too uptight, what should we do?" Isabella asked.
"The great idea was yours, so you figure it out."
"What if I can’t?"
"Then we drop it."
"Drop it just like that? Don’t you think it’s too much of a pity? Sophie’s cosplay, don’t you want to see it?"
Sam really wanted to say that he wasn’t that eager to see it... Of course, the desire to see it was still slightly stronger than not. After all, who wouldn’t want to see such a captivating girl dressed in a specific outfit, giving off the feeling of an ani character stepping into reality?
That would be the ultimate glory of breaking through the dinsional barrier...
"But..."
"Work with , I have a plan."
Sophie watched as the two of them conspired right in front of her, which was infuriating. What did they take her for?
Plotting against her so openly.
"Have you two had enough? Keep this up, and I’ll quit the club tomorrow, no excuses."
Isabella imdiately turned around, then smiled at Sophie.
"Sophie, here’s the thing. I understand how you feel. You think this kind of thing is embarrassing, right? You believe it’s frivolous and feel ashad to be in the spotlight?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Although Sophie more or less felt that way, she wouldn’t admit to soone seeing through her thoughts.
Isabella said with a smile.
"How about this? All three of us cosplay together. Even if we’re seen as oddballs, we’ll be in it together. And if anything unpleasant happens, if you feel uncomfortable, we’ll stop imdiately, I’ll reflect on it, and from then on, you call the shots in the club!"
Sam was taken aback.
"What’s the deal? Why am I being dragged into this?"
"Ah, shut up, consider it taking one for the team."
Sam closed his mouth, deciding not to argue with Isabella. Because once you start reasoning with her, it’s endless; she always has so many excuses.
Sophie’s expression showed a hint of wavering as she frowned at Isabella.
"What do I want with this lousy club... What’s the use of having the final say in everything?"
"Then how about this, if the cosplay makes you uncomfortable, or if anything unpleasant happens, the two of us will follow your orders for a month. If you still don’t agree, then I’ll think you’re just lacking a sense of fun and adventure. Besides, I’m giving you the power to end it all at any ti!"
Ordering these two around?
Sophie was sowhat tempted.
This senior always targets , forcing to do things I don’t want to... As for Sam, he’s even more annoying, always complicating my emotions...
But if I really had the chance to order these two around... that actually sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it?
"But what could I possibly cosplay as?" Sophie furrowed her brows.
Isabella narrowed her eyes. As a girl with plenty of cosplay experience, she had already entertained such ideas upon seeing Sophie. Today seed like the day to make it happen, how could she not be excited?
Rather than cosplaying so challenging character herself, Isabella was more eager to see a more perfect and fitting interpretation from soone else.
So, she imdiately grabbed her bag and pulled Sophie along.
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"Don’t worry about that. There are a few friends of mine at the comic convention, and, well... you’ll definitely know who it is. Let keep you in suspense for now. Co with to get ready, there’s a makeup room at the convention."
Seeing Isabella so eager, Sam thought about sneaking away. She wouldn’t notice him leaving, right?
But unexpectedly, Isabella turned to Sam and said.
"Oh, and Sam, bring your stuff and co with . Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered too. My friend will do a great job on your makeup."
Great.
It looked like Sam wasn’t going to be able to escape this ti.
The three of them headed towards the comic convention venue, which was surrounded by many people. There were not only professional cosplayers and amateur enthusiasts but also photographers and plenty of tourists. The makeshift tents and several stages nearby were teeming with people.
Isabella quickly introduced Sam and Sophie to a few of her cosplayer friends.
"Look, this girl cosplaying as Harley Quinn is my friend Everly."
Everly greeted them with a smile.
"Hi there~ Wow, Isabella, all your friends are so good-looking, they’re like born to be cosplayers!"
Isabella was quite proud.
"Right? I told you I’d find you so help, and I wouldn’t go back on my word. They may lack experience, but they’ve got visible talent!"
Hearing this, Sam turned his head slightly and whispered to Sophie beside him.
"Do you think we’re being used?"
Sophie glared at Sam with annoyance.
"Only you would fall for her sweet talk. You’ll end up in trouble because of a woman one day, you idiot."
"No whispering now, Sam. This is another friend of mine, Silas."
"Hello~ Nice to et you both," Silas said with a smile to Sam.
Everly glanced at the ti and then said.
"We don’t have much ti left, just over an hour before it starts. Shall I take her to get her makeup done? Are the things ready?"
Isabella nodded.
"Don’t worry, I’ll handle mine. Silas, you take Sam to the n’s makeup room, and Sophie, you co with !"
After identifying everyone, they quickly split up.
Silas led Sam to the makeup room, which was filled with n.
Sam saw a lot of exaggerated stuff there: ticulously crafted fake pecs and abs, costus that looked suffocatingly airtight, and even a brave soul who shaved his head on the spot to cosplay as Tien Shinhan.
Is this really necessary?
Silas, seeing the expression on Sam’s face, said with a smile, "Don’t be afraid. Not all cosplayers need to go to such extres. Besides, you’re here to help, not to go all out. Just ensuring the basics are done is fine. You’re already quite handso, and I feel like any cosplay would be a waste of your looks."
"Really? I think so too."
"...Ahem, you don’t hold back with the complints, do you? But I’ll do my best."
Silas had Sam sit down and then opened one of the bags Sam had brought.
Suddenly, Sam rembered sothing and asked.
"This comic convention seems to have a lot of people. Why do you need extra help?"
Silas gave a wry smile tinged with resignation.
"Do you not know the nature of this comic con?"
"I really don’t."
"This convention sells rchandise and autographed photos at very low prices. However, all the proceeds, after deducting the costs for the venue and labor, are donated to a welfare institution for children with disabilities.
So essentially, the cosplayers who co here don’t get paid, and if they want high-quality photos, they have to hire photographers themselves. This leads to many well-known and professional cosplayers being unwilling to participate. We have to look everywhere for volunteers."
Sam hadn’t expected this backstory.
"Does... does Isabella know about this?"
Silas chuckled.
"Of course, she knows. She was the first to agree when the idea was proposed and even set an example by committing to participate. After all, Isabella was once a quite famous cosplayer herself.
You must have heard about her massive following on Instagram, it’s pretty impressive. But then she gradually lost interest, which is a sha. However, we’re happy that she’s willing to co back for this event. We just hope that it will be a success; otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing, wouldn’t it?"
Sam said, puzzled.
"Why would it be embarrassing? It’s a aningful cause. Not everyone in the industry has such compassion and courage."
Silas shook his head.
"It does show compassion and courage, but if such an event is only supported by a few enthusiastic individuals while the rest look on indifferently, or worse, if we end up looking accomplish nothing, what then? It would only lead to more people dismissing the effort as a thankless task.
I’ve always believed that cosplay is a beautiful thing, ant to bring emotions that are hard to co by in everyday life into reality, to add more beauty to the world. But when it all turns into profit-making, selling sex appeal... to be honest, it’s quite sad. Yet, those people will smugly tell us that they’re making money, while we’re not making anything."
Sam nodded with a hint of understanding, his curiosity about Isabella deepening.
It seed she was involved in such an unreliable venture, even appearing to be scheming against him and Sophie, but there was a reason behind it all.
What kind of person was she, really?
"By the way, Sam, do you know who you’re going to cosplay as? Isabella chose for you."
"I have no idea, who?"
By now, Sam was ready for anything. No matter who it was, he had his reasons to see the cosplay through.
It wasn’t about feigning charity.
Rather, he found it admirable that there was a group of people doing this for such ’pure’ and ’naive’ reasons.
Even if he wasn’t good at it or didn’t like it, he didn’t want to ruin everything because of himself.
Now that he was in the thick of it, he decided not to overthink.
Silas didn’t answer directly. Instead, he picked up a sowhat familiar-looking costu while contemplating Sam’s face.
"Typical Isabella... to think of this."
"Who is it, exactly?"
Sam asked, puzzled. The costu... it didn’t seem too extravagant, but what was it?
Silas spoke softly.
"Do you know Akira Toriyama?"
"Ah, of course, I love his manga, but it’s a pity that he has already..."
Silas nodded and said.
"Yes, you know his ani Dragon Ball, right?"
"So, which character do you want to cosplay? Goku?"
Silas seed to sense Sam’s apprehension.
"Don’t worry, you don’t need to show off any special skills. I’ll teach you a few simple moves. If soone wants to take a photo with you, just strike those poses. Speak as you normally would, just avoid swearing, and you’ll be fine. There are no strict requirents."
"Shall we... give it a try?"
"Let’s start now!"
Preparations began imdiately. The changing room was bustling with people coming and going, everyone busy and seemingly tense with anticipation.
It seed as if everyone was gearing up for this significant comic convention, and it was no longer just about the pure aning of cosplay itself.
It took about an hour, and while putting on the costu was straightforward, the key was the makeup.
Sam had a perfect face shape, but it needed to be slimd down slightly to match the character.
After all, Sam’s natural charisma was too handso; he needed a touch more of a fierce quality.
Then, his hair was styled and fixed with gel to create the look of a Super Saiyan.
This process took quite so ti.
When it was finally complete, Sam, dressed in orange attire, rose from the chair.
Silas hadn’t spoken yet.
A passerby dressed as Kan Rider was startled.
"Holy smokes! A Super Saiyan!!!"
His exclamation drew the attention of others.
Many looked over, and when they saw Sam’s handso yet fierce expression and the flawless portrayal of an ani character, they stood rooted to the spot, disbelieving.
"How can soone look so much like the character?"
"It’s like he stepped right out of the ani!"
Sam turned to Silas.
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
Silas shook his head, looking at Sam with a sense of awe.
"I’m telling you, most of the cosplays you see online that look very accurate, they require ticulous photo editing, a lot of makeup ti, and various filters to achieve that effect.
But you... standing here, with just a bit of makeup, you don’t need much embellishnt to look like you’ve stepped out of the manga... it’s truly one of a kind. My goodness, I can’t wait for those money-eyed cosers to see you!!"
"You’re exaggerating, does it really look that much like him?" Sam said, scratching his head.
"Would you be interested in doing more cosplays in the future? It’s simply amazing, I feel like you could perfectly embody so many characters!"
"Ah... I still have to study, let’s talk about the future later, okay?"
"Is that so? Well, we’ll talk about it later then, such a sha... Oh right, Isabella said they’re ready, let’s head to the booth now, the comic convention is about to start."
"Okay."
With that, Sam followed Silas out of the changing room.
Walking towards the booth, Sam didn’t do anything in particular, just walked.
Yet, he automatically attracted gazes along the way.
"My God, who is that? He looks so much like Goku!"
"Is that really not the real deal?!"
"Can I take a photo with you?"
"Mr. Super Saiyan, can I get your contact info?"
Thankfully, Silas was always in front of Sam, smiling and saying,
"Let’s interact at the booth, shall we? It’s about to start. If you like, co support our cosers at our booth, thank you!"
They finally managed to avoid the enthusiastic crowd.
Sam was still looking for familiar figures, wondering why he hadn’t seen Isabella and Sophie yet. He was quite curious about which ani characters they were cosplaying.
He had co to the convention just for this silly reason, to see Sophie’s cosplay, which was the whole point of this camping trip.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, soone tapped Sam’s shoulder.
He turned around.
A finger was poking his cheek.
He was stunned for a mont, then heard a familiar voice, speaking to him with a special intonation.
"It’s ti to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for . I’m free!"
Those familiar lines.
Sam tried to glance at the person with his peripheral vision.
It was Isabella with silver hair... no, it was Elsa!
She even wore colored contacts to match, looking at him with that familiar gaze.
The almost perfect replication of the makeup and expression made Sam montarily bewildered, and even those familiar lines made his heart beat uncontrollably.
Was this Isabella’s capability?
It was too similar.
Isabella quickly lowered her hand and then looked at Sam with a smile.
"How about that, not bad, right?"
Sam replied with a sense of reflection.
"It was good at first, but the magic kind of broke when you smiled. What a pity."
Isabella blinked.
"Eh? Didn’t that mont make your heart flutter? I thought I nailed it."
"Why would you want to make my heart flutter? Don’t have such strange objectives... Hm? Right, where’s Sophie?"
"Sophie’s already at the booth, look."
Sam followed the direction of her pointing finger but couldn’t spot Sophie.
However, he saw a crowd, a lot of people.
They were gathered around the booth, continuously snapping photos and videos.
And they seed... very excited.
"Wow... what’s this? Is the quality of cosplayers this high this ti?!"
"My friend said he wouldn’t co, but if I tell him these photos are unfiltered and unedited, he’ll regret it to death!"
That exaggerated?
Sam grew even more curious.
"Whoosh~"
Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed past Sam’s ear, and as he quickly turned his head, he was t with Isabella’s teasing gaze, just inches away.
Instantly, Sam looked away.
"What are you doing all of a sudden?"
Isabella pursed her lips towards the booth.
"Want to go take a look? Let’s head over. Who knows, you two might just beco the best cosplayers of the convention~"
===
"Wow, there are so many people! Sister!"
Selena looked at the bustling crowd with excitent, familiar characters popping up before her eyes. She was so thrilled that her excitent was palpable, almost ready to jump for joy.
"Is this the world of the young? It’s indeed quite lively."
Celeste said with a smile, her expression as calm as ever, betraying no sign of excitent.
Angel seed less interested, rely glancing over casually.
"It’s just this."
Suddenly, Selena heard an exclamation and pointed excitedly in that direction.
"There’s a big crowd over there! Let’s go check it out, it must be interesting!"
Angel was dismissive.
"People like to flock to where the action is, but experience shows that most of the ti, the excitent is just boring noise."
Celeste patted her daughter’s shoulder.
"We don’t get out like this often, so let’s try to enjoy it. I find it quite interesting."
"What’s so interesting about it..."
Angel was skeptical but still followed the others, walking forward nonchalantly.
However, as they walked, a figure on the stage caught her eye, a figure that seed vaguely familiar.
She was dressed in a red and white priestess-like outfit, with a sowhat retro hairstyle.
In her hands, she held a bow...
Wait, who was she cosplaying as? It felt familiar to her.
But then it clicked; it wasn’t the character that was familiar, but the person herself.
Could it be... Sophie?
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