Within the comic convention, in addition to some famous groups, there were naturally also some individual creators who had not formed a scale and did not have a large fan base, so the convention also arranged their own booths for them.
Many doujinshi authors made their fortune this way, earning a lot of money.
However, for most participants, maintaining profitability was a very difficult thing, so they would give up after a few attempts. Those who could consistently create for love were still rare.
The quality of doujinshi varied. Some short stories might not be inferior to those of professional authors, and there was no need to worry about scale issues, which made them even more attractive.
Of course, the lower limit of quality was also unimaginably low, so the unwritten rule was that you could view a small portion of the content upfront to encourage a purchase.
Otherwise, buying a good work would truly depend solely on luck.
It was only natural for such a situation to arise given the lack of quality assessment and the self-financing model.
The so-called 'gold panning' was about finding true treasures among these sands, discovering works that genuinely piqued their interest.
Upon returning to the venue, Izumi Chihiro and Eriri quickly began their gold panning for the day.
"What is this garbage? It's completely incoherent! Trash! It's an insult to the original characters!"
"Hmm? A smutty novel filled with lewd thoughts and poor writing, do they really think anyone would enjoy reading it? Don't disgust me! Do they really think the adult industry doesn't require skill?"
"Its existence is meaningless. I can't tell what you're trying to express no matter how much you write. It's a pure waste of paper!"
Eriri flipped through the doujinshi, fan novels, and fan manga from the vendors, but she rarely found anything she liked.
As Kashiwagi Eri, her standards were very high!
Seeing such terrible works often filled the girl with dissatisfaction, which manifested as overly sharp remarks.
Izumi Chihiro didn't stop her.
This was also a good thing.
If someone gave up on their goal just from being scolded, then they weren't sincere to begin with, and there was no need to persist; it was a complete waste of time.
If they truly loved it, this wouldn't be an issue.
Several vendors, upon hearing Eriri's comments, didn't show anger. Instead, they took the criticism to heart, hoping to improve in their next work.
They were all veterans, accustomed to hearing negative reviews and even insults from others, so they had gradually gotten used to it.
The two were tired from wandering and found a spot in a corner to rest.
"Gulp, gulp…"
Eriri picked up a water bottle, took a big gulp, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve, her expression annoyed: "It's truly an eyesore! I remember my first creation sold out in one day! It's easy to tell if you have talent or not; those without skill should just give up early…"
"Heh, don't forget, Eriri, you were worried your drawings wouldn't sell back then, so you only printed a hundred copies initially…"
Izumi Chihiro immediately reminded her.
"Was that the case? Why don't I remember?"
Eriri played her 'feigned amnesia' trick again.
After their rest, the two resumed their search.
Doujinshi works were usually based on recent popular anime or manga, or works that had once been very popular and still maintained some heat. Creations based on games and light novels were fewer, as there was a different level of popularity between them.
Therefore, Izumi Chihiro followed Eriri to many stalls but couldn't find any demon slayer doujinshi.
"Chihiro, look…!"
It wasn't until Eriri tugged his sleeve and pointed to a nearby stall that the cover of a doujinshi caught their eye, looking remarkably familiar.
"Kocho Shinobu, Love Me a Thousand More Times?"
When Izumi Chihiro saw the title, he frowned. After flipping through a few pages, his frown deepened even more.
What was the content of this fan light novel?
It couldn't be called just absurd; it was extremely absurd.
The protagonist of the story was a girl who transmigrated, but she soon turned into a demon. Because she had never killed and could clearly maintain her sanity, Kocho Shinobu temporarily abandoned the idea of poisoning her.
Thus, a sweet cohabitation began between human and demon.
The transition was very abrupt and somewhat out of character, but considering that a short story couldn't devote much effort to character development, it was somewhat acceptable.
The main focus thereafter was probably the sweet yuri daily life between the protagonist and Kocho Shinobu, with the protagonist pouring out her heart and soul to assist in research and express her feelings to Kocho Shinobu.
Yes, 'pouring out her heart and soul' literally. The female lead was written as a yandere, and she was in the dominant position, making Kocho Shinobu blush.
Izumi Chihiro found it hard to describe his feelings at that moment.
The writing itself wasn't a major issue, but the plot almost made him die of embarrassment.
However, it still managed to draw him in to keep reading, which made it a rare gem.
"This… you, you've been looking for too long."
The gentle voice of the young lady at the stall reminded him.
"Oh, oh… I'll buy this one."
Izumi Chihiro responded.
"I'll buy one too."
Eriri also pulled out banknotes from her pocket.
Like the boy, she found it quite interesting after reading it. Although it wasn't perfect, one couldn't expect too much from a place like this.
"Thank you for your support!"
The vendor lady quickly stood up and bowed to the two of them.
It was her first successful sale, so she was incredibly excited, as it symbolized others' recognition of her work.
"Keep up the good work."
Izumi Chihiro nodded, then put the doujinshi into his pocket and continued to the next stall.
After that, Izumi Chihiro encountered demon slayer doujinshi a few more times, but they were all manga, depicting popular and enjoyable scenarios.
Izumi Chihiro wasn't particularly interested in them.
Compared to the works Eriri had shown him before, these works were indeed a bit lacking.