Page 136 of Faking the Goal

I scoff. "Oh, Ken-chan. You don't seriously think one romance manga is going to threaten your masculinity, do you?"

He lets out a quiet huff of laughter. "That's not what I said."

"Mm-hmm. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I take the manga back from him and look at the cover again. "So what's it about?"

"There are twelve volumes, I think." His eyes stay on the book while he searches his memory. "It's about a girl from the real world who gets pulled into the world of a book and becomes the Priestess of Genbu. She has to gather the Seven Celestial Warriors so she can summon Genbu and save the kingdom of Hokkan."

He pauses before adding, "Miho said the love story was what made it so good, though. The priestess falls in love with one of the warriors, but apparently the closer they get to completing what they're supposed to do, the more impossible their future together becomes."

I slowly lower the manga.

"Oh, fuck."

Kentaro's mouth twitches. "What?"

"That sounds ridiculously good."

"I figured you'd say that."

I narrow my eyes. "Hold on. I thought you never read it."

"I didn't."

"Then why do you know all this?"

He chuckles. "Because Miho is persistent. She tried to convince me to read this series so many times that eventually I memorized half her sales pitch."

I laugh. "Poor Ken-chan. Forced to listen to his little sister talk about romance manga. I can't imagine the suffering."

"You have no idea."

I look down at the cover again, studying the two characters more closely.

Fantasy. Ancient kingdoms. Adventure. A doomed romance between two people who fall in love despite apparently having the universe itself stacked against them.

Yeah, I'm hooked.

"Ugh," I groan dramatically. "Now I really want to read it." I sigh dreamily, staring down at the cover. "I'm already emotionally attached to these two star-crossed lovers. I just know they're going to spend the entire story yearning for each other, and I'm going to savor every heartbreaking second of it."

Kentaro rolls his eyes. "You and Miho would get along."

"Obviously. She has excellent taste."

"You haven't even read it."

"Irrelevant."

He shakes his head, but he's smiling again. "She loves stories like this. If you ever read Genbu Kaiden, I already know she'd like you."

Something unexpectedly warm settles in my chest.

I don't know why the idea makes me as happy as it does, but it does.

"I'd like that," I admit. "I'd love to meet Miho someday." Then my grin returns. "Mostly because I need to know what the female version of you looks like."

He snorts. "Trust me. We're nothing alike."