"Classmates."
It wasn't a hard question. Tomoya gave the standard answer.
"And then?" Akira followed up.
This time, Tomoya was more cautious.
He glanced at Utaha, and only after receiving a slight nod from her did he respond, "We're also members of the same doujin circle."
"A doujin circle, huh…"
As the waiter brought drinks and dessert in addition to the steak, Akira thanked him, took a sip of juice, cut off a piece of pancake and tried it. He let out a satisfied sigh.
"If Kasumi-sensei is involved, then it must be something serious and not just a childish hobby group.
Most doujin circles focus on three types of activities. First, drawing doujinshi can be ruled out—Kasumi-sensei wouldn't need to be there for that.
Literature seems unlikely too—Kasumi-sensei doesn't exactly have the role of a nanny or mentor.
So… game development? Then Kasumi-sensei must be the scenario writer. Judging from her signature works… a bishoujo game?"
As expected, Akira was met with shocked stares…
Well, actually just two. Though Kato Megumi seemed a little surprised, it wasn't much—hardly enough to be called a shock.
"A-Amazing… To deduce what we're doing from so little information…"
Perhaps convinced that Akira meant no harm, Tomoya's wariness diminished slightly, and he couldn't help showing a bit of respect.
However, he forgot—Akira believed in asking back, and with interest. Since Tomoya's question had carried a note of doubt, how could Akira's be so gentle?
"And then?" Akira's voice suddenly became much calmer.
Everything he said earlier made logical sense, but this time, he had simply pretended to deduce it from the original story, so there wasn't much satisfaction in it.
This calm wasn't staged—
It was the calm before the storm.
Sure enough, this time Tomoya couldn't answer. He looked utterly confused. "What do you mean, 'and then'?"
"That's it?"
Akira smiled. "No deeper personal relationships? Like, say, which one is your girlfriend?"
"Pfft…"
The sound didn't come from Tomoya, but from Utaha, who was nervously sipping her coffee.
People tend to reach for a drink when they're tense.
"N-No way! A girlfriend? Impossible!"
After a brief moment of shock, Tomoya frantically shook his head and waved his hands. "I'm a hardcore 2D otaku! How could I possibly have a 3D girlfriend?!"
"No need to be so quick to put yourself down." Akira patted his shoulder, smiling like a teasing older brother.
"What if a pretty girl confessed to you—what would you do?"
Tomoya's expression turned panicked.
His eyes flicked briefly toward Utaha, who was wiping her mouth, then to Kato Megumi, who seemed to be slightly more focused than before.
"N-No way! Reality isn't a bishoujo game! Things like that don't happen! What are you even trying to say?"
"Ahh, full-on avoidance, even changing the subject? I see. That pretty much says it all."
The smile on Akira's face suddenly vanished.
He leaned back in his chair like someone who had just lost all interest in life, looking dejected and bored.
"Aki-kun, you really are willfully dense…"
"What are you talking about?" Tomoya looked utterly confused.
Akira pointed to his own eyes.
"The eyes are the window to the soul—they reveal what's truly inside. We might hang curtains on those windows, but some feelings are too strong to hide. Like… love and hate."
"Hate often comes layered with complex curtains and won't show itself until the moment of revenge. It can be hidden.
But love is usually much simpler. That's why they say—if you like someone, even if you cover your mouth, it'll still show through your eyes."
Utaha suddenly froze, her napkin pressed to her lips. She blinked, as if trying to see if something was showing in her own eyes.
Kato Megumi, on the other hand, remained completely still—like a student spacing out in class, not paying attention at all.
"So, Mr. Aki."
Akira changed his form of address again. Tilting his head slightly, he glanced at Tomoya with cold indifference.
"Even if you've been lost in the 2D world so long that 'Someone like me can't possibly have a 3D girlfriend' has become a deeply-rooted belief…
Even if you've been ignoring the subtle hints from others… look around you. Search your heart. Ask yourself honestly."
"Do you really not know anything?"
"I…" Tomoya's eyes widened, but he couldn't say anything.
Akira didn't give him the chance to respond—or rather, didn't give him the chance to dodge.
After a brief pause, he opened his arms wide like a speaker on stage, wearing a slightly crazed grin.
"No, from a guy's perspective, I don't think you're unaware. You've just blinded your own eyes and heart.
You refuse to look, refuse to think, refuse to acknowledge.
As long as you remain oblivious, you can stay in this perfect fantasy—surrounded by beautiful girls, all secretly in love with you, fighting for your favor, even offering you 'benefits'! Isn't that just wonderful?"
"That's not true! Absolutely not!"
Tomoya slammed his hands on the table and stood up, immediately drawing attention from everyone in the café.
"Calm down, calm down, Mr. Aki." Akira pressed his palms downward slightly.
"Don't raise your voice. Don't disturb others. That's the most basic and most important rule in a public setting. So please, calm down. Alright?"
Tomoya froze, then looked around at all the eyes in the café, and hurriedly sat back down.
Lowering his voice and gritting his teeth, he said, "It's absolutely not like that."
"Not like that? Hmm, that's strange. I always thought people only reacted that strongly when someone hit a nerve," Akira muttered to himself, striking deep.
"Enough…"
But the most piercing blow was yet to come.
"If it's really not that, then… is it that they're useful to you somehow?"
"I said—enough!"
That outburst didn't come from Tomoya, but from Utaha.
The second time she shouted, she almost raised her voice again, but remembering how Akira had scolded Tomoya earlier for being too loud, she suppressed it.
Akira shrugged and casually replied, "Alright." He said no more.
The seeds of plot development had already been sown. The play was now officially underway. All that was left was to eat, drink, and watch it unfold.
"Utaha-senpai, I didn't…" Tomoya stiffly turned his neck.
Meeting his pained gaze, Utaha naturally felt a pang in her heart. She returned a look of trust and softly said, "I know."
But deep down, in that dark corner of her heart formed during the recent days of turmoil, a voice quietly whispered:
"If it's not true, then why does everything fit the deductions so perfectly? Is it really all just coincidence?"
"Let's go."
Leaving just that one word behind, Utaha stood up and quickly walked out. If she didn't leave now, she was afraid of what more she might think.
Akira naturally didn't think she was talking to him. Besides, the food hadn't even arrived—no way he'd leave.
Wasting food is wrong.
He leisurely took another bite of the soft, fluffy pancake, as if he hadn't noticed Tomoya slipping away beside him. But once things had calmed down a little, he realized—
Someone hadn't left.
"That was too much, Mr. Akira. Tomoya-kun isn't that kind of person."
Akira looked up with a cheerful smile and sized up the so-called "saint," Kato Megumi.
"If that's so, why didn't you speak up earlier? You, the innocent bystander watching from the sidelines?"
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