Chapter 63: Feelings (2)
Originally, Utaha had only intended to gain some creative inspiration from Kaede and Eriri, and this had indeed been effective. Especially today, both Kaede's performance and Eriri's reaction had given Utaha considerable inspiration.
However, this situation also had a side effect: Utaha, a single person, felt jealous.
Yes, she felt jealous. Even though Kaede and Eriri hadn't broken through that final barrier, they were very close, and it truly made her feel jealous at such close proximity.
Looking at her own figure, then at Eriri, Utaha thought that her own looks and figure were in no way inferior to the other girl's, so why was Eriri so lucky?
Eriri, who was still caught up in her romantic feelings, noticed Utaha looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, I just think it's a bit unfair. How can you be so lucky?"
"Hmph, none... none of your business!"
Eriri turned her head away, clearly feeling a little smug.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
Utaha pulled a chair and sat down in front of Eriri, looking at her and asking, "So, what are you planning to do now? After all, you heard Asakura-kun's confession today."
Eriri, who had been feeling a little smug moments ago, now fell back into shyness, unable to speak.
Looking at Eriri, Utaha, as an observer, felt a bit anxious, so she wondered if she could fan the flames.
"It seems that even though Asakura-kun only had two events today, he still attracted the attention of quite a few girls. After all, he's handsome, artistically talented, and so good at sports. I imagine more girls will definitely confess to him later on."
Sure enough, Eriri's cheeks puffed out slightly, clearly indicating she was becoming wary and angry.
Utaha continued with a smile, "However, even Suzumura was rejected today. It seems Asakura has quite high standards. Hey, Eriri, even though he rejected her because of you, do you think Asakura-kun would still refuse if I were the one to approach him?"
After saying this, she smugly puffed out her chest, showing off something Eriri did not possess.
As expected, others were fine, but Eriri truly couldn't make a decision when it came to Utaha.
The main reason was that her figure truly didn't look like that of a high school student, and she was also a light novel author, just like Kaede, and they were even published under the same Bunko.
She immediately stood up and said, "No! Absolutely not!"
"Oh my, why not?"
Crossing her legs, Utaha chuckled, "Although Asakura-kun likes you right now, what if? Boys, their lifelong unchanging preference is for young and beautiful girls. If you can't hold onto him yourself, it's very easy to let him slip away!"
"Ugh! In any case, it's no good! I can tell, you're definitely saying this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Hmph hmph hmph, you found me out."
After covering her mouth and chuckling softly, Utaha stood up, linked arms with Eriri, and intimately left the empty classroom: "Don't worry, although Asakura-kun's talent is very attractive, I don't have any such intentions right now."
"So you might have them in the future?"
"It's hard to say!"
"Absolutely not! He... He..."
"Hmm?" Utaha looked at her with a smile.
Unable to finish her sentence, a blushing Eriri turned her head away: "Hmph, in any case, it's no good."
"How bossy you are."
Shortly after leaving the classroom, they ran into an acquaintance of Eriri's, Aki Tomoya.
Aki Tomoya hadn't expected to run into Eriri here either, and said in surprise, "Eriri?"
Called out by him, Eriri's mouth twitched: "You... I told you not to act so familiar with me at school! I don't want my current peaceful school life to be disrupted by you at all!"
Then, she pulled the somewhat curious Utaha and walked straight past him without saying anything more.
After glancing at the young man behind them, Utaha asked curiously, "Who was that?"
"That famous person who caused a scene yesterday."
"Hmm... I remember his name is Aki Tomoya? You actually know him?"
"A misfortune of acquaintance. I met him in elementary school. He's a hardcore otaku, with no emotional intelligence, unable to speak properly or read the mood. He's a guy whose head is constantly filled only with light novel and anime."
After giving her blunt assessment, Eriri looked at Utaha and said, "I'll give you a piece of advice: don't get involved with that guy. Nothing good will come of it."
"I didn't expect you to give someone such a high assessment, even if it's negative."
"Hmph, I'm just telling the truth."
Seeing Eriri, whose mood had clearly soured after encountering Aki Tomoya, Utaha thought for a moment and still asked, "So, does Asakura-kun know you have such a childhood friend?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Eriri, you should understand, shouldn't you?" Utaha didn't elaborate, just smiled lightly while looking at Eriri.
Eriri hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, I told Asakura after we ran into him before. But don't think of Asakura as so petty; he didn't say anything at all."
"Besides, I don't have any relationship with that guy. The last time we spoke before coming to high school was back in elementary school."
"Is that so? Hmm~~ But would he really not mind at all?"
Although Utaha's voice was very soft, Eriri still took it to heart, and she began to feel a little uneasy.
She had worried about it before, but because Kaede's behavior hadn't changed from usual afterward, Eriri hadn't dwelled on it.
But now that Utaha brought it up again, Eriri couldn't help but worry again. What exactly was Kaede thinking?
After only a few seconds, Eriri thought of something else.
Wait a minute! Why am I worrying about this on my own? It's something that never happened, and I didn't lie!
Other people might truly become suspicious, but based on Eriri's understanding of Kaede, he would definitely not do that.
Then she couldn't help but glare at Utaha: "Can you stop talking nonsense?"
"???"
Utaha was quite surprised that Eriri reacted so quickly, and immediately changed the subject: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Where are we going now? Should we go meet up with the others? I remember your mother came too, right? I'd like to meet her."
Eriri looked at Utaha warily: "What are you trying to pull now?"
"You don't trust me that much? That really hurts!" Utaha feigned wiping her eyes, then said, "If that's the case, then I won't walk with you. Later, I'll go find Asakura-kun myself and apologize. Peeping isn't a good thing after all."
"Noooooo!!!!"