Tanaka Masao gave up on going after more figures.
The figure boxes were just too smooth—grabbing them was honestly way too difficult.
So he shifted his target to other plush toys instead.
While operating the claw, he casually said to Eriri,
"Eriri, normally speaking… don't regular girls like plushies like these?"
Eriri simply snorted coldly in response.
"Those shallow women who go 'so cuuute~' all day long. How could something like that ever compare to figures?"
Because plush toys were much easier to grab, Tanaka Masao succeeded in just three tries.
Before he could even bend down to collect his prize, a familiar, nimble figure appeared once again.
"Ahhh, so cute!"
Eriri was already hugging the small white bear Masao had just won, rubbing her cheek against it with a blissed-out expression.
Tanaka Masao: "..."
After two and a half seconds of silence, he finally commented dryly,
"Eriri, didn't someone just now say that only shallow women who keep saying 'so cute' like plush toys?"
Naturally, Eriri had zero intention of admitting that.
"Who? Who said that? I don't remember hearing anything like that."
Ignoring Masao's look of pure disdain, she urged him on,
"Alright, hurry up and keep grabbing cute fluffy stuff for me."
Faced with Eriri's repeated orders, Tanaka Masao chose—bravely—to say no.
"I refu—"
He swallowed the rest of his words when Eriri cut in.
"I'll pay. We split the loot fifty-fifty."
Masao's attitude did a full 180 on the spot.
"Today, I'm clearing out the claw machines!"
Someone else paying, and giving him rewards?
Not playing would be stupid.
Tanaka Masao acknowledged, internally, that this was absolutely worth it.
Of course, completely clearing out all the claw machines was impossible.
Even so, with a success rate of about once every three to five attempts, Masao managed to grab over a dozen plushies before stopping.
It wasn't that Eriri ran out of money—there were just too many items for the two of them to carry comfortably.
They stuffed the plushies into bags, each holding a few in their hands, and headed back loaded down with loot.
They'd had a genuinely fun day, and carrying all this stuff around was inconvenient, so they decided to head home.
Eriri was in unusually high spirits today. Combined with the fact that Masao had won her so many plushies, she was noticeably chattier, casually talking with him as they walked.
Soon, they reached the area near Eriri's house.
"We weren't prepared this time, so we couldn't take much," she said.
"Next time, we'll have a driver take us. That way we can grab even more."
"A car?" Masao exclaimed in shock.
"How many are you planning to grab? Let's be clear—I never agreed to keep helping you."
"That's not up to you. You wouldn't want to miss out on your manuscript fees, right, Tanaka?"
"W–Wow, that's low, Eriri. You're actually threatening me with my manuscript fee?"
"Hehehe, I am. What are you gonna do about it?"
As the two joked around, a boy on a bicycle approached them from ahead.
He had short black hair and wore black-rimmed glasses. Just judging by appearance alone, he looked almost exactly like Tanaka Masao.
The difference was that he was slimmer, more refined—basically a handsome version of Masao.
The moment Eriri saw him, her previously cheerful expression vanished.
She stared at him, her expression complicated, hands unconsciously clenching, visibly tense.
The boy clearly noticed Eriri—and also Tanaka Masao standing beside her.
Sensing the sudden drop in atmosphere, Masao glanced between the boy and Eriri's unusual reaction.
He immediately knew who the boy was.
Aki Tomoya.
The male protagonist of Saekano.
And Eriri's childhood friend.
Back in elementary school, the two had bonded over otaku topics.
Because Eriri got too close to him at school while openly talking about otaku stuff, she'd been isolated and mocked by others.
Hurt by that experience, Eriri began distancing herself. They stopped talking at school.
From there, they drifted apart—once close friends, now unable to even hold a normal conversation.
Watching the two stare at each other in silence, Masao felt awkward just standing there, so he spoke up first.
"Eriri… is this your friend?"
Seeing Aki Tomoya stare at her without saying a single word made Eriri feel irritated.
[We haven't seen each other in so long, and you won't even say hello?
There's a strange man standing next to me, and you don't care at all, Tomoya?
You're not even going to ask who he is? ]
If Aki Tomoya had questioned who Tanaka Masao was, Eriri might've felt happy.
At least that would mean he cared.
But saying nothing at all—what was that supposed to mean?
Was he waiting for her to panic and explain first? To clarify that she had nothing to do with Tanaka Masao?
She hadn't done anything wrong. Why should she explain herself?
So after hearing Masao's question, Eriri snorted and looked away from Aki Tomoya.
She answered Masao coldly,
"He's nothing to me. Let's go."
With that, she walked off ahead.
Seeing this, Masao said nothing more. He simply nodded politely at Aki Tomoya and followed after Eriri.
He had a distinct feeling that, because of him, Eriri and Aki Tomoya's relationship had gotten even worse.
And honestly…
That was great.
After all, Green Tomoya getting NTR'd like this?
Way too satisfying.
Elsewhere.
Watching the backs of Eriri and Tanaka Masao as they walked away, Aki Tomoya tightened his grip on his handlebars.
His expression twisted, and his emotions surged violently.
[Didn't you say you didn't want to talk about otaku stuff anymore? Didn't you distance yourself from me? Didn't you betray me?
And now you're out on the street, talking about otaku things with someone else?
Eriri… what exactly do you mean by this? You've betrayed me again.
I have been betrayed three times…]
Ah—sorry. Wrong channel.
For now, it's only two times.
But if we count the original story—where Eriri leaves the game circle founded by Aki Tomoya and joins the one created by Kousaka Akane—
Then fine, let's generously make it three betrayals.
After all, only someone who's been betrayed three times can possess a pure, noble soul and become a Hero.
Aki Tomoya looked away and muttered bitterly,
"Bitch."
Then he pedaled off into the distance, the gap between himself and Eriri growing wider and wider.