Chapter 88. Kashi and Eiri Bakimura

As the words faded, the classroom was plunged into silence.

Akiyama then spoke, his expression tinged with a subtle complexity. “Well… I think I mentioned when we first met that these two are closet otaku, but let me formally introduce them now.”

He paused and pointed at Eriri with a serious face. “Eriri Spencer Sawamura, pen name ‘Eiri Kashiwagi,’ illustrator for the major doujin circle ‘egoistic-lily.’ Oh, and to add, the entire circle exists solely to sell her doujin works, and everyone involved is her parents.”

Then Akiyama gestured toward Utaha Kasumigaoka. “Utaha Kasumigaoka, pen name ‘Kasumi Utako,’ author for Undead River Library. She has published and completed her debut novel, ‘Love Metronome,’ and is a best-selling writer with fifty thousand copies sold.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu and Megumi Kato exclaimed in surprise, “Kasumi Utako?!”

Eriri, dissatisfied, complained to Akiyama, “Hey, why are you only highlighting that gloomy girl’s achievements?”

Akiyama replied helplessly, “You should give me something I can proudly introduce, you know, adult doujin artist!”

“Ugh…” Eriri retreated in defeat.

Utaha looked curiously at Jiang Yu’s astonished face and asked, “You know me?”

Jiang Yu nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with excitement, unable to hide his amazement. “I never imagined that Senior Kasumigaoka is actually Kasumi Utako… Your ‘Love Metronome’ is an incredible work; I stayed up all night to finish it and was totally out of sorts the next day.”

Utaha’s lips curved gently, clearly pleased. She twirled a lock of hair by her cheek, her wine-red eyes shimmering, and her elegant brows raised slightly as she teased, “No need for honorifics, Jiang Yu. And I’m glad to hear my work is so empty that you could read all five volumes in one night.”

Jiang Yu gave a wry smile. “That’s not really a compliment, and I didn’t say that. I recommended it to Kato as well, and she thought it was great, didn’t you?”

Turning to Megumi Kato beside him, Jiang Yu sought her confirmation. Megumi nodded, still surprised as she looked at Utaha. “When Jiang Yu recommended it so enthusiastically, I was a bit skeptical—but after reading it, I realized his strong recommendation was justified.”

She smiled softly, lips curving upward, and continued, “I just never expected that Senior Kasumigaoka is actually Kasumi Utako. At the time, I thought the author was amazing, but I didn’t imagine it was a senior right beside me.”

Faced with the sincere praise from juniors she barely knew, Utaha Kasumigaoka, usually composed and aloof, unexpectedly revealed a genuine, shy expression.

“Th… thank you, Kato.” Utaha, usually so assertive or cool, now spoke with a subtle pause that betrayed her inner turmoil.

Well, if you use “subtle” too much in a sentence, everything starts feeling subtle, doesn’t it?

Also, Senior Kasumigaoka, are you really that familiar with the protagonist?

“I’ll treasure your work, Senior Kasumigaoka. Even though it’s just the ‘evangelizing’ set Jiang Yu mentioned… But if you release something new, I’ll definitely buy it and read it!”

Megumi continued in the same vein, expressing her supposed desire for Kasumi Utako’s works… or so it seemed. No matter how you looked at it, it sounded like polite conversation. Though whether she actually meant it is another matter.

After speaking, Megumi turned curiously to Eriri, who remained silent. “So, Sawamura, what do you usually do for work?”

“Ah—haha, well, I just, you know, draw a bit…” Eriri turned her head stiffly, responding evasively.

Jiang Yu muttered internally, “…Kato, didn’t you hear Akiyama just say she’s an adult doujin artist?”

Akiyama said nothing, instead skillfully typing a URL into the audiovisual classroom’s computer and projecting it onto the big screen. He addressed Megumi, “Look, Kato, this is the real Eriri!”

The screen displayed, “Welcome to egoistic-lily’s website!” After the welcoming words faded, the site revealed a gallery filled with the latest popular anime and beloved characters from hit bishoujo games—a website perfectly attuned to the moe trend and the tastes of the era.

Megumi let out a soft “Wow,” marveling, “So Sawamura draws these kinds of moe illustrations… And she really is an otaku…”

Jiang Yu also examined Eriri’s site with curiosity. The finely crafted character art impressed him with the artist’s skill, but the bright and lively style left him concerned about whether Eriri could handle the character design for “Steins;Gate.”

After all, this was his first attempt at game development, and he had neglected to consider whether the artist’s style matched the work’s tone.

Utaha, for her part, glanced at the artwork with indifference, giving it only a cursory look before losing interest.

Eriri frowned, glared at Akiyama, and said fiercely, “You’d better remember this, Akiyama…”

Akiyama spread his hands, innocently replying, “Come on, if you don’t show something real, you can’t convince Kato.”

Watching the bickering pair, Jiang Yu hesitated, then spoke up: “Um… has Sawamura’s art style always been like this?”

Before Eriri could answer, Akiyama jumped in, “If you browse the site’s history, you can trace it back several years. Seeing her artistic evolution is quite the journey. Ah—if you’re worried that Eriri might not be able to draw in the style you want for your project, there’s no need. Even if her original motivation wasn’t anything to boast about, Eriri has outstanding design ability and can quickly adapt to the latest trends.”

“As long as you specify what you want, after a bit of adjustment, she’ll definitely be able to create artwork that fits your needs.”

Akiyama spoke with absolute confidence.

Eriri’s face lit up with obvious joy, though she turned aside and snorted, “It just sells better that way. You don’t understand the purpose of commercial art!”

“Hey! Wasn’t your early work not for commercial purposes? Back then, even your messy doodles could keep you busy all afternoon, and you’d happily show them off to me!”

Akiyama pushed up his glasses, protesting.

Eriri’s eyes suddenly reddened with embarrassment, and she whipped her head around, glaring at Akiyama. “You—you—you… what are you talking about, Akiyama? I never did anything like that!”

“Oh, yes you did. Should I remind you? Second grade…”

“Uwah, wah, wah, wah! Stop, stop right now!”

Eriri lunged forward, unleashing a twin-tail whip attack. Akiyama failed to defend, received real damage, and—ah—Akiyama suffered! He’s out, GG!