096. Ebina Nana

Hearing that, Jiang Yu merely lifted the corner of his mouth, spread his hands, and said with easy composure, “Then, Senior Haze-no-Hill… what is the answer from Shizuko Kasumi?”

Utaha Kasumigaoka smiled with unforced grace and said, “What you said is right. I really have no idea how someone who isn’t a commercial writer or part of the game industry knows so much.”

“This script does indeed have more or less problems in many places. No matter how much you play with puns in the title, you still can’t hide that, can you?”

“As for the way the plot has been moving forward, that was my mistake this time. I was too impatient. Maybe being burdened by club work and writing work at the same time threw my state of mind off balance.”

“Of course, please also believe that I’ll adjust myself properly. In the end, I will definitely hand in a script that is excellent enough.”

By the end, Utaha Kasumigaoka’s words were filled with strong confidence.

Rin-ya clapped his hands and laughed. “As expected of Teacher Shizuko Kasumi!”

Eriri gave a faint huff, though she did not say anything sharp in return. Clearly, this unnamed fan who claimed never to have read Shizuko Kasumi’s works yet knew her creative style extremely well was silently agreeing with Utaha Kasumigaoka’s words.

Even Jiang Yu, who had spent the whole day finding faults with the script, had great faith in Utaha Kasumigaoka’s writing ability. At first, he might have wondered whether the author of Metronome of Love could really write a work full of otaku flavor like Steins Gate.

But after reading this script, Jiang Yu had to admit that his understanding of Utaha Kasumigaoka as Shizuko Kasumi had been far too shallow.

Although until yesterday he had not known that Utaha Kasumigaoka, with all her labels of sly senior, sharp tongue, and the like, and the author Shizuko Kasumi, whose first work after arriving in this world had moved him so deeply, were actually the same person.

Still, as she said, to hold some kind of stereotyped, label-based prejudice against a writer who had only published one work was their own fault, was it not?

Sighing over the fact that the script problem had finally been resolved, Jiang Yu let out a long yawn, stretched, and said with visible relief, “Then I’ll be looking forward to Senior Kasumigaoka’s masterpiece~”

Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at Jiang Yu, smiled meaningfully, and said, “I certainly won’t disappoint Teacher Tosu.”

“…Could we please spare me that title?” Jiang Yu raised his hands in surrender.

“Eh~ Ah Yu really is stubborn about this kind of thing,” teased Rin-ya.

“None of your business…” Jiang Yu held a hand to his forehead and replied irritably.

Watching the two of them trade quips, Utaha Kasumigaoka let her usual slightly cool smile return to her face, thereby showing that she quite enjoyed the atmosphere at the moment.

After they had laughed and joked for a while, Jiang Yu turned to Rin-ya, who had just been trading barbs with him, and said seriously, “So, the problem you wanted to raise, has it been solved?”

At that, Utaha Kasumigaoka and Eriri also focused their gazes on Rin-ya.

Rin-ya nodded. “More or less. Earlier I was still wondering where the problem was, but now I roughly get it. Chuunibyo is super interesting, and the ‘theory of worldline convergence’ somehow feels insanely hype too. But at the same time, the mundane life of ordinary everyday scenes is also an indispensable part of a galgame.”

“Mm… though I remain unconvinced that the everyday life in this work can really be called mundane, revealing hints and clues to the player through daily scenes before the mystery is laid bare is indeed a good idea.”

“Of course, my opinion is just that the amount of information leaked has to be controlled well. You want the player to have a vague guess, but before the truth is actually revealed, they still can’t get the correct answer. That itchy, unbearable feeling is simply amazing! You could even say it’s one of the forces that drives the player to keep going!”

“Though that degree is hard to control, Senior Shizuko Kasumi can definitely write it! No, I mean, there’s no way Senior Kasumi can’t write it!”

By the end, Rin-ya once again fell into his all-too-familiar state of excitement, turning into a die-hard fan of Shizuko Kasumi. Jiang Yu and the others could only look at one another before smiling helplessly and shaking their heads.

Especially Utaha Kasumigaoka. After hearing Rin-ya’s exaggerated praise, she laughed and then coolly quipped, “As a half-baked producer, you’re making requests like this… one day I’m going to kill you.”

...

After glancing at the time and seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Yu said goodbye to Rin-ya and the others and left the audio-visual classroom. After all, he still had to go home to make dinner and head to his part-time job...

Just then, Jiang Yu received a message from Anko Kato.

“Tonight the café is closed, so your shift is canceled. Study well, rest well, or have fun at home, high school boy!”

Is that a choice branch you’re offering me, Kato-san? Don’t casually treat life like a galgame! I can’t even use save-load abuse!

That said, being suddenly told he didn’t have to go to work left Jiang Yu at a loss for what to do next. Aside from the options Anko Kato had given him, it seemed there really wasn’t anything else to do, damn it!

The unborn “Witch’s Daughter,” and Volume Two of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, are crying, aren’t they, protagonist-kun? And by the way, old man Togashi is waving at you~

...

After complaining to someone—or perhaps to the god of this world, as a joke—Jiang Yu arrived beneath his apartment building, only to see a rather familiar figure walking this way.

Waiting quietly in place, and only after the figure drew near did Jiang Yu greet them. “Umaru? Why are you back so late?”

Umaru Doma, who had been smiling and talking with the girl beside her, froze, then shifted her gaze to Jiang Yu. Her expression changed from surprise to delight, and after hurrying a few steps forward, she came up to him and called out sweetly, “Big brother~”

Behind Umaru stood a girl with short orange-red hair and a striking figure. Her twin braids barely reached past her shoulders, and her eyes, the same color as her hair, were looking timidly at Jiang Yu.

Smiling, Jiang Yu patted his little sister on the head, then felt that gaze, like that of a startled rabbit. Looking at the well-endowed girl in front of him, who wore the same uniform as Umaru, Jiang Yu gave her a warm nod, then looked at Umaru and said, “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend to me, Umaru?”

“Ah—! Sorry, big brother. This is Nana Ebina, my classmate. She also lives here~ Ebina-chan, this is my brother~” Umaru said, as if suddenly realizing it, and began introducing them to each other.

Jiang Yu looked straight into Nana Ebina’s eyes and smiled. “Hello, Ebina-chan. Thank you for being friends with our Umaru.”

Nana Ebina lowered her head and said shyly, “H-hello, big brother…”

Jiang Yu did not know whether it was his imagination, but he seemed to see wisps of blue smoke rising from the top of the girl’s head...

A steam maiden? Jiang Yu chuckled and shook his head, brushing off the absurd thought.