Crossover Anime: I'm at Shuchiin Academy, and my surname is Uchiha.

Chapter 97 Approaching Quietly, Without Making a Sound

The perspective shifts again, and tonight Eriri recalls the words from Iori Hashima.

"Could that girl from Bo Island really be as good a painter as me? She's two years younger than me!"

Damn it... Eriri sat in front of the computer and, as usual, sent her latest doujinshi to her childhood friend for feedback.

Tomoya Aki: "As expected of Eriri, her paintings are truly simple and reliable."

Eriri: "And then... is that all the feedback? Guess how long I spent drawing this?!"

Aki Tomoya, sitting in front of his computer, was somewhat puzzled. "Kashiwagi-sensei's quality has always been consistently high. Could this be a long-awaited masterpiece?"

Eriri immediately closed the chat interface.

When did it start? In Aki Tomoya's eyes, the works she painstakingly drew were just Kashiwagi Eri's normal level of performance.

Could it be because I haven't improved in a long time...?

Eriri started looking through her works from previous years. Why was it that, despite her obvious progress, Aki saw her as just being at the same level as Eri Kashiwagi all along?

Did he overestimate Kashiwagi Eri, or was it simply that his own artwork... couldn't live up to his high praise...?

My mind's a bit of a mess! Eriri shut down her computer and lay back on the bed. "Tomorrow... I'll invite everyone out and ask them properly."

.....

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "So that's your reason for asking us out so early in the morning? Just to embolden you to go find your childhood friend!"

Inside the café, Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced at Kato Megumi beside her, then looked at Eriri across from her.

"I'm not from any of your game development companies, so why did you call me here?"

Eriri glared at her, "Because you know my inside story, and aren't you supposed to be very good at theory? Analyze the situation for me later."

Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her legs. "Whatever, just get me a cappuccino first, it's on you."

Eriri gritted her teeth, but still called the waiter over and ordered three cups of coffee.

"But it's so slow... By the way, did you invite that exchange student to Kasumigaoka?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha tilted her head. "I talked to him half an hour ago, and he still hasn't replied."

Eriri: "Half an hour ago... I can understand that. I messaged Aki Tomoya first thing this morning, asking him to meet me at the cafe. Why isn't he here yet?!"

Five minutes later, Uchiha Ryo walked into the coffee shop, and Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately moved further into her seat, gesturing for him to sit down.

Uchiha Ryo, of course, wouldn't refuse, and so the scene unfolded with Kato Megumi, Kasumigaoka, and Uchiha Ryo sitting together. Eriri, meanwhile, occupied the opposite sofa seat all by herself...

Kasumigaoka: "You're pretty quick, aren't you? You arrived in just half an hour. I thought Eriri's childhood friend would arrive first."

Uchiha Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not fast. If I wanted to, I could drag it out for a day."

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "???"

Kato Megumi: Silently drinking coffee. Anyway, she's just here to slack off today. She has nothing to do with game production.

Eriri gritted her teeth, "Damn it, why isn't that guy here yet!"

She took out her phone and glanced at it, after which Eriri's expression visibly turned somewhat ferocious.

"What did you see?"

Kasumigaoka quickly grabbed Eriri's phone and saw the chat history between her and Aki Tomoya.

Eriri: 7:00 AM [Remember that coffee shop near my house? Let's meet at 10:00 AM to discuss the game.]

Aki Tomoya: 9:55 AM: [Sorry I just saw this. I went to work early this morning. I'll be back soon, wait for me for an hour.]

Current time: 10:30

Uchiha Ryo and Kato Megumi both peeked over at the same time.

Eriri immediately snatched the phone back, saying, "Forget it, let's ignore him!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha put down her coffee. "But you gathered us together just to ask that Aki guy about his plans to make a game, right? Honestly, there are tons of those ordinary otaku guys out there. Why do we have to make a game for him?"

"..."

Eriri: "Never mind, it seems the meeting can't be held today. I'm sorry to have asked you to come. I'll treat you to lunch."

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded. "I know a good yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant."

"Still eating barbecue! You'll get fat!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head and crossed her arms. "Sorry, the nutrients were perfectly absorbed and went to where they were supposed to go. Oh dear~ Eriri-kun should really eat more, otherwise she won't grow up at all."

Eriri suddenly stood up. "Kasumigaoka!! Do you believe I'll make sure the heroine of my next doujinshi is from 'Love Metronome,' and it'll feature two heroines together!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha remained unmoved. "Whatever. My work might even gain popularity if it gets a second creation from Kashiwagi Eri-sensei."

Uchiha Ryo put down his phone. "Since there's nothing more to say, let's go eat."

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head. "Hey, Ling-kun, are you free this afternoon? Want to go gather some more material?"

"About the research... I'll be meeting up with my clubmates from Shuchiin High School this afternoon, so it's fine if you want to come."

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned as she looked at Uchiha Ryo.

"Are the members of the club...male or female?"

Uchiha Ryo thought for a moment and said, "They should all come, both men and women."

So that's what this group activity was all about. Kasumigaoka Utaha had thought Uchiha Ryo was going on a date with other girls. Now that's the case, she felt relieved and decided to go back to work on her manuscript.

The four of them got up and left the cafe, heading to a famous yakiniku restaurant following the directions given by Kasumigaoka.

...

"This place seems somewhat familiar."

Kato Megumi, who had been following behind the group, suddenly stopped and looked at the long slope at the intersection on the left.

Uchiha Ryo nodded. "The wind isn't strong today, and Kato-kun isn't wearing a hat either."

Eriri turned her head to the side. "Ah, Aki lives not far up there. If he really finishes his work, he'll probably go up this slope."

Speak of the devil, and he appears! No sooner had Eriri finished speaking than everyone saw a bespectacled man pushing a bicycle appear at the bottom of the slope.

Eriri clenched her fists. This guy who stood her up and was still so relaxed—she had to find out today whether the game was still going to be played or not!

Just as Eriri was about to call Aki Tomoya over, he was stopped by two other people.

Uchiha Ryo narrowed his eyes. "Aren't these the two siblings from that night? Should we go over and take a look?"

Eriri: "The Hashima siblings... Hmph, we'll approach quietly, without making a sound!"