LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 16: 16
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"It's over! What shameful words did I just say?" After calming down, Eriri felt like her brain was about to shut down.
She had just revealed her side as a super otaku in public.
And she had said such shameful words!
It was as if she had presented everything about herself to Izumi Yu without leaving anything behind.
Her heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of shame.
"No! Don't do such an embarrassing thing!" Eriri couldn't help but shake her head frantically, her two golden ponytails spinning as fast as a fan.
Looking at the girl's twin ponytails that could be used as weapons, Izumi Yuu couldn't help but tremble in his heart.
If this falls on me, I will definitely bleed!
[You stare at the girl's golden ponytails that are like a work of art, and your heart immediately begins to stir, and an evil thought involuntarily arises in your mind. As an experienced driver with many years of driving experience, you have never experienced the steering wheel of a ponytail, but now a great opportunity is here! As long as you can properly use the girl's handle, you can own a brand new ponytail steering wheel...]
"Your car is not going to the kindergarten at all! And you really want to have this as a handle to suffer for the rest of your life, right?"
Hearing the suggestion from the narrator, Izumi Yu couldn't help but complain in his heart.
And I haven't even got my driver's license yet!
This is driving without a license!
Although this car is not used on the road at all, it does not require a driver's license.
"I can understand Ms. Kashiwagi's feelings. Just like the moment I saw Ms. Kashiwagi's work, I also felt a collision between art and soul." Izumi Yu ignored the subsequent mumbling of the narrator, and sat upright, staring solemnly at Eriri's... twin-tailed face, and said, "So Ms. Kashiwagi, don't worry, my new work will be sent to you as soon as possible, before the publishing house!"
"That's great! Mr. Izumi is such a reliable partner~!" After hearing what Izumi Yuu said, Eriri ignored her inner shame and said ecstatically, "I will also put in my utmost effort to do the illustrations for Mr. Izumi in the future!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Md. Kashiwagi. I hope that if you have the chance, you can help me realize my insignificant little dream." Izumi You leaned back in his chair and asked with a smile.
"Dream? Mr. Izumi, are you talking about being an illustrator?" Eriri thought about it for a moment, then remembered the dream that Izumi Yuu had just mentioned. She patted her barren chest, gave Izumi Yuu a thumbs up, and said happily, "Don't worry! Leave it to me! I will definitely help Mr. Izumi realize your dream!"
"I feel relieved to have the promise from Ms. Kashiwagi." Izumi said with a smile.
"And..." Suddenly, Eriri left her seat, walked to Izumi Yu's side, and pushed Izumi Yu into a corner.
"Kashiwagi Sensei, is there anything else?" Izumi Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Eriri with some confusion and asked.
"I hope Izumi-san can keep my true identity a secret in the academy. I think Izumi-san should be able to do it, right?" Eriri said to Izumi-san with a kind smile, "Otherwise, I will drag Izumi-san down with me, okay? Izumi-san probably doesn't want other girls to know that you are the author of a light novel, right?"
I saw Eriri pressing her fair and slender left leg on Izumi Yu's body. With the advantage of standing, she looked down at Izumi Yu from a condescending attitude, like a dark saint judging the believers of light.
Izumi You could clearly smell the girl's body fragrance with the scent of lilies while breathing, and feel the girl's soft and elastic leg muscles. There was even a vague danger of an accidental discharge of the gun.
This feeling of being the victim and the other party being the abuser is too subtle.
"Well... this kind of threat has no effect on me at all." Izumi Yuu raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Eriri in front of him with a playful smile and said, "But of course I will keep it a secret for Sawamura-san, then it's like the two of us exchanging secrets, it sounds good."
Hearing what Izumi Yu said, Eriri, who was originally threatening and intimidating Izumi Yu, was instantly engulfed by shame, and her fair skin instantly turned red, as if it was about to bleed.
"Huh?! We exchanged a secret? Don't say such embarrassing and stupid things!" Eriri said shyly, trying her best to hide her inner panic.
These were the kind of words that only a man and a woman about to fall in love would say, and Eriri, who had never been in love before, instinctively felt ashamed and wanted to escape.
And there is also a hint of... sweetness.
"I think Sawamura-san should be relieved now, right?" Izumi said with a smile while looking at Eriri.
"Huh..." Eriri tried her best to calm herself down, turned her head slightly and said, "I'll just trust you this time with reluctance! I still have a lot of work to do, so I have to go to the club first! I stayed with you for so long today just because I wanted to be lazy, not because I wanted to stay with you for a while longer!"
"Yes, yes, then I look forward to communicating with Mr. Kashiwagi next time." Looking at Eriri who was still saying one thing and thinking another, Izumi Yuu couldn't help but feel a little funny.
With such a textbook tsundere character, it's no wonder that she was exploited by that scumbag Tomoya Aki for so long.
But if Eriri wasn't so tsundere, she would seem a little less cute.
Anyway, it would be enough to just listen to what the girl said in reverse.
Besides, being tsundere is at least much better than those bad women who pretend to be sincere but actually tell lies.
Thinking of this, Izumi You looked at Eriri with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"What are you laughing at? I'm telling the truth!" Feeling the smile in Izumi Yu's eyes, Eriri felt as if she was seen through by Izumi Yu. It was like she was standing in front of Izumi Yu with nothing on. She couldn't help but stamp her feet in embarrassment and asked.
"Nothing." Izumi You shook his head and said seriously.
"I don't believe it! What are you laughing at? Damn it! Don't you believe what I said?!" Eriri showed her cute fangs and questioned Izumi Yu angrily.
I completely forgot that I had to go back and finish my manuscript.
[The girl's various attributes have aroused the evil thoughts in your heart. If you can control such a girl in the dungeon, you feel that you can play for a month without repeating yourself. Before you implement your plan, you need to be careful not to be found by the police. After all, the girl's father is a diplomat, and he will naturally spare no effort in the search. In addition, you also need to prepare some sleeping pills to help you take the girl away smoothly...]
"You're really worried that I won't die fast enough!"
Hearing the suggestion from the narrator, Izumi You felt a chill and rolled his eyes in his heart.
Other little tricks can no longer satisfy this scumbag narrator's criminal desire!
Now it has progressed to illegal detention. Izumi Yuu dare not even imagine what will happen next time!
....
"Great! After a day of hard work, I got so much inspiration today that I can use in my game content, so that I can make a better game! In this way, the female characters in the game can be more three-dimensional, vivid and moving! All the efforts and hard work are worth it!"
Outside the mall, a young man wearing black-framed glasses waved his fist excitedly and said, with joy and happiness on his face that was difficult to conceal.
"Well, that's great." Hearing the boy's words, the girl who looked extremely tired froze, then forced a smile and said.
But there was an ambiguous look in the eyes when he looked at the boy.
These two people are Tomoya Aki and Megumi Kato who came to Rokutenma Mall to collect information.
In order to create more exciting game content and design characters that are closer to reality, Kato Megumi and Aki Tomoya spent almost a whole day touring the Rokutenma Mall, visiting various shops and sights along the way.
As a result, when talking about the result of the joint efforts of the two people, Tomoya Aki did not mention Kato Megumi's contribution at all, but only talked about his own hard work.
He also called the club's games "my games" and the only thing on his mind was the games, completely ignoring his own emotions and conditions.
All these words and actions made Kato Megumi's mood subtle and complicated.
Obviously, she has contributed a lot, but Tomoya Aki has never seen her efforts and hard work, nor has he regarded himself as an important member of the game production.
It was as if i was just a chess piece, just a tool for Tomoya Aki to complete his game.
"Huh? Kato, what's wrong with you? You seem a little absent-minded today." After great excitement, Aki Tomoya seemed to have finally come out of his own world. He looked
Looking at the dull face of Aki Tomoya in front of her, who didn't notice her fatigue or mood at all, Kato Megumi shook her head slightly and simply said, "Nothing."
"That's good. Speaking of which, I'm a bit tired. Let's find a place to rest." Aki Tomoya wiped the sweat from his forehead and added, "Megumi, you must be tired too. You've been walking around for so long."
"Yeah." Kato Megumi nodded silently, her expression showing no emotion, her gaze blank.
She quietly observed Tomoya Aki, her mind wandering. Was he really so oblivious that he couldn't sense her exhaustion, or was he just too self-absorbed to care?
She couldn't quite figure it out. Was it that some people are simply so caught up in their own world that they can't pick up on the emotional cues of others?
Aki Tomoya himself was clearly tired, but he never mentioned taking a break. He dragged her from one place to another, collecting materials, without once considering her own fatigue.
Only when he was nearly spent did he suggest stopping for a rest, a rare acknowledgment of his own limits.
Kato Megumi frowned inwardly. Even if you're absorbed in your own world, you can't entirely ignore those around you, can you? Especially if you're supposed to be working together. Or perhaps Tomoya Aki saw the world as revolving entirely around him, with no room for anyone else.
If it were Izumi-kun, she thought, he would have noticed her fatigue long ago. He would have made sure to take breaks, to share the effort, not only focusing on himself.
The thought of Izumi Yu brought a brief moment of clarity to her mind. It was strange—she had been thinking about him again.
If I were with him, she mused, I would feel cared for, not like I'm just here to support someone else's work.
"Is it an illusion?" Kato Megumi blinked as she saw something from the corner of her eye, a glimpse of two people sitting near the café window. One of them was the very person she had been thinking about.
The other figure was a girl, her golden twin ponytails glistening, wearing a bright yellow dress.
Kato Megumi's heart skipped a beat. "How come these two people are here? Could it be that Sawamura-kun and Izumi-kun know each other?"
She rubbed her eyes, unsure of what she was seeing. The two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, and something about it stirred a sour feeling in her chest.
"Maybe they just have other things to talk about? After all, two people together doesn't always mean they're dating. For example, Tomoya and I are together for club work," she muttered to herself, shaking off the uncomfortable thoughts. "I shouldn't be imagining things."
What right did she have to worry about Izumi Yu's relationships? After all, she and Izumi were just friends. She quickly dismissed the thought.
"Megumi, why don't you come over here? There are benches to rest on!" Aki Tomoya's voice broke through her internal debate, and she looked up to see him waving from a distant bench, calling her to join him.
"I understand," she said quietly, standing up without much expression. She walked over to him and sat at a distance, a little farther than usual.
"Huh? Why are you sitting so far away?" Aki Tomoya asked, raising an eyebrow at the space between them.
"I... just feel more comfortable here," Kato Megumi replied calmly, her voice steady but distant.
In truth, she didn't really know why she had instinctively distanced herself from him. Was it because she was worried about what Izumi Yu might think? Or was it just a subconscious desire to keep her distance from Tomoya?
She couldn't pinpoint the reason herself, only that it felt right at the moment.
"I see," Aki Tomoya said, nodding, though he didn't push the issue. His face lit up with excitement. "Today went great! This success will definitely inspire Utaha senpai to write even more exciting plots and content for the game."
"Yeah, that's great," Kato Megumi replied, her voice betraying little emotion. She felt something bitter rise in her chest as she listened to him speak, but she kept her expression neutral.
From her perspective, it seemed like Kasumigaoka Utaha was just another tool for Tomoya Aki, someone there to help him build something more exciting. Did she really want to help, or was she just playing along?
Kato Megumi found herself unsure. It seemed like everyone else was involved in this project out of some sense of obligation or competitiveness, but she, on the other hand, had joined willingly, even indifferently. Was it strange to feel this way when everyone else seemed so wrapped up in their roles?
"Once Eriri finishes drawing, we can really move forward with the game's content," Aki Tomoya continued, his voice rising with excitement. "It's going to be amazing!"
As he rambled on, lost in his own thoughts, Kato Megumi's attention drifted again.
Ding-ling-ling...
Aki Tomoya's phone rang suddenly, cutting through the conversation.
"Eh? Is that Utaha senpai?" He glanced at the caller ID, then turned to Kato Megumi with a look of mild surprise. "I need to take this call. Wait here for a moment."
"Okay," Kato Megumi replied simply, her face unreadable. She didn't mind being left alone, though a small part of her felt the absence of the conversation.
She looked around, trying to distract herself, though her gaze kept returning to the café. She couldn't help but wonder how Izumi Yu and Eriri were interacting.
A few moments later, she saw a petite figure walking out of the café—Eriri, her golden ponytails bouncing with each step.
Kato Megumi exhaled in quiet relief. She had been worried that the two would walk out together, and she was glad to see that hadn't happened.
Why am I even paying so much attention to Izumi Yu? she thought, feeling a little troubled by the realization. She had no real claim over him, so why did she care?
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Aki Tomoya's return until he was standing in front of her.
"Utaha Senpai has something urgent to deal with, so I need to head over there," Aki Tomoya said quickly, looking at her with some anxiety. "Let's look at the rest next time. You should be fine going back alone, right?"
There was no apology, only an impatient sense of urgency on his face as he hurried to leave.
Kato Megumi was left sitting there, alone again.
"Okay..." She spoke softly, though she was already aware that Aki Tomoya hadn't given her any opportunity to respond. He had made his decision long before she could voice her thoughts.
Stone....:D