"Kasumigaoka, what are you doing here?" Eriri asked with a displeased expression as she sat across from Kasumigaoka.
Kasumigaoka brushed her hair aside and replied nonchalantly, "Why? Do I need to report to you what I'm doing?"
"You!" Eriri suppressed her anger and glared at Kasumigaoka with a menacing look. "Kasumigaoka Utaha! I'm asking why you canceled our meeting at the last minute!"
Kasumigaoka glanced at Eriri, even more indifferent. "Sawamura Spencer Eriri, calling someone by their full name is rude, but since you're naturally lacking in manners, I'll let it slide."
Then Kasumigaoka changed the subject, "As for canceling our meeting, I've already explained it to you. I had something to take care of today, so our conversation had to be postponed."
"Something to take care of?" Eriri picked up the coffee in front of her and asked in an angry tone, "Is this what you had to do? Drink coffee in a café?"
With that, feeling a bit thirsty, Eriri downed half the coffee in one go.
"..." Kasumigaoka frowned slightly, feeling a bit annoyed.
That was the coffee she had ordered for Hoshimi...
Oh well, since Hoshimi hadn't taken a sip, she didn't feel like arguing with this irritable blonde dog.
"Bang!"
Eriri set down the cup, wiped the moisture from the corner of her mouth, and asked Kasumigaoka again, "Kasumigaoka, who are you meeting here? Are they important? Important enough for you to postpone our meeting?"
There were two cups of coffee on the table, clearly indicating that Kasumigaoka was here to meet someone.
The coffee was still warm, showing that Kasumigaoka hadn't been here long, and the person Kasumigaoka was meeting had either not arrived yet or had just left.
Whether it was the former or the latter didn't concern her; she was simply curious about who could make Kasumigaoka postpone their conversation.
"Eriri, do you think you're very important to me?" Kasumigaoka sipped her coffee and looked at Eriri with a nuanced expression.
Eriri impatiently showed her sharp canines. "Is that the point of my question? Kasumigaoka, can't you answer my question properly? Who is it that you're meeting?"
Kasumigaoka took a light sip of her rich coffee and said calmly, "Just a friend of mine."
Originally, she was going to say "my boyfriend," but after thinking it over, she changed her answer to "friend."
It wasn't that she didn't want to acknowledge the intimate relationship she had with Hoshimi; she just felt that mentioning her "boyfriend" in front of Eriri might pique the blonde dog's curiosity and lead to unnecessary complications.
Of course, it wasn't that she intended to keep it from Eriri forever; once Eriri confirmed her relationship with her own crush, Kasumigaoka would have no qualms about revealing her status as Hoshimi's girlfriend.
"A friend?" Eriri stared at Kasumigaoka with suspicion. "Someone like you has friends? Could it be a masochist? How could any normal person endure your sharp tongue?"
Kasumigaoka glanced at Eriri and couldn't be bothered to explain further.
Hoshimi isn't a masochist... he's a bona fide sadist.
"Tch~" Seeing Kasumigaoka remain silent, Eriri clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Realizing that staying any longer wouldn't get her any answers, Eriri thought for a moment, got up to leave, but then remembered something and sat back down. She looked at Kasumigaoka and asked, "Kasumigaoka, what was it you wanted to talk about today?"
Kasumigaoka set down her cup and raised her index finger. "First, it's about the illustrations. I'm almost done with the second volume of "The Strange Dream Chronicles", and I wanted to discuss the new character illustrations with you, as well as the illustrations for the main character 'Hoshi' in both her adult and young forms."
Hearing Kasumigaoka mention "The Strange Dream Chronicles", Eriri had mixed feelings.
The main character design for "The Strange Dream Chronicles" reminded her of someone she knew very well, someone so familiar that they knew each other inside out—a person far more detestable than Kasumigaoka, whose deeds against her were too numerous to count!
If it weren't for Kasumigaoka's earlier claim that "The Strange Dream Chronicles was a product of my relentless brainstorming," she might have suspected that Kasumigaoka had some connection with that person.
Eriri pushed those thoughts aside and continued listening to Kasumigaoka. She noticed that Kasumigaoka raised her middle finger next, indicating there was a second issue to discuss.
"The second matter concerns the club. I'm in my third year now, and besides the pressure of college entrance exams, I also have to focus on creating 'The Strange Dream Chronicles'. I don't have much energy left to manage the game script for the club."
"Moreover..." Kasumigaoka crossed her arms, her expression growing colder. "Your childhood friend suggested..."
"Kasumigaoka! Call him by his name properly! Stop binding him to me!" Eriri's expression turned fierce, her eyes showing a fleeting struggle and frustration.
If it weren't for that so-called childhood friend, she wouldn't have lost contact with that person she was so familiar with.
She didn't want to hear anyone associate her with her childhood friend anymore. She was herself! An independent person! She didn't need anyone to add unnecessary labels to her!
"...Sorry, that was my mistake." Kasumigaoka sincerely apologized and then continued, "Aki-san proposed a project. Eriri, you've probably noticed it's a huge undertaking, not something you can just play around with."
"..." Eriri bit her lip and asked in a muffled voice, "So, Kasumigaoka, what are you trying to say?"
She had a vague idea of Kasumigaoka's intentions.
"Eriri, I want to leave the club." After delivering this verdict, Kasumigaoka added, "Eriri, I have my own things to do. I have to prepare for college entrance exams, and I have my light novel manuscript to write. If I spend my time on this pointless game club, what will happen to me?"
"Let's not even talk about the distant future; just consider my 'The Strange Dream Chronicles'. You're in the ACGN community, so you should understand how profitable 'The Strange Dream Chronicles' is."
"The first volume of 'The Strange Dream Chronicles' ranked fifth on the sales chart in its first week, and the four books ahead of it were all well-established, popular works. You should realize how valuable that fifth place is."
"If I focus entirely on writing 'The Strange Dream Chronicles', the money I make could allow me to live comfortably for ten, maybe even twenty years."
"Under these circumstances, you expect me to write the script for a high school game club? Does that make sense to you?"
"If the game we produce doesn't succeed, you can imagine the kind of reputation I'd have to bear. The ACGN community has no shortage of keyboard warriors."
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