The next morning, as Rei Ao stepped out of his house, he saw Gabriel yawning as she left hers.
"Huh? Tenma, you look really tired."
After all, not only had he been fighting in another world yesterday, but he also had "handled business" with Akame in a rather exhaustive manner. Even so, he didn't feel tired at all. But Gabriel, on the other hand, looked more worn out than him. Her hair was slightly messy, not as smooth as usual.
"Yeah… I saved a lot of lives last night…"
Gabriel forced a smile. She wasn't lying; she had indeed saved lives… in a video game.
"…I see."
Rei Ao understood. Gabriel's fall from grace had already begun.
He sighed, "Even angels shouldn't stay up too late."
After all, angels and demons like Gabriel were not as different from humans as people thought. They had human-like habits and lives.
Since Gabriel didn't offer any more details, Rei Ao didn't press the matter.
"Let's head to school."
"Alright."
...
Mai had already managed to control how she appeared to others, but she planned to wait a couple of days before returning to school. Rei Ao could only look forward to her return. After all, if they could do things on the rooftop, his mind was already full of new ideas. When Mai returned to campus, maybe he could start persuading her.
He thought today would be a peaceful day, but that was far from the case.
As they approached the classroom, Rei Ao saw Megumi Kato standing outside in the hallway, facing a boy who seemed to be talking to her excitedly.
"That guy…"
Rei Ao recognized the bespectacled boy immediately.
"Tomoya Aki…"
"Hm?"
Hearing his name called, Tomoya paused and turned towards Rei Ao.
"You know me?"
Rei Ao approached Megumi's side. "Of course I do."
Megumi looked curiously at him.
Rei Ao chuckled softly, "One of the top ten weirdos on campus, Tomoya Aki. That's a name I've definitely heard."
"…"
Tomoya's face twitched at the comment. That wasn't exactly a title to be proud of—in fact, it was the worst kind. He had earned it by being openly otaku, not caring about others' opinions and even preaching his interests to others whenever he got the chance.
But Tomoya wasn't bothered by it. After all, he was just sharing what he loved with more people. How could that be wrong?
"Megumi, is this Tomoya Aki guy bothering you?"
Megumi nodded. "Yes. Aki-san said he wants to make a game with me as the main character."
"That's right!" Tomoya eagerly nodded.
"Kana-san, I think you look quite ordinary, but with my game, I can shape you into the perfect and most dazzling heroine!!!"
"…"
Megumi's eyebrows twitched slightly, a small but telling sign of her displeasure. Rei Ao could already see that she wasn't happy. Not only had Tomoya gotten her name wrong, but he also bluntly called her "ordinary" to her face. No one would be pleased with that.
Rei Ao hadn't paid much attention to Tomoya initially, but after this, he felt disgusted.
"Tomoya Aki, getting someone's name wrong is bad enough, but calling someone 'ordinary'—what's that about? Watch your words."
Rei Ao had hoped that Tomoya would realize his mistake and back down, but Tomoya seemed unfazed. He stared at Megumi for a while and then nodded seriously, "No, it's true. Right now, she's ordinary. There's none of the excitement I felt that day."
Ever since that fateful encounter when Megumi had caught his attention, Tomoya had been chasing after her, hoping to recreate that moment of destiny. He wanted to capture that in his game and bring that scene to life.
With renewed excitement, he puffed out his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Kana-san. I'll make you the perfect heroine!"
Saying this, he even reached out to grab Megumi's hand.
But Megumi instantly stepped back, positioning herself behind Rei Ao.
Rei Ao narrowed his eyes and grabbed Tomoya's wrist.
"Heh, you think you can just put your hands on someone like that?"
"!!!"
Tomoya froze.
"Let go of me!"
He tried to pull away but found that Rei Ao's grip was unyielding, like a rock. There was no way someone like Tomoya could overpower him. Feeling the pain in his wrist intensify, Tomoya struggled harder.
Megumi tugged on Rei Ao's sleeve and said worriedly, "Ao-kun, it's fine. Let him go."
She wasn't worried about Tomoya, but more about Rei Ao accidentally hurting him. After all, she didn't want him to get in trouble for seriously injuring someone so weak.
With a sigh, Rei Ao loosened his grip. Because he let go so suddenly, Tomoya, still struggling, lost his balance and stumbled backward, crashing into a nearby trash can.
"Wahh!!!"
The loud commotion drew even more attention from nearby students. A few curious heads popped out from classrooms, including Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was looking for some inspiration.
"Hmm? It's him."
Seeing that Rei Ao was involved in the scene, she suddenly remembered something—those two lunchboxes at her house… they belonged to him!
"How could I have forgotten about that?!"
She smacked her forehead. She had eaten someone else's lunch and even taken both lunchboxes home without a word. How irresponsible was that?
Utaha planned to return the lunchboxes to Rei Ao later, but it seemed like he was in the middle of something right now.
"Ugh!!"
Tomoya clutched his head, groaning in pain. Seeing that the crowd was growing, he scrambled to his feet and angrily pointed at Rei Ao.
"Why'd you have to get physical just like that?!"
Before Rei Ao could respond, Megumi stepped forward, for the first time showing a trace of irritation on her face.
"Tomoya Aki-san, please don't cause trouble for others."
"You approached me, started talking about making me the heroine of your game without asking, and then you even tried to touch me. Ao-kun was only helping me."
Her calm words made the surrounding onlookers look at Tomoya with strange expressions.
Tomoya was dumbfounded… and embarrassed.
It wasn't a surprise to anyone that this "weirdo" had caused such a scene.
Realizing how out of line his actions had been, Tomoya stammered, "I-I didn't mean to. I just got really excited thinking about the game…"
But Megumi wasn't interested in hearing any more.
"Please stop," she said firmly, raising her hand. "I just want you to know that I have no desire to be the heroine of your game."
"W-Why?"
Tomoya couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had laid out his grand vision to her, explaining how amazing it would be. Surely, she should be thrilled by the opportunity!
Megumi asked coolly, "Do you even know my name?"
"Of course! You're… Megumi Kana!"
Tomoya answered confidently, as if it were impossible for him to be wrong.
But the look of dislike that appeared on Megumi's face said it all.
"You can call me ordinary if you want, but you couldn't even get my name right."
"My name is Megumi Kato, not Kana, not whatever else."
"Ao-kun has never gotten my name wrong, not even once."
With that, she grabbed Rei Ao's hand and, without looking back, led him back into the classroom.
"???"
Tomoya stood there, dumbfounded.
"Not… Megumi Kana? How is that possible?"
He had really gotten it wrong!
"Pfft, this guy doesn't even know someone's name and still tries to harass them. Pfft."
"Ha! That's Tomoya Aki for you."
"Yeah, one of the top students no one wants to be around, a total weirdo."
"…"
The mocking whispers from all around stung Tomoya. His whole body trembled with anger. He clenched his fists tightly… but then let them go. Glaring at everyone around him, he turned and ran off.
The farce had ended, and Utaha returned her attention to her own matters.
"Is that girl his girlfriend?" she wondered.
She couldn't care less about Tomoya Aki, but the girl holding Rei Ao's hand intrigued her.
...
"Hey Megumi, if that guy bothers you again, just let me know," Rei Ao said as they returned to class, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thank you, Ao-kun."
Megumi blinked her pretty eyes and glanced briefly at their now interlocked hands, not making a big deal out of it. "I appreciate you looking out for me."
"But I hope you don't get too worked up over Tomoya Aki. I'm worried you might hit him too hard…"
Rei Ao chuckled, reassured her, "Don't worry. I have perfect control over my strength."
He wouldn't kill Tomoya, but making sure he couldn't get out of bed for a few days—or making him disappear quietly over time—would be very easy.
...
Tomoya Aki must have been truly intimidated, as he didn't bother Megumi Kato for the entire morning. However, by the afternoon, he had found a new target to harass.
In an empty classroom, three people were gathered. Utaha Kasumigaoka frowned as she looked at the one who had called her there—Tomoya Aki, the clown from earlier that morning. Alongside him was a blonde girl with twin tails, whom Utaha recognized. She was also somewhat of a celebrity at school—Eriri Spencer Sawamura.
"What do you want from me?" Utaha asked impatiently, tapping her foot. She clearly just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Tomoya flashed a mysterious smile. "Kasumigaoka-san, Eriri, I want to invite you both to join my club!"
Eriri's expression darkened. At first, she thought Tomoya was coming to reconcile with her. After all, they had been childhood friends, but had a falling out years ago. As time went by, she found him familiar yet distant. Familiar because he still didn't care about others' opinions, but distant because the rose-tinted view of her childhood had faded.
"What club?" Utaha asked, her brows furrowing. If it was some random club, she had no interest.
Tomoya didn't answer directly and instead gave Utaha a mysterious look.
"…"
That look made Utaha feel uncomfortable.
He then pulled out a book from his bag. The title read: 'Love Metronome'.
Utaha's eyes widened slightly.
Pushing his glasses up, Tomoya said with confidence, "Utaha Kasumigaoka, pen name Utako Kasumi, a rising high school light novel author. Her debut work 'Love Metronome' has already sold over 500,000 copies!"
He spoke proudly, revealing information about Utaha.
"Utako Kasumi-sensei, I'm one of your biggest fans. I've read 'Love Metronome' more than 10 times—it's incredible!"
He certainly had the intense aura of a die-hard fan.
"!!!"
Even Eriri was surprised as she glanced at Utaha. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also a talented light novel author.
Utaha frowned, "What do you want?"
She immediately took this as an invasion of her privacy.
Tomoya quickly reassured her, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't reveal your private information. I'm just explaining how amazing you are."
Then, he turned his attention to Eriri.
"This here is Eriri Spencer Sawamura, and she's not just an ordinary high school student."
"Hmm?"
Utaha looked at Eriri, who was clenching her fists tightly, her face pale. But Tomoya didn't notice at all and continued.
"Besides being a student, Eriri is also a famous doujinshi artist known as 'Eri Kashiwagi'!"
"Eri Kashiwagi?"
Seeing Eriri's pale face, Utaha became curious about the name. She quickly took out her phone to search for more information.
"…"
What she found left her speechless. Eri Kashiwagi was a well-known artist, but for drawing 'adult' doujinshi! However, it seemed she was indeed very popular.
"So, what kind of club are you asking us to join? And what is it for?" Utaha cut straight to the point.
Tomoya's eyes lit up as he excitedly explained, "I want to form a doujin game club, and I'd like you both to help me create a groundbreaking game!"
"…"
Upon hearing this, the small spark of curiosity Utaha had immediately fizzled out. She stared at Tomoya like he was an idiot. Even Eriri looked at him strangely.
"Let me stop you right there," Utaha said. "Tomoya Aki, do you even know how competitive the doujin game industry is?"
Tomoya nodded confidently, "Of course I do. But I believe we can do it!"
Utaha laughed at his naive confidence. "What makes you think someone with no experience can create a groundbreaking game?"
"Are you well-versed in the industry? Do you have the money?"
"Uh…"
Tomoya faltered for a moment, but he still pressed on, "I've played all the doujin games out there, and I've even done part-time jobs."
After dismissing her questions, he eagerly began laying out his "great plan."
"I believe that with Utako Kasumi-sensei's writing and Eri Kashiwagi's illustrations, we can create the perfect game! As for the music, I have a cousin who plays guitar and sings in a band—she's a musical genius!"
Utaha couldn't help but smirk. "First off, Tomoya Aki, what kind of game are you even trying to make?"
"Oh, right!" Tomoya smacked his forehead as if he had just remembered something important. He pulled out a folder from his bag and handed it to Utaha.
It seemed formal enough to pique her curiosity. Maybe, just maybe, he had a decent idea.
However…
After opening the folder and skimming the densely packed text, Utaha could only feel a headache coming on. She passed it to Eriri, saying, "Sawamura-san, you should take a look."
"Sure…"
Eriri read through it as well, and her expression turned from surprise to exasperation.
This wasn't a proposal. It was a rambling mess of text, with not a single concrete game concept. The entire document expressed only one theme: creating a game about a girl who makes the player's heart flutter.
And that was it!
~~~
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