"Thank you, Kani Nayuta-san, for the sports car—huh?"
Kasumigaoka Touji blinked in surprise, his hand pausing mid-stir as he caught sight of the username that had just gifted an extravagant item in his live stream chat. The message was already buried under a flood of scrolling comments, but the name stuck with him.
"Wait a sec… Kani Nayuta? That Kani Nayuta? The author of The Silvery Landscape?"
He tilted his head, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Hearing the name Kani Nayuta, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had been multitasking like a pro with DMs and sponsor offers, also froze. Her eyes narrowed slightly as her hand hovered over the mouse, pausing her ruthless blocking for a moment.
Izumi Masamune, who'd been spacing out while manning the camera, suddenly jerked upright as if someone had splashed cold water on him.
"The Silvery Landscape... wait, wasn't that the novel that won the GAGAGA Bunko Gold Award?" he muttered, eyes widening. "She's the author?!"
Indeed, The Silvery Landscape was one of the hottest light novels of the year. Masamune had been planning to buy it for "research," but work hell had swallowed all his free time. Still, the name Kani Nayuta was hard to forget.
To think… she was a fan of Winter-sensei?
"Uwaaah… Touji-kun, seriously?! You've got celebrity fans now?" Masamune mumbled to himself, awe slowly overtaking him.
And then, a reply popped up in the chat.
[Kani Nayuta]: "Yes! It's me! Winter-sensei knows who I am? I'm soooo happy!! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o"
[Kani Nayuta]: "I'm a huge fan of your music! Every piece is like magic!"
Touji blinked, then smiled genuinely.
"I'm also your fan, Kani Nayuta-san. I finished The Silvery Landscape two days ago, and honestly, I nearly cried."
He glanced at the camera and leaned in a little, lowering his voice slightly like he was letting the audience in on a secret.
"The way you built the story, the bittersweet emotional tension… Even the side characters left an unforgettable impression. I'm planning to reread it next week."
A truly great novel could be read over and over again—and The Silvery Landscape was one of them.
[Kani Nayuta]: "Ahhh!! I'm honored!"
[Kani Nayuta]: "I super super super super super love 'Unravel' and 'Lemon'!"
[Kani Nayuta]: "Your music always hits me right in the kokoro! It's like my soul is getting hugged and stabbed at the same time!"
Touji chuckled, touched by the honest fangirling. He glanced at the live screen and recalled a few details about Kani Nayuta.
If he remembered correctly, she used to be a recluse—a shut-in gamer girl who had been severely bullied in her early years.
Unravel and Lemon… both songs carried a weight of sadness, of struggling and enduring. He could see why she resonated with them so strongly.
While Touji and Nayuta exchanged heartfelt admiration, the chat exploded like a festival firework.
"Winter-sensei, stop flirting with a famous author!" "Wait, THAT Kani Nayuta?!" "Are we witnessing a mutual fan confession right now?!" "The Silvery Landscape made me cry too! Respect!" "Stop ignoring us, sensei!! Pay attention to your harem—I mean, your viewers!" "I'm a JK and I like 'Fireworks' more!" "Shut up, I'm a housewife and I demand a cooking collab!"
Just then, a sparkly airplane animation flew across the screen.
"Ah, thank you, Mikami-sensei, for the airplane! That's super generous!"
Touji bowed slightly toward the camera, his hands busy washing rice with practiced ease.
Then, without missing a beat, another flashy animation lit up the stream—this time, a hot air balloon courtesy of Kani Nayuta.
He raised an eyebrow.
"…Kani Nayuta-sensei again? Thank you for the hot air balloon!"
Then he sighed, turning back to the camera with a half-exasperated smile.
"But seriously… why are there so many senseis in this stream all of a sudden?!"
"Pfft!!" "Too many professionals—someone call the student council!" "Housewives, authors, musicians, when's the anime producer joining??" "Winter-sensei's fanbase is getting out of control!!" "I'm a bartender, can I be a sensei too?" "I'm a NEET, do I count?!"
The chat erupted with chaotic joy.
Meanwhile, in the management cockpit of this increasingly wild stream—
Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at a certain private message for a long time, her lips pursed.
[Kani Nayuta]: "Can I add you on LINE?" [Kani Nayuta]: "My ID is: bthz777 ♪"
Utaha's expression twitched. As the "manager," it was technically her job to handle these things.
But also… as a girl?
Her gaze darkened just slightly. She really didn't want too many women hovering around her Touji.
Still… she remembered the emotions The Silvery Landscape stirred in her. That novel was pure art. She couldn't help but admire the person who wrote it.
Tch… probably some mature, literary-type woman, she convinced herself. There's no way she's a pretty girl too, right? That's just unfair.
There's no way she's some cute, airheaded high school girl. Nope. That's way too cliché—even for a light novel!
Thinking like that, Utaha-chan finally relaxed her shoulders and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Alright… I'll add her."
With that, she sent the LINE request using her own account and pinned Kano Nayuta's chat to the top.
A decision she would come to deeply regret later.
…
Time passed without anyone realizing.
Outside the window, dusk had melted into night. One by one, the streetlights flickered on, casting a soft orange glow over the quiet neighborhood.
In Izumi's house—on the second floor—
"Alright~! It's finally ready!" Izumi Sagiri cheered as she flopped onto her carpet, launching her pillow into the air in victory. She sprang up like a squirrel and scurried to her window.
Normally, their family ate around 5:30 p.m., but it was already past 7. Her poor stomach had been growling for ages!
She carefully opened the curtain a crack and peeked outside.
It had already been almost a year since they moved here, and although Sagiri-chan was a certified shut-in who rarely left her room, she still picked up plenty of neighborhood gossip from her onii-san.
The most talked-about topic?
Kasumigaoka Touji—the boy next door.
He was her brother's childhood friend and a fellow student at their school. Though they were in different classes, the two often walked to and from school together like an old married couple.
To outsiders, he might've looked like your average high schooler…
But secretly—he was a total legend!
A kitchen genius and a music prodigy!
He had over three million subscribers on YouTube alone—three million! That wasn't just big—it was super ultra mega big! A certified online big V!
To Sagiri, that was seriously cool! Someone who seemed plain on the surface but was actually amazing in secret? That's totally main character energy!
And it wasn't just about hype.
His food?
Unreal.
Every time he had extras from his live cooking streams, he'd send some over to their house. Sagiri had eaten his dishes more times than she could count, and every single one had been beyond delicious.
Ever since their mom passed away… those meals had become some of the rare few moments that made her genuinely happy.
In fact, she even left a review on her sub-account—Eromanga-sensei style.
"This food and music blogger is the real deal! A treasure of the internet!"
Oh, and his music?
She loved it.
Especially "Lemon." That song hit her right in the kokoro. She'd listened to it on repeat so many times it probably messed with her Spotify algorithm.
"Uuu~… I want more~…" she whispered as she stared longingly out the window.
Her stomach growled again, right on cue.
"Touji-kun… feed me your soul-healing food again…!"