A family restaurant near Toyosaki Private Academy— The place was warmly lit and cozy, with soft instrumental music playing in the background. Framed watercolors and vintage posters lined the walls, lending an artistic flair to the space that fit the lazy glow of the afternoon sun pouring through the windows. Golden beams streamed in, dancing across the wooden floor like sleepy cats basking in light.
Yet for all the serenity of the setting, the atmosphere around Kasumigaoka Touji was anything but peaceful.
The moment Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri Spencer Sawamura laid eyes on each other, the air snapped with invisible sparks—like a clash between a refined noble cat and a fiery watchdog.
Utaha-san, arms elegantly folded under her chest, stood with an icy smile, her snow-white chin lifted in dignified amusement. Towering a solid ten centimeters above Eriri, her mature figure cast a long shadow across the younger girl. At a glance, it looked exactly like an elegant onee-san bullying a feisty kouhai.
But Eriri, petite though she was, had no intention of backing down. Her cerulean eyes blazed as she stared up at Utaha-san, lips pursed, and a single sharp canine tooth poking out adorably—like a cornered chihuahua ready to bite.
To outsiders, it was a confrontation between two very different species.
On one side stood the sister + childhood friend + lover-who-never-confessed + unofficial fiancée.
On the other, the classmate + creative partner (definitely not a tool!) + potential love interest.
Kasumigaoka Touji could practically hear the silent roars and growls—ah, so this is what they call a shura field...
He gave a small cough, raising his fist politely to his lips as if trying to clear the tension. "Ahem... let me do the introductions."
He turned to Eriri first, completely ignoring the glint of suspicion already forming in her narrowed gaze.
"This is Kasumigaoka Utaha-san, from Class 2-B. She's my elder sister from my adopted parents, my childhood friend who knows all my embarrassing secrets, the woman who might be my lover one day, my unofficial fiancée, and the mother of my future children."
Eriri's forehead twitched. Her expression went blank, then distorted into a visible mess of black lines.
Excuse me, what the hell kind of introduction is that?!
What's with this string of ridiculous titles?!
Mother of your WHAT?
(╯´□`)╯︵ ┻━┻
She hadn't come here for this level of sugar overdose!
Eriri felt stuffed. Not from food, but from being force-fed a full-course meal of relationship dog food. And just when she thought it couldn't get worse, she remembered something chilling.
Kani Nayuta.
Her gaming buddy. Her occasionally chaotic, always provocative online friend.
Kano Nayuta... who once claimed she was having very hot chats with someone named Kasumigaoka Touji.
Wait. WAIT!
Her gaze snapped toward Touji like a heat-seeking missile.
Don't tell me—you're two-timing me, you shady protagonist-type bastard!
Eriri's eyes glinted with betrayal. She puffed out her cheeks in righteous anger and thought bitterly:
"You're just like the spineless main character in one of my doujinshi!"
Touji blinked. He saw the change in her face, the obvious scorn, and sighed internally.
Sure enough... she's misunderstood again.
But he let it slide. He was already used to being misread.
Utaha-san, on the other hand, looked unfazed. Her lips curled ever so slightly, but her wine-red eyes never left Touji.
That look sent a shiver down his spine.
Dangerous. Seductive. Hypnotic.
Touji's heart gave a traitorous thump. He nearly leaned forward, caught in her spell, but managed to restrain himself with a heroic mental effort.
Not now. Not here. You can't just flirt in public like that!
Trying to keep the conversation from spiraling any further, he gestured to Eriri and cleared his throat again.
"And this here is Sawamura Spencer Eriri. She's my classmate, and more importantly, a top-tier illustrator. Her work is incredible."
A little praise never hurt anyone, and Touji knew that throwing Eriri a compliment here would smooth things over.
As expected, Eriri's cheeks puffed slightly with pride, her earlier outrage momentarily forgotten.
(￣＾￣)
Touji smiled to himself. As tsundere as she was, she really was easy to read sometimes.
Utaha-san's eyes narrowed slightly as she tilted her head, index finger resting against her chin like a thoughtful noblewoman.
"Oh? Really? I suppose I'd like to see some of her work then."
Her tone was sweet, but the glint in her eyes wasn't so innocent.
Eriri felt the hidden challenge instantly. She straightened up in her seat, lips twitching.
Touji winced. He could feel another storm coming.
But it wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming.
Just before lunch, Utaha-san had learned from Touji that he was adapting "unravel" into a manga and had already recruited a classmate to be the artist. He'd planned to explain everything properly over lunch.
To say Utaha-san was surprised would be an understatement. For a moment, her expression had wavered, confusion clouding her calm demeanor.
But she was used to Touji's unpredictable nature. Since childhood, he'd always gone against the grain, doing things others wouldn't dare dream of.
Still, she couldn't help but be curious.
If Touji had chosen someone to illustrate his story, that person had to be remarkable. Could someone in First-Year G Class really be that talented?
That lingering curiosity pulled her after school, and when she arrived at the family restaurant and finally laid eyes on the girl—
Utaha was stunned.
Utterly.
The girl before her wasn't just pretty. She had golden twin-tails, sparkling blue eyes, and a refined elegance that didn't match her tsundere expression. Cute, feisty, and artistically talented?
"Nani sore..."
Another high-spec girl?
Utaha's eyes narrowed slightly. A sense of alarm and annoyance slowly bubbled up in her chest. Recently, it felt like high-quality girls were popping up around Touji-kun like mushrooms after the rain.
Was this some sort of galge scenario? Did she miss the memo that her dear Touji had turned into a galge protagonist!?
Even with all the confidence she had in herself—in her looks, intellect, and their long-standing relationship—Utaha couldn't help but feel an unfamiliar flutter of anxiety.
How many more rivals was she going to have to contend with?
"..."
Kasumigaoka Touji caught the slight tightening of Utaha-san's jaw, the barely restrained edge in her smile.
Ah, the powder keg was close to exploding.
Under the table, he gently reached out and squeezed her thigh—not enough to be indecent, but just enough to signal, Relax, I'm still here.
Then, with the calmness of a man used to dealing with volatile girls, he picked up a french fry, dipped it in ketchup, and gently fed it to her.
Pacification technique: French Fry Offering.
Meanwhile, across from them, Eriri Spencer Sawamura's victorious expression had completely frozen over.
Just a moment ago, she'd been feeling smug.
But then came that innocent question from Utaha:
"So... what kind of works have you published?"
Utaha's voice was polite, but her eyes gleamed like a cat that had just spotted a cornered mouse.
Eriri panicked internally.
She did have works. Tons of them, actually.
The problem was... they were all 18+ doujinshi.
Like, full-on, nosebleed-inducing, R18 forbidden fruit.
There was no way she could say that out loud!
Her gaze darted around, hoping for an escape route, but Touji casually leaned in to save the day.
"Ahem, she's published some... artistic material. Slightly inconvenient to share in polite company."
Utaha's brow arched in amusement.
"Ara? Something inconvenient? Erotic manga, perhaps? Or lewd illustrations?"
"G-GULP!!"
Direct hit!
Eriri took critical damage!
"Ughhh... w-well, something like that... cough—cough~"
Her face turned beet red. Her HP was at zero.
Touji watched her collapse into embarrassment and smoothly took over the conversation before she could combust.
"But the project we're working on this time is a serious manga," he said, puffing up slightly with pride. "We're talking dark fantasy, grotesque horror, hot-blooded shounen energy—a real seinen story with some edge."
Utaha raised an elegant hand and jabbed, "That doesn't sound serious at all, baka-kun. You just tossed in every buzzword you could think of!"
Eriri, on the other hand, sat up with sudden energy.
"Wait, hot-blooded? Really? There's hot-blooded stuff in there?"
Yesterday when she skimmed the initial outline, it had been filled with ominous world-building and psychological horror. Not a drop of hot-bloodedness in sight!
Touji nodded, his expression turning solemn—no, passionate.
"Absolutely. I've got several hype scenes already in mind. Big moments. The kind of stuff that makes readers clench their fists and scream, 'Let's gooo!'"
As he spoke, he grabbed another fry, dipped it again, and popped it into Utaha-san's mouth.
Balance must be maintained.
By the way, the entire meal was being paid for by Eriri.
Total damage: 910 yen.
She had insisted it was her way of thanking Touji for his chivalry the day before.
At first, Touji thought it was just an excuse, but when she genuinely followed through, it raised her favorability level in his heart just a notch. Helping people without expecting anything back was great and all, but if they did show appreciation, well... it felt nice.
"So when exactly are you going to write it and let me read it?" Eriri asked, her arms crossed suspiciously.
She didn't trust him. As a doujinshi veteran, she knew all too well: Men's words were like ghosts in the night—shifty, unreliable, and prone to vanishing without a trace.
Touji scratched his cheek.
"Soon... probably."
He remembered the big climax scene, but there was so much groundwork to lay first.
Eriri squinted. Her eyes all but screamed, "You were totally bluffing, weren't you?"
Touji rolled his eyes.
"Oi, don't you have to do proper build-up for the climaxes in your doujinshi too?"
"Wh-what the heck are you saying, baka!!"
Her face turned crimson. She nearly choked on her own breath.
"What I meant," Touji explained, deadpan, "is that for a proper story, you need rising tension, world-building, layered conflicts—all that good stuff. You can't just jump straight into the peak."
"Th-then say that! Why mention doujinshi, foreplay, and climaxes in the same breath, you pervert!"
"Just trying to speak your language, Eriri-san~"
Utaha watched the exchange with a bemused smile, sipping her water as if observing a circus show. Her eyes flickered back to Eriri, and a strange mix of surprise and contemplation lingered there.
A doujinshi artist... If she hadn't heard it with her own ears and seen Eriri with her own eyes, Utaha would never have believed it.
What a curious, dangerous rival she had stumbled across today...