Eriri felt that her high school debut was an absolute disaster.
Why did she choose Toyogasaki Academy in the first place? Wasn't it because that guy was here?
But when the classes were assigned, not only were the two of them not in the same class, but their classrooms were even on opposite ends of the school building, making it difficult to even intentionally create a chance encounter.
And then there was that woman at the opening ceremony who had been staring at her.
Is having big boobs and a good figure so amazing? How dare she look at me with the eyes one would use for a puppy. Just thinking about it is infuriating.
And someone had even come up to her during the lunch break to quietly ask what her relationship was with that woman!?
If she wasn't still thinking about maintaining her image in front of her classmates since she had just entered high school, she would have probably already exposed her true nature and started cursing at people in private.
But even worse things were just beginning.
After school on the first day, she had originally planned to go and check out the art club.
Who knew that as soon as she walked out of the classroom, she would run into Kasumigaoka Utaha waiting for her at the classroom door.
Not only did that woman call out her name directly, but she also showed an intention to chat with her in private.
Eriri had no interest whatsoever in this strange woman's invitation. She had originally wanted to ask, in front of all her classmates, what on earth this woman wanted, and tell her not to bother her if she had no business.
But that woman's one sentence, "A friend of mine told me he really likes your work, so I wanted to come and see what kind of person you are," made Eriri swallow her words.
She really wasn't sure if the "work" this woman was talking about was the normal kind or the not-so-normal kind.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have thought in a dirty direction. After all, besides her parents, the only one who knew her "Kashiwagi Eri" identity was that guy, Aki Tomoya. There was basically no possibility of it being exposed.
But who could be blamed for the fact that the expression on the woman in front of her looked a little too mischievous?
In the end, Eriri still gritted her teeth and took the initiative to suggest they talk in the open space behind the school building.
An empty classroom was impossible. She hadn't figured out what this woman was trying to do yet. It was safer to go to an open space outdoors.
At least if something really happened, she could still run.
After that, under the watchful eyes of a crowd of onlookers, she led Kasumigaoka Utaha to the open space behind the school building.
And after walking to a place with no people, the first sentence Kasumigaoka Utaha said made her defenses crumble.
"Eri-sensei, although this is our first time meeting, I suppose I could be considered one of your fans. I quite like those lewd pictures you draw."
Hearing this sentence, Eriri instantly wanted to restart her life.
This woman really does know her Kashiwagi Eri identity, but where on earth did she find out?
Who is the mole who leaked her biggest secret for no reason!
But this was something that definitely could not be admitted.
At that moment, she somewhat flusteredly retorted to Kasumigaoka Utaha, "Wh-what are you talking about? I-I don't understand at all, okay!"
"I'm still a high school student! How could I possibly draw that kind of shameless doujinshi!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had easily probed for new information, did not show an inappropriate expression, but instead put on a look of regret.
"Could it be that I was mistaken? But my friend told me that your real name is Eriri?"
"It's slander! It must be slander! How could I possibly be Kashi... ahem, ahem, anyway, you must have made a mistake! I'm just an ordinary high school student!" Seeing the doubt on Kasumigaoka Utaha's face, Eriri hurriedly agreed, and in her panic, almost blurted out her own alias.
Kasumigaoka Utaha almost failed to keep a straight face.
As expected of the Loser Heroine Sage. I can probe for so much information with just one casual sentence.
Immediately after, Kasumigaoka Utaha showed an expression of relief.
"I'm sorry, perhaps I remembered wrong. My friend told me two people's names back then, and I got them mixed up. Since you're not her, then could it be that you're that Eromanga Sensei?"
"Speaking of which, I've followed both of your works... Mmm, if I really have to compare, I personally still prefer your work, Eromanga Sensei. After all, that kind of hazy, borderline-lewd art does seem to leave more room for imagination."
Hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, Eriri's fists instantly hardened.
As a creator, she of course knew of Eromanga Sensei, a veteran illustrator who had been debuting for about ten years. What she was best at were those borderline-lewd pictures. At her peak, almost every illustration she drew walked the line of the publisher's bottom line.
To be honest, if she were really compared to the Eromanga Sensei of that peak period, she naturally couldn't compare.
But in recent years, many people in the circle had been speculating about the possibility that Eromanga Sensei had been replaced by someone else.
After all, if the current Eromanga had even one-third of the skill of the peak Eromanga, that would already be considered pretty good.
At least Eriri felt that her current level was not worse than the other's. It was just that she had no intention of officially transitioning from a doujin creator to a professional manga artist or illustrator at the moment.
Who knew that this woman in front of her would actually think she was that Eromanga, and even say in front of her that she preferred that Eromanga's work.
What hazy, borderline feeling? She, a person who drew R18 doujinshi, had been soaking in the sea of adult works for who knows how long, and you're telling me about "borderline"?
Who would be bored enough to look for "borderline" in a proper R18 doujinshi!
Eriri suppressed her anger and once again denied the other's words.
"I'll say it again. I'm not Eromanga, nor am I any Kashiwagi Eri. I have no idea what you're talking about. If you have no other business, I'll be leaving now. And don't bother me again with this kind of thing in the future."
Saying that, Eriri planned to quickly slip away. She had to go and find out who on earth had leaked her identity.
And then, Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice, like that of a life-reaping evil spirit, made her break out in a cold sweat.
"Eri-sensei, I don't think I've ever said the name Kashiwagi Eri from beginning to end, have I?"
Crap, I let it slip.
Eriri's heart tightened.
After all, the pronunciations of "Eriri" and "Eri" were only off by one character. Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha so confidently call her Eri-sensei right off the bat, and even directly compare her with Eromanga, she had subconsciously defaulted to the other party already knowing her identity, it was just that she herself was not yet willing to admit it.
Now that the fig leaf of "Kashiwagi Eri" had been torn off by herself, her continued attempts to cover it up would just make her look like a clown.
She turned around and walked back in front of Kasumigaoka Utaha with a hostile gaze.
Since this woman already knew, then she wouldn't pretend anymore.
"Who on earth told you? Have you spread it to anyone else?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha, looking at the bristling Eriri in front of her, also stopped acting.
"Not many people know your identity. Who do you think it could be?"
Eriri immediately began to struggle.
"It can't be my parents. Could it really be that guy, Aki Tomoya? But why would he do something like that?" she muttered under her breath. "Could it still be because of what happened before... No, it can't be him. He's not that kind of person."
Looking at Eriri, who had fallen into confusion and conflict, Kasumigaoka Utaha held out a finger. "There's one thing I can tell you. I haven't met that person in person, we've only communicated online."
"And I'm not the only one who knows your identity. It's just that you and I are at the same school, so I wanted to come and confirm it, that's all."
"You can rest assured, I won't leak your identity. And we might even have a chance to cooperate in the future."
Kasumigaoka Utaha placed her hand on her chest and told Eriri her own "secret" as a light novel author who was about to debut.
After getting Kasumigaoka Utaha's guarantee, and also learning her "secret," Eriri's mood still didn't improve much.
She let out a dissatisfied "tch" and turned her head away.
"Don't you still know that Eromanga Sensei, and you like her work more? You can just ask that person to draw illustrations for you."
This time, Kasumigaoka Utaha really did shake her head with some regret. "It's a pity. My friend actually didn't tell me Eromanga Sensei's identity. He actually just told me, 'I think Eriri's lewd pictures are lewder than Eromanga Sensei's'."
"By the way, do you know Eromanga Sensei? Since you're not willing to cooperate with me, you wouldn't mind giving me Eromanga Sensei's contact information, right?"
Hearing this sentence, Eriri, who had been feeling a little secretly delighted, instantly went on a rampage again.
"I don't know Eromanga! Find her yourself!"
And that was the last sentence she, Eriri, had said to Kasumigaoka Utaha yesterday.
And until school let out today, Eriri still hadn't figured out who on earth had leaked her identity online.
She had asked her parents, and she had even rarely taken the initiative to find Aki Tomoya and tell him about this matter.
In the end, Aki Tomoya was not the one who had leaked the secret either.
So, does she have to go and ask that detestable woman to find out?
Eriri was instinctively a little resistant.
That woman, in every sense of the word, seemed to have a hold over her.
She had originally wanted to go to the art club. Now she didn't even have the mood to fill out the application form. She should just hurry home and rush her manuscript.
As for that woman... anyway, it was better to wait until the other party came to find her on her own initiative.
With this mood, Eriri walked to her shoe locker.
After pulling it open, she was stunned for a moment.
Inside the shoe locker was not some love letter, but a manga?
Who put a manga in my shoe locker? It's not something strange, is it?
Thinking of the things she drew herself, Eriri subconsciously glanced around.
No one was paying attention to her.
Only then did she turn her gaze to the manga.
But she had just barely seen the title, and the characters on the manga who looked a little familiar, when she felt a "killing intent" seem to appear from behind her.
She even thought she heard a faint electric sound.
Before she could react, in the next moment, a fair, flawless hand suddenly appeared from in front of her eyes, pressing down hard on the manga in her shoe locker.
She was also startled by this action and subconsciously leaned back, and then fell into a broad embrace.
At this moment, Eriri tilted her head up and, in a strange way, made eye contact with Kasumigaoka Utaha behind her.