Thinking about it carefully, there doesn't seem to be a big problem with a simple, sweet girl appearing among noble young ladies; sometimes they can still be likable.
But as for simple and sweet, Eriri probably only fits the first two parts.
To be serious, although she's still a bit silly sometimes, the 'sweet' part is the main one.
"You've grown, Eriri."
Aki Tomoya uttered such a sigh.
Noticing his childhood friend's relieved gaze, Eriri felt a bit like laughing and crying at the same time.
It felt like she was being treated like a child by the other party, which made Eriri feel a little helpless.
"What was I like in your eyes before?"
Aki Tomoya thought for a moment before replying, "A young lady from a good family?"
"And now?"
"A young lady from a good family?"
"Is there a difference?!"
No matter how you say it, it's just a young lady from a good family, a noble daughter, right?
Eriri didn't understand the difference between the past and the present, how Aki Tomoya judged it, or what his standard was.
Aki Tomoya chuckled lightly, then patiently explained, "There are differences between one young lady from a good family and another. For example, the me who saw through your true nature, whenever I saw you pretending in school before, I genuinely didn't want to trust you anymore. Now we can talk here calmly as friends, as normal childhood friends, don't you think?"
"You're just going to be so blunt about these things in front of me?!"
Although it was the truth, it was still annoying.
"Because we're childhood friends."
"...Ah, it seems that's right!"
Eriri couldn't refute, and her mood, because of Aki Tomoya's words, suddenly cleared of all resentment.
It was precisely because they were normal childhood friends that what was said before really didn't matter.
From knowing each other in elementary school to about to enter the third year of high school, over a decade, their relationship has been normalized again for nearly half a year now, right?
Compared to Aki Tomoya and Kasumigaoka Utaha, Eriri felt like she really got a great deal.
The status of being childhood friends, to a large extent, also made Aki Tomoya look out for her a bit.
"Aki Tomoya, you and... never mind."
Eriri looked at Aki Tomoya, suddenly wanting to ask something, but as the words reached her mouth, she immediately swallowed them back.
The latter looked at her with some confusion; the words reached his mouth, but he didn't know what she actually wanted to ask.
However, since Eriri had already decided to swallow it back, Aki Tomoya didn't intend to press the matter.
"The exam is next week; I hope she's not affected by anything..."
Next Saturday is the first exam, and Kasumigaoka Utaha will also participate.
Most applicants will take the first exam first, and Kasumigaoka Utaha is among them.
She has maintained the level of first place in her year for three years, and I heard she always received an A ranking on mock exams.
Now that it's finally the official first exam, most people who know Kasumigaoka Utaha probably have confidence in her.
Things like the National Examination first exam should be no problem for Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"It's really interesting for someone who doesn't need to take the exam to worry about someone who will definitely pass."
Aki Tomoya wholeheartedly agreed that Kasumigaoka Utaha was a genius.
Being able to maintain excellent standards in both areas, such outstanding talent is enviable.
The National Examination first exam on January 20th this year, in Aki Tomoya's opinion, shouldn't pose any difficulty for Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Getting a good score on the first exam, then taking Waseda University's internal exam, and finally just waiting for enrollment in April would be enough.
In Aki Tomoya's imagination, Kasumigaoka Utaha was the type of person who could easily reach the pinnacle of life.
But even such excellent people aren't perfect; everyone has flaws.
All one can say is that compared to ordinary people, excellent people have even more luck than average people.
Meeting Eriri, meeting a good editor like Machida Sonoko, the worst thing in Kasumigaoka Utaha's life was probably just meeting Aki Tomoya.
"It's people like me who hurt that genius, huh..."
Thinking of this, Aki Tomoya couldn't feel happy at all.
Treating someone else's pain as amusement, was there some deep-seated hatred?
Although Aki Tomoya did say many excessive things back then, he really didn't know if he felt guilty afterward.
"What have you been mumbling about since earlier?"
"Just lamenting the impermanence of life, that life is always accompanied by regrets."
"Starting with that old-fashioned tone again?"
"Hehehe."
Old-fashioned?
Aki Tomoya had nothing to refute; it was just a sentence used to cover things up, so Eriri could think whatever she wanted.
But at this moment, he was thinking about something else.
"Sometimes when people act, there are always misunderstandings, thinking that such actions are for the other person's good. I guess I can't avoid being like this either."
There was one thing Aki Tomoya had to admit now.
Compared to how he treated Kasumigaoka Utaha, he was really particularly biased towards his childhood friend.
Perhaps it was due to the length of time they had known each other, or perhaps because he liked Kasumigaoka Utaha more before.
"Did she feel unbalanced?"
Thinking of this, Aki Tomoya's mood was a bit complex.
Thinking in this direction, even with people related to Kasumigaoka Utaha, like Machida Sonoko with whom he had unpleasant experiences in the past, Aki Tomoya was now getting along with her quite harmoniously.
Not to mention, his current relationship with Eriri is truly as normal as it can be.
"Eriri, I think I messed something up too."
Aki Tomoya let out a bitter laugh.
However, Eriri didn't understand what he was saying.
After hearing Aki Tomoya's bitter laugh, she just looked at him with confusion.
"What's wrong with you now?"
"It's just that I didn't expect someone I used to admire to actually be much more fragile than I imagined."
Aki Tomoya replied with a complex tone.
At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly that humans themselves are incredibly complex beings, and there are many differences between individuals.
But one thing is certain: when encountering harm, the body's own functions will react to protect itself.
Just as Eriri had said before, Kasumigaoka Utaha was layering her new work.
"Eriri, when you were with that person, did you often mention me?"
Aki Tomoya asked a question that he was very concerned about.
"What's wrong?"
"It seems so."
Aki Tomoya finally understood why Kasumigaoka Utaha, as a companion, couldn't fully trust even Eriri, the artist she liked.
In the end, it was still related to him.
Perhaps when Kasumigaoka Utaha first found Eriri, she still treated her as a comrade in similar circumstances.
But the opposite was true; Eriri, to some extent, had achieved her wish.
"I see."
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