To say she would take the Keio University exam and then go take it, that kind of confidence was rare.
After hearing from Eriri that Kasumigaoka Utaha was going to take the Keio Faculty of Literature exam, and hearing that it was because of Hongzaka Akane, Aki Tomoya expressed his empathy.
"Honestly, as soon as I heard it was because of Hongzaka Akane, I wasn't surprised at all. But that Senior is quite amazing; she turned down a University recommendation spot last year."
This kind of insider information was pretty much heard from the Teacher.
When told this, he was implicitly warned by the other party not to do what Kasumigaoka Utaha did, but Aki Tomoya was not interested in that.
Unless Tokyo University gave him a recommendation spot...
But thinking about it, that's impossible!
"Like Aki Tomoya, you can probably get a recommendation spot next year, too. The school still has a few recommendation spots every year."
"If it's Keio University, I can accept it, but do you think that's possible?"
"So, in the end, Keio University is the most hopeful?"
"Are you implying something?"
Aki Tomoya turned back to look at Eriri who was following him. Beside her, Hyodo Michiru was staring at the two of them with one earbud in.
Since Aki Tomoya was going out, Hyodo Michiru didn't plan to stay and house-sit for him. She might as well go into the city and find someone else.
The three of them were all heading to the subway station next.
"Not at all, but I just don't understand why you believe in Kasumigaoka so much."
"Believe? That word doesn't suit me. That genius doesn't need anyone to believe in her, does she? If she can do it, she can do it."
Suddenly turning around to take the Keio University entrance exam, if it was Kasumigaoka Utaha, Aki Tomoya wouldn't find it strange at all.
As for whether she could pass the exam, the answer was also obvious in his heart.
"You really think highly of Kasumigaoka."
"That's just how it is. On the other hand, you really want to help her, don't you?"
Aki Tomoya suddenly looked into Eriri's eyes.
The current Eriri is quite concerned about Kasumigaoka Utaha's situation.
"If you really want to care about her, you just need to gain the right to speak in front of her. It would be good to have someone who can restrain her."
"Restrain?"
Aki Tomoya's words made Eriri a little confused.
"To put it another way, isn't it enough for you to gain her trust? But having said that, having experienced the same thing twice, she might be overly protective of herself now."
In her second year, Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't as strong as she is now.
And for someone so strong now, the soft spot in her heart is actually more vulnerable than others.
Suffering a setback in love, dedicating herself to her career, these words are very fitting to describe her now.
"The same thing twice?"
Eriri stared intently at Aki Tomoya.
Eriri had no idea about the so-called same thing twice.
Perhaps it's related to the so-called "woman from the past," she suddenly thought to herself.
"Don't look at her like that, she's actually quite easy to get hurt sometimes. When she was writing love metronome, she poured her longing for love into it. When the fantasy was shattered, the blow must have been huge."
Aki Tomoya stopped at the entrance of a park by the roadside. He suddenly stopped and slowly explained to Eriri.
Last April, every time Aki Tomoya thought of Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, he would get a headache.
Especially Eriri. If it weren't for clarifying things with Eriri last August, and if it weren't for their relationship of over ten years, Aki Tomoya really wouldn't want to talk to Eriri. Communicating with her in the past was truly too troublesome.
Being able to still have a normal relationship and communicate normally with Eriri now is quite a dreamlike thing in Aki Tomoya's opinion.
"In other words, Aki Tomoya did something very cruel!"
Eriri could somewhat imagine what happened between them.
Emotional entanglement, love-hate relationships, she could imagine some of it.
She also understood why, despite starting to cooperate after the Fireworks Display last year, she and Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't have the same mutual trust as they did when they first started collaborating.
Perhaps in that person's heart, she felt that one day, Eriri would also become like her, severing ties with Aki Tomoya, and the two of them would lick their emotional wounds together.
Of course, this is only one reason. The biggest reason Kasumigaoka Utaha sought cooperation with Eriri was because of Eriri's ability.
"Actually, there shouldn't have been any problem. That Senior should hate me so much that she wouldn't want to remember me again."
Aki Tomoya said with a helpless tone at this moment, his gaze towards Eriri was a bit subtle.
After saying so many harsh things back then, how could the other person still think about him?
He gave the other person a reason to put all the blame on him, and Kasumigaoka Utaha could do what she wanted with a clear conscience.
"Ultimately, your relationship improving with me was something no one expected, was it?"
Aki Tomoya said under Eriri's puzzled gaze.
When Kasumigaoka Utaha approached Eriri with sympathetic thoughts, while also valuing Eriri's ability, and then proposed cooperation, and later became close collaborators, the situation became a bit different.
Now the roles need to be reversed. Kasumigaoka Utaha has no right to sympathize with the current Eriri.
Instead, Eriri has that right.
The two people closest to Kasumigaoka Utaha now are Eriri and Machida Sonoko.
They seem to be constantly reminding Kasumigaoka Utaha that Aki Tomoya was only that harsh to her alone...
With such differential treatment, Kasumigaoka Utaha started thinking about things in a complex way, no longer simply using Aki Tomoya's harsh words as a reason, but starting to care about where the problem truly lies.
"...Actually, Aki Tomoya, you care about that person quite a lot too, don't you?"
"You're thinking too much."
Aki Tomoya shook his head. If he truly cared about Kasumigaoka Utaha, he would have already read their new work by now.
Finding all the foreshadowing in the new work, then pretending to be an enthusiastic fan to discuss it with that author, and thus regaining that author's trust, is actually that simple.
But he wouldn't do something like that.
"I don't believe you. You understand that person better than anyone!"
Eriri pouted, looking at Aki Tomoya suspiciously.
Compared to Eriri and Machida Sonoko, Aki Tomoya indeed understands Kasumigaoka Utaha better.
But understanding is one thing, caring or being concerned is another.
"If you say that, I really don't want to help you anymore."
Aki Tomoya replied helplessly.
If it weren't for the sake of being childhood friends and seeing her so troubled recently, Aki Tomoya wouldn't have said so much.
"Help me? Really!"
Eriri looked at Aki Tomoya with a mix of surprise and joy.
"Eriri, I'm telling you, when you discuss her work with that Senior, including foreshadowing, characters, and all that miscellaneous stuff, none of it is important. Just remember to put what she wants to hear first, and the negative points later. She'll likely be moved by your enthusiasm."
"Will that really work?"
"That's how I did it two years ago, but I don't know if it will work now."
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