At Private Toyogasaki Academy, the bell for dismissal rang. After the teacher left the classroom, Utaha Kasumigaoka packed her belongings and, under the gaze of all the boys in the class, left the classroom.
Going downstairs, changing her shoes, and exiting the school building, she didn't go to a club. Instead, she walked towards the school gate.
Along the way, no one who saw her could resist their gaze from following her, because she was one of the most famous people in the entire school.
Beautiful, and the top student in her grade—talented and attractive—she was extremely appealing to young boys.
Unfortunately, she was a bit unapproachable; ordinary people couldn't get close to her, and she didn't have any close friends at school.
However, this only made more people pursue her.
Arriving at the school gate, Utaha Kasumigaoka originally planned to go home, but then she remembered the coffee shop she saw yesterday.
She wasn't interested in the handsome young male owner, but the environment there was indeed good. Perhaps it could stimulate her thoughts and give her more inspiration.
It was opening today.
Utaha Kasumigaoka turned in a different direction, about to head towards the town, but then the conversation behind her caught her attention.
"Sawamura-san, aren't you going to the Art Club today either?"
"Uh... sorry, I haven't finished dealing with things at home yet."
"Is everything alright?"
"It's nothing important, I'll be done with it soon."
"Then good luck, Sawamura-san. Everyone in the Art Club is waiting for you."
"Okay."
Utaha Kasumigaoka turned her head and saw a very beautiful blonde, twin-tailed girl waving goodbye to two other girls.
Her smile was radiant, but Utaha Kasumigaoka could tell at a glance that it was very fake.
Utaha Kasumigaoka knew her: Eriri Spencer Sawamura, one year her junior.
Blonde, mixed-race, with delicate features, she became a celebrity on par with Utaha as soon as she entered the school.
High school students, after all, no one could refuse a mixed-race beauty. But unfortunately... Utaha Kasumigaoka's gaze swept across her flat chest.
Insignificant.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura also noticed Utaha Kasumigaoka at this moment. She nodded lightly at her and walked towards her.
She wasn't coming over to greet Utaha Kasumigaoka; the two weren't close and had never exchanged a word, but both knew of each other.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura brushed past Utaha Kasumigaoka and left directly.
Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't look at her much either, taking long strides in her black stockings towards the coffee shop.
Meanwhile, Eriri Spencer Sawamura stopped. She looked back at Utaha Kasumigaoka's retreating figure, shook her head, took off her backpack, and pulled out two drawings.
The content of the two drawings looked similar: a man holding a sword, with a giant green dragon under his feet.
But one was drawn with crayons, and the other was clearly meticulously rendered.
The crayon drawing was rough, with only a few details, but the meticulously rendered one not only showed the man's sword as very exquisite and sacred, but the giant dragon was also exceptionally vivid and lifelike.
It was obvious that the first one looked like it was drawn in childhood, while the second one was a re-drawing after acquiring drawing skills.
However, in the re-drawn picture, the man's face was not depicted.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura looked down at the two drawings, her thumb caressing the man's face in the picture, her eyes filled with longing. She couldn't help but murmur to herself, "Prince brother, why haven't you come to find me yet...?"
...
"Welcome." Seeing Utaha Kasumigaoka push the door open, Shichen greeted her with a smile.
Tohru was currently in the kitchen improving her culinary skills. There weren't many customers in the afternoon, so Shichen let her practice.
A manager who doesn't exploit their employees isn't a good manager, and Tohru indeed wanted to learn how to cook. After all, as a maid, how could she not know how to cook?
The handsome man's charm was still strong. Utaha Kasumigaoka struggled to avert her gaze, scanning the interior of the shop.
It was livelier than yesterday, with quite a few customers. It seemed she wasn't the only one who discovered this place's uniqueness.
Although there were people inside, it was very quiet. Utaha Kasumigaoka decided to test the effect first. She asked Shichen, "Excuse me, manager, do you have any private single seats here?"
"Private? Are you going to do homework?" Shichen asked curiously.
"...Something like that."
"I see. We don't have single seats, but we do have double seats."
"Double... that'll do, I suppose."
"Don't worry, we probably won't have more customers, no one will disturb you. I'll take you there." Shichen reassured with a smile.
"Thank you."
Shichen led Utaha Kasumigaoka to the innermost seats in the shop, which were two seats away from the nearest customers.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was very satisfied with the spot. She eagerly sat down after taking off her backpack.
"How is it here?" Shichen asked.
"Very good." Utaha Kasumigaoka nodded.
"That's good... Would you like to order something?"
"Do you have juice?"
"Yes, we do."
"Then I'll have a glass of juice, iced, and a serving of baked cookies."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Shichen turned and left, while Utaha Kasumigaoka pulled out her laptop from her backpack.
She opened a document named "Love Metronome," and the screen immediately displayed densely packed text.
This was the novel she was writing, titled "Love Metronome." Recently, she had been struggling with writer's block and was looking for inspiration everywhere.
She had been writing at home before, but the best way to find inspiration was to go out and walk around, and then she discovered this place.
Initially, just looking from outside, she felt an inexplicable sense of calm, as if some inspiration was about to burst forth. Now sitting here, she found it to be true; inspiration was surging, and her fingers uncontrollably began typing on the keyboard.
When Shichen brought over the juice and cookies, he found that Utaha Kasumigaoka had already entered a state of complete absorption.
Her eyes were only on the screen, her hands were tied to the keyboard, completely oblivious to her surroundings.
Shichen glanced at the laptop screen and saw that it was indeed "Love Metronome," and it seemed like she had just started writing.
In that case, Utaha Kasumigaoka was only in her second year of high school.
Shichen felt relieved.
He gently placed the juice and cookies on the table, then sat opposite her, admiring Utaha Kasumigaoka's focus.
The shop was quiet now, and as the manager, it was only natural for him to take a break. Besides, Utaha Kasumigaoka hadn't yet received what she ordered, so he needed to wait for her here.
However, Utaha Kasumigaoka was a bit too engrossed. It took almost an hour for her to emerge from her state of absorption.
"Phew—" Utaha Kasumigaoka came back to her senses, let out a sigh of relief, and just as she was about to stretch her fingers, she noticed Shichen sitting opposite her, lost in thought.
"Manager?"
"Hmm? Oh, are you done writing?" Shichen snapped out of his daze.
"Just finished a section... Manager, you know I'm writing a novel."
"My apologies, I just took a peek. I was a bit curious." Shichen apologized.
"It's fine, I don't mind others seeing me write novels." Utaha Kasumigaoka gently shook her head.
"Is that so? That's good."
"Does the manager like reading novels?"
"Very much so. I like novels, anime, and manga."
"So the manager is an otaku." Utaha Kasumigaoka joked.
"Yes, I am an otaku." Shichen admitted with a smile, then changed the subject: "So, can I read the novel you're writing?"
"Eh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka was momentarily stunned.
"No?"
"No, it's just a bit sudden."
"Is that so? Isn't writing a novel meant for others to read?"
"There's also self-satisfaction, isn't there?"
"That's true... then you..."
"My name is Utaha Kasumigaoka, and I'm a second-year student at Private Toyogasaki Academy." Utaha Kasumigaoka introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Kasumigaoka-san. My name is Shichen."
"Shichen? That name sounds a bit like a Chinese person."
"I am indeed Chinese."
"Shichen-kun, are you an international student?"
"No." Shichen smiled and shook his head: "I've already graduated from university."
"Eh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka looked very shocked.
"What? Doesn't it look like it?" Shichen asked back with a smile.
"Shichen-kun looks so young... I thought you were younger than me."
"Haha~ Kasumigaoka-san, you misjudged me."
"Then why did Shichen-kun come here to open a shop?"
"Didn't I just say?" Shichen winked at Utaha Kasumigaoka: "I'm an otaku."
"Alright, that's very convincing." Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't find a rebuttal.
"So, can I read Kasumigaoka-san's novel?" Shichen asked again.
"Shichen-kun... you really want to read my novel?" Utaha Kasumigaoka's beautiful eyes sparkled with a strange light.
"Yes, I just glimpsed it and I'm very interested."
"Not just being polite?"
"No." Shichen nodded seriously.
"But I'm just a beginner... I just started writing novels."
"Isn't that perfect?"
"Eh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at him, puzzled.
"I'll be Kasumigaoka-san's first fan."