Chapter 170: Kaede's Little Scheme
The cool weather only lasted one night, and by the next day, the area was once again shrouded in high temperatures.
After getting up, Kaede glanced at the yukata hanging to dry on the balcony—the ones they had bought and washed the day before—and stepped onto the treadmill to start running.
After ten minutes, Eriri rubbed her eyes and came out of her room. Looking at Kaede exercising, she said, "Kaede-kun, why are you up so early again?"
The now-awake Eriri checked the time; it was only just past eight.
"I'm used to it. I wake up when the time comes."
While running, Kaede turned his head to look at Eriri and said, "Eriri, you could sleep a little longer."
Shaking her head, Eriri turned and walked toward the bathroom. "I was woken up by the heat. Who knew the weather would get hot again overnight? No more sleeping, no more sleeping."
Hearing Eriri's words, Kaede couldn't help but laugh.
After finishing her morning routine, Eriri was fully awake. She went to the kitchen, put on an apron, and began preparing breakfast.
Breakfast at home was sometimes simple Western style, and sometimes Japanese style.
Since there was some rice left over from last night, Eriri simply made a Japanese breakfast: rice, a little stir-fried meat and vegetables, plus a bowl of miso soup.
Once preparations were complete, Kaede had also finished his routine, changed his clothes, and sat down across from Eriri.
Looking at the food before him, Kaede smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Eriri."
"Hehe, it's no trouble, just a simple dish and a soup."
Eriri smiled and picked up her chopsticks. "Alright, let's eat quickly."
While eating, Eriri occasionally glanced at her phone nearby and tapped on it a few times.
Kaede took a look and saw that the person chatting with Eriri was Utaha.
After thinking for a moment, Kaede understood. "What, is Senpai talking to you about the illustrations?"
"That's right. Volume two is coming out in a few days, and she's been very diligent this summer vacation; she's already written more than half of volume three. She booked me for the illustrations a while ago and plans to ask me out this afternoon to discuss it privately."
"Hmm? She's not coming here?"
Hearing this, Eriri couldn't help but laugh. "I just asked her that! Kaede-kun, guess how she replied?"
"Uh... how did she reply?"
Eriri picked up her phone and showed it to Kaede, who looked at it and started laughing too.
Utaha: [Although observing you two can give me a lot of material and inspiration, I'm not looking for trouble by wanting to witness your PDA every day. I just want to discuss the illustrations, so I won't come over. Please come out for a bit; I'll treat you to something to eat.]
It was clear that Utaha still hadn't gotten used to seeing their public displays of affection.
Taking her phone back, Eriri smiled and said, "So, Kaede-kun, I have to go out this afternoon!"
"No problem, but the weather is hot, so make sure you put on sunscreen before you go out, and be careful."
"I know~~~"
However, that was for the afternoon.
After breakfast, Kaede and Eriri went to the studio. Kaede prepared the storyboards for the next chapter, while Eriri, taking advantage of the remaining morning time, reviewed Utaha's requests for the illustrations and prepared some rough sketches so they could discuss them later.
Although she was now a serialized mangaka with a heavy workload, her collaboration with Utaha had been decided long ago.
Moreover, she really liked the novel love metronome, so she couldn't neglect this work, both professionally and personally.
Fortunately, the illustration work wasn't too heavy. The character designs were finalized in the first volume, and the new characters for the second volume were also done. According to Utaha, there wouldn't be any new characters added later, so she just needed to consistently provide illustrations.
Watching Eriri busy herself with the illustrations, Kaede, who was drawing storyboards, was slightly distracted.
Last night, when he went shopping with Eriri, he had been considering something. Now that Eriri was going out this afternoon, he could prepare properly, and he couldn't let her find out in advance.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, after lunch, Eriri changed her clothes, put on her bag, and said to Kaede, who was sitting on the sofa, "Kaede-kun, I'm heading out!"
"OK, I might go out later too, to the Bunko."
Eriri nodded, "You really should go, otherwise the Bunko will almost forget about an author like you."
After saying that, she waved to Kaede and left.
After Eriri left, Kaede made a phone call, then walked back to his room.
He changed his clothes, and after waiting for fifteen minutes, Kaede also left.
However, he wasn't going to the Bunko; he had an appointment.
He hailed a taxi and went straight to the Shinjuku shopping district. Kaede found a fast-food restaurant, sat down, ordered a cola, and waited, checking the time occasionally.
At ten past two in the afternoon, his phone rang.
"Hello, Sayuri-san."
"Kaede, I'm here."
Looking out the window, Kaede saw Sawamura Sayuri's car and immediately said, "I see you, I'll be right there."
After leaving the restaurant, Kaede met Sawamura Sayuri, who had gotten out of her car.
"Thank you, Sayuri-san, for agreeing to help me brainstorm."
"It's nothing, Kaede. I'm very happy that you have such an idea. But I think Eriri will be even happier then. I didn't expect you to prepare such a surprise for her," Sawamura Sayuri said with a smile. "The store is just ahead. Let's go, I've already made an appointment."
"Okay."
Their destination was a high-end jewelry store.
Upon entering, a female manager immediately walked over and said happily, "Sayuri, it's been a long time since you last came."
"Sorry, sorry, I've been quite busy."
After some pleasantries, Sawamura Sayuri introduced Kaede beside her: "Today's protagonist isn't me; it's this child who wants to buy something."
"I see, I see."
The manager glanced at Kaede and said with a smile, "This must be your daughter's boyfriend. He's so thoughtful. Eriri is really lucky."
Kaede heard this, gave Sawamura Sayuri a speechless look, then said, "Hello, I'm Asakura Kaede. Thank you for your trouble today."
"No trouble at all, I should be thanking you for your business."
Saying that, she led the two to the counter.
Kaede's purpose today was simple: to buy a gift for Eriri next month.
A few days after school started, it would be their hundred-day anniversary. Although he thought Eriri might not have remembered, it was the very first hundred days, so it still needed to be commemorated.
However, he really didn't have any good ideas for buying a gift. He couldn't really just give her games or figures, could he? So, two days ago, he contacted Sawamura Sayuri, asking her for ideas, and then she introduced him to this place.