Chapter 240: It's Not a Competition
Eriri finished showering and came out wiping her hair, only to see Kaede sitting in the living room looking utterly resigned, while Camilla sat comfortably on his lap, looking completely at ease.
"Kaede-kun, what happened?"
"I just showered, and I have cat fur on me again."
Upon hearing this, Eriri looked at Kaede's pajamas and indeed saw distinct cat hairs on his sleepwear.
Camilla's diet had improved, and her fur was much shinier than before, but shedding fur was unavoidable. If you own a cat, you have to accept getting cat fur on your clothes.
Eriri didn't mind at all. She sat next to Kaede and said, "Hehe, who told you to smell so good right after a shower?"
"Then why isn't she coming over to you now?"
"Maybe she's lazy."
"..."
Kaede looked at Camilla lying on his lap, speechless. He sighed, stroked her fur, and said, "Forget it. I knew this would happen. I'll just have to remove the fur from myself later."
Fortunately, they had bought tools for cleaning cat fur, otherwise, it would be impossible to go out properly.
Eriri needed to blow-dry her hair. When Kaede took out the hairdryer, Camilla, who had learned what it was these past few days, finally left the sofa and returned to her cat tree.
She didn't like loud noises.
After helping Eriri blow-dry her hair and cleaning the cat fur off themselves, it was time for the two of them to work. They currently had two chapters of manga drafts saved up. For Eriri and Kaede, who were planning to travel at the end of the year, this was enough, but not entirely safe...
Monday, after school.
After tidying her schoolbag, Eriri said to Usami, who walked over, "Mizuki, I won't be going to the Art Club today. I have something to do later."
"Not going to the Art Club?"
"Mhm!" Nodding, Eriri saw Utaha already at the classroom door.
Usami also saw her and said in surprise, "I thought you were going out with Asakura-kun."
"Hehehe, Kaede-kun will be going to the Art Club, though." Standing up, Eriri said with a smile, "Well, I'm off then, see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow, Eriri."
Waving goodbye to Eriri, Usami picked up her schoolbag and headed to the Art Club.
Meanwhile, Utaha looked at Eriri and asked, "It just occurred to me, you could have asked Usami to go shopping with you too, so why did you specifically ask me?"
"You're still asking me that now?" Eriri looked at Utaha in surprise and said, "Actually, I did think about it, but first, I feel that Mizuki's clothing style is a bit different from mine. I plan to gradually choose more mature styles in the future. And then, Mizuki is always very serious about Art Club activities. Unless it's truly important, she wouldn't take time off. So, it's more appropriate to ask you."
Another point, of course, was those private matters. Usami wouldn't be as receptive as Utaha. If she were to bring Usami, the other party would definitely run away within three seconds.
Listening to Eriri's explanation, Utaha's doubts grew, but she couldn't pinpoint why.
After leaving school, they took the train with Eriri, chatting about light novel illustrations while heading to the mall.
At school, Kaede had already arrived at the Art Club. As he put down his schoolbag and took out his laptop, he saw a message from Eriri on his phone, saying she had already boarded the train with Utaha.
Uchimaki Subaru saw Kaede's actions and asked, "That's quite rare, Asakura. You're at the Art Club alone. If I remember correctly, since you two started dating, you've always been together, or neither of you came to the Art Club."
Putting down his phone, Kaede thought for a moment and said with a smile, "It seems that's true, but it's just that there happened to be no other plans. If there were really things to do, we would act separately. After all, we're not conjoined twins."
The club president, lying on the sofa, asked, "Is the honeymoon phase over?"
"Of course not."
Kaede said while opening his laptop, "We've only been dating for half a year; it's still early. It's just that everyone needs a little personal space. We see each other all the time at home, so there's no need to stick together. Sometimes I go out to play with Takasu and Kitamura, and Eriri pulls Kasumigaoka-senpai to chat or go shopping. Sometimes she plays with Usami. See, just mentioned Usami, and she's here."
Usami, who just walked in, looked bewildered as she faced the three people staring at her. She unconsciously touched her cheek: "Is something wrong with me?"
It wasn't until she sat down that she understood what the three of them had been talking about earlier.
Although it was currently unrequited love, Usami wasn't completely clueless. She nodded and said, "Indeed, if it were me, being able to see the other person all the time would definitely be a happy thing, but everyone wants their own space. However, Eriri and Asakura-kun being like this today is indeed a bit rare."
"It's rare at school, but it hasn't never happened." Kaede was already working now, and said, "At home, sometimes it's me or Eriri who wants to sleep in a bit longer, then the one who gets up goes to buy groceries or something. We're not always together. But Usami, today Eriri and Kasumigaoka-senpai went shopping together and didn't invite you, do you feel disappointed?"
"Huh? Disappointed? No, not at all." Usami shook her head.
Uchimaki Subaru also said with curiosity, "Yeah, I was wondering about that too, really not? In class, I often see some girls who even go to the restroom with a companion; I really can't understand it."
"Uh... I wouldn't do that!!!"
Usami's face turned red as she retorted loudly, "I've never done that!"
Kaede looked at Usami with a full smile and said, "We didn't say anything about you, but it's a pretty common phenomenon."
"..." Usami hesitated for several seconds before saying, "Can't argue with that."
Although she herself wouldn't actively ask others to go to the restroom with her, she had indeed been pulled along by others, and even Eriri had experienced this.
No, it should be said that unless they are introverted girls, almost all of them have had such an experience.
Tapping her chin with her finger, Usami pondered, could this really promote relationships between girls?
Thinking this, Usami looked at the three boys in front of her: "Don't you guys go to the restroom together?"
The three heard her, looked at each other, then all shook their heads.
Uchimaki Subaru said, "Unless we happen to be going, we really wouldn't go together."
The club president agreed, "Right, what would we do together, compare sizes?"
"Pfft!"
Kaede burst out laughing. He really hadn't expected the club president to say that.
Usami listened, paused for a few seconds, then her face turned beet red, and she fiercely threw the eraser in her hand.
"President, what are you talking about!!!!"