Chapter 246: Wear a Mask
At noon, Kaede and Eriri were eating together. Midway through, other members of the Art Club joined in, and Utaha also arrived at the cafeteria shortly after, taking the last available seat.
She put down her purchased lunch, yawned, and began to eat.
Eriri glanced at Utaha and asked, "Just woke up?"
"Mm."
Nodding, Utaha, holding her chopsticks, said, "After getting home last night, I finished my homework and then started writing. I was busy until past three in the morning before I rested, so I could only catch up on sleep at school."
Everyone looked at each other, and finally, Uchimaki Subaru looked at Kaede and asked, "Asakura, do all writers stay up so late?"
Shaking his head, Kaede said, "It's a personal habit, I guess. I think perhaps Kasumigaoka-senpai is used to writing in the middle of the night, finding it more inspiring? As for me, I can write anytime, but I think it's better to pay more attention to sleep. If you always stay up late, your body can easily break down."
Eriri also nodded, looking at Utaha and saying, "Exactly, exactly. If you keep staying up late, especially as a girl, you'll age faster, and your skin will get worse!"
"...Why do I feel like you're cursing me?"
Eriri said with a smile, "No way, I'm just telling the truth. I used to stay up until the early hours of the morning sometimes when I was rushing manuscripts, but now that hardly ever happens. I definitely rest before 12 o'clock."
Kaede immediately said, "Isn't it because I'm watching you? Otherwise, you would have played games all night again yesterday."
Eriri naturally wouldn't admit it and quickly retorted, "No way! I always pay attention to the time!"
The two immediately switched to debate mode, starting to discuss how late they could play games at night.
Watching these two shamelessly flaunt their affection again, everyone silently sighed and began to eat their somewhat bland lunch.
As they were eating, another first-year girl suddenly walked over, approached Utaha, and whispered, "Se... Senior, could you..."
Utaha looked up and saw the love metronome in her hand. She nodded with a slight smile and whispered, "Yes, but don't tell anyone else. I still hope to have some peace at school."
The girl immediately agreed, watching Utaha sign, and said, "I heard it from my friend; she attended your last signing event. I couldn't go because I had family matters, so it took a lot of courage for me to come ask for an autograph."
After signing and returning the light novel to her, Utaha smiled and said, "Thank you for your support."
The girl, blushing, thanked her again and then walked away, clutching the light novel.
Uchimaki Subaru said in surprise, "Eh~~ I didn't expect that someone in our school already knows your identity as a light novel author, Senior."
"There are indeed some, but only a small portion. It hasn't spread online, and those who know in school are all girls, so there's no problem."
Shaking her head, Utaha smiled and looked at Eriri: "And my reputation is much better than a certain former doujin artist."
"Hmm? Don't drag me into this, I will absolutely not reveal my identity!"
Usami, opposite her, looked at the serious Eriri and suddenly remembered what she had told her that morning... The matter that Eriri had told Usami about inviting Kaede to participate in a live broadcast program finally came to fruition on Friday, when Kaede arrived at the Bunko to begin the first discussion.
The program had actually already started, but there were always guest invitations, and both the Bunko and the production team felt that Kaede could participate once or twice. After all, compared to Eriri, it wouldn't be a big problem for Kaede to show his face.
After school in the afternoon, Eriri went back to buy groceries, while Kaede went to the Bunko alone.
"Eh, going on a show, I just don't know if it's a radio show or a live online broadcast where I show my face." Scratching his head, Kaede greeted Takasu Yasuko at the front desk and went to the editorial department.
Editor Nakajima was already waiting there, and the director and supervisor from the anime production team had also come over, ready to discuss the program together.
Upon entering the conference room, after the four sat down, the director spoke without delay: "Asakura-kun, our request is actually very simple. We just want you to participate in two programs, one radio and one live broadcast, both as a guest. Don't worry, there's no special content; it's basically just casual chatting, and also things like reader mail. The program flow will all be prepared, so you just need to follow the script."
Kaede was already aware of these things and nodded, saying, "Director, participating in programs and such is actually fine. After all, I'm very satisfied with the production of the anime, and it's no big deal to contribute a little effort to promote it. However, as you know, since my debut, I haven't held any offline or online events, and my true identity has never been exposed. But if I appear this time, I estimate my life won't be peaceful anymore."
Kaede's thoughts weren't unreasonable. After all, Utaha's previous signing event was held out of sight and photography was prohibited, so there was no way for anyone to spread the information. Currently, the most common information about Utako Kasumi is merely that "Utako Kasumi is a super high school-level beauty," and nothing more detailed than that exists.
However, in Kaede's case, the sales volume of his novel speaks for itself, guaranteeing that a large number of people are reading it. Furthermore, since it is an online live stream, the barrier to entry is much lower; as long as someone has a phone, a computer, and internet access, they can watch it directly.
Kaede was truly troubled by this. As far as he currently knew, quite a few people at his school were reading his novel. If his identity were truly exposed, he would definitely not have a peaceful life at school.
What Kaede said truly put everyone in a difficult position. They all understood that, setting everything else aside, Kaede was still very younghe had just started high school. If he didn't want to reveal his identity, that was perfectly acceptable.
After pondering for a while, the director suggested, "Then... how about wearing a mask?"
"Uh... wouldn't that be a little strange?"
Hearing this, Kaede thought that it might actually work. This kind of operation was similar to that of a virtual streamer; as long as he didn't show his face, the problem wouldn't be significant.
Clapping his hands, Kaede immediately decided, "Okay, I'll participate then! I'll just wear a mask. Can I choose the mask myself? I'll get a Kamen Rider one!"
"Watch out for copyright issues! We'll prepare the mask!!!"
Well, so much for having fun with that idea.