chapter 253 Aisaka Taiga Actually...
After making Kaede explain the synopsis of the new volume for almost half an hour, Eriri finally returned to her own computer, satisfied.
"Not bad, not bad. I originally thought Aqua and Darkness might still have a chance! Hmph, Kaede-kun, if you actually dared to write that, see how I punish you!"
As she spoke, she brandished her small fist at Kaede.
Kaede responded to Eriri's threat with a smile, paying it no mind, because he had decided from the start that Megumin would be the winner.
Seeing that Kaede was completely unfazed by her threat, Eriri huffed angrily and turned back to her work.
While drawing, Eriri wondered to herself if she was completely incapable of making Kaede-kun afraid of her.
Although it seemed trivial, Eriri still wanted to establish her position in the household!
Just as she was thinking about what to do, Kaede said, "Eriri, do you want some afternoon tea? I'll order delivery."
"Yes!!!"
Household status could wait; afternoon tea came first!
Half an hour later, the ordered milk tea and cake arrived. The two paused their work and began to enjoy their treats.
Eriri happily drank her milk tea while picking up her phone to contact Utaha, who was working at home.
After chatting for a bit, Eriri said with a smile, "Kaede-kun, Kaede-kun, Utaha is stuck in a slump! She has the outline but can't write anything! Has she been pushing herself too hard these past few days, working until her inspiration dried up?"
"She can't write?"
Kaede leaned over and looked at Eriri's phone, indeed seeing Utaha's depressed message. He chuckled and said, "That's normal. Sometimes that happens. You have the outline and the ideas in your head, but the words you write just don't feel right. You end up writing, deleting, and writing again, only to be unsatisfied in the end. She just needs to slow down a bit. Her pace is already very fast, especially among new writers."
"Hehe, aren't you a new writer too, Kaede-kun?"
"But I've released more volumes, and I debuted earlier than her." Kaede spread his hands. "Even though she's my senior in school, in the light novel industry, I'm her senior. Compared to me, she's naturally a new writer."
"Tch, nothing to brag about."
Eriri shot Kaede a look and started chatting with Utaha.
Just then, Kaede's phone rang. It was a message from Ishigami Yuu.
He opened it and nearly choked on a mouthful of milk tea. "Cough, cough, cough! What is Ishigami up to?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Eriri leaned over and saw the message sent by Ishigami Yuu.
Ishigami Yuu: [I might not make it to tomorrow. I won't be able to game with you guys anymore...]
After seeing it, Eriri swallowed the milk tea in her mouth and asked nervously, "What happened? I remember Ishigami is actually a rich kid, right? His family owns a major toy manufacturer. Could he have been kidnapped and ransomed?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? If he was kidnapped, how could he send me a message?"
Gently tapping Eriri's head, Kaede sent a reply to Ishigami Yuu.
[What exactly happened?]
After a dozen seconds, Ishigami Yuu's message came back, and the two finally understood.
It turned out it had to do with Shinomiya Kaguya—specifically, the testicle replacement period incident.
With a smile he could barely hold back, Kaede said, "Ah, justice may be delayed, but it is never denied. I didn't expect Shinomiya-senpai to find out the truth so quickly, and she called Ishigami directly. I wonder exactly what she said on the phone."
"Kaede-kun, will Ishigami be okay?"
"Don't worry. Although the senior can sometimes speak quite harshly, she won't actually do anything to Ishigami. He's her junior and President Shirogane's right-hand man. At most, she'll give him a minor lecture to teach him a lesson."
Eriri nodded, thinking that was probably the case.
But the next second, Eriri started worrying about herself. "Hmm... the senior wouldn't come after me, would she?"
"I don't think so. She'll probably go after Fujiwara-senpai first."
Fujiwara Chika, the cancer of the earth, was a girl who dared to cause trouble even in front of Shinomiya Kaguya. The fact that she had survived this long while facing Shinomiya Kaguya truly showed her skill.
Kaede and the others weren't too worried about the fate of Ishigami Yuu and Fujiwara Chika. Ishigami definitely wouldn't die, and he could still game with them later.
Fujiwara Chika... she was skilled at throwing tantrums and acting spoiled, which was the hardest thing for Shinomiya Kaguya to deal with. The lecture would likely stop halfway through.
After finishing their milk tea, Eriri finished chatting with Utaha, and Kaede briefly comforted Ishigami Yuu, telling him not to think about dying just yet. The two of them then returned to work.
... October was mostly leisurely. Besides two program recordings at the end of the month, Kaede mostly helped Eriri draw manga.
The new volume of the novel, as mentioned before, was not rushed; they could take their time.
And so, on Friday.
In the apartment building, not at Kaede and Eriri's home, but at Aisaka Taiga's home.
In the kitchen, Aisaka Taiga and Kushieda Minori were staring intently at the oven, with only a little countdown time left.
Although they could see what was inside the oven, Aisaka Taiga still nervously asked, "Minori, will it succeed this time?"
Kushieda Minori glanced at the pile of dark, unidentifiable objects in the trash can, then looked at the last chance in the oven, nodded, and said, "Don't worry, it's going smoothly this time, it will definitely succeed!"
Finally, after the last five minutes passed.
"Ding!"
Time was up.
Putting on oven mitts, Aisaka Taiga carefully took out the baked bread.
Placing it on the table, smelling the aroma emanating from the finished product, Aisaka Taiga exclaimed in surprise, "It succeeded!!!"
Kushieda Minori also let out a big sigh of relief. This time it was finally smooth, though it still only succeeded under her constant supervision, and it was just a simple piece of toast, not the cake Aisaka Taiga had originally vowed to make.
Having Aisaka Taiga make a cake base directly might still be too much; let's start with something simple.
After the bread cooled down, Aisaka Taiga cut a slice and tasted it, immediately nodding and saying, "Mmm mmm mmm! Perfect! I must send a message to everyone!"
As she spoke, under Kushieda Minori's gaze, she picked up her phone to take pictures.