Chapter 270: Long-Awaited Homura
Since no one else had arrived yet, and only Eriri, the hostess, was there, Utaha's posture was much more relaxed at the moment.
Hugging her knees and curled up on the sofa, she leaned over to glance at the tweet Eriri was editing on her phone, saying exasperatedly, "You really have too much free time. It seems like you post at least one tweet every day, right?"
"Hehe, isn't this normal? Since the account has been created, I have to maintain it well." After sending the edited tweet, Eriri asked, "Speaking of which, haven't you been posting much on your account?"
"Yes, the last time was during the autograph session."
Hugging her knees with both hands, Utaha said, "I've never been very interested in this kind of thing. It's not like it's going to significantly increase my novel's sales. I'd rather spend that time researching how to write the novel's plot."
Hearing Utaha say that, Eriri immediately went to her account homepage and clicked in. Sure enough, just as she said, she hadn't posted a tweet in a long time.
"Oh, you can't be like this. Why do I feel your emotional intelligence is even lower than mine? As a creator, you should at least maintain a minimum frequency to understand the thoughts of your readership. It's not about rewriting the story according to the readers' wishes, but at least you should know how your work is being received."
Utaha listened and felt there was some truth to it, so she nodded, took out her phone, logged into her Twitter account, found Eriri's newly posted tweet, liked it, and left a comment.
Utako Kasumi: [The taste and appearance are just as good, it was very delicious, I'm stuffed, thank you for the meal.]
Soon, this comment was discovered, and Utaha had to marvel at the activity of Eriri's account; her fan loyalty was incredibly high.
"Amazing, it's only been a few minutes, and the comments under the tweet are already piling up."
Utaha exclaimed, "I take back what I just said. It really is useful to be consistently active. I estimate that after your manga's tankobon is released, the promotional effect of this account will be surprisingly good."
"That's right! This is an account I've been carefully maintaining since I started as an artist!" Eriri said with a proud expression, "Although I lost a few fans after going legitimate and becoming a manga artist, most people still stuck around, and with the manga's good popularity after serialization, the number of fans has been steadily increasing! You know, this is the internet age, and online promotion can sometimes be much faster and more effective than offline advertising!"
"Account... management, huh..."
Utaha naturally understood the significance of the internet age that Eriri spoke of. After all, both Fushikawa Light Novel Imprint and Jump had already launched digital reading, not just sticking to physical editions. She herself often read novels and manga on her phone and was well aware of the effectiveness of online promotion.
"Ah, it feels so troublesome."
Grabbing her long hair, Utaha was very helpless, but in the end, she made a decision to operate her account well in the coming days.
Half an hour later, the scheduled guests finally arrived. First to come were the three members of the Art Club.
"Good afternoon!" x3
After entering the house, the club president asked curiously, "Has Asakura not returned yet?"
"He should be soon. There's still a little bit of finishing work this afternoon, ending around 2:30, and he should be home by 3:30." Pouring out drinks, Eriri said with a smile, "Why are you three together? Did you meet halfway?"
Uchimaki Subaru smiled bitterly and shook his head: "We originally agreed to come together, but after Usami and I met up, the club president hadn't arrived. When we called him, we found out he had fallen asleep again after lunch, so we had to go to his house to wake him up and bring him along."
Everyone's gaze shifted to the club president, who scratched his head sheepishly: "Ahaha, sorry, I tend to get sleepy after eating my fill."
Everyone rolled their eyes, but in the end, they still poured a drink for the club president.
After a while, Aisaka Taiga, Takasu Ryuji, and Kitamura Yusaku also arrived. Only Kushieda Minori, due to her part-time job, would come after her afternoon shift ended.
Drinking her beverage, Aisaka Taiga asked, "Eriri, when will Asakura's show that he recorded today air? Is it today?"
"Hmm, it will air tonight, but it's just a pre-recorded radio show. Kaede-kun also sent a message at noon, saying that the show's effect will definitely be a bit less compared to yesterday's live broadcast."
Eriri nodded her chin and said, "Let's not talk about Kaede-kun's work for now. I don't think you'll be too interested in tonight's radio show anyway. Let's think about what we should do during these afternoon hours."
"Monopoly!!!"
Aisaka Taiga immediately held up the Monopoly box she had brought from her home when she arrived, her eyes shining as she said, "This is super fun!"
Looking at the Monopoly box, Kitamura Yusaku said with a smile, "Monopoly~~ It feels so nostalgic. I remember playing this with my friends all the time when I was little, and we'd play for half a day."
"Right?! It's really fun, let's play together!"
Everyone else naturally had no objections. When they all got together, any game they played would be lively.
However, Utaha raised her hand at this point and said, "I'll pass. I just got some inspiration and want to record it this afternoon. Eriri, can I borrow your laptop?"
"Sure, it's in the study, go get it."
Apart from the one who needed to write, everyone else started playing Monopoly.
Not long after this, Kaede finally finished recording the show for the day and set off on his way home.
Walking on the road to the station, Kaede looked at the time on his phone and murmured to himself, "Hmm... At this time, everyone should have arrived. I wonder what they're playing now. Oh, right, I'll go to Homura and buy some wagashi to bring back."
No sooner said than done, after taking the train to the station, Kaede turned and went to the long-unvisited Homura.
Pushing open the door and entering, Kaede saw Kosaka Yukiho holding a book and reading it behind the counter. This girl was as diligent and studious as ever.
Hearing the door open, Kosaka Yukiho looked up and saw Kaede entering, happily saying, "Ah, Kaede-nii, you're here! Welcome!"
"Good afternoon, Yukiho."
Greeting her, Kaede said with a smile, "Why are you watching the shop today? Is Auntie not here?"
"Mom went out to buy groceries!" Putting down her book, Kosaka Yukiho said, "Kaede-nii, you're here to buy wagashi, right? How many do you want?"
"Pack two boxes for me, we have guests at home today."
"Okay~~~"
Kosaka Yukiho responded, obediently took out the packing boxes, and started packing for Kaede.
Looking at this little girl, Kaede suddenly thought that he seemed to have never invited Honoka and Yukiho sisters to visit his new home.
Should he invite them?