Chapter 334: Exposed!
The next day, on the way to school, Eriri's mood was not good; even after a night, her mind was still replaying the fierce battle from last night.
"Ah, why do I keep losing? I finally made it to only a few teams left, and then I ran into a cheater again."
"That can't be helped. In any competitive game like this, you're bound to encounter cheaters messing things up." Kaede leaned over and gently bumped Eriri, "Alright, don't be unhappy. How about we play the console version later? Or switch to a different game?"
"Forget it, it's a rare occurrence anyway, only happened twice last night." Eriri shook her head, reinvigorated, and said, "Tonight we continue, I must reach Diamond!"
That's right, Eriri had never reached Diamond since she started playing Apex. She really wanted to experience that feeling, then take a screenshot and show it off on Twitter.
"Okay, but today we'll have to shorten the time. We can only play after we finish our work."
"No problem!"
"Oh my, you two are so energetic first thing in the morning."
Kasumigaoka-senpai Utaha's voice came from behind. The two turned around and saw the somewhat dispirited Senpai walking towards them.
Seeing her like that, Eriri couldn't help but take out her phone to check herself. After confirming she had no dark circles, she looked triumphantly at Utaha: "Hmph, you stayed up late, didn't you? You're not a qualified beautiful girl anymore! You didn't even put on your makeup properly; your dark circles are too obvious! Look at me, I had plenty of sleep and I'm full of energy!"
"..."
Utaha couldn't be bothered to argue with her. She silently walked over and joined the two, walking forward. After a yawn, she said, "It's no good, I have to put more effort into the new book. Before I knew it, it was past three o'clock, and I only slept for four hours. Luckily I can catch up on sleep when I get to school, otherwise I'd be lethargic all day today."
Kaede said helplessly, "Senpai, your schedule is too unhealthy. At least don't stay up so late. If you keep pulling all-nighters like this when you're young, the consequences will show up in a few years."
"I know, I'm trying my best to adjust."
Narrowing her eyes, Utaha directly linked her arm with Eriri's other arm and said, "Let me lean on you for a bit, you can carry me."
"Hey, hey, hey?"
Eriri hadn't expected Utaha to actually do that. She wanted to shake her off but couldn't, and then a scene unfolded on the street where Eriri was being embraced on both sides, which was quite amusing.
Utaha didn't completely close her eyes, but this way she could relax a little.
It wasn't until they reached the school gate that Eriri nudged Utaha to wake her up.
"Ah, are we there? That was fast."
Eriri rolled her eyes at her and said, "Do you know how tired I am with you leaning on me like that!"
"Huh?" Utaha paused, then suddenly understood, "Oh~~~ So that's how it is. Well, I'm truly sorry, after all, that's a personal talent."
As she spoke, her gaze lingered for a moment on the distinctly different parts of their bodies.
Eriri's temper immediately flared up: "Utaha! Do you believe that if this weren't the school gate, I'd just squeeze you flat?"
"Uh..."
Utaha was truly startled, uncharacteristically shrinking her neck. No one had ever touched that part of her before; the thought of it being squeezed flat... she couldn't even imagine.
"Alright, I apologize. I won't bring that up again. Let's hurry inside."
"No way, you're treating me to dessert at lunch!"
"No problem, that's what I was planning anyway."
Watching the two start chatting again and walking forward together amicably, Kaede spread his hands and slowly followed them... At lunchtime, Utaha fulfilled her promise and bought Eriri a milk pudding for dessert as an apology, which Eriri was very satisfied with.
And just as the group was walking out of the cafeteria, a sudden scream came from the front, and then everyone saw several first-year girls pointing at them, then excitedly rushing over.
Kitamura Yusaku calmly pushed up his glasses and whispered, "Looks like something's happened? Asakura, has your identity been exposed?"
"Why do you always assume it's me? I haven't appeared in public." Kaede quietly retorted.
Then, as he expected, three girls rushed up to Utaha and excitedly said, "You... you're Teacher Utako Kasumi?"
"Uh..."
Although Utaha had a premonition, she truly hadn't expected to be recognized. Then she heard one of the girls say, "We attended your autograph session last year, and we recognized you right away! We never expected you to be our Senpai!"
They had even attended an autograph session? Then there was truly no hiding it.
Helpless, Utaha could only admit, "That's right, it's me. Hello, everyone."
"Ah!!! We really saw you again! We love love metronome so much! We'll definitely support the upcoming final volume too!"
Utaha wasn't very good at handling the enthusiasm of her readers and fans. She said somewhat awkwardly, "Ah, well... thank you."
At this moment, Eriri tugged on Utaha's clothes and said in a nervous voice, "Hey, Utaha, I think we should run. This is the cafeteria."
Sure enough, after she regained her composure, Utaha looked around and saw many girls, from first-years to third-years, and even some boys, all standing up with glowing eyes, their intentions clear.
"...Oh dear, this is bad."
Rubbing his temples, Kaede directly took out the club key from his pocket and handed it to Eriri: "You two hurry to the Art Club to avoid the commotion. Remember to lock the door from the inside. We'll cover for you here."
Eriri's reaction was also very quick. She grabbed Utaha's hand and rushed out of the cafeteria.
Then, at Kaede's call, he, Kitamura Yusaku, Takasu Ryuji, and Uchimaki Subaru also followed closely behind, covering for the two girls and disrupting the vision of the students chasing them.
While running, Kitamura Yusaku grumbled, "Honestly, Kasumigaoka-senpai has held two autograph sessions, so it's already a blessing that she's only being exposed now. It's just that her school life won't be peaceful anymore."
Kaede nodded, "Exactly. It looks like Senpai won't be able to sleep peacefully in the classroom anymore. I bet that for at least the next month, during breaks, her readers and fans will come looking for her. And that's not the scariest part, because now that she's exposed here, her identity as an author will absolutely spread uncontrollably online. Even my and Eriri's identities will be dug up soon after."
Takasu Ryuji also considered these possibilities: "That would be truly terrible, Asakura. If that situation really happens, what do you plan to do?"
"What else can I do? Take a leave of absence, and I'll run away with Eriri! Wait to be surrounded at school?"
Compared to Utaha, Kaede's works have more readers, not to mention Eriri; the popularity of her manga is growing day by day, and the single volumes are about to be released.
Taking a leave of absence and running away might be the best option.