Next Target, 400PS!!
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Looking at Megumi Kato's expression, Marin Kitagawa suddenly let out a sly giggle. She leaned in close to Megumi's ear and whispered, "There's no need to rush, Megumi."
"Hmm?" Under Megumi's slightly surprised gaze, Marin murmured softly, "Having you here is going to be a huge help."
"..."
Help? Help with what? However, seeing the meaningful look in Marin's eyes, Megumi instantly understood what she meant.
Even though she was long accustomed to Marin's personality, there were still times when her boldness left Megumi feeling entirely overwhelmed.
Ding!
Right at that moment, Kai's phone chimed. Glancing at the screen, he saw another message from Eriri Spencer Sawamura. He hadn't expected her to work this hard just to become an official illustrator.
[How are these?]
Compared to her initial attitude, Eriri's current mood was clearly lacking confidence. After all, she only had one night left before Kai's deadline.
"Damn it, if he dares to say they're bad, I'll definitely..." Back in her room, Eriri bared her snaggletooth, ready to curse him out.
But then she remembered she had no leverage over him. On the contrary, he held her biggest secret in the palm of his hand. A wave of powerlessness washed over her.
Her usual tsundere routine had zero effect on him. It made her feel as if she had finally met her natural enemy.
"Why hasn't he replied yet? Is there a problem?" She had only sent the message a moment ago, but the lack of an immediate response from Kai made her anxious. She stared intently at her phone screen.
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He really didn't mean to tease her. Looking at the illustrations on his phone, Kai skimmed through them and let out a helpless sigh.
He had taken things a bit for granted. Although she was a famous artist in the doujin world with top-tier technical skills, expecting her to instantly produce illustrations that perfectly matched his vision after such a brief interaction was wishful thinking.
[The character outlines are fine, but the clothing colors are off.]
[Never mind. I'll talk to you about it in person tomorrow at school.]
He didn't want to make things difficult for her by forcing her to pull another all-nighter. However, finally receiving a reply, Eriri instantly fired back:
[Off? What do you mean off??]
[Why wait until tomorrow? Today! I'll send you my address, come over right now.]
[Forget it, where are you? I'll have my driver pick you up.]
[...]
The rapid-fire barrage of messages caught Kai off guard. In reality, what he didn't know was that these illustrations had practically become Eriri's obsession.
She felt like if she couldn't get them right, she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight. Right now, Eriri just wanted Kai to tell her exactly what was wrong, face-to-face.
[I'm busy right now!]
He shot back a quick reply. And just like that, Eriri began to bombard him again.
[Is it that important? More important than this light novel??]
[Seriously, I draw fast.]
[I promise I won't take up much of your time!]
Reading that, Kai fell silent. Of course his current plans were more important. Are you kidding? This was Megumi Kato.
"Is something wrong, Kai-kun?" Marin, who had been keeping an eye on him, noticed the shift in his expression and asked curiously.
"It's just a minor issue." He was about to brush it off as nothing important, but Marin beat him to the punch.
"If you have something to take care of, you can go handle it first. It's fine if you come over a little later. You already know where my house is, anyway!"
"Hmm?"
He hadn't expected Marin to be so accommodating. Kai looked at her in surprise.
"Hehe!" She let out a cheerful laugh, then wrapped an arm around Megumi's shoulders and winked at him.
"Well, we have to give Megumi some time to adjust and prepare herself! By the time you get there, we'll have a wonderful surprise waiting for you!"
"..."
A surprise? Thinking back to the pleasant surprise Sonoko Machida had given him not too long ago, he had to admit—he really liked surprises nowadays...
"What about you, Megumi?" Kai looked at her, wanting to know her thoughts on the matter.
"If you have something to do, it's fine if you go take care of it first." Megumi maintained her flawless, perfect-girlfriend aura.
"Besides, I also want to see what kind of games Marin was talking about." Not only did she not want to delay his errands, but she also wanted some time to mentally prepare herself. After all, any girl would feel at least a little nervous and out of their depth when facing this sort of thing for the first time.
"Understood." Looking at the two of them, Kai nodded. "I'll be looking forward to this surprise."
"Kai-kun!" His intense gaze made Megumi feel slightly embarrassed, prompting her to look away. A flurry of emotions began to crack her usually stoic, expressionless facade.
Marin, meanwhile, stayed glued to Megumi's side, chattering non-stop and sharing various 'gaming tips'. Many of her bold remarks left Megumi completely at a loss for words.
Kai quickly texted Eriri, asking her to send him her home address.
[Are you sure you don't need my driver to pick you up?]
[No need!]
No matter how fast a driver was, could they beat teleportation? Kai had no intention of wasting time in transit. Honestly, the only reason he was even bothering was because Eriri was a cute girl. If it had been a guy, he wouldn't have cared if they lived or died.
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Barely a moment after she hit send on her address, Eriri suddenly heard the sound of the front door unlocking downstairs.
That fast?
She froze for a split second before her brain caught up. Even if Kai was practically a speedster, there was no way he would have the key to her house.
"Mom!" Stepping out of her room, she looked down from the landing to see Sayuri Sawamura walking into the villa.
"Have you been out this whole time?" Eriri had assumed her mother had been home for a while. She glanced at the windows—the sky outside was already growing dark. This was the first time her mother had stayed out this late.
"I can't believe my own daughter doesn't even pay attention to where her mother is. I'm heartbroken..."
Despite being thoroughly mentally exhausted, Sayuri forced a smile and cracked a joke before sinking into the living room sofa.
She massaged her throbbing temples. She had spent the entire day searching for Tomoya Aki, but to no avail. She had even visited his house, but he was nowhere to be found.
Before returning home, Sayuri had leveraged some of the Sawamura family's connections. Now, all she could do was wait for news.
"What do you mean?"
Hearing her mother's words, Eriri felt a bit guilty. "I just slept in too long today, that's all."
"Why are you wearing sunglasses inside the house?" After pouring a glass of water and handing it to her mother, Eriri looked at her strangely.
"Don't you think Mom looks really cool like this?" Sayuri didn't offer a real explanation. Instead, she pushed the oversized sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and struck a dramatic pose.
"..."
So childish!
However, since this perfectly aligned with Sayuri's usual quirky persona, Eriri didn't suspect a thing.
Afraid that Eriri would press the issue, Sayuri immediately changed the subject. "Come to think of it, it's rare for you to pour me a glass of water on your own initiative. Spit it out, what's the favor? Did you draw a new doujinshi and need Mom to help you sell it?"
"No!" She was about to go mainstream and become a legitimate illustrator. She wasn't just a doujin artist anymore!
"And what do you mean I rarely do this? I've poured water for you plenty of times before!" Her mother made it sound like she was a useless daughter.
"Alright, alright!" Sayuri waved her hand dismissively, not arguing further, and took a sip from the glass. After walking around outside all day, she was indeed quite thirsty.
"So, you really don't have anything to tell me?"
"W-Well, not exactly. There is something..." Eriri scratched her cheek and looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. After acting so defensive a second ago, admitting it now felt like a slap in the face.
"..." Sayuri didn't speak, but her eyes filled with teasing amusement. Seeing her daughter act so cute made Sayuri realize once again just how wonderful it was to be alive. For her daughter's sake, she refused to let some supernatural accident claim her life early.
"Actually, it's just a minor thing."
Remembering she had already given Kai the address, Eriri squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out, "...It's... well, someone is coming over to the house soon, so Mom, please don't say anything weird!"
After all, Kai was the kind of jerk who would use her "Kashiwagi Eri" identity to blackmail her.
"Oh?"
If it was just a friend coming over, she wouldn't be this tense, would she? After studying Eriri's flustered expression for a moment, realization dawned on Sayuri. "Ah, I get it now. It's your boyfriend!"
"NO WAY! I mean, sure, the guy is pretty handsome and he's somewhat talented, but he's super obnoxious. There's no way he could be..." Thinking back to how he blackmailed her the moment they met, Eriri denied it without a second thought.
But halfway through her sentence, she realized what she was saying. Seeing her mother's smile grow even more suggestive, Eriri felt entirely mortified.
"Ahem! Alright, alright! Mom understands. Don't worry, I won't interrupt you and your 'friend'." Sayuri cleared her throat and spoke seriously, deciding not to push the teasing any further.
On any other day, she would have poked fun at her for hours. But right now, she was truly exhausted. Just maintaining this brief conversation took a massive amount of effort—she simply didn't have the energy to keep going.
Being mother and daughter, Eriri easily picked up on her mother's strange behavior. But before she could ask about it, the doorbell rang.
At the same time, her phone buzzed.
[Open the door!]
Seeing the message was from Kai, Eriri was stunned.
"He's here!" Throwing those words over her shoulder, she quickly jogged over to the front door.
"You're here already??" Staring at Kai standing on the porch, Eriri's face was filled with utter disbelief. "Don't tell me you..."
Did he want to see her so badly that he rushed over the literal second he got the address? Honestly. She hadn't realized this guy was such a hypocrite. He acted all aloof over text, claiming he was busy with other things, but the moment he got her address, he sprinted right over.
Was his initial blackmailing just a desperate ploy to get her attention? Come to think of it, aside from throwing out a few verbal threats, he hadn't actually done anything bad to her. Tropes from pure-romance doujinshi flashed through her mind. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.
"Yeah."
Completely oblivious to the wild delusions running through Eriri's head, Kai nodded. "You were bombarding me with messages like the world was ending. I had to get here quickly."
"You jerk..." She shot him an exasperated glare.
Keep playing hard to get!
Even though she knew she was a tsundere herself, Eriri inexplicably felt that the guy standing in front of her was a massive tsundere too.
"Come in!" Despite her grumbling, Eriri dutifully fetched him a pair of guest slippers.
Kai wasn't the type to observe the polite "pardon the intrusion" pleasantries. He slipped on the footwear and followed her into the living room.
"Where's your room?"
"Aren't you being a bit too eager??"
"Weren't you the one rushing me?"
"..." Fine. Faced with his airtight logic, Eriri couldn't find a single word of rebuttal.
"So, is this Eriri's boy... friend? He certainly is a handsome young man." At that moment, Sayuri, who had been watching them from the couch, chimed in with a teasing smile. She deliberately dragged out the pause in the word 'boyfriend'.
"Hmm?"
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