socalfunplaces Chapter 80 Eriri's Complicated Feelings
Chapter 80 Eriri's Complicated Feelings
"I...I'll think about it carefully!"
Aki Tomoya also left his clubroom, but in the opposite direction from Eriri, seemingly intending to be alone.
Kasumigaoka Utaha walked in from the doorway. "Um, Ling-senpai, could you tell me why Eriri from our school and her strange childhood friend ran out in a low mood?"
Uchiha Ryo said casually.
"I was just stating the facts. By the way, aside from the exams a couple of days ago, this is my first time visiting Toyonosaki High School. Would you be interested in showing me around, senior?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled slightly, "Well, Toyonosaki can't compare to a huge garden like Shuchiin that was built specifically for nobles, but speaking of a place that can make you feel at ease, I do know one."
On the rooftop of Toyonosaki High School, Kasumigaoka Utaha, carrying Uchiha Ryo, pushed open the door but suddenly stopped.
"Looks like someone's already here, the guy you told to run away and then went into hiding..."
Eriri was sitting on the rooftop, pulling at the barbed wire fence with her hands. Her feelings were complicated.
She has loved otaku culture since she was a child and has a very good relationship with her childhood friend who also loves otaku culture.
"I'll create the best game ever! Come help me then!"
These are the words spoken by young Aki Tomoya, and they are also a promise that Eriri, his childhood friend, has always kept in her heart.
But when did Aki Tomoya begin to forget his childhood dream and the promise he made to himself?
That was when they were in elementary school. Back then, students who liked staying at home were not popular at school and were even ridiculed and bullied by their classmates.
Faced with the same situation, Eriri and Aki Tomoya made completely different choices, and it was from that moment that a rift appeared in their relationship.
Aki Tomoya is like a stubborn mule. You mock me, isolate me, but I still do what I want. I just love otaku culture! Regardless of whether others like it or not, I'm going to promote and spread the anime and manga I love.
(Just to clarify, that's not how we in the world of anime and manga are~)
Eriri couldn't understand this second-rate behavior at all. Afterwards, Eriri chose to package herself, disguising herself as a pampered young lady at school. Being a homebody? It meant blooming alone at home, in places where no one was around.
Since that incident, due to their differing views on staying at home, their social status at school has been completely different. Therefore, throughout junior high school, Eriri and Tomoya, childhood friends, didn't actually interact much.
It wasn't until high school, when Aki Tomoya and Eriri were classmates again, that they finally became friends again.
However, Aki Tomoya's actions...
It is said that Toyonosaki boasts three famous figures: first, Kasumigaoka Utaha, a second-year literature student and the goddess in the hearts of many boys in the school; second, Eriri, the young lady who became the ace of the art club as soon as she entered the school.
The third one is the guy who puts light novels in the school library, secretly borrows the big screen to play famous scenes from anime during the first school festival, and enthusiastically recommends anime to other students.
Aki Tomoya is very well-known at school, but most of the attention is negative.
Eriri couldn't. In order to keep her facade of a wealthy young lady intact, she had no choice but to continue to keep her distance from Aki Tomoya.
Until recently, Tomoya Aki actually approached her, hoping she could help create the best galgame!
Eriri was indeed very touched at the time, thinking that her childhood friend had finally remembered their childhood promise and dream. Then... she saw that after Aki Tomoya invited her, he spent most of his time with Kato Megumi and Natsume.
That's right, it wasn't for Eriri or any so-called "promise" at all. Aki Tomoya just happened to witness Uchiha Ryo and Kato Megumi's encounter and imagined the perfect start to the game.
Eriri, feeling lost, feels like a servant to Aki Tomoya, who comes to make games when called upon, only to turn around and go find someone else!
So what's your biggest asset in recruiting people? It's still Eriri!
No matter what, Eriri's mind was in a mess until footsteps came from behind her, followed by that somewhat unpleasant voice.
"Isn't that the famous painter Eriri? Why does she look like she's been played with by her childhood friend, cowering here like a defeated dog? Tsk tsk tsk~"
Eriri's complex emotions instantly transformed into utter rage. "Kasumigaoka! If you can't speak properly, then shut up and sew yourself up with a needle! Are you here with your boyfriend to laugh at me? Let me tell you! Impossible!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri have known each other for quite a while. When the first volume of Love Metronome was published, Eriri was already a loyal reader of the book, and even took the initiative to contact them and become the illustrator for the second volume and subsequent volumes.
The two were also taken aback when they first collaborated. They didn't expect that when they met, they would find out that their collaborator was actually a senior from the same school!
Perhaps it was because their personalities were incompatible from the start, but even though they both knew each other's secrets, they were still like a pair of frenemy friends.
Uchiha Ryo: "I don't actually hate people who work hard for their dreams, but I hate people who lack self-awareness."
Yinglili: "...."
As someone who has played a lot of games and been exposed to a lot of anime culture since childhood, Ryo Uchiha doesn't think that Tomoya Aki would be unaware of the industry's trends.
His so-called confidence is probably just his own yearning for games and the presence of a famous illustrator like Eriri behind him. If he were to also come into contact with and invite a publishing author like Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Only then will Tomoya Aki's confidence reach its peak, and he will truly enter the game's production stage.
"In my comics, there are many people who come from ordinary backgrounds but know how to work hard. They also have dreams and aspirations, but they will never place all their hopes on others."
Eriri: "You, the young master of Shuchiin High School, can even draw manga?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha scoffed, "His paintings are no worse than yours, and he's much more famous online than you."
What?! An illustrator who's even more popular than the famous doujinshi artist Eri Kashiwagi... Aside from those veteran illustrators, it's probably just those professional manga artists.
Uchiha Ryo nodded. "Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Naruto, a solo manga artist who debuted in JUMP magazine two and a half years ago. My current manga is Naruto."
Eh eh eh!!
Eriri opened her mouth wide, but dared not speak.
What could she say? That... I'm actually a fan of yours? That I've created fanfiction of all the female characters you've written?
Eriri, a well-known doujinshi artist, suddenly felt a little embarrassed. She often drew doujinshi based on Eriri's works, and now she actually met her in person!
Uchiha Ryo: "Sawamura-kun, regarding Aki-kun's game development club, I think it would be better if we could schedule a time this weekend to discuss it in detail. After all, what I just said was the truth, and you should know that."
Eriri nodded. "Of course I understand what you're saying. Although Tomoya is a bit naive... well, we'll see when the time comes."
As a childhood friend who knows him well, Eriri seems unable to say anything in defense of Aki Tomoya.