Original God, But Chat Group

Kasumigaoka had barely set foot on the ground when Eriri, seated beside her, launched into her usual tirade. The two of them could never meet without trading barbs.

But this time, after not seeing Eriri for a few days, Kasumigaoka looked at her baring her teeth like a cornered cat and only felt pity. She had no desire to spar with her at all.

"Sorry. I ran into some things on the way, so I'm late. Sorry to keep you waiting, Eriri."

"You... you actually apologized!"

Eriri's eyes went wide as she stared at Kasumigaoka in shock, as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Well, you did say I made you wait a long time. Since I was in the wrong, apologizing is only natural, isn't it?"

"Ah... ah... right, it is."

Even though she was the one in the right, Eriri's voice came out barely above a whisper. She looked at Kasumigaoka's smiling face and felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

The war that should have erupted fizzled out before it began, thanks to Kasumigaoka's deliberate retreat.

"Alright, let's get down to business. You said the game proposal was ready, didn't you?"

Kasumigaoka put on a professional air and directly urged Akise Tomoya to get started.

"Ah, right, senpai. Here's the finished proposal!"

When it came to the game, Akise Tomoya was all enthusiasm. He pushed the stack of A4 paper in front of Kasumigaoka.

"Please take a look!"

Kasumigaoka picked it up and began flipping through it.

But the more she read, the deeper her frown grew, and the faster she turned the pages. By the last page, she barely glanced at it before flipping past, straightened the stack, and tossed it onto the table.

"Gulp~"

Akise Tomoya across from her swallowed nervously at her reaction.

"Senpai, is there something wrong with my proposal?"

"You should be asking me what part of this mess can even be called a proposal."

Kasumigaoka crossed her arms again.

"Remember what I told you before?"

"Uh... senpai, you mean..."

"If you don't have a complete, workable proposal, don't call me. Do you think this qualifies as a complete, workable proposal? From start to finish, it's the same as before—just a bunch of ideas rattling around in your head. You jot down a setting whenever it pops into your mind. This is nothing but a collection of your brainstorms, disjointed and incoherent. It doesn't even count as a proposal. How am I supposed to write a script based on this?"

"I'm sorry."

Akise Tomoya bowed his head in apology.

"I was too hasty, senpai. Next time, I'll make sure to do a proper proposal before coming to you."

Eriri couldn't help but chime in, seeing him bow his head like that.

"Hey! Kasumigaoka, there's no need to be so—"

"Sawamura Spencer Eriri!"

Kasumigaoka cut her off with a loud shout, making Eriri jump.

"What! Why are you suddenly yelling! And I told you not to call me by my full name!"

"Eriri, it's your business if you have nothing better to do than answer his summons anytime. I don't have that kind of free time. I have my own things to do, unlike you who has nothing to do all day!"

"Wha—"

"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

Kasumigaoka ignored Eriri's retort, stood up, and prepared to go.

"Sen—"

Akise Tomoya looked up to stop her, but another voice drowned him out.

"Ara ara~ if it isn't Shiyu-chan? Long time no see."

Kasumigaoka turned her head and froze on the spot.

Akise Tomoya, Eriri, and Kato Megumi, who had been keeping a low profile, all turned to look as well.

A blond man in a floral shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops was walking toward them with his hands in his pockets, leaning forward with a swaggering gait. As he walked, he grinned, showing a row of neat, white teeth. Behind him was a youth in white stockings and all green, wearing black sunglasses, swaying left and right as he walked. And behind them both was a small girl in green, also wearing sunglasses, her little arms and legs swinging as she strutted along in a way that made you want to punch her.

"That's—"

Akise Tomoya's eyes went wide as he watched the trio of blondies approach. The leader got right up next to Kasumigaoka, his face almost pressed against hers.

"Ara ara, it's been a while. Shiyu-chan is still as cute as ever."

With that, the blond widened his right eye and squinted his left, twisting his mouth into a smirk that looked like something straight out of a generic isekai anime villain. He turned his gaze to Akise Tomoya and the others.

"Are these Shiyu-chan's friends? Why don't you introduce me?"

"I'm—"

Akise Tomoya tried to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth, an immense pressure crashed down on him. His breathing grew labored, and his voice died in his throat.

"Blondie... Blondie!!"

Sitting inside the coffee shop, Eriri stared at the blondie. As a doujin artist, her instincts kicked in immediately.

A floral shirt and baggy shorts, plus blond hair—this was way too many cliché elements for a doujin. All he needed was a tan to complete the look!

And behind him followed a strangely dressed young man and a little girl. Wait, why was a blondie bringing a little girl around?

Confused, Eriri turned her gaze to Kasumigaoka.

Why did that fat woman know this blondie? And from the moment he started talking, she'd kept her head down without a word. Could it be...?!

As a doujin artist, Eriri's mind naturally conjured up certain plots involving a blondie—on a train, in Kasumigaoka's apartment, even in a public restroom.

After running through a series of scenarios, Eriri's look toward Kasumigaoka shifted to shock.

That fat woman, without her knowing, had been through something this awful? She must have some leverage the blondie held over her to end up like this. And from what he said, he hadn't seen her in a long time—meaning she'd barely escaped him after being toyed with, only to run into him again today!

As if to confirm Eriri's suspicions, the blondie spoke up again.

"Hey, Shiyu-chan, you wouldn't want..."

"Enough. I have things to do. I'm leaving."

Kasumigaoka cut him off through gritted teeth, then turned and walked away. After she left, the blondie gave Eriri a meaningful glance.

"What a cute girl."

Those words made Eriri shrink back, her mind immediately spiraling.

It's over. The blondie has his eyes on me. Is he going to investigate me, then use my doujin artist identity to threaten me?

As she thought, her face flushed red. Li Yue-kun watched her rosy cheeks and nodded in satisfaction, knowing she was off in her own world again.

"Well then, everyone, we won't disturb you any longer."

With that, he grinned, and with the blue and green figures behind him, swayed as he followed Kasumigaoka out of the café.

From start to finish, Akise Tomoya and the others hadn't dared to speak. But once Kasumigaoka and Li Yue left, Akise finally let out a deep breath, feeling a pang of loss, as if something had slipped away. Eriri, meanwhile, pressed her face against the glass the moment they were gone, staring intently at the figures receding on the sidewalk outside. She watched the blondie and his two companions trail behind Kasumigaoka until they turned a corner and vanished.

She remembered there was a hotel not far from that corner. So the next part of the story would be...

Oh my god, a plot straight out of a doujin is happening right before my eyes, and it's happening to that fat woman I know!!

No, wait—the blondie also set his sights on me. That means, in the near future, it'll happen to me too!

34. Spending the Senior's Money to Make a Film?

While Eriri was wildly imagining what would happen next between the blondie, Kasumigaoka, and herself, the blondie and Kasumigaoka had left the café. After crossing one intersection, they waited at a traffic light. The blue-clad young man and the emerald-green little girl wore sunglasses, looking around excitedly, full of curiosity about everything, drawing stares from passersby—their outfits, anywhere but Akihabara, were bound to attract attention. The blondie, meanwhile, leaned close to Kasumigaoka, listening to her gritted-teeth muttering.

"So, Li Yue-kun, you can actually come to my world, and the first thing you do is give me such a big surprise!"

"You deliberately dyed your hair blond, then acted like you knew me in front of those guys. What kind of image do you think I'll have with them now?"

"Probably a fallen beauty with some leverage in your hands, forced to submit to you. Especially since Eriri's a doujin artist—she's likely already cooked up a whole plotline."

Li Yue said exactly what Kasumigaoka was about to say.

This blondie trio was, of course, Li Yue, Venti, and Nahida. Li Yue's Bankai had sliced open a spatial gate to the world of Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, and he'd brought Venti and Nahida straight to the modern society he was familiar with.

Though it was Japan, with Japanese spoken and written everywhere, Li Yue found he could understand it all, and his words were automatically translated into Japanese when he spoke. This was probably the invisible power of the Chat Group—after all, in the group, no one had language barriers.

After landing, Li Yue immediately started looking for Kasumigaoka. He wasn't a local; he needed a guide.

Though this world had no Elemental Power, Venti could still use his Anemo Authority to gather information. With Venti's help, they found Kasumigaoka based on the traits Li Yue had described. To Li Yue's surprise, she was less than a hundred meters away. His only connection to this world was Kasumigaoka—so did the teleportation place him close to the related person? That was worth considering.

When he found Kasumigaoka, she was in a café having a meeting with Akise Tomoya and the others. Li Yue had Venti and Nahida play along, and had Venti use an illusion to give him blond hair before walking in.

The result was what had just happened. Hearing Li Yue's words, Kasumigaoka's face darkened. She knew Li Yue was a transmigrator—he'd introduced himself as someone who'd crossed from modern society to the Teyvat continent. But she never expected him to cross from Teyvat to her world, and to give her such a shock right off the bat!

"You knew that and still came to cause me trouble?"

"No, this isn't me causing you trouble, Shiyu-senpai."

Li Yue shook his head repeatedly.

"Oh? Not calling me Shiyu-chan now, but Shiyu-senpai instead?"

"Well, Shiyu-senpai is a nickname I like. As for Shiyu-chan, with how I look, calling you 'senpai' in front of others wouldn't fit—I'd have to be way older."

Li Yue spread his hands helplessly, while Kasumigaoka crossed her arms.

"Heh~ Then, Li Yue-kun, why don't you tell me—if you're not here to cause me trouble, who are you here to cause trouble for?"

"Akise Tomoya, of course!"

Li Yue said with a straight face.

"I'm directly announcing to Akise Tomoya that Shiyu-senpai is already in my grasp! You saw how he didn't dare speak the whole time. And just now, you told him not to contact you unless necessary. I'm sure he won't dare bother you casually from now on."

Kasumigaoka paused at his words, then let out a cold laugh.

"Heh~~ So should I thank you?"

"Senpai, we're close. Just use the same seductive tricks you used on Akise Tomoya on me. I'll take his place!"

"Heh~ Dream on!"

With that, she took advantage of the green light and quickly crossed the crosswalk.

Li Yue hurried after her.

"Hey~ senpai, wait for me!"

"Let's go, you two, hurry up and follow!"

Beckoning at Venti and Nahida, who were busy looking around, the three of them trailed behind Kasumigaoka and crossed the intersection.

Even though Li Yue had thrown Kasumigaoka a huge surprise right off the bat, as a local of her own world, she knew how to handle things. These were extraordinary people from another world, after all, so Kasumigaoka took the initiative to offer hosting Li Yue and his group.

And then...

"I'll take this one. Wrap it up for me, and set me up with a SIM card too."

Inside the phone store, Li Yue set down the smartphone he'd been holding and told the clerk across the glass counter to ring it up.

The clerk happily took the phone and asked with a smile.

"Certainly, sir. Will that be card or cash?"

Li Yue didn't answer. Instead, he turned his head to look at Kasumigaoka behind him, who pulled out a bank card.

"Card, please."

She fished a bank card from her pocket and handed it to the clerk. The clerk paused for a moment, then reached out and took it.

"Alright, please wait a moment."

Li Yue nodded in satisfaction, hands in his pockets and head tilted back slightly, while Kasumigaoka crossed her arms with a helpless expression.

In Japan, it was common for high school girls to be kept by white-collar salarymen, and for host boys to have wealthy ladies foot the bill. But a high school girl keeping a male host? Honestly, that was a bit rarer—though rare didn't mean impossible.

Right now, the clerk was sneaking glances at them while swiping the card, clearly thinking along those lines.

And Kasumigaoka could only sigh in resignation. First she'd had to deal with that Blondie NTR incident, and now she was caught up in a "keeping a male host" scenario—what a mess!

"Sir, here's your phone. The SIM card has already been installed for you."

After finishing the transaction, the clerk handed the phone back to Li Yue.

"And here's your bank card, please keep it safe."