"Ha, haha..." Umi Sonoda and Utaha Kasumigaoka both laughed awkwardly. It couldn't be helped—it was like meeting the author of Young XX. Of course, the high school grades of Love Metronome had been excellent, but even Lady Umi couldn't bring herself to discuss that in front of the Muse girls!
If Honoka and Kotori found out...
"Don't sweat the details..." Even Sogo Doma felt awkward. Of course, the only reason he was embarrassed was Utaha. It had absolutely nothing to do with Umaru!
"I'm talking about influence. Influence, get it?"
"Influence?" Honoka Kosaka looked utterly confused. It wasn't just her; Kotori Minami and the others wore equally baffled expressions. Don't assume that because student idols appealed to otaku, they were otaku themselves. Never mind that they had only entered the field halfway through; even professional student idols might not know Utako Kasumi—people had different specialties, after all!
Among everyone from Muse present, only Umi Sonoda probably understood Utako Kasumi's influence. Unfortunately, she didn't dare say it outright. "Honoka, you just need to know that Utako Kasumi-sensei is amazing..."
"Ah... Um..." Even Utaha Kasumigaoka tacitly accepted that assessment. That was shame culture for you, much like how Eriri didn't dare reveal that she was Kashiwagi Eri.
"It's not as exaggerated as everyone says..." Utaha Kasumigaoka could only say, "Heh, hehe..."
"Ahem..." Fortunately, Sogo Doma recovered quickly and patted his chest. "Even though I found myself a patron, I'm a cultured man who has published books too, you know..."
"Eh!?" Umi Sonoda froze. Not just her—even the other Muse members were stunned. It couldn't be helped. In this country, pianists held far less status than cultured people. You knew Fukuzawa Yukichi, right?
A cultured man!
"Why are you so shocked?" Sogo Doma wanted to roll his eyes. Clearly, the zaibatsu were Japan's