Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression turned cold once again. Of course, that was only to be expected...
She had cared about Kashiwagi Eri before, but who would ever say something like that outright? That person was a big name. If she said she had heard of Kashiwagi Eri, wouldn't that indirectly mean she had followed her work? Asking a literary girl to openly admit that she read doujinshi? Was that supposed to be a public execution?
"Who is this Kashiwagi Eri you mentioned, Junior? Some shut-in artist like you? Don't tell me she's some otaku who draws doujinshi to comfort herself?" Utaha Kasumigaoka was nowhere near close enough with this junior before her to discuss doujinshi with him. Her tone had already become distinctly unfriendly.
Tomoya Aki: "..."
He knew this would happen. In a sense, Kashiwagi Eri's identity really was difficult to bring up. Fortunately, she was his childhood friend, and one of the school beauties ranked alongside Kasumigaoka-senpai. With that identity alone, Kasumigaoka-senpai should change her opinion and lower her guard, right?
"Kasumigaoka-senpai, please believe me. While Kashiwagi Eri-sensei has yet to make a name for herself in the illustration world, her drawing skills are absolutely first-rate. Please trust Kashiwagi Eri-sensei. She can definitely create illustrations worthy of Love Metronome!"
"She?" Something stirred faintly in Utaha Kasumigaoka's heart, but her face remained expressionless. "So she's a newcomer to the illustration world? Then tell me, Junior, what works has Kashiwagi Eri created?" She was doing this on purpose. Under normal circumstances, Utaha Kasumigaoka would have turned around and left long ago...
But alone as she was now, she felt like finding a little amusement. At the same time, she wanted to see whether this otaku junior dared to mention Kashiwagi Eri's works—there was a saying for this sort of thing: beating