The Loser Fairy Eiri

At that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya even had the urge to run away.

But in the end, she still managed to suppress her embarrassment.

If she ran away now, the influence she had fought for in the group yesterday would be completely wasted.

She couldn't run.

Not only could she not run, she even needed to use this picture to build herself an "approachable" image and further close the distance between herself and the others in the group.

Thinking that, Shinomiya Kaguya gritted her teeth and decided to simply admit it in the group chat.

Then, she @'d Kasumigaoka Utaha in the group chat and asked whether she needed any help.

She now deeply understood how Kasumigaoka Utaha had felt when she had been exposed back then.

From this moment on, the two of them were truly comrades on the same front.

You Know Who, damn you! In the name of the Shinomiya Family, I will find you. Just you wait!

As for Kasumigaoka Utaha, things looked entirely different on her end.

Because of what had happened yesterday, Kasumigaoka Utaha could feel that the number of people gossiping about her and sneaking glances at her in class had increased considerably today.

But she hadn't cared about such things since her first year of high school. Otherwise, she wouldn't have openly gone to chat with Eriri after school.

As for what she and Eriri had talked about?

Although there had indeed been some sparks, overall, it had merely been a one-sided stomp.

After all, knowing Eriri's tsundere personality made it far too easy for her to toy with the girl.

To the point that she felt there was no need to bully her so much. Eriri had already suffered enough in the original story; if she kept bullying her, wouldn't the group members laugh at her for it?

After sparring with such a low-level opponent, Kasumigaoka Utaha had originally planned to find the high-level opponent, Kato Megumi, today and see what kind of person she really was.

But before she could act, a notification from the diary made her heart jolt.

Could it be that You Know Who had once again failed to find material to pad out the diary and had simply copied her story into it again?

Kasumigaoka Utaha hurriedly took the diary to the literature club room. It was her territory, quiet enough that no one would disturb her.

And the facts proved it.

You Know Who was ten times worse than she had imagined!!

Not only had he infiltrated the school through underhanded means, he had even stuffed a manga of her personal route into the shoe locker of that loser dog, Eriri.

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt her fists clench.

What the hell was that bastard trying to do?

She had already tested it out yesterday. Eriri and that Aki Tomoya seemed to have some kind of awkward childhood-friend relationship.

If Eriri saw what was in that manga, who knew what huge trouble it would cause!

Kasumigaoka Utaha could no longer sit still. Without even sparing the group chat a glance, she hurriedly got up and ran downstairs.

Before Eriri discovered it, she had to take that manga away.

For that purpose, she unconsciously used some Ripple techniques while rushing there.

The people around her only wondered why the usually quiet Kasumigaoka was in such a hurry today. Had something happened?

As Kasumigaoka Utaha sped past them at an astonishing pace, they could even faintly hear the sound of electricity.

Naturally, they assumed they had misheard and didn't think much of it.

With sparks and lightning trailing behind her, she ran from the literature club to the entrance of the school building.

Facing the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of shoe lockers before her, Kasumigaoka Utaha gritted her teeth and began asking the first-year students passing by where the lockers for Eriri's class were located.

One purple-haired girl who was asked said, "I don't know. I'm in Class 1-A. Kato, do you know where the lockers for Class G are?"

The ordinary-looking girl beside her calmly shook her head. "If even you don't know, Miyauchi, then I definitely don't either. Kasumigaoka, Senpai, you should ask someone else."

Perhaps the name Kato restored some of Kasumigaoka Utaha's ability to think.

She looked at the two girls in front of her.

On closer inspection, both of them were actually above average in appearance.

It was just that the purple-haired girl, Miyauchi, had a tomboyish air about her. As for Kato, although her features were well-proportioned and her figure was decent, for some reason, she always gave off an inconspicuous impression.

If the purple-haired girl hadn't pointed her out, Kasumigaoka Utaha truly wouldn't have noticed her presence.

Realizing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately thought that this girl was probably Kato Megumi, the "boring girlfriend" who had won in the end.

She hadn't expected their first interaction to happen under such circumstances.

Though she had many things she wanted to ask, now was indeed not the time.

In any case, she already knew that Kato was in Class A. There would be plenty of time later; right now, finding Eriri's shoe locker was more important.

Kasumigaoka Utaha gave the calm-faced Kato Megumi a deep look. After thanking her, she turned and began searching for someone else who might know.

Watching Kasumigaoka Utaha hurry away, Miyauchi Kouka grabbed Kato Megumi and gossiped, "Yesterday, I heard that Kasumigaoka, Senpai, who gave the speech on behalf of the second-years, had some strange relationship with a blonde mixed-race girl from Class 1-G. Look how anxious she was just now. Could the rumor be true?

"No wonder it's Tokyo. Are big cities really this open about that sort of thing?"

Hearing her deskmate's sigh, Kato Megumi felt that Miyauchi Kouka seemed to have some strange misunderstandings about Tokyo.

But she had also felt that Kasumigaoka, Senpai, had looked at her a little strangely just now.

Was this what they called eating from one bowl while eyeing the pot?

Still, she was inconspicuous most of the time. Kasumigaoka, Senpai, would probably forget about her soon enough, right?

The Loser Dog Immortal Eriri

Eriri felt that the start of her high school life had been utterly terrible.

Why had she chosen Toyonosaki Academy in the first place? Wasn't it because that guy was here?

Yet when they had been assigned classes at the start of school, not only had they failed to end up in the same class, their classrooms were even located at opposite ends of the school building. Even deliberately arranging chance encounters was difficult.

Then there was that woman who had stared at her during the entrance ceremony.

So what if she had big breasts and a good figure? How dare she look at her like she was some little dog? Just thinking about it made her furious.

And someone had even quietly come to ask her during lunch break what her relationship with that woman was!?

If she hadn't remembered that she had only just entered high school and needed to maintain her image before her classmates, she would probably have revealed her true nature and started cursing long ago.

But worse things had only just begun.

After school on the first day, she had originally planned to visit the art club.

Who would have thought that the moment she stepped out of the classroom, she would run into Kasumigaoka Utaha waiting for her at the door?

Not only had that woman directly called her by name, she had also made it clear that she wanted to talk to her privately.

Eriri had no interest whatsoever in an invitation from a strange woman. She had originally wanted to ask in front of all her classmates exactly what that woman wanted and tell her not to bother her for no reason.

But that woman had said, "A friend of mine told me she likes your work very much, so I wanted to see what kind of person you really are," and Eriri swallowed the words she had been about to say.

She truly wasn't sure whether the work this woman referred to was normal work or not.

Normally, she wouldn't have let her thoughts wander in that direction. After all, aside from her parents, only Aki Tomoya knew that she was Kashiwagi Eri. There was basically no chance of her identity being exposed.

But the expression on the face of the woman in front of her looked suspiciously improper.

In the end, Eriri gritted her teeth and took the initiative to suggest they talk in the empty space behind the school building.

An empty classroom was out of the question. She still hadn't figured out what this woman wanted; an open space outdoors was safer.

At least if something really happened, she could still run.

After that, under the watchful eyes of a crowd of bystanders, she led Kasumigaoka Utaha to the empty space behind the school building.

And once they reached a place with no one around, Kasumigaoka Utaha's first words shattered her defenses.

"Eri-sensei, although this is our first meeting, I suppose I can be considered one of your fans. I quite like those lewd pictures you draw."

The moment she heard that, Eriri wanted to restart her life on the spot.

This woman really did know she was Kashiwagi Eri, but where had she learned it?

Who exactly was the mole who had exposed her greatest secret for no reason at all!?

But she definitely couldn't admit to something like that.

So she immediately flusteredly protested to Kasumigaoka Utaha, "W-What are you talking about? I-I have no idea what you're saying!"

"I'm just a high school student! How could I possibly draw those shameless books?!"

Having easily tested out new information, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't reveal any inappropriate expression. Instead, she put on a regretful look.

"Did I mistake you for someone else? But my friend told me that your real name was Eriri."

"That's slander, definitely slander! How could I be Kash—cough, cough. Anyway, you must have gotten it wrong. I'm just an ordinary high school student!" Seeing the confusion on Kasumigaoka Utaha's face, Eriri hurriedly agreed, nearly blurting out her alias in her panic.

Kasumigaoka Utaha almost failed to keep a straight face.

As expected of the loser dog immortal. She could probe out so much information with a single casual remark.

Right after that, Kasumigaoka Utaha put on a relieved expression.

"Sorry, perhaps I remembered wrong. My friend told me two names at the time, and I mixed them up. Since you're not her, could you be Eromanga Sensei?"

"Come to think of it, I follow both of your works... Hmm, if I really had to compare them, I personally prefer Eromanga Sensei's work. Those hazy, borderline illustrations really do leave more room for the imagination."

Hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, Eriri's fists clenched instantly.

As someone in the industry, she naturally knew Eromanga Sensei, a veteran illustrator who had debuted more than a decade ago. She was best at those borderline lewd illustrations, and at her peak, nearly every illustration had skirted the edge of publishers' limits.

Honestly, if she were compared with Eromanga Sensei at her peak, she naturally couldn't measure up.

But in recent years, many people in the circle had begun to speculate that Eromanga Sensei had been replaced.

After all, the current Eromanga Sensei was doing well if she had even one-third of the skill of peak Eromanga Sensei.

At the very least, Eriri felt that her current level was no worse than the other's. It was simply that she hadn't yet considered formally transitioning from a doujin creator into a professional manga artist or illustrator.

Who would have thought that the woman in front of her would mistake her for Eromanga Sensei, then say right in front of her that she preferred Eromanga Sensei's work?

What hazy borderline feeling? She drew R18 books. She had been soaking in the ocean for who knew how long already, and this woman was talking to her about borderline content?

Who had nothing better to do than look for borderline content in a proper R18 book?!

Eriri suppressed her anger and denied her words again.

"I'll say it one more time: I'm not Eromanga Sensei, and I'm not Kashiwagi Eri either. I have no idea what you're talking about. If you don't have anything else, I'm leaving. Don't come bother me over this sort of thing again."

With that, Eriri planned to make a quick escape. She needed to find out exactly who had leaked her identity.

Then Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice, like a death-dealing Evil Spirit, made cold sweat break out on her forehead.

"Eri-sensei, I don't think I ever mentioned the name Kashiwagi Eri from beginning to end, did I?"

Oh no. She had let it slip out of habit.

Eriri's heart tightened.

After all, Eriri and Eri differed by only one sound. Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha confidently call her Eri-sensei right from the start, then directly compare Eromanga Sensei to her, she had subconsciously assumed that the woman already knew her identity. She herself simply hadn't been willing to admit it.

Now that she had torn away the fig leaf of Kashiwagi Eri herself, any further attempts at hiding it would only make her look like a clown.

She turned around and walked back toward Kasumigaoka Utaha with an unfriendly gaze.

Since this woman already knew, she would stop pretending.

"Who told you? Have you told anyone else?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the bristling Eriri before her and likewise stopped acting.

"Not many people know your identity. Who do you think it was?"