Faced with Mrs. Izumi's astonished gaze, Eriri just smiled indifferently. After all, this kind of reaction was something she had grown used to.
If someone didn't react at all after seeing her face, now that would be what surprised Eriri.
For the next little while, Eriri and Mrs. Izumi chatted about drawing and creative work, with Ruri chiming in every now and then.
Since the restaurant was quite busy, the food came out a bit slower than usual.
It wasn't until half an hour later that the server finally brought the dishes they had ordered.
Naturally, the moment the waitress saw Eriri's face, she too was captivated. Even after serving, she kept sneaking glances as she passed by their table under various pretenses.
Aside from that, nothing unusual happened during lunch. It was a peaceful meal, albeit with the occasional interruption by that persistent waitress.
After the meal, Mrs. Izumi parted ways with Eriri and Ruri. In her hands, she carried a takeout meal she had arranged with the restaurant in advance—a lunch for her daughter Sagiri waiting back home.
Before they left, the three exchanged contact information and added each other on LINE.
Connecting her phone number and LINE account to the Oreimo world's network was no trouble at all for Eriri.
She didn't feel the need to meet Sagiri right away. There would be plenty of chances later, as long as she kept in touch with Mrs. Izumi.
...
The Izumi home wasn't far from the doujin event venue, but to deliver the takeout lunch to her daughter as soon as possible, Mrs. Izumi opted to take a taxi.
Though taxis were pricey, the cost didn't matter much to her.
What would have taken over thirty minutes on foot only took ten minutes by car.
The Izumi household was a modest detached apartment building, where Mrs. Izumi and her daughter lived together.
"Sagiri, I'm home!" Mrs. Izumi called out after changing into her indoor slippers by the entryway.
Seconds later, the sound of a door opening echoed from the second floor, followed by quick footsteps coming down the stairs.
A petite girl with the same hair color as Mrs. Izumi came bounding down, shouting, "Welcome home, Mom!"
This adorable little girl was none other than Izumi Sagiri. She looked like a miniature version of her mother.
"Slow down! Be careful," Mrs. Izumi said with concern, watching her daughter rush toward her.
But Sagiri didn't slow down at all. She quickly ran downstairs and reached her mother, deftly taking the takeout from her hands.
She then brought the meal into the living room and began eating.
"Mom, was the doujin event fun today?" Sagiri asked with her mouth half-full.
"I didn't go there to have fun, you know. But if you were curious, you should've come along."
"No way. There are way too many people there. I'm not going!" Sagiri shook her head resolutely, as if the event was a den of plague. Her face showed strong rejection.
Ever since Mrs. Izumi divorced her husband, Sagiri had become somewhat of a shut-in, affected by the trauma of the separation.
Since Mrs. Izumi worked from home as an illustrator, she rarely went out. Influenced by her, Sagiri gradually became more reclusive as well.
That said, compared to her state in the original story, Sagiri's current shut-in tendencies were much milder.
At the very least, she did go out on occasion—she just disliked crowded places.
"That's a shame. Mommy met a super talented and incredibly pretty manga artist today," Mrs. Izumi said with a touch of regret.
"A really talented manga artist? More talented than you, Mom?" Sagiri asked curiously, conveniently ignoring the second part.
"Of course."
Her daughter's question sparked Mrs. Izumi's excitement.
Thinking of Eriri, whom she had just parted with, she happily began recounting her experience at the event and all about the impressive Eriri.
...
After parting ways with Mrs. Izumi, Eriri and Ruri didn't leave Tokyo. Instead, they returned to the doujin event venue for some exploration.
They had spent the whole morning at their booth selling manga, so they hadn't had time to explore properly. The afternoon was their chance to enjoy the event.
Now that Eriri wasn't wearing her mask, her appearance caused quite a stir as she walked through the venue.
After browsing the event for more than two hours, Eriri and Ruri finally left Tokyo and returned to the Gokou residence in Chiba.
Over the next few days, Eriri went out sightseeing with Ruri, Hinata, and Tamaki, visiting many places together.
During this time, the name "Eri Kashiwagi" spread rapidly within the Oreimo world's otaku circles.
Even though only 100 copies of each of Eriri's two original manga were sold, their quality turned every purchaser into a loyal fan.
These fans began enthusiastically recommending her works online, and a few of them were even influencers with sizable followings.
As a result, the name "Eri Kashiwagi" quickly gained traction across various online communities.
Additionally, since Eriri had appeared at the event without hiding her appearance, news about "the most beautiful girl in Comiket history" began circulating online.
Plenty of photographers had tried to take photos of her at the event, but when they later checked their cameras at home, none of the photos could be found.
With no images of her circulating, those who hadn't seen Eriri in person were skeptical of the rumors.
However, those who had purchased her manga or doujin books quickly connected the dots based on her distinctive outfit and the presence of Ruri by her side.
They concluded that the manga artist Eri Kashiwagi was, in fact, the legendary beauty from Comiket.
This rumor only fueled her growing reputation.
After celebrating New Year's with Ruri and her family, Eriri decided it was time to leave the Oreimo world.
But before she left, she planned to put into motion a major plan she had been considering.
Normally, two universes couldn't be permanently linked. Even Eriri, with all her power, couldn't maintain a stable, continuous world portal between them—at least not yet.
If she reached level 9, that would change entirely. At that point, not only could she permanently connect two universes, but she could merge the Oreimo world into the Saekano world with a mere thought.
But for now, despite being unable to hold a world gate open indefinitely, Eriri still had other options.
Eriri happened to have something in her possession capable of linking two universes: the "Gate" she acquired in the world of GATE.
As a partial embodiment of spatial rules, the Gate could absolutely serve as a permanent portal connecting two universes.
So Eriri decided to use the Gate to link the Oreimo world with the Saekano world.
She purchased an apartment next to the Gokou family's house and set the Gate as the apartment's front door. The other side of the Gate led directly to her villa in the Saekano world.
Now, opening the apartment's door would instantly transport someone to the villa, bypassing the need for any long spatial transition.
Of course, not just anyone could open this door. Only those granted access by Eriri could do so.
However, the person who opened the door could bring others along with them.
Eriri also established a rule for the Gate: only females could pass through.
From the property purchase to setting up the Gate, the entire process took less than half a day. Ninety-nine percent of that time was spent acquiring the property; configuring the cross-world portal itself took Eriri only a few seconds.
With the Gate now active, Ruri could visit Eriri's home whenever she wanted. Hinata and Tamaki could also drop by to play with Reina and Sakura, as if they were just visiting the neighbors—super convenient.
Because the Gate connected two worlds, even if Eriri was in the Saekano world, her phone could still connect to the Oreimo world's network. She could keep in touch with anyone there at any time.
This was also why Eriri wasn't in a rush to meet Sagiri Izumi or Elf Yamada.
Eriri didn't plan to stop with just the Oreimo world. She aimed to connect every world she had visited using the same method.
Although there was technically only one Gate, with Eriri's mastery over spatial rules, she could easily create duplicates.
After granting gate access to Ruri, Hinata, and Tamaki, Eriri returned to the Saekano world.
...
"Oh? You've already connected Ruri's world? That sounds really interesting. Come to think of it, aside from the One Piece world, I haven't been to any other worlds," said Utaha Kasumigaoka.
After returning, Eriri explained to everyone how she had used the Gate to connect the Oreimo and Saekano worlds.
Upon learning that they could freely travel to another world without relying on Eriri, Utaha was immediately intrigued—and she wasn't the only one.
"I've already granted each of you access to the Gate. So if you ever want to go exploring, you can go anytime," Eriri said with a smile.
Then she turned her gaze to Utaha.
"By the way, Utaha-senpai, I'm planning to publish my manga in Ruri's world. Are you interested in publishing your novels over there? It might be fun to have the name 'Kasumi Utako' spreading in another world."
Utaha's eyes lit up.
"Eriri, that's a great idea. I've decided—tomorrow's the weekend, so I'll bring my manuscript and head to Ruri's world to find a publisher."
"Me too! Me too!" Yuzuru Hanyu chimed in, raising her hand with excitement. "I want to publish my novel in Ruri's world too! Utaha-senpai, let's go together!"
"Sure," Utaha replied with a smile and a nod.
In reality, Yuzuru Hanyu no longer had any need to continue her plagiarism career. Now that she had Eriri, she lacked neither money nor power, and her system companion had become more of a chat partner.
But after a few months, she found herself genuinely enjoying the process of adapting stories from other worlds, so she hadn't stopped.
Everyone began chatting animatedly about this new development, excited at the idea of visiting another world.
It wasn't just the household that buzzed with discussion—the chat group was also alight with conversation.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): So this means you no longer need to spend points on Cross-Boundary Talismans to visit Eriri?]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 1): That's right. Not just me—Hinata and Tamaki can also visit freely.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): That's crazy convenient!]
[Arche (Level 7, Stage 1): Seriously! If my world were linked to Saekano too, then Ureirika and Kuuderika could visit Sakura anytime.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Don't worry. I already have plans for that. Eventually, I'll connect all the group members' worlds to the Saekano world. You'll even be able to travel between each other's worlds through my home as a hub.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 1 / Group Leader): Wait, isn't there only one Gate?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): About that—as long as I understand the structure of the Gate, I can replicate it using space laws.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 1 / Group Leader): I see! As expected of you.]
[Ai Hayasaka (Level 6, Stage 1): That's amazing, Eriri-sama. You can even pull off something so unbelievable.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): What are you talking about, Ai? Isn't that obvious? Eriri-sama is omnipotent!]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): By the way, Onee-sama, now that you've left Ruri's world, when are you coming to visit us?]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Yeah yeah! Eriri, when are you coming over?]
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