After accepting the request, everyone relaxed in the clubroom for a while, had some tea, and then wrapped up club activities early for the day.
Eriri didn't head to the studio today. Instead, she wisely decided to go straight home. Fortunately, she made that choice—otherwise, she would've had to deal with everyone's stares, which would've been pretty uncomfortable.
As for Yukino, she ended up visiting Eriri's house.
On the way home, Ichin asked, "What do you want for dinner? The girls at the studio aren't cooking tonight—they're going out to eat—so we'll just handle our own meals."
Utaha thought for a moment before suggesting, "Let's keep it simple. How about fried rice and a couple of side dishes?"
"Sounds good. That means we don't need to buy groceries. There's still enough food at home."
With that, they skipped the supermarket and headed straight back.
Since Ichin had moved in, Utaha's parents often went out to eat together when she wasn't home for dinner. In a way, it seemed to rekindle their youthful days, making their lives even more enjoyable.
After arriving home and putting their things away, Ichin took the ingredients for dinner out of the fridge.
"Oh, right… If we're making fried rice, we'll need to cook the rice first. How about we just make claypot rice instead, Utaha?"
From her bedroom, where she was changing, Utaha kicked the door open and responded, "Sure, that works. We've got both Chinese sausage and char siu(Chinese BBQ Pork) at home, so it won't be too complicated."
With that decided, Ichin wasn't in a hurry to start cooking. He told Utaha he was going to drop by the downstairs studio first.
As soon as he stepped inside and changed his shoes, he was met with eager stares from everyone present.
"…Uh, what's with those looks?"
Hazuki glanced behind Ichin and sighed in disappointment. "Eriri's not with you?"
"Nope. Yukino's visiting her place today, so she didn't come."
"Ahh… What a shame."
Ichin's mouth twitched as he looked at their nearly identical expressions. "You guys better not go overboard. If you scare Eriri off, I'll lose an excellent illustrator."
Hazuki waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, don't worry. She's not that easy to scare off. We're just curious about how Eriri-chan ended up becoming a doujin artist. Oh, by the way, Ichin-kun, have you ever read any of Eriri's doujin works?"
"Her doujin works?"
Ichin thought for a moment before answering, "I saw one at Utaha's place when I first learned about her identity. But it was just a pure romance one, so it wasn't a big deal. Other than that, I've only seen some of Kashiwagi Eiri's artwork on Twitter. …Wait, exactly how many doujin books did you guys go through last night?"
Shinoda Hajime gave a thumbs-up and grinned. "Not too many, just about thirty or so!"
"…That's 'not too many'?"
Ichin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Honestly, he doubted that was even the real number.
Looking around, Yagami Kou, Toyama Rin, Hifumi, and Aoba showed embarrassed expressions, but the others were surprisingly nonchalant.
Oh, right. Sakura Nene wasn't here today since her new school term had started. Narumi and Momiji were also absent.
"…Whatever. I give up on trying to understand you guys." Ichin sighed. "Just don't be too obvious around Eriri, alright? She doesn't usually show her doujin artist side. Just act like you always do."
At that moment, Iijima Yun raised her hand.
"Ichin-kun, I have a question!"
"Go ahead, Yun."
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What if Eriri brings it up herself?"
"…Uh." Ichin scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Then just go with it. As long as you guys don't actively stir things up, it's fine."
With that, the Eriri-related conversation wrapped up. Ichin briefly checked over the day's work before heading back upstairs.
The others would be heading out for dinner soon, so there was no reason for him to stick around any longer.
After returning home, Ichin and Utaha made a pot of claypot rice for dinner before settling into their studies in the bedroom.
Even though they were top students, they still needed to dedicate some time each week to reviewing and reinforcing their knowledge—just significantly less time than most people.
By the time 8 PM rolled around, they had gone through all the material they needed to review. Afterward, they both took a shower and then moved on to their individual tasks.
Utaha sat in front of her computer, diligently typing away, while Ichin leaned against the headboard, studying a programming book.
Developing Hollow Knight wasn't particularly challenging for him at the moment. However, when he eventually worked on Persona, Dark Souls, and even later projects like Titanfall, Apex Legends, and Fall Guys, he knew he would inevitably encounter areas outside his expertise. That was why he needed to take advantage of his time now to learn as much as possible and improve himself.
Ding-dong~~
Around 9 PM, the apartment's doorbell rang.
Ichin put down his book and glanced at Utaha. "Is it your mom?"
"Probably not."
Utaha paused her work and said, "If it were my mom, she'd call me first."
"I'll go check then."
Ichin got out of bed and left the room. Since Utaha was only wearing a nightgown, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to answer the door no matter who was outside.
"I'm coming."
He reached the entrance and opened the door, only to find Toyama rin standing there.
"Rin? You haven't gone home yet?"
Holding a transparent container, Toyama Rin smiled and said, "Nope. When we went out for dinner, Kou had a little to drink, so I decided to stay with her tonight. Oh, and Ichin-kun, you cut up that watermelon this afternoon, right? I just took some chilled slices—better eat them soon."
"Got it. Thanks, Rin."
Ichin accepted the container filled with watermelon and asked, "How's Kou? How much did she drink?"
"Oh, she's fine. Just two beers." Rin waved a hand nonchalantly. "I was keeping an eye on her—wouldn't let her drink too much. Alright then, good night, Ichin-kun. I'll be heading downstairs now."
"Yeah, good night."
After seeing Rin off, Ichin returned inside with the watermelon.
Utaha glanced at the container in his hands. "That was Rin-san, right? I thought I heard her voice."
"Yeah. Kou had some drinks at dinner, so Rin's staying with her tonight. She brought us some fruit."
As Ichin placed the container on the table, Utaha suddenly realized something. "Ah, I knew something felt off—we didn't eat much fruit today. Ichin-kun, where are the toothpicks?"
"They're in the living room. I'll go grab them."
With that, they continued their work while eating the watermelon.
Biting into a cool, juicy slice, Utaha suddenly thought about the downstairs studio. A wave of curiosity and gossip surged within her.
"Ichin-kun, what do you think Rin and Kou are doing right now?"
Ichin froze for a moment, his grip on the book tightening slightly as his expression wavered.
"…No idea. If you want to know, go ask them yourself."
And just like that, Utaha really picked up her phone.
...
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