Such a statement echoed through the crepe shop. At that moment, Eriri's expression stiffened unnaturally. She glanced at Utaha, whose gentle demeanor remained unchanged on the surface, yet the chill radiating from her was unmistakable.
"Um, Yazuki-kun, are you guys talking about Love Metronome?"
Utaha's voice was quite gentle, as if she too wanted to join in on the conversation.
"Yes, it's the work by the author who goes by the pen name Kasumi Utako. I just finished the latest volume. You know, Sayoka's behavior in it is just... her intelligence plummets so drastically. Her character is basically ruined! Don't you think so, Eriri?"
Truthfully, it wasn't that bad.
Novels always have parts that fall apart under scrutiny—some plot holes or moments that invite criticism. Normally, people wouldn't cling to them.
However, those who love nitpicking, or haters, don't think like that. They go at it with a magnifying glass, picking at everything and painting it as the worst ever—which is incredibly frustrating.
And right now, Yazuki was in full black-hearted hater mode.
Let's see how far we can push this.
"Uh, well, I mean…"
"Also… this plotline doesn't make sense either. How do they even miss each other like that? Are they blind? This is such a tired cliché from centuries ago. Completely forced story progression."
"Ah, well, that part is, uh—"
"Wait, and that whole scene at the hot spring inn! Like… don't you think Sayoka kind of has that manipulative bitchy vibe at that point?"
Another round of harsh criticism dropped.
Out of the corner of her eye, Eriri could see Utaha's face still smiling—but stiffly, like she was wearing a frozen mask.
She could already sense that Utaha was about to snap, so she quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.
Whoa—ice cold, like touching a snow spirit. A wave of bone-chilling cold spread through Eriri.
[Calm down, calm down, Kasumigaoka Utaha!]
[Eriri, where do they sell knives around here?]
Eriri could almost see a demoness with crimson eyes climbing up from the pits of hell.
"And also, Eriri, you should know that often in fiction, a character reflects the author's personality. So if Sayoka seems manipulative, that just proves—mmph!!"
Yazuki didn't get to finish.
Eriri stuffed her crepe straight into his mouth.
"Can you shut up already? We're not here to listen to your rants! Hurry up and take us to the next stop!!"
Any more and Utaha would explode, completely exposing her true nature. Eriri didn't even want to imagine what would happen if that occurred.
"…Alright. Huh? Kasumigaoka-senpai, what's wrong? Your complexion looks off—are you sick?"
"It's nothing, Yazuki-kun. I just didn't get much sleep last night."
Utaha struggled to maintain a gentle tone.
Not sleeping well was true—but also, she really wanted to kick him to death. That guy's mouth was seriously infuriating.
Come to think of it, the jabs and sarcasm on Twitter and blogs were way sharper—so why was she especially pissed off now?
Simple: on Twitter, who even knows if the person behind the screen is a pig or something else? She was used to trolls like "Scumbag-kun" trying to provoke her.
If Scumbag-kun had known she was the author of Love Metronome and mocked her face-to-face, she wouldn't be as mad. She might've even counterattacked and left him in shambles.
The problem was—he didn't know, and yet he was badmouthing her right in front of others.
That's what really pissed her off.
And she couldn't even reveal her identity—doing so would ruin everything she'd planned.
So yeah, she was bottling it up. Furious. On the edge of madness.
Honestly, she was starting to wonder if Eriri had betrayed her and joined forces with Scumbag-kun just to mess with her.
But… Eriri was a defeated mutt, not the scheming type. It was clear she hadn't betrayed her. It must've just been a coincidence.
Damn it, I'll remember this!!!
"Ughhh—!"
That was Eriri, letting out a slightly cute groan.
She had her back to everyone, cheeks completely flushed like a boiled octopus. Only now did she realize—she had stuffed her licked—no, eaten crepe into that guy's mouth.
She stole a glance at him. That guy didn't mind at all—he even ate it happily.
Then, she saw that Ikaros girl beside him, daintily wiping cream from his cheek with her fingers and casually licking it off her lips.
That guy's face looked so blissful, like flowers were blooming around him. He was looking at her like she was an angel.
At that moment, Eriri gritted her teeth.
She suddenly recalled a similar scene in the past: he had purposely smeared cream on his face to make her laugh, and she had done the same—wiping it off and licking it.
Damn it, damn it! She was not jealous. That was just childhood foolishness, calling him onii-chan and all.
Her brain must've been broken back then. She's a gorgeous girl now—no way she'd do something that childish.
Unbeknownst to him, he had now not only angered one particular senpai, but also unintentionally provoked a twin-tailed tsundere.
As they passed by a claw machine, a round, chubby bird plushie caught Ikaros's attention.
No need to ask—Yazuki immediately dropped a coin in. It had been a while since he played one.
"Wowoo~"
That weird sound came from the machine as the coin was inserted.
Right button moved it side to side, left button controlled back and forth, and the round one dropped the claw.
Wowoo
Wowoo
Wawooowoowoo—
The result? Over ten catches.
Not because he was bad—he averaged two 100-yen coins per plushie—but because the round bird was buried under other toys, and he had to clear them first.
Suddenly—bang bang bang! Someone was kicking the machine.
Looking over—yep, Eriri was there, face red with frustration. She had started playing too and hadn't caught a single one.
"Hey hey hey! Which one do you want?!"
He rushed to stop her. Any more and the staff would come over.
"That one! The Murder Bear!"
"Wow, lucky! I just happened to grab that one—"
"No! I want this one from this machine!"
"Alright alright, move aside, don't block me."
He ended up catching another ten or so. The ones she liked were always buried underneath.
Eventually, they reached the next destination—an ideal spot for building romantic tension:
The Haunted House.