Before she knew it, morning had come.
Shina Mahiru headed out early. She'd set a date to go shopping with Nibutani Shinka, Kato Megumi, Asada Shino, and the others. It was a rare holiday, and she didn't feel like working today.
When Hayashi Maki got up, there were dishes on the table covered with bowls—angel Mahiru had cooked and set some aside just for him.
With a girl like that sharing a place with him, Hayashi Maki really was living like a total slacker.
After breakfast and a quick wash, he changed into casual clothes and fixed his hair. Looking at the handsome guy in the mirror, the corners of his mouth lifted.
"Perfect. Time to head out!"
Today he was meeting his illustrator, Kashiwagi Eri, to talk novel art.
Kashiwagi Eri—aka Eriri—the third heroine from Saekano, the blonde tsundere with twin tails who trades the most barbs with Kasumigaoka Utaha.
She was even his grade-school classmate… he wondered if she'd remember.
Not that it mattered. Meeting today would be the start of a new bond.
He took the train to a maid café in Akihabara—the same place he'd met with Machida Sonoko last time. It was quiet, the vibes were good, and the maids greeted you sweetly and called you "onii-chan" in sugary voices.
One of them had even slipped her number into his pocket last time. Mahiru found it when she did the laundry, and that was the end of that—tragically lost contact info.
Kidding—Hayashi Maki wasn't heartbroken. Angel Mahiru outclassed any maid by miles. Maids were fine to look at; getting hands-on was another story.
He was a demon, after all; he could tell at a glance whether a girl was "pure."
Too bad the maid wasn't Minami Kotori—otherwise he'd definitely have shown up for that date.
He ordered a coffee and a pudding, set his laptop on the table, and nibbled while he waited for Kashiwagi Eri.
To be honest, he wasn't big on Japanese cuisine, especially cold sashimi. Lots of dishes skewed sweet, or used too little salt—supposedly to preserve the ingredient's "original flavor."
Luckily, angel Mahiru had mastered both Western and Chinese cooking and knew exactly how to please his palate. Aside from pizza, fried chicken, and the odd takeout, if he wanted to eat well, the best plan was to go home and wait for Mahiru to cook.
Mm—Yukinoshita Yukino's cooking was good too. He'd had one of her bentos; it was excellent.
Of course, right now he was just eating pudding. You can always count on pudding—no matter the brand, the texture never disappoints.
He finished one and, since Eri hadn't arrived yet, ordered another.
After a while, a petite figure in a green tracksuit and a green baseball cap hurried over. Her golden twin tails swayed as she walked—perfect "steering wheels" for taking a certain kind of ride…
"Um… are you Kurosora Twilight-sensei? I'm, uh, Kashiwagi Eri—we arranged to meet. It's nice to meet you!"
Nervous, Eriri bowed deeply.
Hayashi Maki's lips curved. "Nice to meet you. For now, Kashiwagi-san, have a seat—you're attracting attention."
"S-sorry!"
Flushing, Eriri scooted into the seat across from him.
"Want something to eat? My treat."
"Mm… then I'll have a pudding."
She'd already eaten, so a dessert would be perfect. And Kurosora Twilight-sensei was surprisingly young… and gentle… and handsome!
Eriri snuck glances at his face, cheeks warming.
When the maid brought the pudding, Eriri looked like she was about to speak, but he beat her to it. "Eat first. You ran here and you're sweaty—cool off. We've got plenty of time."
That considerate tone boosted her impression of him immediately. She nodded hard. "Thank you—then I won't be shy."
She thanked him and dug in. One spoonful in, the cool, springy bite made her light up with a blissful expression.
When she finished, Hayashi Maki smiled, held out his hand, and said, "Hi, Eriri—long time no see. I'm Hayashi Maki. I'm studying at Hakuō Academy. How about you?"
"Eh! Y-you know me?" She shook his hand on reflex, then stared, stunned.
Hayashi Maki shrugged. "We were classmates in grade school. If you pull out your graduation photos, you'll still see me in there."
"O-oh, so you're Hayashi Maki. Haha, sorry—didn't connect the dots for a moment." Embarrassed, Eriri scratched the back of her head. The green cap on top made Hayashi Maki speechless. Why the green cap? Already bracing to be the 'loser heroine'?
"Don't pretend—you totally forgot me," he said, rolling his eyes and then teasing, "Before we met, I half-expected Kashiwagi Eri to be some greasy otaku uncle. Didn't expect my super cute grade-school classmate!"
"Greasy? I just draw what you guys like to look at! I didn't plan on drawing that at first. It just blew up… and once it sold, I kept going…" She muttered a protest, then ducked her reddening face.
Would Hayashi Maki look down on her for drawing… those kinds of doujins? Think she was some sleazy, easy girl?
"Relax, I was just ribbing you about your style. Actually, your style is exactly why I reached out. I just want a few tweaks." He leaned in a little. "For my light novel art, don't make the heroine's bust so exaggerated. Keep it normal—rounded—bring out a pretty girl's charm."
Hearing him acknowledge her style while getting down to business made Eriri happy. But after listening to the specifics, she stared, lowered her head, clenched her fists, and drooped.
"Sorry… I can't draw that. Hoshino Nagi's look is fine, but Tsukimi Miyabi… that's hard. Whenever I try to draw Miyabi, she ends up with, like, cow-like, inhuman proportions…"
That floored Hayashi Maki. "Seriously? It's just a heroine with a good figure. With all your, uh, doujin experience, how can you not draw it?"
Blushing, Eriri poked her fingers together. "Because I've never seen one. How am I supposed to draw what I've never seen? For an illustrator, to draw something convincingly you need firsthand reference… ideally having seen it—and, um, handled it. I'm a girl; it's not like I've, you know, ever… so there's no image in my head to work from."
~~~
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