At this point, it wasn't a matter of "good acting" or "bad acting."
There was no acting to speak of.
It looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it.
Yet the other two showed no particular surprise.
Anri Hitomi kept her perfectly composed, fake smile, while Shiroi Shiori glanced at her best friend and nodded.
"Mm. Go on. Take it slow—don't trip."
"Y-yes!"
After Aizono Momo shuffled out of the clubroom with a stiff, awkward gait, Akira braced both hands on the table and slowly stood up.
"Then I'll go to the restroom too—"
He didn't get far.
Hitomi and Shiori each planted a hand on one of his shoulders, pinning him in place from both sides.
"Wait, Akira-kun. Don't rush out."
"Hitomi's right. We still have something to tell you."
Akira rolled his eyes.
So they'd seen everything after all. They knew exactly what was going on—and still didn't call it out.
They forced him back into his chair, then sat down on either side of him like they were escorting a criminal.
But they weren't holding him here to interrogate him. If anything, they were about to hand him vital intel.
"Momo can be adorably naive sometimes," Hitomi said with a helpless smile, still unable to resist roasting Momo's terrible "performance." "She actually thinks that would fool us—so she can meet you privately, Akira-kun."
"That's just how Momo is," Shiori said, glancing toward the door with indulgent fondness. "She's probably out there right now adjusting her breathing, feeling proud of herself for pulling it off…"
Shiori's guess was dead on. Outside the clubroom, Momo really was pressing both hands to the biggest-cup-certified chest in the Literature Club, clenching her fists.
"In any case," Shiori continued, "she probably doesn't realize we already know she wants to talk to you alone, so letting her wait a little is fine."
After briefly analyzing her best friend's adorable inner world, Shiori snapped straight to the point.
"But if we keep you here too long, even Momo will start wondering and come back. So I'll be quick—we're stopping you because we want to warn you. Don't be too blunt and end up 'bullying' Momo into tears."
"Oh!"
So they weren't trying to catch him red-handed… great, then!
Not that it was anything like cheating in the first place. Akira had merely responded to Momo's invitation—he hadn't even gone out to meet her yet. There was no crime scene, no evidence, no grounds for detention.
And judging by this, they were actually here to support him—feeding him more precise information so he could "persuade" Momo better later.
It went from sneaking around to operating under official approval. Akira's spine instantly straightened.
"Then spit it out. I'm listening."
Hitomi immediately punished his cocky tone—by stepping on the top of his foot with her bare foot, shoes off.
"Akira-kun. Be serious."
Honestly, it felt more like a reward, but Akira bared his teeth and put on a pained face anyway.
"Shiori and I both trust your speaking skills," Hitomi said, "but you still don't know Momo's past, do you? You might say something that hurts her without meaning to. And Momo's… extremely sensitive. So we want you to be careful."
"So you're going to tell me the landmines—topics I shouldn't bring up when I talk to Momo, right?"
"Exactly," Hitomi said. "So, Akira-kun—do you know why Momo is the way she is?"
"Well…"
Akira arched a brow and glanced at Shiori sitting to his right.
Isn't it because a certain strong-willed literature girl overprotects her best friend?
Shiori jabbed his arm with her elbow, displeased, but still admitted it.
"Fine, I'm part of the reason. But I want to protect Momo because I don't want to see anyone use her again!"
Akira's expression didn't change. He himself was using Aizono Momo—yet he smoothly removed himself from the conversation like it had nothing to do with him.
"Oh… so someone used her before?"
"Yeah." Shiori's voice hardened. "In middle school, Momo joined the manga club. Back then, the others used her. Those bastards who called themselves senpai tricked her into drawing a bunch of R18 doujinshi under the guise of 'club activities,' then sold them for profit. Not only did they never give Momo a cut—when the school found out, they shoved Momo out as the scapegoat. She almost got suspended…"
Damn. Momo had basically gotten a preview of what it felt like to be disposable, exploited bottom-rung labor in a black company.
"Momo's too kind," Shiori said, teeth clenched. "Kind to the point of being stupid. She let them work her like a mule—she even collapsed at school from exhaustion. So I have to protect her. Because she can't protect herself!"
As she spoke, Shiori's face darkened, her eyes flashing with a cold, blade-like light.
Someone had hurt her best friend that badly—Shiori looked like she'd wanted to personally carve those trash senpai into pieces.
"Back then, Hitomi—who was Student Council President—stepped in to help Momo," Shiori continued. "And she also stopped me from taking revenge too far. That's when the three of us became close."
"So that's what happened…" Akira murmured. "I had no idea."
So that was the reason these three had ended up together.
Hitomi nodded, then warned him.
"Yes. So, Akira-kun, don't bring up manga or doujinshi to Momo. I think she still carries that painful black history of being exploited by senpai she respected."
"Got it. Manga is a no-go topic. Logged."
"And secondly," Hitomi added, "Momo probably feels like she owes us too much, so she never argues with us. She always hides what she really thinks. But that's… not a healthy way to relate to people."
Resting her cheek in her hand, Hitomi looked genuinely worried.
"So I suggest you don't spoil Momo too much. Don't make her feel indebted to you, or she'll lose her ability to make decisions around you too… Though, honestly, the moment you asked her to draw illustrations for you, she probably already filed it under 'huge favor.'"
Shiori nodded firmly and expanded on Hitomi's point.
"Basically, you should just say what you think. Earlier, you wanted to criticize Momo's coloring, right?"
"Uh… I wouldn't call it criticism. It just didn't match what I expected…"
"Enough with the softness," Shiori said flatly. "I know you were sparing her feelings by not being too direct. But if you don't say it, and she realizes you're holding back because of her, she'll feel worse. Otherwise, why do you think she went out of her way to drag you outside? She wants a space where you can speak freely."
"I see… so Momo wants me to be more straightforward?"
"Yeah." Shiori's cheeks reddened slightly. "Like when you critiqued my novel that day…"
Even saying it made her embarrassed—her exhibitionist streak stirring—but she understood that Momo wanted the same thing: the most honest reaction possible.
"So you should just criticize her directly. Even if you say it harshly, it's fine. Momo might actually feel better that way—and it'll probably motivate her more."
"Understood. You want me to be more sharp-tongued."
Akira mentally recorded the two key pieces of intel.
One: Don't talk about manga creation. That's PTSD territory.
Two: Don't over-handle her emotions. If it needs to be said, say it.
Demon-mom disciplining the little sister… why does this suddenly feel like he's about to "train" some masochistic girl?
So Aizono Momo is an M-type, huh?
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter is 5 bonus chapters...? (for all tls ongoing)
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl
instagram: hanbaowise
twitter: WiseKingOfUruk_