Chapter 70: Of Course Eriri Is Cuter
Eriri was currently engrossed in petting the Cat and didn't notice Kaede's actions at all.
Holding his phone, Kaede secretly turned on the camera function while asking, "I originally thought you wouldn't like Cats, Eriri, but it seems to be the exact opposite."
"Who said that? Generally, no one hates them, right?"
Holding the Cat, Eriri smiled and said, "I'm not too fond of dogs, well... it's not that I dislike them. Small dogs are fine, but with large dogs, I always feel like they could knock me over with one jump, like Golden Retrievers or Huskies. Especially Huskies—although I've never seen one, people online say that when they grow up, they just destroy the house."
What Eriri said was true, but Golden Retrievers... Sensing Kaede's gaze, Eriri couldn't help but frown. "I feel like you're thinking something inappropriate?"
Kaede couldn't help but laugh. "What is that, a girl's intuition?"
"Of course!"
"Alright. But Eriri, since you like them, why don't you keep one?"
"It's not that I haven't thought about it."
Stroking the fur of the Cat in her arms, Eriri said, "The main reason is that my parents are very busy, and I still have to study. If I had a pet, it would definitely have to stay home alone during the day, which isn't good. So, I haven't brought up the topic again. Hmm... maybe I can consider it when I go to college later?"
Just then, the employee brought over their order. Eriri also bought some Cat snacks, like dried fish, to feed the Cats.
Eating and playing, Eriri was completely absorbed.
A shorthair Cat also approached Kaede. After receiving a dried fish snack, it lazily settled down beside him.
Looking at Eriri across from him, Kaede finally found a good angle, aimed at Eriri, and pressed the shutter.
The sound of the shutter drew Eriri's attention, and she saw Kaede's smile and the phone in his hand.
Knowing exactly what Kaede was doing, she immediately put the Cat down, moved closer to Kaede, and reached for the phone. "Stop taking candid pictures!"
"I wasn't taking candid pictures; I was taking them openly."
Holding the phone high so Eriri couldn't reach it, Kaede laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm very confident in capturing the moment; I won't take an ugly picture of you."
"Ugh... that's not the point! Just delete it!"
Eriri wasn't angry that Kaede had taken her picture; she mainly felt that her outfit wasn't great today and the environment wasn't ideal. As a girl, she couldn't accept being photographed like that.
However, Kaede didn't agree at all. Blocking Eriri with one hand while operating the phone with the other, he said, "I won't delete it. I took this picture fair and square, why should I delete it? Look, isn't it cute?"
Eriri looked at Kaede's phone. In the picture, she was holding the Persian Cat, smiling while using a dried fish snack to tease the Cat.
"Hmm... it's actually not bad."
"Right? This Cat is really cute."
"Eh?"
"Ahahaha~~~~"
Having been tricked by Kaede again, Eriri puffed out her cheeks and returned to her seat, glaring at him.
"Are you mad?"
Eriri didn't answer, turning her head away in a childish manner, preparing to ignore him.
Seeing this, Kaede smiled and said, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Eriri, you are much cuter than the Cat. Hey, why don't I just set this as my phone wallpaper? It looks much better than my original background."
"Eh? Wait a minute!"
Seeing that Kaede actually seemed intent on doing it, Eriri blushed and reached out to stop him.
"No?" Looking at Eriri, Kaede thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. "It seems that really won't do. I'll just keep it saved for myself; it wouldn't be good if others saw it."
Kaede's calm, straightforward words caused Eriri's face to turn bright red. Even the Cat in her arms felt constricted by her unconscious tightening grip and immediately jumped out and ran away.
Fortunately, Kaede didn't actually set the photo as his phone wallpaper, or Eriri truly wouldn't have known how to stay seated there.
Coincidentally, his phone rang; a message from Utaha had arrived.
Eriri quickly picked up her phone and opened it, finding an inquiry from Utaha.
Utaha: [How's the date going?]
Eriri secretly glanced up at Kaede, saw that he was using a Cat toy to play with a Cat, and immediately lowered her head to reply.
Eriri: [It's not a date! We're just relaxing at a Cat Café!]
Utaha: [A boy and a girl going out together who like each other—to me, isn't that a date? I have to say you're really timid. If it were me, I would have made a move already.]
Eriri: [Tch, you've never been in love. You have plenty of theories, but talking is easier than doing.]
After replying, Eriri tossed her phone aside, no longer checking Utaha's teasing remarks.
However, thinking about it, Eriri knew she was indeed timid; her mother had thoroughly lectured her about it at home. But given Eriri's personality, it was simply impossible for her to actively make a move.
She looked back at Kaede and found that he was smiling at her. Eriri immediately said, "That was a message from Utaha. She's probably bored at the Bunko."
"I see."
Kaede nodded. After that series of interactions, Kaede actually felt he didn't want to maintain their current relationship anymore, but since they were in a public place, he wasn't brazen enough to confess right there.
So, he could only change the topic. "How are the preparations for the manga going?"
"The first chapter is almost finished, but Mom told me to properly refine the outline." Speaking of this, Eriri slumped down, slowly resting her head on the table. "But outlines are so difficult, and I'm drawing an Isekai battle manga. I don't even know how to set up a combat system or anything like that."
"Why set such a high difficulty level for yourself right from the start?" Looking at Eriri, Kaede shared his thoughts. "Actually, you could start with other genres of manga. Uh... wait, if you're submitting to Jump, other genres might actually be even more difficult."
"Exactly. That's why I don't have the same confidence I had initially. Anyway, I'll just try first."
Although she said that, there wasn't much nervousness visible on Eriri's face; it seemed her mindset was still very calm.