Chapter 223: Please Don't Hurt Single People
At 11:30 AM, the morning signing session ended. After informing all the readers, Utaha finally put down her pen, sighed in relief, stood up, and followed Machida Enko out of the venue.
Walking backstage, she looked at Kaede and Eriri waiting there. Remembering the two somewhat unique female readers she had seen earlier, she asked, "Earlier, I saw two girls..."
Kaede nodded and said, "They are people we know, whom you've heard of before. The black-haired one is Shinomiya Kaguya of the Shinomiya Family, whom we know, and the other girl with the blonde ponytail is her maid."
"...It really was her."
Blinking, and confirming that Kaede was not joking, Utaha realized, "I thought that black-haired girl had a somewhat unusual aura at the time. Hmm... can I be a little proud of myself now?"
Eriri laughed and said, "You certainly can, but it's really not that big of a deal. Alright, let's not chat here anymore. Since the morning session is over, let's hurry up and go eat with us. Kaguya-senpai and her companion are waiting."
"Huh? It's not just the three of us?"
Utaha was startled. How did two more people get added?
"Isn't that obvious?" Eriri said as she walked out. "Since we saw them, of course, it's better to eat together! Besides, Kaguya-senpai herself said she wants to chat with you, the author. She's very interested in love metronome."
Utaha heard this, and the nervous feeling from before the signing event started returned.
Kaede noticed this and said with a smile, "Senpai, you don't need to be so nervous. Shinomiya-senpai is much easier to get along with than you might think, and you don't need to worry about her background. Look at Eriri; her background isn't bad either, she's also a young lady, but isn't she just like this normally?"
"What do you mean 'I'm just like this'!!!"
Kaede ignored Eriri's objection, smiled, pinched her cheek, and then looked at Utaha, saying, "Senpai just needs to maintain a normal mindset. It's just lunch."
Utaha thought about it, and it seemed to make sense, especially since the person was known to the two people in front of her. She nodded, "Since you've said so, I'll do as you say."
Bidding farewell to the hardworking Editor Machida, the three left the venue. Since there were certainly still readers who attended the signing event nearby, Utaha was prepared. Before leaving, she put on a jacket and a pair of sunglasses.
"Hmm, this should be fine."
After putting on her sunglasses, Utaha said helplessly, "I really don't want to hold signing events anymore in the future. Aside from being tiring, the reactions of those readers are really a bit exaggerated, and that includes many girls."
"That's just how it is."
Eriri said with great understanding, "In the current light novel industry, aren't all those light novelists uncles over thirty? People like you and Kaede-kun are simply rare. Perhaps there are people of similar age who want to make a name for themselves, but it's ultimately a small probability event. The manga industry is the same; there are very few mangaka who are equally excellent in both ability and appearance. Hmm... but there seem to be surprisingly many doujin artists and illustrators?"
Aside from shamelessly including herself, Eriri also thought of Mayu Sagara, Kaede's collaborating illustrator, whom she had met before. After getting to know her, that young lady had indeed contacted Kaede a few times, but it was always to discuss details about illustrations and never brought up anything else, so Eriri gradually felt relieved. Of course, she wasn't 100% relieved; that would be absolutely impossible.
At the same time, there were several other industry artists she knew who, although all over twenty, were all very beautiful.
Today's lunch restaurant was chosen by Kaede, who directly booked a nearby high-end seafood restaurant specializing in various Japanese seafood dishes.
Speaking of restaurants, Eriri became excited: "Utaha, let me tell you, on the way here, Kaede-kun and I agreed that when November comes, we'll go to Hokkaido! The seafood there is even more delicious!"
"Hokkaido?"
Utaha looked at the two of them in surprise and said, "You two are really leisurely, to even think of traveling to Hokkaido. But do you have the time? I remember there are no holidays in November, and what about your manga?"
"Don't worry about the manga; we can just draw an extra chapter in advance! But as for the holidays, we really need to consider that," Eriri said, frowning slightly. "If it's only two days on the weekend, we won't be able to enjoy ourselves at all. We need at least a week to have fun. Kaede-kun, what should we do? I didn't think of this before. We can't possibly ask for time off, can we?"
Oh, right!
Kaede only then belatedly realized that there didn't seem to be any long holidays in November. Without taking leave, at most, counting half of Friday, they could only go out for two and a half days, and that's including travel time by plane.
Scratching his head, Kaede showed a troubled expression: "If I ask for time off, even if the school approves, my parents won't. They definitely won't agree to us skipping class to go out and play."
Eriri nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's definitely not possible. Ugh... Does that mean we can only wait until December, until the end of the year?"
At the end of the year, there are holidays around Christmas Day, with a spring break for travel, but in that case, there's a high probability they wouldn't be able to spend New Year's with their families.
After thinking for a moment, Kaede said, "If we can't go in November, then we really can only wait until the end of the year. At worst, our two families can go together."
Eriri could only reluctantly agree in the end: "Alright, it can only be this way."
She had originally wanted to go out alone with Kaede, but it seemed that such a plan would have to wait for another opportunity.
As she spoke, she saw a look of disdain from Utaha next to her. Yes, even though she was wearing sunglasses, Eriri still noticed that the other person was looking at her with disdain.
"Uh... what's wrong?"
Utaha said, "Please, when you discuss these things in the future, go home and discuss them. I'm just a poor single person; don't provoke me anymore."
Eriri heard this, flashed a brilliant smile, and patted Utaha's shoulder, saying, "Oh dear~~ Don't be like that. If you're really envious, then you should go fall in love too!"
"No, I'm not interested."
Utaha shook her head without hesitation. Although she had never said it, her requirements for her significant other were quite high in her heart; they couldn't possibly be worse than her, right?
Originally, she hadn't considered these things, but after seeing Kaede and Eriri's relationship, she would always unconsciously think about it, and then the standard in her heart would continuously rise.
As for lowering her standards? That was absolutely impossible.