Chapter 224: Pleasant Lunch Time
Fearing that she would provoke the single Kasumigaoka again, Eriri did not continue talking about the trip.
Just then, they had already arrived at the restaurant.
Kaede had already booked the table by phone, so Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai, who arrived a few minutes earlier, were already in the private room.
Led by the waiter, the three arrived at the reserved private room and saw Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai waiting there.
"Sorry, Senpai, for making you wait."
"It's alright, we just arrived." Standing up, Shinomiya Kaguya looked at Utaha and said with a smile, "Hello, Utako Kasumi-sensei, I am Shinomiya Kaguya."
"I am Hayasaka Ai."
"Hello, I am Kasumigaoka Utaha." Utaha had already adjusted her mindset and didn't show any nervousness. Moreover, because Shinomiya Kaguya also had long black hair like herself, Utaha naturally had a good impression of her.
Coincidentally, Hayasaka Ai, like Eriri, had blonde hair.
After sitting down, looking at the blonde and black-haired pair opposite them, and a blonde and black-haired pair next to him, Kaede couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
For lunch, they naturally ordered the restaurant's most famous seafood dishes. After asking if anyone had any dietary restrictions, and hearing none, the waiter began to serve the dishes one after another.
Shinomiya Kaguya, meanwhile, chatted with Utaha about novels. The two were the same age, so there was no awkwardness in their conversation.
Looking at Utaha, Shinomiya Kaguya asked, "Kasumigaoka-san, it's truly impressive to debut as a light novelist at this age. As far as I know, the only one who has achieved such success is Asakura-kun, and Eriri-san is in the manga field."
Utaha humbly shook her head and said, "Compared to Asakura-kun, I'm still far behind. As for Eriri, the difficulty of her manga, especially being serialized in Jump, is much greater than mine."
Eriri, who was putting a piece of sea urchin into her mouth, looked at Utaha and said in surprise, "You, you actually praise me? That's really unexpected. Hehe, praise me a bit more, let's hear it?"
Utaha gave Eriri an unceremonious glare and said, "Do you want me to search for your past works right now and show them to Shinomiya-san? I imagine she hasn't seen them yet."
"Uh... you win, I'll just eat quietly."
Eriri instantly cowered, quickly lowered her head, and put a piece of tuna sushi into her mouth.
Shinomiya Kaguya saw this scene and asked curiously, "I've always wondered, what kind of works did Eriri-san draw before she became a mangaka?"
Although she now had a smartphone and was diligently learning about IT, as a novice, it was quite difficult for her to access the vast amount of knowledge on the internet in such a short time, even harder than learning traditional arts in the past. Therefore, she naturally hadn't encountered or understood Eriri's past "masterpieces."
Regarding this, Hayasaka Ai, who had been quietly eating the delicious food without speaking, said, "Young Lady Kaguya, regarding these things, if you wish to know, I can tell you after we return home. However, it is lunchtime now, so let's discuss something else."
Hayasaka Ai really hoped that Shinomiya Kaguya would have more knowledge in that area, as her knowledge in that regard over the past decade or so was truly worse than even elementary school students now.
Hayasaka Ai had looked at some of the doujinshi Eriri had drawn before; excluding those with special themes, some of them could be used to help her young mistress learn more.
Eriri also nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, exactly, let's talk about the novel! There's nothing much to say about my stuff."
Seeing Eriri like this, Shinomiya Kaguya became even more puzzled, but she didn't press the matter, continuing to discuss the novel with Utaha. This was the key thing she primarily wanted to understand today.
"Kasumigaoka-san, I'm very interested in the plot of the novel, especially the story between the male and female protagonists. I wonder how you find inspiration for it; is it from personal experience?"
"Uh..."
Utaha was momentarily speechless. Looking at the curious Shinomiya Kaguya in front of her, she exhaled and said, "There's absolutely no personal experience. I mostly summarize and reflect after reading many romance novels, movies, and TV dramas. As for the rest..."
Pointing to the two people beside her, Utaha had a look of utter despair, "Part of the inspiration also comes from these two. Artistic creation, after all, needs to be close to life."
"Eh? Is that so?"
Shinomiya Kaguya unexpectedly looked at Kaede and Eriri. Because they weren't from the same school, Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't felt much déjà vu while reading the book. However, if it were Takasu Ryuji and others who knew the two, they would probably have noticed something.
Rubbing her chin, Shinomiya Kaguya whispered, "Oh dear, in that case, I've miscalculated."
"Miscalculated?"
Utaha didn't know that Shinomiya Kaguya had someone she liked, so she didn't quite understand Shinomiya Kaguya's muttering.
However, Kaede and Eriri, who were beside them, understood and looked at Shinomiya Kaguya speechlessly.
It seems this Kaguya-senpai, besides attending the autograph session to meet the author today, also wanted to learn how to pursue boys? It looks like the experience from Eriri alone might not be enough, so she decided to find more experienced people?
It's just a pity she found the wrong person.
Eriri, who had realized, said with a smile, "Kaguya-senpai, if you want to consult her, you've really found the wrong person. This girl has never been in a relationship her whole life. Not only is she picky, but her tongue is also poisonous. Those boys at school with impure intentions who tried to get close to her were driven away by her sharp tongue before they even had a chance to speak much. If you want to consult someone, you'd be better off asking my mother and Kaede-kun's mother!"
Shinomiya Kaguya, whose thoughts had been exposed, instantly blushed and waved her hands, saying, "No, no, no, no, no, don't talk nonsense! I don't need to learn how to increase a boy's favorability!"
Hayasaka Ai put a hand to her forehead, completely speechless. The other person didn't even say that much, so why did you expose yourself?
Ever since Shinomiya Kaguya fell in love with Shirogane Miyuki, Hayasaka Ai felt that her young mistress had a tendency to develop into a comical beauty, and this trend has become increasingly obvious and intensified recently.
In short, because of Shinomiya Kaguya's own reasons, Utaha also understood, and immediately found this distinguished young lady even more interesting. The atmosphere at the dining table became increasingly joyful and harmonious.