Chapter 225: Autograph Session, Hand-Tiring
After lunch, it was almost time for Utaha to go to the venue and prepare for the afternoon autograph session.
Kaede and Eriri naturally followed her to the venue, while Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai were preparing to leave. They had just received news that Fujiwara Chika was also coming to the autograph session, and Shinomiya Kaguya, having a rare outing with Hayasaka Ai, didn't want Fujiwara Chika to discover Hayasaka Ai's identity, so they had to leave first.
Before leaving, she also added Utaha as a LINE friend.
"Well then, everyone, I'll be leaving now. See you next time."
Bidding farewell to Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai, the three returned to the venue.
Machida Sonoko saw the three finally return and walked over with a smile, asking, "How was lunch? Time is almost up, hurry and touch up your makeup."
Then she pulled Utaha into the lounge.
The makeup artist was already waiting. After seating Utaha in the chair, she began to touch up her makeup.
While getting her makeup done, Utaha said, "We had a seafood feast for lunch; it tasted very good. How about you, Sonoko?"
"As for me, it was a bento, of course."
Spreading her hands, Machida Sonoko said, "But I don't mind; a bento is fine. The main thing is that I have to take care of things here at the venue."
Fortunately, many of the staff who came to set up the venue today were experienced employees from the publishing house who had organized autograph sessions before, so she, as a new editor, didn't have to panic.
Although it was tiring, after half a day, the online discussion about the autograph session alone was already very good. The third volume of the recently released novel, thanks to this autograph session, would definitely see its popularity rise another level and boost sales.
Looking at Kaede and Eriri, Machida Sonoko quietly asked, "What about that young lady? Did she leave?"
Nodding, Kaede said, "She's probably going shopping this afternoon. Her purpose for coming here today has been achieved, and she also added Kaguya-senpai's LINE."
"Eh? Is that so?" Machida Sonoko said in surprise, "It seems she really is a rather easygoing young lady."
Easygoing? Perhaps she seemed that way now, but Kaede knew from his conversations with Shirogane Miyuki that Shinomiya Kaguya a year ago was a complete ice queen, completely different from how she was now. If it were that Shinomiya Kaguya, probably few people would want to interact with her.
However, there was no need to tell Machida Sonoko all of this; Shinomiya Kaguya would probably not have much interaction with the publishing house in the future.
Soon, Utaha's makeup was finished, and it was time for her to go to the afternoon autograph session.
With a look of utter despair, she looked at Kaede and Eriri and asked, "What about you two? Are you coming with me?"
Kaede and Eriri exchanged glances, then took out their NS from their bags.
"We'll stay here."
Utaha had an "I knew it" expression, but she wasn't angry. Their presence with her at the venue all morning was already enough; they could do whatever they wanted in the afternoon.
"Alright then, I'll go now."
Opening the door to the lounge, just as she was about to leave, Utaha turned her head with a smile and said to the two, "Although no one will come here this afternoon, don't do anything you shouldn't!"
"We won't!!!"
"Bang!"
The lounge door closed. Kaede looked at the fuming Eriri beside him and said with a smile, "I didn't expect her to hit us with that at the very last moment before leaving."
"What? Kaede-kun, don't you have any objections?"
"What could I object to? Utaha-senpai was just joking." Kaede said with a smile, putting his arm around Eriri's shoulder, "Alright, don't think about these things. Since we're not going anywhere else this afternoon, let's play some games."
"Mmm..."
Eriri nodded. Just as she opened the game, she suddenly said, "Kaede-kun, I want to drink milk tea!"
"..."
Facing Eriri's big eyes, Kaede silently stared at her for a few seconds, then first turned off his own NS, and then took Eriri's NS and turned it off as well. "Let's go, let's buy it together."
"Eh, aren't you going alone?"
"Say that again?"
Eriri quickly stuck out her tongue, got up, and followed Kaede out.
There was a milk tea shop nearby, so the two didn't take long to buy milk tea and return to the venue.
Back in the lounge, they could finally start playing games in peace.
Meanwhile, at the autograph session, Utaha had seen Fujiwara Chika's photo that Eriri had shown her in advance, so when she saw her in the middle of the signing, she recognized her immediately.
However, because there were even more people in the afternoon than in the morning, Fujiwara Chika didn't talk much with Utaha. After getting her autograph, she thanked her and happily left.
Watching Fujiwara Chika leave, Utaha was truly surprised, because in that brief minute of interaction, she could tell that Fujiwara Chika was a girl with a completely different personality from Shinomiya Kaguya, and yet these two could be good friends, even one of Shinomiya Kaguya's few true friends since childhood.
"She seems a bit naive. Is it because of this personality that she was able to get close to Shinomiya-san?"
Utaha couldn't quite understand, so she turned back to her busy autograph session.
The afternoon autograph session proceeded without any unexpected incidents, under the supervision and management of the on-site staff, in an orderly manner.
At 4 o'clock, after signing the last reader's book, Utaha let out a long sigh of relief. She felt like her right hand had gone numb.
Machida Sonoko walked over and patted Utaha's shoulder, saying, "You worked hard, Utaha. The autograph session ended smoothly."
"Ah, it's finally over. I absolutely never want to hold another autograph session after this..."
Seeing Utaha like this, Machida Sonoko gave a wry smile and shook her head, but she understood. Several authors at the Bunko had held autograph sessions, but when she asked them, not a single one said they wanted to hold a second one, even if it could boost sales.
There was no helping it; it was simply too hard on their hands. Even though writing now involved typing on a keyboard rather than handwriting, after a full day of high-intensity autograph sessions, their right hand would basically be unable to write properly for two or three days. For some more severe cases, they'd even struggle to hold chopsticks for the first day or two.
"Alright, alright, if you don't want to do it again, then don't. At least having this one experience is good."
Walking beside Utaha, Machida Sonoko said, "Kaede-kun and Eriri are waiting in the lounge. For tonight's celebration dinner, the Bunko provided a budget, and I've already booked a restaurant. Let's go rest a bit, and then we'll head to the restaurant."
That sounded good; at least there would be a nice dinner tonight. Utaha nodded in satisfaction and pushed the door open to enter the lounge.