Noon.
Just as Kuzeha was eating lunch with Sakura, he got a message from his publishing editor.
"Feather-sensei, the illustrator just sent over the new character designs for your latest book. Could you check and see if there's anything that needs to be revised?"
"Send them over," Kuzeha replied.
Even though he now had the means to stop relying on writing, the novel had only just begun—there were still plenty of drafts waiting to be published.
And money was still money. Might as well take what he could.
Soon, a stream of images arrived.
Kuzeha opened them—and froze.
If the pictures could move, he would've thought he accidentally opened the front camera.
"This is... literally drawn based on me!" Kuzeha was stunned.
"This doesn't look like Izumi Auntie or Sagiri's style..."
"No way they'd copy me this accurately either."
He thought for a moment, then asked the editor directly.
"Isn't Eromanga-sensei doing the illustrations this time?"
Possibly worried about a misunderstanding, the editor called him right away.
"Good afternoon, Feather-sensei. Eromanga-sensei has too many ongoing projects at the moment, so she couldn't take this one.
The current illustrator is Kawaguchi Eriri, a fairly well-known artist. Actually, Eromanga-sensei recommended her to us!"
Hearing this, Kuzeha Yuu's expression turned oddly blank.
Kawaguchi Eriri?
Isn't that Eriri?
Suddenly, his interest was piqued.
Meanwhile, at a café not far from Sobu High—Editor Machida Sonoko, not hearing Kuzeha's reply, cautiously asked:
"Or... would you prefer to wait until Eromanga-sensei is available again?"
"No need. Kawaguchi Eriri is fine."
Sonoko let out a deep breath of relief.
"In that case, is there anything you want changed in the current design?"
"Hmm... how about this? Next week, schedule a meeting with this Kawaguchi Eriri. I want to discuss the character designs in person."
"You'll come to the office?!"
Machida Sonoko stood up in shock, eyes wide.
Across from her, a long-haired, straight-black-haired beauty also looked at her in surprise.
Kasumigaoka Utaha watched Machida bowing and nodding repeatedly over the call, full of reverence.
In her heart, she was filled with admiration.
"So that's the kind of authority Feather-sensei has—an absolute king of sales in the industry."
When Machida finally hung up, Utaha couldn't help but ask,
"Has Feather-sensei never been to the office before?"
Sonoko shook her head with a sigh.
"Feather-sensei couldn't sign the contract under his own name back then because he was underage, so his mother signed on his behalf. It's never been changed."
"People online call him the most mysterious author in the industry. Honestly, even I've never seen him."
Utaha was dumbfounded.
If she remembered correctly, Feather-sensei debuted nearly ten years ago…
Which meant this industry legend might only be five or six years older than her?
After a moment of silence, she asked Sonoko, "Machida-san, when that day comes, would it be possible if I…"
........
3 p.m.
Kuzeha arrived at the kendo club on time.
Although it was regular club activity time, the dojo was completely empty.
He wasn't surprised.
Busujima Saeko didn't want anyone else seeing her wearing "special" outfits during their training.
Passing through the outer dojo, he stepped into the inner one.
There, the girl was kneeling in the center, a wooden sword laid before her.
What caught the eye wasn't her posture, but her outfit—A nun's habit.
Yes. A nun's outfit.
This was the special clothing Busujima Saeko had prepared today.
Except... it wasn't exactly the conventional kind.
The veil was lace, the chest was exposed, the robe was tight-fitting, and the skirt had a high slit…
Her sultry expression and mature figure turned the holy aesthetic into something decadently forbidden.
"Saeko-senpai, this outfit on you… perfection!"
"Even God would struggle to resist!"
Kuzeha's eyes sparkled as he praised her without hesitation.
Saeko's eyes shimmered with a hint of shyness.
Even though they'd done this several times already, it still made her blush.
"Let's begin," she said, picking up her wooden sword and cutting straight to the point.
Thanks to Kuzeha's past training, Saeko's kendo skill was beyond question.
He estimated her strength to be near the peak of ordinary human limits.
Only one step away from the supernatural.
Ordinary wooden swords couldn't handle their full-speed sparring.
These were special replicas, crafted from custom materials just for them.
Every time their blades accidentally struck the floor or walls, deep gouges were left behind.
Thrust, tap, crush, stir, press, slash—Saeko's moves were sharp and precise, growing faster by the second.
Her face, flushed from rising heart rate, began to show a smile of pure enjoyment.
"This… this is the feeling I've been craving…"
Only when sparring with Kuzeha could she truly unleash herself.
Perhaps it was also the shameful nature of her outfit.
It gave her a strange sense of freedom—like she could break away from social restraints and let go completely.
From the slits in the nun outfit, her long, beautiful legs occasionally peeked through.
And the more intense her movements got, the more certain unbound parts of her started bouncing wildly.
Kuzeha's eyes were dazzled.
Ten minutes later—Saeko was exhausted.
She leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Sweat beaded from her body, soaking the light nun fabric—which, being both thin and minimal to begin with, now clung to her skin like a second layer.
Her figure was accentuated to its absolute limit.
But she didn't care.
Looking at Kuzeha—who was still standing there without so much as a pant—she felt a bit frustrated.
"Why is it…"
"From the first time we fought until now, we've spared hundreds of times, and I've never even seen you out of breath."
Kuzeha just smiled silently.
Not to mention he'd recently acquired the golden trait [Divine Evasion], which had boosted his power even further—Long ago, he had already reached a supernatural level thanks to [Sword Master] and [Training Skip], two powerful purple traits.
If Saeko was an advanced player, he was someone who'd never stopped unlocking achievements.
"Senpai, your strength already surpasses ordinary humans. Don't sell yourself short."
She lowered her gaze slightly, voice tinged with disappointment.
"But… training with someone like me probably doesn't give you any thrill anymore, does it?"
...Wow. So that's where your mind's at, huh?
What a considerate woman.
She gets her fun and still worries if he does too.
Kuzeha sighed.
"If that's your concern, Senpai, you can always… compensate me in other ways next time."
Whatever Saeko imagined, her eyes shimmered with something unreadable, and her already blushing face became even more inviting.
"T-Then… after the tournament. I'll give you one big compensation all at once."
Kuzeha nodded.
Something to look forward to.
"Oh right—Senpai, do you know a wide open area nearby?"
He looked at Saeko.
During their sparring just now, a new idea had sparked in his mind—one that might allow him to combine multiple traits for even more devastating effect in real combat…