My new Patreon link is patreon.com/forbiddenlust69 and guys please do give me your power stone so i can know you are still reading this story
Chapter 78: The Hacker's Shadow and the Meta of Love
"What exactly is going on with you, Renji?"
Hikage Miyauchi leaned in, her eyes narrowed with a mix of suspicion and genuine bewilderment. "How many girls have you been 'dealing with' behind our backs? I mean, Kasumigaoka Utaha... she's legendary. How did you manage to get involved with the 'Ice Queen' of Toyosaki without making a sound?"
Renji Miyauchi simply frowned, maintaining a mask of perfect, innocent confusion. He turned toward Utaha and asked calmly, "Is there something wrong with the manga Mashiro is drawing? I thought the storyboards were solid."
Utaha waved her hand dismissively, though her eyes betrayed a hint of lingering frustration. She had seen the snippets Mashiro posted in the chat group. Between Mashiro's otherworldly art, the script provided by the "Mysterious Person," and the refinement of Renji—whom the system itself labeled a genius—Utaha couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. As an author, she would have given anything for an adaptation of that caliber.
But then she remembered her own portrayal in Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend. Her teeth gritted momentarily before she found solace in the fact that Eriri Spencer Sawamura was portrayed as even more of a disaster than she was.
"No, the manga is fine," Utaha said, her gaze turning resolute as she focused on Renji. "Mashiro mentioned that you've been her primary consultant. You've provided the 'soul' for her characters. And those ghost house exploration videos trending on YouTube? Those were your ideas too, right?"
Renji nodded modestly. "I just have a lot of ideas. It's everyone else's talent that makes them work."
"So, Kasumigaoka-senpai," Renji continued, cutting to the chase. "Are you looking for help resolving the... rumors circulating about you at school?"
Utaha raised an eyebrow. While she took pride in her stoicism, the constant gossip was becoming a nuisance. "Do you think those rumors are false, Miyauchi-kun?"
Renji shrugged with practiced indifference. "I've watched Mashiro draw the manga based on you. Given her personality, I don't think she's capable of fabricating something so... specific. Especially after I looked into the prototype for the male protagonist. The story feels like it has a very real foundation."
Utaha shot a sharp glance at Mashiro. Did you let him read the original light novel just to 'understand the vibe'?
Mashiro, completely oblivious to the silent accusation, nodded with solemn intensity, confirming Renji's words. Utaha rubbed her temples, feeling the onset of a headache.
"Fine. Let me explain the reality of the situation," Utaha said, her voice dropping into a tone of weary explanation she had already perfected while talking to Eriri. "There is a discussion group—people who met online, including Mashiro and me. And in that group, there is a hacker with a truly malicious personality."
Renji listened with a straight face as Utaha began to badmouth his "Mysterious Person" persona. He felt a perverse urge to laugh.
"This hacker likes to dox us," Utaha continued, her voice rising with irritation. "He enjoys using our lives as 'source material' for his twisted works. He's a shadow, hiding behind his screen, mocking us."
"That's awful!" Hikage chimed in, her face reddening with indignation. "What a creep! He's even worse than when Renji tricked me into doing those magical girl poses in front of the village elders when we were kids! Why haven't you found this scoundrel yet?"
Very good, Hika-nee, Renji thought. Keep scolding him. The more you yell, the safer I am. He made a mental note to "repay" her for the scoundrel comment once they were back in the countryside.
"His skills are... formidable," Utaha admitted through gritted teeth. "Even the most capable people in our group can't trace him. The more we look, the more he teases us."
Actually, I'm just sending out rewards the Diary gives me, Renji mused internally. It's not nearly as personal as you think. Look at Hoshino Ai—I've critiqued her career for weeks and she still thinks I'm her #1 fan.
"So," Renji asked, leaning against the flowerbed. "How much 'truth' is in the story? I'm not talking about the plot, but the character designs. Kato Megumi, for example, is remarkably consistent with the real Kato. Someone who didn't understand her wouldn't have written her that way."
Utaha sighed, defeated by the logic. "Regarding character personalities and settings... the hacker was unfortunately diligent. It's why Mashiro insisted on getting his 'authorization' to adapt it into a manga. But," she added sharply, "while Eriri's situation is almost verbatim, mine has significant deviations. I would never be dumped by a reader. That was purely a fabrication to mess with my head."
Renji gave a light, diplomatic cough. "I see. So the hacker put those stories in Sawamura-senpai's locker, you pinned her against a wall in a panic, and now the whole school thinks you're... well, you know."
Utaha finally arrived at her true request. "Since you've read the 'novel,' you know about Eriri and her childhood friend, Aki. The hacker's description of their past is ninety percent true. Eriri was already struggling with their relationship, and now, because of my 'interference,' Aki has misunderstood her completely. I want to know, Miyauchi-kun... is there a way to fix it? Can we help them get together?"
Renji didn't hesitate. He waved his hand dismissively. "No chance."
Utaha's face fell. "No chance? They call you the 'Idea King' of Asahigaoka! You have to have something."
Renji shook his head firmly. "If Sawamura-senpai's personality is truly as the novel describes, she's doomed. Look at the meta, Senpai. Even legendary voice actors like Rie Kugimiya barely do pure tsundere roles anymore. The archetype is dead. Modern tsunderes are 'tsun' for five minutes and 'dere' for the rest of the season. A character who is 'tsun' from beginning to end is a relic."
"Besides," Renji continued, "she was the one who distanced herself from him first. In the hierarchy of tropes, the 'Childhood Friend' already starts with a massive disadvantage. Add the 'actively abandoned him' debuff and the 'outdated tsundere' trait? She is the ultimate 'loser dog' character."
"She's the type who realizes she loves him only after a new heroine has already 'developed' him from head to toe. My advice? Tell her to withdraw with dignity before she gets humiliated."
As Renji spoke, Utaha's Diary vibrated in her pocket. The "Mysterious Person" might have written that Eriri couldn't win even in her own spin-off, but hearing Renji dismantle the character so coldly felt different.
She pulled out her Diary—hidden from the others by the system's cloaking—and read the new prompt:
Condition Update: ① Accept Renji Miyauchi's advice, abandon the idea of Eriri winning, and let her remain a loser. (Triggers immediate settlement/reward). ② Reject the advice and insist on Eriri's victory. (Request becomes invalid/fails).
Note: Failing may result in a penalty. Accepting advice 3 times allows for safe cancellation of the request later.
Utaha's eyes widened. The Diary is forcing me to follow his lead? Is his talent that central to the system?
She looked at Renji, then back at the screen. She didn't want a failure penalty on her first real mission. And honestly? Even she couldn't see a way for the blonde loser to win against the "Main Heroine" momentum of someone like Kato.
She tapped option ①.
Reward: 1 Reading Value.
It was a small amount, but it was instant. Compared to the slow crawl of other missions, this was a gold mine. If she consulted Renji ten times a week, she'd be swimming in points.
"Actually," Utaha said, putting the Diary away with a sigh of mock defeat. "I think you're right. It depends on whether Eriri is willing to change herself. Thank you for the blunt honesty, Miyauchi-kun."
She looked at him with a new, calculating glint in her eyes. "Now, about the scandals... how do we fix the school's perception of us?"
Renji was ready. "Divert the attention. Use the scandal to build momentum for Mashiro's debut. We announce that the top three beauties of Toyosaki—you, Sawamura, and Kato—have been acting as prototypes for a secret manga project. The 'incidents' were just 'method acting' or research for the artist."
"Once Mashiro's manga drops and people see your faces in the art, the scandal becomes a marketing stunt. The school won't care about gossip; they'll care about being part of a masterpiece."
Renji looked at Mashiro, then at Utaha. "So, Senpai, are you ready to become a 'marketing genius' instead of a 'scandalous' one?"