Because today was the deadline specified in the club dissolution notice issued by the school, Aki Tomoya, the president, and the members Utaha Kasumigaoka, Eriri Spencer Sawamura, and Megumi Kato were all present on time. Even Aki Tomoya, who was habitually late, broke his record and entered the clubroom exactly on schedule.
Megumi Kato, who had never been particularly interested in the club, found a spot in the corner after entering. She sat down and immediately activated her "invisible mode," picking up her phone to start searching for information.
As for the dreams Aki Tomoya had sold her during their first year—making her the heroine and drawing her into a game to increase her presence—Megumi was no longer interested. The idea of incorporating her image into a galgame and becoming a heroine...
Without the "intelligence-lowering halo," a sober Megumi Kato began to feel resistance toward the idea. Given that someone like Katsuragi Ren could actually ignore her special constitution, the thought of merging her image into a galgame...
Wouldn't that turn her into someone that anyone who paid for the game could date?
Megumi, now a realist, wished this club would dissolve as soon as possible. Since some people had already started making moves on Katsuragi Ren, she had to speed up as well; otherwise, once this opportunity passed, there might not be another.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura and Utaha Kasumigaoka were in their usual states. They naturally found adjacent seats and sat down, waiting for Aki Tomoya to deliver his speech.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had been given a few pointers by Katsuragi Ren, sat with her long, meaty legs—wrapped in thick black stockings—crossed. She was looking at the revised content of the second volume on her laptop.
Search engines were a good thing. Having no experience in love, Utaha chose to watch the romantic experiences of strangers to gain experience for herself.
Facts proved that what Katsuragi Ren said was indeed very useful. Although the content of the second volume was still a bit lacking, it was no longer as eyesore-inducing as it had been at the start.
"Aki-kun, can you help me look at the content of the second volume?"
Noticing Aki Tomoya enter the clubroom, Utaha turned her laptop screen toward him. She wanted to see if Aki Tomoya could give her some advice, just as Katsuragi Ren had.
One must understand that a draft of a light novel before publication is very precious; it could be said to be a matter of the author's dignity. By directly showing her not-so-great draft to Aki Tomoya, Utaha had essentially handed her "dark history" over to him.
"Senpai, I'm sorry. Metronome in Love is your life's work. I won't meddle or tell you how to handle it."
Aki Tomoya rejected Utaha's invitation for advice without a second thought.
His initial help for Utaha was merely because he felt Metronome in Love suited his taste, so he promoted it on his account. By chance, the novel became a hit, and he had gained some fame by association.
It could be considered a mutually beneficial arrangement.
As for giving Utaha advice...
Writing a light novel and reading one were two different things. Aki Tomoya didn't feel that, with his current abilities, he could offer any good suggestions to Utaha. Rather than giving amateur advice and letting Utaha catch him in a blunder, it was better to refuse her outright.
"Is that so..."
Seeing Aki Tomoya refuse to read her second volume draft so bluntly, a trace of disappointment flashed in the depths of Utaha's eyes.
If Aki Tomoya had finished reading her second volume and offered even a tiny bit of advice, Utaha could have brought up the things Katsuragi Ren said, and subsequently proposed the idea of pretending to be a couple to find inspiration for the book.
Since the opportunity was snuffed out by Aki Tomoya, Utaha began to lose hope in him.
Could Utaha not see that Aki Tomoya was stringing both her and Eriri along?
She saw it, but compared to a dummy like Eriri, Utaha felt her advantage was too great, so she hadn't opposed Aki Tomoya's mindset.
All of this was built on the premise that only Utaha and Eriri were competing. Then Aki Tomoya suddenly dragged Megumi Kato into the club, saying he wanted her to be the heroine of his game.
At that time, Utaha was so angry she had laughed.
Was Aki Tomoya planning to take her script, use Eriri's illustrations, and then have them help him chase his chosen "heroine"?
After witnessing Megumi Kato's lack of competitive spirit, Utaha chose to endure it. Her heart still held a sliver of hope—a sliver of hope she herself found laughable.
Now... that laughable sliver of hope seemed to have been personally snuffed out by Aki Tomoya as well.
Turning her laptop back toward her, Utaha stopped paying attention to Aki Tomoya.
"Eriri..."
After settling the matter with Utaha, Aki Tomoya looked at Eriri Spencer Sawamura, whose eyes were filled with conflict. He wanted to ask her about the progress of her acting spoiled toward Sayuri Sawamura after going home.
Today was the final deadline; he had to properly pressure Eriri.
"Tomoya, forget it. It's impossible."
"Mama said very clearly: solve your own problems yourself."
Eriri shook her head like a rattle. Her natural twintails swayed left and right, mercilessly whipping the air.
Why was Aki Tomoya able to successfully manipulate Eriri?
Aside from the fact that Sayuri Sawamura protected Eriri too well, it was also because Eriri's other friends wouldn't do such a thing after knowing her background. Only the "bold" Aki Tomoya, cloaked in the identity of a childhood friend, dared to try and manipulate her.
Eriri, who didn't understand the concept of manipulation at all, was easily controlled by him.
After experiencing Katsuragi Ren's "reverse induction" at home, Eriri had gained some awareness of manipulation. She couldn't say she could completely avoid Aki Tomoya's control, but at least she wouldn't follow his every whim.
Just like now.
Sayuri Sawamura's stern warning was already higher in Eriri's heart than Aki Tomoya's manipulation. Regarding protecting the club and preventing its dissolution, Eriri no longer felt the obsession she had at the beginning.
"Eriri, you...!"
Having his tried-and-true manipulation rejected by Eriri, Aki Tomoya reflexively prepared to bring up the fact that Eriri had abandoned him when they were children.
"Tomoya, the club's dissolution was caused by yourself, not me."
"If you want to talk about me abandoning you when we were kids, that was when we were kids. Now, the club's issues have nothing to do with our childhood."
"If you want to make a fuss, go make a fuss with Katsuragi Ren."
Eriri spoke firmly to Aki Tomoya, baring her teeth and slamming the table.
She had been bullied by her mother after going home that day, and then bullied by Katsuragi Ren. In the end, she was even threatened by Katsuragi Ren using the fact that Aki Tomoya's parents were unemployed. Eriri truly couldn't take it anymore.
Why should she be bullied by her mother and Katsuragi Ren at home, and then have Aki Tomoya bring up childhood matters to lecture her at school?
The little golden retriever had angrily transformed into a little lion.
As Eriri finished speaking, Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had shifted all her focus to the second volume draft, was shocked. She never expected Eriri to become like this.
Turning off her phone screen, Megumi Kato tilted her head.
Eriri-san... why did she mention Katsuragi-kun too?