Chapter 173: Freeloading a Meal
A few days of leisurely life passed, and soon it was time for the fireworks festival.
Takasu Yasuko's interview went very smoothly. With Kaede as the intermediary, coupled with her own extreme seriousness about the job, and the fact that her appearance was indeed very suitable for a front desk role, she was hired directly.
After three days of onboarding training, Takasu Yasuko had successfully taken on the position of front desk staff at the publishing house.
When Takasu Ryuji learned of this, he immediately sought out Kaede, expressed a great deal of gratitude, and said he wanted to treat him to a meal. So, it was decided that he and Eriri would go to his house for a free meal tonight.
At home, having just finished lunch, Kaede and Eriri were lounging on the living room sofa.
Kaede, at this moment, had pulled out his Bloodborne disc again, preparing to play through it once more.
Having just passed the first Cleric Beast, he looked at Eriri beside him: "Chatting in the group?"
The group Kaede referred to wasn't their Art Club group, but a chat group created by everyone attending the fireworks festival. Kaede glanced over; the girls were discussing their newly bought yukatas.
Holding her phone, Eriri said with a smile: "Hehe, you guys, the boys, will be in for a treat then, with so many girls wearing cute yukatas."
"Is that so?" Kaede leaned in, his forehead touching Eriri's, and chuckled, "For me, just looking at Eriri is enough."
"Ugh... what was that, saying something like that all of a sudden!"
The sudden words made Eriri very shy, but at the same time, her heart swelled with sweetness, and her eyes involuntarily narrowed.
Looking at the stream of messages on her phone, Eriri then said with a hint of disappointment: "It's just that Kaguya-senpai isn't in the group; her phone can't use LINE."
"There's nothing we can do about that. Who told Senpai she's a nostalgic person? Using such an old model phone until now is really uncommon, especially for a young person."
If it were an older person, it would be understandable, as they might not need so many functions. But for Shinomiya Kaguya, the daughter of a major conglomerate, and a young person like them, it could only be said that she was truly special.
Furthermore, that old-fashioned flip phone was so well-maintained, which showed how much she valued it. It was no wonder that everyone in the Student Council couldn't convince her to get a new phone.
After thinking for a moment, Eriri said: "Senpai being so nostalgic that she doesn't even want to change her phone is truly rare. What if it breaks one day? For a phone she values so much, she must care about more than just the phone itself, but also the photos inside, right?"
Kaede nodded and said: "That should be it. I remember that phone had a camera function. I just don't know if it has a separate memory card or only internal storage, and I also don't know if it supports connecting to a computer to read data."
Kaede understood more about electronics than Eriri and immediately offered a series of analyses.
After listening, Eriri quickly said: "In that case, let's find an opportunity to talk to Kaguya-senpai about it. It would be very sad if important things were lost!"
After playing games for an hour, Kaede and Eriri continued their work. Manga-related matters couldn't be neglected.
While drawing, Eriri looked at the plot in the manga and said, "Kaede-kun, I've read the manga's outline several times. Have you decided on Rikuo's romantic partner?"
Stopping his pen, Kaede met Eriri's curious gaze and said with a smile, "Guess?"
"Hmm~~~ Is it the Yuki-onna, Tsurara?" Eriri guessed, "In the setting, nurarihyon couldn't have offspring with yokai because of the Hagoromo Gitsune's curse. But the curse was eventually lifted, doesn't that mean the nurarihyon's yokai bloodline can be passed down? Plus, just from the detailed script of the first part, Tsurara's affection for Rikuo is basically full. It's a natural progression."
Kaede smiled and nodded, but didn't directly confirm, instead saying: "But Rikuo showed affection for Ienaga Kana, who is human, earlier on!"
"Ugh... Kaede-kun won't tell me the answer again."
"As a manga focusing on the relationship between humans and Yokai, honestly, setting the protagonist—a male with Yokai blood—and a human heroine as the official couple is a very good choice, but I still prefer Tsurara," Eriri said, looking troubled.
Seeing Eriri's conflicted expression, Kaede smiled and patted her head. He had long had ideas regarding the script's arrangement, but there was no need to introduce those elements in the early or middle stages; saving them for the middle to late stages would suffice.
He vaguely recalled that in the original Nurarihyon no Mago, Ienaga Kana essentially became a background character later on, and her interactions with Rikuo grew increasingly scarce. Since she was a human girl, it was decent that she even appeared in the later story. However, Rikuo's mother, though also human, was portrayed much better by comparison.
Therefore, after consideration, although Kaede had internally decided on Tsurara as the official pairing, he would still include more scenes for Ienaga Kana, as well as for another female character who had not yet appeared.
Given that the nurarihyon is such a charismatic character in the manga's setting, having a few more women around him wouldn't hurt. A little love triangle drama now and then would also be quite interesting. Naturally, Kaede would carefully control the proportion; this was, after all, a battle manga, and he couldn't lose sight of the bigger picture.
After Kaede explained the detailed arrangements for the official pairing to Eriri, she finally showed a satisfied expression.
See? My guess was quite accurate!
As for Kaede's plan to ensure the other female characters didn't become background figures, Eriri didn't object. After all, based on the setting, a Yokai like the nurarihyon was naturally charismatic and easily attracted the opposite sex.
After working until nearly five o'clock, Kaede and Eriri tidied up and headed next door to the Takasu Family Home.
As soon as they entered, the two saw a person besides Takasu Ryuji.
Oosaka Taiga.
Oosaka Taiga, dressed in a proper sundress and resembling a delicate doll, was sitting leisurely in the living room of the Takasu Family Home, playing a video game.
Seeing the two enter, Oosaka Taiga raised her hand and offered a greeting: "Good afternoon."
"G-good afternoon."
Kaede and Eriri greeted her in unison. Then, Kaede stood beside Takasu Ryuji and whispered, "Why is she here?"
"I can't help it," Takasu Ryuji said, his face drawn. "She comes over every couple of days, claiming she's bored being alone, and while she's here to play, she'samples' my cooking to check if my skills have improved."
Seeing his state, Kaede wisely decided not to press the issue, planning to ask him about something else when Oosaka Taiga wasn't present.
Takasu Ryuji went back to preparing dinner, while Kaede came and sat next to Eriri. Eriri had already picked up a controller and was playing with Oosaka Taiga.