Eriri suddenly felt a surge of bashfulness and pleaded with her mother to adopt the boy.
Sayuri was forced to comply; after all, it was merely a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks to the dinner table. She agreed, but behind the scenes, she investigated the little boy's true identity.
Make no mistake. The Sawamura family was a prominent and well-known household in the region. It was only natural for her to be suspicious that the boy might have been sent by a rival family faction to get close to her daughter.
After all, her husband was a renowned diplomat. The combination of a local power player and a diplomat made for a formidable alliance, so it was expected that others would be wary. Although they had no intention of fighting for power, outsiders didn't see it that way. In the eyes of an enemy, possessing talent itself is a sin.
At this point in time, the Sawamura family was interested in neither political struggles nor business rivalries. They only wanted to guard their own small territory, refusing to compete for or seize what belonged to others. As long as their child could grow up normally, they would be perfectly satisfied.
Therefore, despite Eriri's excessive request, Sayuri ultimately granted it with resignation. She officially adopted Ryunosuke and enrolled him in the same school as Eriri so they could study together.
Sayuri delivered an incredibly serious message.
"I've already investigated your identity, little hero."
Sayuri touched Ryunosuke's small, freshly cleaned nose with her finger, her tone carrying a slight warning.
"I don't care what your reasons are for getting close to Eriri, but remember this: never make her sad. That is my absolute limit."
Sayuri knew this boy carried a massive debt, and perhaps someone was exploiting that debt to approach her daughter with malicious intent, but she didn't care. All she cared about was whether her daughter was happy. Thus, this could be considered an indirect warning for Ryunosuke to remain honest.
Ryunosuke heard her clearly and knew his identity had been exposed; he simply shrugged with resignation without saying a word. After all, he had no other objective; he just wanted a place to eat.
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Eriri stepped toward school with a cheerful gait. The two of them sat in the same car, but as they neared the school, she was dropped off first. Only after Eriri had been inside for a while was Ryunosuke dropped off in a secluded alley out of public sight.
This was a forced measure. Eriri wanted to avoid suspicion so her classmates wouldn't gossip about their relationship or why they arrived at school together. She was the type of person who feared being talked about and often chose to flee from reality. Ryunosuke could only cooperate with her resignedly.
Ryunosuke entered the school as a transfer student and was placed in the same class as Eriri. There, Aki Tomoya was busy pulling out 2D novels to conduct his "missionary" activities for otaku culture. After all, one book is for reading, one is for collection, and the third is, of course, for distribution.
Ryunosuke didn't know the boy, but since there was a free novel available, he read it. Tomoya thought his preaching had succeeded and felt proud, even showing it off to Eriri.
Eriri turned red from suppressed rage.
As for why the adult Tomoya didn't recognize Ryunosuke when they met with Megumi later, it was purely because he had forgotten him. After all, it was a stranger's face he had only seen a few times ten years ago. An ordinary person wouldn't remember, would they?
Eriri approached Ryunosuke fiercely, baring her sharp little fangs. She kicked Ryunosuke's leg with her small foot in irritation and said in a dissatisfied tone:
"Don't you dare go taking Tomoya's books again, or I won't let you off!"
Ryunosuke felt entirely blameless; he hadn't bothered anyone, but since Eriri was his "free meal ticket," he could only be patient...
Lunchtime arrived soon. Once again, to avoid suspicion, Eriri secretly placed a lunch box beneath a tree trunk for Ryunosuke to eat, while she chose to eat with her female classmates.
Ryunosuke jumped down from the tree, finished the meal as usual, and left a red apple. This had become his habit, as well as proof of their friendship.
When school ended, they still avoided suspicion: picking Eriri up in the car first, letting Ryunosuke walk a bit further, and then picking him up so outsiders wouldn't see. He didn't mind small matters like this.
After having dinner with Eriri and Sayuri, Eriri intended to bathe Ryunosuke. After all, she had been the one to bathe him yesterday as well. Eriri wore her iconic blue school swimsuit, while Ryunosuke wore swimming trunks and sat on the edge of the bathroom.
Eriri took the showerhead and began to wash Ryunosuke. She loved cleanliness and couldn't stand it if her friend didn't bathe even for a single day. She scrubbed his back and washed his hair. Ryunosuke felt it was a hassle and wanted to bathe himself, but Eriri refused, fearing he wouldn't wash thoroughly. Since they had to sleep in the same room, Eriri couldn't bear any unpleasant odors.
12:30 AM, time for bed.
After Eriri finished drawing her drafts, she slipped under the covers, turned off the light, and went to sleep. Seeing the boy already fast asleep in front of her, she pulled up his blanket to cover him properly, whispered "Good night," and fell asleep.
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The next morning, because she had stayed up late drawing drafts, Eriri's spirits were not very high. She looked listless and kept yawning. Furthermore, since her drafts weren't finished, she had to bring them to school to continue drawing. After all, tomorrow was the submission deadline; time was extremely pressing.
Eriri had already become a fairly famous adult comic artist in the underground world under the pen name Kashiwagi Eri. But she didn't want anyone at school to find out about this, otherwise she would face "social death." Anyone would feel embarrassed if their adult comics were seen by others, wouldn't they? She didn't want that to happen.
However, because her stamina had declined, she couldn't even focus on the lessons in class. When the break bell rang, she stood up sluggishly, even forgetting to deliver lunch to Ryunosuke.
Ryunosuke, already hungry up in the tree, was forced to jump down to find Eriri.
And at that moment, Eriri was in big trouble. She had just accidentally collided with Tomoya, causing her unfinished manuscript drafts to scatter everywhere.
When Tomoya saw them, he trembled with excessive excitement. He recognized them as the work of Kashiwagi Eri. He knew Eriri was a comic artist, but he hadn't expected her to be the legendary Kashiwagi Eri herself. Without thinking twice, he exposed that identity in front of many students.
Eriri felt as if her world were collapsing. Her vision blurred. Her body trembled, and she unconsciously took a few steps back. She didn't know what to do...
Facing the excited Tomoya and the whispers of the people around her, she felt her life was over.