"Maybe the club president wants Sawamura-san to go for it and date me~" Mio said with a playful grin.
The misunderstanding about their relationship had never been cleared up. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse.
Eriri's face turned bright red. "Don't joke around like that! We already told her it's a misunderstanding—why won't she believe us?!"
"Probably because senpai keeps seeing the two of us alone together in there."
Eriri let out a melancholic sigh. Even she felt there was no way to clear up this misunderstanding anytime soon. At least the only person who'd gotten the wrong idea was the club president—small mercies.
Something must have crossed her mind, because Eriri quietly glanced at Mio. Looking at that stunningly beautiful face with its faint, gentle smile, a thought suddenly struck her—if she actually did date Mio... it didn't seem half bad...
"Sawamura-san, are you okay?"
Seeing Eriri suddenly bury her face in her hands, Mio asked with genuine confusion.
"I-It's nothing! Let's hurry back—class is starting." Without waiting for a response, Eriri picked up the pace and practically speed-walked toward the classroom.
Mio pulled out her phone and checked the time. There were still nearly ten minutes before class. They could've strolled back at a leisurely pace and been perfectly fine. She had no idea what Eriri was in such a rush about.
As Eriri neared the classroom, she spotted a familiar figure—none other than her childhood friend, Aki Tomoya.
The moment Tomoya saw Eriri, he beelined straight for her, holding up a manga with barely contained excitement. "Eriri! I found this amazing manga recently—you have to read it!"
He'd barely finished the sentence when he noticed Mio standing behind Eriri.
Catching Tomoya's gaze, Mio didn't pay it much mind. She simply leaned close to Eriri's ear and whispered, "Well then, Sawamura-san, I'll head back to the classroom first."
The feeling of Mio's breath brushing against her ear sent the blush—which had only just faded—crawling right back up Eriri's cheeks.
She'd told Mio so many times not to whisper in her ear like that. And every single time, Mio would say "okay, okay, okay"—then do it again next time.
Since Tomoya was standing right in front of her, Eriri settled for shooting Mio a fierce glare without saying anything more.
Once Mio was gone, Eriri turned to Tomoya. "I told you before—don't just come find me at school to talk about this stuff."
After that small complaint, curiosity got the better of her. "So? What manga?"
"This one." Whether it was because of Mio's presence or something else, Tomoya had calmed down considerably.
"White Album?" Eriri casually flipped open to the page where the manga started and gave it a glance. The art was gorgeous, and something about the style felt... familiar. Like she'd seen it somewhere before.
And the author's name—Shiina Mio.
Why did that name feel so familiar? It was almost like someone had mashed together Shirai Mio and Shiina Mashiro's names. No, more accurately—it was like the name Mio would take if she married Mashiro.
Wait. What was her brain even doing right now?!
Eriri had reason to suspect the club president's delusions were contagious.
Here she was, mentally shipping two girls in a forbidden romance.
If Tomoya wasn't standing right in front of her, she would've splashed cold water on her face to snap out of it.
"I've noted down the title. I'll read it when I get home. And per our usual deal—I'll give you my thoughts afterward, right?"
"Yep! Trust me, this manga is surprisingly good. I heard the author is actually a duo."
"A duo?"
"Yeah. Apparently it's two girls—one writes the story, the other does the art."
The moment Tomoya said that, Eriri felt the déjà vu intensify dramatically. But before she could think too hard about it, the bell rang for class.
She had no choice but to head back to the classroom. She'd even forgotten to return the magazine to Tomoya.
By now, a theory had already formed in Eriri's mind. Was it possible... that this manga was created by Mio and Shiina Mashiro together?
Mashiro's artistic skill was beyond question. And Mio's ability to construct a narrative—you could tell just from the doujinshi she'd drawn. Add in the suspiciously on-the-nose pen name, and Eriri felt her hunch was closing in on the truth.
If she was right, then she was even more curious about this manga. What kind of sparks would the combination of Mio and Mashiro produce?
Under normal circumstances, Eriri would never read manga at school. After all, she had to maintain her perfect ojou-sama image.
But the curiosity was absolutely killing her, so she snuck the magazine open when nobody was looking.
And then—the first chapter was already over before she knew it.
Eriri closed the magazine and slumped onto her desk with a groan. She should've known better than to start reading. Now she was left with that agonizing itch of wanting more. All she could think about was getting out of school and buying the manga.
Time crawled until the final bell rang for afternoon dismissal. Eriri grabbed her already-packed bag and was the first one out the door.
In a rare display of punctuality, Eriri arrived at the club room before anyone else.
Noticing that Eriri kept glancing at the door, the club president sidled up to her with a knowing grin. "Based on Shirai-san's usual habits, she should be here in about two or three minutes."
Eriri was about to thank her—until she caught the club president's excited expression.
No doubt about it. She'd been misunderstood. Again.
At this point, it had happened so many times that Eriri just let out a small sigh and didn't even bother correcting her.
After what felt like an eternity of eager waiting, Mio finally walked into the activity room alongside Shiina Mashiro.
The moment Mio stepped inside, she felt an intense gaze lock onto her. The culprit was, without question, Eriri.
Mio blinked, genuinely unsure why Eriri was staring at her like that.
Once Mio had taken her seat, Eriri practically pounced. "Shirai, can I ask you something?"
"Hm?"
"Is White Album something you and Shiina Mashiro made together?"