Chapter 15: And So, Eriri Ran Off, Hurt and Wronged…

…

The sky, which moments ago had held the hues of dusk, had darkened without him noticing into full night.

The April wind outside the window still blew gently. Likewise, the “scratch-scratch-scratch” sound of the drawing pen continued, cycling over and over in a dull rhythm.

After that slightly heavy silence earlier, Eriri still showed no sign of going home.

She remained with her back to Himekoji Akito, pen flying across the page as she worked frantically to meet her deadline. It was as if Himekoji Akito had never even been in the room to begin with… By the way, just to prevent any misunderstandings, let’s state again clearly that this was undoubtedly Himekoji Akito’s own room.

…

“I say, Eriri.”

Just as the silence was about to turn oppressive, Himekoji Akito spoke up again, addressing her hunched back.

“What is it?”

She had probably been waiting for him to say something too. Her reply sounded blunt and unadorned.

“Have you heard of someone named Hanjo Ayame?”

“Huh?”

The girl stopped drawing abruptly and spun around, staring at him with wide eyes, seemingly puzzled.

“What’s the matter?” Himekoji asked, confused.

“You’re the one asking the question! What’s the matter with you?!” Somehow, he’d triggered this young lady. Her golden hair whipped around as she snapped angrily at Himekoji Akito, her voice loud, impassioned, and stubborn.

Though, this perfectly matched Eriri’s usual image in Himekoji Akito’s mind. The ‘Twin Tails’ girl seemed to have no concept of patience or composure. He was just asking a simple question, after all. There was really no need for her to get so excited…

While at school she usually acted like a proper young lady, graceful and well-mannered, appearing kind and approachable to outsiders, if you peeled away that disguise, a fierce, passionate, stubborn, and fanatical nature lay dormant beneath.

If you said she was easy to get along with, well, she certainly could be. But if you said she wasn’t easy to get along with, there were valid reasons for that too.

“I’m not talking about the one in the novel,” he clarified. “I’m asking if there’s someone with that name at our school too?”

She studied Himekoji Akito seriously for a moment. Then Eriri suddenly turned back to the desk, her back to him, hiding her expression. But her voice dropped lower.

“You’ve written seven volumes already. Acting clueless with me now, at this late stage, what’s the point?”

“Huh?” Himekoji Akito was confused again.

“Wasn’t your entire novel based on her right from the very start?” the girl retorted matter-of-factly. She gripped her pen tightly, slumped over the work desk. Despite being there specifically to draw, only a few completed pages lay scattered before her.

Was it just the light hitting her hair from an odd angle? Her always-shining golden twin tails seemed to lose their luster at that moment, becoming slightly dull.

“Eh?”

Before Himekoji Akito could do anything more than utter a perplexed sound, Eriri plowed ahead on her own.

“Isn’t it perfect? Doesn’t it fit? Both are members of the infamous, hard-to-get-along-with ‘School Blacklist’!”

“She is too?” Himekoji Akito finally found a chance to interject.

“Huh? ‘She is too’? ‘She is too’? And now you ask me that? Shouldn’t you, her fellow alliance member, know best if she’s on it or not?! Perfectly normal and faultless in her usual state, but when in her perverted state, she can tell three minutes of Risqué Jokes non-stop! You wrote all of that directly into your novel!”

“But she’s a girl! Who can handle that kind of contrast?”

“Gap moe?” Himekoji Akito found himself uttering this without thinking.

Then, abruptly—”Scratch!”—the pen nib ripped through the drawing paper once more.

The hand holding the pen trembled slightly, filled with frustration and resentment.

“If you find that moe, feel free to! There’s no need to tell me specially!” Eriri suddenly stood up.

“Eh?” Himekoji Akito was bewildered again. Tell her what? He hadn’t said anything special!

“Pervert Pervert Pervert! Don’t talk to me ever again!”

The moment the words left her mouth, the girl gathered up her drawing paper and tools, looking thoroughly sullen and hurt, then ran off.

Himekoji Akito stared after her in shock. What exactly was she trying to pull? Anyone who didn’t know better would think he had bullied her…

But honestly, hadn’t he been diligently playing the role of the punching bag this entire time?