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[Game] Chapter 312: Two Girls Who Stayed Up All Night Reading a Novel
🕑 Added 2025-07-25 16:23:05 +0000 UTCNoon, in the Service Club.
Carrying lunchboxes, Ichin and Utaha opened the clubroom door and saw that Yukino had already arrived.
"Good afternoon, Senpai, Senpai."
"Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, Yukino."
Utaha walked in and immediately noticed the faint dark circles under Yukino’s eyes.
“Yukino, did you not sleep well last night?”
At the mention of this, Yukino blushed slightly with embarrassment and pulled a novel out from the desk drawer nearby.
"I was reading Senpai’s new book last night and accidentally stayed up late. Senpai, your new book is amazing. It feels more mature in style compared to The Metronome in Love."
So she was reading my new book?
Compared to classmates in school, Yukino’s praise made Utaha genuinely happy. After all, this ojou-sama didn’t usually read many light novels—she mostly stuck to classics and traditional literature.
“Thank you for the compliment, Yukino. But I still need to work harder.”
Utaha sat down beside Yukino, and everyone opened their lunchboxes, ready to eat.
For lunch, they took turns preparing soup, and today it was Ichin’s turn.
As he poured out the soup from the thermos, he asked, “Eriri’s still not here? Didn’t she say she’d join us for lunch?”
Just as he said that, the clubroom door opened, and the three of them saw Eriri walk in, yawning and carrying her lunch bag.
“Good afternoon…”
Utaha narrowed her eyes at her and asked, “So? How’s my new book?”
Still groggy, Eriri nodded instinctively, “Mm… surprisingly good—huh?”
Eyes wide, Eriri looked at Utaha’s smiling face.
“You sneaky little… what kind of question is that?”
“Ara ara, it’s nothing really~~”
Utaha waved it off with a laugh and gestured for Eriri to come sit down. “Hurry up and eat. You’re clearly exhausted—take a short nap after lunch or you’ll have no energy for afternoon classes.”
“Urusai! I don’t need you to tell me!”
Eriri sat beside Yukino, took the hot soup Ichin handed over, and after one sip, looked slightly more awake.
“I’ll say this—your novel is good, but the illustrations? Kind of lacking, honestly!”
While eating, Utaha chuckled, “Well, can’t be helped. I can’t compare to someone like the legendary Eiri Kashiwagi. Kashiwagi-sensei, my new book is out—would you be willing to draw a celebratory illustration for me?”
“I told you not to call me that name anymore! I already quit the industry!”
Eriri glared at her, then added, “But if it’s just a congratulatory piece, I guess I can do it. Even if I’ve retired, my account is still active. Give me a little time—I can finish and post it by Friday or Saturday. But what about payment? Don’t think you can get it for free!”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dream of freeloading.”
Utaha waved her hand and quickly agreed on the payment with Eriri. It was just a single illustration, so it wouldn’t be expensive.
Of course, if Utaha really wanted to get it for free and pestered her enough, Eriri might actually agree, but Utaha’s personality would never allow that.
As they continued eating, Yukino looked at Ichin and Utaha. “This week, the third-years’ school trip starts, right?”
“Yeah, from Wednesday to Friday.”
Ichin nodded. “It’s three days, but Utaha and I have decided not to go. We need to prepare for our weekend interview at the University of Tokyo.”
“Interview at Todai?”
Eriri, chewing on her chopsticks, looked at them. “Can I come watch? I’ve never been to Todai before.”
“You’ve never been to Todai?”
Now it was Ichin’s turn to be surprised. Todai wasn’t some off-limits place. And with Eriri being an ojou-sama, her parents could easily have taken her there to experience the atmosphere of a top-tier university.
Eriri shook her long twin tails. “I was never that interested in studying, and my parents never pressured me to aim for Todai, so they never brought it up. But now I’m in my second year. Next year I’ll be a third-year, so I have to start thinking about university. I want to check it out. Of course, I’m not aiming to get into Todai—there’s no art department.”
A visit to Todai was fine. After all, they’d be going with Ms. Hiratsuka.
“Sure, if you want to go, let’s go together,” Utaha agreed, then turned to Yukino. “Yukino, why don’t you come with us too? You’re planning to apply to Todai, right?”
Before Yukino could answer, Eriri jumped in, “Exactly! Yukino’s aiming for Todai too! Let’s meet up beforehand and go together!”
Hearing Eriri express interest made Yukino seriously consider it. She would never suggest such a thing on her own. Only after Eriri spoke did she nod.
“I do want to check it out and get a better understanding. I’ll be in your care then, Senpai.”
Later that day, after Japanese class ended, Ichin quickly caught up to Ms. Hiratsuka as she was leaving the classroom.
“Ms. Hiratsuka, I need to talk to you about something.”
Seeing Ichin run up, she asked, “What is it?”
“It’s about the weekend Todai interview,” Ichin said with a smile. “While we were having lunch, Eriri and Yukino mentioned they’d like to come and see what it’s like. You know Yukino plans to apply to Todai’s law department.”
“Oh, they want to come along?”
Hiratsuka instantly understood and nodded without hesitation. “Sure, it’s no big deal. Both of those girls are excellent students. Even if Eriri’s not aiming for Todai, she’ll probably go to a top art school like Tokyo University of the Arts. You don’t need to worry about this—I’ll talk to the grade head and it’ll be approved for sure.”
“Great, thanks so much, Ms. Hiratsuka.”
As expected, when school ended, Ms. Hiratsuka confirmed that the grade head had no issue with it. After all, Yukino and Eriri were both standout students—Yukino ranked first in the second-year class, and Eriri was top-tier in the arts. They were both worth nurturing.
This Todai visit was a great opportunity to talk to them about their future education plans.
Just like that, after the third-year school trip wrapped up, on Sunday morning, Ichin and Utaha were ready to set off.
***
