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[Game] Chapter 176: The Tape Is Out
🕑 Added 2025-03-21 17:12:35 +0000 UTCAfter dropping the four of them off at the apartment building, Hiratsuka Shizuka turned the car around and drove off. She still needed to return to her own apartment and change outfits before heading to the group date.
Once they entered the studio, Eriri brought up Hiratsuka’s situation while chatting with everyone.
“Sigh~~~ Is Shizuka going to another group date again?”
Hazuki, adjusting the shawl draped over her shoulders, chuckled and said, “She’s really persistent, isn’t she? But honestly, are there any male high school teachers in Tokyo she would even be interested in?”
Taking a sip of the coffee Aoba handed him, Ichin confidently replied, “I think she’s just looking for an excuse to drink. Apparently, the izakaya they’re going to today is pretty expensive, but the school is covering the cost of the meal as part of their effort to show concern for the teachers’ personal lives.”
“That’s a pretty sweet free meal opportunity!”
While speaking, Hazuki nudged Ichin’s shoulder. “Ichin-kun, when are you going to show some concern for your big sister’s love life? How about giving me some group date funds, huh?”
Ichin rolled his eyes at Hazuki and responded irritably, “You say that as if you even want to go to a group date. But if you seriously wanted to try arranged dates, I’m pretty sure everyone at the studio would help you out. Right, everyone?”
“That’s right!!!”
Everyone responded in unison.
Crossing her arms, Umiko nodded and added, “But I think that’d be pretty difficult. Maybe even harder than Hiratsuka Shizuka finding a partner. After all, Hazuki’s got that particular obsession she just can’t shake off. Just mentioning it would scare off a lot of guys.”
“What are you talking about?” Hazuki protested indignantly. “Liking cute girls is perfectly normal! I’m sure I can find someone who shares the same taste!”
Hazuki’s words of conviction left Eriri deep in thought until she finally mumbled, “Pervert?”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Kou Yagami snapped her fingers and burst out laughing. “Hahaha! That’s a perfect description! Spot on, Eri-sensei!”
“I told you to stop calling me by that name! I’ve already quit the industry!” Eriri protested, clearly upset.
“Eriri, what’s this ‘Eri-sensei’ thing?”
Suddenly, the entire studio fell silent.
Eriri stiffly turned her head toward Yukino, who was looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Uh… Yeah, good question. What is Eri-sensei, anyway? I don’t know, either.”
While saying that, Eriri’s eyes desperately sought help from Ichin and Utaha.
But she quickly realized that those two traitors had both turned away, pretending not to notice her plea for help.
At that moment, Yukino, knowing all too well how useful search engines could be, pulled out her phone, opened her browser, and swiftly typed “Eri-sensei” into Google.
“Don’t look it up!!!”
Eriri shrieked and lunged toward her, but unfortunately, Yukino had practiced Aikido. Even though her stamina wasn’t the best, dealing with Eriri was still a piece of cake.
Yukino effortlessly dodged Eriri’s attempt and found the Wikipedia page, reading aloud:
“Kashiwagi Eri, a well-known doujin artist. Identity unknown, age unknown, gender unknown. Associated with the doujin circle ‘Egoistic Lily.’ Has now retired from the doujin world and joined the game industry. During her active period, she produced over a hundred doujinshi and illustrated over a hundred related artworks. Many of her doujin works triggered massive purchase queues at conventions.”
Yukino didn’t continue reading because she had already seen several of Kashiwagi Eri’s works. Although they weren’t explicit pages from the doujinshi, the illustrations alone were beyond what she could accept.
By now, Yukino’s face was completely flushed as she looked at Eriri and said, “I see. I finally understand. The reason you hide your otaku identity isn’t just about being a recluse; it’s mainly because you don’t want your identity as a doujin artist to be exposed, right? That’s the real reason.”
“Uh... I-I think I can explain.”
Seeing Eriri’s nervous and awkward demeanor, Yukino sighed and said, “I’m not making a big deal out of it. It’s just a bit of a mental shock. But compared to what happened this afternoon, this is nothing. It’s within my acceptable range. After all, when I visited your house before, I already saw some of your... peculiar collections.”
As a dedicated otaku, Eriri’s collection was indeed impressive. Besides figurines and various related merchandise, she also had a lot of physical games. Some physical gal games with memorable titles had piqued Yukino’s curiosity, so she looked them up afterward. She had somewhat understood that Eriri had dabbled in 18+ games.
So, now that Yukino knew about Eriri’s identity as Kashiwagi Eri, she quickly came to terms with it.
Hearing Yukino’s words, Eriri paused, then cautiously asked, “Yukino, you... you don’t hate me for this, right?”
Yukino shook her head. “My opinion of you remains the same. It’s just your personal hobby, and I won’t dislike you because of it. Of course, as long as you don’t shove your works and those kinds of things in front of me. The manga and anime you recommend, I’m willing to check them out, but that stuff... is still beyond my tolerance level.”
“Yukino!!!”
Eriri shouted, throwing her arms around Yukino and rubbing her cheek against hers in excitement. “The best decision of my life was joining your club! You’re truly my lifelong best friend! Uwuuwu!!”
“My dear friend Sawamura-san, you’re exaggerating.”
Despite her words, Yukino couldn’t help but smile at the overly emotional display.
Watching the two, Utaha commented with a thoughtful expression, “Yukino, considering a girl confessed her feelings to you recently, aren’t you feeling even a little uncomfortable with Eriri clinging to you like this?”
“Huh?”
“Confessed?”
“Sounds like some big news!”
“Tell us! This sounds exciting!”
Just as Yukino managed to push Eriri away, everyone else immediately crowded around her, eager to know the details.
Glancing at Utaha, who looked particularly amused, Yukino realized her mistake. She had completely forgotten that her upperclassman occasionally indulged in teasing for fun.
Time passed, and soon it was October 29th.
When Ichin returned to the studio after school, he saw everyone gathered around a package box, whispering excitedly.
“What are you all up to?”
Kou Yagami looked up and eagerly waved him over. “Ichin, it’s here! The thing is finally ready!”
“It’s here?”
Ichin immediately understood, switched to indoor slippers, and walked over with Utaha to the table where the package box lay. “When did it arrive?”
“About half an hour ago.”
Hazuki pulled out a box cutter and handed it to Ichin. “Here you go, boss. We were waiting for you to do the unboxing.”
Nodding, Ichin opened the package under everyone’s expectant gazes.
Inside were neatly packaged physical cartridges for the Nintendo Switch.
They were the cartridges for Hollow Knight.
...
