Kasumigaoka Utaha could confirm that among the people present, at least two were not otaku from beginning to end.
Aki Tomoya, used to be, but isn't now.
Kamigō Yoshihiko, might still have some otaku elements now.
Kudo Sayaka and Kato Megumi, clearly aren't.
And among these people, two of the juniors, namely Kato Megumi and Kamigō Yoshihiko, would have absolutely never imagined that she was actually an otaku girl.
But it didn't matter anymore. If Eriri could do it, why couldn't she!
Thinking about how hard she had to work in University to avoid revealing her otaku identity, and then seeing how relaxed and free Eriri lived now, Kasumigaoka Utaha was very envious.
This person probably didn't care about her otaku identity at all when she was at Tokyo University of the Arts, and had long since ignored other people's stares.
No, she also really wanted to casually talk about her favorite topics with others in University!
Whether she was an otaku or not didn't matter anymore, as long as she was happy!
"It's the end of the world, Aki Tomoya!!!!"
Kamigō Yoshihiko was dumbfounded. This wasn't the Kasumigaoka Utaha he knew.
The unattainable beauty of Toyosaki Academy was, it turned out, an otaku just like them.
This astonishing fact made him feel as if the world had collapsed.
From entering Toyosaki Academy to graduating, Kamigō Yoshihiko's impression of this Senior had always been that she was unattainable, belonging to a different world.
Now telling him that this person was one of them, he was about to break down.
"Ah, your reaction is really exaggerated..."
Aki Tomoya was in the know; if not for the fact that they were both otaku, and that the other person had started writing light novels back then, they wouldn't have met through that opportunity.
However, he was still a bit surprised at this moment. The Senior, who had never revealed this fact at Toyosaki Academy, voluntarily tore off her mask today in front of several juniors besides him.
"Aki, I think I understand why you know this amazing Senior. So you used to be one of them too!"
Kudo Sayaka looked at him with interest.
I didn't expect him to be an otaku too. So that's it, so that's it!
Despite her surprise, Kudo Sayaka didn't have much prejudice against otaku because of Aki Tomoya. Besides, she had faced plenty of prejudice herself when she wasn't on the right path in the past.
Kato Megumi's reaction was even simpler; she didn't seem surprised, probably because she had already noticed some clues a long time ago.
In fact, after revealing her true identity as an otaku, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt an indescribable sense of relief.
Not having to care about other things and letting go to do what she likes is truly comfortable.
Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't have any special singing skills, but it definitely wasn't the unpleasant kind; it was listenable.
After singing a song with Eriri, a light shade of pink floated onto her cheeks, she was slightly breathless, and seemed to have put in a bit too much effort.
"Seems pretty good..."
Evaluating her own performance, Kasumigaoka Utaha gave herself a seven out of ten.
After this, the weekend gathering probably ended as the sun was about to set.
Although it was summer vacation, it didn't mean everyone was truly free. After entering University, thanks to the habits formed in high school, they all still had many things to do.
They didn't delay for too long and left separately. When leaving, the deepest impression left on Kasumigaoka Utaha was probably Kamigō Yoshihiko's lingering, unsettled look of astonishment from behind her.
"I'm an otaku too, I'm really sorry."
Kasumigaoka Utaha muttered to herself.
After saying goodbye to them, Aki Tomoya and Kudo Sayaka ended up teasing each other again.
Kasumigaoka Utaha turned to look at Eriri beside her and awkwardly said thank you.
"Huh? You say thank you too?"
Eriri thought she had misheard and turned to look at Kasumigaoka Utaha in surprise.
Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha looking so awkward and a little shy greatly surprised her.
Also, how should she respond to the thank you? Did she do something?
"Forget I said anything!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha replied with a hint of annoyance.
However, she was sincerely grateful that Eriri had invited her today and took her out to have fun.
Otherwise, just staying at home writing novels would be too boring.
People always need to relax a bit.
Moreover, it's great to let loose occasionally like this. She seemed to have also experienced just how carefree Eriri had been living these past two years.
At the same time, she also understood that this person must have received a lot of care from Aki Tomoya.
Regarding this, she could only sigh that such was the inherent advantage of being childhood friends.
"Pfft, you're too stingy, can't I even tease you a little?"
Eriri laughed.
But honestly, she also didn't expect Kasumigaoka Utaha to be able to relax today.
After all, among the people at the gathering today, only she and Aki Tomoya knew her true identity.
She was even more surprised that, because of her kind gesture, this proud writer could soften and say thank you.
"Eriri, here... I didn't know what the Senior likes to drink, is iced coffee okay?"
After seeing Kudo Sayaka off, Aki Tomoya returned with three cans of iced coffee. After casually handing one to Eriri, he looked over at the Senior.
Since they were going roughly the same way, Aki Tomoya didn't intend to specifically avoid the Senior. Even if their relationship wasn't as close as before, it was at least more than strangers and less than friends.
As for what happened before, they had pretty much talked it over during the last mixer.
"Thanks."
Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded, then began to seriously examine Aki Tomoya.
Her penetrating gaze made Aki Tomoya feel awkward, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong?"
"Just thought of a new theme, I'm not that interested in youth romance themes for now."
After continuously writing light novels about youth romance, constantly needing stomach medicine, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt it was getting boring.
Now she wanted to write something else.
"Like creating a pseudonym and sending the beginning to a popular fiction publisher?"
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
Aki Tomoya and Eriri simultaneously spat out their drinks and nearly choked.
"If you do that, Machida-san will kill you!"
Eriri retorted.
Aki Tomoya nearby also felt the same way.
Kasumigaoka Utaha replied jokingly, "If it's not successful, I'll just keep writing light novels under the pen name Kasumi Shiko. If it becomes popular, it'll be adapted into TV dramas and movies!"
She still sounded full of ambition, but Aki Tomoya and Eriri could tell that the Senior was mostly joking.
However, Eriri was still quite looking forward to her future works.
But before that—
"Finish writing this book for me first! A lot of people want to lock you in a dark room now, praying you turn into a creature that only writes novels!"
=
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