"He?" Megumi tilted her head slightly, catching on to Eriri's words. "Wait… did you just call him a 'he'?" she asked, her tone curious as her eyes shifted between us.
"Ah, yes. He might look like this, but he's actually a man," Eriri said flatly, crossing her arms as if it were no big deal.
"Ehh!? Really!?" Tomoya nearly shouted, his eyes widening in disbelief as he leaned forward. "No way! You're kidding, right!?"
I just sighed, giving a small shrug. "Unfortunately, she's not."
"Is that so… do you actually like wearing that kind of outfit?" Megumi asked, tilting her head with genuine curiosity.
I chuckled lightly, adjusting the ribbon on my maid uniform. "Not really. It just pays well."
Megumi nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, the true motivation of humanity—money."
"Of course, that's part of it," I said with a grin. "But I don't mind. I mean, I actually look good in this, right? If I looked ridiculous, I wouldn't wear it—and I doubt Sayuri-san would even bother paying me."
"Ah, so this is Mom's idea, huh? Geez, what's she even thinking?" Tomoya sighed, glancing at Eriri.
"Hm, don't look at me. I'm not involved in any of this," Eriri said quickly, raising her hands in defense.
"But… I never thought you two were this close," Megumi said, watching Tomoya and Eriri chat comfortably. They looked surprisingly natural together—far more than she'd expected from a proper, well-off honor student, and known as one of beauty in the school. While the other was an openly geeky otaku who once got light novels available in the library and other weird stuff.
"Well, it's kind of funny, isn't it?" I said with a small shrug. "Even though Eriri-ojou-sama looks like that, she's actually an otaku just like Tomoya Aki." I gave a light chuckle. "And me? I'm no different from them—just another otaku." I said it with such pride.
"Eh, really? I didn't expect that at all," Megumi said with a small nod, only to pause when she noticed Eriri glaring at her. "Um… is it just me, or does Sawamura-san look like she's stabbing me with her eyes?"
Eriri's lips twitched as she muttered under her breath, "Heroine… her… the heroine... the winning one too…" Her tone sounded like she was reciting a cursed mantra.
Tomoya let out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha… well, actually, Eriri, she's the newest member of our circle—and, uh, the main heroine of the game we're making."
"...What?" The veins on Eriri's forehead became more visible, her expression tightening as she slowly turned toward him with a dangerously sweet smile. "You didn't think that was something worth mentioning earlier, Tomoya?"
"But I just found out about her a moment ago," Tomoya said, his tone completely honest—though his timing couldn't have been worse.
Megumi sighed softly, tilting her head. "Yeah, and not only is that news to me, but didn't you also just casually give me a title I never agreed to? 'Main heroine'? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"Guaaa…" Tomoya before he could say anything, a loud thud echoed through the restaurant as a heavy bag came crashing down on his head.
"Hehehehe… So this is what a man does, huh?" A teasing yet dangerous voice followed. "Standing up one girl, dating another, and meeting a third at the same time… how bold of you, Tomoya-kun."
The person behind the voice was none other than Kasumigaoka Utaha—the very girl Tomoya had invited to wait for him in the audiovisual room. In the anime, she arrived together with Eriri, but in this version of events, she discovered she'd been left behind, Utaha came to the restaurant alone.
So it was only natural that she showed up with an ominous smile, her bag still raised as if ready for a second strike. The air around the table grew tense—Eriri's glare, Megumi's awkward smile, and Tomoya's terrified expression painted a perfect romcom disaster scene different from the scene in the anime I know.
Quite refreshing, to be honest…
"Yup, this is zero point." "Un, zero point…"
Eriri and Utaha said it almost in perfect sync, their tones flat and unimpressed after reading the concept paper for the visual novel Tomoya had proudly presented. Without hesitation, both girls crumpled the draft and tossed it right at his face.
"Wow… you two really have no mercy," Tomoya groaned, his face buried into the table in utter defeat. "As members of the circle, aren't you supposed to help me, not destroy my dreams?"
"Haa… I never agreed to join your circle in the first place, Tomoya," Eriri said, crossing her arms while glancing at another pile of papers beside her. Her blue eyes shifted toward me for a second before she slid one particular document forward. "At least if you can make something like this, I might consider it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoya lifted his head weakly, confusion written all over his face. Utaha leaned closer, curious, her expression calm but her eyes glinting with interest.
"'Fate/Stay Night?'" Utaha read the title aloud, her lips curling slightly in amusement.
"This," Eriri said, tapping the document, "is a visual novel concept that was offered to me by other people. They asked if I wanted to illustrate for them. I didn't take it for now, but I kept the draft."
Tomoya immediately snatched up the paper, flipping through each page with growing disbelief. I could see his face shifting—from skepticism, to surprise, to pure despair. His hands trembled slightly, and beads of sweat started forming on his forehead.
"Ugh…" he groaned quietly, realizing the gap between his own concept and what he was reading.
"It's much better and clearer, right?" Eriri said bluntly, her voice calm but cutting. "If you were in my shoes, which project would you choose, Tomoya?"
"That's true but…" Tomoya looked up, eyes filled with desperation. "Please, can you give me another chance? Just one more chance, Eriri!"
For a moment, Eriri's confident expression softened. Her lips parted as if to respond, but she hesitated. No matter how much she tried to act cold, Tomoya's pleading eyes hit her weak spot.
But before anyone could say another word, both Eriri's and my mind vibrated at the same time. The familiar chime of a system notification echoed.
We glanced at the holographic screen that appeared.
[Transfer to Orario will occur within 1 hour. User, please prepare immediately.]
The cheerful digital voice made the atmosphere freeze in an instant.
Eriri and I exchanged a glance—our expressions turning serious. We both knew what that message meant. It wasn't a request; it was a command.
"Looks like… we'll have to cut this short," I said quietly, taking the paper from Tomoya's hands. To be honest, I wanted to talk more with Utaha—maybe even invite her to join us right then—but the atmosphere didn't feel right for that. It just wasn't the right moment.
Eriri nodded, standing up from her seat. "Yeah. We need to go—now."
Tomoya blinked in confusion, still holding the paper from Fate/Stay Night. "Eh? Wait, what's going on? Where are you two going?"
I smiled faintly. "Sorry, but this is something important to do."
Leaving behind Tomoya's bewildered look and Utaha's curious smirk, Eriri and I stepped out of the family restaurant—ready to face whatever awaited us next in Orario.
[author]
Each chapter is about 1,000-1,200 words,
Monday to Saturday, every 5.00 AM in my country and maybe 3:00 PM in UTC since my reader lot from US. Thanks for reading!!!
[/author]