Hachiman thought for a long while, but there didn't seem to be any real solution. He couldn't exactly run up to her and claim he could foresee the future.
Besides, he didn't even know the exact timing, so there was no need to worry prematurely. After all, it was still far off.
Like a tiny butterfly flapping its wings and subtly disturbing the air, eventually causing a distant storm, his presence could trigger a far larger butterfly effect, potentially altering everything in his memories.
But that wasn't necessarily going to happen.
After confirming that Eromanga Sensei's illustration issues had improved, it was time to discuss the actual artwork in detail.
For such matters, face-to-face communication was best. It allowed for clearer, faster understanding—text alone had its limits.
Eromanga Sensei, however, was naturally shy and extremely wary of meeting anyone in person. This wasn't a one-off situation—they would need to discuss things repeatedly over time—so they settled on video calls instead.
Once she was ready, Hachiman clicked to start the call.
On the screen appeared a girl wearing an anime character mask and a hoodie, hood pulled up. She deliberately concealed her face, immersing herself in an alternate identity to feel more comfortable.
Much like internet trolls who are bold online but timid in real life, she hid behind a façade.
Yet the disguise wasn't perfect. Hachiman's keen observation noticed slight gaps where her silver-white hair peeked out from beneath the mask and hood—subtle clues revealing her identity.
"Hohoho… this should be our first proper meeting, right? Wow… so the sensei is really this young?"
Sagiri's voice came through a voice changer, making her sound far younger than she actually was, though her surprise couldn't be hidden.
Hachiman didn't bother disguising himself. It was troublesome and unnecessary—he wasn't a famous author, nor was he speaking in front of fans. No psychological burden.
"I'm about to hit that… 'chuunibyou' age," he joked.
"Wow, that's impressive—a debut author this young. Um… sensei, it feels strange to call you that. Have you decided on your pen name yet?" Sagiri asked suddenly.
"I've thought about it… let's go with Tsukishiro Mami," Hachiman replied.
"Alright, then from now on, we'll call you Tsukishiro-sensei," Sagiri nodded, moving on to the work discussion.
Based on his character descriptions, she sketched rough drafts quickly, ready for adjustments if he was dissatisfied.
Though it was her first time as a professional illustrator, she worked diligently.
By the end of the first day, the main characters of Volume One were roughly sketched. The next step would be detailed illustrations combined with scenes, which required significant time, so nightly video chats became routine.
Normally, authors didn't need to communicate this extensively with illustrators, but both wanted to make their work the best it could be.
Finally, all the illustrations were complete.
"Thank you so much, Eromanga Sensei! You've spent so much extra time on this," Hachiman said, looking at the still-disguised girl.
"I don't know anyone by that name!" Sagiri protested reflexively, before continuing, "It's Tsukishiro-sensei who accommodated me, spending all this time. If it weren't for you…"
Before she could finish, an unexpected interruption occurred.
"Sagiri, open the door! I need to talk to you!"
The mother's voice and a knock echoed from the door behind her.
Oh no!
Sagiri looked from the door to the screen, panicking like an ant on a hot pan.
"Um… Tsukishiro-sensei, sorry! We'll talk later!"
The video call abruptly ended.
About ten minutes later, Sagiri sent a new video call and apologized once more.
"No problem," he shook his head casually.
"Tsukishiro-sensei… you heard that, right?" Her small hands nervously clutched her chest.
"Do you think I'd believe you if I said I didn't?" he countered.
Seriously… Mom, that was way too loud…!
She silently complained. Her mother didn't know she was on a video call, thinking she was focused on drawing or watching anime.
The issue wasn't serious—her mother had just scolded her for poor grades after a call from the homeroom teacher.
What do I do now?
Sagiri was at a loss. Her real name had been exposed. Sagiri hardly sounded like a boy's name.
She glanced back at his expression and was surprised to see him still calm.
"Could it be… Tsukishiro-sensei, you already knew?"
She leaned closer to the screen, eyes wide with doubt.
"What?"
"That I'm a girl."
"Hmm… something like that," he replied.
"When did I even get exposed?" she wondered, confused.
"The first day we met," he said decisively. "Your disguise had flaws—your silver-white hair was faintly visible to me."
"The first day?!" Sagiri deflated. She hadn't expected her careful disguise to fail completely.
Or… was Tsukishiro-sensei just that perceptive?
Wait… that meant…
"Besides that, did you notice anything else?" she asked, still anxious.
"You're also quite young, right? Your height is short, your voice is masked, but your speech patterns aren't. So… Eromanga Sensei, you're in elementary school, right?"
Seizing the moment, Hachiman was straightforward.
"Eh…?"
Sagiri's voice was filled with disbelief, her expression frozen beneath the mask.