Chapter 21 Homura
Eriri's knowledge of otaku culture, as Kaede had discovered during their interactions, was far more extensive than he had initially thought. No matter what topic they discussed, Eriri could always offer a few words and some evaluations.
"Originally, I had high hopes for Zi-O, but now the plot is getting more and more speechless. Many of the previous main Riders didn't return in person; either it was a stand-in showing their back, or just the suit."
"No choice, Shirakura is just a TV drama guy, what does he know about Kamen Rider?"
As soon as Kaede made this complain , Eriri couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, what you said is so full of plot holes, yet it seems to make sense!" Eriri said, covering her mouth and laughing for a while. "Oh, right, you brought a Gaia Memory last time. You didn't bring one today, did you?"
"I actually did bring one, an Eternal Memory, but it's in my backpack in the classroom."
"You didn't collect all of them, did you?"
With Eriri's puzzled expression, Kaede smiled and nodded: "Yes, W is one of my top three favorite Riders, so I collect all the Memories released, and I have the belts too."
"Eh~~~ I haven't collected these. All my pocket money goes to buying games, various physical limited editions and such."
After chatting for a while, it was almost time for class to end, and Usami Mizuki finally came looking for them.
Usami had initially thought Eriri was chatting with some boy, but then she saw, oh, it was Asakura, so it was fine.
After all, Eriri's reputation in the class and grade was gradually growing. Who knows, in a couple of days, a fan club might pop up. If some boy suddenly got too close to Eriri, based on Usami's observations over the past few days, that boy would probably be pulled into a corner for a "chat."
There's no helping it; teenage girls tend to think a bit more.
But now, seeing that it was Kaede, who was in the same club, Usami no longer had that worry.
Little did she know, Eriri and Kaede's relationship was much better than Usami perceived... Soon, Saturday arrived, and it was time for the Art Club's planned cherry blossom viewing and sketching activity.
Prompted by his alarm clock, Kaede woke up on time. After washing up, he came downstairs to the first floor, where his parents were already up and had just finished preparing breakfast.
His mother saw Kaede come down and immediately said, "Kaede, hurry and eat breakfast. Don't be late later."
"Mmm, I've timed it right, I won't be late."
Asakura Reiko was very confident in her son. She sat down and said with a smile, "Sushi and fried chicken nuggets are already prepared for you. Do you need to buy anything else on the way?"
"Mmm, I'll go to Homura to buy some wagashi. It's been a while since I've had any."
While speaking, Kaede also began to eat his breakfast.
After eating and resting for a bit, Kaede went back to his room to change. The school didn't enforce a dress code for students to wear uniforms on weekdays, so he was going out in casual clothes today.
As for items, there wasn't much to prepare: his phone, power bank, sketchbook, and pencils.
He chose not to bring his NS today. Other club members would also be there, and Kaede guessed Eriri wouldn't bring hers either, so there was no need for him to bring his.
There weren't many items. After putting them in his bag, he went downstairs again and put in the two-tiered bento box his mother had prepared. It fit perfectly and wasn't heavy to carry.
"Well then, I'm off."
"Be careful on the way, and have fun!!!"
He got on his bicycle, but instead of going directly to the station, he turned off to the confectionery shop he had mentioned earlier.
Homura, a confectionery shop specializing in Japanese sweets, was arguably the closest to Kaede's home and also had the best-tasting items.
More importantly, the owners of this shop were also quite familiar to Kaede.
Opening the shop door and stepping inside, Kaede saw a little girl standing at the counter, who smiled and said, "Welcome~! Oh, it's Brother Kaede! You haven't been here in a long time!"
"Sorry, Yukiho, I haven't come to visit recently." Kaede said with a smile, "The usual, please prepare a box for me."
"Okay!"
The cute girl with long reddish-brown hair responded and began to prepare the wagashi for Kaede.
Suddenly, the curtain in the back kitchen was pulled open, and a middle-aged man in a white short-sleeved shirt showed half his body, nodded at Kaede, and then went back inside.
"...Uncle is still so cool."
"Hehehe, Dad is like that with everyone."
"Is Auntie not here? And where's your sister?"
"Mom went out to buy groceries, and as for my sister, today is Saturday, so of course she's sleeping in!" Kosaka Yukiho said, laughing, "Hehehe, if my sister finds out Brother Kaede came later, she'll definitely be upset. She wanted to ask you about the continuation of your light novel."
"Haha, it's my honor that Honoka, who dislikes studying so much, enjoys reading my light novel. But I can't spoil the continuation of the story. The fifth volume will be released soon, and I'll send her a copy then."
While speaking, Kaede also looked at the girl in front of him.
The Kosaka family, but not the Kosaka from Oreimo, but the Fruit Emperor family from LoveLive.
Kaede had accidentally discovered this shop when he first entered junior high. At that time, Fruit Emperor, or Kosaka Honoka, was just a fifth-grader, a clumsy little girl.
After discovering such an interesting little girl, and given that Homura's sweets were indeed delicious, Kaede gradually got to know everyone in the family. He had a particularly good relationship with the Kosaka sisters, and they were among the few people who knew about his identity as a light novel author.
His reminiscence ended here, as Kosaka Yukiho had finished packing a box of wagashi.
"Thanks for your hard work, Yukiho."
After paying, Kaede took the box.
"Hehehe, thanks for your patronage, Brother Kaede. Are you going out today?"
"Ah, I joined the school's Art Club, and today is the club's cherry blossom viewing and sketching activity."
Kosaka Yukiho said in surprise, "A club outing for cherry blossom viewing and sketching? That's awesome! My family also went cherry blossom viewing a few days ago, but my sister just ate the whole time."
"That... certainly fits Honoka's personality."
After chatting with Yukiho for a few moments, even though he didn't see Honoka, Kaede had to say goodbye and leave due to time constraints.
And less than five minutes after he left, a girl with messy brown hair came downstairs, rubbing her eyes.
"Yukiho... I'm hungry. Do we have any bread?"
"Sister! Our shop is a wagashi shop!!!!"
Kaede was naturally unaware of the subsequent commotion at Homura. He was already on the train, heading to the designated meeting point.