Book Signing Event

In the time that followed, everyone present offered the birthday gifts they had prepared for Sakura. Some were strange items obtained through the lottery system, while others were simple trinkets. Though none were especially valuable, Sakura loved each of these gifts.

"Alright then," Eriri clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, "now that we've finished the gifts, Sakura, how about you cut the cake?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Aoi Kujo came over and handed Sakura a nearly one-meter-long cake-cutting knife. "Miss Sakura, here you go."

However, Sakura declined the cake-cutting knife and instead held up her rabbit plushie. "Thank you, Aoi-nee, but I'd like to use my Black Bunny to cut the cake."

Aoi chuckled and didn't insist, putting the cake knife away. Sakura changed her plush into Excalibur, holding the sword, which was taller than she was, with both hands as she brought it down on the cake. Even without any sword skills, Sakura's superhuman strength let her swiftly and evenly divide the five-layer cake into thirty-eight pieces.

The sword remained as clean as ever, with not a single smudge of frosting or cream.

"Oh, that was amazing, Sakura!"

Everyone applauded as Sakura's face flushed shyly at their cheers. After enjoying the cake, they gathered in the spacious dining hall under Aoi's guidance for a delicious meal, concluding Sakura's birthday celebration.

Some lingered to shop around town or continued playing games in the house, with guests slowly leaving around three or four in the afternoon. In the end, only the Butterfly Girls (Kochou Sisters) remained, making the estate their new home.

A week passed quickly.

The Butterfly Girls' presence didn't disrupt Eriri and the others' routines. Mrs. Sayuri arranged for Shinobu-chan and Kanao to attend a middle school close to Yumenosaki Academy, while Kanae joined Eriri's class. Akino Yukinoshita also moved into the villa and transferred into Eriri's class in 1-E, sharing classes with Kanae. Whenever she left her original world, her system would pause the timeline there, so she wasn't in a rush to return.

With Eriri's supervision, Gabriel finally began to make some progress, reaching Level 4, Stage 2, and continuing to grow steadily. Over the past few days, Eriri attended school regularly without venturing off to other worlds.

Today marked the end of April, as well as the day Utaha Kasumigaoka was holding a book signing at the Fujikawa Fantastic bookstore.

"Are you ready, Yue-chan?" Eriri called.

"Almost!" Arifureta muttered, rushing to finish up.

Today, Eriri and Arifureta were going alone to Utaha's book signing, which the others didn't mind. Each had things they wanted to do. A few minutes later, dressed in a matching pink outfit, Eriri and Arifureta got into the black sedan and headed to the bookstore. Along the way, Eriri took a picture of the street scene through the car window and posted it on Twitter.

"Heading to Utako Kasumi's book signing!"

In the Fujikawa Fantastic bookstore's office, Utaha and her editor, Sonoko Machida, were sitting across from each other, both looking pleased.

"Utako-sensei, the signing starts at noon and ends at four, so be prepared for a busy afternoon," Sonoko said cheerfully.

She thought highly of Utaha as an author, and the two were close even outside work. Sonoko had noticed Utaha's strong literary potential even in her debut novel, though the story's structure had led to an underwhelming first volume. When she learned that Utaha planned to change the novel's direction from a traditional romance to a yuri storyline, she'd been shocked.

But at that point, following the original outline was bound to get the series canceled. So maybe this new direction would breathe life into it. And Utaha's gamble had paid off. With guidance from Eiri Kashiwagi-sensei, Love Metronome's second volume far surpassed the first, gaining enthusiastic support from readers. After reading the second volume, Sonoko even suspected that Utaha had fallen in love—and with another girl, no less. Otherwise, how could her writing capture such heartfelt emotions?

"It's no big deal. It's only four hours," Utaha replied, trying to sound nonchalant, though she was actually a little nervous. After all, this was her first book signing event. She was also anxious to see how Eriri would react upon discovering that she was Utako Kasumi.

"Oh, and Utako, I've heard you write from the protagonist's perspective. So, who's your leading lady?" Sonoko asked, her curiosity blazing.

"Ms. Machida, rather than gossiping, wouldn't it be better to focus on the book signing?" Utaha said coolly.

"Aw, come on! I'm dying to know!" Sonoko clasped her hands together, looking at Utaha with puppy-dog eyes. "Just give me a hint?"

"Ha." Utaha scoffed dismissively, firmly declining to answer.

Instead, she took out her phone and opened Twitter to check the readers' reactions to the event. But rather than discussing her book signing, the comments were buzzing about someone else.

"I didn't expect Kashiwagi-sensei to attend Kasumi-sensei's book signing. I'll definitely go now! Maybe I'll even get a chance to see her. dog face emoji"

"Kasumi-sensei and Kashiwagi-sensei at the event together—yes, please!"

"Hold on, we know Kasumi-sensei is a beautiful young author, but no one knows Kashiwagi-sensei's identity. So how could they… you know?"

"Come on, people. Only a woman could understand women enough to draw all those amazing yuri volumes. Kashiwagi-sensei has to be a girl!"

"Agreed!"

Upon discovering that the author who had revitalized her series would be attending, Utaha felt grateful. This would be her chance to thank her personally, though she was stunned such a big name would come just to get her autograph. Her book signing was bound to be a success, thanks to Kashiwagi-sensei's tweet.

After putting her phone away, Utaha leaned her chin on her hand, gazing thoughtfully at the bustling street outside.

At about 11:30, the black sedan driven by Aoi pulled up outside the bookstore's entrance.

With only minutes to go until the signing began, the bookstore was still relatively quiet. Despite Eriri's tweet saying she'd be there, it had only been about half an hour since she posted, so her fans who wanted to meet her hadn't arrived yet.

Eriri and Arifureta got out of the car and entered the bookstore as Aoi drove off, returning to the villa. The interior of the bookstore had been rearranged to create a designated space for the event, with a rectangular table at the center covered in a white tablecloth and a vase of fresh carnations. A sign reading "Utako Kasumi Book Signing" hung on the back wall.

Already, a line of people was forming, most of them holding a copy of Love Metronome Vol. 2. The majority of attendees were young women, hinting that the yuri genre had a sizable female fanbase.

The sight of Eriri and Arifureta drew the attention of the waiting fans. Their striking looks made onlookers gasp in awe, and their matching pink outfits and interlocked fingers made the yuri-loving crowd beam with approval. One girl quickly took out her phone and discreetly snapped photos of the pair before posting her discovery on a yuri social forum.

Eriri didn't mind being photographed, nor did she alter the photo to obscure her face. She was already planning to reveal her identity on Twitter soon.

Yuri Couple FanGirl:

At Utako Kasumi's book signing, I spotted the most beautiful yuri couple! Both are blonde with petite figures—absolutely stunning.

[photo] [photo] [photo]

Woohoo! My yuri-loving soul is screaming!

Even if I don't get to see Kashiwagi-sensei, just seeing this couple makes the trip worth it!

The post quickly gained popularity, with the forum moderators pinning it as the replies poured in.

Commenter 1: Wow, that's unreal! Are you sure it's not edited?

Commenter 2: I was thinking the same thing. It's so gorgeous, it doesn't even feel real.

UP: Of course it's real! I took it with my phone, so that should be obvious. But actually, it's true what you said. The photo doesn't even do them justice! They're even prettier in person!

Commenter 3: I can confirm! I'm here, too. [photo]

Commenter 4: I have to see this with my own eyes! I was planning to go for a chance encounter with Kashiwagi-sensei anyway.

Commenter 5: They're gorgeous, but isn't it a waste for them to be into girls?

Commenter 6: Can you go die in a fire, please?

Commenter 7: Oh, another troll. Get out.

In a small apartment, Yuzuru Hanyu sat staring at her old laptop screen, stunned by the forum photos. Who's this blonde girl now?

Earlier, she had been browsing a popular yuri forum, looking for ideas on how to win Eriri over, when she noticed the trending post. Drawn in by the title, she had clicked on it out of curiosity. Although she wasn't a fan of Utako Kasumi, she was aware of the popularity of Love Metronome, which had recently shifted its story to yuri themes. Being a yuri fan herself, Yuzuru couldn't ignore the buzz.

Utaha was hosting her signing event at the same Fujikawa Fantastic bookstore where she herself had a contract. Her editor was also Sonoko Machida, and she had met Utaha a few times at the publisher's office. But due to limited funds, Yuzuru hadn't planned to attend.

All that didn't matter right now.

What mattered was that there was another girl holding hands with Eriri, and Yuzuru had no clue who this new rival was!