The Slightly Awkward Sayuri Sawamura
Thanks to Eriri's interference, Kasumigaoka Utaha never got the chance to voice her request.
But upon reflection, Utaha thought it might be for the best—even if she had seized the moment to ask Shin to awaken her Stand, he probably wouldn't have agreed.
She could tell that Shin was the type who made decisions based on his own judgment, not the kind to comply with random requests from others.
Most likely, he'd only agree to help her awaken her Stand after they'd grown closer.
Honestly, Utaha figured that if she were in his shoes, she wouldn't help someone she'd only met two or three times with something so significant either.
Fortunately, after this incident, Utaha felt she had grown somewhat closer to Shin. At the very least, the awkwardness between them had lessened.
The only problem was that Eriri seemed to have completely memorized her face. From now on, every time they met, there'd probably be endless bickering.
Not that Utaha particularly minded.
Eriri might seem quick to anger, but Utaha had noticed she was also incredibly easy to fluster—hardly a threat in an argument.
If anything, Utaha was more worried about accidentally making Eriri cry.
---
"What's that woman's problem?! Acting all familiar with you out of nowhere!"
Even after parting ways with Utaha, Eriri continued venting to Shin about her.
She had initially thought that someone who could write such touching romance novels couldn't be a bad person—only for Utaha to immediately prove her wrong.
Eriri didn't actually mind Shin being close with other girls. After all, compared to Megumi Kato, Hitori Gotou, and Ikuyo Kita, she herself was the latecomer.
But Utaha was just infuriating. Who in their right mind would crash someone else's date and shamelessly cling to Shin like that?
"I was even going to praise her book earlier, but now? Forget it! I'm going to tear into every single flaw in her writing!"
As she ranted, Eriri swung her fists through the air as if Utaha were right in front of her, ready to be pummeled.
Shin couldn't help but find her complaints amusing. Pointing out flaws in her book would actually be doing Utaha a favor, wouldn't it?
After all, Eriri was a doujinshi artist with some creative experience. It made sense she could spot issues in Love Sync, things Utaha might have missed as the author.
Sometimes, creators were too close to their work to see its weaknesses, while outsiders could provide valuable feedback.
Utaha hadn't just been looking for an excuse to get closer to Shin—she genuinely wanted their opinions.
Though in the end, only Eriri had actually read the book properly. Shin had spent most of the time playing with Utaha's black stockings.
As for the novel itself, he planned to read it properly at home.
After thoroughly venting her grievances, Eriri finally calmed down and turned to Shin.
"We should get lunch. Wanna go together?"
They'd had some drinks at the café earlier, but that hardly counted as a proper meal.
Besides, Sayuri Sawamura was still waiting for her back at the convention hall. No matter how distracted she got, Eriri wouldn't forget her own mother.
---
"I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."
Inside the convention hall, Sayuri sat alone at the booth, looking somewhat resigned.
It was already 12:30 PM—normally, they would have found a place to eat by now.
Sayuri had considered calling Eriri, but after pulling out her phone, she hesitated and ultimately didn't dial.
The reason was simple: she was worried Eriri and Shin might be in the middle of something… inappropriate.
While she didn't exactly approve of young people engaging in such activities, Sayuri had long since accepted that her daughter was probably already in too deep.
When Eriri and Shin finally returned, her eyes flickered between them, searching for any signs of what they might have been up to.
And honestly, her suspicions weren't unfounded. If Utaha hadn't interrupted, Eriri and Shin might very well have ended up in a compromising position.
"We just ran into a classmate and got caught up talking!"
Scratching her head, Eriri walked over to Sayuri and made introductions.
"This is Shin, my friend. And this is my mom, Sayuri Sawamura."
As far as Eriri knew, this was the first time Sayuri and Shin had met, so she made sure to properly introduce them.
Shin, wearing an unfazed smile, nodded at Sayuri .
"Nice to meet you. The first time I saw you, I actually thought you were Eriri's older sister."
Sayuri 's reaction was… complicated.
Though she maintained a polite smile, Shin's words left her slightly unsettled.
He had said "the first time I saw you"—not "the first time we've met."
Clearly, he was referring to that time she had followed Eriri and watched her enter a love hotel with him.
The sheer embarrassment of being caught spying made her want to shrivel up on the spot.
But as an adult, Sayuri was far more composed than Eriri. Despite her inner turmoil, she kept her expression neutral.
"It's nice to meet you, Shin. Eriri's talked about you a lot at home."
She extended her hand for a handshake—only to shiver slightly the moment Shin's fingers wrapped around hers.
For some reason, the memory of one of Eriri's sketch drafts flashed through her mind, conjuring up some… unseemly mental images.
Thankfully, she quickly regained her composure and pulled her hand back, hurriedly suggesting:
"Anyway, let's go find somewhere to eat lunch."
Shin glanced at her thoughtfully, as if he'd noticed something from that brief reaction.
This wasn't his first time interacting with a married woman, after all. Back in the Fate/Zero world, he'd… comforted Tohsaka Aoi quite thoroughly.
Just now, he'd sensed a similar aura from Sayuri.
Of course, he couldn't exactly voice that observation out loud. So instead, he simply smirked and followed along.
"Sure, let's go."
To be continued…
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