Chapter 85: The School Festival Invitation—A Huge Battlefield is Coming!

Watching Yui's unexpectedly happy expression—

Yukino shook her head in silence.

In her eyes, this Yuigahama girl was completely fooled by Haruto's attractive appearance. Underneath that handsome face lay an extremely nasty monster. Getting close to him would only end badly!

"Because Yui-chan is cute, of course I remember your name, Bun-chan."

Haruto said with a smile.

Yukino rolled her eyes.

Hah. Shameless. Scumbag!

"Hehe, really? Thanks, Haruto-kun!" Yui shyly played with her hair.

"Want to exchange Line IDs?"

Haruto suggested.

"Yes, yes!" Yui eagerly took out her phone.

They exchanged contacts. "Bun-chan, message me anytime."Haruto waved.

Yui nodded happily, putting away her phone and preparing to leave.

Wait…Did she forget something?

When she returned to her seat and saw her classmates looking at her expectantly—She suddenly remembered!

She was supposed to invite Haruto to act in the play!

How did she end up just adding his Line and walking away?!

"Haruto-kun, are you always this mischievous?" Kato Megumi, seated behind him, asked curiously.

Meanwhile, Yukino rolled her eyes.

See? This man's true nature!

Haruto chuckled and shrugged.

"Not really. It's just that Bun-chan is so naturally airheaded—it would be a waste not to tease her a little."

"I'm not airheaded just for you to tease!"

Yui, who had just returned, overheard him and puffed up her cheeks angrily. Now she looked even more like a bun.

"Sorry." Haruto put his hands together in a sincere apology.

"Alright, since Haruto-kun is so sincere, I forgives you!"

Yui put her hands on her hips, looking very magnanimous.

"Yui-san, don't forget your original task."

Yukino couldn't stand watching anymore. If this continued, Yui would just be tricked again.

"Oh, right! Haruto-kun, do you want to join the play?"

Yui finally remembered and asked.

Haruto immediately shook his head.

"Sorry, Bun-chan, I have to prepare for the exchange program, so I don't have time to perform."

Yui looked a bit disappointed. But since he had a valid reason, she couldn't complain.

"Alright, alright." Bun-chan lowered her head and went back to report.

"Although I can't go, I can recommend two people to you."

Haruto suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, Yui Yuigahama immediately brightened up.

"A recommendation from Haruto? Who is it? Who is it?"

Under Yui's eager questioning, Haruto pointed to Yukino and Megumi beside him.

Yukino: ?

Megumi: ...

"With these two beautiful girls participating, along with you, the play is bound to be a huge success!"

Haruto exaggerated.

"That makes sense!" Yui was convinced.

Yukino shot Haruto a cold glare.

However, Haruto merely shrugged. They had already signed the contract, what could she do about it?

Megumi also looked helpless.

"Megumi, go for it! The more you appear in public, the better your chances of overcoming your low presence issues."

Haruto encouraged her.

And just like that, he sold the two of them out. Yui happily pulled the two girls over to her seat to discuss the play. Haruto lay down on his desk, enjoying a moment of peace.

But just as he put his head down—

BANG!

The classroom door was slammed open.

The room instantly fell silent as everyone turned toward the entrance.

There, a stunning beauty with long, flowing black hair strode in with powerful steps and directly dragged Haruto out.

Another BANG! the door was shut.

Everyone was dumbfounded. It took a while before they reacted.

"Was that... Haruto's girlfriend? She looks like a senior from third year."

"Whoa, she seems really fierce, but she's also really beautiful. No wonder she could land Haruto."

"Are you sure she's his girlfriend? Maybe she's just an acquaintance or something?"

"Come on, don't kid yourself. That level of closeness, that disregard for other people's gazes—if she's not his girlfriend, then what is she?"

The classroom buzzed with discussions.

Meanwhile, outside, Haruto stood in confusion, staring at Utaha.

"Senpai, what's going on?"

Utaha seemed incredibly excited, her eyes slightly red.

"This... this is your doing, isn't it?!"

She pulled out a manga.

It was last week's issue of Shonen Jump.

She flipped to the first page, revealing a statement:

"Apologies to our readers, Titan will be on a short break this week as the author, Izumi-sensei is out gathering materials."

Izumi-sensei: 'Taking a break for research! See you next week, mwah~!'

Izumi-sensei: 'By the way, I'm super into a romance light novel lately—Love Metronome! Check it out if you have time~'

It was the hiatus announcement Haruto had written last week.

Not only did he delay an update, but he also used it to sneak in a personal recommendation.

"Ah, so Senpai saw it." Haruto remained unfazed.

"How could I not?!" Utaha's voice trembled slightly. "The sales exploded!"

She had already been preparing herself to give up on her debut novel. After all, Love Metronome had dismal sales, with no hope of a reprint.

After Haruto's advice, she realized she needed to make some compromises to reach a wider audience.

And lately... she had even started to find those cliché romance tropes kind of enjoyable?

But then, out of nowhere, her editor called to tell her—the sales had skyrocketed.

The initial print run of 100,000 copies had been completely sold out.

Utaha was stunned when she heard the news.

Upon further inquiry, she found out that it was all because of Haruto's plug in his manga's hiatus notice.

Given how wildly popular AoT was right now...

A slight push was all it took for a work to enter the mainstream spotlight. And that's exactly what happened to Love Metronome.

After piecing everything together, Utaha had barely been able to sleep last night.

Literature meant the world to her.

It was her dream, her greatest wish.

Just as she was about to accept reality and admit that her debut work was doomed... someone had reached out and pulled her back up to the sky.

So today, as soon as class ended, she had rushed over. She didn't even know what she wanted to say when she dragged Haruto out.

Should she thank him?

Or something else?

But regardless, she had to see him—she couldn't wait any longer.

Now, looking at Haruto, who simply smiled without saying a word—

Utaha finally voiced the question in her heart,

"Why? Why did you do this for me?"

Haruto shrugged.

"Because it's a good book. It conveys real emotions through words. The low sales were just a matter of timing, not the quality of the book. And besides, I heard it was written by Senpai, so..."

Before Haruto could finish, Utaha suddenly hugged him.

This was happening in the hallway of Sobu High. The two of them already drew plenty of attention with their looks alone. Now, with such a bold display of affection, the watching students erupted.

Screaming.

They were screaming.

Even the usually ice-cold Utaha had completely disregarded her surroundings.

Her embrace was passionate and firm.

Haruto froze for a moment before returning the hug, whispering,

"Looks like Senpai is happy. That's good. I'm glad I didn't overstep."

After a long moment, they separated.

Utaha's eyes were red, but she tried to maintain her usual icy demeanor.

"You did overstep. So as punishment, you have to go on a date with me at the school festival."

Haruto: !?

"Senpai, this is betrayal!"

Utaha: !?

"You dare say that?! This is an honor for you! Just try rejecting me!"

Utaha was going all in.

"Well, since Senpai insists, I guess I'll keep a lonely Senpai company."

Haruto spread his hands.

Utaha huffed, satisfied, and left.

Haruto shook his head helplessly.

Thankfully, he hadn't made any plans for the festival yet.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, going on a date with Senpai didn't seem like a bad idea.

Just as he was thinking that, he returned to class.

The moment he opened the door, he overheard—

"Hey, did you hear? That idol who just debuted and blew up in popularity is coming to perform at our school festival!"

"Ohhh! You mean Hoshino Ai! I love her! Her stage presence is amazing! I'll support her forever!"

"Wow, Ai is coming to Sobu High? I'm so glad I got into this school! Long live the school festival!"

Haruto felt a headache coming.

He had a bad feeling about this. Sure enough, his phone buzzed.

A message from Hoshino Ai.

Hoshino Ai: "Haruto~! I'm performing at Sobu High! I heard you go there too!"

Hoshino Ai: "After the performance, let's walk around the festival together! A secret date in disguise—sounds fun, right?"

Haruto: "Uh..."

Hoshino Ai: "You promised to come see me, but you haven't in days... You weren't lying, right?"

Hoshino Ai: "School festival. Let's go together~!"

Haruto: "...Alright."

Haruto was done.

There was no way to refuse.

It seemed that encouraging Hoshino Ai to "be more natural" (let loose) had finally come back to bite him.

...Well, it was just two people. The festival lasted three days. It was totally fine!

After school, he went to the Foundation site for a routine check-up, only to be ambushed by Nao.

"Big bro, a school festival! I've never been to one! Sobu High allows outsiders, right? Take me!"

Facing her expectant gaze, those sparkling blue eyes—

"...Alright, let's go together."

Haruto ultimately couldn't refuse.

But at this point, he definitely wasn't going to jinx it by saying "three people in three days is fine."

Because, even if he didn't say it...

He already knew that things were only going to get worse.

"This..."

Back home, Haruto was approached by Annie, who held up her phone displaying the promotional page for Sobu High School's cultural festival.

Faced with this girl, who still hadn't fully adapted to modern life and seemed both curious and anxious...He really couldn't bring himself to refuse her.

"I'll take you around and introduce you," Haruto said.Annie beamed with joy.

Ding-dong!

As the doorbell rang, Haruto's mood completely collapsed.Standing outside was the golden-haired "loser heroine" Eriri.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

With no one opening the door, Eriri mercilessly unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of doorbell rings.

The door finally opened.

"Haruto, I heard Sobu High is hosting a cultural festival, so I… Hey, Haruto, what's wrong?"

Halfway through her sentence, Eriri noticed the dreadful expression on Haruto's face.

Haruto waved his hand dismissively.

"You want to go to the cultural festival together, right?"

Hearing this, Eriri averted her gaze with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Well, since you're inviting me, I guess spending a little time with you wouldn't be too bad!"

At this moment, her tsundere act was just the right amount; not annoying, but instead quite charming.

Unfortunately, Haruto was in no mood to appreciate it.

A love triangle? battlefield was unfolding right before his eyes!