Chapter 92 – The Proper Use of Twin Tails (Patreon)

Noon.

Inside a tiny rental apartment.

A silver-haired lady in extremely light clothing was admiring her body's curves in the mirror while simultaneously drawing an intensely alluring illustration of a beautiful girl on her tablet.

"Yay, Mom! The website sent over Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's phone number!"

Beside her, a small silver-haired girl suddenly jumped up, waving her phone in excitement.

Mrs. Izumi immediately set down her pen and looked at her daughter with surprise.

"She actually agreed?"

A couple of days ago, Mrs. Izumi had contacted the doujin website under her identity as Eromanga-sensei, hoping to get acquainted with Kashiwagi Eriri. She really hadn't held out much hope. As a veteran doujin artist, she loved what she did, but she was also keenly aware of the prejudice the average person held against her line of work. She herself had gotten divorced because of it.

So most doujin artists kept themselves mysterious and were deeply guarded about their real identities being discovered by others. Even among fellow artists, surely no one would casually reveal their true identity.

Learning that Kashiwagi Eriri had agreed, then, came as a considerable shock.

"How did you communicate with the website?"

Mrs. Izumi looked at her daughter, Sagiri Izumi, and asked with curiosity.

"The site editor said they'd have to ask Kashiwagi Eri-sensei for permission. I said I was a girl and Kashiwagi Eri-sensei agreed right away!"

At this, Mrs. Izumi went completely still. Then she fixed Sagiri with a rather grave look and said with severity, "How could you expose the fact that you're a girl?"

As far as she knew, most doujin artists were middle-aged men. Even if they were all shut-ins and not particularly dangerous, someone who would agree to share contact info just upon hearing the other party was a girl seemed a bit suspicious no matter how she looked at it.

Sagiri's delicate little face was wholly indifferent. "What's the big deal? Kashiwagi Eri-sensei is a girl too!"

"Huh?"

"For real?"

Mrs. Izumi was stunned. She'd thought a female doujin artist like herself was a vanishingly rare breed. How had she stumbled across another so easily?

"Don't tell me she was tricking you!"

Sagiri's little face instantly filled with a look of contempt as she glanced at her mom. "Who do you think I am, you? Anyone could tell she's a girl just from the way Kashiwagi Eri-sensei talks in the comment section! The editor confirmed it for me too."

Being roasted by her daughter like that, Mrs. Izumi pouted with a bit of dissatisfaction. Granted, as a mother, she often truly wasn't as dependable as this daughter, but getting criticized so directly to her face like that—she had her pride too, you know!

"And anyway, all we have to do is call and confirm, and then we'll know!"

Sagiri excitedly typed a string of numbers into her phone and dialed.

One large and one small—one nervous, one thrilled—watched and waited, but the call rang for half a minute without going through.

"The number you have dialed is currently in an area with no signal reception or the device is powered off. The call cannot be completed at this time. After the beep—"

Sagiri blinked and consoled herself. "Kashiwagi Eri-sensei is probably busy. She's supposed to go to a convention this afternoon..."

A few minutes later, Sagiri dialed the number again. This time, the call connected within seconds.

"Hello, is this Kashiwagi Eri-sensei? I'm the artist Eromanga..."

As she spoke that name, Sagiri's voice instantly dropped in volume, a hint of embarrassment flickering through her aqua-blue eyes. To this day she still couldn't help but resent why her mom had to pick such a blatantly shameless pen name.

"Hahh... oh, it's you. The site editor mentioned you to me!"

Amidst Sagiri's thrilled gaze, a lazy, almost languidly melodic girl's voice emerged from the phone.

Mrs. Izumi's beautiful eyes went wide.

It really was a girl?!

Sagiri immediately shot her mother a triumphant look.

"Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, you're going to the convention this afternoon, right?"

"...Mm, what about it?"

"Could we meet in person? I've always admired your art skills!"

"O-of course you can... let's meet this afternoon then. Bye-bye..."

"Mm-hm, bye-bye!"

Though the call soon ended, Sagiri, having just spoken with her idol, didn't care about that at all.

"Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's voice... it's so lovely! Judging from her voice, she must be a total super beauty!"

Sagiri's delicate little face flushed bright red. In her mind she was already constructing the image of a gorgeous-faced, smoking-hot, mature beauty of a lady.

"Her voice really does sound nice, but..."

A somewhat odd expression crept across Mrs. Izumi's slightly more maturely alluring face.

"Didn't you notice something strange about it?"

"Strange? What's strange about it?"

Sagiri lifted her little face in puzzlement. She'd simply been too fired up; she hadn't noticed a single strange thing at all.

Mrs. Izumi parted her crimson lips, about to speak, but after a moment of thought she closed her mouth again.

A glint of astonished understanding shimmered in her blue eyes.

More than that, as a doujin artist far more seasoned than Sagiri, the reference material she had studied in her time outnumbered the meals Sagiri had ever eaten. The state of the voice that had come through that phone—she'd picked up on the clues in a single instant. Focusing intently, she'd even caught the sound of another, somewhat more mature woman's voice.

At that thought, an image had already formed in Mrs. Izumi's head.

"No wonder Kashiwagi Eriri's art has improved so quickly..."

She herself merely studied reference material to seek inspiration. This one was personally getting into character!

And apparently playing it pretty hardcore too!

As a single mother, Mrs. Izumi could only feel a bit envious.

At the same time, her curiosity toward this Kashiwagi Eri-sensei had grown even more intense.

"I'll go with you this afternoon," Mrs. Izumi said, looking down at her daughter.

She too wanted to see Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's true face.

The Sawamura Residence.

After getting out of the bath and changing into casual house clothes, Eriri sat limp and weak in one corner of the sofa.

"I'm so stupid. So stupid!"

Eriri lifted her eyes, which had nearly lost their light yet still betrayed a hint of alluring languor. She'd known her mother and Kouma had called her downstairs to make donburi. What she hadn't known was that she herself was part of the donburi.

"Lift your foot."

From beside her came Mrs. Sawamura's voice, rich with mature allure. Eriri lifted her long leg, the numbness now past. The next instant, Mrs. Sawamura ran a mop over the floor and cleaned the spot.

The sofa cover Eriri was currently sitting on had likewise been removed and stuffed into the washing machine. After finishing the living room, Mrs. Sawamura cleaned the kitchen. Then the bedroom, and finally, the staircase.

She'd practically deep-cleaned the whole house.

Only after spraying air freshener throughout the place did Mrs. Sawamura put a hand on her slender waist and nod with satisfaction.

"Kouma really is an incubus. I feel like my body's in even better shape now than when I was eighteen."

Mrs. Sawamura propped one elbow in her hand and gently touched her cheek with the other, a faint, sultry allure rising on her lovely face.

Hearing the keyword "Kouma" was what finally brought Eriri back to her senses. Images from the past several hours flashed rapidly through her mind. Her cheeks faintly flushed, she bit on her little canine tooth and glared at Sayuri Sawamura with some indignation.

"Mom, you set me up!"

Never, ever would she have imagined that her own mother would personally step in to trick her own daughter.

In response, Sayuri tilted her head slightly and tapped a finger against her crimson lips.

"But you were definitely the most into it near the end, weren't you! If it weren't for you, would I have needed to clean for this long?"

Eriri's expression instantly stiffened. She turned her blushing face aside and spoke in a halting stammer. "D-don't get the wrong idea! That was me helping you out of a tight spot!"

"Mm-hmm, thank you so much, my darling daughter!"

Watching Sayuri's beaming smile, Eriri's fists clenched tight. If not for this absurd woman, the current situation would never have occurred in the first place!

Sayuri's beautiful eyes shifted, her gaze pausing on Eriri's fist for an instant before her expression turned faintly more serious. Softly, she said, "Eriri, deep in your heart, you were hoping for this day too, weren't you... Don't worry, Mom will help you tie Kouma down. Later, once I've grown old and faded, it'll just be you and Kouma living your lives together!"

She pumped a determined fist. "No matter what!"

"Hmph... hmph. Do what you want. It's none of my business."

Eriri flicked her twin tails in her usual tsundere manner.

Kouma, fresh out of the bath, raised an eyebrow as he overheard the conversation between mother and daughter. Was the effect of his Transmission and Bestowal skill some kind of joke? Wait for Sayuri to grow old and faded? At this rate, Eriri could probably wait her whole life and never see it happen.

"Aunt Sawamura, Eriri-nee, it's almost one o'clock already. Shouldn't we be heading to the convention venue?"

Kouma looked up at the clock and spoke as a reminder. He'd arrived at Eriri's house well before nine that morning—hard to believe it was almost one already! The convention's seller setup time was 2 p.m. Last night Sayuri had told him to come early in the morning. Clearly, she'd been scheming this all along.

"Oh my, we really do need to get ready and head out."

Sayuri quickly went to change into a dress that showed off her figure a little. Though she was already thoroughly satisfied today, a woman dresses to please the one she favors, after all. When going out with a young, pretty boy, Sayuri still hoped his eyes would linger on her for as long as possible.

As for Eriri, after a bout of indecision, she ultimately chose her plainest, least eye-catching school tracksuit.

Deep down, she harbored the same feelings as Mrs. Sawamura, but if she drew too much attention, she might end up being recognized by students from Shuchiin.

At school, she'd spent ten painstaking years cultivating the persona of a noble, approachable rich young lady! If anyone found out that behind the scenes this refined young lady was selling doujinshi at conventions, her whole image would collapse. Her very identity as a doujin artist could even be exposed.

So for every event like this, she did everything possible to dress in a way completely opposite to how she appeared at school, disguising herself as inconspicuously as she could.

"If Eriri-nee is so set on not having her identity exposed, why did you agree to meet that girl at the convention just now?"

At the sound of Kouma's voice, Eriri's expression went blank. Only with his reminder did she now recall that matter.

"I..."

Eriri clutched her twin tails in frustration, the roots of her hair still faintly sore. It was all Kouma's fault for talking about unlocking the proper use of twin tails...

She bit her cherry-colored lip. At the time she'd been in a dazed, half-conscious state, and it seemed like she hadn't really heard a single thing that girl had said before just agreeing outright.

"Don't worry, Eriri-nee. From the sound of that girl called Eromanga's voice, she didn't seem like a bad person," Kouma said reassuringly.

He hadn't expected Eriri to instinctively pick up the phone either. Just as he'd been about to hang up, he'd heard the other party reveal the name Eromanga and simply let the call proceed. He just hadn't counted on Eriri completely forgetting the whole thing.

"Eromanga..."

Eriri murmured the name quietly. She did have a strong impression of that name—a doujin artist with outstanding skill, though more active in the illustration sphere.

"I didn't expect she'd be a girl too..."

Just as Eriri was mulling this over, Sayuri emerged carrying donburi bento. The real, actual donburi this time. Kouma had genuinely taught them how to make it. So it didn't count as deceiving Eriri either.

"Come on, let's head to the venue."

Shimokitazawa Exhibition Center.

That was the location for today's convention event.

Although the venue was called Shimokitazawa Exhibition Center, geographically it wasn't actually in the Shimokitazawa district. It was located in the commercial area right next to Shimokitazawa. It had, however, inherited Shimokitazawa's uniquely fashionable, youthful atmosphere.

The venue had a very large footprint—at least in terms of scale, it was the opposite of Shimokitazawa's exquisitely compact architecture.

The convention ran for two days over the weekend. Today was the first day. Though it was already past noon, a steady stream of young people was still entering the venue. The most numerous among them were young men and women clad in peculiar, flamboyant outfits.

"I wonder if Marin-san's already at the venue..."

A girl with an outstanding figure, a camera cradled in her hands, scanned the dense crowd. Her name was Shinju Inui.

"If she were, she'd have sent a message by now."

A calm, indifferent voice spoke up from in front of her.

"Mm-hm, Onee-chan has a point!"

Shinju nodded, then lifted her camera and focused intently on her older sister standing before her, the one cosplaying a magical girl, and started firing off shot after enthusiastic shot.

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