41: You Had a Dream Too, Didn’t You?

Before Tomoya Aki could react, Kasumigaoka Utaha turned to him and said,

"Go back to the club. I need to talk to Eriri alone."

Though puzzled, Tomoya Aki saw her serious expression and obediently turned to leave.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this? I don't have anything to say to you."

Eriri's forceful words didn't seem to bother Kasumigaoka Utaha, who simply shifted her gaze toward the classroom door.

"If you really don't care about your carefully crafted image being ruined, we can talk here if you want."

Eriri paused. Her earlier excitement had clouded her judgment, and now she noticed many students in the classroom were looking at her curiously.

"What do you want to say?"

Eriri tried to control her irritation.

"Come with me." With a decisive and graceful turn, Kasumigaoka Utaha headed upstairs.

Eriri watched her walk away, feeling somewhat unwilling, but still followed.

She was curious about why this person, who usually didn't get along with her, wanted to talk to her now. 

It wasn't like she wanted to add a new character to the game and end up with another character design. 

If that were the case, she'd have to show this arrogant person how hard it is to design a new character.

Determined to set things straight, Eriri followed Kasumigaoka Utaha to the rooftop.

With the weather warming up recently, the number of people on the rooftop during lunch break had noticeably decreased.

Finding a shaded spot, Kasumigaoka Utaha sat on a bench.

She looked up at Eriri and was about to invite her to sit down when her gaze slowly moved to Eriri's legs.

"Why is.. your leg shaking?" Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed incredulous.

They had only walked a few steps; it wasn't like they had just run a marathon.

Could this blonde fool really be that out of shape?

"It's... it's not shaking!"

Eriri huffed and immediately sat down on the bench.

She placed her lunchbox aside and pressed her hands firmly on her thighs, but still couldn't stop her body's natural reaction.

This is awful! It's been nearly half a day, and the aftereffects of last night's dream are still lingering!

"Are you, as a doujinshi artist who draws a lot of humiliation content, finally awakening some sort of peculiar fetish and starting to hide strange tools under your clothes?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha teased, lifting her hair fluttered by the wind, her face showing a shock that suggested she had uncovered an astonishing truth.

"…!!!" Eriri didn't bother answering, just glared fiercely to cover her embarrassment.

Luckily, her efforts to control herself were working; her thighs gradually calmed down, and she sighed in relief.

"So it's like you've just turned off the switch."

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

"Don't call out someone's name so suddenly and loudly. It's very rude."

"Just say what you need to say. I'm busy and don't have time to waste here with you!"

"Fair enough, then I'll be straightforward." Kasumigaoka Utaha rested her arms on her thighs and looked up at the blue sky with narrowed eyes.

"Yesterday after school, you went with me and the other club members to the family restaurant. We discussed the game until nearly nine o'clock. Why did you fabricate such a lie about your classmates?"

Eriri showed displeasure. "Did you eavesdrop on us?"

"You were speaking close to the classroom door. I was just standing outside waiting for you. Your conversation happened to come into my ears. That hardly counts as eavesdropping."

"When did you start caring about my affairs?"

"It's not that I care about your affairs. I just find it strange why you would fabricate such a lie."

Kasumigaoka Utaha tilted her head, her expression lacking the usual annoying playfulness and appearing more serious.

Having interacted with her for a long time, this was the first time Eriri had seen her look so serious.

This naturally made Eriri wary.

"Just out of curiosity?"

"Not just curiosity. I also want to verify something."

Eriri's heart tightened. "What is it?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head. "I'm the one asking the questions."

"So, if I answer you, you'll answer my questions in turn?"

"That will depend on the answers you give."

"That's pretty cunning!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha laughed lightly, not confirming or denying.

"Well, if that's the case, there's nothing more to discuss. I'm only doing this to satisfy your curiosity."

Eriri picked up her lunchbox and stood up, heading toward the rooftop door without looking back.

"You had a dream!"

As Eriri was leaving, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly broke from her usual calm demeanor and loudly said that.

Upon hearing those words, Eriri stopped in her tracks, turning her body slowly with her eyes wide open, clearly showing a shocked expression that conveyed, 'How did you know?'

She wore all her feelings on her face, making her far too easy to read.

The situation suddenly changed.

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Kasumigaoka Utaha was no longer in a hurry.

She calmly sat on the bench, looked back up at the sky, as if there was something floating in the sky that she was deeply concerned about.

On the other hand, Eriri Sawamura, who had her secret exposed and felt embarrassed, immediately reacted in a way that confirmed Kasumigaoka Utaha's suspicion. 

She knew she couldn't hide anything from Kasumigaoka Utaha, so she awkwardly sat back down on the bench.

"Why... do you know?"

"Do you want to know?"

"…Yes."

"Then answer my question first. What was your purpose in making up that lie?"

"…!"

Eriri hesitated, struggling internally. To explain properly, she would have to talk about the embarrassing and explicit dream she had last night.

She didn't want anyone to know about that.

"I only want to understand the basic cause and effect, so you can skip some details."

Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke again.

Eriri looked up at her, noticing that Kasumigaoka Utaha's cheeks were unusually flushed and her eyes seemed to shimmer with a captivating charm.

She had immediately revealed the fact about Eriri's dream, and considering her demeanor, could it be…

Eriri tentatively asked, "You had a dream too... an extraordinary... incredibly realistic dream, right?"

___

20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta

___

[Mission Progress]

[We Are Popular!]

1. Reach top 30 in power rankings.

2. Reach top 20 in power rankings.

3. Reach top 10 in power rankings.

(Current Rank: Top 20) (Finalized on Sunday)

4. Recruit more believers to (Harem Advocate). (13/20)