FFD 24

In the end, Hayama never ended up going out with Sayuri. He just listened to her talk on and on, but it seemed like everything she said went in one ear and out the other.

Sayuri strolled along the road, feeling a bit dissatisfied. As she reached the end of the road, she spotted a bicycle parked by the side, and there stood Tomoya, holding a bunch of flyers and scanning the area.

"Usually, Aunt Sawamura takes this route every day to buy groceries. Whenever she sees me, she always invites me over to her place as a guest. If I want to properly see Eriri, I guess this is the best way to go about it."

"Sofmap's event doesn't come around often. I have to get Eriri to ask Hayama out!"

Sayuri made her way up a small slope and approached Tomoya.

"Tomoya! You're working again today!" she greeted him with enthusiasm.

"Auntie, I'm helping the nearby audiovisual store distribute flyers." he rushed over to Sayuri and gave her a quick bow.

She smiled and took a flyer from his hand. "Then this one's for me."

Tomoya sensed something was off. Normally, she would find it irritating when he referred to her as "Auntie." Why was she behaving differently today?

"Tomoya, give it your all! I'm heading out for groceries, so I won't be able to chat for long." she slipped the flyer into her shopping basket and strolled past his bicycle, a smile adorning her face.

"Wait, why didn't Auntie invite me to her house today?" Tomoya's heart sank as he felt a heavy blow to his chest. The perfect plan suddenly took an unexpected turn.

"Aunt Sawamura, wait a moment." he hurriedly caught up to her.

"Hmm? What's the matter? Giving two flyers to the same person doesn't really align with the labor spirit, you know!"

"Aunt Sawamura, I actually wanted to borrow a game from Eriri. Is she at home?" he asked with genuine sincerity.

She tilted her head. "Unfortunately, Eriri isn't home today."

"Eriri isn't at home?" his disbelief was evident since Eriri was renowned for being the ultimate otaku who practically always stayed at home.

"It seems like she has a client pressuring her for manuscript submissions. I'm not entirely sure," Sayuri's outward behavior was that of a natural airhead, but little did Tomoya know that her airheadedness was merely an act.

"Ah, I see. Thank you, Aunt Sawamura."

...

Tomoya stood on the roadside, his thoughts in disarray. Though he couldn't comprehend the reason behind Sayuri's sudden change in behavior, he could sense that something must have gone wrong!

Pulling out his phone, he realized it had been quite some time since he had last spoken to Eriri, but they still remained connected as Line friends. With nervous anticipation, he sent her a message: "Eriri, can I talk to you for a moment?"

The message showed as "read" almost instantly, giving Tomoya a flicker of hope. However, in the very next moment, that glimmer of joy shattered into pieces.

"Drawing, don't bother me, death."

"She told me not to bother her and even wished for my death!"

Tomoya sank to his knees, the flyers slipping from his hands and scattering all around him.

...

"Hey, Chibiko, my phone's ringing. Bring it to me!" Eriri yelled loudly, extending her drawing tablet toward Sanae, who sat across from her. Her phone had already been confiscated by Sanae, who had expertly tied Eriri to her seat.

It must be acknowledged that Sanae's binding skills were exceptional. Eriri couldn't move from her seat, but it didn't affect her ability to draw.

"What are you staring at, Eririn! I've already set up an automated 'Death' reply for you. Unless you finish the poster, you won't be getting your phone back."

"You despicable Chibiko, you've completely become Hayama's lapdog!"

"Keep drawing! It's been 15 seconds since you last touched your brush, death!" she completely ignored Eriri's insults. When she got serious, her chuunibyou was terrifyingly astonishing. She had a natural talent for being a manuscript editor!

"Hey, can I take a break? I feel like I can't go on anymore!" Eriri's hand holding the pen trembled. She was your typical artist, known for procrastinating on her work. But one shouldn't underestimate the power of Sanae, the super editor who was even more terrifying!

"Since you started drawing until now, your total work time is 41 minutes and 38 seconds. You've made 1,462 strokes but wasted 27 minutes and 13 seconds slacking off. Among those, you complained about being tired 11 times, drank water 6 times, wanted to change clothes 4 times, and needed to use the bathroom 3 times. Eririn, you can even consider drawing while sitting on the toilet."

"Hey, isn't that a bit over the top? I'm genuinely exhausted, I'm not pretending!"

"You wasted another minute slacking off. Get back to drawing, pronto!" Sanae stood up abruptly and dropped Eriri's phone on the table, producing a sharp "crack" sound.

"M-My phone!" Eriri's voice echoed like a wailing demon.

"Oops, my bad. I treated it like some kind of demon seal," Sanae said, picking up the phone. "No worries, the screen isn't cracked, death!"

"Well, thank goodness for that. Please, be careful not to drop it again."

"As long as you're committed to drawing seriously, I promise I won't drop it."

Little did Eriri know, Sanae kept the other half of the story to herself: the screen wasn't broken, but the motherboard had been split in two.

At noon, Sayuri knocked on Eriri's door. "Eriri, Sanae-chan, it's lunchtime!"

"Chibiko, please untie me right away, I'm starving!"

Sanae sneered at her. "Tsk! Keep quiet, or your phone screen will be gone, death!" Ignoring Eriri, she headed towards the door.

"Aunt Sayuri, Eriri and I will have lunch in the room, okay?"

"Oh, Sanae-chan, your hairstyle looks lovely! It gives you such an elegant, ladylike charm," she complimented, her attention completely focused on Sanae, oblivious to Eriri, who was still bound to the chair in the room.

"Then I'll bring the food up later."

"Let Hayama handle it. Aunty, you don't need to go through the trouble again."

"Damn it, Chibiko, you won't even let me eat!"

"Later, the Great Demon Lord will bring it up. Focus on your drawing, and I'll personally feed you afterwards, death."

"Hey, watch out! Curry! Curry spilled all over me! I told you I wanted to change clothes!" Eriri felt helpless, tears welling up in her eyes. The yellow curry had created a prominent skyline on her off-white outfit.

"I'm sorry, is the computer okay? As long as the computer is fine, it's all good! I'll clean it up for you right away, death!"

Sanae grabbed a dry towel and began wiping Eriri's clothes. The skyline slowly transformed into a horizon.

"What on earth are you doing, Chibiko!"

"We must overcome challenges and keep drawing! The sacrifice of Clothes-kun is for the sake of your artistic masterpiece! Let's not let the sacrifice of Clothes-kun go to waste!"

...

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