Just a Little Effort

"School's been in session for almost a month now. How come you haven't registered yet? Do you know what class you're supposed to be in?" Megumi asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Well... I didn't have enough money for the registration fee," Yuzuru Hanyu admitted sheepishly, scratching her head.

Unlike public schools, private schools in Japan require a substantial tuition fee every year, and Yumenosaki Academy is indeed a private institution.

Before Yuzuru Hanyu's transmigration, her predecessor had been unable to attend Yumenosaki because of limited funds and, even more so, due to psychological issues. Had it only been a matter of tuition, the school might have offered financial assistance upon learning of her circumstances. But psychological issues aren't as easily remedied. Her predecessor probably hadn't even thought things through when she first applied to Yumenosaki.

"But I've written a novel recently and have confirmed it'll be published! I'll have enough for school fees soon," Yuzuru said, her face lighting up with excitement at the thought of her first book.

Hearing her situation, and seeing her frail appearance, both Eriri and Megumi guessed at her past.

After a brief hesitation, Megumi asked gently, "Do you have any family?"

"No, I don't."

"Sorry," Megumi murmured apologetically, sensing that she had touched on a painful subject.

"It's okay—it was a long time ago," Yuzuru said, shrugging and waving her hand dismissively.

Despite her brave front, the empathy in Megumi's gaze deepened.

"Yuzuru, what's your novel called? I'd love to buy a copy," Eriri said with genuine interest, already guessing that Yuzuru's system probably involved writing and that it might even work like one of those "copycat" systems, allowing her to reintroduce popular novels from her original world.

"It's... um... A Certain Magical Index," Yuzuru replied, a bit embarrassed. After all, this novel wasn't her creation; her system had displayed it in her mind for her to transcribe. Anyone could do it—just have a pen.

Her system promised rewards in the form of skill points to improve her writing abilities once each "work" was complete. But right now, Yuzuru had no real writing talent herself. She wasn't even thinking about asking Eriri to illustrate for her until she could pen something original, relying entirely on the system for now.

Eriri's eyes sparkled at the mention of the title. She knew A Certain Magical Index, having seen the anime but not the original novel. The work was hugely popular and incorporated elements of magic and superpowers that would fit well in Saekano's world, potentially even resonating with readers on a larger scale. Not to mention, it was a long series, which meant Yuzuru could be "transcribing" for quite a while.

"That sounds amazing. I'm looking forward to it," Eriri said, patting her head with a smile but keeping quiet about what she knew.

She then added, "Hey, Yuzuru, how about I loan you the registration fees so you can get into school?"

Yuzuru was visibly tempted. She knew that Eriri wouldn't miss the money, but after a moment of hesitation, she turned the offer down.

"I think I'll pass for now…"

Sure, living off Eriri's support sounded great, but Yuzuru wanted to earn the things she desired—whether it be money or Eriri—through her own efforts (effort spent "transcribing" books, anyway).

"Alright, if you're sure. Good luck, then."

"Mm-hmm!"

...

"I'm home!"

After bidding Yuzuru goodbye, Eriri decided against having Aoi pick her up, calling a taxi, or taking the bus. She didn't even retrieve her sports car from her storage space. Instead, she simply chose to fly home invisibly with Megumi.

It was already past six when they arrived, and Aoi had dinner ready, waiting for them.

"Welcome back!" Arifureta and the others, lounging in the living room with their phones or watching TV, immediately got up to greet them.

Meanwhile, the girls who had stayed home, like Momo and the rest, also exchanged cheerful greetings with Megumi.

Eriri had initially invited Megumi to live with them, but Megumi, citing her parents, had respectfully declined. Still, in everyone's eyes, Megumi was already part of the household.

"Did you have fun on your date, Megumi?" Arifureta teased, nudging her playfully.

"Yes, I did. It was a wonderful time," Megumi replied with a smile, clearly happy and content.

She was the first to define her relationship with Eriri, before even Arifureta.

"I'd like to go out on a solo date with you too, Eriri," Shea said, hugging Eriri's arm and pouting.

"Alright, alright. I'll make some time for a special outing with just you," Eriri said fondly, stroking Shea's bunny ears, which were as soft as ever.

"Yay!" Shea beamed, giggling in delight.

Meanwhile, Akino Yukinoshita watched Megumi with obvious envy. She had been desperate to insert herself into Eriri's date earlier but had held back out of self-restraint.

At that moment, Eriri introduced Megumi to Akino, Gabriel, and Sakura.

"Megumi, these are the girls I told you about: Gabriel, Sakura, and Akino."

"Hi, everyone. I'm Megumi Kato. Just call me Megumi. I look forward to getting to know all of you," Megumi said warmly, greeting them with a gentle smile.

"Hello, Megumi-sister. I'm Sakura," the young girl said, giving a polite bow that made Megumi instantly fond of her.

Gabriel, on the other hand, just casually said, "Hey, nice to meet you."

Because Akino was from Eriri's original world, she recognized Megumi as a major character in Saekano and was surprised to find herself face-to-face with her. Megumi was gorgeous and magnetic, completely at odds with her low-key presence in the original story. Yet, given how Saekano's world had diverged from the original plot, she wasn't shocked to see Megumi and Eriri together.

"Hi there, I'm Akino Yukinoshita. Since Eriri calls you Megumi, may I do the same? I hope we'll get along well," Akino said politely, introducing herself formally.

"Lala's still tinkering with Schwi's body, right?" Eriri asked, noticing that Lala, Schwi, and Jibril weren't in the living room.

Over the past few days, Lala had been examining Schwi to understand the mechanics of the Ex-Machina race, though without much success yet. Her curiosity was her only real motivation, with no intention of creating another mechanical species.

Meanwhile, Jibril was cloistered in her room, absorbed in the knowledge from the laptop Eriri had given her.

"Yes, Lala's really focused these days," Momo replied with a soft smile, her voice as gentle as ever.

"Nana, could you go fetch Lala and the others? Dinner's ready."

"Sure thing, leave it to me!" Nana chirped, bounding off to Lala's room.

Since tomorrow was Sakura's birthday, the girls who stayed home had decorated the living room, giving it a festive atmosphere.

After dinner, Sakura returned to the Type-Moon world, planning to bring Rin over to Saekano early the next morning.

Although Megumi didn't live in the villa, she still had her own room right next to Eriri's—left side for Megumi and right for Arifureta. However, Megumi rarely stayed overnight, so her room usually remained empty.

Whenever she did sleep over, she always shared Eriri's bed. This time was no exception.

In the en-suite bathroom, after washing each other's backs, Megumi and Eriri were now cozily soaking in the tub together.

Leaning against the edge, the warm bathwater, fragranced with both their scents, reached just below Megumi's collarbone, accentuating a hint of her cleavage.

Eriri lay nestled in Megumi's embrace, her back pressed against Megumi's softness, feeling the warmth and the subtle points that brushed her skin.

"This spot's definitely the coziest," Megumi murmured, holding Eriri close and nuzzling her cheek.

"Then why don't you move in already?"

"Mm... Maybe in a while. I'll keep working on convincing my parents."

Megumi had been tempted by Eriri's initial invitation to move in, but her parents had stubbornly insisted she stay at home.

"Fine," Eriri sighed, accepting it for now. "Oh, Megumi, how about I give you a bit of a power boost later?"

At this point, Megumi and Aoi had fallen behind the others in strength progression. Arifureta, who had the chat group, could gradually level up on her own, while Megumi and those transformed into superhumans by Eriri could only absorb cosmic energy, making further growth reliant on Eriri's assistance.

Even if they joined the chat group, it wouldn't boost their powers since points couldn't supplement cosmic energy.

While Eriri had also helped Arifureta and Sakura improve, their physical and energy absorption enhancements hadn't locked them into cosmic energy, letting them absorb regular energy, too.

"Sure," Megumi agreed, nodding.

Eriri's physical modifications were so effective that even Arifureta at the same level couldn't match Megumi's strength. However, this strength had a significant drawback: without Eriri, Megumi would have no way of leveling up.

"All right. No time like the present," Eriri said, rising from the water to stand in front of Megumi, seemingly unconcerned with being entirely exposed.

Megumi blinked, momentarily stunned, but quickly composed herself; she was more than used to this by now. She and Eriri knew each other's bodies almost by heart.

Eriri shifted and sat down in front of Megumi, who faced her, allowing Eriri to begin the power transfer.

"Now, come closer and turn your back to me."

"Right here in the tub?"

"Yes, it's all the same anywhere."

Nodding, Megumi scooted forward and turned around, baring her back to Eriri.

"I'm starting."

"Go ahead."

Since Megumi's constitution didn't need to be altered again, the process was much simpler this time. All Eriri had to do was strengthen her body, increasing her capacity to absorb cosmic energy.

As the energy transfer progressed, Megumi's power surged, soon reaching its peak as she hit Third Level. The process was complete in less than ten minutes.