Utaha Kasumigaoka’s Resolve

"Hey, Utaha-senpai," Eriri greeted, waving with a smile as she looked over at Utaha Kasumigaoka at the signing table. "So, Utaha-senpai is actually Utako Kasumi-sensei, huh?"

"You don't seem very surprised, Sawamura-san," Utaha replied, a little taken aback. She had imagined several scenarios for their meeting, but Eriri's nonchalant reaction wasn't one of them.

"Oh, no, I'm totally surprised." Eriri chuckled, though there wasn't a hint of real surprise on her face.

Utaha let out a small sigh, a little speechless but relieved Eriri wasn't angry about her secret. With her mind at ease, Utaha then noticed the girl next to Eriri, Arifureta.

"Good afternoon, Arifureta-san," she greeted, taking in the two girls' matching couple outfits, a dull pang in her chest. It was obvious they were out on a date, with the signing event just being a little detour along the way.

"Good afternoon, Kasumigaoka-senpai," Arifureta replied with a warm smile, handing her copy of Love Metronome to Utaha. "And congratulations on such a successful signing event."

"Thank you," Utaha said softly, taking the slightly worn book from her. Her polite smile barely concealed her sense of bittersweet longing—a look that Sonoko Machida noticed with some concern.

Sonoko, despite being almost thirty, had read enough love stories to spot the signs of infatuation; after all, she had seen many a heartfelt romance unfold within the pages she'd edited. It didn't take much to notice that Eriri seemed to be the one Kasumigaoka had written this story for. But Eriri, clearly close with Arifureta, might already be far beyond her reach.

Soon enough, Utaha had signed her name in Arifureta's book and handed it back. Then Eriri, with her usual cheer, handed over one of her own books.

"Senpai, I'd love it if you'd sign this one too," Eriri requested.

"Sure," Utaha responded, noticing Eriri holding a second book and curious about it. When she saw the title, A Certain Magical Index, she couldn't help but think of the shy, delicate-looking girl who wrote it.

Though she'd only met Yuzuru Hanyu a few times, she had made quite an impression. As her editor Sonoko had mentioned, Index had been selling impressively well, even outselling Love Metronome in its first week by several times over. It was likely to win the major awards this year. Sonoko had also deemed her a "genius at writing."

Yet, Utaha still felt puzzled by something—when she'd first met Yuzuru Hanyu, the girl had looked at her as if she were sizing her up, as though she were nothing more than a fangirl.

After receiving her signed book, Eriri circled around the signing table to stand by Utaha's side.

"Senpai, how about we take a photo together?" Eriri suggested, holding up her phone.

Utaha's mind lit up with a single thought: "A photo with Eriri? Yes, please!"

Her eagerness was so apparent that she didn't hesitate to nod. "Sawamura-san, could you send me a copy after?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"Of course! I'll send it over LINE right away."

With Eriri's assurance, Utaha quickly adjusted her appearance and stood beside her, waiting in anticipation. Seeing Utaha's enthusiasm, Eriri laughed and handed her phone to Arifureta.

"Arifureta, would you mind taking our picture?" she asked.

"Of course, leave it to me," Arifureta said, taking the phone with a smile and showing no signs of concern about Eriri posing with Utaha.

Eriri stood close beside Utaha, holding her signed book to her chest, so close their arms were touching. The faint floral scent from Eriri's hair was almost overwhelming for Utaha, making her heart race wildly.

With a soft click, Arifureta captured Utaha with a faint blush on her cheeks and Eriri with a subtle smile.

"Looks great," Eriri commented, pleased as she checked the photo. With faces like theirs, a picture could hardly go wrong, especially since Arifureta's photography was pretty good.

Seeing Utaha waiting hopefully, Eriri sent the photo over LINE with a few taps on her phone.

"It's sent, Senpai," she confirmed.

A spark of excitement in her eyes, Utaha immediately opened LINE on her phone to find Eriri's message waiting as promised.

Eriri: [Photo]

Previously, Eriri had used "Kashiwagi Eri" as her LINE ID, but before adding Utaha, she had changed it to her real name, dropping all the more fanciful usernames.

Utaha tapped on the photo, and her gaze lingered over Eriri's bright smile, a subtle hint of infatuation flashing in her eyes before she quickly concealed it.

After chatting with Utaha for a while longer, Eriri and Arifureta bid her farewell and left the bookstore. As they exited, Eriri gave Utaha a smile, one that seemed to hold some deeper meaning.

Eriri and Arifureta were the last two fans at Utaha's signing event. After they left, no new readers came to the signing table, and the store's employees had already begun clearing away the ropes and signs from the setup.

Sonoko glanced at Utaha, who was still grinning at her phone like she was in a trance, and finally spoke up.

"Uta-chan, is Sawamura-san the one you like?"

Utaha looked up at her for a moment, then nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. I do like Eriri."

Sonoko sighed. "Well, I won't ask you why, but you must know things probably won't work out between you two."

While she wanted to support Utaha's feelings, the odds of success seemed too low, and she feared her young friend would suffer like her old classmate, Akane Kosaka.

Utaha shook her head slightly, her smile unwavering, clearly unmoved by Sonoko's warning.

Regardless of how things might turn out, she knew she wouldn't regret falling for Eriri. Her feelings for Eriri had sparked on that first encounter on the rooftop, a moment of love at first sight—one not even interrupted by seeing her with someone else.

To Utaha, it was a case of being completely captivated by her beauty, and she didn't mind admitting it. Her heart had been completely seized by Eriri's appearance from the start, and what had followed only deepened her admiration.

Sonoko knew there was nothing more she could say to sway Utaha, so she sighed and decided to let it go.

Utaha returned to looking at the photo on her phone, unable to hold back her silly grin. Just then, a notification popped up at the top of her screen, alerting her that she had been tagged by "Kashiwagi Eri."

Rather than checking it right away, she spent a few more seconds basking in the photo's charm before switching to Twitter and heading straight to Eriri's profile.

When she saw the newest post, she froze, momentarily at a loss.

The tweet was short and simple, containing only a brief caption and a photo. But that photo was the one they had just taken together.

[Photo with Utako Kasumi-sensei @Utako Kasumi-sensei [photo]]

In that instant, everything clicked for Utaha—why the elusive industry giant had promoted her book, why Kashiwagi Eri had supposedly shown up but hadn't appeared at her table. It was all clear. Eriri was Kashiwagi Eri, and Eriri had likely known her identity as Utako Kasumi all along.

In hindsight, whether as the Sawamura family's heiress or a powerful being with abilities beyond imagination, Eriri could have easily found out who she was.

"No wonder Eriri didn't seem surprised earlier," Utaha chuckled ruefully as she understood the situation.

Standing up, she turned to Sonoko. "Sonoko-san, I'll have to skip out on the celebration tonight. I have something more important to do."

Utaha had finally resolved to confess her feelings to Eriri. Until now, she had been holding back, hesitant to pursue anything serious because of the already complex relationships surrounding Eriri, Arifureta, Megumi, and Shia. But learning Eriri's identity as Kashiwagi Eri gave her the final push she needed.

Sonoko raised an eyebrow. "Is something going on?"

Sonoko wasn't worried, though. Judging by Utaha's expression, she seemed to be in an upbeat mood.

"I'm going to confess my feelings to Eriri," Utaha said with a quiet smile.

"Are you serious?" Sonoko's brows knit in worry.

"Yes, I've never been more serious in my life," Utaha replied with a confident look.

Seeing the unshakable resolve in Utaha's eyes, Sonoko could only sigh again. "Alright. Well, in that case, let me know if it goes well. Good luck, Uta-chan."

"Thank you."

In the online world, Eriri's recent tweet sent the entire otaku community buzzing, with her reveal as Kashiwagi Eri causing an international stir.

Many fans had speculated that Kashiwagi Eri might be a woman, but they hadn't expected her to be this beautiful.

Fans who had been at the signing shared their reactions in various forums. Soon, posts flooded in from those who had witnessed Eriri in person, sharing their awe and adding to the frenzy.

Comments on Eriri's tweet rapidly surged, and within just half an hour, there were tens of thousands of responses, with that number climbing by the second. Her follower count, too, skyrocketed, inching ever closer to the million mark, as fans from all over joined, unable to resist her allure.

Whereas her account had previously attracted a niche following within the yuri fandom, her fanbase was now expanding to include people of all ages and backgrounds, most of whom were drawn in by her jaw-dropping beauty.

Had they seen her in person, the response would have been nothing short of legendary.

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