Utaha Kasumigaoka

Utaha Kasumigaoka is a student in Class 2-D of Yumenosaki Academy. She appears to be a very quiet, beautiful girl with a mature, sophisticated figure beyond her years. Since entering last year, she has been unanimously voted as the only school idol of Yumenosaki Academy.

She possesses rare literary talent and can write scripts for the school's drama club. Her academic performance is equally outstanding, never having relinquished the top spot in her grade since her first year. She is a genuine top-tier genius girl.

But this genius girl has been quite troubled these past few days.

Utaha Kasumigaoka's first work as a light novel author, "Love Metronome," had just released its first volume. However, sales have been less than ideal, and there are no signs of a reprint.

Utaha had been confident about her debut work, having poured her heart into it by directly channeling her own personality into the protagonist. She couldn't understand why the popularity had waned since its release.

Yesterday, during a meeting with her editor, Machida Sonoko, she was told that Fushikawa Publishing wants her to conclude "Love Metronome" within three volumes, implying that it was at risk of being cut short. This news only deepened her gloom and kept her tossing and turning all night.

It's often said that geniuses are lonely, and Utaha Kasumigaoka is no exception. She doesn't have anyone she could truly call a friend at Yumenosaki Academy, but the rooftop of the school building is her favorite place.

Although the school forbids students from going up to the rooftop, there are exceptions. Kasumigaoka's genius reputation at school has left a good impression on the teachers, so she could easily get the key to the rooftop door from them.

Despite spending all morning's class time catching up on sleep, she found the weather too good to miss and decided to take a break on the rooftop during lunch, pondering her next steps.

After obtaining the key from a teacher, Utaha headed straight for the rooftop, lay down on her favorite bench, and covered her face with her book, "Love Metronome Vol. 1," to take a nap.

After a while, feeling slightly uncomfortable and wanting to change her position, Utaha took the book off her face and sat up on the bench.

Rubbing her eyes, she inadvertently glanced ahead and saw a scene that left her utterly shocked.

"Oh, my... Yuri right before my eyes?" Staring at the two female students kissing not far away, Kasumigaoka felt her worldview shatter. Although she had read about yuri in light novels, this was her first time seeing it in real life.

Sitting on the bench, Kasumigaoka couldn't take her eyes off the scene of Eriri and Megumi. She was completely captivated by the sight of the two girls kissing, finding it not only unoffensive but incredibly beautiful, piquing her interest greatly.

After a few minutes, Kasumigaoka suddenly thought of her story at risk of being cut and a novel idea sparked in her mind: "Maybe a story about love between girls could work?"

Since Utaha had never had a boyfriend, she didn't know how to craft a compelling male lead, so she created the protagonist of "Love Metronome" by combining traits from various male characters in other novels, which made writing it a struggle. But if it were about yuri romance...

With this in mind, Utaha's eyes lit up. Since she couldn't find a solution otherwise, she thought, why not take a gamble? Eagerly, she took out her phone to jot down the flurry of ideas bursting in her mind.

On the other side.

After a while, Eriri and Megumi had finally finished all the food in the lunch box. The two of them, faces flushed, snuggled close, savoring the afterglow of the moment.

In the midst of this reverie, Eriri felt a gaze fixated on them. Her eyes shifted slightly, and she didn't need to guess whose gaze it was.

Looking up toward the source, she saw Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had been resting on a bench, now staring at them with shining eyes, her phone in hand, typing away.

The moment Eriri looked over, Kasumigaoka quickly averted her gaze, pretending to play with her phone, feeling guilty like a thief caught red-handed.

Seeing Utaha's clumsy reaction, Eriri chuckled, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. She then said to Megumi beside her, "Megumi, let's go greet the Senpai over there."

Megumi glanced toward Utaha, surprise flashing in her eyes. With her current vision, she could clearly see Utaha's features. She hadn't expected the girl with a great figure to also be so pretty. Although not quite matching up to Eriri and herself now, she was undoubtedly a rare beauty.

Megumi nodded, and under Eriri's lead, they approached Utaha.

Facing the beauty in front of her, a glint of interest appeared in Eriri's eyes, and she said, "Hello, Senpai."

"Ahem... Hello, are you first-year students?" Utaha Kasumigaoka coughed awkwardly, looking up at Eriri and Megumi, feigning composure, though shock quickly filled her eyes.

From a distance, Utaha hadn't clearly seen Eriri and Megumi's faces, judging only from their indistinct features that they were likely beautiful.

Now, up close, they appeared stunningly beautiful. She had never imagined that such beauty existed, and here were two at once. Especially the blonde girl who spoke to her, whose beauty seemed unearthly, leaving Utaha, who prided herself on her own beauty, feeling somewhat overshadowed.

Eriri knew well the impact of her looks and expected Utaha's stunned reaction.

She smiled charmingly at Utaha, gently holding Megumi's hand, and said, "Yes, we're first-year students from Class E. I'm Eriri Spencer Sawamura, and this is Megumi Kato. May I ask your name, Senpai?"

Utaha was momentarily entranced by Eriri's angelic smile, deeply taken by her radiance, and instinctively replied, "I'm Utaha Kasumigaoka, a second-year student in Class D. I'm seventeen, 168 cm tall, measurements are 89, 61, 88, and I'm single!"