Anime: I Want Harem-Chapter 43

Unlike Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had few friends, and the otaku Aki Tomoya, who was at the bottom of the school's social hierarchy, Eriri had very successfully maintained her facade as a wealthy young lady at school. In other words, she had many friends and a very well-informed network of information. So, without waiting for her to ask, some busybodies had already mentioned certain things happening in front of her.

"Sawamura?"

"Ah... yes, I'm here, and thank you for telling me about this."

Eriri, who hadn't replied to the other party for a long time, came back to her senses, digested the information she had received earlier, and then sent some words of thanks through the software. But her actions still slightly aroused the other party's suspicion.

"It's nothing. But... is what everyone is saying true, Sawamura-san?"

"How could it be? I just happened to be in the same class as that person in elementary school."

She tried hard to brush off her female friend in class like this on her phone.

"I see. But being constantly bothered by someone like that must be very troubling for Sawamura-san."

The reply that quickly appeared on the phone screen undisguisedly showed disdain for otaku.

"Tomoya isn't that kind of person!"

Eriri wanted to loudly refute this inexplicable woman, but in the end, she chose silence. Unable to completely dispel the other party's suspicion, Sawamura Spencer Eriri finally used the excuse of feeling unwell to end the conversation. Clutching her phone tightly in her hand, her small body sat weakly, pitifully, and helplessly on the floor.

After all, in Japan, otaku were a group that people looked at with colored glasses. Whether it was Eriri in Saekano or Kousaka Kirino in Oreimo, these girls who originally had normal interpersonal relationships were clearly not prepared to constantly accept the strange gazes of others in the future.

Recalling a similar incident that had happened to her in elementary school, the otaku girl, not knowing what to do, now had a blank mind. In the original history, she would go through many setbacks and temper herself before gradually peeling away her glamorous exterior and becoming less concerned about other people's opinions by the time she reached her third year of high school. The girl at this moment was clearly not prepared for this. But she also didn't want to give up her childhood friend again.

After thinking for a while with her not-so-clever little brain, she finally dialed someone's number on her phone. The other end quickly connected, and she heard the voice of the boy she was extremely familiar with.

"Hello, is this Eriri?"

From Tomoya Aki's words, there didn't seem to be anything unusual. She didn't know if those rumors hadn't reached him yet or if he was forcibly pretending not to be affected.

"..."

Eriri hesitated in her heart at this moment. She had impulsively dialed the other party's number just now, but now she didn't know how to start speaking. She hadn't thought about how she was going to deal with this at all.

"Hey, what's wrong? Speak, Eriri."

Tomoya Aki on the other side of the phone began to get anxious. He didn't know what had happened on Eriri's side. Just as he was about to continue urging her on the other end of the phone, the girl finally took the initiative to speak.

"Tomoya, let's meet outside our homes."

...

The spring night was quiet and deep. The clouds in the sky made the moonlight somewhat hazy, as if reflecting the feelings of the boy and girl. Besides exchanging a few polite greetings by saying each other's names when they first met, the atmosphere between these childhood friends had fallen into a rare awkwardness at this moment. The girl had something on her mind, and Aki Tomoya had roughly guessed her thoughts, carrying an inexplicable emotion in his heart.

"School building..."

Looking at the elementary school that had appeared before them at some unknown time, Eriri looked at the renovated classrooms there, a faint light flickering in her bright eyes. Without prior agreement, the two of them had unknowingly arrived at this place filled with their beautiful and bitter memories. Finally making up her mind, she spoke.

"Tomoya, do you know why I asked you to meet me today?"

Not yet clear whether her childhood friend knew about the major events that had happened this weekend, Eriri first asked cautiously. The expression on Aki Tomoya's face didn't change in the slightest.

"It's because of that thing at the coffee shop the day before yesterday, right?"

He gave an affirmative answer like this.

Hearing his answer, the girl gently shook her head.

"No, it's about what happened later. You should know about it too, Tomoya."

"It seems some girls at school took pictures and posted them in some school groups."

Aki Tomoya said completely nonchalantly. He clearly knew very well but acted as if he wasn't affected at all. This person had always gone his own way since before and didn't care much about other people's opinions. If he found something worth taking seriously, he would dive right in without hesitation. It seemed a bit stubborn. This was both his flaw and one of his greatest strengths. However, things that needed explaining still needed to be explained.

"But Eriri, things like me two-timing you and Utaha-senpai and playing with your feelings are definitely just those girls adding fuel to the fire. They're completely baseless."

Aki Tomoya tried hard to defend himself in front of the girl. Although something like that had happened, in his heart at this moment, even his senpai couldn't compare to Eriri's position by far.

"Yeah, I know."

Eriri gave a bitter smile as a reply. As one of the parties involved, she naturally knew that Aki Tomoya couldn't be blamed for everything that had happened. But the result was that Aki Tomoya would undoubtedly suffer much more damage than her and Kasumigaoka Utaha. This was a completely unfair difference in treatment between ordinary boys and girls... especially beautiful girls who enjoyed the admiration of many. This made her body fill with guilt again. The troubled blonde girl looked even more pitiful under the moonlight. Eriri didn't want to repeat the mistakes of her childhood.

"Tomoya... I want to ask you something."

She gently raised her head. Taking advantage of this rare moment of being alone together, Eriri lightly opened her somewhat pale lips towards the person opposite her. Aki Tomoya looked at the girl's appearance, and a very bad feeling arose in his heart.

Eriri across from him hesitated for a moment, organizing her words before continuing.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha and that Ka... Nae..."

"It's Kato."

Aki Tomoya couldn't help but correct her. Although he himself had actually mispronounced his goddess's name before.

"Whatever that woman's name is!"

Eriri, whose carefully organized words had been disrupted, immediately reverted to her usual self, glaring at Aki Tomoya somewhat angrily, making him shut his mouth. The two faced each other, silent for a while again.

"Tomoya."

"Eriri..."

Just standing in front of the elementary school under the night sky, the two softly called out each other's names, and for a moment, it felt as if they had returned to several years ago. Those were the most beautiful times of their lives.

Miss Eriri faced Aki Tomoya, her head lowered, not daring to look him in the eye. But then, she forcibly cheered herself up again, mustered her courage, and asked her childhood friend the question that both of them knew the answer to.

"Can you... choose me to be the heroine in your game, Tomoya?"

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Every 300 Power Stones

2 Bonus Chapter

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4 Bonus Chapter.

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