Ti flew by, and it had already been two weeks since Ichin started school.
During these two weeks, aside from being at ho, Ichin had spent all his free ti at school focusing on developing his ga. Finally, with his relentless effort, the ga's version was nearing completion.
On Saturday morning, Ichin, who had slept in a bit longer than usual, got up and busied himself at ho for a while. He decided to head out for lunch.
Walking down the street, Ichin held his phone in hand, constantly searching for good restaurants.
"Hmm, what should I eat? It's been about a month since I last ate out, hasn't it?"
In recent tis, he'd been mostly cooking at ho due to his ga developnt work, not wanting to go out. The rest of the ti, he had been relying on convenience store bento boxes.
Now that he was suddenly looking to eat out, he found himself at a loss.
"Hmm? Peking Duck?"
As he scrolled through the web, a familiar na caught his eye—Quanjude Peking Duck.
"Oh right, there is a Quanjude branch here, isn't there?"
Ichin recalled seeing a video from a content creator who had visited a Quanjude in Japan, and the reviews were quite positive. The only downside was the hefty price tag. But given that it was an international franchise, it was expected to be pricier, especially for foreign custors.
"Man, now I really want so Peking Duck…"
The enticing golden-brown color of the roast duck in the picture made Ichin swallow involuntarily.
Considering that his wallet was in a decent state, he figured it wouldn't hurt to splurge on a nice al once in a while. He quickly made up his mind to have Peking Duck for lunch.
After searching for the address, he found that there was a Quanjude in Shinjuku, which wasn't too far from where he was. So, he headed towards the train station to catch a ride there.
Twenty minutes later, Ichin got off the train and, guided by the map, started walking towards Quanjude.
Although he was a decent cook, making Peking Duck at ho was a whole different challenge, with all the preparation work and specialized equipnt needed for it. He simply didn't have the resources for that.
"Being in a foreign country, I guess it's fine to pay a bit more for this. At least I won't be broke after the al," he consoled himself.
As he got closer to the restaurant, Ichin noticed soone he recognized sitting at an outdoor table of a nearby café.
It was Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Dressed elegantly in a lady's sumr dress, Utaha was also wearing a sunhat and sunglasses. If she hadn't slightly lowered her shades to look off into the distance, revealing her face in profile, Ichin might not have even recognized her.
"What's she up to?"
Putting his phone away, Ichin curiously approached her. Given their relatively good relationship, and seeing that she was sitting alone, it felt impolite not to at least greet her.
As he got closer, it seed that Utaha still hadn't noticed him. Ichin called out, "Kasumigaoka, good morning."
"Ah!"
Hearing her na suddenly, Utaha jumped in surprise. Turning around, she realized it was Ichin.
"Oh, it's you, Ichin-kun. You startled . Good morning. Are you out for so fun today? That's quite rare."
Ichin sat down on the chair opposite Utaha and said, "I'm giving myself a half-day off, just wandering around and grabbing so food. What about you? Why are you out here alone? I heard from your mom that you're not really the type who likes going out shopping."
Ugh, Mom, why do you have to share everything? Utaha internally grumbled about her mother. After taking a mont to consider, she responded, "Well, I've been writing a novel, and it's released today."
"Ah, it's out? Congratulations," Ichin replied, his tone completely flat and unenthusiastic.
Utaha's lips twitched at his lackluster response. "So, did my mom already tell you?"
Ichin didn't deny it and nodded. "Yeah, she did, but she also told not to ntion it since you might get embarrassed."
Hearing this, Utaha suddenly felt as if her heart had stopped beating. After taking a few deep breaths, she resignedly said, "Fine, if you know, you know. It's not a big deal. But, Ichin-kun, please don't spread the word. I don't want to draw too much attention."
"Got it. When it cos to keeping secrets, you can count on ."
Ichin glanced around and, as expected, spotted a bookstore operating across the street. "So, that bookstore is where your novel's stocked, right? Are you here to see how the sales are going on the first day?"
Utaha nodded, having already taken off her sunglasses, and looked towards the bookstore. "It's not going well. I haven't seen many custors buying my book."
"That's normal," Ichin remarked bluntly, without offering empty flattery. "For a new author, having a bestseller on the first day isn't just about your writing skills; it also requires a lot of support from the publisher. But from the looks of it, there hasn't been much promotion, has there?"
"Right, not much at all," Utaha sighed slightly, her tone carrying a hint of resignation. "Even though I won an award in the previous writing contest, I'm still a new writer. And writing a romance light novel is pretty niche, so there's no way they'd pour too many resources into it. Plus, the publishing house has other novels by much more well-known authors being released around this ti."
"That's unfortunate, but this is only the beginning. What's more important than results right now is adjusting your mindset," Ichin replied, his gaze shifting away from the bookstore. "What's the title of your book?"
"The trono in Love," Utaha answered.
"Got it. I'll be right back."
"Huh? Wait, that's…" Utaha saw Ichin's actions and imdiately understood that he was going to buy her book. She wanted to stop him, but Ichin had already rushed off.
There was nothing she could do except watch him walk into the bookstore.
A few minutes later, Ichin ca back, holding a bag from the bookstore. He pulled the novel out of the bag and looked at Utaha. "Do you have a pen? Could you sign it for ? Just in case you get famous one day, this book might be worth sothing."
Pressing her lips together, Utaha took a pen out of her bag, opened the front page of the novel, and signed her pen na, Kasumi Utako, inside.
"Thanks." Ichin glanced at the signature and smiled as he put the book back into the bag.
"Don't worry too much about it. If you're really talented, you'll shine sooner or later. Anyway, it's getting close to lunchti. How about we grab a al together? I ca out today specifically to treat myself to sothing nice, and now that I've run into you, we can celebrate the release of your novel."
Since he was going to eat anyway, having company would be much livelier. So, Ichin extended the invitation to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
...
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