The Demon of Pleasure: Starting with Angel, Shiina Mahiru! Chapter 129 129: Meeting Kashiwagi Eri!

Before she knew it, morning had co.

Shina Mahiru headed out early. She'd set a date to go shopping with Nibutani Shinka, Kato gumi, Asada Shino, and the others. It was a rare holiday, and she didn't feel like working today.

When Hayashi Maki got up, there were dishes on the table covered with bowls—angel Mahiru had cooked and set so aside just for him.

With a girl like that sharing a place with him, Hayashi Maki really was living like a total slacker.

After breakfast and a quick wash, he changed into casual clothes and fixed his hair. Looking at the handso guy in the mirror, the corners of his mouth lifted.

"Perfect. Ti to head out!"

Today he was eting his illustrator, Kashiwagi Eri, to talk novel art.

Kashiwagi Eri—aka Eriri—the third heroine from Saekano, the blonde tsundere with twin tails who trades the most barbs with Kasumigaoka Utaha.

She was even his grade-school classmate… he wondered if she'd rember.

Not that it mattered. eting today would be the start of a new bond.

He took the train to a maid café in Akihabara—the sa place he'd t with Machida Sonoko last ti. It was quiet, the vibes were good, and the maids greeted you sweetly and called you "onii-chan" in sugary voices.

One of them had even slipped her number into his pocket last ti. Mahiru found it when she did the laundry, and that was the end of that—tragically lost contact info.

Kidding—Hayashi Maki wasn't heartbroken. Angel Mahiru outclassed any maid by miles. Maids were fine to look at; getting hands-on was another story.

He was a demon, after all; he could tell at a glance whether a girl was "pure."

Too bad the maid wasn't Minami Kotori—otherwise he'd definitely have shown up for that date.

He ordered a coffee and a pudding, set his laptop on the table, and nibbled while he waited for Kashiwagi Eri.

To be honest, he wasn't big on Japanese cuisine, especially cold sashimi. Lots of dishes skewed sweet, or used too little salt—supposedly to preserve the ingredient's "original flavor."

Luckily, angel Mahiru had mastered both Western and Chinese cooking and knew exactly how to please his palate. Aside from pizza, fried chicken, and the odd takeout, if he wanted to eat well, the best plan was to go ho and wait for Mahiru to cook.

Mm—Yukinoshita Yukino's cooking was good too. He'd had one of her bentos; it was excellent.

Of course, right now he was just eating pudding. You can always count on pudding—no matter the brand, the texture never disappoints.

He finished one and, since Eri hadn't arrived yet, ordered another.

After a while, a petite figure in a green tracksuit and a green baseball cap hurried over. Her golden twin tails swayed as she walked—perfect "steering wheels" for taking a certain kind of ride…

"Um… are you Kurosora Twilight-sensei? I'm, uh, Kashiwagi Eri—we arranged to et. It's nice to et you!"

Nervous, Eriri bowed deeply.

Hayashi Maki's lips curved. "Nice to et you. For now, Kashiwagi-san, have a seat—you're attracting attention."

"S-sorry!"

Flushing, Eriri scooted into the seat across from him.

"Want sothing to eat? My treat."

"Mm… then I'll have a pudding."

She'd already eaten, so a dessert would be perfect. And Kurosora Twilight-sensei was surprisingly young… and gentle… and handso!

Eriri snuck glances at his face, cheeks warming.

When the maid brought the pudding, Eriri looked like she was about to speak, but he beat her to it. "Eat first. You ran here and you're sweaty—cool off. We've got plenty of ti."

That considerate tone boosted her impression of him imdiately. She nodded hard. "Thank you—then I won't be shy."

She thanked him and dug in. One spoonful in, the cool, springy bite made her light up with a blissful expression.

When she finished, Hayashi Maki smiled, held out his hand, and said, "Hi, Eriri—long ti no see. I'm Hayashi Maki. I'm studying at Hakuō Academy. How about you?"

"Eh! Y-you know ?" She shook his hand on reflex, then stared, stunned.

Hayashi Maki shrugged. "We were classmates in grade school. If you pull out your graduation photos, you'll still see in there."

"O-oh, so you're Hayashi Maki. Haha, sorry—didn't connect the dots for a mont." Embarrassed, Eriri scratched the back of her head. The green cap on top made Hayashi Maki speechless. Why the green cap? Already bracing to be the 'loser heroine'?

"Don't pretend—you totally forgot ," he said, rolling his eyes and then teasing, "Before we t, I half-expected Kashiwagi Eri to be so greasy otaku uncle. Didn't expect my super cute grade-school classmate!"

"Greasy? I just draw what you guys like to look at! I didn't plan on drawing that at first. It just blew up… and once it sold, I kept going…" She muttered a protest, then ducked her reddening face.

Would Hayashi Maki look down on her for drawing… those kinds of doujins? Think she was so sleazy, easy girl?

"Relax, I was just ribbing you about your style. Actually, your style is exactly why I reached out. I just want a few tweaks." He leaned in a little. "For my light novel art, don't make the heroine's bust so exaggerated. Keep it normal—rounded—bring out a pretty girl's charm."

Hearing him acknowledge her style while getting down to business made Eriri happy. But after listening to the specifics, she stared, lowered her head, clenched her fists, and drooped.

"Sorry… I can't draw that. Hoshino Nagi's look is fine, but Tsukimi Miyabi… that's hard. Whenever I try to draw Miyabi, she ends up with, like, cow-like, inhuman proportions…"

That floored Hayashi Maki. "Seriously? It's just a heroine with a good figure. With all your, uh, doujin experience, how can you not draw it?"

Blushing, Eriri poked her fingers together. "Because I've never seen one. How am I supposed to draw what I've never seen? For an illustrator, to draw sothing convincingly you need firsthand reference… ideally having seen it—and, um, handled it. I'm a girl; it's not like I've, you know, ever… so there's no image in my head to work from."

~~~

For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter!

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— Currently You can Read 220 Chapters Ahead of Others!