Yuki spent over two hours driving Mahiru around Tokyo.
By the time he dropped her back home, it was already noon, lunchtime.
Seeing Mahiru return, her parents expressed their apologies to Yuki for the earlier misunderstanding. Seeing it was mealtime, they also invited him to stay for lunch.
However, Yuki declined. He didn't plan on eating at Mahiru's house.
Although both Mahiru and Kaede seemed a bit disappointed, they respected Yuki's choice. They watched him drive away before returning inside.
Once back in the house, Kaede immediately asked Mahiru about her experience in Yuki's car.
Naturally, Mahiru boasted about it, even mentioning how many times Yuki had patted her head. This made Kaede green with envy.
Secretly, Kaede vowed to herself: next time, she had to score higher than Mahiru so she could earn Yuki's reward.
"Of course, I also have some good news to tell you!" Mahiru said to Kaede with a smug smile.
"Forget it! You're just here to rub it in!"
"I don't want to hear it!"
Kaede pouted, clearly displeased, as she stated. She slowly stood up, waved a hand dismissively, and moved to the door of Mahiru's room, intending to leave.
Just as Kaede's hand touched the doorknob, Mahiru's voice came again.
"Is that so? Well, I guess Kaede doesn't want to know that Yuki onii-chan agreed to be our brother, then!"
The teasing tone in Mahiru's voice made Kaede freeze mid-step.
She then turned around with a face full of utter disbelief, her eyes wide as she stared at Mahiru.
"Are you serious?!"
Kaede practically teleported in front of Mahiru, staring intently into her eyes, her voice filled with seriousness and incredulity.
"Of course I am!"
Mahiru's gaze also turned firm as she slowly nodded.
Seeing this confirmation, Kaede finally accepted it was true. She instantly jumped up.
"YES!"
"I finally have a brother!"
The excited Kaede jumped up and down several times, making the whole room shake.
"It's us!"
"Onii-chan is my brother too!" Mahiru emphasized, but her words were quickly ignored by the overjoyed Kaede.
Helpless, Mahiru could only shrug.
After leaving the Azusagawa residence, Yuki didn't head straight home.
He drove to a random spot, had a simple lunch, and then headed to a publishing company.
This publishing company was one Yuki had acquired some time ago. He would visit occasionally to listen to the manager's regular work reports.
After parking his car in the building's parking garage, Yuki took the elevator up to the company's floor.
Riding the elevator, Yuki looked at the advertisements on the wall. The ad featured was for the currently very popular romance light novel Love Metronome, which had high visibility in the market.
Yuki studied the ad for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Actually, advertisements for Love Metronome were everywhere in Japan, especially in Tokyo. It was precisely because of this extensive promotion that the light novel had gradually gained popularity across the entire country and even garnered significant attention overseas.
As for why they could invest so heavily in promotion, that was naturally thanks to Yuki's efforts.
The publishing company Yuki had acquired was the very one Love Metronome had been submitted to. Heavily promoting Love Metronome, a light novel that should have been axed, was Yuki's direct instruction.
It could be said that the success of Utaha Kasumigaoka's Love Metronome today was largely due to Yuki.
Of course, it wasn't just Yuki's contribution. Utaha Kasumigaoka's own hard work and the high quality of the novel she wrote were also key reasons for her success. If the quality of her writing hadn't been up to par, even with all the resources Yuki poured into promoting it, it would never have achieved its current level of success.
With a ding, the elevator reached the floor. Yuki stepped out and was greeted by the large sign for Fujimi Shobo.
Yuki walked in, familiar with the route. Without disturbing anyone, he headed straight for the manager's office he usually visited.
Meanwhile, in the office area...
A young woman with a beautiful, sensual figure and a refined, quiet air about her stood beside an editor's workstation. Her long black hair framed an exquisitely lovely face. She watched as the female editor, dressed in sharp professional attire and equally pretty, searched through some documents.
As the black-haired girl waited, her wine-red eyes glanced casually at the hallway beside them... and suddenly froze.
It was only for a few seconds, but she definitely saw Yuki pass by the hallway.
And that breathtakingly handsome profile... it seemed somewhat familiar.
The black-haired girl rested her chin on her hand, thinking carefully.
Moments later, understanding dawned. She finally remembered where she had seen that person before.
"Could it be... from that time..."
The black-haired girl murmured softly to herself, a flash of curious light instantly appearing in her deep wine-red eyes.
Just as she was lost in thought, the female editor beside her spoke up:
"Found it! Utaha, see if this gives you any inspiration for your new book."
The editor intended to hand over the stack of documents in her hand, but seeing the girl's distracted expression, a look of confusion crossed her face.
"Utaha! Hey!"
"What are you thinking about? A man?"
"Oh my, oh my! Could it be that our famous Utako Kasumi-sensei is finally falling in love?"
"Who is he? Someone from your school? Is he handsome?"
That's right, the black-haired girl before her was Utaha Kasumigaoka, author of the hit novel Love Metronome.
And this female editor was Utaha Kasumigaoka's long-time editor, Sonoko Machida.
"Machida-san, if you're getting older and need a man's comfort, I suggest you go on more blind dates."
"Otherwise, a woman who goes too long without satisfaction tends to age quickly and turn into a useless social parasite with nothing but men on her mind."
Hearing Sonoko Machida's words, Utaha Kasumigaoka shot her a glare before replying flatly.
"So mean, Utaha-chan!"
"You know my situation, and yet you still rub salt in the wound! That's just cruel!"
"I'm so sad! Wahhh~~~"
Sonoko Machida immediately put on a wronged expression, though there wasn't a hint of actual grievance in her eyes. She stared at Utaha Kasumigaoka, silently condemning her for exposing her sore spot.
"Stop it with the ham acting!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka waved a dismissive hand, a look of disdain on her face.
They were actually quite close by now, so Sonoko Machida didn't mind Utaha Kasumigaoka's sharp tongue.
And for Utaha Kasumigaoka, it was precisely because she was facing Sonoko Machida, who had taken care of her for so long and was someone she knew inside and out, that she spoke this way.
With a stranger, Utaha Kasumigaoka's attitude would be one of indifference.
"Alright, alright! You win!"
Sonoko Machida then put away her pitiful expression and calmly handed the documents to Utaha Kasumigaoka.
Utaha Kasumigaoka took the stack of documents and felt a headache coming on just looking at the mountain of papers.
"I say, Sonoko-san, I'm still a student. Isn't this basically exploiting child labor?" she asked.
"Hehe, how could it be? Utaha, I'm doing this for your own good!"
Sonoko Machida chuckled sheepishly.
"You're currently the hottest author in the country! If you don't take this chance to start a new book before the buzz from Love Metronome's ending dies down, how are you going to make more money?!"
"This is a golden opportunity! If you announce a new book now, you're guaranteed to get even more attention!"
"Let me analyze it for you..."
Then, using her years of experience as an editor, Sonoko Machida launched into a detailed analysis for Utaha Kasumigaoka.