"Oh? Broke up?" Rin Ito asked tentatively. Although there were many characters from mainstream anime and manga around him, the timeline and events weren't entirely identical to Rin Ito's memory. Rin Ito still remembered Eiri's mainstream character well.
"No... it's nothing. We just broke up. Why are you asking so many questions? Fine, I was just too scared to tell my friends about my interests, okay! Hmph..." After a sullen huff, Eiri took the cola the waitress brought her and took a huge gulp as if letting off steam, then lowered her head and played on her phone. When her lunch arrived, she ate with her head down.
Not long after the two finished their brunch/lunch, Misaki, whose healthy tanned skin was a complete contrast to Eiri's rarely sun-exposed, cool-white complexion, appeared at the restaurant entrance. After glancing around and spotting Rin Ito, she quickly jogged over.
"Yo-ho, Mister~" The excited Misaki sat down next to Rin Ito, then turned her attention to Eiri. Rin Ito then introduced the two to each other.
"This is Misaki, the girl I told you about who was a signboard girl for [Baumkuchen] at the convention. And this is Eiri... I begged Eiri for a long time to reluctantly give up a signed doujinshi by Kashiwagi Eri-sensei."
When Misaki arrived, Eiri put down her phone, pulled out a file bag from her backpack, and stealthily handed it to Misaki. Misaki also cautiously took the file bag, placing it on her lap before glancing around and opening the bag.
As soon as she pulled out half of the contents, Misaki saw the female protagonist surrounded by men on the cover. "This... is Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's uncensored debut doujinshi!? Th-Th-Th-This... can I really accept something this precious!?"
As a fan of Kashiwagi Eri, Misaki knew very well that this item could sell for at least over 100,000 yen in a fan group!
"Can I really accept something this precious?"
Looking at Misaki's shocked and delighted expression, a smile curved on Eiri's lips. "I was a fan of Kashiwagi Eri-sensei right when she debuted. At that time, Kashiwagi Eri-sensei gave me many signed copies—for viewing, for evangelizing, for collecting... This one is for evangelizing. It was meant to be given away, so go ahead and take it."
"Thank you so much!!!!!" If she wasn't worried about drawing attention, Misaki would have bowed deeply to Eiri.
After accepting it, Eiri and Misaki exchanged contact information—not Kashiwagi Eri's contact info, but Sawamura Eiri's. To avoid revealing her true identity, Eiri kept her social media accounts separate from Kashiwagi Eri's.
"Say, say, say, which one of Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's works do you like the most?" Eiri looked at Misaki with a smile and anticipation.
"The most favorite? Hmm... I like every single one, but the most favorite..." Misaki thought for a moment, then, under Eiri's eager gaze, she spoke. "The most favorite is probably Iki-chan's Degradation, Butt, Through and Through. Iki-chan's expression of ecstasy when she was penetrated from both front and back was the hottest!"
"Exactly, exactly, you're right." Listening to Misaki's praise, Eiri couldn't suppress her smile. "I really don't know how she manages to draw such lewd doujinshi."
The two excitedly chatted about doujinshi and degradation topics. Fortunately, there weren't many customers in the restaurant at noon, and Rin Ito had chosen a secluded corner, otherwise, it would have been awkward to discuss topics related to degradation and conditioning in public. The two chatted from doujinshi to erotica anime and then to GALGAMEs. Although Misaki hadn't played GALGAMEs, she became interested after hearing Eiri's endorsement.
"Marin seems to love playing GALGAMEs. Next time, I'll ask Marin out, and we can all play together."
"Yes!" Eiri was very excited, and the two hit it off well. Since elementary school, Eiri had been constantly pretending and suppressing herself in the real world. This was the first time she had openly discussed doujinshi and her favorite things with a friend in real life.
After chatting for a while, their conversation returned to Kashiwagi Eri.
"Kashiwagi Eri-sensei is a genius!" Misaki exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe... it's Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's personal experience? Only by experiencing it firsthand can someone draw such lewd doujinshi."
"H-How could that be? It involves several people... Iki-chan's holes were almost completely stuffed." Eiri glanced at Rin Ito... I'm not like him. How could I host a research party where all my holes are filled? "The doujinshi is fiction; reality is reality. Maybe... maybe Kashiwagi Eri-sensei is still a virgin in real life."
"A virgin? Impossible. How can a virgin draw such lewd doujinshi? Impossible, absolutely impossible. Even if Kashiwagi Eri-sensei hasn't experienced that kind of full-body hole development play, she must be an experienced woman!"
Listening to their conversation and seeing Eiri's slightly anxious expression, Rin Ito held back a laugh so hard that tears almost came out of his eyes. Noticing Rin Ito's strange expression, Misaki spoke.
"Oh right, Mister, you wouldn't happen to know Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, would you?"
"K-Know her or not?"
Under the table, Eiri, sitting opposite him, kicked Rin Ito's shin. As she kicked, she glared at Rin Ito with a super fierce expression, as if threatening him... If you dare to tell, you're dead!
"Mister knows Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, right?" Misaki leaned closer, her voluptuous ample chest in her uniform pressing against Rin Ito's arm. Misaki rubbed her ample chest against Rin Ito's arm, pleading. "Say, say, say, Mister~~~ Could you introduce me to Kashiwagi Eri-sensei? I want to be Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's signboard girl~~"
Rin Ito gave Eiri a meaningful look, then smiled and replied, "Well... I will convey your message to Kashiwagi Eri-sensei."
"That's wonderful~~~" The excited Misaki gave Rin Ito a kiss on the cheek, then, realizing what she had just done, she blushed and quickly changed the subject. "Eiri, are you free tonight?"
"Me? Yes, I am. Why?"
"I'm going to ask Marin if she's free tonight. How about we all hang out together?" Misaki suggested to Eiri. Since Rin Ito was still there, there were many girl topics they couldn't discuss. If Eiri was free, it was a good time to introduce Marin to her.
"Eh... that's fine. Does she like Kashiwagi Eri-sensei too?"
"Her? She doesn't really have a strong feeling about Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, but Eiri, you also like GALGAMEs, right? Marin likes them too. You'll definitely have a lot to talk about."
"No problem!" Eiri readily agreed. After years of suppressing herself and hiding her interests from her friends, Eiri wanted more friends with whom she could openly share her interests!