"So... that's why you're here?" Rin Ito looked at Utaha, who held a pen and a small notebook in her hand.
For the weekend, Utaha wasn't wearing her uniform but a light blue slip dress with white ruffles, paired with a blue long-sleeved jacket. What changed was the uniform; what remained the same were the black tights covering her graceful legs and the white hair clip in her hair.
As for why she was in Rin Ito's room... the answer was simple. It was for material gathering.
A week had passed since the last script meeting. Last week, Utaha and the Fairy, under Kaede's manipulation, had made a bet on the sales of their new books.
On Rin Ito's end, the virtual idol project for the two socially anxious girls was proceeding smoothly. From the virtual character design to the various expression differentials, the notoriously slow... no, meticulously detailed Sagiri, had delivered both her and Little Bocchi's drafts to Rin Ito in just one week. Sagiri's avatar was a silver-haired, flat-chested cat girl, but judging from the draft Sagiri sent, her cat girl was a 'plug-in' version. However, whether the tail was a 'plug-in' or naturally connected to the tailbone, only its wagging could be seen once the avatar was completed. Little Bocchi's designed image was a golden-haired, popular, social butterfly gyaru with star-shaped glasses. It couldn't be said to be completely identical to the real Little Bocchi; it was completely irrelevant.
In the past week, Rin Ito had also watched many tutorials. He wanted to try the entire process, from drawing to rigging the model... just in case others wanted to try being a virtual streamer in the future, Rin Ito could handle everything.
But now... Rin Ito focused his attention on Utaha.
Rin Ito was startled when Kaede brought Utaha over on the weekend.
"That's right," Utaha replied in a slightly cold voice. After a pause, she added, "Do you just sit in front of the computer every day?"
"What else?" Rin Ito spread his hands. "Did you think the protagonist in a novel has a new adventure every day? Normal office workers go to work every day; I draw every day. Isn't that normal?"
"I thought you lived a scandalous life, having parties with different girls every day."
"If you want to attend a party, I can organize one."
Utaha shifted her crossed legs, her face expressionless. "I'm just gathering material. Please refrain from harassing me."
Initially, Utaha had only thought Rin Ito was merely a flirt, but what surprised Utaha was that Nanami actually lived in his house. Besides Nanami, there was also another girl who was as delicately cute as a doll. The most, most surprising thing was that Kaede and Suzu lived right next door. Good grief, Utaha thought. She had seen flirts, but never one who lived with other girls right under his girlfriend's nose.
"Alright then... Speaking of which, what kind of story are you planning to write?" Rin Ito stretched and asked curiously. "An isekai adventure like the Fairy's? Or a romance novel?"
"A romance novel." Utaha raised an eyebrow and looked at Rin Ito with curiosity. "Do you have any ideas?"
Originally, Utaha's impression of Rin Ito was just that of a doujinshi artist. Doujinshi only needed to be lewd enough. However, after the script meeting at the Fairy's house last week, Utaha's opinion of him had changed somewhat. From the Fairy's lighthearted isekai story for her new book to the serious plot for the GALGAME... although the seriousness contained a lot of lewdness, it was all pretty good. If it was a romance story... Does he have any good ideas?
"...A romance novel, huh."
"Yes, preferably a romance story that fits your persona as a flirtatious man."
"Hmm..." Rin Ito pondered, recalling carefully. When it came to a romance story where the protagonist was a flirt, the name of a 'senior' immediately popped into his mind. "The male protagonist wants to pursue the heroine, so he asks the heroine's best friend to help him win her over. But while helping, the heroine's best friend gradually falls for the protagonist as well..." Rin Ito vaguely recounted the plot he remembered to Utaha.
"In the end, the heroine uses a hatchet to cut open her best friend's stomach and tells her, 'There's no baby in your belly.' Then she chops off the protagonist's head, holding it as she sails away into the sunset."
"Exactly. That's the ending a scumbag deserves!" Utaha's expression grew slightly ferocious, as if she were the heroine betrayed by the scumbag and her best friend, as if Rin Ito were the one who deserved the hatchet.
Hmm... she has the makings of a yandere. Noticing her lapse in emotional control, Utaha quickly smoothed her expression. "That really is an ending that suits you. Do you have any others?"
"Well... let me think. Ah... I've got one." Rin Ito cleared his throat and spoke in a deeply emotional voice. "It's a season of White Album..."
After hearing Rin Ito's synopsis of the White Album story, Utaha looked thoughtful. "Is this outline adapted from your story with Kaede and Suzu? But the protagonist is in a band... is this a story involving you, Nijika, and Ryo Yamada?" Rin Ito imagined substituting Nijika and Ryo Yamada for Touma and Setsuna. That felt a little off. However, substituting Kaede and Suzu for Kotonoha Katsura and Sekai Saionji wasn't so jarring. Suzu, although only slightly, did seem to possess a small yandere vibe.
"What about Little Bocchi? How could you forget Little Bocchi." Rin Ito smiled. "I'm just suggesting things casually. Did either of them give you any inspiration?"
Utaha scrutinized Rin Ito, shifting her crossed legs again. "You're clearly such a flirtatious man yourself, yet the endings of both these stories aren't very good... Do you also know that a hatchet ending awaits you?"
"Who knows?" Rin Ito shrugged. "If you think they're good, you can use them in your new book. The Fairy is using an idea I gave her; if you use one of mine too, it'll be fairer."
Utaha glanced at her notebook. She had already written down the plots of School Days and White Album while Rin Ito was speaking. "I can consider it." Utaha didn't agree or refuse; she simply said she could consider it. She hadn't seriously thought about the full outline yet. She was here today to gather material and would think about a suitable script when she got back. What she wanted to know most was why Rin Ito could attract so many girls.
"Can you tell me about the stories between you and those girls?"
"Well... regarding my own business, it's fine, but regarding theirs, you should probably get their permission first."
Utaha nodded. Rin Ito's point was valid. Since it involved their privacy, he shouldn't directly talk about it. But for now... besides Kaede and Suzu, Nanami and Mashiro Shiina were here. She might as well interview them first.