The atmosphere at dinner was far more relaxed than Sagiri had anticipated. She had been worried that after her secret was exposed, the interactions with her brother would become extremely awkward, but Kanzaki Saku behaved just like usual—perhaps even a bit more casual.
The conversation mostly revolved around caring for her recent schedule and studies, as well as her relationships with friends, with only an occasional inquiry about painting thrown in.
This natural attitude made the last bit of Sagiri's uneasiness vanish. She ate the food her brother picked out for her in small bites, her heart feeling warm and fuzzy, and her courage accumulated bit by bit.
"Brother," she put down her chopsticks, placed her hands on her knees, and sat up straight, as if she were about to announce something major.
"Since you already know, I have something I want to discuss with you."
"Hmm? What is it?" Kanzaki Saku picked up a piece of fried chicken, his tone casual.
"This weekend, there is a relatively large comic convention being held." Sagiri observed her brother's expression, and seeing nothing unusual, she continued.
"A teacher I'm on very good terms with, who goes by the pen name Kasumi Utako, invited me to attend an offline event together. It counts as an exchange between artists, and we can also sign and sell some works on-site."
After speaking, Sagiri looked at Kanzaki Saku with a mix of anticipation and nervousness. naturally, she hoped to go; this was not only a recognition of her work but also a rare opportunity for social interaction and learning. But she didn't know how her brother would view her going to such a chaotic offline venue.
After listening, Kanzaki Saku nodded quite naturally, a look of approval appearing on his face: "This is a good thing. Communicating more with peers and expanding your network helps with career development. I support you going."
"Really?" Sagiri's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected her brother to agree so readily.
"Of course. However, you must pay attention to safety; that kind of place is a mixed bag..." As Kanzaki Saku spoke, suddenly, a certain keyword triggered a delayed reaction in his brain.
His action of picking up food froze in mid-air.
Wait.
Kasumi Utako?
Inviting Sagiri to a comic convention?
Is she also a doujin artist?
He was all too familiar with this name. In the original setting, Kasumigaoka Utaha used this pen name to debut with Metronome in Love, becoming a hot new star in the light novel world.
And he had just seen Kasumigaoka Utaha today. He originally thought that becoming the iron-faced, selfless Disciplinary Committee Chair and being his colleague was her biggest [Reversal].
He didn't expect that some people, on the surface, are Disciplinary Committee members confiscating dirty books, while behind the scenes, those dirty books are actually drawn by her.
This is truly a case of 'I'm investigating myself'. He wondered what kind of mood Kasumigaoka Utaha was in when she confiscated the doujinshi she drew herself—was she happy that this student would have to go buy another copy, giving her an extra bit of income?
"Sagiri, you just said... that teacher's pen name is Kasumi Utako?" Kanzaki Saku couldn't help but want to learn a bit more from Sagiri.
"That's right!" Sagiri nodded vigorously, thinking her brother was interested, and enthusiastically began to educate him.
"Teacher Kasumi Utako is very famous in the doujin circle! Her art style is sharp, and her stories are very impactful. She specializes in drawing humiliation-genre doujinshi, and she has a lot of fans!"
She paused, then added, "Although she debuted late, she improves super fast! Her art style is delicate and erotic, and the plots are super thrilling, especially those psychological depictions of going from resistance to falling into depravity—it's simply superb! Brother, you definitely haven't seen it, but her recent book The Student Council President's Secret Lessons is selling like crazy!"
"Stop." Kanzaki Saku raised his hand, halting his sister's excited recommendation. He needed to digest this.
I'm not asking you to recommend porn to me, hey! Although it sounds a bit interesting? No, that's not the point!
If Shinomiya Kaguya finds out about this title, I feel like Kasumigaoka might need to pick out a burial plot in advance... No, that's not it either.
The point is, Kasumigaoka Utaha! She really ran off to draw doujinshi?! And became a big shot in the humiliation genre?!
Then what about Eriri? Did she go and write Metronome in Love?
This really is a case of mutually stealing each other's lives.
In his mind, he involuntarily pictured the post-[Reversal] Kasumigaoka Utaha, currently the Disciplinary Committee Chair, with that cold, beautiful face that was always stern and serious.
In the morning, she was still using her clipboard to point at Yuigahama Yui, saying her attire was a violation, and then at night, she goes home, turns on her digitizer tablet, and starts drawing all sorts of explosive humiliation doujinshi that go even further than what she confiscated.
"Pfft." Kanzaki Saku couldn't hold it back and let out a laugh.
"Brother?" Sagiri looked at him in confusion.
"It's nothing," Kanzaki Saku quickly reined in his smile and cleared his throat. "I just feel that this Teacher Kasumi Utako must be a very interesting person."
More than interesting, she was simply a treasure!
Kanzaki Saku instantly developed an unprecedented interest in the weekend's comic convention. He wanted to go and confirm with his own eyes the true identity of this doujin artist, Kasumi Utako.
He just wondered what kind of expression Kasumigaoka would have when she saw him appear.
"So, Brother, you agree to let me go, right?" Sagiri confirmed.
"Agree, of course I agree." Kanzaki Saku nodded, his tone even more certain than before. "How could you miss such a good opportunity?"
Immediately following that, Kanzaki Saku added in the tone of a good brother worried about his sister: "However, I'm still a bit uneasy about you going alone to such a large exhibition. It just so happens I don't have anything going on this weekend, so I'll accompany you."
"Eh? Brother is accompanying me?" Sagiri opened her eyes wide in surprise. "But at that kind of place, Brother, won't you feel uncomfortable?"
"What's there to be uncomfortable about? Accompanying my sister to participate in an event she values—isn't that what a brother should do?" Kanzaki Saku smiled harmlessly.
I'll just treat it as looking around and gaining some experience. Incidentally, I can also watch Sagiri working seriously from up close. Who knows, maybe it will be helpful for me modeling for you? Kanzaki Saku blinked at Sagiri after speaking.
This last sentence carried a bit of teasing, making Sagiri's face turn red again, but it also made it impossible for her to refuse. That her brother was willing to understand her world deeply, and even willing to accompany her, moved her and made her feel incredibly happy.
"Then it's a date!" Sagiri agreed loudly, her heart already beginning to look forward to the weekend arriving quickly.
"Then it's settled." Kanzaki Saku picked up his chopsticks again in a happy mood. He originally just wanted to handle his sister's little secret, but he hadn't expected to fish out such an unexpectedly big fish.
Kasumigaoka Utaha... no, the doujin artist Kasumi Utako.
The meeting this weekend is truly something to look forward to.
After dinner, Kanzaki Saku specifically checked online, and there really was a novel called Metronome in Love. It was just published this year and didn't seem very popular.
He looked at the author—isn't this our twin-tailed blonde lady, Ms. Kashiwagi Eri? Let's just look at the distant Kasumi Utako instead, family.
Kanzaki Saku made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find some time to read this masterpiece.
_____
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