Anime Crossover: My Online Romance is Megumi Kato

With this thought in mind, he decided to go out and take a look. If he didn't see Eriri, he would go home.

So he quickened his pace and began looking around as soon as he came out of Aki Tomoya's house.

To his surprise, just as he was standing outside the wall of Aki Tomoya's house looking around, he discovered that Eriri was squatting next to the wall, just a few steps away from his feet.

She hugged her knees, randomly drawing lines on the ground with a small wooden stick she'd found somewhere...

It's like a kitten that's been abandoned by someone.

Seeing this, Yuta Kijima finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't known Eriri's exact whereabouts, he really wouldn't have felt comfortable going home like this.

He slowly walked to Eriri's side and asked softly, "Are you alright, Eriri?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Eriri's shoulders trembled slightly, and she slowly looked up at him.

Those usually bright and spirited blue eyes were now shrouded in gloom, looking lifeless.

"Let's go, shall we find a place to sit down?" Seeing Eriri looking so dejected, Yuta Kijima didn't know what to do.

But squatting here is definitely not an option.

Eriri nodded silently, propped herself up, and walked toward the nearest park.

……

This must be a small park planned by the nearby residential area. Yuta Kijima and Eriri were sitting on a bench under the shade of a big tree, and they could see the children playing and laughing in the park's playground.

Although the weather is getting hot, it can't stop these children from coming out to play on the weekend.

Yuta Kijima stared blankly at the children playing in the amusement park in the distance, without saying a word.

A subtle silence remained between the two of them.

After a long time.

Eriri parted her thin lips slightly, her eyes dim, and said, "Yuta, thank you for helping me out of that situation just now. Otherwise, I really don't know what would have happened."

Yuta Kijima looked at the scenery in the distance and shook his head: "It's nothing. By the way... Eriri, what was wrong with you back then...?"

Seeing that Eriri seemed willing to speak, he also asked the question that had been on his mind. He knew about Aki Tomoya's situation, but what about the trip to Hashima Island...

He felt that Eriri was not the kind of person who was easily impulsive.

Eriri trembled upon hearing the name, and lowered her head as if recalling her previous predicament. However, since Yuta was also someone who had helped her, and she desperately wanted to confide in someone about her troubles, she decided to give it a try.

So she slowly began, "Yuta, do you know, I've always felt guilty about what happened eight years ago..."

"And the reason I've been working hard to draw ever since is because of a promise I made with Tomoya back then. So when he asked me for help, I was a little reluctant but I still agreed."

"What I didn't expect was that I later discovered that Tomoya really just wanted my help. He didn't care about what happened before at all, at least that's how I felt... It felt like Tomoya just wanted an art design for a club."

"Especially since he has never been as amazed and moved by my paintings as he was today by the sight of sailing off the coast of Po Island, it makes me feel like all my previous efforts were a joke..."

At this point, Eriri looked up at Yuta Kijima beside her and asked, "Yuta, you saw the doujinshi about Hashima's departure from the sea earlier, right? What did you think of it?"

She was well aware of Kijima Yuta's current drawing level, so she knew that Yuta should also be able to see the level of Hashima Uehi.

Although she couldn't match Yuta's prodigious learning ability, the drawing skills she displayed at her age were already enough to frighten Eriri.

In addition, Aki Tomoya kept nagging and urging her on. At that time, she felt not only fear of the talent of going to sea on Hashima Island, but also anger at Aki Tomoya's attitude.

Moreover, upon entering the room, she learned about Michiru Hyodo, the "childhood friend who reigns supreme," which made her realize how ridiculous her previous thoughts were.

"A doujinshi about a trip to the sea from Hashima?" Yuta Kijima thought back to his feelings when he flipped through the doujinshi. "It felt like a pretty good work. After all, it's quite remarkable that a newcomer could create such a doujinshi."

Even though Eriri was right beside him, he still expressed a relatively neutral opinion.

"Yeah, when I was annoyed by Aki Tomoya and opened the doujinshi about the Hashima Island expedition, I was thinking to myself how good the newcomer's drawing skills were."

"As it turned out, after opening it, I realized how ridiculous my thoughts were. It turned out that I was the one who had been stuck in the past. Coupled with Tomoya's incessant chatter, I suddenly thought about a lot of things..."

Eriri wasn't angry that Kijima Yuta approved of the doujinshi about the harem. Instead, she nodded in approval. Then, she suddenly remembered something and pursed her lips.

"Oh, right! I'm so grateful that Yuta apologized to Hashima afterward. I really didn't expect I would be so... rude..."

After venting her pent-up frustrations, Eriri felt much better.

The pleasant temperature, gentle breeze, and the occasional sounds of children laughing and playing all helped to improve her bad mood.

"It's alright, but Eriri, you'd better apologize to Hashima-kun in person again," Yuta Kijima said gently.

Eriri nodded heavily.

……

Chapter 185 Eriri's Decision

"Speaking of which, why does Tomoya have so many girls around him? All sorts of older sisters and junior girls have suddenly appeared," Eriri complained.

The island nation's laws allow cousins ​​to marry, which is why Eriri was shocked by this suddenly appearing childhood friend...

"Hmm... Come to think of it, Eriri played with Tomoya when they were little and didn't even know he had such a childhood friend?" Yuta Kijima asked curiously.

"Rinya has never told me anything about his cousin, how could I possibly know?"

Eriri pursed her pink lips, looked up and said in an annoyed tone.

"Goo~"

At that moment, Eriri's stomach suddenly growled because she hadn't eaten breakfast since morning. Although the sound wasn't loud, both Kijima Yuta and Eriri, who were sitting on chairs, heard it clearly.

"..."

Eriri wore a dignified smile befitting a young lady, seemingly oblivious to everything that had just happened. This confident expression even made Yuta Kijima think the voice was coming from his own body.

"Hmm..." Yuta Kijima coughed lightly, took out his phone to check the time, and suggested, "It's almost noon, how about we find a place to eat? Eriri."

Eriri didn't reply, nor did she turn to look at Yuta Kijima beside her. To embarrass herself in front of her friend would make her want to die.

"Eri-ri?" Seeing that she still didn't react, Kijima Yuta asked hesitantly, wondering if he had really misheard.

"Goo~"

"..."

Eriri's fair face flushed red starting from her delicate earlobes, instantly covering her entire face.

Yuta Kijima looked up into the distance. The children at the amusement park were already leaving one by one to go home—it seemed he hadn't misheard. "But if you're hungry, there's nothing to be ashamed of admitting it," he said after a moment of silence. "Let's go, Eriri, I'm a little hungry too."

"I want to eat at Yuta's house..."

"Huh?" Yuta Kijima was a little taken aback. He looked at Eriri and said, "If you want to eat at my house, you'll have to go hungry for at least another hour, Eriri..."

Eriri pouted, looked away, and whispered, "I'm not hungry..."

Food bought outside is nowhere near as good as what Yuta makes himself, so why eat out? Besides, he's already suffered so much today, so of course he deserves a good meal.

"Alright, alright, let's hurry home then..." Seeing that Eriri was still so stubborn, Kijima Yuta shook his head helplessly.

Seeing that Yuta had agreed, Eriri happily stood up.

But Eriri had just gotten off the chair when she swayed and almost fell under the midday sun.

Yuta Kijima was startled by what he saw. Could it be that she had low blood sugar because she hadn't eaten? He quickly stepped forward and supported Eriri's shoulder, asking softly, "Eri, are you alright?"

Looking at Eriri, his face was deathly pale. He immediately helped Eriri sit back down in her chair.

At this point, Eriri had no choice but to give in. Clutching her stomach, she looked up at Yuta Kijima, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "I have no strength left, Yuta..."

What are you doing acting with a constitution like yours? Even Yuta Kijima didn't know how to comment on Eriri's lack of self-respect.

He looked at Eriri patiently and asked, "Shall we find a restaurant nearby to eat? Can you still stand up?"

Eriri, both embarrassed and anxious, bit her lip and said, "It might be a little difficult..."

As she spoke, her face flushed slightly, and she murmured softly, "I just got my period today..."

If it weren't for Yuta Kijima's good hearing, he almost wouldn't have been able to hear what Eriri was saying.

No wonder, normal low blood sugar shouldn't prevent someone from even walking to a restaurant. But how am I supposed to get Eriri along now...?

Yuta Kijima pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll go get some to go and you can eat it here?"

"No!" Eriri suddenly exclaimed, her eyes filled with worry. "Yuta, you can't leave me here alone! I have absolutely no strength left. What if... what if there are bad guys..."

Yuta Kijima said, "We can't just stay stuck here forever, can we?"

"Well……"

Eriri puffed out her cheeks, revealing her cute little fangs: "Anyway, Yuta, you can't just abandon me like this!"

She no longer wanted to think about what happened with Aki Tomoya. If Yuta really left her here alone, she would cry!

"Well..." Seeing her like this, Kijima Yuta was also at a loss, and gently suggested, "Then I'll carry you?"

However, given Eriri's tsundere personality, she probably won't agree to such an unreasonable suggestion...

"sure."

"Huh?" Yuta Kijima thought he had misheard and looked at Eriri in surprise.

Eriri blushed under his gaze, biting her lip and glaring back: "What's wrong? Do you really want to leave me here alone?"

“No.” Yuta Kijima shook his head.

That's true, there's no better way than this right now.

So he squatted down in front of Eriri and said, "Then Eriri, come up here."

"Okay...ok."

Eriri blushed, feeling even more shy at this moment. But remembering that she had promised it, she suppressed her shyness and carefully climbed onto Yuta Kijima's back.

Feeling that Eriri had settled down, Yuta Kijima lifted her up on his back with a push of his legs.

Eriri didn't say anything, but used her small hands to pry open the contact between the two. Although this action would require Kijima Yuta to exert more effort, fortunately, his physical fitness was quite good.

And so, Yuta Kijima carried Eriri on his back as they walked under the shade of the big tree.

After walking for a while, Eriri suddenly thought of something, gritted her fangs, and asked softly, "Yuta, do you think I'm being a little unreasonable?"

"Why would you ask that?"

Yuta Kijima, noticing Eriri's change in mood, asked.

"Yeah, I feel like I've always been very willful towards you, Yuta. You...you won't hate me in the future, will you?"

Eriri's voice gradually lowered; she absolutely did not want to be disliked by Yuta...