I, Aki Tomoya, will not be a simp.

"Hmm, a light novel author I used to like?"

Eriri's words seemed to have hit the nail on the head, and Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression clearly showed some embarrassment.

Regardless of who they are, none of them actually have the confidence to laugh at each other.

To put it nicely, they are now indistinguishable; to put it bluntly, they have all become what is known as "women of the past."

What's most infuriating is that this description is completely devoid of any objective factual basis.

"Can I interview you about your experience as an 18+ humiliation artist who was subjected to 'placement play' by your childhood friend?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha stepped forward with an air of authority, making full use of her tall figure to cast a downward gaze at Eriri in front of her.

"What a pitiful child. Childhood sweethearts who are now like strangers. This is already a complete failure and a bad ending."

Her long, beautiful black hair flowed like waves, shimmering like blood in the setting sun, and paired with her wine-red eyes, she resembled a witch in the twilight.

Eriri's petite figure fell into the shadow of Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"...You're about the same age as me, so don't get too cocky!"

Eriri looked up into Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes.

The two were not much different. She didn't think Kasumigaoka Utaha was much stronger than her now, and she didn't understand why she was at a disadvantage when facing Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Upon hearing these words, Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately withdrew her imposing aura and instead looked at Eriri with some pity: "How pitiful, Sawamura-kun. Do you still see him as the old Aki Tomoya, or can't you see yourself clearly now?"

I thought that as her childhood friend, Eriri would understand Aki Tomoya better, but it turns out she understands him even less.

"You're wrong. We're very different now. If you keep dwelling on the past, you'll drown sooner or later. I'll see that person clearly for myself before making a decision. You, my childhood sweetheart blonde loser, can keep agonizing if you want. No one will sympathize with you!"

After leaving behind her heated words, Kasumigaoka Utaha headed straight downstairs.

The argument with Eriri has become so boring and pointless.

Knowing the blonde mixed-race girl's feelings for her childhood sweetheart, he had once been wary of her, but now that wariness was unnecessary.

The phrase "as strangers" is truly interesting.

Now that things have come to this, Kasumigaoka Utaha seems to have realized that clinging to the past will only blind her.

She no longer needed to compete with Eriri to see who was better; instead, she was focused on finding the answer to the problem at hand.

=

Thank you [Wangtianlan] for the two blades.

Thank you for the monthly pass, [咸丶].

Thank you [Book Guest 91330697176] for the February ticket.

Thank you [zero'] for the monthly pass and 2 razor blades.

Thank you [F2Zerg] for the spicy snacks.

Chapter 17 Otaku are really rich!

"Okay, this figure has been sold!"

Aki Tomoya sat in front of his computer and discussed with his sponsor on Instagram about starting the process of reselling the property.

The figures he's selling are all his old treasures. Although he feels a little guilty about the past, Aki Tomoya can only feel heartbroken while trying to sell off those precious items.

"Rest in peace, my past self. All I can do is find them a better owner than I am now!"

Is it really heartbreaking?

When I saw the final price we agreed on, well, it was really expensive!

It's truly a treasure; if the other party hadn't quoted a price, even he himself would have almost forgotten how much it cost.

Now, when he thinks back to how much money he spent on that Date A Live limited edition figure, Tomoya Aki really feels the pinch.

Fortunately, he met a sucker who was even richer than him, and he instantly recovered his losses!

They agreed that the other party would pay half of the deposit first, and the other party was much easier to talk to than Aki Tomoya had imagined.

Those fat otaku who can afford to collect figurines must be rich!

"Can I ask a question?"

A new message suddenly appeared on Instagram. It was from a guy who used a real girl's picture as his profile picture. He was the sugar daddy that Aki Tomoya found.

"please."

Aki Tomoya picked up the water next to him and took a sip. At this moment, he was quite curious about what the other person wanted to ask.

Will you continue to update your blog?

This question made Aki Tomoya somewhat embarrassed.

The reason he was able to find such a generous sponsor is largely due to his status as a well-known blogger. However, he has already hinted at this in his blog posts, such as that he is preparing for exams and will be leaving the industry.

"Probably not."

Aki Tomoya honestly replied that he probably wouldn't need that blog anymore, but he didn't intend to cut off contact with the friends he met through the blog. Even if they weren't otaku, they could still be just friends in real life.

"..."

Even after typing a string of dots, Aki Tomo couldn't deduce whether the other person was feeling regretful.

But looking at the other person's profile picture, Aki Tomoya also had a question he wanted to ask.

"That's such a shame!"

At the same time the other party typed and sent this text, Aki Tomoya also sent a new message.

Can I ask a question too?

The two messages appeared in the chat box almost simultaneously.

Perhaps the other party did not expect Aki Tomoya to send such a message at this time. After sending the message, Aki Tomoya waited for about half a minute before receiving a reply.

"please."

After seeing the reply, Aki Tomoya's hands flew across the keyboard.

"Excuse my intrusion, are you a woman?"

After sending out the question, Aki Tomoya showed no embarrassment whatsoever.

"...I am male!"

"Do you know the girl in the profile picture?"

Aki Tomo didn't stop and continued asking questions.

"..."

With a few clicks, Aki Tomoya can be considered to have tacitly agreed.

Why does Aki Tomo also ask these questions?

It's nothing, it's just that I found out before that the other person was a low-level account that they didn't use much.

This rarely updated Instagram account suddenly contacted her. You should know that when Aki Tomoya first saw that profile picture, she was quite surprised.

The real girl in the profile picture, Aki Tomoya, is also someone I know.

"Are you Iori Hashima?"

Aki Tomoya asked the last question that concerned him at that moment.

He would use a girl's profile picture as his profile picture, and then immediately start chatting with her as if they knew him very well.

Aki Tomoya thinks this guy is definitely Iori Hashima!

"..."

"You forgot to change your profile picture? Are you out of your mind?"

Having confirmed with absolute certainty that the other party was Iori Hashima, Tomo Aki no longer needed to feign politeness.

Hashima Iori, his friend from middle school, but they later broke off their relationship due to differences in ideology. It was quite surprising to Aki Tomoya that he would use a different account to contact him.

And he even forgot to change his profile picture. This kind of slip-up is not like the shrewd guy he used to be, which is why Aki Tomoya wondered if this guy had lost his mind.

Aki Tomoya wanted to make it a good story that a former friend had bought his figure, but no matter how you look at it, Hashima Iori did it on purpose.

"If it's convenient, could you buy these too?"

The other party didn't reply, but Aki Tomoya wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he quietly posted photos of other figures.

"These figurines aren't cheap, are they? Even for me, if I bought them all now, I'd be really strapped for cash this month!"

Perhaps having found an opportunity to change the subject, the other party replied in this way.

This means that they have the ability to buy them all, and the only cost is that they will be short of money this month.

Iori Hashima is really rich now!

"Considering our past relationship, if you can buy half of it, we'll call it even!"

It's okay, let's play the emotional card first, there should still be room for negotiation on this matter.

God knows what kind of expression Iori Hashima will have after seeing my reply to that message.