I, Aki Tomoya, will not be a simp.

Kasumigaoka Utaha gazed at her calmly.

"...I don't know why, but hearing you say such things makes me completely unhappy."

Do you really want me to argue with you again?

"Uh……"

How can it be!

Eriri's expression changed; having another competitor was never a good thing.

It's best to say as little as possible.

=

Chapter 227 Hard to say, hard to say (2/?)

On September 17th, Aki Tomoya had planned to meet his high school friend, Kamigo Yoshihiko, but he was stood up.

"If I'd known you'd ditch me, I should have gone and seen what Suzutani was planning..."

Aki Tomoya was somewhat annoyed after being stood up by his good friend.

I had originally planned to hang out with Yoshihiko Kamigo today.

As it turned out, this guy suddenly had something to do and only sent a message in the morning saying he was busy.

"There's nothing I can do, I really can't! I so wanted to show off to you, my friend from Tokyo University, but I'm desperate!"

On Line, Yoshihiko Uego replied to him in this way.

For this reason, Aki Tomo forgave him, but the arrangements for Saturday needed to be reconsidered.

Just then, a person suddenly appeared in the television report.

At the press conference, Professor Suzuya of the Imperial Medical University Hospital apologized for failing to save patient Tsuchijin and also expressed remorse for some inappropriate actions taken in the past.

"In the end, they still apologized."

According to the report, the lawsuit was settled out of court, the hospital sent Suzutani's father to take the blame and apologize, and then everything went back to normal.

It had a significant impact on the hospital; the fact that they weren't exiled was the best possible outcome.

This is roughly how Suzutani's father mitigated the damage, and how the hospital handled the situation.

"No wonder Suzuya wasn't worried at all after school started..."

After the start of the school year, Suzuya was somewhat affected by this incident, but he himself was not too worried.

He probably believed that his father would overcome the difficulties.

After turning off the TV, Aki Tomo stopped paying attention to the matter, which was now almost over.

However, on the other hand, it was thanks to this incident that I was "fortunate" enough to meet Suzuya, who was ranked first in the same period.

Aki Tomoya doesn't dislike Suzuya, but to be honest, Suzuya isn't easy to get along with.

Moreover, a considerable number of people have already gathered around Suzuya.

Perhaps he should learn from Majima, who was the most popular among the trio in the third year of science class and was very good at handling relationships with others.

Don't deliberately try to befriend others; maintain a reasonable distance.

You can refer to Majima's rules for making friends.

Suzuya is someone you can befriend, but you should also keep your distance.

After all, the person who ranked first in the same period was not, in essence, like Takagi and Majima.

Forget about the stars fawning over him; what matters is that everyone gets what they need.

Just as he was thinking this, his phone vibrated.

Message sent by: Machida Sonoko.

"Ms. Machida..."

It's been such a long time since I've been in touch with someone.

The last time I saw that deputy editor-in-chief, Shinazugawa, was probably on New Year's Day that year, thanks to Iori from Topo Island.

But there has been no contact since then. Why did you suddenly contact him?

"Aki-kun, may I ask you a question?"

I wonder what's wrong with Machida Sonoko; it's really rare that she would think of him.

It's probably related to Kasumigaoka Utaha again.

Aki Tomoya thought that Machida Sonoko contacting him was most likely related to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

After thinking about it, Aki Tomo recalled the great writer's desire to change his career path.

Machida Sonoko probably doesn't know that she's gone off to write popular novels.

On one hand, she is Kasumigaoka Utaha's editor, and on the other hand, she is Shinazugawa's deputy editor-in-chief.

Machida Sonoko sensed something was amiss when a popular author below started acting strangely.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is definitely hiding something from her.

However, what remains unconfirmed is what that person is secretly doing to her.

“Ms. Machida, I will do my best to help if there is anything I can do.”

While giving a polite reply, Aki Tomoya already had a plan in mind.

"May I ask Aki-kun, have you noticed anything strange about Kasumi Shiko lately?"

It really is related to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Aki Tomoya muttered to himself.

He slowly typed his reply: "I have had very little interaction with that great writer. Ms. Machida should go and find Ms. Kashiwagi Eri."

"..."

Compared to Aki Tomoya, Eriri is the person who is currently closest to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

If you're going to ask, you should ask Eriri; that would give you a better understanding of what that great writer is like.

However, Machida Sonoko couldn't very well ask Eriri.

Aki Tomoya himself was well aware of this.

If she could ask, Machida Sonoko wouldn't have bothered Aki Tomoya.

"excuse me……"

Machida Sonoko wondered if Aki Tomoya was indirectly telling her that the other side knew nothing.

However, whether she genuinely didn't know or was pretending not to know, Machida Sonoko couldn't say anything.

However, Kasumigaoka Utaha's recent strange behavior has made her a little panicked.

Even though Machida Sonoko wanted to ask further questions, she didn't want to bother Aki Tomoya any longer.

Finally, she replied with a sentence: "Everything has been going so smoothly. The work has now been successfully adapted into a game and an anime. Kasumi Shiko-sensei should really focus on developing her career."

What are you trying to imply?

Aki Tomoya clicked his tongue in amazement.

I don't know if the other person is complaining.

However, considering the issue of their positions, he immediately understood Machida Sonoko's current feelings.

With the emergence of a leading author, things are looking very promising. Kasumigaoka Utaha is sure to have a smooth journey as she continues her light novel career.

This is a good thing for the publisher, Machida Sonoko, and Kasumigaoka Utaha herself; it's a win-win situation.

Machida Sonoko is not a bad person; on the contrary, she is actually a good editor to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

However, Utaha Kasumigaoka has ideas and the resources to try and win them over.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Machida. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

However, Aki Tomoya had no way of telling Machida Sonoko about it.

To be frank, he was still an outsider in this matter.

Eriri knew it was wrong to tattle, and Tomoya Aki was even more aware of this.

There are some things he can't say, or rather, he can't interfere with at all.

Machida Sonoko's sudden contact also made Aki Tomoya aware of the recent actions of that great writer.

Despite being rejected at the beginning, he persevered despite setbacks. The momentum of this great writer is strong, and it seems he still intends to make a name for himself in popular fiction.

Regarding this, Aki Tomoya felt that everyone has their own opinion, and before the results are in, no one knows whether the great writer's decision is correct.

But there's one thing Aki Tomoya knows.

"Thanks to this, I almost forgot that Kudo's novel is going to be released next month. I have to support it!"

Aki Tomoya suddenly remembered something important.