"Congratulations, you got it right—but no prize for you," Eriri said with a playful smile and a nod, making no attempt to hide the truth.
"I knew it!" Emily's excitement soared in response to Eriri's confirmation.
She quickly clasped her hands over her chest and looked up at Eriri with hopeful eyes.
"Eri Kashiwagi-sensei, I'm such a huge fan! I want to invite you to be the illustrator for my light novel! Whatever your conditions are, as long as I can manage it, I'll make it happen!"
"But I'm a manga artist, not a professional illustrator~" Eriri replied with a cheeky smile as she gently ruffled Emily's head.
It wasn't that she was unwilling to help illustrate Emily's work. With her abilities, drawing the illustrations for a volume of a novel was a breeze. She was already doing the illustrations for Kasumigaoka Utaha and Yuzuru Hanyu's novels.
She simply wanted to tease Emily a bit.
Of course, Emily didn't buy it for a second.
"No way—that can't be true! Just a few days ago, the illustrations in those two new novels published by Dengeki Bunko were done by you!" she pouted, puffing up her cheeks in a way that made her look even cuter.
"Ah, you mean those two," Eriri said knowingly, immediately understanding which novels Emily was referring to.
It had already been several days since Utaha and Yuzuru submitted their work in the Oreimo world, and their novels had been published and well-received. Eriri had heard all about their success from the two of them.
"That's different~ The authors of those two novels are my family. I didn't draw their illustrations as a professional—just as a relative helping them out."
"That doesn't make a difference! I saw the illustrations—you did an amazing job! I'm sure of it! Even Eromanga-sensei's work isn't as good as yours!"
Emily completely missed the point of Eriri's explanation, focused entirely on the quality of the artwork.
Her last comment left Mrs. Izumi a bit dumbfounded. She had just been watching quietly from the side, but she hadn't expected this self-proclaimed "strongest beautiful light novel author in history" to suddenly compare her to Eriri—especially in a way that highlighted her as the inferior.
Still, she wasn't offended. She knew full well that her illustration skills didn't match up to Eriri's.
Besides, it was clear that Emily still respected her work—just not as much as she did Eriri's.
"You're still not getting it," Eriri said, patting Emily on the head again with a gentle tone.
"It's because they're my family that I agreed to illustrate their novels. Outsiders don't get that privilege~"
Emily froze for a moment, then blurted out without thinking, "Then just let me become part of your family!"
The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of embarrassment hit her like a truck.
"Wait—no, that's not what I meant! I mean…" Emily flailed her arms awkwardly, trying to recover.
She was a textbook tsundere.
Normally, even if she said something dumb, Emily wouldn't be this flustered.
But this was different.
She was talking to Eriri—the super beautiful girl who had touched her heart from the moment they met, someone who shattered gender boundaries and made her think that maybe having a close relationship with another girl wasn't so bad after all.
On top of that, Eriri's aura of idol-like charm made Emily feel like her slip of the tongue had been shockingly unladylike.
Seeing Emily blushing and fumbling over her words, Eriri's satisfied smile widened. This was exactly the reaction she'd been aiming for.
Feeling content, she decided not to tease Emily any further. She reached out and gently pinched both of Emily's cheeks, leaving the girl stunned in the middle of her excuse-making.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing. If you want me to illustrate your novel, it's not impossible. But first, I need to be satisfied with your writing."
Then, with a playful wink, she added, "Of course, if you ever really became my family, then even if your novel was terrible, I wouldn't mind~"
"Uh…"
Emily had been thrilled by the first half of Eriri's statement.
But when she heard the second part, she froze, her mind conjuring up an image of the two of them living as close family members. The thought made her blush even more—and maybe even look forward to it just a little.
Still, she didn't say anything, choosing instead to treat it as a joke.
She didn't respond to the last line. It wasn't like she could just say "no" directly, even if she knew Eriri was probably kidding. Ignoring it felt like the safest choice.
"Don't worry, my novel will definitely reach the pinnacle of the literary world! I promise it'll be something you'll love!"
Emily's expression regained its cheerful and confident tone, and even her usual third-person self-reference returned.
Eriri withdrew her hands and nodded with satisfaction. "Mm, I'm looking forward to it, Emily-chan~"
"Mm! Mm—huh??"
Emily nodded instinctively, but then paused as something clicked in her head.
"Wait, how do you know my real name? Have we met before?" she asked, clearly surprised.
Her name wasn't exactly a secret, but not many people in the city knew it either.
"This is my first time meeting you. As for how I know your name—because I wanted to know, so now I do!" Eriri replied casually.
"What's with that? You make it sound like you know everything," Emily huffed, giving her a side glance.
Still, she didn't press the issue. She had planned to tell Eriri her name eventually anyway. Where or how Eriri found out didn't really matter.
"Eri Kashiwagi-sensei, let's exchange contact info. I'll send you my manuscript to read." Emily pulled out her phone and looked at Eriri with anticipation.
Seeing that Emily had taken the initiative to change the subject, Eriri didn't pursue the previous topic further. Sooner or later, Emily would realize that Eriri's earlier claim wasn't far from the truth.
Even though she hadn't yet reached the pinnacle of power, once Eriri stepped into the Ninth Level, the entire multiverse would hold no secrets from her.
Even now, peering into an entire single-universe domain was well within her capabilities.
At that point, Eriri would essentially be omniscient in the truest sense.
Whether or not she'd be omnipotent remained to be seen—she'd only know after truly reaching that level.
Eriri and Emily then exchanged email addresses and added each other on LINE. At Emily's request, Eriri also told her her name.
Meanwhile, Sagiri—who had quietly been observing from the side—seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Emily.
Though they didn't exchange email contacts, Emily and Sagiri did add each other on LINE.
It wouldn't be long before they became close friends, just like in the original story.
...
After leaving the FULLDRIVE Publishing building and saying goodbye to Emily and Iida Ayako, Eriri, Sagiri, and Mrs. Izumi continued their outing.
Several hours passed in a flash, and before long, it was already after 7 PM.
After finishing dinner at a high-end restaurant, the trio wrapped up their day's adventure.
However, instead of returning to the Saekano world immediately, Eriri went back to the Izumi residence with Sagiri and Mrs. Izumi.
Once home, Sagiri quickly changed back into the pajamas she'd worn earlier that day.
Even though the heating in the house had been off for six or seven hours, thanks to Eriri's magic, the interior remained perfectly warm. Even in thin pajamas, no one felt the cold.
"Hehe, Eriri-nee, your powers are amazing. Way better than any heater," Sagiri giggled from where she lay beside Eriri, her eyes sparkling with admiration and envy.
Spending the afternoon together had clearly deepened their bond, and Sagiri's social anxiety had notably improved.
If things kept progressing like this, she might even return to school by spring.
Eriri had actually mentioned this to her during their outing. While Eriri herself often skipped class, she still hoped Sagiri would experience a proper school life.
Sagiri hadn't dropped out—just taken a leave of absence. Mrs. Izumi had been tutoring her personally, so she hadn't fallen behind.
After all, it was only elementary school. The content wasn't that difficult.
"This kind of small ability is no big deal. If you wanted, Sagiri, you could learn to do it too," Eriri said from her spot on the right side of the sofa, setting her phone down and gently stroking Sagiri's head.
Emily had acted fast. Not long after they parted ways, she sent Eriri a file—her manuscript for volume one of The Dark Fairy of Explosive Flames, which she'd submitted to FULLDRIVE earlier that day.
The original illustrator for the volume was Emily's friend, Amelia Armeria, who used the pen name "Army," a fellow beautiful girl illustrator.
Originally, Amelia was supposed to illustrate the entire series.
But after seeing Eriri's manga, Emily instantly jumped ship.
If Amelia found out about this—as in the original story—there was bound to be a big argument. Amelia had strong feelings for Emily.
Of course, there was a slim chance that Amelia might also become an Eriri fan and happily let her take over as illustrator.
But that was highly unlikely.
Eriri hadn't opened the manuscript right away. She waited until they returned to the Izumi home and everyone was settled before checking it out.
"Eh? I could do something like that too?" Sagiri asked, eyes wide with wonder.
She didn't doubt Eriri's words. While she didn't yet have absolute trust in her like Aletheia and the others did, her faith in Eriri was already very high.
After all, she'd seen firsthand how powerful Eriri was. That brief but unforgettable supernatural journey earlier in the day had left a lasting impression.
Someone as powerful as Eriri doing something like this was completely natural.
"Of course you can," Eriri said, still gently stroking Sagiri's head, her voice soft and kind. "Sagiri, do you want to become a superpowered being?"
"Yes, yes, I do!"
Sagiri immediately sat up and scooted closer, settling into a duck-sit beside Eriri. She hugged Eriri's left arm tightly, her sparkling blue eyes staring into Eriri's from only a few dozen centimeters away.
"In that case, I'll grant your wish."
Without hesitation, Eriri leaned forward and pressed her smooth forehead against Sagiri's.
As Sagiri felt the gentle warmth and smelled Eriri's sweet scent, her entire face flushed bright red. Her overloaded brain couldn't even process coherent thoughts anymore.
She looked like a steamy little tea kettle about to whistle.
Still, Eriri didn't pause. A powerful energy seed, glowing with latent potential, passed from Eriri into Sagiri's body through their connected foreheads.
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