A Saiyan's Journey

Although Shin had already noticed someone nearby, he was still somewhat surprised when he turned the corner and saw Eriri trembling with fear.

After all, Eriri was a minor celebrity—not only from the works Shin had seen before his transmigration but also because of her fame at school and her reputation in the doujinshi community.

Shin initially thought it was just an ordinary student observing from the side. To his surprise, he had caught a big fish.

With this thought, Shin instinctively glanced at the arrow pendant on his chest—well, no reaction.

It seemed that Eriri didn't have Stand potential either. Currently, in the entire school, only Gotou Hitori stood out with her unique Stand qualification.

"Um... I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I originally came to the rooftop for something, but I didn't expect you all to come up suddenly."

Seeing Shin remain silent, Eriri assumed he was angry, so she hastily explained:

"So I had to hide nearby and wait for you all to leave before I could go... Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your three-timing scandal!"

"Three-timing? What nonsense is that?"

Shin felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. Sure, he and Kato Megumi were somewhat ambiguous, and his relationship with Gotou Hitori was also a bit delicate, but he hadn't actually made any formal moves, right?

Having thoughts ≠ Taking action.

Moreover, from Eriri's explanation, Shin roughly understood why she had come to the rooftop—it boiled down to his laziness yesterday when he didn't lock the rooftop door.

Most students assumed the rooftop was always locked and wouldn't bother going there. Shin found locking it every time a hassle, so he skipped it.

Who would've thought Eriri, for some reason, realized the door wasn't locked and came to the rooftop at noon alone, only to run into Shin and the others.

As for why Eriri had come to the rooftop alone, Shin glanced at the bag she was hugging tightly and made a guess:

"Your doujinshi draft is sticking out."

"What!? Impossible! I clearly put it securely in my bag just now..."

Hearing Shin's sudden bombshell comment, Eriri panicked. She immediately looked down at her bag, only to realize she had been tricked.

Her bag opened upward, so there was no way anything could stick out.

But she quickly realized she had given herself away—her reaction clearly revealed to Shin that there were indeed doujinshi drafts in her bag.

Eriri's expression instantly turned chaotic, reminiscent of Gotou Hitori's usual demeanor. She looked up at Shin, who wore a faint smile, and asked in a trembling voice:

"You... do you know my identity?"

"I'd say I have an idea... I attended a comic convention once."

Shin stroked his chin as he replied—he wasn't lying about attending a convention.

Before transmigrating, Shin had been an otaku who consumed a lot of anime, manga, and light novels. After arriving in this world, he naturally developed an interest in similar content.

While some classic works from his previous world didn't exist here, there were plenty of new classics to enjoy, providing Shin with ample entertainment.

In his early months here, he frequently attended conventions, buying various works and merchandise—including doujinshi.

During one of those conventions, he had indeed purchased works by the pen name "Kashiwagi Eri," knowing full well they were drawn by Eriri. However, he hadn't bothered exposing her at the time.

Now, with Eriri trembling before him, her golden twin tails shaking, Shin couldn't resist teasing her.

Of course, even though he had bought her doujinshi, Shin hadn't seen Eriri in person at those conventions—so his claim was half-truth, half-bluff.

"I can't believe it... Although I often visit conventions to check on my doujinshi sales, I never thought a fellow student would notice me..."

Eriri seemed deeply troubled, not doubting Shin's words. After all, his explanation was the only plausible way her pen name could have been discovered.

Nervously, Eriri looked at Shin and pleaded:

"Please don't tell anyone about this. I'm willing to do anything... I can even pay you!"

As a doujinshi artist caught in such a situation, Eriri's mind immediately conjured certain indescribable scenarios.

A beautiful girl's secret being discovered by a male classmate... no matter how you thought about it, it was prime doujinshi material!

But Eriri's rationality quickly suppressed her instincts as a doujinshi artist—there was no way she'd voice such a bizarre scenario aloud. She wasn't some kind of pervert!

Considering her family's wealth, Eriri instinctively resorted to offering money.

"Well... I'm not exactly short on money."

Had this been before Shin activated his system, he might've agreed to such a condition. After all, he had spent a lot on ACG content after transmigrating, leaving him just enough to comfortably finish high school.

But since activating the system, Shin had amassed wealth and influence that most people couldn't achieve in a lifetime. Eriri's money didn't interest him.

However, Shin quickly thought of something she could do for him:

"Since you're offering, I want to see all your doujinshi drafts before they're finalized."

"Huh?"

Eriri was stunned. She hadn't expected such a request.

She had braced herself for Shin to demand something sleazy, imagining scenarios where he might say, "Eriri, you wouldn't want your secret as a doujinshi artist to be exposed, would you?" while making inappropriate advances.

Eriri had even mentally prepared to call the police if necessary, only for Shin to casually ask to review her drafts.

"What? Is that a problem? After all, I'm a fan of Kashiwagi Eri-sensei."

Seeing Eriri's stunned reaction, Shin added matter-of-factly.

Eriri's fame in the doujinshi world wasn't unwarranted; her works were genuinely excellent. Shin could attest to that.

Although he no longer relied on doujinshi to satiate certain desires, he still appreciated them occasionally for relaxation.

Truthfully, though, Shin mostly wanted to see Eriri's flustered expressions.

He imagined himself critiquing her drafts while watching her turn red with embarrassment—the thought alone was amusing.

No wonder a certain senior in the original story loved teasing Eriri; just imagining it made Shin feel it would be incredibly entertaining.

To be continued...

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