Chapter 84: You Came At The Perfect Time
Natsume Mio excitedly arrived downstairs at Sakamoto Ken’s apartment building.
She originally planned to call him to come open the door, but she happened to see someone coming out, so she quickly went up to hold the door and walked in.
When knocking on the door, she was already imagining what kind of surprised, astonished, or delighted expression A Jian would have when he saw her.
But after knocking twice, no one opened the door.
Is A Jian not home?
Thinking of this, Natsume Mio doubtfully pressed her ear to the door to listen.
She had just put her ear to it when she heard a familiar female voice.
“Who’s outside? Not opening the door?”
This voice instantly matched a person in Natsume Mio’s mind.
It’s Miyuki Haru, the author of 《Pantyhose》!
Why is she in A Jian’s home?!
Natsume Mio looked at the tightly closed room door, bold ideas popping into her mind…
At this moment, she heard the sound of a hand touching the door handle from inside the door.
Natsume Mio quickly straightened up and took half a step back.
The room door opened, revealing Sakamoto Ken.
Natsume Mio immediately adjusted her expression and barely squeezed out a smile: “A Jian… you, you’re just opening the door now…”
Sakamoto Ken knew it was Natsume Mio outside, so he hadn’t looked through the cat’s eye earlier.
Now seeing her, he discovered she had dyed her hair red-pink, was even wearing contact lenses, and her clothing was in Makima’s style.
Long-sleeved shirt, black tie, black trousers, brown leather shoes.
When Sakamoto Ken left Shueisha today, Editor Kaji had already told him that Natsume Mio was filming a promotional video for the 《Chainsaw Man》 volume, cosplaying as Makima.
Seeing it in person now, Sakamoto Ken admitted he was momentarily dazed; aside from her expression lacking Makima’s wicked woman vibe, she was almost a perfect recreation—oh right, Mio’s chest was a size larger than Makima’s.
Natsume Mio turned sideways, peering into the room.
Mikazuki Haruna, completely unaware of what was happening, of course hadn’t hidden, so she locked eyes with Natsume Mio from inside the room.
The two girls’ gazes crossed over Sakamoto Ken and clashed together.
Several seconds later, Natsume Mio looked at Sakamoto Ken.
“A Jian, why is she in your home?” Natsume Mio asked.
Sakamoto Ken said, “We’re discussing manga creation.”
“Yeah, yeah, how come Natsume-san is here too?” Mikazuki Haruna gave Sakamoto Ken a questioning look.
“You two know each other?” Sakamoto Ken was a bit surprised.
“Of course we know each other; we met at Shueisha a few days ago.” Natsume Mio pursed her lips and said, “A Jian, did I come at a bad time?”
“No, you came at the perfect time.”
Sakamoto Ken stepped aside, pointed inside the room, and said, “You’re already here; aren’t you coming in?”
Natsume Mio naturally still walked into the room, her gaze quickly scanning every corner of the room, even shrugging her nose to sniff—indeed, nothing suspicious.
No! The fact that she’s in A Jian’s home is suspicious in itself!
Does discussing manga creation have to be done at home?
This discussion of yours… is it proper or not!
Although they both look fully dressed now, if I hadn’t come, wouldn’t you have started… while chatting?
Natsume Mio completely forgot her purpose of coming to see A Jian with her hairstyle and full makeup; now she was entirely focused on whether A Jian had any special relationship with her.
As for Mikazuki Haruna, she leaned against the wall, glanced at Sakamoto Ken, then at Natsume Mio, and said, “Natsume-san, so… you know Sakamoto Ken-sensei?”
“Of course, A Jian and I have always been classmates.” Natsume Mio said, “Haruna-senpai, I thought that live broadcast day was your first time meeting.”
“Haha, come to think of it, that’s actually not wrong.” Mikazuki Haruna said, “We’d only met once before; we really got to know each other that live broadcast day.”
“Then how did you end up at his home so quickly?” Natsume Mio said.
As fellow girls with similar thoughts, Mikazuki Haruna clearly sensed that Natsume Mio was pressing her.
A very ominous thought bubbled up in her mind…
This prospective junior in front of her had styled her hair like the female lead in his book, even done full makeup—normal outings wouldn’t involve such effort for full makeup!
Could she be Sakamoto Ken’s… girlfriend?!
Mikazuki Haruna chuckled and decided to probe, saying, “I came to Sakamoto Ken-sensei’s home to discuss manga creation; I don’t need to explain it to you, right?”
Clearly, Natsume Mio opened her mouth but suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
From their earlier conversation with A Jian, it was obvious there wasn’t that kind of intimate lover relationship between them.
Putting herself in the shoes, if she were A Jian’s girlfriend and came to his home to find another woman there, alone with him, she’d definitely be angry—not like her, who seemed a bit displeased but not angry, mostly just surprised.
Hmph, you actually like A Jian, don’t you, but you don’t dare say it, afraid that rejection would ruin even the friendship.
Mikazuki Haruna’s corner of the mouth slightly lifted as she thought: Mio-junior, I’ve got you completely figured out.
At the same time, Natsume Mio was also observing Mikazuki Haruna’s reaction.
When she first saw Mikazuki Haruna in the room, her mind really blanked for a moment.
But after coming in and looking around, it felt okay.
There was a clear sense of distance between Haruna and A Jian; definitely not an intimate relationship.
Although it was a bit strange for this girl to come to A Jian’s home to chat about manga creation, as long as it wasn’t an intimate relationship, it was fine.
After all, she and A Jian hadn’t confirmed any relationship, so she had no right to criticize him for meeting other girls at home…
Still, Natsume Mio made a mental note of this; she’d have to keep an eye on this girl from now on.
In the future, not only would she be going to Kanzaki Art Academy, but A Jian would too, and he was even her direct junior in the same major.
It felt like someone was coming to steal A Jian…
No, it wasn’t a feeling—someone was coming to steal A Jian!
Although Natsume Mio’s face still held a polite smile, alarms were blaring in her mind.
Mom said not to rush these things; take it slow.
But that’s under the premise of no competition!
Can’t take it slow now!
At this moment, Sakamoto Ken walked between the two girls, cutting off their confronting gazes.
He sat down directly, lightly patted the low table, and said, “Don’t all stand; sit first. Since it’s such a coincidence, let’s chat together.”
Mikazuki Haruna immediately sat in the seat across from Sakamoto Ken.
Because the low table was rectangular, the facing seats were the closest, allowing direct eye contact; if sitting on the short side…
Huh?!
Mikazuki Haruna watched as Natsume Mio sat right next to Sakamoto Ken.
She even flicked that braid, looking smugly at her.
