When the hodgepodge world of anime meets the shadow king

(Note before reading: This chapter may not be very friendly to some readers who like to open the Crystal Palace, but it is related to the inner changes of the protagonist, so it’s okay if you don’t like it)

"The third heroine?" Kitahara Akatsuki was a little surprised.

"I remember that Senior Shiyu has already written the fifth volume, right? Is it okay to suddenly add a new heroine?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled and shook her head slightly

"In fact, this candidate has already appeared a long time ago, you can guess it."

Kitahara Akira lowered his head slightly and flipped through his memories. He had always been reading Kasumigaoka Utaha's novels.

A name came to his mind.

“Could it be…?”

"Yeah," Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled softly.

"It's Shino (the person who refers to Kasumigaoka Shinoha in this novel)"

Kitahara Akira was silent for a while before continuing to speak

"Why does Shino suddenly want Shino to be the new heroine?"

"Is it very sudden?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her head and turned to the page with "Outline" in her notebook.

Kitahara Xiao took a look and saw nothing.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Kitahara Akatsuki and said with a half-smile

"Shino, who had the dream of writing, suffered a setback in the second volume after the publication of her first work."

"Just when she was desperate, helpless and doubting herself, the protagonist, the junior student, suddenly broke into her world."

"This junior not only liked her work from the bottom of his heart, but also provided many objective and useful comments and suggestions."

"Such a junior who can answer perfectly whatever she asks is like a ray of light that illuminates Shino's world."

Kasumigaoka Utaha put her hand on Kitahara Akira's face and turned it towards her, then stared into his eyes as if trying to see through him.

"Pupil-kun, isn't it normal for Shino to like a male protagonist like this?"

Kitahara Akatsuki is silent

It's fine for him to be a reckless man and fight and kill, but he is really not good at dealing with such problems.

Seeing Kitahara Akatsuki remaining silent, Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled and continued

"Also, having Shino as the third heroine would be good for the novel itself."

She raised a finger

"One of the heroines, Yukiko, the leader of the hero's club, is not good at expressing her emotions, and her relationship with the hero has been stuck at a point where it is difficult to move forward for the time being."

“But Huizi is different.”

"She has undergone a transformation recently and is no longer the little transparent girl with a low sense of existence. Her relationship with the male protagonist has also improved by leaps and bounds."

"There is no doubt that if Keiko launches a general attack at this time, it will be difficult for the male protagonist to refuse given his personality. If he does not want to make things worse and disgust the readers, the novel should end here."

"But the only reason Keiko didn't do this was because she was concerned about her friendship with Yukiko. Her early experiences made her cherish this friendship and she didn't want to give it up so easily."

"Schoolmate"

Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to be asking

"As a reader, you don't like such fake relationships, right?"

"......." Kitahara Xiao already understood, and he fell into a deathly silence.

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled

"But Shino doesn't have such concerns. Her relationship with the other two heroines hasn't reached that level yet, so she can just insert herself between them and act as a buffer."

Kasumigaoka Utaha unconsciously held Kitahara Akira's hand on her thigh

"Even though she knew the male protagonist had no romantic feelings for her, even though she would become the enemy of the other two female protagonists"

"Many people think that Shino is a beautiful girl, but in fact, she is just..."

"Kasumigaoka-senpai!" Kitahara Akatsuki suddenly shouted, with a hint of anger in his tone.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was stunned

".....In Shiyu-senpai's imagination, what is the ending of this book?" Kitahara Akira asked seriously after calming down. "Harem? Open pseudo-harem? Single female protagonist?"

This time it was Kasumigaoka Utaha's turn to be silent

".....It depends on what the male protagonist thinks."

"Is that so?" Kitahara Akira took a deep breath.

"I think......."

Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly opened her hand and pressed on Kitahara Akira's chest to stop him from continuing.

"and many more!"

She lowered her head and pointed at the bread and drink that Kitahara Xiao placed beside her.

"Let's eat first, otherwise the lunch break will be over soon."

Kitahara Akira nodded, stood up and took the bread and drinks to himself.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was stunned. She thought it was prepared for her.

Seeing this, Kitahara Xiao took out his lunch box from the shadow space and handed it to her.

He chuckled and said, "I'm just a bit straight, not stupid. I understand a lot of things. No matter what, I can't let a girl eat bread while I eat a bento."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took the lunch box and placed it on her lap

Because it has been stagnant in the shadow space, the bento is still hot.

She lowered her head so that Kitahara Xiao wouldn't see her expression.

"I didn't expect that my junior is so careful in this regard."

Kitahara Akira tore open the bread packaging and took a bite

“I always treat my friends like this”

Kasumigaoka Utaha paused, then picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

The two ate in silence for a while, and then Kitahara Xiao took the initiative to break the silence.

"Senior"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was eating her lunch box without any reaction

Seeing this, Kitahara Akatsuki continued

"Whether it's a harem or a single heroine, the most important thing is the feelings between the two parties."

"Perhaps the male protagonist has feelings for both female protagonists but is also troubled by moral issues."

"Maybe Yukiko is very confused and doesn't know what she really thinks."

"Perhaps Huizi was also concerned about their relationship and didn't want to risk breaking it up."

Kitahara Akatsuki looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha and sighed softly

"But this is not a reason for Shino to intervene."

"The relationship between the hero and the other two heroines is currently fake, but isn't Shino the same?"

"The male protagonist likes Shino, but it's not a romantic love."

"A fake relationship cannot be covered up by another fake relationship"

"This is irresponsible, whether it is to the male protagonist, the two female protagonists, or Shino herself."

Kasumigaoka Utaha still didn't react, but she picked up the food with chopsticks much slower.

Kitahara Akira saw it

"Maybe I'm conservative, but I think if someone doesn't like someone, then they don't like them. Even if it might hurt the other person, you have to make it clear in time. Otherwise, it will only make the situation more complicated and cause more harm to both parties. This is also a common problem for the male protagonists in many light novels."

Kitahara Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, as if all his troubles had been solved.

"The male protagonist will not fall in love with Shino, but he has always liked Shino as a friend and confidant."

"Shino should take herself more seriously. There's no need to do this."

"What do you think, Senior?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha stopped eating and had already finished her lunch box without realizing it.

She raised her head and met Kitahara Akira's gaze with her red eyes.

"Is that so?" She smiled easily. "I didn't expect you to think so deeply about this."

"Regarding Shino being the third heroine, I was indeed a bit abrupt."

Kitahara Akira took the empty lunch box, put it away, and walked towards the door of the rooftop.

"Senior sister" He pushed the door open with one hand and suddenly turned around to look at Kasumigaoka Utaha who was sitting on the bench.

The two met eyes

He smiled and said, "You can come to me if you have anything, whether it's a novel or something else."

"..... Yeah." Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded and watched Kitahara Akatsuki leave

After confirming that Kitahara Akatsuki had left, Kasumigaoka Utaha finally loosened her clenched fists.

A tear that had been brewing for a long time slipped down from the corner of her eye.

How could she, who possesses a love metronome and can observe the inner thoughts of Kitahara Akira at any time when she is defenseless against her own people, not know what the other person is thinking?

She just didn't want to give up without even trying.

But, sure enough

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled with relief