The next day.
Sato suddenly opened his eyes and woke up from bed. Rubbing his exhausted eyes, he sat up and picked up the phone beside him to check the time.
8:05 AM.
Even without an alarm clock, Sato seemed capable of adjusting his biological clock himself. As long as he thought about what time to wake up the day before, he would naturally open his eyes around that exact time the next morning.
He got up and dressed himself.
Walking to the window, he pulled open the tightly shut curtains. Light poured into his bedroom like flowing water, while the morning sun reflected against the white walls.
Sato instinctively narrowed his eyes, then took a deep breath of fresh air.
The sky overhead was as blue as a freshly washed canvas, vast and clear like the sea. It was so transparent that it almost felt as though one could see through the heavens themselves into the boundless universe beyond. Beneath that endless sky stood humanity's greatest creation so far, a steel jungle like a forest.
Sato gazed into the distance for a moment. His physique, far beyond that of ordinary people, quickly dispelled the soreness and fatigue around his eyes and temples, restoring his spirits completely.
Last night, he had stayed with Sawamura Eriri while waiting for the results. It was nearly three in the morning before everything ended.
Just after midnight, the manga section went live.
Sawamura Eriri's manga was one of the three featured works on the front page. However, they still needed to wait for readers to finish reading and leave feedback.
12:30 AM, the first comment appeared.
1:00 AM, two hundred comments and three thousand bookmarks achieved.
2:00 AM, five hundred comments and five thousand bookmarks achieved. Current rating: 8.8.
Among the dozens of manga uploaded to [Gensokyo], Eriri's work ranked within the top three in every metric, and second place in rating!
In simple terms, she had succeeded!
Even now, Sato still remembered the indescribable excitement in the girl's eyes when she saw those numbers, along with the overwhelming joy written across her delicate and adorable face.
Oh!
And also the miserable cry she let out after getting so excited that she jumped off her chair and fell to the floor...
Thankfully, Eriri's house was covered in thick wool carpets. Otherwise, falling from a chair onto the ground would definitely have left several nasty bumps.
Thinking of that, Sato revealed a faint smile.
Kashiwagi Eri-sensei really was adorable!
...
8:20 AM.
Sato and Kanna stood side by side in the bathroom washing up.
The two figures, one big and one small, faced the mirror with their heads tilted upward, mouths full of gargling water. Then both lowered their heads together, and with a splash, the water fell into the sink.
The two looked at each other and grinned, showing their white teeth.
Sato smiled and patted Kanna on the back.
"Hurry and prepare your clothes. Just one set is enough, we won't be staying long."
"Mhm!"
Kanna nodded obediently.
At that moment, Sato's phone rang. After checking it, he discovered it was a message from Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Gather at nine sharp. Don't be late!"
As expected of Yukinoshita...
Sato sighed inwardly. No matter what she did, she was always serious and meticulous.
After reading Yukinoshita Yukino's message, Sato did not put down his phone. Instead, he entered the Light Music Club group chat.
[I'm Ritsu: Yukinoshita-san already messaged me. How's everyone preparing?]
[Mio: I got it too. I'm getting ready to leave now.]
[I'm Really Not a Rich Girl: I'm picking clothes right now, ugh... this is so hard! What do I do?!]
[I'm Ritsu: Just pick anything, Tsumugi looks good no matter what she wears! But wear something warm, it's been getting colder lately!]
[I'm Really Not a Rich Girl: Then I'll go check the wardrobe room next door!]
[I'm Ritsu: Huh? Did I just see some ridiculous word?! [Shocked]]
[Mio: You saw it right!]
[Mio: [Jealous] [Jealous]]
[I'm Ritsu: [Jealous] [Jealous]]
[I'm Ritsu: Wait! Where are Sato and Yui?]
[Sato: I'm here. We'll head out after breakfast. As for Yui...]
[I'm Ritsu: I bet she overslept again!]
[Mio: +1]
[Sato: I'll call Ui then.]
[Mio: Sorry to trouble you.]
After leaving the bathroom, Sato took slices of bread from the refrigerator and placed them into the toaster while dialing Hirasawa Ui's number.
After a long ringing tone, the call connected, followed by Ui's somewhat flustered voice.
"Senpai..."
"Ui, did Yui oversleep again?"
"Yes!"
Hirasawa Ui gently pushed at the lump wrapped tightly in blankets beside her and softly called out anxiously:
"Onee-chan! Wake up!"
Sato's expression remained calm, without the slightest surprise.
As expected.
Holding the phone, he said, "Ui, sometimes you need to be a bit firmer. Don't spoil Yui too much."
"Eh?"
Hirasawa Ui's face reddened as she held the phone. Stammering slightly, she replied:
"I-I'm not spoiling Onee-chan!"
"Ui, you're too gentle."
"If I'm not mistaken, when you wake Yui up, you probably only lightly push her a little at most, right?"
Eh?!
Hirasawa Ui's expression instantly froze. She subconsciously asked:
"How did Senpai know?"
"How did I know... after meeting Ui, I could more or less tell what kind of girl you are."
Sato let out a faint sigh.
S-Senpai...
On the other end of the phone, Hirasawa Ui's face instantly turned bright red. Clutching the phone tightly, the girl bit her lips while trying to suppress the shyness deep in her heart.
"Turn on speaker mode and place the phone next to Yui."
"Ui?"
After not receiving a response, Sato called out again in confusion.
"Ui!"
"Ah! Senpai! I'm here!"
Hirasawa Ui abruptly snapped out of her daze. Red-faced, she carefully placed the phone beside Yui.
The other side fell silent for a moment before a low, highly penetrating voice rang out.
"Yui, if you don't get up right now... I'm chopping Gitah up for firewood!!"
"Whoosh!"
A mysterious object on the warm bed suddenly shot upright.
Her hair was a complete mess, waving around like the tentacles of an octopus. Her sleepy eyes looked around blankly as she muttered dazedly:
"Gitah..."