It's a romantic comedy for everyone, so why am I the only one single?

"Yes, my name is Iura Motoko. And who are you?"

Just as Motoko was scrutinizing Kasumigaoka Utaha with a suspicious look, Kasumigaoka Utaha's fantasy was instantly shattered.

Chapter 99 Weird

"My name is Kasumigaoka Utaha, and I'm your brother's friend."

Kasumigaoka Utaha introduced herself somewhat dejectedly. There was no way around it; there was a third person present, and her own younger sister at that. Surely Iura Hide wouldn't be so bold?

But it seems like it would be even more exciting in that situation!

Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but let her mind wander, and for a moment her breathing became a little rapid.

However, to Ji Zi, who didn't know her well, her appearance was...

"What's wrong with this guy? He's acting so strangely?"

"Is this weirdo really Onii-chan's friend? Although she's pretty, Onii-chan shouldn't be that shallow, right?"

Kiko's gaze couldn't help but sweep over Kasumigaoka Utaha's towering peaks and long, straight legs again, and she couldn't help but feel a little inferior.

"Hmm, let's call Onii-chan first to confirm!"

While Kasumigaoka Utaha was still lost in her daydream, the quick-witted Kiko quietly closed the door and swiftly took out her phone to call Iura Hide.

"Hey, Onii-chan, a weirdo named Kasumigaoka Utaha came to your house. Is she your friend?"

"wack?"

Iura Hide was slightly taken aback.

However, considering Kasumigaoka Utaha's habit of always having wild imaginations, it's not surprising that she's considered a weirdo.

"Well, I guess so. She's a friend I met at the publishing house, and she's also a high school student who writes light novels."

At this point, Iura Hide remembered that Kasumigaoka Utaha had also read "Slippery Girl 2" and even used it against him, so he quickly added, "But she is indeed a strange person. You can have her wait for me in the living room later, and you should stay away from her."

"Oh"

Upon learning that Kasumigaoka Utaha was also a high school student and light novel author, Motoko couldn't help but feel a little curious. However, determined to be a good little sister that her older brother liked, she chose to be obedient and stay away from Kasumigaoka Utaha.

So when Kasumigaoka Utaha finally emerged from the fantasy world and awkwardly tried to knock on the door again, Motoko happened to reopen the door and politely accepted the souvenir from her hands.

However, with Kasumigaoka Utaha's keen intuition, she could naturally see the hint of distance behind Motoko's smile at a glance.

The clever girl realized in a moment that it must be because Iura Hide had just said bad things about her, which made her speechless.

All those beautiful fantasies were shattered.

However, she never expected that Jiko would be so 'outrageous'. After leading her to sit down in the living room, Jiko slipped away under the pretext of helping to prepare tea.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later, when Iura Hide came back, that she was finally no longer sitting alone in the living room, staring blankly at the air.

"You're finally back!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha stood up, a sweet smile on her face like that of a newlywed wife waiting for her husband to come home from get off work. But her hands were already secretly clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white.

There was nothing she could do; Kiko was still so young, and she didn't seem very bright, so she could only blame it on Iura Hide.

Jiko: Meow meow meow? Are you being polite? Who's not very smart?

"Ahem, well, I'll go heat up some food for my sister first; she hasn't eaten lunch yet."

Iura Hide keenly sensed the murderous aura emanating from Kasumigaoka Utaha and couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He originally wanted to be tough, but when he saw Kasumigaoka Utaha stand up and bounce around a couple of times, and those long legs covered in black stockings that could be played with for years, he couldn't help but swallow hard. Recalling the amazing feeling he had in the subway car last time, his heart started pounding faster and faster. How could he possibly be tough anymore?

"It's all Ai's fault. She only took responsibility for starting the fire but not for putting it out," Iura Hide thought to himself, shifting the blame onto Hoshino Ai.

Fortunately, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't do anything to him.

Perhaps she wanted to start discussing the writing techniques of romance light novels as soon as possible, or perhaps she heard the door open and Kiko was peeking out from the stairs, so she only asked Iura Hide to make her a cup of coffee and then let Iura Hide go for the time being.

"No problem! Would you like to sit in the living room for a while longer?"

"No, I've been sitting in the living room for a long time. May I have a look around your room?"

"Uh, of course."

Iura Hide quickly thought back and realized that there didn't seem to be anything shameful in his room, so he readily agreed.

However, Ji Zi, who was not far away, couldn't help but frown when she heard this.

Why do I feel like Onii-chan is a little inferior in front of that weirdo?

"Also, it's really too unladylike of her to go to a guy's room on her first visit to his house."

Kiko muttered to herself before quickly disappearing into the kitchen.

When Iura Hide came downstairs again, intending to take the lunch he brought to her to heat it up, she immediately grabbed Iura Hide's sleeve and, as if making a secret rendezvous, leaned in and whispered, "Onii-chan, are you and that weird woman really just friends?"

"Of course, she and I are really just friends!" Iura Hide said without hesitation, in a serious tone.

Although he had put his arm around Kasumigaoka Utaha's waist, pinched her buttocks, and almost kissed her in the subway car, he and Kasumigaoka Utaha were really just friends!

At this moment, Iura Hide's eyes were incredibly sincere.

After exchanging glances with him and noticing nothing unusual, Ji Zi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

If Kasumigaoka Utaha is really Iura Hide's girlfriend, then she must be under a lot of pressure!

"Wait, something doesn't seem right!"

"Although that woman has a somewhat eccentric personality, she is quite beautiful and has a great figure."

"Could it be that Onii-chan's girlfriend is even prettier than that woman?"

Thinking about it this way, Kiko suddenly felt terrible.

As the younger sister, she never considered that Kasumigaoka Utaha might not like Iura Hide. After all, Iura Hide was handsome, had a good personality, and was so talented. How could any girl not like Iura Hide?

Therefore, in her opinion, the reason why Iura Hide and Kasumigaoka Utaha failed to take things further was definitely because Iura Hide didn't like Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Fortunately, Kasumigaoka Utaha was upstairs curiously looking into Iura Hide's room and had no idea what Motoko was thinking, otherwise Iura Hide would have been in big trouble.

"Huh? Why are there only reference books and CDs? There aren't many novels or comics, and I can't find any niche comics. Could it be that he knew I was coming and packed them up in advance?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the rows of neatly arranged reference books and CDs on the bookshelf and muttered to herself.

Yes, although he already has a dedicated storage room for the CDs he bought before, some CDs that he listens to frequently should definitely be placed closer, right?

As for the niche anime, games, and manga that Kasumigaoka Utaha was curiously searching for, such as "Slippery Girl 2," she probably never imagined that these were things that Kitagawa Umimu, a girl who was even slightly prettier than her, liked.

Iura Hide's understanding of these things comes entirely from Kitagawa Kaimu, at least so far.

"What are you looking for?"

"Looking for the little erotic comics you secretly hid~"

Kasumigaoka Utaha openly revealed what she was looking for, which made Iura Hide chuckle.

"Then you're probably going to be disappointed, I don't have that kind of thing here."

"Then how do you know about 'Slippery Girl 2'?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked curiously, because she could tell that Iura Hide wasn't lying.

"Of course, I heard it from a friend. Okay, here's your coffee. I didn't add sugar, but you can add it yourself if you want."

"Thank you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't delve any further. She politely thanked him and accepted the coffee, after all, she hadn't come to discuss niche manga and games with Iura Hide.

Of course, she wouldn't mind if Iura Hide wanted to discuss it.

"Then let's talk about writing!"

"To be honest, I haven't had any formal training in writing. I just came up with a story and wanted to try writing it down. As for what writing techniques I used, I can't really say for sure."

As Iura Hide sat back down at his desk, he spoke frankly.

His so-called writing skills are actually just converting all the scenes and plots of comics and anime into words according to the existing storyline.

The same applies when adapting other light novels later on. If there is already a light novel version available, it's even simpler.

This is clearly not the kind of writing technique for romance light novels that Kasumigaoka Utaha wanted to explore and learn.

"Could you tell me about the story you're writing?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha stared into his eyes for several seconds, and after realizing that he wasn't lying, she frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then asked.

"sure."

Iura Hide's quick agreement took Kasumigaoka Utaha somewhat by surprise.

However, she soon realized why Iura Hide had agreed so readily, because the story was really simple and cliché.

"My light novel is about a male protagonist who is a piano prodigy who has won numerous awards since childhood and is regarded as an idol by many girls who love classical music, who secretly admire him."

"However, due to his mother's death, he also developed some psychological problems, and since then he has been unable to hear the sound of the piano he plays."

"Until the female lead, who has admired and secretly loved him since childhood, also suffers from a terminal illness and doesn't have much time left. She plans to use her last moments to try to help the male lead get through it."

"For this reason, she told everyone a lie in April when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom."

"That's it?"

"Yes, it is like that."

"Is this gone?"

"Well, no more."

""

Seeing Iura Hide's mouth getting dry from talking, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but feel annoyed.

At least in her opinion, having watched countless films—no, she's read countless romance light novels—the story that Iura Hide just told wasn't particularly novel, except for the element of a 'lie'.

Of course, if she had read the letter that Kaori Miyazono wrote to Kousei Arima at the end, she would understand why "April" is considered a perfect essay and is so highly praised by so many people.

However, even Hideaki Iura had to admit that "April" didn't have many highlights based on just the synopsis.

Soon, Kasumigaoka Utaha also realized the key point.

Despite the story being so 'clichéd,' it was still highly praised by a top editor like Kagurazaka Ayame, who believed it had the potential to become a bestseller.