manga artist Kirito

Page 120

Biting her lower lip, Strawberry looked up at Kiritani-kun, whose face was full of strange expressions. Her eyes were almost overflowing with tears, and she looked completely excited. Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, but Kiritani-kun, seeing her like this, squatted down in front of her and heard her clearly.

"S-Senior...I'm so excited!"

What are you so excited about?!

Are you a masochist by default?

You used to seem so cute, who knew you were secretly a cunning devil? And now you've turned into a masochist?

I'm not into this at all, let me tell you! And this is more than just masochism; you're practically asking to be pinned to the wall!

Kiritani-kun instinctively took a step back, deciding to distance himself from Ichigo, this junior who seemed normal but was actually anything but.

...Ah, I still kind of want to kill her, what should I do?

"Wow, a girl like you who looks so normal and cute is actually headed straight for the dark side of life. You think you'll be popular by pretending to be a mature junior? Honestly, it's disgusting. Even water fleas are part of the food chain and have more survival value than you, right? If you're not happy about it, then go and photosynthesize and release some oxygen!"

"Ugh! Senior!!!"

With her eyes slightly bright, Strawberry stared intently at Kiritani-kun, her expression growing increasingly excited.

"...That really hurt!"

"Even though it hurts, you're happy, aren't you?"

Kiritani waved to the female shopkeepers who were looking over, telling them to continue working and not to worry about what was happening here. Then he squatted down in front of Ichigo and said, "For a hidden masochist like you, the pleasure that pain turns into pleasure must be very exciting, right? Ichigo, you are really amazing to be able to turn pain into physical and psychological pleasure."

"……Eh?"

Strawberry blinked, her expression gradually turning incredulous, as if what was said was true.

But actually, that's not the case...

Strawberry imagined a certain scene, then suddenly cupped her face in her hands, "I'm not a masochist~! It's just that if you, senpai, want to pin me against the wall and have sex with me... really, just thinking about it makes me excited—I can enjoy the pleasure of sex and also have the forbidden pleasure of yuri! It's double the pleasure, senpai!"

Kiritani-kun felt the scene was too beautiful and dared not think about it according to Ichigo's pattern. However, after this incident, Kiritani-kun finally understood that this guy had absolutely no bottom line.

Seemingly understanding what Kiritani-kun was thinking, Ichigo grinned, her laughter hearty. "I learned this from you, so you'd better take responsibility, senpai."

Kiritani stood up abruptly, then turned and left, saying, "Goodbye."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Watching Kirito walk away, Ichigo stood up from the ground, rubbing her forehead with a slight soreness. "It failed. I thought I could successfully induce him and keep it as a black history... But, well, this audio should be able to be sold to the president or Yukinoshita, right?"

Strawberry pulled her phone out of her pocket, which was displaying the recording interface, and looked somewhat regretful.

"...I just don't know if the president and Ms. Yukinoshita are masochists, or if they would be excited by such sadistic remarks."

…………

"The discrepancies in Strawberry's resume were initially minor, but they're becoming increasingly larger. Who should be held responsible?"

Holding the sales report he'd taken from the stall, Kirito walked towards Eriri's location. A quick comparison of the reports would clearly show the difference in their sales figures... Of course, Kirito knew he had a high chance of losing this sales competition, but the comparison still had to be made; only then would it truly be over.

Of course, there's still more than half a day until the end of Summer CM. It's only a little past 11 a.m. now, and the museum closes at 5 p.m. So we'll have to wait until then to find out the exact sales figures. But Kiritani-kun doesn't think he can get back at Eriri in the remaining few hours, so it doesn't matter whether it's sooner or later.

Besides, Kiritani-kun is more interested in what kind of demands Eriri will make after winning—ah, if it's too much, then I'll pin her against the wall... ugh, if it's too much, I'll just ignore her.

However, as for Eriri, Kiritani-kun really has no idea what kind of request she would make.

If it were someone like Watermelon, Haruno, or Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kiritani-kun could easily guess. But as for Asuna, Yoko, and the like, there's no need to guess at all... Wait, are the things Asuna and Yoko asked considered requests? No, they're completely taken for granted.

But tsundere is actually quite difficult to guess, even though it's said to be easy to guess. Even small things can lead to a lot of twists and turns. Unless it's a textbook example of tsundere behavior, there's no such thing as tsundere ruining one's life.

"However, my sales figures... seem to be quite dismal."

Looking at the sales figures for his new work, "Please, Remilia," Kiritani-kun gave a slight twitch of his lips. "1786 copies. Although it's much better than the best-selling work of the past, 'The Secret of the Bride,' which sold 1697 copies, it's still not enough to maintain the current popularity and fan attention... It's sad!"

"Eh, Kazuhito-kun?"

274

【NO.271 Erotic Periphery and Its Theory (Part 4)】

"Eh, Kazuhito-kun?"

"...Kato? What are you doing here?"

Hearing a familiar voice behind him, Kiritani turned around and saw Kato Megumi, who shouldn't be there, silently watching him.

Although it seems unlikely, but... has Megumi Kato really become an otaku?

"It really is Lord Kazuhito. I thought I had mistaken him for someone else."

Kato Megumi looked at Kiritani-kun calmly, her tone as unwavering as ever.

"Stop, please stop!"

Kiritani raised his hand to stop Kato, looking at her with a somewhat forced expression and asking, "Please tell me, Kato, how did you recognize me?"

"Well, this..."

Kato Megumi tilted her head slightly, then stared intently at Kiritani-kun, "I feel..."

...It's alright to rely on intuition; it's much better than recognizing someone by their back.

It's true! After all, Kirito-kun's back view looks almost like a girl's right now, and that's what he's worried about.

Let's take a roasted chestnut as an example. In some comics or animations, many readers can recognize a character just by looking at their silhouette—but this is only possible if the character has left a very deep impression on the reader.

What Kiritani-kun is worried about is undoubtedly the impression he will leave on others... a feminine one.

"It's alright, it's alright."

"Eh, does it bother you a lot, Kazuhito-kun?"

"Yes, I care a lot! -- But I'm more curious about why you came to CM. I don't remember you being an otaku. If you were interested in light novels and manga, you wouldn't have come to CM. You could have just gone to any bookstore."

As he spoke, Kiritani-kun moved to the side so as not to obstruct other tourists.

"Kato, did you come alone? By the way..."

"No, I came with a friend from my relatives' family, but... I think I was dragged along as a third wheel. I followed her and her boyfriend for a bit, and then they disappeared, so now I'm wandering around alone... Although I find the atmosphere here quite interesting, I'm actually planning to go back, since I don't know anything... Oh, I almost forgot, I was also looking for Kazuto-kun and Sawamura-kun earlier, because you guys said you'd be attending the CM convention..."

Kato Megumi shook her head slightly and said something quite heartbreaking.

But, how should I put it... I don't think it's that they disappeared, but rather that you're so inconspicuous that they didn't notice and assumed you were missing, so they went looking for you? — No, that reason won't work. Anyone who isn't mentally challenged would know to contact you by phone.

So, Kato, your excuse isn't very good.

Although he didn't know Kato Megumi's purpose, Kiritani-kun had no intention of asking any further questions, since it was just a trivial matter anyway.

"I see... Now that you've run into me, are you planning to go back, or continue wandering around here?"

"Eh... Hmm, Kazuto-kun is inviting me, right? Well then, I'll trouble you, Kazuto-kun, to be my guide this time."

Kato Megumi's lips curled up slightly, but the smile vanished in an instant.

...No, I didn't mean to invite you at all. What you said...wait, Kato, you still dare to say you're not scheming Megumi!

Kiritani looked at the girl with a calm and indifferent gaze, and pushed up his glasses. "Whatever you want, I still have some free time now—do you want to go to Sawamura's stall?"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Your Majesty."

Ms. Kato nodded slightly, her meaning crystal clear: now that you're the guide, you can go wherever you want.

"Let's go then."

Without pausing, Kiritani took the lead and walked towards Eriri's stall, with Kato Megumi calmly following behind.

...Hmm, it seems like Yuuki-kun isn't here today.

During the subsequent chat, Kiritani learned that Kato Megumi had come to Tokyo with her family and was then caught by her relative's child—incidentally, this relative of Kato's seemed to work at a hospital.

As for which hospital it was, Kiritani-kun was too lazy to ask; it was just a pointless topic of conversation anyway.

"Kato, you should know this area is for R-18 works..."

"I know, that's why I came here. After all... well, Kazuto-kun and Sawamura-kun are both erotic illustrators."

With a slightly subtle look in her eyes, Kato Megumi shifted her gaze to the stalls next to her, seemingly trying to see if she recognized any of them... Well, strictly speaking, Ms. Kato, who wasn't exactly an otaku yet, didn't recognize any of the doujinshi she saw here.

—By the way, knowing that all the works in this area are R-18, Kato Megumi, did you reveal something?

"I think you should go to the West Wing. I went there the day before yesterday. All the dating games, whether R-18 or all ages, are concentrated there... It should be helpful for your situation. If you have time, Kato, you can go and take a look."

"...Ah, just like what Kazuhito said, put yourself in the heroine's shoes and try to imitate her mindset and emotional changes...Hmm, it feels a bit like playing a dating simulation game."

Kato Megumi spoke with a slightly subtle tone, then glanced at Kiritani-kun before quickly walking up to him. Under his strange gaze, she slapped away his naturally raised hand. "Why are you so skilled at this? How many times have you practiced this?"

"..."

With a bewildered expression, Kiritani stared blankly at Kato Megumi for a while before reacting. He pursed his lips, looking hesitant and unsure of what to say... and finally spent a few seconds reorganizing his thoughts.

But before Kiritani could speak, Kato Megumi put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and took a small step back. "Well, do you think it was a great success?"

"...If it weren't for the tone of the reading, I think it would have been more successful."

Kiritani took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. Luckily, this was inside the walkway; if it were outside, he would probably have been surrounded by onlookers by now.

Perhaps Kiritani-kun was a little taken aback by Kato Megumi's sudden action, but he still remembers her...

"I told you, if you dare to tell me why you're so skilled after playing the game, I'll beat you up—so, Ms. Kato, do you have any last words? I can engrave them on your tombstone!"

"...That year, Kirito graduated from high school. Braving the cold wind and trudging through the snow, he came to the grave—Hey, Kato, I've come to join you!—Hint: you're being buried with me."

275

【NO.272 Erotic Periphery and Its Theory (Part 5)】

If, and I mean if, a cute girl said that when you die, she would let you be buried in the same cemetery as her—what would that feel like?

...A bizarre confession?

No way! Even after death, someone else will take up half of your coffin. That's going too far.

Ah, why did you say "if"?

It's very simple, because the prerequisite is that you need to know a cute girl.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing that epitaph that sounded like a narration, Kiritani-kun stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

I guess I should just leave Kato Megumi behind. Taking action might be a bit too much, since this kid seems indifferent to everything, but actually her inner emotions are more delicate than anyone else's... Hmm, Kiritani-kun is starting to not want to play with Kato Megumi anymore. This scheming Megumi is too scary; she actually wants to drag him down with her.

"Make a note of this for now, and I'll make you suffer twice as much later."

While the best course of action against Yan Xue would be to simply kill him, there are too many people around, and if someone calls the police, it could cause serious trouble.

Honestly, there are quite a few people like Yukino Yukinoshita who will pull out their phones at the drop of a hat, ready to call the police. And compared to Yukinoshita, who mostly just bluffs, these people outside are probably more proactive.

"You can't bully me, okay?"

Kato Megumi seemed a little flustered, but she appeared calm on the surface and found a solution in a very short time.

"Besides, I was just demonstrating what the Lord asked me to learn! ...Is there something I did wrong?"

"The best thing you did was apply that phrase to me. You've got guts. You should have finished writing your will by now, right? I'll just read it here and burn it for you. Here you go."

Kiritani stared blankly at Kato Megumi as she retreated. It was true that I wanted Kato to observe and learn more, but... this was too fake! At least don't use that monotone tone!

"I really can't understand what the ruler is saying at all."

Kato Megumi silently turned her head away, but if Kiritani-kun looked at it from a different angle, he would definitely notice the slightly upturned corners of her mouth.

"Ah, I see Sawamura-kun's booth."

Suddenly raising her hand to the right, Kato Megumi looked at Eriri, who was wearing a middle school sports uniform, with a slight surprise... She wasn't disguised at all!

You guessed wrong about these things...

"Tsk!"

Kiritani clicked his tongue, then walked towards Eriri.

As expected, there are still quite a few tourists queuing up to buy doujinshi here, much more than at Kiritani-kun's place. Of course, it can't compare to the first day, but to still gather this level of crowd on the third day is definitely quite impressive.

Because there were four maids, it wasn't too busy. At least when Kirito approached, Eriri noticed him and left her spot, handing over her work to the maid standing next to her.

"What are you doing here? Trying to find out my sales figures? Let me tell you, you're absolutely... Whoa! Kato, what are you doing here?"

Just as Eriri was about to say something arrogant, she saw Kato Megumi following behind Kiritani-kun and subconsciously changed the subject in surprise.

Strictly speaking, it was Eriri who introduced Kato Megumi to the hobby, but that was all. There was no follow-up after that. Eriri completely failed in her responsibility as a senior, and didn't do her best to guide Kato Megumi towards the otaku world... I'm ashamed to say, I should have invited Kato along.

But, Kato came with Kiritani, didn't he?

No, that's not right. I didn't see Kato at all when I went to Kirito before, which means... he came alone?