manga artist Kirito

Page 128

…………

...It seems like this scenario has happened more than once, hasn't it?

Yoko, Shiina Mashiro, and now we can also bring Rita, who's just arrived...

Wait a minute, it seems like... everyone before this was a newcomer who did this.

When Kiritani-kun is drawing, I like to stand behind him and watch—it always feels like there's a ghost behind me.

However, Yoko prefers to sit behind Kirigaya and read a book, while Shiina Mashiro can stand and read for a whole day without saying a word. As for Rita... she says she is focused on Kirigaya's artwork, but actually she has too many thoughts in her mind, so she doesn't really absorb much of it.

Various thoughts were disturbing her mind, and she never really calmed down to look at it.

Kiritani-kun, however, seemed oblivious, continuing to sketch out the images and storylines that were surfacing in his mind.

Time passed gradually...

After about an hour, Rita pursed her lips tightly, temporarily putting aside the messy thoughts in her mind. Then she took a deep breath and wanted to bend over... because her legs were numb from standing for so long.

"So, what exactly do you want to see?"

The sudden voice startled Rita, who was about to stretch her legs. As she raised her eyes slightly, she saw that face, which remained calm, but with a hint of helplessness in her brows.

"...You scared me to death! Can you please not talk so suddenly?"

Rolling her eyes, Rita reached out and patted her chest. The softness inside the white shirt revealed a startling elasticity. Hmm... this shirt is indeed a bit tight.

"I was just looking at your artwork... This comic seems quite interesting?"

“Very special.”

Kiritani-kun gave it his best assessment, not as an exaggeration or anything, but because the story was truly special to him...

Turning his gaze away from the two bouncing dumplings, Kiritani remained as calm as ever. "You... don't really like manga, do you?"

"...To be precise, I wouldn't say I really like it, but I definitely wouldn't say I hate it either, since I do watch it sometimes."

Rita took two steps back and sat down against the bookshelf, showing a slight hint of apology. "I'm sorry, I still disturbed you."

Even though we're both artists and we know we're in different fields, once we're in the zone, it's never a good thing to disturb us rashly, no matter what.

"Oh, what then?"

Kiritani stood up and stretched, followed by a series of crackling sounds. He picked up the water glass next to him, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp. "Hmm, what I mean is, after watching for so long, what do you want to say?"

"I think should not be?"

I have many thoughts in my mind, but it seems that none of them are suitable to be shared.

Shaking her head slightly, Rita reached out and hugged her knees, like a girl who, lacking a sense of security when sleeping, would instinctively reach for something to hug. "But Shido is really amazing. I hadn't paid much attention to manga before, but the artwork quality, style, and speed... are all incredible."

Hey, are you just being reckless with your words?

Kiritani-kun admitted she couldn't fathom what was going on in this guy's head, but she was currently quite bewildered, though she could clearly see it.

"Save those words for someone else. If you really have nothing to say, then I'll put it another way—what do you want to ask?"

"Hmm, this isn't really a good idea... Are you still busy?"

"I prefer people who speak their minds; being direct saves time for both of us."

To put it another way, it's the rectum... well, that sounds weird.

Kiritani picked up the bed sheet from the sofa in the study and threw it on her head. "Cover your panties. Half-covered is more alluring to me... Full-covered? Sorry, I'm really not interested."

"Oh, so Shido, you prefer this kind of style."

Rita was surprised by the discovery, but recalling the information about the erotic artist Fujiwara Echizen, she quickly understood; it seemed that it really was true.

However, Rita didn't intend to throw the sheet back. Instead, she covered her lower body and smiled slightly. "Then, tell me about... Mashiro?"

"Okay, I'll keep it brief."

Kiritani sat back in his chair, turned his back to Rita and looked at her, then picked up his paintbrush again. "Well... let's start from when you came to my house."

"Okay, I'll tell you about Mashiro's time in England later too."

"No need, I'm not that curious about that."

"..."

"So……"

…………

The conversation, which lasted for an hour and a half, was all about Shiina Mashiro, and included many amusing anecdotes.

Naturally, Kiritani's drawing speed decreased significantly, but even with the distraction, the quality remained unchanged.

Rita listened intently to everything Kirito-kun said; you'd think it was a lecture. But regardless, Rita's constant smile... only made her seem more insincere.

"That's about it... Oh, it seems like it's almost time. We should be able to find out where Mashiro's manga ranks in the Newcomer Award soon."

After putting down his paintbrush and rubbing his head, which felt a little swollen, Kiritani-kun recounted the incident as a conclusion.

To be honest, regarding the Newcomer Award, while Kiritani was still helping Akane Kousaka with her various tasks, he should have been involved as well, since it was a lot of work piling up. Although he ultimately declined, citing his lack of involvement in previous discussions about the various works, now that Akane Kousaka is able to work, the ranking announcement will naturally not be put on hold.

"Submitting comics..."

Rita's smile faded, and she looked up at Kiritani-kun. "Do you think... Mashiro is really suited to drawing manga?"

To clarify, Rita is generally aware of what Shiina Mashiro experienced here, including the inspiration behind Shiina Mashiro's manga...

"This isn't something I can decide, whether it's appropriate or not... I think you should ask the person involved."

Kiritani Kazuto affirmed this.

291

[NO.288 Boys and Girls Still Striving (Part 3)]

There's a saying that competitors are enemies, and that's certainly true.

Just like the sales competition between Kiritani-kun and Miss Loser, it evolved from this. As for the result... there's nothing to care about, it's just that the feeling was quite good.

Rita... she's still just a little girl, isn't she?

Kiritani Kazuto made this judgment.

But from a human perspective, this kind of thing seems perfectly normal.

...It's just a shame that Rita doesn't like manga, otherwise she could probably find common ground with other shonen manga...

…………

Having roughly finished his work, Kiritani rubbed his slightly sore eyes as he looked at the keyboard at four in the morning. He then turned to look at Rita, who was flipping through a weekly magazine published by Rouge en rouge. Although it was a little strange that she hadn't gone to sleep yet, what he needed to focus on now was... where she found this magazine from. He had completely forgotten where he had put it.

This weekly magazine was only bought by Kiritani-kun to commemorate the official serialization of Sword Art Online. After all... it costs money, and if the manga he wanted to read was from Rouge en rouge, it would be incredibly easy for Kiritani-kun to get the manuscript directly.

Furthermore, the only manga in Rouge en rouge that Kiritani-kun likes is the shonen manga created by Suigi.

After thinking about some trivial things and recalling Rita's previous remarks, Kiritani asked with a yawn, "Hey, Rita used to study painting in the same studio as Mashiro, right?"

Rita raised her head and looked at Kirito with a puzzled expression. "Hmm? Is that so? How so?"

Having just come from the UK, Rita is still quite energetic, much more so than the sleepy Kiritani-kun.

"how to say……"

After a moment's hesitation, Kiritani took a sketchbook out of the drawer and placed it on the table. "Although we have different areas of expertise, our basic skills in sketching should be the same. So... let's try drawing something... um, just draw something for me to see?"

"...Um, no, I don't paint anymore."

Rita remained silent, but her expression gradually underwent an indescribable change. After a long while, she finally shook her head in refusal.

"mentally retarded!"

Seeing the idiotic look in his eyes, Kiritani-kun uttered two words indifferently, then began packing his things, preparing to go to sleep.

Kiritani-kun neither sought to understand nor intended to understand why Rita gave up painting; in any case, the matter itself had little to do with him.

Of course, if you want to know, you can summarize the information from our previous ramblings to find out the result, but... I really can't muster any interest.

…………

the next day……

Unfortunately, nothing like waking up to find a woman lying on top of me happened.

Everything was as uneventful as ever. If I had to say something, it would be that... there was another woman in the house.

Hey, why did you say "again"?

Oh well, it's not that important anyway. It's just that giving up the room to someone else really doesn't feel right.

Stepping out of the study, scratching his messy hair, Kiritani-kun went into the bathroom to wash up. It was almost noon... Everyone who was supposed to be awake was awake. Asuna was making lunch, and Mashiro, as usual, was curled up on the sofa drawing, seemingly oblivious to Rita sitting next to her. Rita, on the other hand, was looking at something on her computer.

"Ugh, Asuna... I'm so hungry!"

After stepping out of the bathroom, Kiritani glanced into the kitchen before lazily sprawling onto the sofa next to it.

Rita, who was also sitting on the same sofa, was so startled that she almost threw her computer away. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, then took a small step back, looking at this unkempt guy, not knowing what to say.

"Wait a little longer, lunch will be ready soon."

Asuna's voice came from the kitchen, sounding rather helpless.

"Ahhh! I'm starving..."

Like a dead fish, Kiritani rolled around on the sofa, his listless eyes sweeping over the long, white legs so close to his face. After a slight pause, he silently said, "Your legs... are a bit of a nuisance."

"..." Rita didn't want to talk, and rolled her eyes at Kirito.

"Tsk," Kiritani scratched his cheek, then turned on the TV and started watching those pointless news programs.

Regarding Rita's situation... Kirito summarized it in two words in the early morning. As for Rita's feelings afterwards, or what she wanted to say, Kirito has no idea, although... he's somewhat curious about it now.

Being called an idiot, and seriously at that... Kirito-kun thinks that if Rita hadn't had a disguise comparable to Haruno's, he probably wouldn't have been able to get a good night's sleep last night.

"Wash your hands, lunch is ready."

As she took off her apron, Asuna walked out of the kitchen and called to the three useless people in the living room to prepare dinner.

"I just finished washing up, my hands aren't dirty!"

Kiritani jumped up immediately, walked over with a smile, and was then dragged by Asuna to wash his hands.

Rita hesitated, wondering if she should say something. At that moment, Shiina Mashiro put down her sketchbook, glanced at Rita with a subtle look, and then walked towards the kitchen.

"...?"

With a strange expression, Rita reached out and touched her pretty face, looking a little bewildered.

Is this place... really that strange? I can't understand this atmosphere at all!

"Let's eat, Rita."

"Well, thank you."

Rita smiled again and nodded in response to Asuna.

Rita wondered if it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw Asuna shaking her head slightly.

...Ugh, this is so strange! What kind of atmosphere is this?

"By the way, Hina, I've finished drawing the manuscript for two chapters. Can we play today?"

"No, there are still three days until the deadline, and you still have four chapters of manuscript to draw."

Asuna smiled and patted Kiritani's head. "If you don't want Hiratsuka-sensei to be stuck at home, then you'd better finish drawing your manuscript properly... Hmm, I might consider taking you out to play later!"

Kiritani puffed out his cheeks, "...I'm not happy."

Asuna tilted her head and asked, "Then... how about we skip dinner?"

"Did you...make porridge today?"

Shiina Mashiro interrupted, "...I want to eat ramen, tonkotsu ramen."

Asuna picked up her chopsticks and placed green peppers on their plates. "We don't have any."

Kiritani and Shiina Mashiro exchanged a glance, then Kiritani placed the green pepper into Rita's bowl. "Let's eat then."

Rita looked completely bewildered... What the heck!

I don’t know how to put it, but it seems like… it would be better to start from Yuuki’s side?

P.S.: Someone next door got married today... I went over for a free meal, so the fourth update will be a little late.