manga artist Kirito

Page 131

But it feels a bit strange. Occasionally, when I pass by some odd alleys, I hear things like, "Hey little brother, come on in and have some fun!" Soon after, someone will say I'm shameless or even call the police... Why don't these kinds of machines get smashed?

The time wasn't up yet, and the carousel hadn't stopped. Kiritani-kun sat on the up-and-down carousel with dead fish eyes, his thoughts starting to wander slightly—it felt like torture.

Kiritani-kun suddenly remembered... it seems that such a cruel form of torture really existed in ancient times?

Ugh! My thoughts are wandering a bit too far...

Kiritani turned his head to look at Asuna, who was standing at the gate and smiling at him. Ah, why didn't I pull Asuna up with me earlier? At least hugging Asuna would feel so much better than hugging this thing with the rocking horse hanging from it.

The wave effect seems like a great feature, and it would probably look beautiful in erotic comics.

Yes, that's right. Kiritani-kun started considering whether to incorporate the wave effect from the carousel into the doujinshi that would be used in the winter commercial—yes, for a character with a "loser" persona—and suddenly he started looking forward to the winter commercial.

A short while later, Kirito-kun tumbled off the carousel, a subtle expression on his face. He had memorized the feeling, but if he couldn't draw it out quickly, he might forget it soon... However, since they knew they were at an amusement park, neither Kirito-kun nor Shiina Mashiro had brought their usual sketchbooks...

Uh, thinking about it seriously, even if I did bring it, I couldn't just draw erotic comics in public, could I?

This kind of humiliating play is really enough!

"Kazuto, what's with that expression?"

With a strange look in her eyes, Asuna held a chopstick to Kirito's forehead, seemingly hesitating whether to strike him. "What are you thinking about? You're so distracted."

I'm thinking about the art style of the new ecchi work...

"Hmm, he probably wants to think about things related to the work?"

Rita held her forehead, looking a little dizzy. She glanced at Kirito's condition and couldn't help but think of Shiina Mashiro when she was painting, or rather, preparing a new painting. She had a similar expression, only without the subtle nuance that Kirito had at this moment.

"Asuna, the pirate ship!"

Tugging at Kiritani's sleeve, Shiina Mashiro, finding him still deep in thought, subtly puffed out her cheeks, then pulled at Asuna's sleeve and pointed to the pirate ship attraction not far away.

"Okay, let's go ride the pirate ship then."

Asuna withdrew the noodle knife she had ultimately not used, took Shiina Mashiro's hand, and decisively abandoned Kiritani-kun, who was still deep in thought.

"Um... Rita, come with us. We can leave the others for now, it's okay."

"Huh? Is it okay to just leave it alone?"

Rita blinked, her eyes slightly open, and her gaze fell upon the spot next to Shiina Mashiro...

That...the person standing on the sidelines before, that was actually me...

Now, it seems... getting further and further away...

297

【NO.294 Chiba Holiday (Part 3)】

Pirate ship...

To put it simply, it's no different from the swings we used to play on as kids. The difference is that this is a super-large, multi-person swing with an automatic swing function. Although the force and speed change constantly during the swing, that's why you have to wear a safety belt, otherwise... you might experience what it means to want to fly higher.

Overall, however, the experience of a pirate ship that doesn't have a 360-degree spin is still much better than that of a roller coaster.

Screams are definitely going to happen, and they'll be the kind that could pierce your eardrums, although Asuna and Shiina Mashiro are practically never going to experience such screams.

The former's expression did change quite a bit, and she even cried out in surprise at times, but it certainly didn't qualify as a scream. The latter, on the other hand, went a bit too far. She remained expressionless throughout, her mouth tightly shut, as if the centrifugal force had absolutely nothing to do with her...

Pirate ship: Don't I have any dignity?

Rita, on the other hand, gave the pirate ship plenty of face, screaming, showing a panicked expression, and her face even turned a little pale.

And, Rita wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the gaze coming from the side was somewhat... disdainful?

Yes, yes, sitting next to her is Asuna, and then comes Shiina Mashiro.

"Not fun."

After disembarking, Shiina Mashiro turned her head to look at the stopped pirate ship and silently uttered three words.

The staff member next to him twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth... He's expressionless; he's not suited for amusement parks at all!

"It seems that it's not as exciting as I imagined."

Asuna tidied her hair, which was now a little messy from the swaying of the pirate ship. "It feels... so different from the anticipation of going to a haunted house with someone."

"I recommend going to a haunted house!"

Shiina Mashiro's eyes brightened slightly, and she made a suggestion.

"...Although I really want to, the haunted house is a bit far from here. Let's try all the attractions here first, and then go to the adventure area."

Asuna smiled broadly, then leaned over and whispered in Shiina Mashiro's ear, "Aren't you looking forward to seeing how scared Kazuto looks?"

Shiina Mashiro nodded vigorously in affirmation, "Yes, you absolutely have to see it!"

"..."

Ms. Rita, pale and a little dizzy, was slightly bewildered as she watched the two whispering. Were these two really okay?

It really looks weird, okay? Thinking of taking Shido to a haunted house... to scare him?

No way, Shido might look like a girl, but he's actually a guy. He can't possibly be afraid of ghosts... Uh, you can't really say for sure about these things.

"By the way, Shido, why hasn't he arrived yet?"

"Turning around, the person you see who is looking down and contemplating life is He Ren."

With her smile fading, Asuna turned around and pointed behind her. Rita, looking rather like a defeated woman, smoothed her messy blonde hair and looked back. She saw Mr. Kiritani squatting on the ground, his pale fingers pinching his chin, as if he was thinking about something extremely important.

...Well, how should I put it, the way his side ponytail fell down made him look even more charming.

Rita smiled sweetly, "Hey, you're so cute, Shido."

Not far away, Kiritani-kun suddenly looked up and, for some reason, felt a chill run down his spine.

But that shouldn't be the case; the weather is just right now...it's still a long way from cold.

Ah, now I should add some details about Kirito's outfit today. His awkward side ponytail, knowing he'd be exposed to the sun for a long time, prompted him to change into a white short-sleeved shirt—well… it's Asuna's shirt, since Kirito doesn't usually wear much color. He paired it with knee-length shorts, a very casual combination.

(You can refer to the outfit of the little angel, Ayaka...)

"Ah, the pirate ship is over..."

The confusion in his eyes faded, and Kiritani-kun temporarily suppressed his thoughts about how to apply that wave effect to the dialogue style. He then stood up and quickly walked towards them.

Kirigaya-kun's gaze swept over the second "loser," and he made a face as if he was trying to suppress a laugh. Then he reached out and patted Shiina Mashiro's head. "How do you feel?"

"It's not fun, I want... um..."

Feeling Asuna tighten her grip on her hand, Shiina Mashiro tilted her head, confused, but still subconsciously changed her words, "Roller coaster, bumper cars!"

"...Then let Yunxiao go ride the roller coaster first."

Although he was puzzled by Shiina Mashiro's pause, Kiritani-kun knew very well how straightforward his eldest daughter was, so he didn't think too much about it.

However, Rita, who was standing next to her, suddenly widened her eyes. She had heard the whole conversation between Asuna and Shiina Mashiro and roughly understood what Shiina Mashiro wanted to say, but—she changed her mind! She changed her mind halfway through!

Impossible... This can't be real, right? It must be fake, right?

—How could Mashiro do this?

The girl who had been with Shiina Mashiro for over a decade felt that her past memories were truly overturned at this moment. In addition, there was Shiina Mashiro's sarcastic remark—"Hey, is this Shiina Mashiro a fake?"

Please tell me if this Shiina Mashiro is fake!

...Yes, Miss Rita was unwilling to face the harsh reality.

"Rita, is it your turn to contemplate life now?"

Holding Shiina Mashiro's hand, Asuna turned around at a 45-degree angle to look at the still bewildered girl. "The roller coaster ride is a bit far away. If you don't keep up, it'll be troublesome if you get lost... We haven't exchanged contact information yet, have we?"

"Huh? Well, I was just thinking about something... As for contact information, I have Shido's email address."

Rita tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, tilted her head, and smiled faintly.

Kiritani-kun felt the malice emanating from his eyes and the source of the chill behind him. However, Kiritani-kun genuinely had no idea when he had exchanged email addresses with Rita.

"Of course we exchanged them in the study the day before yesterday, but Shido was asleep at the time."

With a smile, the girl came to Kiritani's side. "Yui-chan is really something. She even told me that if I sent the email, I would definitely delete it so that Shido wouldn't see it."

...Good job, my dear daughter!

Asuna silently applauded her youngest daughter's cleverness, while also realizing that Rita's so-called exchange of email addresses was nothing more than... Rita unilaterally obtaining Kirito's email account.

P.S.: Regarding the title issue... it's very troublesome to come up with one, and you guys are unwilling to help. What can I do?

Lately, I feel so tired...

298

【NO.295 Chiba Holiday (Part 4)】

The most important thing about an amusement park is to have fun.

Roller coasters... are indeed quite thrilling; that centrifugal force always gives you the feeling that your heart is about to jump out of your chest. However, it's also accompanied by that premonition of nausea...

Throughout the entire process, Kiritani-kun only felt dizzy and his hand, which was being held by Asuna, was a little sore. After that, he didn't have any other thoughts until he landed.

How should I put it? This project, which looks very exciting... is actually just so-so, quite boring.

The subsequent bumper cars were rather simple and brutal. As the only male in the team, Kiritani was like he was being targeted, and everyone wanted to hit him... I mean, bump into him once.

There was no need to use the brakes; at least Shiina Mashiro never used them. She kept the accelerator floored the entire time, making it seem like she had some deep-seated grudge against Kirito-kun…

It's obvious that he has a bigger grudge against Rita, right?

Of course, as his girlfriend, Asuna would still protect Kirito's image when necessary, and repeatedly stopped Rita from driving the bumper cars, even almost knocking Rita over.

After thinking that Asuna was amazing during their last conversation, Rita finally began to think that Asuna Yuuki was a bit scary.

However, since the bumper cars took a long time to play, it was already noon after only two or three rides. Even so, they had already done most of the rides in the standard area, and both Asuna and Shiina Mashiro were looking forward to the adventure area in the afternoon... Yes, yes, they wanted to give Kirito-san a fright!

By the way, repeating a short answer twice is kind of cute, isn't it?

Located in the rest area near the water park and adventure zone, Kiritani-san slumped in her chair as if she had been completely burned out, utterly uninterested in the desserts placed right in front of her... Sugar powder is very important, especially for a creator, since excessive energy depletion can reduce the speed of writing by 99%, and at this time, if a little sugar powder is added, it will have a buff-like effect.

Sugar powder, that's a primary energy source for the human body. The brain consumes one-fifth of the body's energy, so appropriate sugar powder supplementation can increase brain activity—besides, Mother Goose horror stories also mention that girls are made of sugar powder, spices, and something wonderful...

Incidentally, many creators carry snacks with them containing powdered sugar... for whatever purpose, even those related to little girls.

Even though Kiritani-san isn't a girl, it's still necessary to supplement her with some sugar powder.

Even though it had burned out, Kiritani-san felt that watching the girl nibbling on the dessert... made his brain start to work.

It's so beautiful that Kiritani-san kept staring at it.

Shiina Mashiro was holding a strawberry-flavored Häagen-Dazs ice cream cup, sticking out her pink tongue to lick the still-cold spoon, her eyes slightly narrowed, looking very content.

Asuna, with her chestnut hair cascading down her side, used her free hand to scoop out a small piece of ice cream with a spoon, slowly putting it into her mouth, savoring the cool and sweet taste, her eyes revealing a look of satisfaction... For some reason, Kiritani-san felt that Asuna in this state had the demeanor of a Yamato Nadeshiko.

Seemingly sensing Kiritani-san's gaze, a faint blush rose to her fair cheeks, and a small spoon remained between her slightly pursed lips. Asuna glanced away, but Kiritani-san's eyes remained fixed on her, causing Asuna's complexion to grow even redder...

"What...what are you looking at, staring at me like that?"

Seeing her shy demeanor, Asuna couldn't help but speak.

"It's so good that I don't want to look at other people's pictures."

With his hands crossed and resting on the table, Kiritani-san's chin rested on the back of his hands, and he said with a slight smile, "Some people, you can never get tired of looking at them."

"...Idiot, what are you saying?"

With her eyes blinking rapidly, a feeling of shyness was brewing in her heart. Asuna lowered her head slightly, poking at the ice cream cup with her small spoon without any intention of scooping it out to eat. She simply continued doing this.

With a slight change in tone, she said, "Stop looking, it's strange."

Kiritani chuckled, "No, I don't think there's anything strange about it."

"..."

Watching the interaction between the two, Rita resisted the urge to flip the table and instead turned her gaze to Shiina Mashiro. This kind of public display of affection was probably not the first time for them. And Mashiro, who had been by their side all along... what were her feelings?

Yes, Rita was very curious.

"Hmm," he still had that expressionless look, but it was much stranger than usual or before.

If before it was because of facial paralysis that he was expressionless, then now... it's simply because he doesn't want to have any expression that he's expressionless.

...It might seem a bit awkward, but the implications are vastly different.

It's true... You've suffered so much, Mashiro!

Having been here for so long, Mashiro, you must have experienced plenty of things like this before...