manga artist Kirito

Page 144

Kiritani rolled his eyes, but he had to admit that things had improved...

"Tsundere... that doesn't suit you at all, Shido."

With a soft sigh, the girl looked up at the sparsely starry night sky. "Just as you said, I... have never had a real goal. I just wanted to respond to the expectations of those around me. I never thought about what I really wanted to do..."

"Anything is fine, just please don't draw comics."

Kirito clasped his hands together and said very sincerely, "Then, just say what you want to say. You know Shiina Mashiro's thought process is a bit off. If you expect her to guess what you're thinking... how about I pull you up and push you again?"

It's a real shame, though, that the other ways we prepared to comfort each other are now useless...

"Please, please don't accept this one!"

Rita waved her hand in refusal, then her eyes grew serious. "If a gust of wind or a few drops of rain can stop me from doing these easy things, what kind of preparation can such cowardice make for the future I've planned for myself?"

Rita used a quote from a certain book at this moment.

Rita extended her hand, a smile, whether genuine or not, playing on her lips. "Then, could you please lend me a hand again?"

"Only friends can lend you a hand, so it seems you already consider me a friend. But I hope you can face me with a genuine smile."

Kirito gripped that slightly cold hand tightly and exerted his strength...

--thump!

The water splashed again...

The girl, following the smile that bloomed from her heart, became real at that moment.

"Therefore, we are destined not to be friends."

He plunged headfirst into the water, his long, flowing hair clinging to his neck. The expressionless boy slapped away the girl's hand that was gripping his wrist.

"No way! My smile right now is completely in accordance with my emotions!"

Tilting her head, the girl had a serene smile on her lips. "I—am very happy!"

"I'm not only unhappy right now, I also want to hold you underwater and do this and that to you."

Wow, this must be a new play, right?

Kirito was furious. When he was dragged into the water, he almost couldn't resist punching her. But when he stared at her smiling face, he finally gave up the impulsive idea.

However, before Kirito could make any further moves, the girl pulled him into her arms. Her hands were not around his neck or waist, but rather encompassed his arms, and she leaned close to him.

Her body was trembling slightly, and you could even feel the heat emanating from the other person's body.

"No wonder Shido has so many girls around him..."

"what?"

"nothing."

Rita shook her head slightly. "It is Shido's responsibility to offer comfort and a hug to a beautiful girl who has emerged from her confusion!"

So girls can come up with all sorts of strange reasons.

…………

Soaked to the bone, the two walked slowly down the street, the night breeze blowing.

"Shido, doesn't this remind you of when we first met?"

"No, that time it was raining, this time it's because of you... Ah, to sum it up, it could actually be said that it's because of you, so it does seem quite similar."

"Wow, is it really okay to just shift the blame onto me like this? At least I had an umbrella that time, and it was Shido who used it!"

"If it weren't for you, I would have taken a taxi."

"...So, why don't we take a taxi?"

They chatted about these trivial matters and slowly walked towards the VIP area. The lingering heat of the festival had not yet dissipated, and the two, soaked to the bone, undoubtedly attracted attention.

"I don't know, but can you open up? I can't feel anything through this wet fabric."

"No, that won't do! If you let go, you'll expose yourself. The yukata is just too thin."

"Then you'd better be careful not to get killed by Asuna."

"...Um, Shido, my situation is so embarrassing, how am I going to tell Mashiro about it? She'll definitely think I'm weird, won't she?"

"Just say it directly; beating around the bush might not make her understand at all."

From afar, Kiritani-kun saw several girls still standing in place. Their bodies, which looked a little cold from walking in the night wind, were warmed up considerably by the sight.

"Then, Rita... face the choice you must make!"

P.S.: Flirting with girls is great... but something seems wrong?

322

【NO.319 Interlude (8)】

It's the first day of school.

Unexpectedly, Kiritani-kun came to school alone today.

Of course, the real reason was that he had just returned from dropping someone off at the airport, and Kiritani-kun had also wanted to skip today's class, but he received a call from Ms. Shizuka and had no choice but to return to school.

It was still before the second period of the morning class had ended. Kiritani-kun leisurely walked towards the classroom, but then he spotted a figure on the stairs who seemed to be waiting for him.

Without hesitation, Kiritani-kun immediately turned around and tried to run away.

"Kiritani! If you dare to run, I'll make sure you kiss my fist on the face later!"

This is what a killing machine with the savage genes of an ancient beast inside him looks like. With a furious shout, Kirito stopped in his tracks and turned around with a smirk.

"Hey, Ms. Jing, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone at the stairwell?"

Don't you know what I'm doing here?

"Ah! I realized I forgot something at home, so I'm going back to get it... but it looks like the teacher isn't going to give me the chance to go home."

"Get in here and start class. Trying to skip class on the first day of school? Have you forgotten when my classes are?"

Yes, it's best not to skip Jing'ai's class, because then Jing'ai will turn into Iron Fist Judge.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, illuminating the steps. The female teacher, still exuding an air of authority, grabbed Kiritani by the collar and led him into the classroom.

It was the same familiar scene: the lazy students immediately shut up and pretended to be very serious in class when they saw Jing Ke'ai appear.

Kiritani rolled his eyes, straightened his collar, and then went back to his seat to listen to the teacher nagging on and on.

Actually... there were no formal classes today. After all, there are many things to arrange on the first day of school. When Jing was waiting outside for Kirito-kun, she actually instructed the class monitor and the other committee members to do the preparation work... Now that everyone is here, it's time to start the class meeting.

Watching Jingke stand on the podium with a serious expression, explaining some precautions for the holiday, Kiritani-kun propped his cheek with one hand and looked out the window.

After the fireworks show, Rita and Shiina Mashiro reconciled... well, you could call it a reconciliation for now. Actually, the whole time Rita was crying and saying things that Shiina Mashiro couldn't understand. Although Shiina Mashiro didn't understand, she did understand that communication is very important!

Of course, Rita never gave up on her idea of ​​taking Shiina Mashiro back to England to continue drawing. Perhaps at first Rita just wanted Shiina Mashiro to feel the desolation and sadness of a loser, but she never intended to force Shiina Mashiro to give up the path of drawing... Supporting her to draw comics was just a joke, after all, having no goal is the most painful thing.

However, I was rejected...

Well, Rita had already expected this.

Afterwards, Rita challenged Shiina Mashiro to a painting contest, and naturally, Shiina Mashiro agreed without hesitation. As expected, Rita lost.

Although the judges were Kiritani-kun, Asuna, Hikigaya, and Yukinoshita, they might not have been able to offer much insight into the artistic aspects, but on the surface, Shiina Mashiro was the winner.

However, Rita didn't seem too dejected, since she had expected this outcome.

After that, Kirito stayed home for a while, and neither Asuna, Shiina Mashiro, nor Rita went back with him...

Kirigaya-kun only returned from the dojo yesterday, bearing numerous wounds—unfortunately, not only was Mikasa at the dojo when Kirigaya-kun returned, but Kenshin and Li Shunsheng also stayed away, spending several days being ganged up on by them. However, these guys seemed to know something, completely avoiding using their hands when attacking…

To be honest, Kiritani-kun thinks that rushing home was just asking for trouble. Next time, he should never go back before he's sure these guys aren't home.

During this period, Jing Ke'ai repeatedly urged him to submit the manuscript, and Tong Gu-jun worked tirelessly to finally produce the manuscript required for publication at that time, as well as the manuscripts saved for the following two weeks...

However, Machida Sonoko called several times afterward, urging them to continue working on the illustrations...

Kirito had so many "MMP"s running through his mind!

I've never seen so much work when I have free time. Should I just dump all this work on me now that school is about to start?

Slightly, there are two things worth mentioning... First, Rita's affection level seems to have risen a bit too high, and second, Kirito discovered that the guy who told Haruno was actually Hachiman, and then worked through the night to create a strategy to win over Yukino Hikigaya - of course, he intended to create it for Yui.

Seriously, Yukino is actually super easy to win over. She's the kind of superficial ice queen who looks like an ice queen on the surface, but is actually incredibly fragile inside—just be a little tough and you can break through her defenses.

Yes, Yukinoshita Yuiko's greatest strength is facing Yukino with a tough attitude.

But speaking of which, what did Rita mean by saying "I will definitely come back" before boarding the plane?

Is he possessed by a wolf? Or has he truly admitted to being the second "loser"?

With a slight shift in his gaze, Kiritani-kun saw the blonde loser number one in front of him, who was looking very worried... He seemed quite troubled.

Did I forget to wear my underwear when I left home this morning? Now I feel so uncomfortable, like I'm walking on air.

"It's been a long time, Kazuhito-kun."

"Ah, um, it has been a long time indeed... Wow, Kato, what are you doing here?"

Looking at the girl sitting next to him, Kiritani was slightly surprised... I mean, I always had this feeling that I forgot something before, could it be that I forgot Kato?

...Well, okay, it seems like we haven't seen Megumi Kato since the CM exhibition ended.

"I'm sitting right here. It's really rude of you to talk to the emperor like that. You didn't even notice."

It was still her soft, cute voice. Kato Megumi pouted her little mouth and made a very clear expression.

...It seems that Kato has experienced something extraordinary this summer, judging by how clearly his expression is conveyed.

"I've been so busy lately that I almost forgot Shiina Mashiro isn't actually my daughter... Oh, speaking of which, I have an essay due today. The topic... what is it?"

His serious expression suddenly turned strange; his tired eyes rolled back, and he clutched his neck with both hands, slumping onto the table…

"Kimi-kun!"

With a soft gasp, Kato turned his head and quickly noticed that the guy's face had turned pale.

"Oh no, oh no, this is terrible! If I don't hand in my essay, I'll definitely get beaten... beaten to death..."

"What Nani listed?"

P.S.: To be honest, did the previous storyline remind you of Megumi Kaname?

Anyway, I don't have any (shrug)

323

[NO.320 Zhuge Hui as Always (Part 1)]

This is the office...

At this moment, she was sitting elegantly in an office chair, an unlit cigarette between her right fingers, her elbow resting on the table, and her left hand holding an essay that she had rushed to finish. Jing Ke'ai's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Kirito's gaze swept over the woman's long legs, and he pushed up the black-rimmed glasses he had snatched back from Haruno.

Hmph, trousers...

"Hey, Kirigaya, what was the question I left for you before the break?"

"The question?"

Kirito stepped back almost imperceptibly, averting his gaze. If it were right after the start of the holidays, he might still remember the essay topic he had been given back then, but now... who would know?

To be honest, although Kirito did manage to rush out the essay, he had no idea what he had written... The title? What was that thing?

"Well, it's just about reminiscing about high school life..."

"Look back, my foot! High school life, my foot!"

Her elegant demeanor vanished in an instant, and Hiratsuka Shizuka roared without hesitation. The bulging veins on her forehead clearly showed her displeasure, and this sudden roar startled the other teachers in the office.

"That was a question I assigned to the second-year students! The question I assigned to you is one that is relevant to society..."

Slamming her composition book on the desk, Hiratsuka Shizuka, a cigarette dangling from her lips, glared at Kirito. "What exactly do you want me to do to get you to write a second-grade composition?"

...bullshit!

Kato, you actually lied to me and said it was an essay about reminiscing about high school life—as expected, you scheming bastard, did you want to see me make a fool of myself?

"While it is indeed well-written and very engaging, the title is just... a problem!"

It's not something to be taken for granted, is it? This essay is something I extracted from countless ideas in my mind. I really expanded on the so-called main plot. An 800-word essay? I could write 800,000 words for you, okay!

Hiratsuka Shizuka took a deep breath, her slender fingers tapping the table with the cigarette between her fingers. "In short, take the essay back and rewrite it for me, and hand it in today, understand?"