manga artist Kirito

Page 146

"Oh, I almost forgot. If you can't invite any friends to eat lunch together in the future, you can come to the manga club room. You know everyone there anyway."

Suddenly, Kiritani stopped and raised his right hand.

"Okay."

With a slight upturn of her lips, Kato Megumi responded softly, then turned her head to look at the empty bento box and the unopened drink on the bench...

P.S.: Subscriptions have been sluggish lately.

325

[MO.322 This comic book department has a big problem (Part 1)]

The crimson sunset that filled the sky made the somewhat tense department room seem rather desolate.

Although it was the first day of school, the department room, which had been tidied up at noon, became messy again. Various drawing papers and discarded scripts with written descriptions were scattered on the ground. The autumn evening breeze brought a slight chill, blowing on... the two girls whose eyes met.

With a defiant look in her eyes, Eriri stared intently at Kasumigaoka Utaha in front of her. Beside her was a blackboard filled with the plans for the upcoming manga club activities—written by Kasumigaoka Utaha herself, based on the courses that would be offered by the school, and which looked very reasonable.

But Eriri doesn't think so...

"Have a little self-awareness, Golden Retriever. I made this plan according to everyone's schedule. We can't let your little thing take up the time of all four of us, can we?"

With her arms crossed, Kasumigaoka Utaha puffed out her chest slightly. "By the way, blonde-haired girl, you also need to remember that you're the president of the manga club, so you can't waste the members' time too much, after all... everyone's very busy!"

With an expression as if her armor had been breached, Eriri's brows twitched involuntarily—damn it, this chest-obsessed alien!

"Oh? Could it be that because I did something that should have been done by the club president, the tsundere classmate who is always dissatisfied with not being number one is feeling dissatisfied? Hmm, how should I put it, is she not suitable to be a lover, or is she a spendthrift who doesn't know how to give up and ends up losing everything?"

"Giggle giggle!!!"

The sound of grinding teeth filled the air as Eriri glared intently, her eyes wide. "Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

Eriri called out Kasumigaoka Utaha's name slowly and deliberately, then began to swing her ponytail, unleashing her ultimate technique, the Ponytail Slash.

However, Kasumigaoka Utaha had already seen through everything. She calmly took two steps back, then sat down sideways. "I will finish the script for the main story of Dark Souls with Asuna this week. As for the subsequent artwork, it has nothing to do with me, the one in charge of the original work. Of course, I know that I sometimes have a wild imagination, but that's fine. Asuna will be responsible for correcting any illogical plot points. In addition, the announcement of the Grand Prize winners will be coming soon. Please get ready for the official publication of the manga. That's all."

The wind blew in, lifting the sheets of drawing paper.

Kasumigaoka Utaha calmly and elegantly looked at the sulking loser in front of her, a slight smile playing on her lips. As always, Sawamura-kun, how about being a little more profound?

"Then, we need to draw at least ten chapters in advance before the official publication, in case of any unexpected events."

Asuna's pale fingers gradually slowed down as she typed on the keyboard. She looked up and added, "After all, there will be a school trip next year for the second year. Although only Kasumigaoka-senpai in the manga club is a second year student, so it won't interfere too much with the artwork, the school festival after the school trip will be much more troublesome. We might be asked to do something else then, so having a stockpile of artwork is essential. That's all."

"Oh right, the original script sounds simple, but it's actually not easy to fully construct it in a short time. So the script will mostly be written volume by volume... So, do you understand what I mean?"

"of course."

"Then I'll say something too."

Kiritani pushed up his glasses and put his hands in front of his mouth. "It's also about the script. As I mentioned before, the story elements of Dark Souls are actually quite similar to Gintama, but it's obvious that Asuna and Kasumigaoka aren't creators who are good at writing shameless and outrageous scripts. So, the time spent on the script might not be as fast as we imagined..."

"Ah, that seems to be true."

Kasumigaoka Utaha smoothed her hair that was draped over her shoulders, revealing a hint of helplessness. "Asuna and I are obviously good at writing romance light novel scripts, but we are indeed a bit... bad at being nonsensical and shameless."

"In other words, perhaps Kasumigaoka-senpai and I aren't enough for the script... So, Fujiwara-sensei, who's in charge of writing, could you please help with the script?"

With a serene smile, after summarizing her thoughts, Asuna Yuuki turned her head to look at Kirito, the manga artist, who was twirling his drawing pen.

"Isn't this a matter of course?"

With a calm push-up of his glasses, a dazzling reflection shone through the lenses. Kirito tapped the table. "I anticipated this, so I've already written some of the smaller plot points."

Yes, there were hardly any classes scheduled in the afternoon, so most of the free time was spent by Kiritani-kun creating shameless and outrageous little storylines.

"but!"

Eriri patted the blackboard with the schedule written on it, her face serious. "But you know, with such a tight schedule, it's really hard to do well if we don't put in 100% of our energy. I also have my own personal activities and hobby events!"

His expression clearly showed his disdain.

"Is that right?"

Kiritani tilted his head and then held up a finger. "Besides being the lead writer for Dark Souls, I also need to be in charge of the script and plot. In addition, I need to ensure that Sword Art Online doesn't go on hiatus. After that, Machida, the illustrator for Love Metronome, has called several times to urge me. And there's also—the new work I've been planning to draw since the end of last semester still hasn't been drawn yet—hey, my dear Sawamura-kun, are you sure you want to discuss the time conflict?"

"Ah, how about this, let's postpone the time by about half a month, that way we should be able to handle the important matters at hand."

Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly stood up, walked to the blackboard, picked up a pen, crossed out the original text, and wrote the words "script postponed".

"Bridge Bean Sacks!"

Eriri immediately panicked and quickly stopped Kasumigaoka Utaha, "I still need to try to release a new manga later, and delaying things here will only cause me more trouble!"

"You were the one who rejected the original plan, and now you're unwilling to make changes..."

With a touch of her pen on Eriri's face, Kasumigaoka Utaha gave a cold look. "The script is extremely important; it's the soul of the story. Without enough dedication, it will just become garbage!"

"You think works with no morals or bottom lines need to be rigorous? Image quality is the most important thing!"

Eriri drew a big X on Kasumigaoka Utaha's face with a pen, and Kasumigaoka Utaha indifferently returned the favor with an ○.

"...So, what was our original purpose?"

Shiina Mashiro tilted her head, indicating her surprise.

P.S.: There are fewer complaints now...

326

[NO.323 This Comic Book Club Has a Big Problem (Part 2)]

At dusk, in the dimly lit manga club room, to the shocked and bewildered gazes of Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, Kirito Kazuto revised the schedule, and it was the most compact one yet—to be honest, both Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri felt that such a tight schedule was simply unbearable.

But there's nothing we can do. The so-called minority obeys the majority. With Asuna and Shiina Mashiro on Kirito's side, it's as solid as a rock.

Furthermore, although Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri had thoughts of refusing, there was no doubt that Kirito was the busiest person, but he didn't care, so what else is there to say...

If Kasumigaoka Utaha were to describe it, she would definitely say—this skinny guy is probably trying to die from exhaustion.

After all, completing these tasks perfectly in a short period of time will definitely require a lot of effort. In addition, everyone present wants to make this work the best it can be. As a result, Kirito-kun is probably going to be drained by all the work!

"Are you crazy or do you think you're too idle? If you're too idle, then hurry up and finish the illustrations for Volume 4!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha glared at Kiritani-kun, "You probably don't know this, do you? That old woman Machida calls every day, urging me to bring the manuscript to your door... If I weren't too lazy to go out, do you really think you would have so much free time?"

"Even if you come, it won't make a difference."

Kiritani-kun shrugged. "Shizuka-sensei has locked me in my little dark room. Even if you bring me the draft, I don't have time to draw it."

Besides, you have no idea that people are driven by pressure. Just like a pregnant woman endures the pain of giving birth as if she were being pulled out of her nostrils, or an artist endures the pain of creating a work of art as if the universe were being squeezed out of their anus. Everyone has moments when they want to bang their head against a wall and give up everything, but there is something very important in pain—that is the desire to create!

I really want to finish my new work as soon as possible!!!

Kirito looked worried. He hadn't encountered so many obstacles when he was drawing Sword Art Online, so why was this new work still not coming out?

...It feels like having sex and then finding out the other person is actually a cute girl with a big penis, and you instantly lose interest—yes, Kiritani-kun thinks that if he can't draw a new work in a short time, he might not have this kind of passion anymore.

Yes, yes, that's the feeling of going limp—not having any energy.

"Don't worry, when I'm fully focused on drawing, two chapters a day is a piece of cake."

Kiritani calmly pushed up his glasses, looking ashamed that this was all he could do, but there wasn't a trace of shame in his tone...

Eriri's lips twitched slightly. "Wow! I'm so envious! That drawing speed! If I could draw that fast, I wouldn't have to rush like crazy every time there's a deadline. I'm so envious..."

"Furthermore, I won't spend as much time on Dark Souls as you might imagine—yes, please remember, Mashiro and I are the main writers, with Sawamura as our assistant. If we work together, the progress will be quite fast. Of course, teamwork and understanding are still issues... Hmm, we need to find a way to resolve that."

As he spoke, Kiritani-kun fell into deep thought.

"I'll do it well, I'll draw it very quickly!"

Shiina Mashiro silently offered Kiritani-kun her greatest support.

"...Never mind, I won't be the one who gets tired anyway."

Leaning back in her chair, Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her arms over her ample bosom, tilting her head slightly to look out the window, giving off an air of "do whatever you want."

"Ugh! This is so annoying! Kirito, are you possessed by a workaholic?"

Annoyance waved in the air, and Eriri gritted her teeth in dissatisfaction, but that was all; she didn't offer any further opinions on the manga club's short-term plans.

Kiritani shook his head. "No, I just want to do more things."

"Want to go to the world of anime? That's easy, I'll buy you a rope, the process will be super easy..."

"No need, I still have the money, and none of the anime characters I've seen can compare to Asuna..."

"Stop!"

Sensing what Kirito-kun was about to say, Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke up in unprecedented unison, raising their hands to make a big X.

...Seriously, I just wanted to take this opportunity to praise Asuna, and you're acting like Asuna's school would explode if I said that.

Kiritani-kun silently rolled his eyes, then took off his glasses and rubbed them. Damn, rolling his head back hurt a little...

"In short, Asuna and Kasumigaoka-senpai, you two can start preparing the script. Mashiro, Sawamura, and I will discuss the art style."

In team-based creations, different art styles lead to changes in image quality, which is ultimately the biggest problem. Kirito-kun's increasingly skilled hot-blooded art style was also used in "Dark Souls," but he was only responsible for the first drafts, and the later stages were handled by Shiina Mashiro and Eriri. However, these two are both, if you really want to say, romance-themed. But even if Eriri's drawings were to be changed in style with great determination... they would still always have a little bit of eroticism.

Ultimately, it's still a matter of the professional habits of erotic artists, and it's naturally not as simple as one might imagine to completely change them in a short time.

Of course, if it's just about imitating Kirito's hot-blooded art style, given Eriri's learning ability, with Kirito's explanations and her own efforts, it wouldn't be too difficult for her to master it. However, copying others is never as good as finding your own unique art style.

It would be even better if it could blend in with the art style of the rest of the team without causing a sudden change in style.

—Well, while ONE's style might suddenly change, it's just a mode switch...

Oh no!

Kiritani-kun suddenly realized that Dark Souls is definitely full of everyday moments where people lose their morals and go completely off the rails, so... wouldn't it be better to switch to a more action-packed art style at this time?

...Tsk, thinking about it this way, ONE-sensei is really scary!

Skilled transitions in art style allow even the simplest drawings to possess a captivating charm that draws the viewer in.

However, Kiritani-kun also knows that this is the protagonist's characteristic. He is usually lazy and empty, and he only gets serious when he finds something worth fighting for. And this is the best time to switch the art style!

However, Dark Souls isn't immune to this kind of approach.

"Alright, let's get started with our creation!"

P.S.: I have absolutely no idea why the group suddenly exploded. Maybe someone was driving, or maybe there was a double agent. But a new group has been created, and the group number is pinned at the top of the book review section... Well, I'll mention it here too.

Group number: 677129696

that's all.

327

[NO.324 This Comic Book Club Has a Big Problem (Part 3)]

"So, what's going on now?"

Looking at the two girls sitting gracefully on his sofa, each holding a cup of hot tea, a cute expression gradually appeared on Kiritani Kazuto's pretty face.

I was just told by Asuna to go home early to buy some groceries and fruit at the supermarket near the apartment. How come when I got home I saw two people who shouldn't be here?

"Ah~~?"

First came the regrettable rise in tone, followed by the questioning level tone.

Kiritani-kun rolled his eyes. What kind of reaction did you expect from me?

Kasumigaoka Utaha held a cup of hot tea, her head tilted at a 45-degree angle towards Kirito. Her fair neck appeared long and slender, and her delicate collarbone was clearly visible even from Kirito's angle—yes, very impressive!

Although I'm not a collarbone fetishist at all... well, I'm not a foot fetishist either.

However, it was clear to me that this woman was very happy, extremely happy. She was sitting in the spot where I should have been lying there, holding a cup of hot tea, with a faint smile on her lips. Even without any other expression, the upturned corners of her eyes clearly told me her mood at that moment. If it were Eriri, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist grinning and showing her fangs.

But what's with that expression?

Regardless of why you came to my house, is this really something that makes you so happy?

...I got a little angry.

"It's such a shame. I thought Fujiwara-sensei's house would be as messy as a typical otaku's. I even prepared masks and air fresheners, but it seems I won't need them now. I guess I have to thank Asuna for that."

Kasumigaoka Utaha slightly curved the corners of her lips, took a sip of hot tea, and spoke calmly.

Has black stockings gotten into your brain? Kasumigaoka

Kiritani-kun was a little confused about this guy's thoughts. When they first met, Kasumigaoka Utaha did often use sharp tongues to attack, but after subsequent events, it was discovered that her verbal skills were no match for Kiritani-kun's, so such things rarely happened anymore. Now... what's going on?

"Huh? Ah! Kirigaya, you... you're finally back."

Compared to Kasumigaoka Utaha's calm and composed demeanor, Eriri seemed a bit at a loss, or rather, restless. It seems that she relaxed completely after Kirito appeared.