manga artist Kirito

Page 147

But then again, Asuna brought them here, served them tea, and then told them to go next door to change their clothes... without saying anything more, she had no idea what to do. Is this how you treat your guests?

"Ah, yes, I bought groceries to treat you."

With a deadpan expression, Kiritani-kun took off his shoes and was about to change into indoor shoes when he realized that he didn't know where he had put them.

With a deadpan expression, Kiritani-kun carried the ingredients and fruit into the kitchen. Although he intended to help in the kitchen, he knew that Asuna would probably kick him out. So, after putting the ingredients in the refrigerator and washing the fruit, Kiritani-kun took the fruit to the living room.

There was already quite a bit of food in the refrigerator, and then Asuna suddenly asked to buy fresh fruit... Well, unless someone has suffered a brain drain, they can figure out that it was to entertain these two guests—but what exactly is the reason?

It couldn't possibly be about discussing comics, could it?

"I always felt that you, teacher, didn't really want to see us like this."

Setting down her teacup, Kasumigaoka Utaha maintained her professional smile. "I say, teacher, you don't think we're disturbing your time with Asuna, do you? Hmm, that's not right either, since Shiina-san lives with you guys..."

"No."

“But teacher, your eyes are clearly telling me—how did these two guys get here—is that right?”

Hey, don't jump to conclusions with just any guess.

"That's not the meaning at all, but to be able to read the meaning in a dead fish's eyes, it seems that Kasumigaoka understands dead fish very well."

"...Hey teacher, has anyone told you lately that you've become increasingly skilled at being sarcastic?"

"Not at all? My friends all call me Kazuto-chan, the cute and honest girl."

"I'd like to get to know your friends..."

Kiritani packed the fruit into a bag and placed it on the coffee table, but then seemed to remember something. He looked up at Eriri, who seemed a little unsettled, and casually handed her an apple.

"Ah... um, thank you."

It's quite obvious that Eriri is the kind of girl who rarely goes to her friends' houses, otherwise she wouldn't be so obviously reserved.

Hmm, if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem wrong.

When Eriri acted like a rich girl at school, she seemed like a perfect social butterfly. But in reality, the girls Nashi could talk to weren't really her friends, let alone the possibility of her visiting their homes... Besides, isn't that how a tsundere is supposed to be?

In contrast, Kasumigaoka Utaha acts as if she's completely at home here... well, maybe the reason for this is because of Kirito's rude behavior in her rented room last time.

...It's a little pitiful, you loser.

"Tsk tsk, Sawamura-kun's behavior is just like someone going home with their boyfriend to meet his parents... Ah, are all manga artists' fantasies this terrifying?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha forcibly twisted her thought process, "But it's a pity, Sawamura-kun, this is just the teacher's rented house. His real home is at the Tiger Dojo."

"Oh? Meet...meet...meet the parents?"

Eriri was instantly stunned, waving her hands repeatedly, "H-How could that be! This guy and I are just...just friends! You're the one who's delusional! Don't say things that are easy to misunderstand!"

That's really awful, Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Sure enough, the so-called "other people's kids" are actually super troublesome. Not only do they like to take advantage of others, but now they're using special topics to bully a mere loser. Can't they have a little shame?

However, intelligence will always be Eriri's Achilles' heel.

"Hmm, so I was overthinking it? Ah, I'm so sorry, I misunderstood you, Sawamura-kun. I thought it was really like that..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's apology was completely insincere, and the implication of her words... should we say thankfully that the loser didn't think too deeply about it?

"So, what did Asuna say when she invited you?"

Suppressing the urge to drag Kasumigaoka Utaha off the sofa and then lie there like a corpse himself, Kiritani-kun glanced at him and asked.

"To save more time, since both the script and other aspects require face-to-face communication."

That was Asuna's gentle voice.

Ps:

Reply: Are you serious? Six thousand words per chapter, someone else's book?

328

[NO.325 This Comic Book Club Has a Big Problem (Part 4)]

In the living room, Kiritani Kazuto was not sprawled on the sofa like a corpse, which was a rare occurrence for him.

The reason was very simple: he was discussing illustrations with Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Although the original intention of coming here was to discuss the work "Dark Souls", the construction of the script and the changes in our respective art styles, Asuna, who was working on the script with Kasumigaoka Utaha, was currently in the kitchen preparing ingredients for dinner, and Shiina Mashiro, the lead illustrator, was doing her daily tasks. So Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally pulled Kiritani-kun to start discussing light novel illustrations.

Of course, Eriri wasn't superfluous. She'd taken on side jobs like illustrating light novels before. She remembered... well, illustrating for a light novel author under the pen name Yamada Fairy. The price was quite good, but... well...

This creator seems to have a particular fondness for erotic art styles. When discussing illustration matters, Eriri clearly remembers the request made by Yamada Elf—it absolutely has to be erotic illustrations!

Eriri's feelings were quite complicated at the time, but after further investigation, she figured it out: all of Yamada Elf's light novels published so far have been fanservice-oriented, and the accompanying illustrations have an ecchi feel.

However, for their recent work, the other party didn't seem to be looking for Eriri to collaborate with anymore, as if they had found a more suitable erotic artist.

Well, whatever happens, happens. I only took on light novel illustration work because I was bored. Now I don't seem to have enough time. Even if they approached me for collaboration again, Eriri would most likely refuse.

After all—I'm a manga artist who's about to release a normal manga!

I'm not going to be a porn artist for the rest of my life!

Moreover, Eriri is well aware that she may not be very good at scriptwriting, which will undoubtedly cause significant problems for her future creative work.

Previously, Eriri created fan works based on stories with existing foundations, character designs, plots, and clear worldviews, such as anime and manga. Changing things based on the originals was a simple matter. However, since she decided to become a manga artist, she naturally wouldn't be creating fan works. Everything had to be original, which undoubtedly made the process very complicated and required a lot of imagination.

Furthermore, in previous fan works, Eriri has not focused on the plot, but rather on practicality.

...Clearly, Eriri needs to learn more in terms of scriptwriting.

Although the two people in front of her were not discussing scriptwriting, the importance of the storyline was still very important to Eriri.

With a very serious expression, Eriri listened intently to their conversation.

…………

"...I don't think that will work."

Holding the sketchbook, Kiritani stopped drawing. The sketchbook was filled with sparse lines, which at first glance would mostly be considered doodles. However, with a little more attention, one could see that there were two figures drawn on it. In front of him was the boy slowly walking away, and behind him was a girl with her head tilted to the side and her hands tightly clasped in front of her chest... The expressions were not clearly described, making it seem very rough.

But that's okay, since this drawing isn't even a first draft. It's just a product of the story where Kasumigaoka Utaha explains to Kiritani-kun in detail what illustrations are needed, and it's a rough scene that Kiritani-kun conjures up based on the description.

However, Kiritani-kun feels that this scene is very problematic, or rather, this plot point is inappropriate.

"why?"

As expected, Kasumigaoka Utaha expressed her doubts, puzzled.

“Sayuka is you, but you are not Sayuka. You are just the author, just the creator who created her.”

Kiritani-kun flipped over the discarded page, revealing the blank image below. "Don't ask what it means. Think about it slowly. In short, there's something wrong with this part of the plot."

With a still confused expression, as Kiritani-kun had said, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't understand, "...Huh?"

Kiritani stared at Kasumigaoka for a moment, then rubbed his temples. This guy... doesn't he realize that this will completely ruin his image?

Perhaps, the character Sayuka is very special to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

But for creators, it is perfectly normal to project an alter ego into the stories they create. The characters in the books are often projections of certain personality fragments of the creator, more or less mixed with the creator's emotions and thoughts.

In addition, when creators are creating, they often need to put themselves in the character's shoes to think about and determine the dialogue content and what attitude to show. However, creators certainly cannot completely put themselves in the character's shoes, otherwise, mental breakdown is no joke. If the character being put in is the creator's projection in the story, then it may result in the creator not thinking from the character's perspective, but from the creator's own perspective.

If we consider what Kiritani-kun said earlier, we should be able to understand it now, right?

For Kasumigaoka Utaha, Sayuka is her.

Kasumigaoka Utaha poured a lot of emotion into the characters, even to the point of being excessive, resulting in some plot points that shouldn't have appeared.

However, this naturally leads to intense conflict and disharmony.

...I'm getting a little curious. Is this male protagonist the perfect male protagonist in Kasumigaoka Utaha's mind, or is he based on someone else's character in real life?

There were even plot points that caused the female lead's character to break down.

Kasumigaoka Utaha pursed her lips, hesitating whether she should say something, but she didn't know what to say.

After all... it was just by accident that I poured some things that were hard to express into it.

Is it...too early?

No! This isn't the ending I wanted, is it? Sayuka shouldn't have this kind of ending either.

Then... the girl gradually drifted into deep thought.

For some reason, I'm starting to feel a bit irritable.

"So, Kasumigaoka, let me ask you, are you sure this part of the story doesn't need to be changed?"

Kirito took a sip of the now-cold red tea, then looked up at the girl whose expression was slightly bewildered.

Should we...modify it?

Is that necessary?

The girl pursed her lips, feeling the boy's expectant gaze. After a brief internal struggle, she finally sighed, feeling somewhat helpless, but also somewhat... indifferent.

"I know how to change it."

"Yeah……"

"Ah, yes, the changes won't affect either the beginning or the later parts of the story, so you can rest assured, teacher."

"That's good."

P.S.: I think this chapter has a lot of information... but I'm so damn sleepy!

329

【NO.18 Interlude (Part 3)】

In the living room, Kiritani Kazuto was not sprawled on the sofa like a corpse, which was a rare occurrence for him.

The reason was very simple: he was discussing illustrations with Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Although the original intention of coming here was to discuss the work "Dark Souls", the construction of the script and the changes in our respective art styles, Asuna, who was working on the script with Kasumigaoka Utaha, was currently in the kitchen preparing ingredients for dinner, and Shiina Mashiro, the lead illustrator, was doing her daily tasks. So Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally pulled Kiritani-kun to start discussing light novel illustrations.

Of course, Eriri wasn't superfluous. She'd taken on side jobs like illustrating light novels before. She remembered... well, illustrating for a light novel author under the pen name Yamada Fairy. The price was quite good, but... well...

This creator seems to have a particular fondness for erotic art styles. When discussing illustration matters, Eriri clearly remembers the request made by Yamada Elf—it absolutely has to be erotic illustrations!

Eriri's feelings were quite complicated at the time, but after further investigation, she figured it out: all of Yamada Elf's light novels published so far have been fanservice-oriented, and the accompanying illustrations have an ecchi feel.

However, for their recent work, the other party didn't seem to be looking for Eriri to collaborate with anymore, as if they had found a more suitable erotic artist.

Well, whatever happens, happens. I only took on light novel illustration work because I was bored. Now I don't seem to have enough time. Even if they approached me for collaboration again, Eriri would most likely refuse.

After all—I'm a manga artist who's about to release a normal manga!

I'm not going to be a porn artist for the rest of my life!

Moreover, Eriri is well aware that she may not be very good at scriptwriting, which will undoubtedly cause significant problems for her future creative work.

Previously, Eriri created fan works based on stories with existing foundations, character designs, plots, and clear worldviews, such as anime and manga. Changing things based on the originals was a simple matter. However, since she decided to become a manga artist, she naturally wouldn't be creating fan works. Everything had to be original, which undoubtedly made the process very complicated and required a lot of imagination.

Furthermore, in previous fan works, Eriri has not focused on the plot, but rather on practicality.

...Clearly, Eriri needs to learn more in terms of scriptwriting.

Although the two people in front of her were not discussing scriptwriting, the importance of the storyline was still very important to Eriri.

With a very serious expression, Eriri listened intently to their conversation.

…………

"...I don't think that will work."

Holding the sketchbook, Kiritani stopped drawing. The sketchbook was filled with sparse lines, which at first glance would mostly be considered doodles. However, with a little more attention, one could see that there were two figures drawn on it. In front of him was the boy slowly walking away, and behind him was a girl with her head tilted to the side and her hands tightly clasped in front of her chest... The expressions were not clearly described, making it seem very rough.

But that's okay, since this drawing isn't even a first draft. It's just a product of the story where Kasumigaoka Utaha explains to Kiritani-kun in detail what illustrations are needed, and it's a rough scene that Kiritani-kun conjures up based on the description.

However, Kiritani-kun feels that this scene is very problematic, or rather, this plot point is inappropriate.

"why?"

As expected, Kasumigaoka Utaha expressed her doubts, puzzled.

“Sayuka is you, but you are not Sayuka. You are just the author, just the creator who created her.”

Kiritani-kun flipped over the discarded page, revealing the blank image below. "Don't ask what it means. Think about it slowly. In short, there's something wrong with this part of the plot."

With a still confused expression, as Kiritani-kun had said, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't understand, "...Huh?"

Kiritani stared at Kasumigaoka for a moment, then rubbed his temples. This guy... doesn't he realize that this will completely ruin his image?