manga artist Kirito

Page 157

Kirito calmly refused, "Shiina Mashiro's works can be published in Rouge en rouge, right?"

"Ah, this can be published now. Iida is handling the arrangements."

Akane Kosaka pouted, "Since you're not planning to stay for dinner, you can leave now."

"...Hey! That's not how it works, is it? What do you take me for, someone you can just throw away when you need me...sanitary napkins?"

"You're not as effective as a sanitary napkin... at least not right now."

Yes, yes, I understand. It's like some men aren't as good as cucumbers, they even have bumps, and they're not as good as eggplants, they're round and big at one end. Sanitary napkins... they only know how to absorb, how could they possibly compare to me?

Kirito stood up and waved to Akane Kousaka. "Asuna is waiting for me outside. I'll head back now. I still have to take the train later... Ah, what about my motorcycle?"

Suddenly remembering this question, Kirito instinctively smiled. Not having a driver's license and wanting to drive the motorcycle back to Chiba... it would be too troublesome in terms of both the time it would take and everything else.

Therefore, I can only ask Akane Kosaka for help.

"I'll have someone transport it for you, now get out of here!"

Akane Kosaka rolled her eyes impatiently.

P.S.: It's the third day without any complaints, and I'm already missing it...

349

【NO.345 Hurry up, before the wind stops】

"Oh? Kasumigaoka Utaha went on a school trip?"

In the manga club room that reopened after the weekend, Kirito asked this question.

Holding a copy of JUMP, Eriri seemed unusually lazy today.

Perhaps it's just because Kasumigaoka, who she usually bickers with, isn't here... Huh, bickering?

How romantic...

Kirito sat opposite her, his gaze fixed on the computer screen. Through the slightly parted curtains, he could see the blazing sunlight and students running and playing on the playground, radiating youthful energy. A breeze blew in through the slightly open window, tossing his long hair.

He stopped what he was doing, rubbed his slightly sore neck, and said in a low voice, "No wonder the comics department is so quiet today."

Sometimes, Kirito really suspects that Eriri has some kind of secret with Kasumigaoka, a secret that can be described by the idiom "love affair with passion".

Of course, it might seem like there's some truth to it on the surface, but it's obviously impossible. After all, a tsundere and sarcastic yuri pairing... really won't work, unless Eriri is an even more masochistic masochist than Kasumigaoka Utaha.

I, Kirito, can openly admit that Kasumigaoka Utaha is indeed a masochist, but I don't know about Eriri. After all... there are very few scenes where we're alone together, so there's no chance for me to get to know her better—not in the way you're thinking.

The medals from yesterday's awards ceremony were placed in the comics department, but no one paid them any attention at the moment, since they were just for looking at and had no other use.

"That's about right. We should start preparing our drafts. I heard that Dark Souls will be published next week."

Kirito looked at the unfinished project in his hands and felt increasingly frustrated. No matter how he dealt with it, all sorts of things seemed to only increase, and it seemed impossible to reduce them... Fortunately, his drawing speed had improved, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Anything is fine with me."

Eriri lazily flipped through JUMP, seemingly lacking any motivation or mood. "Anyway, what's published first is the prequel. Who knows how long it will take before the main story comes out after the prequel is finished? It's okay to be a little lazy."

...What she said makes so much sense, I'm speechless!

So it turns out I've always been the one in a hurry?

A habitual practice of saving drafts?

Is there anything wrong with that? Besides, Eriri, you're basically doing nothing right now, aren't you?

"Don't look at me like that. I'm actually very busy too. The scriptwriting for my new work is making me feel frustrated."

Should we also add descriptions like "unable to eat" and "frequently waking up in fright"?

Kirito glanced at Eriri, who was still looking at JUMP, and pouted. If you want to slack off, just say so. Do you think I don't understand this?

"By the way, I have a project here, would you like to participate?"

"what?"

Seemingly suddenly intrigued, Eriri looked up at Kirito, staring at him intently. "What project?"

"Rouge en rouge is planning to launch a new magazine, an Ero-Shonen Weekly, which will serialize ero-manga in a bi-weekly format."

Kirito pushed up his glasses, which reflected a dazzling glare in the sparse sunlight. Ha! It seems Eriri is really struggling with the script! Otherwise, she wouldn't be so enthusiastic about the new project... Come to think of it, Kashiwagi Eri is an erotic illustrator who pursues practicality. In terms of storytelling, she is not even as good as many illustrators with lower sales rankings. It's really difficult for her to think about the script.

Hmm, I originally thought that with her tsundere personality, she could come up with a rather dishonest love script. But now it seems that I was overthinking it. How could Eriri possibly come up with such a script? Even if she did, she probably wouldn't dare to tell anyone.

You're right, right, Eriri the Tsundere Steampunk Princess?

"The artwork does not have to be original. Artists can use all copyrights. As long as the artist can reach an agreement with the original author and there are no copyright conflicts later, it is fine."

Kirito continued talking about the project, trying to see if he could get Eriri, a currently very popular illustrator, involved. Although she was already in the water, the project needed a lot of erotic illustrators, and finding a illustrator who could be the mainstay was even more difficult. Eriri might not be the mainstay, but she could at least be a supporting figure. They just needed to find more illustrators later.

Moreover, erotic comics always prioritize practicality, and Eriri happens to excel in this area. Therefore, Kirito has no intention of giving up on this good artist—although it's a bit strange that Akane Kousaka still doesn't like Eriri and has no intention of contacting her at all.

"Emmm... I... um, I don't want to draw ecchi comics. I've already said I want to draw normal comics!"

Eriri turned her head away, staring absently at the curtains billowing in the autumn wind.

"Is that so...?"

Her words were perfunctory, but Kirito could see it clearly: Eriri hesitated, which meant there was still a chance.

Tsk! Why does a perfectly good ecchi artist have to think about drawing normal comics? Ecchi comics are so great! Eriri, how can you do this to your fans?

...Uh, I guess I'm not really in a position to say that, but there were reasons for it, so it's forgivable. Besides, I'm still continuing with my erotic comics, haha...

In conclusion, Eriri can still put in more effort!

"Well, then keep trying."

Kirito nodded, then turned his attention back to the computer and continued to refine the plan.

For a moment, the manga club room, which only had two people, fell silent.

Perhaps because it's autumn, today, although the sun is out, it's a rare cool day. There might still be some lingering summer vibes, but the breeze is unusually refreshing. Plus, because Soubu is near the sea, the wind is gradually... getting stronger.

For Kiritani Kazuto, who is used to a mundane daily life, this is just fine. His girlfriend is helping the idiot teacher with grading homework, his eldest daughter is working as an art teacher's assistant in the art room, his senior is on a school trip and won't be back until next week, and his younger sister is preparing for the winter entrance exams. Kousaka Akane is busy with work as always... The only one who is unclear is probably Haruno.

Who is she following now?

Life proceeded smoothly. The members of the comics club were not all together at the moment, and all they could do was read books and chat, which was pretty much the same as usual, except that they would bicker more often.

...Indeed, this is the best feeling for everyday life.

Everything is as it was at the beginning, but unfortunately... we can't go back.

Now, it's just being performed in a different form.

"The wind... is getting stronger!"

Hurry up, before the wind stops.

350

【NO.346 Feeling very hurt】

Provocation.

That woman is provoking us.

You can tell just from that slightly upturned corner of her mouth—it's not a fake smile, it's a genuine provocation. Add to that her puffed-out chest and her head tilted back slightly, and you can tell this woman is definitely challenging you!

Kirito was more concerned about the woman's protruding breasts.

Provocation is fine, really!

But what you did was really too much. Eriri is sitting in the front row of the classroom, where she can easily see the podium and blackboard. Shizuka-sensei, did you consider Eriri's feelings when you did this in front of her? Did you consider how flat-chested Eriri feels? Did you consider how Eriri feels when she wants to have sex with you?

...Ah, that last one is probably unlikely.

After all, with the fighting power of the God of War Hiratsuka Shizuka, even ten more Eriris wouldn't make much difference.

Huh? You're asking about the cause?

This was, of course, a murder caused by sleeping in class.

Actually, Kirito wasn't sleepy. He was just thinking about things and his lazy habit led him to slump onto the desk. But for Shizuka-sensei, who had never been dared to sleep in her class, this was a provocation. Shizuka, whose title had been changed from "Iron Fist Judgment" to "Martial God," calmly called on Kirito to answer a question.

It was a very simple and straightforward question, yet somewhat inexplicable, and Kirito, whose thoughts were still scattered, answered without hesitation—"I don't know."

Then, Ms. Shizuka showed a smug expression, completely unaware that she had indirectly hurt Eriri.

This woman is truly terrifying.

"Hmph! You can't even answer such a simple question? Why aren't you paying attention in class?"

"...Teacher, this question is clearly beyond the curriculum; isn't it a third-grade question?"

Kirito glanced silently at the answer Yui had given, then pointed a finger at the battle-ready older female teacher. For some reason, the smug female teacher subconsciously shrank her neck, seemingly a little flustered.

"Uh, no... this, this is a question that might be used in the exam, it's not beyond the syllabus."

"Ms. Xiaojing, could you ask a second-year student? If anyone knows the answer, I'll take care of the hallway this week!"

"..."

"...What are you thinking about while I'm in class?"

Ms. Xiaojing clenched her fist in annoyance, then finally pouted, picked up the blackboard eraser, wiped away the question, and wrote down words related to the school festival.

"Although the second-year students have already started their school trips, they've done it a bit earlier than us. The second-year students arranged the school festival executive committee members, class performances, and other activities last Friday. Soon, the school festival will begin, and now we need to prepare..."

School festivals are very lively every year at Soubu High School. Students usually change the decorations in their classrooms to do something, such as setting up a haunted house, setting up stalls, making and selling snacks on site, and so on.

However, these things are all very old-fashioned.

It's easy to imagine that when the topic of what the class will do comes up later, Aki Tomo will probably jump up and say maid café right away.

Oh, I almost forgot, Aki Tomoya has no feelings for the three-dimensional world.

But in any case, we'll definitely be talking about maid cafes later.

However, compared to this matter, Kirito still needs to talk to Eriri later, and he doesn't know if she has any plans to get involved in the cultural festival.

Well, if it were before, Kirito would never have asked, but ever since Eriri was tricked by Kasumigaoka Utaha into revealing her identity as an erotic artist, she now feels that such things don't matter anymore.

"Alright, let the students decide on the class performance. Now, let's select two executive committee members for the school festival, preferably one male and one female."

Ms. Jing, a relatively young teacher at the school, crushed the chalk in her hand and said with a forced expression, "Damn it, why is it a man and a woman?!"

"While it's true that we can slack off, we still need to find two reliable candidates. Anyone want to volunteer? Recommendations are welcome, and the teacher will give priority to them! Let's start with the girls!"

"Teacher, I recommend Akasaka!"

"Teacher, I recommend Kiritani!"

Almost instantly, the two people in the front and back seats stood up at the same time, their voices echoing throughout the classroom and attracting everyone's attention.

Clearly, both of these guys are up to something... Oh no, that's not quite right. Kirito is up to something, while Ryunosuke just sensed it and therefore didn't hesitate to push back.

"what?!"

"Eh……?"

Completely ignoring the stares from the classroom, Kirito narrowed his eyes, looked at Ryunosuke standing in front of him, and silently pushed up his glasses. "Shizuka-sensei, I think Akasaka-san is very suitable to be the executive committee member representing the girls."

Ryunosuke remained expressionless, his heart unmoved. "I think Kirito-kun is more suitable."

Hiratsuka remained silent for a long time, then a cross appeared on her forehead. The last piece of chalk in her hand was completely crushed into powder. With a slight grin, she stared at Kirito and said, "Well, how should I put it... Kirigaya will be the male representative. As for Akasaka... well, forget it."

Hiratsuka Shizuka was quite aware that Ryunosuke had a severe phobia of women. She had lectured him in the office the last time and tried to pat him on the shoulder as a gesture of goodwill, but she fainted as soon as she touched him!

Yes, she fainted immediately, and something that looked like mochi was about to fly out of her open mouth.

"Hey! This isn't a mother election... I mean, the girls, aren't we choosing their own executive committee members? Why did it suddenly switch to the boys' side?"

With a surprised expression, Kirito really didn't expect Shizuka to turn the tables and directly trap him.

"Our comics department has..."

"I'm the advisor for the comics department. We haven't received any applications yet, and... it doesn't matter. Just get this done! Understand?"

The female teacher was rather hasty, or rather, she had long disliked Kirito and now was the perfect opportunity to teach him a lesson—it's you I choose, Black Swordsman Beast!

"So, those who want to be female committee members... raise your hands."

Shizuka glared at Kirito, who was still trying to speak, and then smiled.

Ryunosuke, standing in front of Kirito, looked slightly ashamed, as if he had done something insignificant.

...bullshit!