manga artist Kirito

Page 204

Sitting in the infirmary, Kiritani grimaced as he looked at the bandage gradually wrapping around his left hand, his face full of frustration.

During their previous friendly exchanges, Kiritani-kun answered Alice's questions with a wooden sword, which only made Alice angrier and more aggressive...

Well, Kirito only got a tap on the hand. Alice probably reduced the force at the end, so Kirito didn't suffer any broken bones. Even though Alice's expression at the time clearly showed that she wanted to break his bones—or perhaps she just couldn't bring herself to do it?

Thinking back to the scene, Kiritani couldn't help but feel conflicted. Why did things turn out this way?

Especially what Alice said after the exchange—

"I know, this is the real you, my little Tongtong."

"But I have a promise I need to remember forever, a promise I made with Xiaotongtong."

I will not give up.

"There is also the persistence to keep waiting."

"But why—why can't you still remember?"

"I won't stand still; I'll stay right by your side."

Ahhhhhh——!!

Kiritani-kun held his head and let out a sorrowful sigh.

It's not that he can't remember, but should he really try to recall it?

So—what about Asuna?

I've always disliked indecisive and hesitant people, but I never imagined I'd become one of them...

Kiritani-kun prides himself on being decisive in both dealing with people and situations, but this time... perhaps it was too abrupt? No, those are just excuses!

There are many things that you can't do just because you want to, and there are some people that you can't forget just because you want to. Of course, if you can hide them, it would be best to just say it outright. But—you can't make decisions for other people!

how should I do it?

Should we maintain the status quo?

No, time is running out, and it's time to... make some decisions.

"Phew! There's no point in thinking about this too much, and besides, this reason is... way too ridiculous!"

Kiritani murmured to himself, then his wrist was slapped, the intense pain making him stand up abruptly, almost causing him to throw a punch.

However, the school nurse had already stepped aside with a smile. She looked down at Kiritani's bandaged wrist and nodded slightly. "Hmm, it's alright... I reckon the swelling will go down in two or three days. But don't work for too long, Fujiwara-sensei!"

Hey! Can you please stop this? It seems like everyone knows I'm Fujiwara Echizen now!

Kiritani's expression turned wooden. He began to suspect that the new school nurse had seen his notebooks... no, he had seen the notebooks he had drawn.

However, unexpectedly, the school nurse gradually stopped smiling, raised her hand and pressed it on Kiritani's head, "Young man, what's with that troubled look on your face? Is it a very difficult problem?"

"Of course I'm distressed, my head is about to explode."

Kiritani-kun was too lazy to be arrogant and slap her hand away... no, rather, his actions were quite gentle, no wonder so many people like to be patted on the head.

"Well, actually there aren't as many things to worry about as you think."

She took a couple of steps, then pushed Kiritani out of the infirmary and slowly said, "Please cherish the people who cherish you!"

Kiritani-kun froze, standing blankly in the corridor. The door to the infirmary behind him was already closed, and the infirmary doctor's words kept echoing in his mind.

After a long while, Kiritani raised his hand and touched his head, but his gaze remained on his bandaged wrist. His emotions and smile were very special at this moment.

"Ah! Thanks for reminding me, teacher!"

He turned and walked towards the stairs, waving goodbye without looking back.

The promise—if you're willing to think about it, you can still remember it.

Let's walk together towards the end of life!

—That's still a long way off, Alice!

…………

"Kiriya!!!"

As Kiritani hesitated between going to the school convenience store to buy bread or going to the manga club room to see if Asuna had really not prepared a bento for him, a voice clearly suppressing some kind of anger rang in Kiritani's ears. He subconsciously turned his head to look, and then—a fist came flying at him.

He instinctively stepped back, his face a mixture of confusion, anger, and a touch of shyness. Hiratsuka Shizuka slammed her fist into the wall with a resounding thud, causing Kiritani to raise an eyebrow. He realized… this guy seemed to be holding nothing back!

"Hey! I'm injured..."

"Questions and answers are useless! Grit your teeth, Kirito!!!"

While the morning hours were enjoyable, she had to endure the ambiguous glances from all her colleagues in the office. Even after she offered a proper explanation, the suspicious looks and knowing looks were simply unbearable.

Then, Kiritani saw the pretty female teacher, her face flushed with embarrassment, lean in and pounce on him, her fair fists coming at him relentlessly. Faced with the female teacher's offensive, Kiritani not only had a "fuck you" in his mind, but also wanted to yell into her ear!

But it must be said that the Iron Fist Saintess is no joke. Her fist technique is extremely fierce. Kirito could only retreat continuously, then turn and run away, giving her the middle finger in the process.

"You idiot! Couldn't you have spoken first before you hit me?"

"Ugh! You idiot, you might as well just die!"

"Are you perhaps brainwashed by eating too many bento boxes?"

"I'm so stupid—ugh! You're the stupid one!"

Suddenly, Kiritani stopped and turned around to look at Hiratsuka Shizuka, his expression somewhat strange.

Coincidentally, Hiratsuka Shizuka was stunned by Kiritani's sudden pause. She had thought he would continue to run away, but the result was somewhat unexpected.

Then, she crashed into it.

Then, Kiritani dodged her punch, but the impact still made him feel a bit tight in his chest. Then he raised his right hand and slashed hard.

Hiratsuka Shizuka collapsed into his arms. Kiritani, who was smiling on the surface but cursing inside, pushed open the door to the infirmary next to him and shoved Hiratsuka Shizuka to the school nurse with a complicated expression. "Please, this lunatic is temporarily in your care, teacher!"

"Oh, no problem!"

She nodded blankly.

However, no one noticed that while Kiritani and Hiratsuka were bumping into each other, a dog named Inuko, whose job title was "Head of the News Department" and who actually had a good relationship with the Public Relations Department, quietly pressed the shutter of his DSLR camera.

P.S.: I guess I'm having a bit of writer's block, since I'm worried that my recent writing style, which is bordering on insanity, might be hard for you to understand.

...Well, about a reader's reminder—I can't afford it, I can't afford it (bowing in apology). (Poverty limits my imagination.)

430

【NO.425 No. 3】

You might not believe it, but the news department's system, including the publicity department's system, was hacked. Although no important information was lost, everything recorded today was erased.

I didn't make this! —by Kiritani Kazuto's good daughter

…………

This is the comics department.

After hesitating for a long time, Kiritani opened the door, only to find Asuna, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and even Kato Megumi all gathered together, staring intently at the computer screen on the desk, completely unaware of his arrival.

Incidentally, Kiritani-kun can see that the bento box has already been washed.

...Yeah, Asuna really didn't bring me a lunchbox!!!

Kiritani was a little upset, but he had nothing to say.

Then, he leaned closer and focused his gaze on the computer screen, which displayed an anime that Kiritani-kun was quite familiar with, and even the character designs were drawn by him personally—"Black Album"!

Although it's been made into an animation, it clearly isn't finished yet. I guess it was sent by Akane Kousaka?

"The unfinished version still looks really strange."

Eriri suddenly raised her hand and scratched her head, looking slightly annoyed.

"It will probably take a while before we can see the full episodes, but it shouldn't be too long. This club is known for its high efficiency and high quality."

Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her neck, her words tinged with a hint of wistfulness. Not long ago, Kousaka Akane had asked to meet with her and Eriri, wanting to invite them to join Rouge en rouge. After careful consideration, they had agreed. Although they hadn't had time to go yet, given Kousaka Akane's personality... she would soon personally call them over.

However, it was very strange that such a top-tier club would recruit creators like them who were struggling to keep up—both Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri found it very odd—could it really be because of Kiritani-kun's repeated recommendations?

"As for people, it should be the person who is the first one that members of the club can see, excluding those who are already there."

Asuna closed the computer screen and lazily stretched. "Compared to this..."

She turned her head to look at Kiritani-kun, who seemed to think he had been ignored by everyone, and chuckled, "Are you hungry?"

Kiritani nodded pitifully, "Yeah, I'm so hungry!"

Eriri couldn't help but sneer. She had been in a very good mood lately, probably because Kirito-kun was having a lot of bad luck. She was overjoyed whenever she saw him having bad luck, and she had even prepared a winter commercial to draw his doujinshi again—this time the heroine was still Kiriko, and the male lead was... a futa-type female teacher?

Oh! An idea suddenly struck me! Let's call it after-school tutoring!

With that thought in mind, Eriri's eyes burned with a burning desire to create. She quickly returned to her seat, took out her pencil and notebook, and began to record this inspiration.

—By the way, Eriri's forte is humiliation.

After noticing Kiritani-kun, Shiina Mashiro quietly got up, went to the side, took a bento box, and handed it to Kiritani-kun, saying, "Bento, the rest."

Kiritani could feel the weight of the bento box; it wasn't leftovers at all, it was clearly still full!

At that moment, Kiritani's gaze towards Asuna changed instantly, filled with relief, peace of mind, happiness, and even a hint of... shame.

A slightly puzzled look gradually appeared on Asuna's face, but she didn't care much. Instead, she started tidying up the table. "Lunch break is almost over. If you're going to eat lunch with someone, you'd better hurry."

Kiritani-kun nodded quickly, "Mhm."

"But speaking of which, what happened to the teacher's left hand?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her pretty eyebrows, "Could it be that you were caught trying to do those things and then got beaten up by Yuuki-kun?"

Although your tone remains the same, what you're saying is just about masturbating, right?

Kiritani glared at her, then held up one finger to her, and said he would contact Suika when he had time to tell her that Kasumigaoka Utaha was very idle lately and needed to be given something to do.

In order to finish this bento before class, Kiritani decided to ignore her for the time being.

After all, when women disregard their own morals, it is very difficult for men to defeat such women—physical matters aside—this is a lesson that Kiritani-kun has learned over this period of time. It is reasonable to believe that if women did not have a monthly blood loss buff, they would probably have already become the top of the food chain.

Simply because the advantage is too strong!

"Was this Alice who made this?"

"Yes, she really did it."

Kiritani took out his chopsticks and nodded at Asuna, "Luckily, it wasn't her right hand that was hit, otherwise..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled, "Otherwise, I can slack off again?"

"Shut up, or I'll shove you into the drawer."

Without looking up, Kiritani glanced at the slightly off-looking bento box. "Phew! I'm digging in!"

"Hmm, although the taste is indeed very good, it feels a bit different from the dishes you usually make, Asuna. Are you trying something new?"

"You could say they're enjoying lunch," Kiritani asked curiously, but this drew strange looks from everyone. He couldn't help but blink, feeling that something was very wrong.

"Well, it's not exactly a new attempt."

Kato Megumi, who was always in a state of complete seclusion, rested her cheek on one hand, looking out at the slightly ajar window. Her expression remained calm, and her tone was as amiable as ever.

Kiritani paused for a moment, then asked, "Huh?"

"It's nothing~ These are just dishes I usually make."

Kato Megumi turned around and puffed out her cheeks at Kiritani-kun, "I just happened to make a little extra today."

"..."

Kiritani-kun froze, looking down at the bento box before glancing at Asuna's calm face and slightly opening his mouth.

“That’s right, this is the bento box that Kato brought, and it’s definitely leftovers.”

Asuna smiled gently, "I told you I didn't bring your lunch today, and I wasn't joking at all."

Shiina Mashiro wrote a few words in the sketchbook, and then, without anyone noticing, poked Kiritani's thigh.

Asuna shook hands with blonde number three last night.

With a shocked expression, Kiritani looked up abruptly, but Asuna spoke at that moment.

“That’s right. Alice asked you to join the kendo club after discussing it with me. Although, if I hadn’t lost, I would have been the one to ask you to join the kendo club.”

Asuna Yuuki remains as gentle and virtuous as ever today.