manga artist Kirito

Page 205

P.S.: I guess... I'd like some razor blades as a reward or something (reaches out).

431

【NO.426 Kakaka】

To be honest, Kiritani-kun has been really confused these past two days.

Of course, this was just a slight complaint; he had no other thoughts.

And what the health teacher said was very true—please cherish the people who cherish you!

So, Kiritani's mood has improved. Although he felt that Kato Megumi was watching him during the afternoon class, it was just a feeling. Whenever he turned his head to look, Kato Megumi was always focused on taking notes.

Then, Kiritani-kun became engrossed in the new work's design once again—and the plot development reached its most shocking moment—yes, the sister started dying.

With the death of the first Ultimate Hottie, a desperate campus life where life and death are at stake begins in this school that gathers many Ultimate Hottie elites!

If you were to ask Kiritani-kun what it feels like to kill off his subordinates, especially when the character he killed off is one who is destined to attract a lot of fans—it's very satisfying!

Like a thief who focuses on stomach medicine, the more stomach pain his readers experience, the happier he becomes.

It's like focusing on dog food... no, this is an exception, because the creator has already fed himself a bite before even starting.

Like the old thief who focuses on bento boxes - Kiritani once saw a movie where the opening scene featured what looked like the main characters' team, a team that was unbelievably cool. He thought this team would stay cool forever, and then... they all turned around and were wiped out!

At that moment, Kiritani felt like he'd been screwed over by a blond loser. And the lunchbox delivery was damn fast! At least let him have a chance to look cool for one episode, you bastard!

Incidentally, there's a female character in the story who looks quite a bit like Kiritani-kun, and Kiritani-kun even thought she was the female lead... and then, she died.

While Kiritani-kun isn't quite that ruthless, a slightly darker tone would be quite appealing. After all, what mystery or suspense story doesn't involve death? If you don't believe me, you could consider having that perpetual elementary school student come to your house and film an episode.

However, Kiritani really wants readers to read this work, not just because of its quirky humor, but because it's a very good work after all—as for the reason of solidifying Fujiwara's reputation as an old scoundrel, hahaha... just kidding! I couldn't escape it ever since I finished drawing "Scarlet Town".

What a heartwarming story...

Kiritani couldn't help but reveal a sinister smile, squeezed the coffee can in his hand, and walked out of the school with his backpack.

He hadn't forgotten what Asuna had said that morning: "It's just making dinner, no big deal!"

Now, aside from egg dishes, Kiritani-kun has also learned to make other things, such as tonkotsu ramen... uh, this doesn't count as a dish?

However, it's not like he can't cook meat. For example, during the summer vacation, he made lunch for Kasumigaoka Utaha. He was quite confident in his meat dish, especially since he had learned some theory from Shizuka.

At the supermarket near the apartment, Kirito calmly bought groceries. However, unlike Asuna, who carefully selected each ingredient, Kirito was much more casual. He was the type to just grab whatever he saw. In the end, he picked up a box of Baumkuchen, two cartons of milk, and a bottle of cola, which was about all he needed.

After paying the bill, he returned to his apartment. Asuna and Shiina Mashiro were still in the manga club room... Well, Alice was also supposedly applying to join the manga club.

Well, that's fine too. After all, Alice just transferred here and, apart from the people she knows in the manga club, she has practically no friends at Soubu High School—although I think even the guys in the manga club are treated as rivals by Alice.

After putting on his apron, Kiritani-kun took a deep breath. "Good luck, rookie!"

The process of washing rice and cooking goes without saying, and this isn't exactly a food novel...

About an hour later, Kiritani put his bright red thumb and forefinger into the water, his eyes twitching. This world was just too hopeless; even cooking was so difficult.

Then, he took out his constantly ringing phone from his pocket, saw the caller ID displaying the name "Watermelon," shook the water off his hands, handed the phone to his left hand, and answered the call, saying, "I'm a little busy right now."

"...That's the sound of the range hood, isn't it?"

After a moment of silence, the person opposite spoke softly. In that instant, Kiritani-kun could feel a chilling sensation, as if possessed by a malevolent spirit.

"You've never cooked for me..."

You don't really like eggs.

Kiritani-kun held a small wooden shovel in one hand, looking slightly annoyed. "...Oh no, it seems like I put in too much cola."

The watermelon acted somewhat shamelessly, saying, "I don't care, I want to eat it too."

"You're a good melon, so you would never do something that would bother me."

"Don't trust me so much!!"

"So, is there something you need for this call?"

Kiritani-kun knows this watermelon very well. She rarely calls unless it's something important, and video calls are even rarer. Therefore, she must have something important to say, but when it comes to important matters...

It seems like the project that's about to start is an erotic shonen weekly magazine, right?

No, they're probably not ready yet, after all, it's only been such a short time...

"Come to Tokyo tomorrow. I've already asked Xiaojing for leave for you."

Akane Kosaka spoke in an unyielding tone.

Kiritani turned the fire off slightly, then whispered, "Ah, do you know what I was thinking just now?"

Akane Kosaka chuckled softly, "Was Mr. Echizen praising me in his mind just now?"

"Yeah, I told you you're a good melon, that you wouldn't do anything to bother me, and then you slapped me in the face."

Kiritani paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it work?"

"While I am indeed pleased that you said that, well..."

Akane Kosaka sneered, "Please call me Alessita. Besides, I've already arranged the leave for you. Come if you want, or don't."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

Kiritani-kun fell silent. Although Akane Kosaka hadn't explained it clearly, it must have been something important. Otherwise, Shizuka wouldn't have so easily agreed to his leave request. After all, besides being Kiritani-kun's editor, Shizuka was also his teacher... well, the kind of teacher who adores her students.

But how should I put it? Aren't these things a bit too coincidental? They all piled up together?

Moreover, judging from the tone Xigua used, it's obvious he doesn't intend for me to come pick him up, you bastard!

"Never mind, let's talk about this later when we eat."

Kiritani-kun turned off the stove, looked at the dish, and hesitated whether to try it first.

P.S.: I had writer's block yesterday, a really bad one... and something else happened at home too.

Hmm... I'm hesitating whether I should switch timelines and write a prequel when I can't write anything in the future?

432

[NO.427 No title]

At this moment, looking at the dishes on the table, Kiritani felt a little emotional. Hachiman was right; being a stay-at-home dad is actually quite interesting.

At least, Kiritani-kun feels pretty good right now. Whenever he doesn't want to draw manga anymore, he can just stay home and be a stay-at-home dad. Anyway, he still has shares in the Kousaka Group in his account, so he's unlikely to ever run out of money... Hmm, there's nothing wrong with being a useless person.

Thinking this, Kiritani sat down, still wearing his apron. He scratched his hair somewhat awkwardly, his palms still covered in flour and seasonings, and his face also had a few traces of flour. But that wasn't what he was concerned about; what he was worried about was... whether he had made a bit too much food.

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought, and a sense of weariness appeared in his eyes along with his contemplation.

Then, the door opened, and Asuna and Alice walked in, chatting and laughing, followed by Shiina Mashiro with a blank expression.

She gave Kiritani a look, but Kiritani couldn't understand it at all. Nevertheless, he greeted her with a friendly smile, and then... well, he was pushed away.

"How did it happen?"

Asuna chuckled, looking at Kiritani-kun's flour-covered face and hair, her pretty eyes filled with amusement. "Even if you don't want to cook, you don't have to get yourself all messed up like this, do you?"

"No, I didn't..."

Kiritani wiped his hands on his apron, his face full of innocence. "Dinner is ready, just waiting for you to come back... Really, I didn't mean to not want to..."

"Alright, alright, go wash your hands and face first."

Alice flicked her finger at Kiritani's forehead, then laughed as she forcibly turned him around and pushed him toward the kitchen.

However, Asuna narrowed her eyes at this moment, and looked at Alice with a slightly unfriendly gaze, as if... the alliance between the two who had just reached an agreement was about to split?

Alice maintained her elegant smile, almost as if she were deliberately curtsying while clutching the hem of her skirt.

Shiina Mashiro silently walked past, put down her backpack, and sat down at the dining table. Asuna and Alice were still looking at each other. She reached out to pick up chopsticks... then a hand reached out and pulled her into the kitchen.

"Old Bai, what exactly happened while I was away last night?"

Kiritani peeked out from the kitchen and saw Asuna and Alice smiling at each other, a scene that slightly unsettled him.

"strangeness."

She nodded in agreement, then reached out to Kiritani-kun, who rolled his eyes and pulled her to the sink to wash her hands.

"What's weird?"

"Asuna shook hands with blonde number three after listening to the phone call from that fist."

"Huh? A fist?"

Kiritani blinked blankly, and after thinking for a while, he asked doubtfully, "Hiratsuka Shizuka?"

Shiina Mashiro nodded expressionlessly. "Yeah, a phone call from the fist, a look of crisis, a handshake."

...Okay, so Shizuka, in Shiina Mashiro's eyes you're just a fist. What a strangely subtle nickname, though it's quite fitting.

However, to be fair, Alice has already become blonde number three in Shiina Mashiro's eyes...

Kiritani raised his hand and patted Shiina Mashiro's hand, which was trying to get foam on his face, thinking about blonde number one and number two... Ah! That must be it. Number one is the blonde loser, and number two is her friend Rita von Einzbern. After all, it's impossible for Shiina Mashiro to include herself.

As for the clues given by Shiina Mashiro above, Kiritani-kun can roughly figure out how the incident unfolded. After all, he is a creator, so it's not surprising that he was eventually influenced by his own imagination. In short, Shizuka was added to Asuna and Alice's list of people to be wary of.

"Don't play around, don't get hand sanitizer foam on your face."

Kiritani slapped Shiina Mashiro's raised hand again, but this only provoked her displeasure, and her pretty face, which had been expressionless, puffed out her cheeks.

"So, what are you trying to say?"

"Face, dirty."

She washed her hands carefully, wiped the water off her clothes, and then raised her hand to wipe away the flour residue on Kiritani-san's face. However, some residue remained, even without washing it off with water.

She sniffed and nodded. "It smells."

"It's probably the taste of the seasonings?"

Kiritani touched the spot where he had been touched, then pulled Shiina Mashiro outside. Outside, Asuna and Alice sat facing each other and began a friendly conversation.

He sat down with feigned composure, clasped his hands together, and declared, "I'm starting!"

"Hmm, it tastes pretty good. Little Tongtong has finally learned to cook properly."

Alice noticed that the dish clearly didn't contain any eggs. "But it still doesn't taste as good as mine. Hmm, I'll prepare dinner tomorrow."

"Then what..."

Kiritani tilted his head and forced a regretful expression. "I have something to do tomorrow and need to go to Tokyo. Suigi has already asked for leave for me and Shizuka-sensei, so... although I really want to try, I don't have time."

"Is it about the club/organization?"

Asuna frowned slightly. As for Akane Kousaka... she could actually rest assured. Compared to Yukinoshita Haruno or Kasumigaoka Utaha, Akane Kousaka never behaved out of line, and she rarely appeared in front of Kiritani unless something was really wrong.

Well, according to Yui's statistics on Akane Kosaka's call records with Kiritani over the past two years... and Kiritani-kun is the one who makes the calls more often.

"how long will it takes?"

"Two days at most, right?"

Kiritani-san made a rough guess, while Alice sat beside him forcing a smile—the topic had been completely changed!

Asuna said kindly, "Then I'll prepare it for you tonight."

"There shouldn't be much preparation needed, it should only take two days."

"It's hard to say. Senior Kosaka is so busy. If you feel sorry for him, you might stay a few more days."

Looking at the smiling Asuna, Kiritani-kun suddenly couldn't stay calm. Asuna... had changed; she was starting to become aggressive.

"Just kidding, I haven't even finished preparing my sketches yet, where would I find that much time?"

"Really? Then I'll wait for you to come home."

Asuna smiled faintly, picked up a piece of cola chicken wing that Kiritani-san loved with her chopsticks, and put it into Shiina Mashiro's bowl. And... Alice did the same.

Shiina Mashiro stared at the two strange cola chicken wings for a moment, then looked up at the two of them, silently got up and switched bowls with Kiritani-kun, and sat down quietly.

Simply because the cola chicken wings looked...too weird.

Have you ever seen purple cola chicken wings?

P.S.: The side story I'm referring to is the one where Kiritani-san meets Akane Kousaka, and then gets to know Asuna...

That Ryunosuke and Hachiman thing is enough! Hachiman definitely needs a saiga!

433

【NO.428 It's really over.】