manga artist Kirito

However, it's really embarrassing that Asuna discovered that I'm a professional erotic artist!

Although Kirito didn't show it at the dinner table, he actually held back from spitting out his food when Asuna said it...

"Ugh……"

While thinking about all these random things, Kirito also placed his long-unused art supplies on his desk, along with two notebooks filled with densely written text.

The notebook was filled with scripts for various novels and comics. Of course, there were also scripts for erotic novels included, which were pieced together from fragments of memory over a long period of time.

Opening the sketchbook and looking at those blush-inducing scenes, Kirito remained completely unmoved. He put on gloves that revealed three fingers, then took out his computer and the unfinished drawing from his backpack.

"Heh, if Sawamura-kun were really drawn as the female lead, he'd definitely get bitten."

With a smile on his face, Kirito turned on his computer and then logged into his blog, a Weibo account with an astonishing number of followers: 45.6.

[Fujiwara-sensei spent two years researching; I bet she was caught and taken to a basement for "training"!]

No, no, no, I think the reason Fujiwara Loli disappeared is because 'her family found out she was drawing erotic comics, and then... she was kept as a pet.' That's what happens to erotic lolis!

[According to your storyline, isn't Fujiwara-sensei now a firearm?]

[The doxxing attempt failed again; Fujiwara Loli has most likely vanished without a trace. (This last part is a colloquial expression and doesn't translate directly.)]

A quick glance at the comments revealed that the most recent one was from seven days ago. While it was nice that the fans hadn't given up on him, these comments made Kirito's lips twitch involuntarily.

Thinking back to when I released my last book, I did indeed use the excuse of research to fool them. Now I'm reaping what I sowed? But with that guy protecting me, you guys think you can dox me? You'll have to break through Maid-chan's defenses first.

【I'm back from my research trip... Playing mahjong was so much fun. My new work will be released in the summer commercial, so get your tissues ready.】 I typed this line, pressed enter, and uploaded it online.

[Oh my god, it's come back to life!]

[Finally released from the basement?]

Suddenly, I'm a little hesitant to have any expectations.

About two minutes later, new comments flooded the screen.

Kirito touched his nose. Suddenly disappearing is like a popular writer stopping updating; not only will it damage his reputation, but he'll also lose most of his fans. But it doesn't matter. Winning or losing isn't that important anyway. Besides, when Sawamura made this request, he didn't offer anything as a wager, did he?

"So, should we first organize the manga scripts we need, or start by drawing the doujinshi with Sawamura-san as the heroine?"

Looking at the unfinished drawing, Kirito had an idea: let's skip the dog-food style this time. That intense, saccharine scent of romance... Kirito had a good reason to suspect that the guys who bought the doujinshi tore it up after they finished.

Let's tentatively name it "Girls' Club Activities"

"Sawamura-kun, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to use you as the subject of my doujinshi. It's just that the subject of the doujinshi I wanted to draw happened to look a lot like you. Maybe this is what they call fate." Muttering to himself, Kirito took out his drawing tablet and opened his drawing software on his computer, and began to draw.

Kirito had roughly figured out the plot. The storyline was a bit complicated. If we were just talking about the backstory, it was roughly about a boy who joined a club called [SOX]. When he applied to join, he happened to see the club president taking off his panties and studying the differences between himself and others. The boy was naturally greatly shocked, and then... he rolled on the floor.

Clearly, the love story is something to be discussed later.

After all, Kirito's doujinshi are always based on practicality, which is very different from Eriri's.

However, perhaps because he hadn't drawn in so long, Kirito felt he couldn't capture certain unique feelings in his drawings. For example, what expression to use when delivering certain lines...

This situation could be described as either unfamiliarity or a creative block, but to create a work that satisfies others, the artist must first satisfy themselves, and Kirito is clearly not satisfied with the current situation.

Speaking of which, Kirito remembers a certain erotic artist who, having hit a creative block, dressed up as a young girl and imitated the female protagonist of a doujinshi to find the errors in order to create a satisfactory work. The process was undoubtedly incredibly embarrassing, but it was certainly a good method.

Of course, even if you killed Kirito, he wouldn't do it.

As for whether or not to ask Asuna to rehearse the lines and imitate the scene... that would be a death sentence! It would really be a death sentence!

Kirito's artwork is relatively clean, and the color scheme is not too complex. This style is relatively easy to create, which reduces a lot of trouble for subsequent hatching.

The first chapter has sixteen pages. In the first chapter, the male protagonist decisively pushes down the club president and rolls on the floor. At the end of the story, he even says, "You say no, but your body is quite honest!"

The plot of the second episode will definitely leave some clues in the first episode...

Because he hadn't drawn in a long time, Kirito didn't finish the storyboard sketch until 1 a.m. After checking the storyboard, he made some minor modifications, marking the parts he felt were not up to standard, as punctuation marks to help him regain his feel for the game before making further revisions.

then……

Kirito took out his sketchbook, recalling Eriri's tsundere expression, and began sketching...

011

[NO.10 The Manga Club of Erotic Illustrators]

Because he went to bed late, Kirito experienced three system crashes before successfully restarting. He struggled to get out of bed and didn't even know what time he finished working last night. He only knew that he had finished the first episode and the three character designs before collapsing into bed. He dragged himself into a half-asleep state to wash up, then took out the leftovers from last night from the refrigerator to heat them up. After eating a little, he went to school.

Although Kirito had tried his best, his domestic skills were truly appalling; he couldn't cook anything except egg dishes. After moving here in high school, if it weren't for Asuna occasionally coming over to help with cooking, Kirito would probably be terrified of eggs by now.

Kirito has always believed that no one is perfect, so it's really okay if his housekeeping skills are a little lacking. Well, maybe he just spent all his skill points on games, drawing, and kendo... or something?

Incidentally, Asuna had considered helping make breakfast in the mornings, but her home was quite far from school, and she had to write at night, so it would be too much trouble for her to come over early in the morning to make breakfast. Therefore, Kirito directly rejected Asuna's idea.

In fact, Kirito thinks it's okay to skip breakfast, since Asuna will prepare a large bento box.

Before leaving, Kirito casually picked up the two scripts he had prepared beforehand, intending to discuss them briefly with Eriri during club activities. In addition, he also grabbed the "Your World" premium set that he had promised to give Eriri.

Nothing strange happened on the way, such as being hit by a car, finding a beautiful girl's hat, or... well, Kirito soon noticed a pair of dead fish eyes.

Honestly, when the weather is gloomy, seeing those rotten, dead fish eyes is quite frightening. If a beautiful girl were walking in front of those dead fish eyes, it would be like seeing heaven and hell at the same time.

He slightly raised his hand to greet the other person, and the person with the dead fish eyes nodded slightly in response, and then said nothing more.

Besides, he didn't see any familiar faces. He entered the school and returned to his classroom without any trouble. He immediately saw Eriri surrounded by a group of girls. They were talking about something so early in the morning, but from Kirito's side profile, he could tell that she was a little impatient.

Not many people in the class recognized Kirito, who was obviously a hardcore gamer, so no one bothered him. He found a seat by the window, and upon sitting down, he saw his composition book and lunchbox from yesterday, which he hadn't handed in yesterday, in his drawer.

Clearly, Asuna had arrived long ago.

However, Kirito was a little surprised that the bento was placed here. Usually, Asuna would bring the bento to him during lunch break to eat together, and at that time, Kirito would be subjected to countless killing intents.

Ha! The envy of mortals!

After a moment of sudden chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur), Kirito took out his phone and, as expected, received a message from Asuna saying that she would have something to do during lunch break and therefore couldn't eat lunch together.

It must be something that happened in her class. Kirito can totally understand it, after all, Asuna's grades are so good.

He took out his textbook and glanced at it briefly. Then he scribbled and drew in a blank notebook, occasionally glancing around. Art comes from life, and all sorts of little episodes in life can be used as plots. Kirito was recording these.

During this time, Eriri would occasionally glance over, but she didn't seem to intend to come over herself. Judging from her eyes, she was probably asking if she had brought what she promised yesterday. Incidentally, Kirito also noticed a "don't bring it to me now" look in her eyes.

The "Young Lady" role-playing plan?

Time didn't pass quickly, but class finally ended. With no intention of leaving, Kirito ate his lunchbox in the classroom and then fell asleep on his desk.

Actually, Kirito had planned to go to sleep in the morning, but because he had a class with the Iron Fist Leftover Girl, he chose to stay awake to avoid doing something stupid. However, during lunch break, he couldn't help but fall asleep.

To be honest, the fact that Kirito didn't take out his computer to play games today did make his classmates wonder if he was possessed by some kind of ghost. A guy who seems to exude a strong "I need to play games, I'll die without them" aura actually wasting his precious lunch break sleeping—what's the difference between him and a lazy bum?

But I didn't pay too much attention. After all, Kirito is just a shut-in, not some pretty girl, so what's so interesting about him? Well, if we're talking about cross-dressing, Kirito does have some potential, although he can't compare to Totsuka Saika in her second year.

Before he knew it, the afternoon classes were over. Kirito, carrying his backpack and yawning, walked to the manga club. Eriri, the club president, was already there and gave Kirito a disgusted look when she saw him come in.

"It really is you, Fujiwara the Old Thief! Is mahjong fun?"

Yesterday, after returning home, Eriri, still harboring doubts, kept an eye on Fujiwara Echizen's Twitter account. It was only when she saw the news of Kirito's resurrection that Eriri dared to truly confirm that Kirito was indeed Fujiwara Echizen.

As for the nickname "Old Thief Fujiwara"... it's entirely because Eriri saw a doujinshi drawn by Kirito, and the ending was just too tragic, completely different from the style of other doujinshi...

"Mahjong is so much fun, it's a pity I don't have superpowers."

Kirito casually closed the door, rubbed his eyes, and then took out the game and handed it to the other person.

"This...this is really for me?"

"Nonsense, give it back to me if you don't want it."

"Hmph!" Eriri, with a slightly arrogant air, turned around and put the things in her bag. Her movements were so quick that it was as if her previous doubts had never existed.

Seeing Eriri's excited eyes, Kirito twitched the corners of his mouth. Although it was a rare and high-quality set, I had used special means to buy three sets back then. Now it's just a delivery of one set.

Kirito moved a chair to the long table, sat down two meters away from Eriri, took out his art supplies and script, then looked up at Eriri and said.

"Well then, Kashiwagi-sensei... uh, Sawamura-kun, let's talk about something related to the manga club, or about personal art style adjustments and changes."

When Kirito mentioned the name "Kashiwagi," he clearly saw the displeasure on Eriri's face and immediately changed his mind. Tsundere people are really troublesome to offend.

012

【NO.11 Sword Art Online】

"The art style..."

Eriri pursed her lips slightly and began to ponder Kirito's words. Some creators can easily master several art styles and draw them effortlessly, but there are also those like Kirito who find it difficult to switch styles even if they want to. If she had to discuss it, Eriri didn't know where to begin, since this wasn't a typical discussion about drawing skills.

Everyone has their own unique art style, and even those with exceptional imitation skills may not be able to completely replicate an artist's distinctive style. After all, it's based on the individual differences of each person.

Just like the book Kirito released, "The Secret of the Bride," the sour smell of its illustrations... was also due to his mindset at the time. Well, Kirito had only been with Asuna for a short time then, so he could easily draw works with the sour smell of romance.

"I can't really say...it's probably related to mindset, right?" Eriri raised an eyebrow and asked in return. "Why should I help you think about that?"

"We're classmates, right? I think classmates should help each other." Kirito stroked his chin. "Besides, I'm a member of the manga club now, so is the club president really going to just stand by and watch me die?"

"...Is the Godfather your idol?"

"Of course not, my idol is a saint..."

Kirito is a self-aware person. In terms of manga talent, Kirito can only be considered to be a little beyond the concept and plot of manga, but when it comes to drawing skills, Kirito is very clear that he is no match for Eriri.

Eriri is a genius, and the kind of genius who works hard. Kirito, on the other hand, can only be considered a cheater.

However, Kirito believes that a mature manga artist will never work alone; he will definitely have excellent assistants by his side.

Of course, Kirito had no intention of having Eriri join his team, which he didn't know when it would even start. Kirito was simply looking for... well, a teammate. Having someone knowledgeable to discuss things with is definitely better than working alone in isolation.

Seeing Eriri clearly deep in thought about the questions from earlier, Kirito looked around and said, "Speaking of which, what's the future of this club? The manga club... um, weren't you hiding in school as a reclusive otaku? Suddenly becoming the president of the manga club, doesn't that expose you?"

The image of the "homebody" group in this country is not very good, mainly because many homebodies rely on the country's welfare to make a living, without making any effort to improve themselves, which is why they are discriminated against.

In short, it means that those who do not work do not eat, and among the general population, those who stay at home belong to this group.

"Humph!"

Speaking of this, Eriri was also a little annoyed. Actually, she had only recently become the head of the manga club. Eriri had come here out of curiosity, and the head of the manga club at the time was a senior high school student who was the only one in the club. After meeting Eriri, he handed the manga club over to her without saying a word... To be honest, Eriri was quite annoyed.

Eriri posted a flyer recruiting members, thinking that if no one joined, she would give up on the club. After all, staying in this place would not only be useless, but would also expose her identity as a shut-in.

But things are different now. Who would have thought that the newly joined Kirito would be the rival that Eriri wants to catch up with—Fujiwara Echizen!

As for the future plans for the manga department... is there such a thing?

"Uh, well... of course it's about creating! Whether it's comics or doujinshi, you need friends and fellow creators. You can't just work behind closed doors. Those top creators all have teams. Yeah, that's it!"

Eriri said with certainty.

Although Kirito realized Eriri was the one who came up with the idea, it's true that people need to communicate, and creators are no exception. They need a suitable environment to discuss creative topics, and the sparks that fly from the collision of ideas are the inspiration for creation.

"However, let's not discuss doujinshi here!"

Eriri added a sentence.

"Ah, I see..." Kirito was silent for a moment, then looked up and said. "However, a club with only the two of us can't last long, since clubs need at least three members in the early stages."

"I've already put up the flyers for recruiting members; there will always be someone interested."

"Aren't you afraid of your identity being exposed?"

"Well, there's always a way!"

"I think we still need to work harder. Relying on the flyers we collect probably won't be very effective. After all, people don't really care about comics. Well, at least on the surface, nobody likes them."

Not everyone has Kirito's thick skin, daring to casually take out a computer in the classroom to play games, read novels, and watch anime. In their eyes, liking to read comics is a very shameful thing. The goal at school is to study, so how can they waste their time on such childish things?

"Hmm, that does seem to be the case..."

Eriri nodded. Putting aside others, she herself usually acted like a noble young lady, keeping her homebody identity well hidden.

“Let’s create a short manga together once the third person joins,” Kirito said, changing the subject. “Right now… how about you take a look at my manga script?”

"Hey, you finished it in just one night?"

Eriri was somewhat surprised to see Kirito take out two notebooks from his backpack. To come up with a script and write out the outline in one night was no easy feat, especially since this wasn't a doujinshi (fan-made comics) with pre-existing character designs and plots for reference.

"Uh, actually, it's a story outline that was written a long time ago." Kirito scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "The character designs were also chosen from the people around me."

"Tsk..."

"Well, I did some market research last night and found that there aren't many manga in the game category right now. I happen to have a game-themed script here, so I thought I'd discuss it with you." Kirito handed Eriri a notebook and continued, "Should you take a look at it yourself, or should I just tell you directly?"

"Let me take a look. By the way, could you also prepare a copy of the market research report for me?"

Eriri looked at the four large characters written on the homepage and parted her lips slightly.

Sword Art Online!