manga artist Kirito

But from Kirito's perspective, Eriri's pretty face had already turned bright red to her ears. Although she tried to appear calm, the shame in her voice was still very strong.

But this isn't arrogant at all, is it?

You're too calm, you arrogant loser!

"I see..." Kirito smiled thoughtfully. "Since we don't have anything to do right now, why don't you let me take a look..."

180

[NO.178 Tsundere? Of course not!]

Why are you here?!

Eriri felt a surge of shame and indignation rising within her as she looked at the bookshelf Kirito was pointing to. The shelves beneath were filled with all sorts of erotic manga, though they were all works created by Kirito himself…

But how embarrassing!

I'm so ashamed!

My dearest mother, do you want your beloved daughter to lose all sense of shame in front of her classmates?

Please, Kirito and I are really just ordinary classmates!

"Although it's not finished yet, how about letting me see the piece you're going to use at the CM exhibition?" Kirito looked meaningfully at Eriri, whose face was flushed with an alluring blush. Under normal circumstances, Eriri would probably feel extremely embarrassed and run out the door...

It's a real shame that this is her home, so it would be very difficult to see this scene.

However, Eriri ignored Kirito's request and stared at him seriously, "Did you see it?"

"...I drew them all, what could be interesting about them?" Kirito pursed his lips. He may have long forgotten the content of these works, but what I drew is still what I drew, and I know better than anyone what's in them.

However, seeing Eriri's gradually relaxing expression, Kirito felt like he had missed out on 98 billion yen...

Could it be that Eriri left behind something unspeakable in these works?

For example... you know the most fundamental purpose of erotic comics, right?

So, it's possible that Eriri used it...?

Alas! ! !

The more I think about it, the more likely it seems!

The opponent I've always wanted to defeat, but since they're an opponent, I must have a level of understanding that no one else has reached. And since this enemy is in the creative field, I naturally need to understand them through their works...

Based on this analysis, the possibility is truly exceptionally high!

"You bastard..." Eriri raised her eyebrows immediately as she looked at Kirito's increasingly strange smile. Although she didn't know what he was thinking, given his personality, what he was thinking was definitely not normal.

He quickly interrupted Kirito's thoughts, "Don't think about it anymore. This new work is the key to victory, and I definitely won't let you see it before the exhibition starts."

That doesn't quite seem right. Whether this sales volume can surpass Kirito's work at the exhibition depends on the level of his work. If it becomes popular enough, then Eriri's work will also be boosted...

To some extent, if Kirito loses, it's because of his own actions!

Wow! I suddenly realized that this move was pretty clever!

Hmph!

Her mood changed rapidly, and Eriri quickly forgot about what had just happened. At this moment, she even seemed a little smug.

With an involuntary upturn of her lips, Eriri gave a smug sneer. "You can only put on that confident look now. When the exhibition starts, you'll never guess that the reason you lost is because of you!"

"Ah, that's a shame!" Kirito had a bad feeling, but he couldn't imagine what the situation was like... Well, he couldn't connect Eriri with conspiracy and weirdness at all. If it were Kasumigaoka Utaha, that would be quite possible.

This is the difference in attributes...

"Don't feel sorry, you'll definitely lose convincingly!" Eriri patted her bare chest confidently. "Besides our absolute advantage in choosing the material, I also paid extra attention to the plot this time. Even if it can't compare to your strength in plot-driven stories, it will definitely win in terms of popularity!"

Hey! Do you really think Carman is outdated?

"So... if you win, what are you going to do?" Looking at Eriri's confident appearance, Kirito rarely felt guilty, wondering... if he might lose?

Putting aside other factors, yuri is indeed a niche genre in terms of subject matter. In addition, Touhou Project doesn't have any new series released right now. Compared to Eriri's choice... a work that has absolute popularity at this stage, it might actually lose.

No! That's not right. Touhou seems to have a series coming out soon, which will naturally boost the series' popularity... Hmm, no worries!

"Hmph~ This time I'll show you my true strength. I've wanted to crush you for a long time!" Eriri curled her lips into a charmingly naive smile. "If I win..."

My biggest rival has always been someone I can beat and who will be completely under my control, which is undoubtedly something to be happy about. But as for what happens after I win... well, I haven't really thought about that yet...

Are we going to make some kind of agreement?

Or should we offer some conditions to gamble on?

Well, although I can say that I have the victory in my grasp now, it's not good to go too far with this kind of thing, so how about a slightly... softer condition?

Ugh! This is giving me a headache...

If the winner had been given a specific set of demands when the sales volume was initially determined, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble now.

In addition, since our relationship is still good, there are many conditions I can't bring up...

...How about we have him dress up as a woman and model, or walk around the streets?

...Indeed, I'll pass. My mother just said not long ago that this guy is perfect for women's clothing and we absolutely can't let him go...

As Eriri pondered the situation, the conditions she came up with became increasingly bizarre, to the point that some of them were even too much for her to bear.

What is Eriri thinking?

Kirito raised an eyebrow, looking rather flustered, and blushed inexplicably. "Is that all you can think about, those R-18 options?"

"Let...let the loser be the winner's assistant...um, an assistant for a single work!" Eriri blushed as she made the difficult decision. "It's...it's not that I'm afraid you'll think it's too much!"

"..."

You used the word "才" three times in one sentence. Are you planning to regain all the arrogance you didn't have before?

"Okay." After thinking for a moment, Kirito nodded in agreement, because the request was really not excessive. Compared to those who wear women's clothes and walk around the streets, or do things like flying aruba, it was simply too beautiful!

…………

"Huh!!! Why are the requests so simple... It's completely uninteresting."

Sawamura Sayuri puffed out her cheeks slightly, somewhat displeased with her daughter's terrible performance. If she could, she would even like to offer her daughter some advice, since she was very good at that!

But my daughter would never agree to that...

Of course, Sayuri Sawamura isn't blind; judging from the current situation, their relationship is indeed only more than friends...

181

[NO.179 Newcomer Award (Bonus Chapter)]

Fujiwara Echizen…

Sawamura Sayuri had been curious about this for a long time.

I've been hearing all sorts of news about this person from my daughter for the past few years. Although I've always wanted to find an opportunity to meet him, I haven't had a good chance...

You might not believe it, but Sayuri Sawamura was once a doujinshi creator. The reason Eriri became the way she is now is largely due to Sayuri's actions.

Furthermore, when Eriri was a child and didn't yet know what shame was, she would often come to her for advice on creative matters...

Well, the main reason I didn't learn about Fujiwara Echizen much earlier was because he's quite mysterious in the industry, and Rouge en rouge is quite strict about that. They didn't go out of their way to promote Fujiwara Echizen's status as a child prodigy. And when I asked the president of Rouge en rouge, Akane Kosaka just smiled and then changed the subject...

Very angry!

However, it seems that although it is somewhat different from what I thought, it is actually not that different.

Next, he wanted to see what Fujiwara Echizen thought of his daughter... and what his daughter thought of Fujiwara Echizen.

But given the current situation, my daughter's feelings for Fujiwara Echizen are definitely more than just those of a regular classmate or rival; they are at least friends... As for whether they can go even further, it's hard to say for now.

However, so far, Sayuri Sawamura is still quite satisfied with Fujiwara Echizen's performance.

Sayuri Sawamura isn't exactly a doting mother, nor is she the kind of weird mom who'd cheer her daughter on if she brought a male friend home, but right now... it seems like she could definitely cheer her on.

Kazuko Kiritani is so cute, and Kazuto Kiritani is also a good prospect...

Hmm, should I also help check on my daughter's competitors for the game?

…………

[Kamishirasawa Hibiki: ...Should we really submit this to Shueisha?]

[Shiina Mashiro: Manga submission, keep it up!]

[Kasumi Shiko: ...Actually, although we feel good about ourselves, this work is actually quite bizarre. Anyone with a little sense can see that the story has all sorts of amazing plot twists. The beginning of the story gives you the feeling of reading a hot-blooded sci-fi manga, but the scene changes to an overpowered romance slice-of-life.]

[Xia Shizi: Even though the logic is handled well, the various awkward main storylines coming together... it still feels a bit unsettling.]

[Eri Kashiwagi: Who do you think is responsible for the script being so bizarre?!]

[Fujiwara Echizen: Tsk, now you realize how embarrassing it is? You should have expected this outcome the moment you had those bizarre ideas… Ah, five renowned creators, what a powerful combination! And the final product is this. I don't know if it surprised anyone, but the pen name Houraisan Kaguya is definitely going to explode!]

Yes, that's right. We're currently preparing for the submission, informing members of the club that we'll be submitting "Dark Souls" to Shueisha soon.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was ashamed of the script she had written, while Kirito and Eriri seized the opportunity to ridicule the infuriating writer...

Actually, this work isn't as bad as Kasumigaoka Utaha thinks. She just has a preconceived notion and is looking at it from the perspective of the script she created, which is why she feels ashamed and embarrassed now!

Seriously, I'm not kidding!

Kasumigaoka Utaha has the potential to be a female literary youth, and she does want to develop in that direction, but when she stands from a literary perspective... wow! Did I bump my head on Eriri's chest back then? Otherwise, how could I have written something with no story logic at all?

[Fujiwara Echizen: Anyway, I've made up my mind. I'll submit the artwork to Shueisha later. Since it's going to be embarrassing, let's all embarrass ourselves together.]

[Kamishirasawa Hibiki: This is my dark history...]

[Shiina Mashiro:...]

[Eri Kashiwagi: Hmph! Even if I'm ridiculed, I'll hold my head high and tell the readers that this is a script written by the infuriating writer, Shizuko Kasumi!]

[Xia Shizi: ...]

[Kamishirasawa Hibiki: Let's just consider this a lesson. The Shueisha Newcomer Award supposedly gives the first-place winner hundreds of thousands of yen... If the problem isn't that serious, that could be used for our club's activities.]

[Eri Kashiwagi: Ah, that's wonderful, hundreds of thousands in activity funds.]

[Fujiwara Echizen: But this has absolutely nothing to do with us.]

[Xia Shizi: Although it's embarrassing, this dark history will witness our growth. After all, only by recognizing the problem can we come up with better solutions.]

With a smile, Kirito put down his phone. "I can imagine what Kasumigaoka's expression is like right now. Although she won't be covering her face and hiding under the covers muttering 'Ah~ how embarrassing,' it's definitely not going to be any better."

"Hmph!" Eriri seemed to be in a pretty good mood, humming happily.

...Kirito and Eriri are in cahoots, and Kasumigaoka Utaha is now in a trap, being swayed by various subtle language. If Kasumigaoka Utaha calms down and thinks about it carefully, she will definitely remember that after Asuna's repairs, the script didn't have many problems at all.

By the way, Asuna's teamwork just now was perfect!

Even without knowing the truth, she still understood Kirito's thoughts...

Eriri, who was drawing while looking at the script, naturally knew that this work might not win the Newcomer Award, but it would definitely be among the top... By the way, are there any prizes for the other rankings besides the award?

"Ah, it's getting late, I should go now, I'll have to take a detour later..."

"Alright then, I'll have the butler take you." Eriri nodded silently, though she hesitated about whether to ask him for help with something... but ultimately decided against it.

Simulated scenarios and character dialogues...

It might be possible to achieve a super-realistic level of accuracy, but these things can't be conjectured lightly. What if this guy starts having wild thoughts? What if his mother finds out?

Indeed, even though some things seem simple, they are still very difficult to do!

Especially for... this guy who's always spouting dirty jokes!

…………

With a slight sense of anticipation, looking forward to the reviews and comments from editors and readers on this work created by several well-known creators, Kirito sent the manga manuscript to Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump...

The next thing to do is wait...

P.S.: I owe a total of 37 chapters. Including this chapter, I've already paid back 33, meaning I still owe 4 chapters...

To keep myself from being too lazy, I'll start another bounty: 100 blades for one extra chapter!

182

【NO.180 A Sage?】

"So, the rule that we have to come to school after the exams is really annoying..." Lying on the table, Kirito watched the still-serious Ms. Sumire giving a lecture with nothing to do.

Honestly, sometimes I'm quite envious of the other country. They can have a holiday after the exams, and then just go back to school to pick up their results when the time is right.

Of course, as for their college entrance examination system... well, never mind. Although I don't really understand it, Mr. Kiritani doesn't want to be dominated by the legendary "five years of college entrance examination and three years of mock exams." At least for now, high school here is definitely more relaxed.