manga artist Kirito

"……Clam?"

"Ignore what I just said, it's not important anyway." Kiritani waved his hand, apparently realizing he had misspoke.

"Well, now that you're here, I don't need to take the child back... Plus, there's another one at home who needs me to get their clothes before taking a bath, and another who won't go to sleep until I hold them, so I have to go back now..."

Yes, the former is Shiina Mashiro, but this kind of work is mostly done by Asuna, while the latter is undoubtedly Asuna.

Shino-san smiled and nodded, showing no intention of trying to stop her, and sincerely said thank you.

"Then, I'll leave first."

"Ah, Guizi!"

The girl, seemingly lost in thought, casually uttered, "Oh... thank you, Kazuko-neechan. Goodbye, Kazuko-neechan."

Seriously! This is getting more and more outrageous!

Are people these days so blind?

Do I have to prove it with my actions before you'll know I'm a real man?

Phew! It's not worth getting into a fight with a little girl, especially one who's not to be trifled with!

Shino-san rebuked him somewhat displeasedly, "Keiko, how can you call someone that?"

...Hmm, he seems quite like a guardian.

"Although Kirito looks very feminine, and most of the students talk about whether he is a boy or a girl in private, I have seen the relevant information. Kirito is indeed a boy—so, you should call him Kazuko-nii!" Shino-san instructed earnestly.

Kiritani opened his mouth slightly, but in the end, he took the candy that the little girl had just unwrapped and put it into Sinon's mouth.

Fuck you!

P.S.: I recommend my family's new book, "I'm a Dragon in Japan," a slice-of-life story...

228

[NO.225 - A sense of déjà vu]

Here's the thing.

Today I met a little girl when I went out. She should have been the cute and cuddly type, but somehow she turned out to be the opposite.

Of course, I didn't cry, not even when I found out she wasn't a legal loli.

I'm just lamenting that legal lolis like Teacher Xiaomeng and Teacher Nayue don't exist in reality.

but……

But after learning of their existence—trouble ensued.

Both of them will appear in the Sword Art Online series. Although Sinon won't appear until the later "Phantom Bullet" arc, the little girl will appear much earlier...

Well, it seems I'll have to make some minor changes to the character design, at least... let's keep about 70-80% similar.

After feeding them both candy, Kiritani calmly took a taxi home.

What's a bit strange is that the little girl didn't stop him to ask for his contact information... Sigh, are little girls these days no longer proactive?

When he got home, it was only 2 p.m. When Kiritani opened the door, he saw Asuna holding a laptop and typing away, while Shiina Mashiro was curled up between the sofa and coffee table with her sketchbook, looking a little off.

"I am back."

"Welcome home."

This is Asuna's sweet voice.

Putting down her laptop, Asuna stretched slightly, revealing her perfect curves, then sprawled on the sofa, looking extremely languid. "Hmm, summer vacation... I feel like I don't know what else to do besides writing. As for traveling, I just went recently..."

"Aren't you going back to the company to help out this summer vacation?" Kirito sat down next to Asuna on the sofa, picked up her arm, and gently massaged her wrist. "I remember last year when you were on vacation, you spent most of your time at the company—but it still felt strange. You were still a minor, yet you ended up in such a big company... It felt a bit out of place."

Asuna raised her head expressionlessly. "So, Kazuto looks down on me?"

"You're overthinking it." Kiritani chuckled and shook his head, his hands still moving. "What I mean is, there's no need to be so busy. Just stay home with me."

"Hmm~" Asuna's pretty face blossomed into a smile, then she snuggled closer to the side, resting her head on Kirigaya-kun's lap. "Of course I know, but this vacation probably won't be as relaxing as I expected..."

"..." Shiina Mashiro stood up expressionlessly, her wooden gaze sweeping over the two of them. Holding her drawing board, she strode into Kiritani's room.

"...Uh, what's going on?" Kiritani-kun's face was full of subtle confusion, unable to understand Shiina Mashiro's gaze.

Also, why did they enter my room? — Shouldn't a better environment for painting be in the study?

"...Perhaps, Shiina Mashiro has learned to read the atmosphere?" Asuna raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of disbelief in her eyes. After all, Shiina Mashiro wasn't someone who could read the atmosphere, just like when she first arrived, she had no idea that you had to pay for things.

Now I can understand the atmosphere...

Uh, the atmosphere...

Alas!

Suddenly remembering something, Asuna's delicate face flushed slightly.

Kiritani chuckled as he watched his girlfriend's face flush even more, then slowly lowered his head, "Asuna~"

"Hmm~?" Feeling the warm breath on her face, Asuna pursed her lips, her eyes filled with shyness.

"I think……"

"No... Mashiro is still here..."

...What's with this feeling that I can't do anything reckless because my daughter is still at home?

Ah! If only someone could take care of Mashiro...

Kiritani-kun slowly lowered his head. "It's okay, Mashiro is in the room."

As Kiritani drew ever closer, Asuna blushed, but did not resist. The warm sensation brought their lips together.

then……

The phone rang...

Holy crap, why do these postmodern comedic scenes actually happen?

With a slight tilt of his head, Kiritani took his phone out of his pocket and hung up without even looking at the caller ID.

"Let's continue..."

"Eh……?"

However, before Kiritani could kiss Asuna again, his phone rang once more.

I'm so annoyed!

Kiritani's mood subtly began to sour. If Shiina Mashiro had suddenly walked out of the room, he might have been interrupted in an awkward situation. But what was with this phone call?

If you're not going to answer, then don't keep calling!

Are you Shizuka Hiratsuka?

Is he the kind of person who would make dozens of phone calls and send hundreds of emails to pester someone who doesn't answer the phone?

This kind of melodramatic plot is so relatable, it's really annoying!

"Um... and someone, on the phone..." The blush on her pretty face was still there, but Asuna reached out and pushed Kiritani away, a hint of amusement in her eyes. Especially when she saw Kiritani's resentful face, Asuna's lips couldn't help but curl up slightly. "Ahem, answer the phone first. Maybe it really is an emergency."

"What's so urgent about it? Apart from Asuna's matter, there's nothing that can be called urgent." Kiritani-kun was quite dissatisfied, and the idea of ​​smashing his phone first and then finding this person and beating him up also surfaced at this moment.

Of course, Asuna's words had to be listened to, not to mention how annoying the phone call was.

Taking a deep breath to calm his agitated mood, Kiritani answered the phone in an unfriendly tone, "Read the 'Hiku' (a type of poem), you're the one who's interrupting my good time!"

"Huh? Are you in such a bad mood?" A rather mature and slightly hoarse voice sounded, and the woman on the other end of the phone seemed a little confused.

"Ah, does that mean you're sleeping right now, Fujiwara-sensei?... You even have this 'morning grumpiness' trait..."

The woman muttered to herself, "No wonder, according to what Xiaoqian and Xiaojing said, Fujiwara-sensei is indeed someone who likes to draw at night and rest during the day..."

"Alright, don't bother me if you need something, and definitely don't bother me if you don't need anything!" Listening to the woman talking to herself, Kiritani hung up the phone and pressed the power button.

Although he didn't know what the call was about, Kiritani-kun had no desire to know, especially since it wasn't even from Sushi, meaning it wasn't important at all—yes, Kiritani-kun thought that apart from Sushi's already prepared plans, none of those things were important.

After that, it goes without saying what business the editor of Shinazugawa could possibly have with him.

If it's about Asuna, the call will most likely go to Asuna's phone, and besides, it's Kasumigaoka Utaha's editor calling.

While it's true that Kiritani-kun was responsible for illustrating Kasumigaoka Utaha, the third volume of "Love Metronome" was only released two weeks ago, and the fourth volume won't be released for at least a month... which means it's not a problem with the illustrations at all.

Since that's not the case, there's nothing more to say.

However, Machida's hand speed seems quite good...

Before the shutdown prompt appeared, the screen was filled with incoming call information.

Kiritani sighed softly, but finally answered the call. "A woman who keeps pestering you is never likable. Editor Machida, I think you should understand why you, Sushi, and Shizuka haven't found boyfriends yet."

"Huh? What did you say? I didn't hear you."

There was no trace of confusion in his words; in fact, there was a hint of resentment.

Kiritani could tell that this woman had definitely remembered what he had just said.

Of course, it wasn't a warning about why she hadn't found a boyfriend; it was simply—holding a grudge.

Asuna shook her head helplessly, then reached out and ruffled Kiritani's hair before getting up and going into the room amidst his resentful expression.

"Get to the point, I don't have much time to waste here with you!"

Even though he knew there was probably no going back, the resentment lingered, and Kiritani-kun really wasn't going to have a proper conversation with this old woman anymore.

"Well, I'm so sorry to bother you, Fujiwara-sensei," Editor Machida apologized politely. "But I have something urgent to discuss with you today!"

"Although I feel a little bad about troubling Fujiwara-sensei, what can I do? Shi-chan and you are such good friends. She prefers listening to your nonsense to what I have to say."

...Then don't bother, if you think what I'm saying is all nonsense.

"So, what exactly happened?" Kiritani rubbed his temples. Kasumigaoka Utaha's matter... an urgent matter?

Is it because she's on her period and is in terrible pain, or is it because she doesn't have sanitary pads at home and doesn't want to go out with bleeding, so she's bothering me?

As it turns out, Kiritani-kun was overthinking things.

"Poetry Sauce, you've fallen into the most difficult step for a creator."

"Want to commit suicide?"

"...Suicide my foot! What could possibly make you think of suicide?"

It's like how many people keep talking about getting to the bottom of things, but in reality, very few people actually think about it that way...

"Dazai Osamu."

"...Alright, I'll just say it straight. Shi-chan is experiencing writer's block. She hasn't written a single word since the release of Volume 3. Volume 4 isn't in a rush yet, but if Shi-chan continues in her current state, she'll most likely go back to writing just for the sake of writing."

"Oh……"

"Did you agree? You agreed... I knew you were right to ask Fujiwara-sensei."

"I refuse." Kiritani-kun said this very calmly.

Kiritani-kun doesn't know what Kasumigaoka Utaha's current situation is, but it's definitely not what Machida said.

You know, when everyone was packing up to go home for summer vacation the day before yesterday, Kasumigaoka Utaha was in an incredibly happy mood. To say that she was experiencing sluggishness, Kirigaya-kun would never believe it—not even if he were beaten to death.

Undoubtedly, this was just an excuse Kasumigaoka Utaha gave to delay the manuscript.

229

【NO.226 Shut up, sow!】

Mr. Kiritani is not in a good mood today.

The reason is simple: someone caused him trouble.

What is summer vacation for?

I'm just lounging at home, playing games!

The kind of thoughts that people have about missing school after only a couple of days of vacation are completely absent in Mr. Kiritani. The reason is simple: why go to school to sleep when you can cuddle your girlfriend at home?

Can a school desk really be more comfortable than a bed?

What could be more comfortable than a bed where you can lie down with your girlfriend?

But now I have to go out...

Women are troublesome creatures, especially high school girls—Asuna is an exception—let alone a masochistic and sharp-tongued high school girl.