Can I draw Eromanga forever?

"Hmm? A cartoonist? —Huh?"

Mizuki Nakahara looked over.

As if intrigued by the commotion in the store, the long curly brown hair fell on her shoulders. The regretful beauty stroked her red-framed glasses and squinted her eyes, the lenses reflecting the light.

Cartoonist = rich = excellent marriage partner!

Equation holds.

The action begins.

Mizuki closed ZEXY and cast an appraising glance at it.

Cafés are a popular haunt for artists. In fact, there are quite a few of them at LycoReco: editors, journalists, writers always struggling to meet deadlines...

but.

Among these people, there is no one who meets Nakahara Ruixi's standards for choosing a partner.

"So, the manga artist's topic of conversation is—Lin You? Huh?"

Mizuki Nakahara's body seemed to collapse all of a sudden. She buried her cheek in "ZEXY" and sighed deeply.

"Hey……"

"..."

Inoue Takina still couldn't understand Nakahara Mizuki's obsession with marriage, nor the "age difference" she kept muttering.

Thousands of bunches?

Qianzhu escaped.

Takina could only think silently about the definition of the LycoReco branch's existence, with a blank gaze, occasionally looking in the direction of Lin You.

"Is this a meeting about light novel illustrations? I don't quite understand that painting, but even from a layman's perspective, it looks impressive. The woman in business attire is an editor, and the middle-aged woman who came over is a manga artist. They both seem very enthusiastic about Lin You's illustrations..."

Inoue Takina, the previous time Silicris, secretly observed.

Lin You was talking quietly with the editor and the female cartoonist, and raised a finger to his lips to signal for silence.

It only takes a moment.

The uncolored drawing is almost complete.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was watching very seriously.

Sometimes he frowned, thinking about something, sometimes he shook the loose hair hanging on his forehead, and sometimes he rubbed his furrowed brows to relax his mood.

click, click, click...

With such intense concentration, she finally couldn't help shaking her legs.

The plump, jade-like legs in black silk stockings were crossed, swaying slightly, and the heels tapping.

Along with her long breaths, the senior sister would occasionally open her mouth and make rich interjections such as "Hmm? Ha...ah" as if no one was around.

It’s just a painting?

It's really just a painting.

Although I had prepared myself mentally, the moment I actually saw it—

Kasumigaoka's heart shuddered, and he still felt a strange and gorgeous breeze rushing into his heart, swaying his heart, outlining a life experience that was similar to yet different from his own.

"Sayuka..."

An indescribable feeling of emotion welled up in my heart.

The girl looked at the illustration manuscript on the table. The composition, with its powerful sense of camera, captured the elegant figure of a black-haired girl. Cherry blossoms fluttered in the air, and her hair flowed in the wind, like a dance; the colors were brilliant, like shattered light. Some fell into the girl's eyes, while others sprinkled on the boy's hair.

That is the first perspective of Naoto, the protagonist of "Love Metronome"!

The vivid visuals, unexpected angles, and perfect light and shadow construction bring a visual enjoyment called "stunning".

The cherry blossom petals are falling like snow, swaying gracefully.

"That must be the intuitive feeling of Naoto, the protagonist of "Love Metronome": love at first sight!"

That girl has a calm and beautiful temperament, with a hint of mystery and strength.

——It is like a big, beautiful, and graceful African daisy.

Witnessing this scene.

Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't help but cover her mouth.

Sayuka, this is the first role she created, and it is also a role that she directly brought herself into.

"...Oh my god, this is exactly me!!!"

Consciously realize this.

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head.

She smiled faintly with her lips pursed. The pure white headband complemented her long dark hair. As she tilted her head slightly, her hair fell down and was then pinned behind her ears. Her soft and white hands supported the senior sister's delicate cheeks, and her subtle gaze fell on Lin You.

She didn't even look at the curious editors and cartoonists around her.

"——It's decided that 'Love Metronome' must use Kasugano Yuu-sensei's illustrations. Please, Ero-kun... We will give you the best possible treatment."

"Shi-chan, I'm the editor," Machida reminded.

"Oh, really? Then get to work."

"..."

Already confirmed?

Lin You raised his eyes, looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, and tried to ask back.

"Don't think about it anymore?"

"why?"

Upon hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes moved slightly, as if she was a little curious about Lin You's reaction.

"Ms. Kasumi Shiko, illustration work is very complicated—"

Copyright, cooperation, profit sharing, agreement...

It's both troublesome and important.

Lin You told the story slowly.

The light novel industry jokes that "buy toilet paper and get free illustrations", "light novel sales depend entirely on illustrations", and "authors have to kowtow to the painters"...

In fact, this is an indisputable fact.

Especially for new authors, the initial sales of their novels are not achieved by the authors themselves. The content of the novel often needs to be understood by readers after reading the work. And readers' initial impression of a novel is that it takes only one second to let readers understand the general situation of the novel.

illustration.

It's common to hear that a project proposal clearly stated in words will not be approved, but as soon as the character designer draws a sketch of the character design, the project will be greenlit and supported!

...Of course, famous authors are a different matter.

So what kind of generous remuneration will light novel illustrators who undertake such an important job receive?

One note is 10,000 yen.

Famous illustrators are another matter.

but.

Most ordinary illustrators only receive this level of compensation.

It is obvious that the price of a single commissioned article is much more than this.

Obviously, the sketches an artist draws for a character often influence the character in the novel in some way. For example, some of the artist's suggestions can have a significant impact on the author's shaping of the character's personality, and even become the master of the work. However, many artists who are responsible for character design tasks like this do not receive any royalties...

As for teacher "Kasugano Yuu"?

"Besides, I'm not cheap, Miss Kasumi Shiko."

"Um……"

Kasumigaoka Shiyu nodded.

She reacted.

'"senior".'

——Clear words emerged in my mind.

Ever since I stepped into this cafe, I seemed to have been led by his rhythm. He is very skilled and reliable at work.

The girl even felt like a child who came to a cafe for the first time with adults...

No, Ero-kun... Mr. Kasugano Yuu is actually my senior.

Senior?

Senior...

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded and stood up, as if she thought of something interesting, and winked at Lin You.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself completely yet, Ero-kun. I'm Kasumi Shiko, who's about to debut as a new light novel writer. In real life, I'm Kasumigaoka Shiha, a sophomore at Toyosaki Academy."

"So it's...senpai?"

"We're both 'seniors', my younger, older Ero-kun. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation~~~"

“A pleasure to work with...”

Lin You discovered that the girl in front of him always had a smile on her lips. Perhaps the flower of high age had a calm mind. Kasumigaoka ignored the strange look in Machida Sonoko's eyes with her eyes wide open.

"Huh... I'm feeling overwhelmed with inspiration right now, so I have to excuse myself, Ero-kun. I need to rewrite the first volume of "Love Metronome"."

Buy toilet paper and get a free illustration?

It can never come true!

"Well, your deadline has long passed. Kasugano Yuu-sensei also needs to reserve space for his drawings, right? ...Shi-chan? Hello, Shi-chan?"

"..."

Her fair and rosy cheeks seemed to be covered with a faint halo, and the March spring light, through the stained glass of LycoReco, gently fell on them. She raised her hand to tuck the hair on the side of her face behind her ear, ignoring the distressed Machida Sonoko, and bowed slightly to say goodbye.

"..."

The conversation lasted for a long time, but it was like a fleeting glimpse.

Kasumigaoka Utaha she...

Lin You's vision, filtered through a lens as timeless as that of an old film, was both diffuse and clear. He chatted casually with Ito, the manga artist and a regular at Liko Liko Café.

"I didn't expect Lin Jun's painting skills to be so good. Are you interested in being my assistant?"

"I'll think about it, Mr. Ito."

Take a sip of coffee.

Lin You was thinking about something else.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha, as expected of a legendary senior, is standing right before me. It's such an odd feeling..."

only……

The purity of the venomous tongue is still too low!

Could it be that I'm past the age of sister complex? In a previous life, I once realized that I was actually older than the big sister in the big car book...

Lin You suddenly became depressed.

The burly stand-in, like a giant cat, sat on the floor beside him, staring at him blankly.

"—Hey! This is terrible! The potato chips at that convenience store over there are half price!!! Hurry and grab them!"

——clang clang!

At this moment.

The doorbell rang.