Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

However, the next moment... Erina jumped up from the sofa.

"Sister, ninth place! You've made it into the top ten!"

She tossed the magazine aside, lunged forward, and hugged Eri Aragaki's arm, her face beaming with even more joy than if she herself had gotten first place in her grade.

Eri Aragaki was so shaken by her that she almost spilled the cup in her hand, and quickly put the cup on the coffee table.

"Senior, is that the Giants' result? They've made it into the top ten! That's fantastic!"

Ayane Takeda also congratulated her, saying, "Your manga is always really good!"

Natsume Akane sat in a chair next to the sofa, her reaction calmer than the other two.

She closed the magazine in her hand and placed it on her lap, a smile curving her lips as she looked at Eri Aragaki and said with a smile, "Eri, congratulations."

Eri Aragaki felt as if she were being shone by three suns at the same time, surrounded by three people.

She scratched her head, unsure who to respond to first, and finally just replied to both at the same time, "Thank you, thank you."

Erina was still clinging to her arm and wouldn't get down, so Eri patted her head and said, "Alright, alright, it's not like we got first place, we only came in ninth."

"Ninth place is still pretty impressive."

Erina looked up at her and said, "That's a top ten Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, the best-selling manga magazine in all of Japan."

Ayane Takeda nodded vigorously beside her and said, "That's right, senpai. Being able to squeeze into the top ten means that your work is already loved by many people. And you've only been serializing it for a short time. You'll definitely become even more amazing in the future."

Eri Aragaki helped Erina off her arm and then straightened the crooked neckline of her T-shirt.

She looked at the three of them, and her expression slowly changed from a smile to a more serious one.

"Actually, it's not entirely my credit."

She said gratefully, "Everyone has helped me a lot during this time."

Eri Aragaki took a breath, then her expression changed, becoming much more formal, and she said, "That's why I plan to talk to you next."

Takeda Ayane paused for a moment.

Looking at Eri Aragaki's expression, she didn't think she was joking, nor did she seem to be just being polite.

So she also put away her smile, stood up straighter, put her hands down in front of her, and her expression became more serious. She said, "Senior, please speak freely."

Natsume Akane seemed to have anticipated something; her eyes flickered, but the corners of her mouth remained curved.

She placed the magazine on her lap onto the coffee table beside her, crossed her arms on her legs, and said, "Eri, you can say whatever you want."

"Well, Ayane and Akane have been helping me with my manga work every week lately, and I think that's great."

Eri Aragaki immediately said seriously, "But you did spend time and effort to help me, and I can't just keep using you for free like this."

"How about this, I'll just hire you as my assistants."

She said with a smile, "As for the salary, I will offer a reasonable price."

After hearing this, Ayane Takeda opened her mouth slightly.

She blinked, seemingly not quite understanding what Eri Aragaki was saying.

After several seconds, she quickly waved her hand and said, "Ah, we weren't really that helpful, senior, you don't need to be so polite."

She genuinely felt she couldn't be of much help.

It's nothing more than doing some simple work, like pasting halftone dots, applying black ink, and sometimes tracing the lines of the buildings and trees drawn by Eri Aragaki.

After getting to know each other over this period of time, and given that she also had a little bit of self-taught art skills due to her interests and talent, she would help draw some simple scenes, such as walls, residential buildings, and trees.

But she felt these were insignificant acts of help, something that anyone with better dexterity could have done.

Besides, Eri Aragaki has been treating them to meals recently.

Every time they come to help, Eri Aragaki orders takeout or cooks a big meal herself.

Moreover, Eri Aragaki's house offers free air conditioning, and especially during this period, she calculated that she has saved a lot on electricity and food this month.

She felt that this was enough. As for accepting a formal job offer from Eri Aragaki as a manga assistant with a salary, she felt that these were unnecessary and unaffordable.

She assumed that Natsume Akane would think the same way.

So when Natsume Akane spoke, Takeda Ayane was completely stunned.

"I think Eri is right."

But then Natsume Akane said something.

Ayane Takeda immediately turned to look at Akane Natsume, her mouth agape in disbelief.

Natsume Akane didn't look at her, but looked at Aragaki Eri and said, "Eri, what you did is perfectly reasonable."

Ayane Takeda couldn't hold back any longer and said, "But Natsume-senpai, we only helped with a small thing..."

"Ayane, don't be so polite."

Natsume Akane then turned to look at her and said, "Your politeness puts Eri in a difficult position. She'll feel bad about it. It's much better if we accept it."

After she finished speaking, she added, "If you don't believe me, ask Eri."

"Yes, Ah-Xi is right."

Eri Aragaki immediately gave a thumbs up and said, "This makes me feel a little better. Otherwise, you guys always help me like this, and I'd feel bad if I didn't give something in return."

Takeda Ayane glanced at Natsume Akane, then at Aragaki Eri, and then at Erina nodding beside her. She felt as if she had been persuaded by the three of them working together.

She lowered her head and thought for a moment.

Actually, it's not that she doesn't want to accept it.

She felt that what she did was far less significant than the title of "assistant."

Moreover, she was helping her friend, so how could she ask for salary or compensation when helping a friend?

But what Natsume Akane said also makes sense; if she keeps refusing, it will only put Aragaki Eri in a difficult position.

She knew this senior colleague well; he was the type who would hold a grudge and wouldn't be able to sleep until he repaid it.

"Oh well."

Takeda Ayane whispered.

Eri Aragaki immediately smiled with satisfaction, clapped her hands, and said, "Okay, it's a deal then."

Then she quickly added, "But don't feel restricted by this. Just like before, come and help me whenever you have time. There are no time requirements. Just treat it as a regular part-time job."

She is someone who only cares about results.

She felt that all those formalities—clocking in and out, fixed working hours, and sign-in/sign-out—were unnecessary.

As long as the work is done, everything else is secondary.