Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"I'm not very good at drawing, and the name isn't even a draft. Anyway, as long as the cute illustrations are understandable, that's fine."

However, he was also a little worried that the key shots were drawn too abstractly, and that Moe might not understand them, so he asked.

"Moe, can you understand it? If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."

"..."

Aiyuan Moe did not reply.

Or rather, she didn't hear Kuroba Akira's voice at all.

Her amazing concentration immersed her mind and body in the world depicted by Akira Kuroba, and the composition was already emerging in her mind.

My perception of Moe-e has changed once again.

She discovered that this 'uke' who had just been fawning over Ming had now become so 'dominant,' as if he were a completely different person, and even kind of handsome?

She felt similar to some of the professional comic artists she had met at Shiki Studio before. They usually seemed humble, but became incredibly serious when talking about their work.

But she's still just a high school student, isn't she? Even if she debuted by illustrating Ming's novels, she shouldn't be exuding a professional aura, right?

Could it be that the reason she was able to illustrate Ming's light novels wasn't because Ming gave her the opportunity out of pity, but rather... because Ming begged her to do it?

On the other side, Hitomi Anri and Shiori Shirai exchanged a smile. They knew that if Moe could be so engrossed in her work, it meant that Akira Kuroba had successfully taken over the baton, and Moe's dream of reviving her manga was now completely secure.

From passive to active, her enthusiasm has been ignited.

Kuroba Akira gave them a thumbs up, as if to say, "How was it? I did a pretty good job, right?" Anri Hitomi then gave him a wink and a flying kiss.

Although Shiori Shirai was a little shy, she followed suit and blew Akira Kuroba a kiss. She even took off her white gloves, which was Shiori's unique way of hinting at nudity. This was because the last piece of equipment that Akira Kuroba took off her was white gloves, which meant 'being honest with each other'.

Sitting in the farthest corner, Makoto Hikawa had her hands in her pockets and was frowning as she watched... Are all these women so openly flirting with each other?

Most importantly, Hitomi... you've really decided to give up fighting...?

Hikawa Makoto was very annoyed and angry at her for not living up to expectations.

She knew that Shirai Shiori and Aizono Moe were "substitutes" that Hitomi Anri used to "fill" the void left by her and Takanashi's future.

Even if it's not like that now, it must have been like that at the beginning, because it was very similar in many ways.

She and Shirai Shiori are somewhat similar in personality, both being the kind of people who have their own principles. In the future, she and Aizono Moe will also be somewhat similar, such as having similar hobbies and being timid in front of others, but their body sizes are quite different.

Furthermore, Hitomi Anri even considered that everyone is entering adolescence where they are interested in romance, so she deliberately excluded boys, probably to avoid damaging their friendship.

But what are you doing right now, Xiaotong?

You fell in love with Ming first, and then you want to share that love with your 'current friend'?

Are you crazy?

I can't understand... That's what I was going to say, but Hikawa Makoto seems to understand Anri Hitomi's reasons for doing this.

This behavior is essentially the same as her wanting to snatch Kuroba Akira and give her to her sister so the sisters could share the spoils.

Could it be that you, Xiaotong, have already come to regard the two of them as 'family'?

I value them even more than I valued myself back then and in the future...

"Tsk..."

Hikawa Makoto, secretly clicking her tongue, felt extremely displeased. She was not only annoyed by the now 'extremely smooth' Hitomi Anri, but also by Shirai Shiori and Aizono Moe, who seemed like 'superior replacements' for herself and the future.

Why is it that... we can only sever ties with Hitomi, but you can become as close to her as family?

Are we just 'life material' that you use to 'learn from your failures'?

Stop looking down on me, Hitomi Anri! Do you think you're the only 'leading lady'?

With her eyes closed and brows furrowed, Hikawa Makoto crossed her legs and was already mentally grabbing Anri Hitomi's collar, exchanging passionate insults with her.

Of course, the fact that Kuroba Akira and Shie seemed to have a good relationship also made her very unhappy. Although she was one of the behind-the-scenes forces that made him do whatever he wanted, she still felt jealous.

Fortunately, she didn't have to tolerate Kuroba Akira, so Hikawa Makoto decided to find an opportunity to call him out next time, and then, just like before, use a gag to make him serve her properly, so that he could also taste the hot spring gushing out of her belly due to dissatisfaction.

Honestly... I should have known better than to agree to let him join the arts and literature department... Wasn't this just asking for trouble?

Even though everything about her made her unhappy, she didn't get up and leave.

Because doing that would be tantamount to 'running away'.

Makoto Hikawa's personality dictates that she would never choose to run away.

And she is equally unwilling to admit defeat.

Originally, she only came to compete with Hitomi for a man, but now Makoto Hikawa has many more targets.

Are Shiori Shirai and Moe Aizono our superior alternatives?

Hmph, I'll make you 'inferior'!

And then, Xiaotong... I'll make you regret it!

I'll make you cry and beg me to give Ming back to you!

Unlike Takanashi Mirai, who wants to integrate, Hikawa Makoto, driven by various grievances and indignation, decides to become a rebel.

She wanted to expose the hypocrisy of this arts and literature department, which was like a game of make-believe, and let everyone rediscover their true nature as women.

If you're jealous, come and steal it, come and tear each other apart, come and fight!

Aizono Moe also had her mind ignited. After reading the first Keijo-like manga, she breathed a sigh of relief and said to Kuroba Akira.

"I completely understand what Kuroba-kun is thinking... It's not just about being sassy... This is really exciting!"

"That's right. The main reason is that the fictional competitive core created by the class monitor is similar to sumo wrestling, so it's very suitable for a passionate development."

"Also, Kuroba-kun, it seems you've cut out the male lead... Are you going for a yuri theme?"

"Hmm, I've thought about it carefully and I think it's better not to have a male lead. It would be more enjoyable to watch. I initially thought there should be a 'fan service recipient' for readers to identify with, and that he could also be included in the romance storyline... but after thinking about it carefully, it might be better not to have one."

"I think so too. The story flows much better after the male lead was removed."

"Right? These kinds of comics shouldn't have a male protagonist after all."

To be honest, this short manga feels more like Uma Musume Pretty Derby, just with a lot of suggestive content.

I've read quite a few yuri works by Akira Kuroba, and I've read a lot of light yuri stories where girls get together to 'do something'.

There are so many band-themed anime, like *Saki* where they play mahjong together, *Girls und Panzer* where they drive tanks together, *Opera Girl* where they sing opera together, *Puella Magi Madoka Magica* where they fight witches together, and *K-On!*, *Lonely Rock*, *Crying Girl Band*, *It's My GO*, and so on… There are so many band-themed anime! Of course, there are also quite a few idol anime, like *Love Live!* and *Zombie Land Saga*…

Anyway, it's inexplicably interesting when good-looking girls do certain things together, and the core content is not just icing on the cake, but a feeling of 'complementing each other'.

Perhaps this is the intersection of 'cute' and 'exciting'.

Aiyuan Moe continued excitedly.

"And this core theme of 'overthrowing one's superior' is probably inspired by Shiori's ideas! The female lead is ultimately set to be short-breasted... but that makes the story more interesting! The most brilliant shot is this 45-degree angled 'brushing past you' shot... so cool! And it feels so erotic!"

Kuroba Akira wiped his nose and said smugly.

"Hehe, I'm also very satisfied with this shot. I was thinking about how to draw the storyboard if the protagonist was portrayed as having a small bust. After all, it would be difficult to create the impact of a big thunderbolt hitting a wave, and a butt hitting a chest would be a bit strange... Then last Friday when I went to watch the game with Makoto, I had a flash of inspiration and thought of 'grazing bullets'!"

"That's brilliant! Kuroba-kun, this idea is amazing! His body may be frail, but his eyesight is excellent... This concept is fantastic too! You can draw such a passionate gaze! I can't wait to draw it right now!"

"Iceberg Makoto rested her cheek on her hand and complained."

"I was wondering why you were taking notes on your phone while watching the True Orange game, Ming. It was this... I'm really impressed."

Kuroba Akira shrugged at her.

"I was just gathering material on the side. It was because the real orange match was so exciting that I was able to come up with this idea. Being able to dodge that incredibly fast slash is truly amazing..."

Hearing her younger sister being praised, Makoto was both happy and proud.

"Of course, Zhencheng was the only one who dodged that attack. If she hadn't fainted halfway through, it's hard to say who would have won in the end."

Kuroba Akira nodded in agreement, but he actually felt that even if Shinichi hadn't fainted and the score had been tied, things would have been uncertain later on.

Amane Hikaru... that's a god-like opponent in the literal sense, it's too unfair.

Listening to the two's discussion, Takanashi Mirai glanced at Name again, looking confused...

How on earth did she interpret all this from what looks like elementary school student doodles?!

Astringent? Passionate? Where is that?

That crucial shot was just a fleeting glimpse? Turns out that lump was actually a breast?! Nobody could have guessed that!

Furthermore, I originally thought that after seeing Akira Kuroba's storyboard, Moe Aizono would blindly praise Akira Kuroba and then repost it, but it turns out that they were actually having a serious discussion! They could even decipher the name!

Isn't it said that big breasts mean no brains? This big bear-like dolphin doesn't seem to be brainless at all, does it?

Chapter 335 A Talented Player in the Realm of Romance

Then, Aizono Moe continued reading the second part, which was the baseball manga that Shirai Shiori came up with, about the pitcher and catcher swapping souls.

While watching this episode, the excited smile on Aizono Moe's face slowly disappeared, which is also a sign of her focused engagement.

The story begins with the gimmick of a collision leading to a soul swap, not much different from what Shiori Shirai wrote. However, the core concept is explained in just two pages of storyboarding, and the third page shows the soul swap already completed, omitting the specific details.

Because the two male leads have very different personalities—one is a sarcastic character and the other is a naturally aloof and goofy type—the comedic scenes feel more natural.

Then, in order to solve the problem of swapping souls, the natural man suggested that they try playing baseball again.

Then a flashback is inserted, revealing that the sarcastic male protagonist was originally a pitcher, and the naive male protagonist was originally a catcher, but both of them had fatal flaws, so they gave up baseball in junior high school.

However, in order to solve the problem of the soul swap, they had to try playing baseball again. Coincidentally, the school's baseball team was short of players, so they pulled the two first-year students over to play practice games.

Up to this point, it's all just setup and narration. Although the gimmicks and funny plots are quite interesting and the characters are relatively distinct, it's only just okay.

But once the competition started, the story took on a completely different feel.

The preceding stories were all very tightly paced, as if they were reluctant to spend any more pages, but the coherent action of the sarcastic male protagonist throwing the first ball was broken down into three pages.

The storyboard here is so smooth that Aiyuan Moe can already imagine the animation scenes.

Then, the first ball was thrown.

The ball flew straight from the pitcher's mound to home plate in a 'double-page spread' fashion.

The next panel is a full-page image: a ball enters a glove under the astonished gaze of the aloof male protagonist behind his mask, accompanied by onomatopoeia that takes up a quarter of the page.

Anyone could see that this was a 'stunning shot'.

Even those reading the comics were shocked; Aizen Moe didn't even notice that she had opened her mouth and let out a gasp.

And then, as if to express the emotions of the comic book readers, even the cynical male protagonist who threw the ball had an incredulous look on his face, and the aloof male protagonist who caught the ball also stood up, took off his catcher's mask, and stared at him with wide eyes.