Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Speaking of which, Kuroba-kun and Aizono-chan, do you have your own studio? You must have your own club and assistants who are specifically responsible for drawing backgrounds, right?"

Akira Kuroba immediately became suspicious. How did he know about the other assistants? Could he tell just from the original manga manuscript?

That shouldn't be the case. The backgrounds for both the class president and Makoto are modeled after Moe Moe's style. Even a professional editor shouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Seeing Kuroba Akira's expression, Sasaki Sugi quickly waved his hand and explained.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, Kuroba-kun, don't worry. We didn't investigate you secretly. This is an editorial department. Although it belongs to the cultural and entertainment industry, we won't do things like paparazzi in the entertainment industry, and we won't interfere with the private lives of manga artists... Of course, the premise is that the manga artists also abide by the law."

"Yes, I understand... So how did you find out about our club and assistants?"

"Actually, our deputy editor-in-chief met you at the Winter CM exhibition at the end of last year, bought your work, and praised it highly."

"So you knew all along..."

It's actually quite embarrassing when the editor finds out you're running two accounts simultaneously; it gives them the impression that you're unreliable.

"Um, Editor-in-Chief Sasaki, the 'Slippery Girl' work was an activity of our club, and it wasn't submitted for the grand prize because of its explicit content, not because..."

Sasaki Sugi reached out to interrupt Kuroba Akira, and said with a smile.

"I understand, Kuroba-kun. Although we also want to see a sequel to that work, we respect your ideas more. Our editorial department has never thought that fan works are low-class works. Otherwise, our deputy editor-in-chief Nihei wouldn't be participating in CM every year, haha."

"I'm glad you understand..."

"Actually, what I wanted to say was that if you don't have a studio yet, we can help you find some studios not far from the editorial department. Also, if your current assistants aren't permanent, we can help you introduce some stable assistants with excellent drawing skills."

"Thank you for your concern, but our work hasn't even passed the serialization meeting yet, and even if it does, it's still unknown whether it can survive the early stages. Isn't it too early to talk about the studio and assistants?"

"Haha, I don't think it's too early for you at all. Of course, you can look for help later if you want. Just remember that we can provide you with any assistance related to comic creation."

"Ok, thank you."

We definitely need a comic book studio in the future.

In the beginning, all you really needed was paper, pen, ink, computer, and a passion to create comics.

But things become more complicated once the series enters a stable phase.

We need more reference materials, more professional tools, and a room that can accommodate more assistants.

For now, she can still draw comics in the Arts and Literature Department's activity room or in a room in Kuroba Akira's house, but in the future, she will definitely set up her own studio.

But let's wait until the serialization is stable before discussing this. Anyway, Mengmeng will definitely want to pay for it herself, so it's not too late to do it after receiving the manuscript fees and royalties. Investing a large sum of money to set up a studio in the early stages would put a lot of pressure on her, almost like taking out a loan to work.

After saying goodbye to Sasaki Sugi and leaving the editorial department, Kuroba Akira returned to the shrine with Moe, and the equipment they had purchased that morning was delivered to their home.

Since the goods were readily available, delivery to his home was quite fast. Kuroba Akira found an empty room, got a table to use as a workbench, and then installed all the equipment, including the computer, monitor, and graphics tablet.

"Then, let me teach you how to use drawing software first, Mengmeng."

"Okay, okay! Please give me your guidance!"

Kuroba Akira taught Moe about the software interface and basic operation methods; that was all he could teach her.

"...Well, that's about it. You can try drawing some random things first. It might feel very strange at first... Well, if you're really not used to digital drawing, you can stick to regular drawing tools for now. With a scanner and color adjustment function, you can also print it out as a comic..."

"It's okay! I'll try my best to adapt!"

"Well, I can't teach you anything too advanced about digital painting, since I haven't practiced any techniques myself, I'm just an outsider who knows some basic concepts."

Layers, tones, shadows, grayscale, masks... there are so many things involved in painting.

Moreover, in the world of comics, there are no colors other than 'black and white'. To represent everything in 'black' requires exquisite drawing skills.

This can only be achieved through Moe's own talent.

"At most, I can help you find some video tutorials, but self-study through videos is definitely not as good as hands-on instruction... However, to be honest, I don't want you to be influenced by other people."

Kuroba Akira scratched his head and continued.

"Mengmeng, listen to me. I know this is a bit of a stretch, and it might lead you down many detours and waste a lot of time, but I still hope that you can figure out your own digital drawing methodology..."

This can be considered Kuroba Akira's personal motive.

I'm curious to see how much further Mengmeng's drawing skills can evolve.

Can it transform into an impressive art style that I've never seen before in my past life?

"I'll give it a try!"

But she accepted it all.

Knowing full well that this would be an even more arduous path, I still embarked on it without hesitation.

Kuroba Akira realized once again with even greater clarity... that she truly believed in him completely.

Just like Shion, Moe had no doubts or wavering.

Although I gave up at one point, I was able to pick myself up, rediscover my passion, and continue to pursue my dreams...

She is really strong.

"Yeah, let's cheer each other on."

I absolutely have to pass the serialization meeting, and I also have to get through the early stages of the serialization smoothly... No! I have to gain super high popularity!

"Let me break down the outline of the first few chapters first, and then we can discuss the storyboard together."

"Huh? Want to join in? But when it comes to storyboarding, Kuroba-kun is way better than me, right?"

"I'm not a storyboard master, I just read a lot of stories. Mengmeng, who is in charge of the illustrations, you must have some scenes you want to draw, so feel free to suggest them. Let's combine my experience with your intuition to create more interesting comics."

She also turned her own experience into nourishment... The level of talent and such cannot determine the upper limit at all.

Mengmeng will become a comic artist who surpasses her own imagination... It is I who will make her a comic master!

"……!OK!"

Moe clenched her little fist, mustered her energy, and then, as if she had made up her mind, continued to speak to Kuroba Akira.

"Um, Kuroba-kun... although it might seem a bit abrupt to say this now, but..."

Moe stared intently at him, her slightly forward-leaning body casting a shadow on the table.

"I want to become a cartoonist!"

"You're already a cartoonist."

"No, well, even I know that if I participated in the comic contest alone, I would definitely be eliminated, let alone be noticed by an editor and have my work serialized..."

"There's no need to be so negative. Shiori and I are just here to help you."

"But without you, I wouldn't have gotten this far... I know I still have many shortcomings, so... please continue to support me!"

"You're too kind, Mengmeng. Of course we'll continue to support you. If the serialization starts smoothly this time, it might last for two or three years."

At least for this debut work, he will be involved in the entire process until the very end, and Kuroba Akira is prepared to burn out his liver.

Adding light novels to the mix, creating two works simultaneously is already the limit, and on top of that, I also have to take care of the women's emotions in my spare time...

It's exhausting to even think about, but I have no choice but to keep doing it.

"And also, um, Kuroba-kun... I... I have something very difficult to say, and I want to ask you for a favor right now..."

As she said this, Moe's face turned bright red, and she lowered her head again, fiddling with her fingers.

"What is it? Leave it to me."

"That's it, I want to get into a state of complete focus on drawing..."

"Oh, that's great!"

"But, well, I feel like I'm often distracted right now..."

"Oh? Is there something you're worried about?"

Moe shyly raised her hand, her trembling hand extending her index finger and pointing at Kuroba Akira.

"Hey?"

Kuroba Akira pointed to himself, raised one eyebrow, and looked surprised.

"Me? Me? Did I affect you?"

Kuroba Akira scratched his cheek, and after thinking it over, he could only come up with one solution: to leave.

"I'll go to the next room then. We can discuss it together after we've finished the storyboard framework..."

As a result, Meng Hui was terrified and pounced on Hei Yuming, hugging him tightly with the face wash, squeezing him with force, her panic reaching its peak, and her voice amplified three times.

"No, no, no! I didn't mean for you to leave, Kuroba-kun! I can't live without you!"

Realizing she had blurted out something incredibly embarrassing, Moe quickly released Kuroba Akira, shrank back, and began to explain, her voice becoming barely audible.

"Ah! No, well, although I can't live without Kuroba-kun, I'm not, uh, it's just... um...!"

Moe, who couldn't even speak clearly, was in a state of mental confusion, and her eyes looked like mosquito coils.

Kuroba Akira pressed down on her shoulder and tried to persuade her.

"Don't panic, Mengmeng, take a deep breath and speak slowly, I'm listening."

"Hush...huh..."

After adjusting her breathing, Moe, sitting in a duck-like position, placed her hands on her chest and tried to lift her head to speak to Kuroba Akira.

"That... Kuroba-kun, I... I like you..."

"Ah, uh, um, thank you?"

Ugh, even I'm starting to stutter.

Shyness is contagious.

I wonder if I'm blushing too?

"That's right, because I like you, I only think about you..."

"Ah, um..."

"It's fine when everyone's around, because everyone's there, so I don't overthink things. But... well, now it's just the two of us, so I can't help but overthink... Ugh... I'm sorry, I'm so sensitive... I've caused you trouble..."

"No, no... I, um, I'm very happy?"

Oh...so cute!

And it's so astringent...