Cartoonists and their assistants

Her journey as a cartoonist began!

36. You wouldn't be thinking of going back to your old ways, would you?

Another week has passed, and the third episode of "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day" is progressing smoothly.

Eriri finally breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of the upcoming winter break.

"Finally, I have time to rest!"

"Eri, are you already tired?"

Just then, his childhood sweetheart spoke in his ear again.

"Not tired at all? You're not thinking of giving up now, are you?"

"Now that things have come to this, there's no turning back. I'm clearly just concerned about you, why are you misunderstanding me?"

"Really?"

The girl asked with a hint of disbelief.

"real."

Guan Yuezhenzhi affirmed.

"For the past six months, you've focused all your energy on comics. You should take a break for now."

“…That’s true.”

Now that it's mentioned, Eriri does indeed feel tired.

Even though she debuted successfully and progressed smoothly compared to others, and received feedback all the time, doing the same thing over and over again also put a lot of pressure on her.

"How about we have some fun during winter break?"

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I played games with Zhenzhi. Let's have a PK! Oh, and Winter Comic too!"

At this point, the girl's eyes seemed to light up.

Previously, as a doujinshi artist, she drew fan works in pursuit of popularity.

Now it's time for someone else to draw her artwork in the sketchbook!

The thought of this filled the girl with a sense of pride.

Those who go to sea are indeed incomparable to those who stay ashore.

"You rascal, you wouldn't be thinking of going back to your old ways, would you!"

Mizuki Machi's gaze was strange, and he slightly misinterpreted her thoughts.

Because some established comic artists have indeed drawn their own doujinshi (fan-made comics).

"No way! Kashiwagi Eri is a thing of the past, I'm Tsukishika Yuriko now! What nonsense are you talking about! I just wanted to see if anyone knew any doujinshi with illustrations..."

Eriri blushed instantly and retorted forcefully.

"That's disgusting."

Mizuki Machi looked disgusted.

"You actually fantasized about our heroine? That's utterly shameful! So, you still have the lingering influence of a dark comic artist's memories?"

"Don't say things like that! I'm just... just stating a normal phenomenon."

Eriri's little face turned bright red.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore... But if you want to see it, you can go check it out, but I don't think there's much hope. After all, it's only been out for two months, there's simply not enough time. Besides, 'Anohana' isn't popular enough in the ACG world. Unless you're a true fan, you wouldn't choose this theme."

"Of course I know that! I know more than you do."

In this respect, the girl certainly has enough confidence.

"I just wanted to take a look."

Eriri said softly.

The feeling of having one's work recognized by different groups of people is an affirmation of one's own efforts.

While Mizuki Machi couldn't fully empathize, he could understand.

......

With exam results in hand, the much-anticipated winter break is just around the corner.

In the first few days of the holiday, Eriri continued to work hard, trying to leave herself enough time for a break.

"Sawamura-sensei, are you in a hurry? There should still be two weeks until the deadline, right?"

Asashi Saho could naturally sense her urgency and asked her about it during lunch.

Now that the two sides are somewhat familiar with each other, the assistant doesn't need to worry that this question is too presumptuous.

"I've been working on my comics lately and I'm really tired, so I want to take some time off for myself."

Eriri didn't hide it either.

"Both teachers have indeed worked very hard."

Both Suzusa and Sasaki agreed wholeheartedly.

"I certainly worked hard! But Zhenzhi... he spends all day either playing games or reading comics and novels, how is he working hard!"

The girl glanced sideways, indignantly saying.

"This further demonstrates how amazing Ms. Mizuki is..."

The moment the assistant blurted out the words, she suddenly realized her mistake and froze.

Such words clearly show favoritism!

It makes her seem malicious, praising one while belittling the other.

Even if that's the truth, and even if that's what she believes in her heart, she can't say it to his face.

"Hehe, of course. Without me, Eriri wouldn't even submit her work."

As cold sweat dripped down the assistant's forehead, Mizuki Machi suddenly let out two strange laughs.

"Who said it's impossible! If there's a shortcut, wouldn't a normal person choose to take the shortcut? Why force yourself to endure hardship?"

This is a lesson Eriri learned from her childhood friend, and it's perfect for handling this kind of situation.

When Ashisu Saho saw the two change the subject, she breathed a sigh of relief and secretly gave him a grateful look.

She didn't want her words to affect her assistant's work.

"By the way, Eriri is rushing to finish this, is the quality still up to par?"

“Of course, no problem! What do you think, Miss Ashisu?”

The two then steered the conversation back to the assistant.

"No problem. Although Sawamura-sensei has sped up the pace, he hasn't sacrificed the quality of his artwork. This is obviously because his drawing skills have become more refined."

Asashi Susako pondered, one hand resting on her chin.

It's difficult to see improvement in drawing skills in a short period of time, but if you draw the same character many times, your drawing skills will naturally become much smoother.

"right?"

Eriri spread her hands, not without pride.

"You're quite capable, aren't you?"

He offered a somewhat perfunctory compliment, satisfying the girl's emotional needs.

"Ding dong."

In the afternoon, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Yahoo~"

After opening the door, Mizuki Machi saw the editor greeting her again in that childish voice.

"Yahoo~"

He grinned and made the same peace sign.

"It's been copied..."

Minamoto's expression changed slightly, as if he had been stunned for a moment.

Then, the two people in the studio were called downstairs.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Minano. I'm Saho Ashisu, your assistant. We've spoken on the phone before..."

When Asuka Saho saw the green-haired little girl in front of her, she couldn't help but become more reserved.

"Okay, I understand. Miss Ashisu, you should study hard here with Mizuki and Sawamura."

Minamoto gave a simple reply, which seemed to have a deeper meaning.

The assistant was secretly pleased.

This statement can also be considered a "wise man pointing the way".

Next, the group began their talks.

"I'm here today to give you an advance notice that there will be a New Year's party on January 15th, so you can start making preparations."

"I can speak calmly," said Minamoto Matsumura.

"New Year's party?"

The two, Qingmei and Zhua Ma, exchanged a glance.

"Is it absolutely necessary to go?"

The two said in unison.

"What perfect teamwork..."

The editor seemed to complain for a moment, then continued, "Of course, all authors with serialized works must participate. If they refuse, unless there is a special reason, the editor in charge will be punished."

37 Christmas gifts

"You wouldn't want to see me suffer such humiliation, would you?"

Seemingly to make it more convincing, Minamoto added another sentence.

The childhood sweethearts were both having a hard time.

The fact that a cute, legally-born loli says such suggestive things to your face makes the whole situation even more alluring, doesn't it?

Kidding.

"So, you could actually refuse, right?"

Mizuki Machi understood the subtext of those words.

"of course."

"Isano Kenji affirmed."

"But I still suggest you go and take a look... Don't worry, it's an internal annual meeting, no one will take pictures, and the attendees are all colleagues. It's not a bad thing to get to know each other."

The editor clearly sensed their concerns.

Having said all that, the two of them began to hesitate.

Especially for Eriri, if her absence leads other manga artists to perceive her as 'eccentric,' or even question the very existence of 'Yuriko Under the Moon,' thus affecting her reputation in the industry...

That would be a huge loss of face!

"Um, Ms. Minano, could you disguise yourself when you attend the company's annual party?"

Eriri asked tentatively in a low voice.

"A leather suit is definitely not an option."

"Not that kind of thing, I mean, just a slight change in appearance, like wearing glasses and a hat..."

"It's like some female celebrities in comics who are glamorous on TV, but are just plain country girls in school?"