Cartoonists and their assistants

Eriri remained as incredulous as ever.

"Hehe, didn't Chan Mofei tell you not to judge a book by its cover?"

With one hand on his hip, Kanata Kurusu said with a grin.

"But no one is wrong. I can indeed be considered a fan of Teacher Yuexia. I would be very happy to get autographs from both of them."

缠？

Upon hearing this title, the two immediately thought of "Ms. Editor".

At this moment, Minamoto Matsushita also spoke up: "Tsukimi Rimai, she's the same as you, I'll take care of her."

"So it's Ms. Tsukimi."

Guan Yuezhenzhi pretended to be surprised and said.

"I never expected that Ms. Tsukimi would feel this way."

Eriri looked surprised.

"No need to be so formal, just call me 'Bibi'."

Kanata Kurusu, quite familiar with the editor, winked at her.

"Perfect timing, I'm not planning on participating in the next round anyway, how about you give me a ride home?"

"boarding."

The car is in motion.

"Bibi...I'll call you that from now on, okay?"

"It's okay, call me whatever you want, I like it when people call me that."

Unlike Eriri's cautious attitude, Kanata Kurusu was much more enthusiastic and lively.

The relationship between the two sides is being rapidly strengthened.

"So, what does Bibi want with us?"

"Nothing special, I just wanted to witness the 'legend'."

"It's not that exaggerated..."

Eriri said with a slight shyness.

Mizuki Machi pursed her lips.

Are you putting on an act again in front of others?

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, but as comic artists, you two are indeed very eye-catching. I'd like to get to know you and exchange ideas so we can all improve together."

"If that's the case, then I understand... I'd also be very interested in exchanging experiences with others."

"Let's add each other on LINE."

"Let me grab my phone!"

Eriri was already captivated by Kanata Kurusu's few words.

"And what about Mizuki-kun's?"

Kanata Kurusu waved her phone, her smile so sweet it was impossible to resist.

......

"Then we'll get off here."

When the car reached the vicinity of Detective Slope, the duo got out of the car on their own initiative.

As for Kurusu Kanata, the editor will probably have to see her off for a while longer.

"Whoo~"

After getting off the bus, Eriri felt much more at ease and took a deep breath.

"I really met all sorts of people today. The world of manga artists is truly fascinating. What I didn't expect was that Konno-sensei and Tsukimi-sensei both came to ask for our contact information... But the only annoying one was that Usagi Mito Meisei. He spoke so rudely. I used to quite like his work. Humph! He actually looks down on us. Makoto, we must surpass him as soon as possible!"

As the girl spoke, her facial expressions changed rapidly.

"Well then, Eriri, I'll ask you a question."

"Say!"

"If we surpass the second-place finisher, where will we be?"

"Of course it's number one... no, wait."

"Eri is such an idiot."

Mizuki Machi chuckled mischievously.

"That's a riddle, it's normal that I didn't get it right!"

Eriri said angrily.

"This is clearly just a simple logical problem."

"Anyway, you did it on purpose."

"Alright, let's not worry about that. Let's discuss today's annual meeting first."

"What are your thoughts, Zhenzhi?"

Upon hearing a topic that interested her, the girl's eyes immediately lit up, and she shifted her attention.

"Today I've met quite a few people in the industry and expanded my network. More importantly, I met a top manga artist like Konno-sensei. If we can communicate with her, it will definitely be a great help to our future development... Eriri, you don't want to only come here once, do you?"

He thought for a moment and said.

First of all, Eriri's drawing skills still have a lot of room for improvement. Although she has some talent and hard work, she is still too young. Compared to those who have been drawing for ten or twenty years and are the backbone of the industry, she is still a long way off.

Then there's himself. Although he has the template of his past life memories as an outline, he still needs to handle the specific details himself. So he actually has some blind spots, but they are not obvious in the work "Anohana".

"Of course! Whether it's the second or the third time, I will always be there."

Eriri confidently clenched her fist.

"That's a bit too much. You're not really going to draw comics for the rest of your life, are you?"

"Why, can't you?"

"No way! It's enough that I've wasted my youth with you. If I waste my retirement years too, what's the point of my life?"

"They actually said it's a waste of life or something..."

The girl was quite indignant about this statement.

This could very well be an achievement that will be remembered forever!

"Alright, you're tired from all the socializing today. Go home and get a good night's sleep. Goodnight, Eriri."

Upon reaching Detective Hill, Mizuki Machi waved goodbye.

"Hmm... Goodnight."

Eriri had nothing to say at this point, and put on a tired smile.

......

Ten days later, the editor informed them via mobile phone of the popularity rankings for the third episode of "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day".

As expected, it dropped again, falling to seventh place.

Because of their previous conversation, Eriri felt quite accepting of it.

After all, according to the preview, this new series is very strong, and even if they perform consistently, it is possible for them to drop to ninth or even tenth place.

But it seems that someone at the top of their rankings has fallen, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten this result.

"Let's do our best in the upcoming fourth episode, Eriri."

Mizuki Machi patted the girl on the shoulder, offering encouragement.

"Leave it to me! It'll definitely leave a lasting impression on everyone!"

The girl was very energetic, probably because she had been traumatized before.

46 'Peers'

It was another morning, and Kanzuki Shinji was the first to arrive.

"Click."

At that moment, the door was suddenly opened.

They had two keys made, one in his possession and the other naturally in the girl's hands.

"Eri, why is your nose so red?"

When Eriri walked into the hall, Machi Mizuki immediately noticed the unusual flush on her face.

"Um... ouch!"

The girl was still considering what to say when a sneeze betrayed her state of mind.

"Are you sick again? Aren't you going to rest?"

"No, it's just a minor cold... Oops!"

"Wait until you sneeze onto the manuscript paper and it will behave."

"No way! Do you think I'm stupid? I'll just turn my head away!"

Seeing that she was still full of energy and arguing with him, Mizuki Machi assessed the situation and let it go.

"Alright, if your condition worsens, remember not to push yourself."

"I know! Huh?"

Eriri looked puzzled as to why he was being so agreeable today.

"As a cartoonist, it's perfectly normal to overcome illness. Besides, can I stop you? If you could still move your hand, you wouldn't have stopped."

A rare hint of helplessness appeared on the boy's face.

At this time, they are in a rebellious phase, and if you give them too much advice, both parties will find it annoying.

"That's right. Taking the path of a professional comic artist is like stepping onto a battlefield! As long as you live, the battle will never end!"

"Where did you get this from?"

"These are the words of Professor Tianye, who was seriously ill last year."

"Is that so? That's certainly very convincing... But wouldn't it be better if they didn't have the illness?"

"I want to too..."

At this point, the girl seemed somewhat disappointed.

"It's okay, Eriri will get better as she grows up."

"I hope so!"

With his comfort, Eriri remained hopeful.

After all, although she was born weak and sickly, it was not a troublesome congenital disease. Once her body developed and she received proper care, she would become similar to an ordinary person.

"Ahhh~!"

As Shizusaho was blacking out the original manuscript, she suddenly heard this sound.

Is Sawamura-sensei catching a cold?

Was working while sick out of a sense of responsibility to the readers?

He's only in middle school and he already knows how to persevere like this...

The first thing that came to the assistant's mind was admiration for Eriri.

However, the constant sneezing throughout the morning, the piercing noise that interrupted her thoughts from time to time, made her forehead seem to have the black lines that only appeared on the manuscript paper in her hand.

This is so annoying!

But as an assistant, she knew she had to be patient.