Cartoonists and their assistants

Page 69

Of course, I wouldn't let outsiders know about my trip to Summer Comic or watching fireworks with my childhood sweetheart.

"Wow, working so hard? Sawamura-kun's drawing skills are so good. He's talented and hardworking. No wonder we mere mortals can't keep up at all."

The female student pressed her chest and sighed with her head down.

"No, I just like to draw."

Eriri gave the perfect answer, striking a chord with the female classmate and eliciting admiration in her eyes.

Before class, the people in the small group were chatting amongst themselves.

Machi Mizuki's side is no exception.

"Mitsuki-san, when I went to the bookstore to buy books, Takasago-san gave you a good dressing down."

Sakura Chiyo rested her chin on her hand, looked at the boy in the window seat, and said with a smile.

"Oh."

He replied calmly.

"Aren't you curious about what Takasago-san said, Mizuki-san?"

Seeing that the other party didn't react, she became anxious.

"You will say what you want to say."

"Then I won't keep you in suspense any longer..."

Sakura Chiyo hadn't expected to be outmaneuvered, and had no choice but to give the answer.

"Takasago said you're malicious. You clearly had your eye on my... skills all along, but you still played hard to get, using her to break the ice. She said it was all Mizuki's scheme..."

"That's about it, is there anything else?"

Mizuki Machi smiled and said.

"And another thing is that I always keep her in suspense; I won't go to her family's bookstore unless I buy her a book."

"What nonsense is she talking about? Why go to the bookstore if you're not going to buy books?"

"Uh...that's true."

"Wait, could it be that Takasago deliberately asked you to tell me these things?"

His eyes sharpened, and he spotted the blind spot.

"We've been spotted!"

A blush rose on Sakura Chiyo's cheeks, and she said shyly.

"Takasago gave me a 10% discount."

"I understand."

.......

Saturday.

Chie Takasago sat at the counter, scrolling through her phone listlessly.

There weren't any major book releases this Saturday, so the bookstore was rather quiet, with only a few customers coming in from time to time.

"so boring."

She rested her chin on her hand and let out a sigh.

"Ding dong."

Just then, the automatic door opened and a notification sound came from the entrance.

"Welcome... What brings you here, Mizuki-san?"

Just as Takasago Chie was about to put on a professional smile, she noticed the appearance of the person who came in and her tone suddenly changed.

"Of course I'm here for revenge. Someone really criticized me."

Mizuki Machi said matter-of-factly.

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Stop playing dumb, Sakura has already confessed everything! Including the discounted price you offered..."

“Hehehe….”

The girl laughed awkwardly, then clapped her hands to divert his attention.

"Let's put that aside for now. You're here to buy books, right, Mizuki? A super amazing light novel was released last week, and I highly recommend it to you!"

"Oh? If someone as a huge novel enthusiast as you can give it such high praise, then I'm intrigued."

he said in surprise.

"Ta-da! It's this book, 'The Tale of the Demon Blade,' by Senju Muramasa!"

The girl picked up a book from the pile, then held it up with both hands and pushed it in front of him.

Kanzuki Machi reached out and took it, then flipped through it.

He did remember the name.

However, he had never read the content of his works.

"A top-tier fantasy light novel, like a pls version of Toji no Miko."

Before he knew it, he had finished reading the first volume, and then said in shock.

Despite being just a novel, it delivers an impact comparable to animation; such writing can truly be considered the pinnacle of this era.

The potential of gifted individuals in this world is simply terrifying.

"Mitsuki thinks the same way as me? Hehehe, I was also shocked by Senju-sensei when I read it before. In my opinion, Senju-sensei will break the sales limit of light novels in the future!"

Chie Takasago strongly agreed.

Then, she changed the subject.

"However, compared to Yuriko Tsukishita's future, there is certainly still a gap."

"That's just because the market for light novels isn't as big as that for manga."

If Eriri were there, she would probably be blinded by this boast.

However, Mizuki Machi still took it in stride.

"Isn't that a bit too modest? You should really accept their praise."

Takasago Chie complained.

In her view, light novels and comics are not the same level of difficulty.

"Okay, I'll buy this one... no, I'll buy a few more."

"Hmm? Could it be that it's to support my business?"

"I guess so, but I mainly want to recommend it to Eriri and a few of her assistants."

"Don't be so frank at a time like this, okay? Don't you want to win people's favor?"

The girl squinted and muttered a complaint.

"If buying books could increase your favorability, I would have bought them all by now."

The boy retorted.

The girl added in a casual tone, "Who knows when Mizuki will buy Takasago Bookstore?"

After buying "Fantasy Demon Blade Chronicles", Mizuki Machi didn't stop there and looked around the bookstore again.

Let's see if there are any good works in the last three weeks.

Unfortunately, apart from "Fantasy Demon Blade Chronicles", there aren't many other manga novels worth reading.

So he only bought a few more books that were just so-so.

Walk towards the counter.

"Speaking of which, Mizuki, are you aware of your recent online reputation?"

While looking through her phone, Chie Takasago noticed his arrival.

"Do I have a really bad reputation?"

The true knowledge of gazing at the moon came unconsciously.

"It's not that he's bad, it's just that everyone thinks he's too ruthless."

As she spoke, Chie Takasago leaned forward, presenting her phone to him.

He leaned closer again and tilted his head to look at the contents inside.

It's just the same old story: they don't want Menma to become a Buddha, they want her to stay.

He could do nothing to help.

Although he now has a pen, he has no intention of changing the course of the ending.

Only in this way can this story be considered meaningful.

At this point, the boy and girl were so close that they could see the pores on each other's faces.

"So close."

Chie Takasago thought to herself.

This was the first time she had seen the boy's face so closely, and a blush crept onto her cheeks.

At that moment, she felt her heart beating faster.

Whether the plot of 91 is good or bad is ultimately up to the readers to decide.

"This viewpoint doesn't matter; it doesn't affect anything."

After watching it, Mizuki Machi commented.

"Well... truly excellent authors are not swayed by comments."

Takasago Chie's eyes flickered, and she immediately responded without showing any unusual reaction.

"That's not true."

He shook his head and explained.

"The quality of a plot is judged by the readers. Some plots are reasonable but are hard to accept at the moment, so people choose to be 'hypocritical'. But some plots are really terrible, entirely because the author is arrogant and only cares about his own momentary pleasure, even if he knows that it will anger the readers."

"Teacher Yuexia truly lives up to his reputation; his insights are indeed 'truly insightful'! This reminds me of a teacher I admired before. In the final ending, to show the brutality of the battle, he deliberately killed off all the protagonists... But if that's the world-building, then a difference in strength between the good and the bad sides would be understandable and reasonable. But the fact that all the protagonists were killed by underhanded tricks, with detailed descriptions of their gruesome deaths, almost made me furious. I immediately blocked that idiot!"

When Chie Takasago talked about this, her eyes seemed to burn with fire, and she was extremely indignant.

"Oh, I've heard about that too. Apparently, he was pressured by public opinion and had to apologize again, and he revised the ending. As a result, he was criticized or ridiculed again... Heh, if he had been more assertive, people would have respected him more."

He said sarcastically.

"Is such that."

The girl nodded in agreement.

"Is it installed yet? How much did it cost?"

"Well, after the discount, it should be..."

After paying, Mizuki Machi picked up her bag and walked towards the door.

"Then I'll head back now. See you later."

"Goodbye."

Chie Takasago opened her right hand and waved.

Her smile remained until the boy left before gradually fading away.

.......

Back at the secret base, it was lunchtime.