It was another day when cherry blossoms bloomed.
Eriri arrived at Izumi's courtyard. In this small space, apart from the inconspicuous ordinary green grass, the only striking feature was the cherry blossom tree.
This year, the cherry blossom tree bloomed beautifully.
The cherry blossoms swayed in the breeze, emitting a faint fragrance.
The girl stopped to watch, but not out of appreciation for the beauty.
Because cherry blossom trees were everywhere in her own backyard, it was nothing remarkable.
"Eriri, aren't you here? Why aren't you coming in yet? Since when do you have the mood to admire flowers?"
The boy, who had just gone out to buy a bag of snacks, returned home and saw the scene before him, feeling a little strange.
"Going out to buy snacks first thing in the morning, that's really something, Chihiro."
Eriri came back to her senses and, without intending to answer the question, scoffed.
"Then please, Miss Sawamura, don't try to snatch all the food today."
Izumi Chihiro said with a straight face.
Eriri's expression instantly froze.
"By the way, I think there was a year when Eriri and I agreed to go out and see the cherry blossoms together, right? But there were too many people, so we could only run back halfway and ended up having a picnic here…"
Izumi Chihiro looked at the cherry blossom tree beside them, and suddenly recalled something.
"Although there's only one, it's still flower viewing, after all."
He suddenly laughed.
"When was that? I can't believe you still remember, you guy."
Eriri pouted, a hint of a smile in her expression.
See, this is what childhood friend are! Memories of time spent together, everywhere you look!
"Oh, right, it seems like after that year, your family's courtyard started planting different cherry blossoms, right? Eriri, could it be that you…"
Izumi Chihiro couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
"Excuse me!"
Before he could finish speaking, Eriri pushed open the half-closed door and walked in.
"Good morning, Eriri, it's been a while, are you here to play with Chihiro again today? I heard that child was looked after by Sawamura at school."
Mrs. Izumi greeted her very gently.
"Oh, it's nothing much, really. Although Chihiro is a bit of an idiot and stubborn, it doesn't take much effort to look after him."
Eriri said with a narrowed-eye smile.
Izumi Chihiro heard this as soon as he stepped through the door, and his mouth twitched.
How dare you say such a thing!
"Is that so...?"
Mrs. Izumi's smile deepened.
She either believed it or found it amusing.
...
"I'll go upstairs and take a look."
Eriri wasn't in a hurry to play games with him. Regarding the potential rival she had identified, she wanted to see Sagiri's recent progress.
Judging solely from the previous illustrations, she couldn't see the true picture.
She knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered.
"Sister Eriri, you're already here..."
Sagiri turned her head.
"Mm."
Eriri nodded, then looked at the laptop on the desk.
Sagiri was pondering how to draw facial expressions more vividly.
But after a long time of contemplation, she still hadn't thought of a further method, and a hint of worry inevitably appeared on her face.
After a glance at Sagiri's state, she immediately understood.
"Sagiri, do you still have that confidence from before, that you can easily surpass me?"
Eriri asked with a smile.
Back then, who wasn't full of youthful vigor?
But after the tempering of time, one eventually has to acknowledge certain things and recognize oneself.
Compared to Sagiri, who hadn't encountered any obstacles yet, she had experienced a lot in this regard.
"This..."
Sagiri made a bitter face.
The more one refines, the more one understands.
To hone one's drawing skills to be more exquisite, even with amazing talent, one will gradually encounter problems that cause distress, or even become difficult to break through.
In these past few months, she had already felt her own inadequacy.
To be honest, she no longer had much confidence that she could surpass Sister Eriri.
The distance between them was much greater than she had initially imagined.
If there wasn't some kind of opportunity, relying solely on her current rate of progress, there was basically no hope.
But.
If a person has no dreams, what's the difference between them and a salted fish?
Sagiri gradually stabilized her emotions, and her gaze became sharp.
"Although I don't have much confidence, I will still continue to work hard towards this goal!"
"That's right, you need to show that kind of spirit! If you're timid from the start, then there's absolutely no possibility at all."
Eriri highly praised this attitude.
Especially for her, who had climbed out of hell.
Even if it's like throwing an egg at a rock, even if it's crying with her head in her hands.
If she gave up, then there would truly be nothing left.
Therefore, she was both grateful to and resentful of that person.
It was that person who almost made her give up drawing, and it was also that person who made her understand this principle very early on, and caused her to experience an incredible period of rapid improvement in the early stages.
Because in terms of the time spent building foundations, she actually started much later than Sagiri, yet her progress in the same period was a bit higher.
"Of course, after all, my goal is to be the world's number one illustrator. If I can't even surpass Teacher Kashiwagi Eri, wouldn't that be too ridiculous!"
Sagiri smiled sweetly.
"Heh, what do you mean 'even...'? Can I interpret that as you challenging me, Sagiri?"
Eriri's expression instantly changed, and her smile grew even wider.
"If Sister Eriri thinks so."
Sagiri met her gaze without showing any weakness.
The young girl displayed her own demeanor for the first time.
"It seems Sagiri, you've gotten conceited! You wouldn't think you're really amazing, would you? There are countless talented people in this world..."
Eriri snorted lightly, about to lecture her, but was unexpectedly interrupted midway.
"What is Sister Eriri's goal? Is it to be the world's number one ero-manga artist? That certainly sounds very ero."
Sagiri looked up, asking with an innocent smile.
Eriri was almost fuming with anger.
Was a g-rated artist going to be her biggest failure?
G-rated artists existed to benefit society, so why should they be discriminated against by others?
This was… infuriating!
"What is that guy with the pen name 'Eromanga Sensei' talking about? Could his drawing style have been stolen from Kashiwagi Eri?"
Eriri took a deep breath, regrouped, and started getting worked up.
"Eromanga Sensei…"
Sagiri's expression also froze.
It seemed her pen name was even more direct?
If laymen were to distinguish between them, it was clear that her positioning would only be worse…
Kasan, why did you choose that name?