"Strange."
Usami Suzune wondered to herself.
Why was Muramasa acting so calm? She had originally wanted to tease Muramasa about this.
Coming out of the cubicle as if nothing had happened, they began their club activities for the day.
Compared to the coldness of the past few months, the Literature Club's relationship was now very good, and Senju Muramasa was no longer as distant as before; although her expression was still mostly the same, her participation had greatly increased. She even kindly tutored the club members, significantly improving their literary understanding.
Usami Suzune mistakenly thought her childhood friend wasn't excited enough, but in reality, Senju Muramasa was incredibly excited.
The person she had always admired, who had brought her the most interesting light novels in the world, had finally revealed his true identity.
However, she was afraid that she might enter a strange state all of a sudden, so she kept this feeling suppressed deep in her heart.
After returning home, she quickly found a drawing paper.
As someone from a literary family, while not proficient in drawing, she had indeed studied it. So, she drew Izumi Chihiro from memory, even with many traces of beautification.
"Teacher Izumi... Teacher Izumi..."
Looking at the portrait that had taken shape, she murmured and giggled foolishly.
Although she hadn't met him in person, she was already very satisfied.
"Muramasa, you have a letter."
Her father, Umezono Rintaro, walked in from outside, placed the envelope on the small wooden table, then turned and left to continue his work. "Is it a letter from Teacher Izumi?"
Senju Muramasa accelerated like a sprint and clutched the letter in her hand.
But the result was a bit disappointing; it was from Shino Aki.
But not too disappointing either.
She opened it and found a printed photo, which was none other than the previous three-person picture.
"I know Teacher Senju Muramasa must want this."
Since she didn't use a phone, she couldn't receive phone photos, so Shino Aki thought of a more direct method.
A faint smile appeared on Senju Muramasa's lips.
...
["Teacher Kashiwagi Eri's brand new work 'Orange Soda' is proudly serialized!"]
["Sawachika Eri? No, Kashiwagi Eri! Who exactly is she? Today I will introduce her to everyone."]
["Some people appear to be newly debuted manga artists on the surface, but in reality, they are well-known fan-art artists..."]
The new issue of Swan magazine was released, and most of the new serializations were manga that had performed exceptionally well in the previous Newcomer Awards. Among them, the most eye-catching and talked-about was naturally Teacher Kashiwagi Eri, who had transitioned from the underground to the mainstream, making a magnificent turnaround.
Whether a fan-art artist can truly succeed on this path is an unknown mystery.
The hype, while bringing more traffic, was not something Eriri wanted to see. Firstly, this kind of popularity was only temporary; when considering purchasing a single volume, the quality of the manga itself still mattered. Secondly, the identity of a fan-art artist was really going to become a stain on her for life!
In the past, although it was somewhat difficult to speak of, as Kashiwagi Eri, she was still a little proud of being able to achieve such results.
Now, she actually regretted having this identity.
Chihiro could guess his childhood friend's embarrassed expression without even seeing it.
This was a typical result of being backfired by fame.
If she hadn't been a famous fan-art artist, she wouldn't have been recognized so easily.
Just as he was about to go buy the manga magazine, such a scene appeared in his comment section, making him secretly laugh.
["Teacher Sawachika, no, Teacher Kashiwagi Eri can't keep up the act anymore. Old Thief, what do you think? Aren't you going to give your sharp commentary?"]
["Do you still remember when Teacher Kashiwagi Eri showed the Old Thief fan-art of Daki and Nezuko? Aren't you going to get your revenge?"]
["You still knows about this, truly an old fan."]
"Alright, since everyone says so, I'll return the favor."
Izumi Chihiro revealed a sly smile.
Thinking to himself, he walked out of the room, only to find Mashiro already waiting at the door.
"Manga."
Mashiro stated her purpose directly.
"Sawamura's."
The girl was clearly interested in this matter.
It's just that he didn't know her specific thoughts.
Perhaps it was just simple interest.
"Mm."
He nodded slightly, not bothering to delve into such trivialities.
The two arrived at Takasago Bookstore.
"No need to say, I know your purpose, Chihiro... Ta-da!"
Takasago Tomoe placed her hands behind her back, then held up the new issue of Swan manga magazine.
"Before you two arrived, Sawamura had already been here."
She gave another piece of information, "Her expression seemed quite happy."
"Of course, she's officially debuted after all. I was very excited back then too."
Izumi Chihiro deeply understood that feeling.
It was like the joy of harvest when a fruit tree grows from scratch and bears fruit.
"What does that feel like?"
Mashiro's expression was inexplicably longing.
"Mashiro will experience it. I believe Mashiro won't miss the next Newcomer Award."
He patted Mashiro's shoulder to comfort her.
Takasago Tomoe's gaze lingered on the girl's shoulder for a moment, she pursed her lips, and then calmly withdrew her gaze.
…
After buying three identical magazines from Takasago Bookstore, Izumi Chihiro and Mashiro quickly returned home and flipped to Eriri's debut work.
Debut works in the Newcomer Award strive to be brilliant, but once serialized, they must follow the rule of gradually improving, so the content definitely needs to be changed.
This tests the author's skill.
To be honest, he wasn't too worried about Eriri's performance. After all, she had been preparing for a year, so she must have considered this by now, and might even have already drawn the manuscript for the first chapter.
The two silently watched the first chapter of "Orange Soda."
"Sawamura, you drew very well, more interesting than me."
Mashiro spoke first.
If this were heard by her childhood friend, she might be moved to tears.
"That's normal. After all, she's been preparing for so long, and as an otaku, Eriri's understanding of manga far exceeds that of ordinary people. Mashiro can't compare to her right now."
Izumi Chihiro smiled.
"It's because I haven't done enough."
Mashiro naturally assumed.
In her seemingly calm eyes, a flame of fighting spirit ignited.
It was about to burn.
The girl was getting closer to the day of her awakening.
Afterward, Mashiro watched the remaining manga in the Shiratori magazine to understand the current trends in the manga industry.
Besides Eriri, there were countless excellent manga artists in Shiratori, one of the three major manga magazines. She still had a lot to learn.
---
💯 PS = 2 bonus chapter