Chapter 40: The Growth of a childhood friend
"Hah…"
Yawning, Eriri placed the book by her pillow, then sank down, pulling the covers up to her neck.
"Chihiro has really become amazing… It seems I need to work harder too."
She stared blankly at the ceiling, her heart filled with even more emotion than before.
Because she understood it herself, she knew how difficult it was.
At first, he was just like most new light novel authors; to say he was great would be an overstatement, but his writing was incredibly sincere, and she could feel it, which was why she liked her childhood friend's work.
Otherwise, with her many years of ACG experience, even if it were her best friend, she wouldn't be able to read such content.
Unexpectedly, Chihiro's growth rate after that surpassed her imagination.
He was progressing very quickly.
At this rate, wouldn't Chihiro soon surpass her?
Although light novels and doujin artists are not in the same field, and the difficulty is different, as a childhood friend from a young age, she was still a little unconvinced about this one thing.
This was definitely not jealousy, because she had long since experienced that kind of emotion.
This was simply a childish desire to compete.
After all, his position in her heart was different from that other person.
However, this was also a challenge.
As a doujin artist, her achievable ceiling was limited; at her childhood friend's current pace, he might surpass her in not too long, and in some aspects… he might already have surpassed her.
During this time, although she had made some progress, her speed had slowed down considerably.
"I'm really a bit unwilling."
She couldn't help but compare them in her mind.
Chihiro's "demon slayer" might sell hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies, with an average of over a hundred thousand per volume. How could her doujinshi possibly sell that many copies?
Rather, it was simply impossible!
However, because she was now not only a doujin artist but also had the support of the doujin game circle "Egoistic-Lily" behind her, in terms of fame, she was still higher.
"Should I go legit?"
Eriri considered it for a moment but quickly gave up.
Drawing mainstream manga was not that easy; although the future was promising, it was merely a moon in the water, a flower in a mirror…
In terms of drawing skill, she felt that her current self was already qualified, but what use was it without a good story?
In the art world, there was no shortage of highly skilled artists, but most of them became original illustrators, or spent years as manga artist assistants for their dreams, struggling to make a name for themselves.
"Sigh…"
Eriri let out a long sigh, wanting to shake off these worries and fall asleep, but her thoughts were chaotic, and she couldn't sleep all night.
She hadn't expected to be so conflicted.
The next day, early morning.
The girl with two panda eyes came to the dining table.
"What's wrong, Eriri, did you have insomnia yesterday?"
Sawamura Sayuri noticed her complexion.
"Mm."
Eriri replied weakly.
"Could it be too much pressure?"
Sawamura Sayuri's eyes moved, as if remembering something.
"Too much pressure? Where did you get that idea?"
Eriri asked, confused.
"Because that child has become outstanding now, and even more outstanding than Eriri. With your personality, you definitely can't sit still, can you?"
Sawamura Sayuri's tone was playful.
A mother knows her daughter best.
Because she felt the pressure, she couldn't sleep all night.
Her gaze was certain.
"Old hag…!"
Eriri muttered inwardly.
She could guess that?
"That has nothing to do with Kasan, does it?"
The girl replied stiffly.
"It has nothing to do with me, but it has something to do with that child Chihiro, doesn't it? How about talking to him, just to relax. I remember when you were in a bad mood, you used to go out with him, and every time that child brought you back at night, your face would brighten up from gloominess…"
Sawamura-san's gaze was distant, as if lost in memories.
"Alright, alright, you don't need to recall such things! Why do you have such a good memory?!"
Eriri's face flushed, and she quickly waved her hand, trying to stop her mother from speaking.
Those were childish things! How can I go out alone with him now?! Wouldn't that be a date?
"If you don't listen to your elders, you'll suffer the consequences, Eriri. I've already warned you. Since you want to solve it yourself, then I won't interfere."
Sawamura Sayuri made a tsundere 'angry' expression.
Not only her appearance, but Sawamura-san's mindset also seemed very young.
hundred, I'd give you over 90 points! That's a rare rating, you know."
When Sagiri pulled him there, the sales clerk had just closed the book in her hands.
"I'm very happy that Takasago-douchi gave me such a high evaluation... but is it really okay to slack off during work hours?"
Izumi Chihiro looked left and right.
"It's fine, because my father had time to come by this afternoon, so I took the opportunity to finish the third volume of demon slayer."
Takasago Tomoe smiled faintly.
"Onee-san, are there only this many copies of Ni-san's demon slayer Volume 3 left?"
Sagiri came to the stack of books and was surprised to find that one of the piles had significantly decreased.
"Yes, because they've all been sold. They sold surprisingly well. The stock that was supposed to last a week is already not enough. Father plans to reorder tomorrow..."
Takasago Tomoe's gaze rippled as she scanned him.
It seemed she was anticipating his expression.