In this not-so-long story, Eriri recounted the first meeting of the male and female protagonists with a clear beginning and end, reasonable and with a touch of humor. It was clear that Eriri had meticulously designed it, otherwise, her previous doujinshi level wouldn't have been able to achieve this feeling.
"Hmm, this feeling is a bit familiar."
His eyes lit up.
It was probably a mix of stories from ""White Album"" and "Love Metronome," with Eriri's own understanding of shojo manga added in.
This is also very normal, especially for newcomers. How can a scholar's work be considered plagiarism?
After all, the predecessors have already written all sorts of plots. Instead of racking one's brains to find content that no one has seen, it's better to write familiar stories with different new ideas.
At least in this submitted work, he saw the effort Eriri put into it. This was definitely not a story that the previous Kashiwagi Eri could have drawn, or rather, it was unnecessary for Kashiwagi Eri to draw such a plot.
The difference between the underground and mainstream worlds is vast.
He glanced at the pen name again. It wasn't the familiar 'Kashiwagi Eri,' but 'Sawachika Eri,' a name from an older school romantic comedy, which also appeared in this world, so as an old otaku, he knew it clearly.
"It seems Eriri didn't continue to use the pen name Kashiwagi Eri. Is it because she has reservations and wants to cut ties with it? Or is it simply that she doesn't want to take advantage?"
Izumi Chihiro had some guesses in his mind.
The reputation of a doujinshi artist is somewhat unspeakable in the public eye, especially for Eriri, who is mostly thin-skinned, making it even harder to bear.
However, after glancing at the comment section, he immediately broke into a strange smile.
["Hmm? I feel like I've seen this art style somewhere before? Is that you, Kashiwagi Eri-sensei?"]
["Is it really Kashiwagi Eri-sensei? Don't fool me!"]
["The art style is really similar! It's just that the plot... doesn't seem like something sensei would come up with."]
["I support you, Kashiwagi Eri-sensei!"]
["Don't be so quick, everyone, it's just that the art style is a bit similar, maybe it's an imitation."]
["I knew it was you, don't hide, Kashiwagi Eri-sensei! No wonder she paused her activities a while ago, so she wanted to go legit!"]
["I voted! Supporting every dream~"]
["One vote from you, one vote from me, sensei will debut tonight!"]
In the comment section, discussions about the plot were a minority; most of the focus was on whether this newcomer was 'Kashiwagi Eri'.
"Isn't this not 'protecting' anything at all?"
Izumi Chihiro chuckled.
After all, she was an experienced author who had been active for many years, with her own unique style, so it was not surprising that she was recognized. This also meant that Eriri's idea of protecting her privacy ended before it even began.
Of course, even though she was already being pointed at by thousands, Eriri did not reply in the comment section. Perhaps she was currently looking at everyone's messages in a frenzy, which was equivalent to a public execution.
On the other side, Mashiro also planned to complete her manga for the newcomer award submission within a week.
For Mashiro, it was quite a tight schedule, as she had to attend school for five days, making a twenty-plus-page manga challenging for her.
But it wasn't a huge challenge, because... she was Mashiro.
On Sunday, Mashiro still did not give herself any time to rest.
During a busy day of drawing, her presence could only be seen during meal times.
Sagiri, who went downstairs early, having been told by her brother to call Mashiro out, saw Mashiro's focused expression while drawing for the first time.
"Is this diligence and focus the source of Mashiro's strength?"
Sagiri was quite shocked, her face flushed with shame.
To be able to wholeheartedly devote oneself to drawing and persevere is actually very difficult to achieve.
Even she herself would occasionally slack off, either watching anime or reading novels.
It wasn't that she wasn't diligent; it was that she simply couldn't endure it and had to maintain her mindset through a balance of work and rest.
Otherwise, she might come to hate drawing because of it.
"Mashiro, doesn't drawing ever make you tired? Don't you have anything else to do?"
At the dinner table, Sagiri asked this question.
"Tired. If only I didn't have to sleep."
Mashiro's answer was somewhat beside the point.
But Sagiri could tell that this tiredness was only due to physical exhaustion, not 'mental fatigue'. So, the seemingly clumsy Mashiro actually possessed a resilient inner spirit.
"Recently, I will try my best to read books."
Mashiro continued.
This was an explanation for the second question.
To make up for her shortcomings, simply drawing manga in a closed-off manner wouldn't work. This was the principle Chihiro and Ayano had taught her.
Upon hearing this, Sagiri imagined a 'life with nothing but drawing' and felt a chill.
She understood the origin of Mashiro's personality and felt the same indignation towards those people as her brother had originally.
"Since Mashiro is ready to submit her work for the newcomer award, we should decide on a pen name. Do you have any ideas yourself?"
Izumi Chihiro thought of this.
"Can't Mashiro use her own name? It could attract a lot of attention... Oh, no, that's not right."
Sagiri stopped halfway, realizing the impropriety.
While the name Shiina Mashiro was indeed famous, it wasn't as useful in the manga artist industry. Moreover, with Mashiro's current manga level, it wouldn't meet everyone's expectations, and there might be boos at that time.
She herself might not care, but they couldn't bear to see such a scene unfold.
"Many manga artists used pen names in their early days and only later chose to use their real names."
Izumi Chihiro found a reason to answer.
"Then, Shiina... Saikou?"
Mashiro's eyes lifted.
"That sounds a bit like plagiarism, doesn't it?"
Sagiri mumbled softly.
'A pen name similar to her brother's, that's enough, are they planning to form a pen name CP? Mashiro seems clumsy, but she's actually very cunning, right! Some people aren't even this blatant, are they?'
She grumbled a few more lines in her heart.
"Mashiro is also bad at naming, but this is entirely your preference, so you don't need my approval."
Izumi Chihiro smiled slightly.
"Then it's decided."
A subtle hint of joy also appeared at the corner of Mashiro's mouth.
The establishment of her pen name meant that her path as a manga artist was about to officially begin.
---
💯 PS = 2 bonus chapter