The moment the question left Sawamura Sayuri's lips, a hot wave of embarrassment washed over Tanaka Masao.
He wished the sofa would just swallow him whole.
After all, he wasn't a real doujinshi artist, not in the way these two were. And honestly, even if he were, who would be comfortable having their secret hobby laid bare like this?
Talking about it with Eriri had been one thing—maybe because he felt like he already knew her from the anime, or maybe just because they were the same age. It felt like swapping stories with a friend.
But Sayuri? She looked so much like Eriri it was almost uncanny, but the vibe was totally different. She had this calm, knowing air about her, like a cool older sister who's seen it all. (Sayuri is Eriris's mother incase it wasn't clear)
He couldn't meet her eyes, his gaze dropping to the fancy pattern on the carpet.
"Um…, that's… that's right" he managed to stammer out, his voice cracking slightly.
A soft, melodic laugh escaped Sayuri.
"Oh, Masao-kun, there's no need to be so shy!" she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Let me let you in on a little secret—I'm a huge otaku myself. And not just that, I'm a fellow doujinshi artist. We're all comrades in arms here. Sharing our work is perfectly natural!"
This understanding big-sister act was lethal. Masao felt his defenses crumbling.
But then, a cold dread trickled down his spine as he remembered the specific contents of his manuscript. 'The second half… oh no, the second half had that scene in it.'
'The one that was… inventive.' Just the thought of Sayuri reading it made him break out in a cold sweat.
He forced a laugh that came out more like a choked cough.
"No, maybe, we should just forget it. I'm just an amateur. I've got a long way to go," he said, already planning a quick escape so he could find a chance to ask Eriri privately about doujinshi publishing later.
But just as he reached for his backpack, he saw it was already in Eriri's hands, and she was pulling out the manuscript.
"Amateur? Are you kidding me?" Eriri exclaimed, her voice a mix of disbelief and excitement. She fully pulled out the manuscript. "This looks even more polished than my own work!"
Eriri's doujinshi were famous for their exquisite artwork. The moment she had seen the high-quality, full-color cover of Masao's work, she knew his skill was at least on par with her own.
Finding a fellow artist with such superb technique, even on their first meeting, gave Eriri a feeling of... well, finding a kindred spirit in mischief—ahem, a shared passion!
"And don't mind my mom," Eriri barreled on, her eyes glued to the pages as she started flipping through them. "She's a veteran BL (yaoi) artist. Trust me, the 'knowledge' in her head is way more extensive than ours! Wait a second…You did the entire thing in full colour? Seriously?"
"Full colour?" Sayuri echoed, genuinely surprised.
It wasn't that artists couldn't do full colour work; it was just incredibly time-consuming. Most only added colour to a few key, special illustrations.
"Masao-kun, you must have poured an immense amount of effort into this,"
she praised, taking the latter half of the manuscript from Eriri to look at herself.
The manuscript the system had provided was substantial enough to be adapted into a surprisingly long anime (hentai).
As Sayuri took the second half—the part containing the most problematic scenes—Masao's heart sank. It was official, the most inappropriate content had landed in the most inappropriate hands.
Slumping on the sofa, Masao hung his head and began to play dead.
'Should I just activate the Mark suit and fly away?'
But for the sake of getting his doujinshi published and earning some money, he decided to endure a little longer, all while the system's notification chime kept ringing in his mind...
He'd already gained several points just from this ordeal.
[Ding.]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 1 point of Corruption Value.]
—
For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were the rustle of paper and Eriri's running commentary, which grew progressively more unhinged.
"The shading here is gorgeous… Huh, this is a really unique premise…" She paused, her eyebrows shooting up. "Whoa. Okay. That line of dialogue… What kind of mind even comes up with that? And you have the boyfriend just… watching? You're a seriously sick guy, you know that?"
She glanced up at him, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Hey, this main character… this chubby guy. He kinda looks like you. Don't tell me you used yourself as a reference?"
Then, the commentary stopped.
Masao glanced over. Eriri's face was turning a deep shade of crimson. The further she read, the wider her eyes became, until she looked like a startled anime character.
It's a common phenomenon: when people engage with stories—whether books, movies, or comics—they often subconsciously put themselves in the characters' shoes, imagining what it would be like to experience the events unfolding
Masao could practically see the steam whistling out of her ears as her imagination ran wild.
A few minutes later, he noticed Sayuri had also fallen silent. A pink blush had spread across her cheeks, too.
The atmosphere in the room became thick and heavy, charged with a shared, awkwardness.
Masao felt like he was suffocating. He shifted his weight. His heart was pounding in his ears.
This torturous, wordless stalemate felt like it lasted an hour, but it was probably only five minutes.
He saw both women subtly adjust how they were sitting at almost the exact same time.
Then, as if sensing the weight of his stare, they both chose that exact moment to look up from the pages.
His two nervous eyes locked with their four slightly dazed ones.
The room went silent.
—
After a few seconds, Eriri was the first to break the silence.
She snapped the manuscript down onto the coffee table with a sharp slap that made Masao jump.
"Masao!" she spluttered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, going straight on the attack to mask her own fluster. "The details in this… they're way too specific! It's like you were there taking notes! What is wrong with you? What kind of bizarre fantasies are you having? Is your brain okay?"
Cornered, he found a sliver of defiance.
"Hey, isn't having a head full of… questionable ideas… basically a job requirement for this line of work?" he muttered, avoiding her gaze. "And you're one to talk, Eriri san."
His logical, if weak, defense was met with the classic, ultimate rebuttal. Eriri's face flushed even redder.
"Urusai! Baka!" she yelled, effectively ending the debate.
Thankfully, Sayuri chose that moment to re-enter the conversation, gracefully smoothing over the tension.
"Now, Eriri, that's enough," she said, her voice calm but firm.
She turned a gentle, though still slightly amused, smile toward Masao.
"Masao-kun, don't mind her. The quality of your work is truly exceptional. It puts some seasoned artists to shame." She paused, choosing her next words carefully.
"Although, I must admit, the narrative is certainly…" after another pause. "…audacious. Wouldn't you agree?"
Trapped by her knowing look, He could only nod, his face burning.
"Y-yes. Very… audacious."
Audacious was one way to put it.
Ever the diplomat, Sayuri seamlessly changed the subject.
"So, you mentioned you needed some advice? What was it you wanted to know about, publishing?"
Grateful for the lifeline, Masao latched onto the question.
"Right! Yes! Well, this is my first time…" he explained, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I have no idea how to actually get it published or sold. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction."
"I see," Sayuri nodded, her expression turning professional. "It's a bit of a specialized process. Most mainstream publishers won't touch this kind of work. The most common way is to handle the printing yourself and sell it at a doujinshi market, like Comiket. It's how you build a name for yourself. Some specialty bookstores will also consign them for you."
She looked back at the beautiful, full-color pages in her hand, her tone softening with genuine respect.
"To create something of this quality on your very first attempt… you must have poured your entire soul into it, Masao-kun. It really is quite something."
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[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)