The next day.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong~~~~
The sound of the doorbell made Shiyuri jump.
Yesterday, during her call with Misa, Shiyuri managed to get Rin Ito's number and arranged to meet him at her house the following day.
Shiyuri scurried to the entrance and opened the door. However, the person who appeared before her was not Rin Ito, but a long, black-haired girl with a slightly cool expression. Shiyuri had arranged to meet someone else besides Rin Ito.
The girl, Sahodo Ashisu, was dressed in a long white T-shirt with her straight black hair draped over her shoulders. Her slender waist was accentuated by a belt, and a pair of light brown micro-shorts barely covered her upper thighs. Below a small expanse of fair skin, she wore black thigh-high socks. She was one of the assistants Shiyuri frequently hired.
Upon seeing Shiyuri, Sahodo Ashisu apologized profusely.
"I am so terribly sorry, Shiyuri-sensei. I had an emergency yesterday and simply couldn't make it. My deepest apologies!!!! I caused Shiyuri-sensei to miss her deadline..."
"It's fine, it's fine. Sato found me another assistant yesterday."
"Eh? Then what is Shiyuri-sensei doing today...?"
Sahodo Ashisu had assumed Shiyuri had missed the deadline yesterday and was making up the work today, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Aside from a few popular, high-pressure shonen manga artists who hired fixed assistants for daily drawing, assistant work was usually on a per-day basis, with assistants only being called when needed. Since Shiyuri's manga was monthly, it was normal for her to be slacking off for 25 days of the month and not require daily assistance.
"Come inside."
Shiyuri welcomed Sahodo Ashisu in and asked her to sit on the sofa.
The bewildered Sahodo Ashisu scrutinized Shiyuri. Shiyuri-sensei's outfit was very strange today. She normally wore unkempt T-shirts and shorts, often not even bothering with a bra, but today she was wearing a long-sleeved, long-pants tracksuit.
Faced with Sahodo Ashisu's questioning gaze, Shiyuri's eyes darted away, her face flushed with shyness.
"I asked you to come today to help me shoot some reference material."
"Reference material...?" Sahodo Ashisu tilted her head in confusion. Then, under Sahodo Ashisu's bewildered gaze, Shiyuri unzipped her tracksuit. Beneath it, she was only wearing a bra and panties.
The inmon drawn on her stomach and the words [Safe Entry/Exit] were clearly displayed before Sahodo Ashisu.
"Eeeh!?!!!????"
Sahodo Ashisu stared at Shiyuri, dumbfounded. Did [Safe Entry/Exit] mean praying not to get pregnant? W-w-what was going on? Could it be that Miss Shiyuri was actually violated?
Sahodo Ashisu's eyes were filled with shock and pity.
She had always scoffed at Shiyuri's claims that all men were like the villains in her comics, but now... Could what Shiyuri was saying be true!?
Sahodo Ashisu gently embraced Shiyuri.
"That bastard not only violated Miss Shiyuri, but he also left behind such foul writing... Miss Shiyuri, I'll go with you to the police! Where is the evidence? Miss Shiyuri, please don't destroy the evidence just because you feel dirty."
"N-no, no, no, it's not like that!!!" Shiyuri quickly pushed Sahodo Ashisu away. "It's not like that... I wasn't forcibly violated. He... he's a very good man! I was dressed lewdly all day yesterday, and he still didn't try to violate me..."
Shiyuri briefly explained what had happened the previous day.
"What I mean is... I've hit a wall on a new pure-love training comic, and I want him to do it again... He's a doujinshi artist like me, and he saw my work yesterday... The fact that he wrote on me means he definitely wanted to give me inspiration! But because I was drunk, I couldn't feel the process, so..."
Shiyuri looked down, unable to meet Sahodo Ashisu's eyes. "So... I was hoping you could help me film it."
After hearing the explanation, Sahodo Ashisu's mouth twitched.
She used to think all men were criminals, but after meeting one man who resisted temptation yesterday, she suddenly considered him a good guy and was asking him to come over and repeat the "prank"!?
"Then why did Shiyuri-sensei ask me to film it?"
"He'll be too busy doing the prank on me and possibly filming it, so..."
Shiyuri lowered her head and pressed her palms together, afraid to look at Sahodo Ashisu.
"Please! I'll pay you the assistant's fee!"
"...."
Sahodo Ashisu was speechless. Worried he'll be too busy? Is she going to ask me to help him push as well!?
Sighing reluctantly, Sahodo Ashisu nodded.
It wasn't because of the pay... Even if men weren't all the criminals Shiyuri claimed, the fact that Rin Ito didn't violate Shiyuri-sensei yesterday showed self-restraint.
But if Shiyuri-sensei asked him to repeat the prank... with Shiyuri-sensei's alluring and provocative body, he might actually violate her if he did it again.
If I'm here, he'll be more cautious.
"Alright, when will he arrive?"
"He... he should be here soon. B-but I told him I needed his guidance on drawing, so Sahodo, please play along with me."
...
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong~~~~
The doorbell rang again. Shiyuri quickly ran to the entrance to open the door for Rin Ito.
"Ito-sensei..." Shiyuri's eyes flickered; she couldn't look Rin Ito directly in the eye. Rin Ito's gaze passed over Shiyuri and landed on Sahodo Ashisu.
"Ito-sensei, please come in. This is my assistant, Sahodo Ashisu."
"Hmm? Assistant? Shiyuri, I thought your manga was monthly? Why did you call an assistant?"
Rin Ito felt a slight sense of foreboding. Could Shiyuri be angry and have hired someone to deal with me?
"It's nothing, she... she just happened to be passing by. Let's start... I drew some storyboard roughs yesterday. Could Ito-sensei take a look for me?"
Shiyuri pulled Rin Ito to a chair and handed him the A4 paper with the rough draft. Rin Ito glanced at the draft and quickly understood the general idea.
Holy hell.
Rin Ito was amazed.
He had only meant to play a little prank, but Shiyuri had turned it directly into a manga. The part where the draft broke off was precisely where the male protagonist would "prank" the female protagonist.
"H-how did Ito-sensei prank me yesterday? Could you... could you describe it in detail?"
"Well... it's not very easy to describe with words. How about I draw it?" Rin Ito asked tentatively.
"Eh... Drawing it would be a bit too much of a waste of Ito-sensei's time."
"It's fine, it's fine. I draw quickly, and it's just a rough sketch anyway."
Rin Ito smiled, playing along with Shiyuri.
"A rough sketch... a rough sketch isn't detailed enough," Shiyuri murmured, lowering her face and avoiding eye contact. Hearing Shiyuri's response, Rin Ito was certain of her intention.
"How about... how about we repeat the prank, and let Sahodo film it? That way I can use it as reference material later."
Although Sahodo Ashisu suggested this, there was still the possibility that she was setting him up. After a brief consideration, Rin Ito spoke.
"Is that so... No problem, but let's use my phone to record it. I'll send you a copy once it's done, and I can use it as material for my own doujinshi."
"N-no problem! Then I'll leave it to Ito-sensei! Please... please prank me to your heart's content!"