"Congratulations! You have upgraded [Pure Love Concentration: LV.2]. The Random Mission Distribution function is now unlocked!"
"Kagami, I'm done washing. You can go in now."
At that moment, Yukinoshita Shizuku's voice drifted in from the doorway.
Having just stepped out of the bathroom, Yukinoshita Shizuku carried the warmth of the steam and the faint scent of body wash. A soft white towel was wrapped around her wet, long hair. A few strands that hadn't been fully tucked away clung to the smooth side of her neck, tiny water droplets still trickling down from them.
She pushed open the slightly ajar bedroom door.
What she saw was Tsushima Kagami bouncing off the walls of the room as if he had severe ADHD. In the corner, Little Yukino seemed to have been startled into a Spinosaurus form, arching her back and hissing at Tsushima Kagami.
"What are you doing?" Yukinoshita Shizuku asked curiously.
"I'm triggering a mission," Tsushima Kagami replied casually.
Yukinoshita Shizuku: "?"
After school the next afternoon, Tsushima Kagami pushed open the door to the Manga Research Club.
Inside the clubroom, Sayuri, Machida Sonoko, and Kosaka Akane were already seated and waiting.
The moment Tsushima Kagami walked in, three pairs of eyes simultaneously locked onto him.
"Junior, did you bring the stuff?" Machida Sonoko spoke first, her voice suppressing an indescribable excitement.
Tsushima Kagami smiled knowingly. He reached back to close the clubroom door and carefully locked it.
Then, unhurriedly, he took out four brand-new copies of the June issue of Comic Kairakuten from his school bag and handed three of them to the girls.
"Here. Senior, President, Sayuri."
"Oh, oh, oh! It's here, it's here!"
"Banzai!"
The three accepted the magazines as if they were receiving precious treasures.
Tsushima Kagami sat down in an empty seat and placed the remaining copy in front of himself.
Of these four magazines, three were copies he had asked Yukinoshita Shizuku—who worked at a convenience store—to secretly set aside for him on the day the new issue hit the shelves.
"Speaking of which..."
Tsushima Kagami looked at the excited Machida Sonoko and raised a question. "Senior, you guys draw doujinshi yourselves and often go to doujin conventions. You should be used to this kind of thing by now, right? Why are you too embarrassed to buy a copy of Kairakuten and need me to bring it for you?"
"It's different."
Machida Sonoko waved her hand, her cheeks blushing slightly.
"At doujin conventions, everyone is a fellow enthusiast. The atmosphere is open, and everyone speaks nicely. It feels as comfortable as being in your own home.
"But going to a convenience store alone to buy this kind of adult magazine is just..."
She paused. "I always feel like the cashier's eyes get weird, as if they're saying, 'Ah, so this customer has that kind of hobby.' Just imagining it makes me cringe so hard I could carve out a three-bedroom apartment with my toes!"
After she finished, she looked at Sayuri and Kosaka Akane beside her. The two immediately nodded vigorously in empathy.
Tsushima Kagami then turned his gaze to Sawamura Sayuri. "Then what about you, Sayuri? I remember seeing you flipping through Kairakuten in the clubroom last time. Didn't you buy that one yourself?"
"Ara, that is true."
Sayuri puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish, speaking in a tone that suggested, 'I get angry just thinking about it.'
"Before you came along, Kagami-kun, the three of us used Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who had to go buy it! But—"
She cast a resentful look at her two seniors.
"The Seniors always teamed up to bully me! In the end, I was the one who lost every time!"
After Sayuri finished speaking, the expression on her face instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny, transforming into a slightly cunning smile as she clasped her hands together and looked at Tsushima Kagami.
"But now that Kagami-kun is here, everything is fine! The heavy responsibility of purchasing Kairakuten in the future is entrusted to you, Kagami-kun~"
Immediately following that, the three of them looked at Tsushima Kagami in unison, clasped their hands together, and spoke in one voice: "Kagami-kun—please~"
"Fine. I'll buy them from now on."
"Yay!"
"Kagami-kun is the best!"
"Liberation!"
A cheer erupted in the clubroom.
Once the atmosphere relaxed, Machida Sonoko nudged Kosaka Akane next to her with her elbow and teased, "It's our first seminar. As the President, aren't you going to say some opening words?"
Hearing this, Kosaka Akane seemed to remember her duty. She immediately straightened her expression, cleared her throat lightly, and stood up.
She looked around the room and then solemnly announced, "Then, I declare—the Manga Research Club's First Commercial Magazine Work Seminar is officially in session!"
Tsushima Kagami, Machida Sonoko, and Sayuri cooperated perfectly with enthusiastic applause.
Kosaka Akane nodded with satisfaction. After sitting down, she looked at Tsushima Kagami again. "As the creator of the core work for this seminar, Kagami-kun, why don't you also say a few words about this commercial magazine debut we all worked on together?"
Tsushima Kagami smiled, then stood up. He cleared his throat. "Then, I declare—all personnel, keep your software unchanged!"
As soon as the words fell, the girls in the clubroom covered their mouths and snickered.
Sayuri and the others often exchanged dirty jokes with Tsushima Kagami, and he frequently educated them on abstract memes from the future internet.
Right then, Sawamura Sayuri shot her hand up in the air. "Report, Sir! We don't have software!"
Tsushima Kagami paused, then slapped his forehead. "My oversight."
He then put on a stern face again and announced solemnly, "Then, all personnel, keep your crotches dry!"
Sayuri straightened her back and offered a salute. "Yes, Sir!"
After Sayuri sat down, the three impatiently flipped open the copies of Kairakuten in their hands, finding the pages where Hiiragi-senpai Sniff Sniff Sniff Nonstop was published.
In an instant, the clubroom was filled with chattering discussion.
"Hohoho~ Is this what it feels like to have your own work in a commercial magazine? It feels so magical."
"It really is completely different from the feeling of selling self-drawn doujinshi at conventions."
"Ah, here! I helped apply the screentones here. The effect is even better than I imagined!"
"My hand was shaking when I was inking the lines back then; I was so afraid I'd draw it crooked..."
The group joked around while reviewing the difficulties and shortcomings they had encountered while acting as assistants.
This continued until the sky outside the window gradually turned dark.
"Ah, that's right!"
Just as the four had packed up their things and were about to leave the clubroom, Machida Sonoko suddenly remembered something. She turned and called out to Tsushima Kagami, who was about to lock the door.
"Kagami-kun, I almost forgot to tell you. Uncle Watanabe contacted me two days ago. He said he had something to discuss with you and asked when it would be convenient for him to visit you."
Tsushima Kagami turned around. "Editor Watanabe is looking for me? Do you know what it's about?"
"I'm not sure, actually." Machida Sonoko shook her head.
Tsushima Kagami checked his watch. "Shouldn't he still be at the editorial department right now? I might as well go find him directly; it'll save him a trip."
Machida Sonoko made a quick estimation. "By the time we get there, he should be. He often works overtime until late."
"Then I'll go with you," Machida Sonoko added.
"Eh? Then I want to go too!" Sawamura Sayuri immediately raised her hand.
Kosaka Akane: "And me, and me."
Inside the reception room at WANI Magazine.
After preparing tea for the four of them, Editor Watanabe sat down and spoke with a smile. "Kagami-kun, sorry to trouble you to come all this way personally."
Because Tsushima Kagami was Machida Sonoko's classmate and they seemed to have a good relationship, Editor Watanabe treated Tsushima Kagami directly as a junior, addressing him by his given name rather than his surname or title.
"I have to pick someone up later anyway. Hearing that you had something to discuss, I just came straight over," Tsushima Kagami replied politely.
"So, Uncle, what is it exactly?" Machida Sonoko couldn't help but urge him.
Editor Watanabe smiled. "It's like this. There are mainly two matters I want to communicate with Kagami-kun about.
"First, I wanted to ask: Kagami-kun, do you already have a plan for the creation of your next work?
"The response to Hiiragi-senpai has been very enthusiastic. Many readers are asking when the author's next work will be released."
"I do. I already have some preliminary ideas." Tsushima Kagami nodded.
In fact, he had already thought of many grand Pure Love masterpieces in his mind.
"Oh? Is it convenient to talk about the general direction of the subject matter?" Editor Watanabe showed a keen interest.
Beside him, Machida Sonoko and the other two also pricked up their ears.
"It should still be the Pure Love genre," Tsushima Kagami answered almost without thinking.
Hearing this answer, a look of hesitation appeared on Editor Watanabe's face.
"Is there a problem, Watanabe-san?"
Tsushima Kagami sensed the subtle shift in the other's mood.
"Well... Kagami-kun."
Editor Watanabe took another sip of tea. Then, in a tone that was discussing yet carried a hint of persuasion, he spoke.
"Regarding the subject matter of the next work..."
"Would you like to try the currently most popular market trend—the NTR genre?"
____
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