"Hmm?"
Shirai Mio looked at [Eriri's Drawing Skills]. Though it seemed similar to [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Skills], there should be differences—like art style, for example.
Her current doujin drawings were closer to Shiina Mashiro's style, looking very fresh and clean. So every time she drew doujins, she felt a vague sense of guilt.
Having another art style while improving her drawing skills overall seemed pretty good, but Shirai Mio still chose [Eriri's Green Gym Uniform]. It felt more versatile.
As for [Charm Max], Shirai Mio didn't even consider it. With her current looks, she had absolutely no need for that skill.
Item-type rewards like this usually appeared at her home after selection. Like that Yuigahama Yui signature blue-and-white striped pair—the panties she was currently wearing—had appeared in her underwear drawer at home.
As Shirai Mio finished selecting her reward, time resumed flowing.
Eriri was still seriously examining the half-finished doujin, even showing a pleased smile at the corners of her mouth.
Thank goodness Eriri was a beautiful girl. Otherwise, that smile would definitely look creepy.
Shirai Mio didn't interrupt her. After waiting about ten minutes, Eriri reluctantly put down the drawings and said, "Honestly, your doujin is pretty dang good. But even though it's vanilla, I'm getting serious NTR vibes from it."
Hearing Eriri's words, Shirai Mio looked away slightly, feeling a bit guilty. This wasn't an act—she actually felt the same way. Probably because she'd read too many NTR doujins before transmigrating.
"So, Sawamura-san, are you really the legendary Kashiwagi Eri?" Shirai Mio's eyes held just the right amount of admiration.
"'Legendary' is way too much. I'm just an ordinary doujin artist." Though she said this, the corners of Eriri's mouth curved into a nice arc.
"Oh right, your doujin isn't finished yet, right? If you complete it, you could probably enter it in Comiket in two months. I bet it'd sell well."
"I'm just drawing for fun. After all, this kind of thing really shouldn't be known by others." Shirai Mio said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Drawing this well 'just for fun'? Are you deliberately showing off?" Eriri narrowed her eyes and glared fiercely at Shirai Mio. But with that cute face, no matter how fierce she tried to look, she just ended up looking adorable—zero intimidation factor.
Shirai Mio blinked innocently, looking as clueless as could be, as if she had no idea what Eriri was talking about.
Eriri sighed softly, then continued, "No problem. Sure, the rules say minors can't buy doujins, but there's no rule against drawing them. Just have someone else sell them for you. If you can't find anyone, I can help."
"I'll... think about it."
"No worries, there's still about two months anyway." Eriri's initially excited expression suddenly deflated. Mentioning this reminded her of her own doujin that she hadn't even started.
Seeing Eriri's dejected expression, Shirai Mio asked puzzled, "Sawamura-san, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing really. I just haven't figured out what to draw for my next work yet."
"Then Sawamura-san must have too much inspiration and can't decide which one to choose, right?"
Feeling Shirai Mio's admiring gaze, Eriri really couldn't bring herself to say she had zero inspiration. She could only bite the bullet and say, "Exactly."
Through observation, Shirai Mio could tell that Eriri seemed to lack inspiration. Since the other girl had successfully helped her complete a task, Shirai Mio decided to offer a suggestion.
"Actually, Sawamura-san could look for inspiration from yourself. Like, the protagonist is a seemingly pure and cute beautiful girl, but secretly she's an 18+ lewd artist. One day she accidentally gets exposed in front of the male or female lead, then under blackmail has to do certain embarrassing things."
When Shirai Mio made this suggestion, she was thinking of Eriri—after all, Eriri fit the setup pretty well.
But when Eriri heard this suggestion, she was thinking of Shirai Mio—because Shirai Mio had literally just experienced this exact scenario. And the scariest part was, if she'd actually used the doujin secret as blackmail just now, it probably would've worked.
Of course, she'd never do something illegal like that.
But still, this was a really good suggestion. Images were already forming in her mind, inspiration constantly flowing. She was getting so excited she could barely wait to start drawing.
Just then, Shirai Mio stood up and said, "Sawamura-san, it's getting late. I should head back."
"W-wait! How about you stay for dinner before going? We could chat some more."
Shirai Mio was about to politely decline when the system's voice suddenly rang in her ear: "Since a beautiful girl has invited the host to dinner, why wouldn't the host choose to stay?"
"Please find a way to make Eriri voluntarily push you down before leaving. Success may yield rewards from the Eriri series cards or items. Failure will result in drawing a punishment card."
"I know the host doesn't want to hear my voice right now, but I can't help it when tasks get triggered. Please do your best, host~"
"Sigh."
Shirai Mio sighed softly. She'd thought that after finally completing one task, she could rest properly. Didn't expect another one to pop up suddenly.
With no choice, Shirai Mio changed her response: "If I stay, won't I be bothering you?"
"Not at all, don't worry."
"Then I'll impose on you. I've actually always wanted to discuss these things with someone, but I could never find anyone to talk to."
"There's no helping it. People like us can't exactly let this identity be known. I usually chat with fellow enthusiasts online. I'll add you to the chat room later—everyone there's super talented, the doujins are top-tier, and it's just a really chill community."
"Then I'll be counting on you, Sawamura-san."
"Leave it to me." Eriri patted her chest—though no matter how hard she patted, her size was insufficient to create any jiggling.
But very quickly, Eriri's expression froze.
Though she'd kept Shirai Mio here under the pretext of having dinner together, she couldn't cook!
When her parents weren't home, she either ate out or had instant ramen.
What now? She couldn't exactly serve instant ramen to a guest, right?
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