"H-Hello— I'm starting work here today. I'm K-Kyouno— Na… Na-Natsumi! Please take care of —"
With her slightly hunched back straightened as much as she could, Natsumi stamred through her introduction.
"All right, all right~ Nattsun, there's no need to be that nervous. It's not like we're strangers."
Seeing Natsumi's whole body tense up, Honjo Nia comforted her with a helpless smile.
"I've heard the rough story. Don't worry about it. When I was in school, I didn't have many friends either. Aren't I living just fine now? I'll teach you every manga technique I know without holding anything back."
"Thank you…"
Natsumi nodded lightly.
Although Nia usually had a decent relationship with her, Natsumi was now coming to her from the position of soone seeking work, so psychologically, she could not help feeling afraid.
On top of that, she had gone outside for the first ti in a long while, and naturally seed at a loss.
"Um, um— I'm very sorry. You clearly have such strict demands for your work, but you're still willing to take in a newbie like who ca in through connections. I'll work hard not to drag you down. If I have any problems, please don't hesitate to fire directly…"
Seeing that Natsumi had already started trembling, Nia hurriedly interrupted.
"Stop, stop, stop! Natssun, do you have so kind of misunderstanding about ?"
"But… didn't you criticize Yuzuru and Kaguya's manga before, saying everything about it was wrong?"
Hearing that, Nia's expression stiffened. She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"The situation back then was a little special, so when I evaluated it, I deliberately leaned toward being harsh. Don't worry. Nia-oneesan is usually very understanding and broad minded."
As she spoke, Nia confidently patted her flat chest.
"I see…"
Although she had so doubts about the phrase "broad minded," Natsumi tactfully did not say anything unnecessary.
And so, Natsumi followed Nia to her high-class apartnt, which also served as her manga studio.
The mont the door opened and she stepped inside, the sight before her imdiately robbed Natsumi of words.
Manga, snacks, gas, underwear— all kinds of items were freely and casually piled in every corner of the room. Several swollen garbage bags were parked beside the shoe cabinet, faintly giving off a strange sll.
"Ah— Please don't mind it. I'm the type who lets trash pile up to a certain amount before dealing with it all at once."
Nia turned her head and said.
Although she had indeed thought yesterday that she should clean the room and leave Natsumi with a good impression, halfway through cleaning, she had accidentally found a nostalgic ani CD. Thinking she would rest for a bit, she put it on and watched it. By the ti she ca back to her senses, the room was even ssier than before.
(She's lying.)
Natsumi silently looked at Nia and thought with certainty.
Still, after seeing this hopelessly ssy single woman's ho, Natsumi unconsciously relaxed.
Relief. Reassurance.
It gave her a familiar and intimate feeling, like returning to her own room.
This famous manga artist was, in terms of personal life, just as hopeless as herself.
No, maybe Natsumi herself was even slightly better.
"I feel like you're thinking sothing rude."
Nia sighed awkwardly, took off her shoes, carefully avoided the clutter in the hallway, and brought Natsumi into her studio.
In complete contrast to the bedroom and living room, which looked like a garbage dump, Nia's studio was extrely clean.
"Okay! Ti to work! Nattsun, you'll be my assistant and handle so simple tasks. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask ."
"O-Okay!"
And so, Natsumi officially began her work as a manga assistant.
To Nia's surprise, Natsumi was extrely capable.
Whether it was filling in blacks, applying screentone, or drawing backgrounds and small props, she handled everything easily. Her technique was so practiced that she did not seem like a beginner at all.
Thanks to Natsumi, what should have been a tense, thrilling, heart pounding locked-room manuscript chase was safely avoided.
"Ah~~ Finished. Thanks, Nattsun. You really helped a lot."
A few days later, Nia stretched hard. Her whole body collapsed onto the work chair like a jellyfish whose skeleton had been removed.
"You… you praise too much."
Natsumi nodded in surprise, sounding sowhat flattered.
"By the way, Nattsun, did you really never learn manga or drawing before?"
Nia asked curiously.
"I-I think… probably not…"
Natsumi answered uncertainly.
Before this, she truly had no experience drawing manga. But when she held a pen, she indeed felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if she had repeated similar movents many tis before, and her body moved with ease.
Perhaps during the years of mories she had lost, she had tried learning how to draw.
"Um, um… Nia."
After hesitating and opening her mouth, Natsumi finally gathered her courage and took a folder out of her bag.
"This is a manga I drew before… If possible, could you give so advice?"
"…Nattsun's manga?!"
Nia froze for half a second, then asked in surprise.
"Y-Yes. After working here, I tried drawing so of my fantasies on paper. They're all stories I thought up while hiding under my blanket, so the contents might be a bit wild and unrealistic. Actually, after I showed them to Yuzuru and Kaguya, their feedback was also kind of subtle. The story is indeed a little gloomy and not very mainstream. This kind of unpresentable story is probably nothing more than my own self-indulgence… Sorry, never mind after all!!"
"Strike Noir!!"
Nia shouted her protagonist's special move with great force.
Without giving Natsumi a chance to pull her hands back, Nia lunged forward and snatched Natsumi's manuscript.
Seeing Nia begin to flip through her manga, Natsumi imdiately felt her heart pound wildly. Her palms sweated from nervousness.
Wordless ti passed, second by second.
Natsumi could not help lifting her head.
Nia's expression had shifted from initial curiosity to surprise, then gradually beca serious and focused.
After finishing the entire manga, Nia let out a breath as though she was still savoring it.
"…Nattsun."
"Yes!"
Natsumi answered anxiously.
"Do you want to seriously consider debuting as a manga artist?"
"…Eh?"
———————
Perhaps, just as Yumi obaa-chan had said, going to school was not the only choice in life.
Even if one did not walk the sa path as everyone else, that did not an one's future would beco completely dark.
Thinking back to that period in high school, Natsumi could not help feeling deeply moved.
After that, half-pushed along by Nia's suggestion, Natsumi submitted her manga to a publishing company. When she went ho, she had already ntally prepared herself to receive a "thank you for participating" reply.
But to her surprise, her manga actually won the Best Newcor Award, and under the strong requests of the editor and readers, it was turned into a long running serialization in a magazine.
By the ti she ca back to her senses, she had sohow beco a manga artist.
To be honest, Natsumi did not really care how popular her manga beca…
Mm, she did care a little.
But what remained most vivid in her mory was Yumi obaa-chan's reaction.
She still rembered that after Natsumi won the award, Yumi imdiately hung the trophy in the most visible spot in the living room. Every ti she chatted with the neighbors, she would bring up the matter. Once, she even cried.
Although this made Natsumi extrely embarrassed, seeing obaa-chan feel proud of her made Natsumi feel a little confidence in herself for the first ti.
(If it hadn't been for good luck, if I didn't have talent for drawing manga…)
No. She should stop thinking about those things.
Throwing away those negative thoughts in her mind, Natsumi put down her pen, carefully stored the finished manuscript, and soon heard a soft cry from her stomach.
"I'm hungry… I'll go to the kitchen and eat a midnight snack."
Thinking that, Natsumi stood up and left her room.
When she passed by the living room, she noticed that Yumi obaa-chan was sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed.
(Did she accidentally fall asleep?)
After hesitating for a mont, Natsumi walked into the living room, intending to wake Yumi.
Perhaps because her sleep was very light, Yumi slowly opened her eyes the mont Natsumi approached.
"Ah… Natsumi… You are not asleep yet?"
"Mm. I just finished drawing the manga, so I wanted to go to the kitchen and eat sothing."
"I see… Then obaa-chan will make sothing for you."
"No, no. Yoshino already left rice balls for earlier. Obaa-chan, go back to your room and rest. You'll catch a cold if you sleep in a place like this."
Hearing Natsumi's words, Yumi did not insist. She calmly nodded.
"…Mm, you are right. Then obaa-chan will go rest first. You should sleep earlier too…"
With that, Yumi stood up from the sofa and slowly walked toward her room.
Watching Yumi's back disappear bit by bit into the darkness, Natsumi suddenly felt an inexplicable panic.
"Obaa-chan! I-I'll help you!"
"Mm… Thank you."
Turning on the hallway light, Natsumi hurried to Yumi's side.
After hesitating for a while, Natsumi said uneasily,
"…Obaa-chan. You won't… leave without saying goodbye, right?"
Hearing that, Yumi stroked Natsumi's head and showed a helpless, gentle smile.
"Silly child… Of course I will not."
(TL:Obaa-channnnnnnnn)
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