[027] Enlightened and Real: Eriri!
"What's wrong? Did the 'Selected Works' award for a magical girl story crush your spirit?"
"No way!"
Eriri sat up, glaring at him, clearly annoyed. "I'm no idiot!"
"'Selected Works' is chosen by all the chief editors and the main editor of Shueisha!"
"Whatever the genre, any work that gets this award must have something special about it."
"I remember last time at the Tezuka Award, that 'Crimson Sea' work deserved to be a 'Selected Works' winner in my opinion. Many readers agreed, feeling that it deserved a better rating than 'Honorable Mention.' But after the results came out, Shueisha confirmed that while 'Crimson Sea' was indeed good, it was still a little far from 'Selected Works.'"
"They'd rather leave the category blank for 8 years than lower their standards. They won't tarnish their own reputation by picking something unworthy."
"Had they done that, 'Crimson Sea' wouldn't have just gotten 'Honorable Mention' either."
Akifumi Mugiho was a bit taken aback by Eriri's calm and clear reasoning.
"Wait, something's off... Where's that idiot Eriri who failed her midterms?!"
Eriri blushed, flustered. "That... that was just an accident!"
"You know, during those days, I was staying up late thinking about my Summer CM project! I didn't have time to study!"
[TL Note – CM is Comicon]
"Right, right, right."
Her manga wasn't even five pages in, and she flunked her exams!
"Eriri is just too hardworking!"
"Hmph, you finally get it!"
Eriri puffed up her chest, acting like she didn't catch the sarcasm.
But then her face clouded with worry.
"But, even though I know the awards are legit, I still can't help but care. How should I break through this magical girl theme?"
Seeing Eriri lost in thought, Akifumi couldn't help but smirk. "Who knows?"
"Plus, if you figure it out, doesn't that mean you're capable of winning the 'Selected Works' yourself?"
Eriri gave him a curious look. "If you're so curious, you can just wait and see when the work comes out."
"Well, even though you're Akifumi sense, I'm still curious!!"
"Instead of worrying about other people's work, how about improving your own? Or at least finish the stuff you're working on for the Summer CM?"
So, she was just trying to get me to do the work, huh? This devil!
Eriri sighed, sitting up from the bed. "Fine, fine."
"I'll get to drawing."
Two hours later, after dropping Eriri off at home, Akifumi Mugiho returned to his apartment.
"Hope she actually gets to work on the drafts at home."
Though he didn't have to help with the drafts now, what worried him more was that Eriri would leave everything to pile up until the deadline.
"30 days to complete 20 pages is way easier than doing it in 10 days," Akifumi thought.
"Eriri's got such a stubborn head on her."
She could easily attract a ton of people if her artwork was flashy enough. Plus, with the name "Kashiwagi Eri" behind her, it should have been a no-brainer. But no, she insisted on thinking about storylines, backgrounds, dialogues...
If she'd just gone with a recent popular trope, she'd have had enough time to finish sketches by now.
But...
"Well... that's Eriri for you!"
Her silly ways were part of what made her endearing.
With a sigh, Akifumi grabbed his phone from the living room to check. He had several missed calls.
All from the ever-dedicated Teacher Hiratsuka.
"Great."
With that many calls, he could already guess what her mood was like. It had to be because of "Madoka Magica" winning the 'Selected Works' award.
Even now, he still remembered how she'd called him to her office the moment the second round results came out, her face filled with disbelief.
"Maybe... I'll pretend I'm asleep, and that I didn't see the calls?"
Just as he thought that, his phone buzzed again.
It was on silent mode from class, and he had forgotten to turn it back on.
Realizing there was no escaping the inevitable "office chat" on Monday, Akifumi reluctantly answered.
"Kid, feeling all accomplished now, huh? You think you're beyond my reach, right?"
"Sensei, don't overthink it. After being your student for so long, don't you know what kind of person I am?"
"I don't know anymore. You've changed so much lately, I can't even keep up."
Hiratsuka thought to herself, but decided to just chalk it up to Akifumi being affected by recent events.
"Alright, I'll hear your excuse."
"I was drawing comics in my room, and my phone was charging outside, so I didn't hear it ring."
A little creative wording made his excuse sound pretty solid. At least Hiratsuka's tone softened after hearing it.
"You really don't care, do you? Even I, as an amateur, knew today was the day the Tezuka Award results were announced."
Akifumi chuckled, lying back on the couch in a comfortable position.
"Can't say I didn't care, I did spare a little time to check on my computer."
"I knew it."
Hiratsuka smiled knowingly. Even as an adult, she couldn't stay calm when such an important event happened.
How could a student under twenty be so composed about it?
"Anyway, congratulations."
"Didn't expect one of my students to turn out to be such a monster."
God only knew how she felt when she saw "Magic Girl Madoka" win the 'Selected Works' award online.
Even after seeing the second-round results, she never expected it.
Getting past the first round was impressive, but Akifumi it to the top tier—that was a whole different level.
It was like the difference between reaching the finals of the Olympics and winning a medal. Anyone who's seen both knows the difference.
Some people burn out just Akifumi it to the finals. Others still have more to give.
In that kind of competition, to take first place... well, Hiratsuka never imagined it.
"Monster, huh... Is that a compliment, Teacher?"
"Be confident, just take the '?' off that sentence."
"In that case, thanks for the congratulations, Teacher."