88 My Name is Eriri, What About You? 

With her legs bent and tucked to the left, Eriri wrapped an ice pack in a towel and pressed it against her ankle.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading off now."

Seeing that everything was under control, Kyousuke was ready to leave and get back to his grand financial plans at home.

"Um... thank you for your help. I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused."

Looking up at the boy who had helped her without a single sign of impatience, Eriri sincerely expressed her gratitude.

"It's nothing. After all, you did crash into me. Now, could you pass me my bag?"

Shaking his head as if to say it was no big deal, Kyousuke pointed at the bag filled with light novels and manga.

"Oh, right!"

Realizing belatedly, Eriri grabbed the bag next to her.

Just as she was about to hand it over, she recalled what she'd seen inside earlier.

"Wait... do you like 'Love Metronome' too?"

Hesitating, she held onto the bag instead of passing it over.

Now that she was temporarily unable to walk, she felt uneasy about being alone in this place.

Instinctively, she wanted the nameless boy to stay a little longer.

Oh, right—she still didn't know his name.

"I'm Sawamura Spencer Eriri. What's your name?"

Normally, she wouldn't want anyone to know she visited a place like Akihabara.

But this was just a stranger with no ties to her real life—someone who had helped her without complaint. It should be fine, right?

She convinced herself that this wasn't just an excuse to befriend someone who shared her interests.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hojou Kyousuke."

'Is she a foreigner?' Seeing her golden hair, Kyousuke had initially assumed it was dyed, but now it seemed real.

After introducing himself, Kyousuke noticed Eriri seemed familiar with Love Metronome.

Given that she was hanging around Akihabara, she might actually be knowledgeable about this stuff. So, he decided to ask her opinion.

"That book? I haven't read it yet. Is it any good?"

Crossing his legs, he took Love Metronome out of the bag and casually tore off the plastic wrap.

"Well... I think it's pretty well written." Eriri sounded uncertain.

In reality, she had come to Akihabara specifically to buy this book today.

Yesterday, her childhood friend, Taki Tomoya, had gone on a frenzy recommending it on all of his social media accounts.

Even though they had cut ties long ago, she still kept an eye on him.

So, the moment she saw his recommendation, she rushed over to buy a copy.

The reason she had been running?

She'd heard the book was about to go out of print.

Damn you, Tomoya.

If not for your recommendation, I wouldn't have come here today.

If I hadn't been in such a hurry to buy this book, I wouldn't have crashed into this guy.

Recalling the series of unfortunate events leading up to this moment—especially the awkward contact with the boy beside her—Eriri gritted her teeth in frustration.

But then again... if not for Tomoya, she wouldn't have met Hojou Kyousuke today.

The way he acted, it didn't seem like he minded at all.

'Maybe... we could be friends?'

Typically, when otaku recommend something, they make sure they've at least read or watched it themselves.

But given her childhood friend's enthusiasm, Eriri was willing to trust his judgment.

"I see. Then I guess I made the right purchase."

Flipping through the pages, Kyousuke replied nonchalantly.

"By the way, you don't really seem like an otaku. What brings you to Akihabara to buy light novels and manga?"

Eriri asked cautiously.

Kyousuke's appearance screamed "normie"—a stark contrast to the typical Akihabara crowd.

"I'm planning to write a light novel or draw a manga, so I came here to do some research."

Despite never having read a single light novel in his life, Kyousuke boldly declared his intentions.

After all, the girl in front of him seemed well-versed in this world. Maybe he could get some useful advice.

"Huh?"

An otaku paradise, overflowing with people who spend recklessly?

Is he just here to cash in on the trend?

Hearing Kyousuke's words, Eriri nearly burst into laughter.

Was he yet another person who thought ACG (anime, comics, and games) was an easy field to break into?

But remembering how he had just helped her, she held back her urge to mock him.

"Light novels and manga aren't as simple as you think. If you really want to get into this field, I'd recommend starting with doujin works."

This was genuine advice.

Even she, someone with an exceptional talent for drawing, had started cautiously in the doujin scene.

Jumping straight into commercial work was unthinkable.

"I get that. I just want to give it a try."

Kyousuke was well aware of what "doujin" meant in Japan, but he couldn't exactly say, I have a head full of market-tested hit ideas waiting to be copied.

Many talented doujin writers and artists had great writing skills, art, and creativity, yet their works never gained mainstream popularity.

They only found success within niche circles.

But Kyousuke had an advantage—they might be scattered fragments, but his mind held concepts that had already been proven successful.

Things like the world-building of Sword Art Online or the character design of One Punch Man... any of these ideas, if given to a skilled doujin creator, could potentially turn into a hit.

Yes, after much deliberation, Kyousuke decided he would create One Punch Man.

He had not only watched the anime but also read the manga. If the original version—drawn by ONE with that level of art—could become popular, why couldn't he?

Of course, what Kyousuke didn't realize was that the One Punch Man manga he read was the earliest version, drawn by ONE himself.

He had no idea that the commercially published version was redrawn by a professional artist.

"Superheroes, huh? Not a bad idea. It's a timeless theme. So, what's your plan? Have you thought about the title, the world, or the protagonist's abilities?"

Eriri tilted her head, her white, slender neck exposed as she looked up at Kyousuke.

She wasn't sure if it was okay to pry into someone else's ideas like this, but seeing Kyousuke so confident yet completely ignoring her advice... she was a little annoyed.

She could already imagine him diving headfirst into an abyss of failure.

Just like she had earlier—

'Wait! No! I didn't crash into anything! Hojou Kyousuke caught me!'

"That would actually be great! I was hoping to get some feedback."

Kyousuke had been wondering how to steer the conversation in this direction, but now Eriri was asking on her own. Perfect.

"For the manga, I'm thinking of drawing a superhero story."

A superhero story? Kyousuke pondered. Yeah... that's what One Punch Man was, right?

Yes.

After thorough consideration, he had settled on One Punch Man.

He'd seen the anime and read the manga.

If ONE's rough sketches could become a hit, there was no reason he couldn't pull it off too.

Of course, he had no idea just how much work actually went into it.