89 The Soulful Artist

Though Eriri still had her doubts about Hojou Kyousuke, his serious attitude made her reconsider.

She began assessing his idea from a creator's perspective, considering its feasibility.

"The manga's name will be One Punch Man."

"In this world, there are two main groups, monsters and heroes."

"Monsters constantly appear on Earth, causing chaos, while heroes are individuals with superpowers who fight against them."

Kyousuke paused and glanced at Eriri.

"That's a pretty standard setup. So your protagonist is called One Punch Man?"

Eriri, still holding the ice pack against her ankle with her left hand, pulled out her phone with her right and started taking notes.

Combined with her black-rimmed glasses, she looked like a true professional.

"Yeah. The protagonist was originally just an ordinary guy."

"One day, after failing a job interview, he was heading home when he encountered a mutated crab monster about to kill a mischievous kid."

"At that moment, he remembered his childhood dream—'I want to be a hero.' He fought with all his might and managed to save the kid."

"After reigniting his passion for becoming a hero, he dedicated himself to intense training."

"Eventually, he gained overwhelming strength—but in the process, he lost all his hair and seemingly some of his emotions as well."

"Pffft—Hahaha! What kind of setup is that?! Why would gaining power make him go bald?"

Eriri had been listening seriously, taking notes, but at this part, she couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Ow…"

She immediately winced—her laughter had jostled her sprained ankle.

"Careful."

Even though she was laughing at his idea, Kyousuke didn't mind at all.

Making people laugh was a sign of success, right?

After all, this was a comedy manga… right?

"I have to give it to you—this is the first time I've laughed this hard at a setting. In that sense, your idea definitely has potential."

Eriri wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and gave her assessment seriously. As a hardcore otaku and a creator herself, making her genuinely laugh wasn't easy.

"…"

Couldn't she just praise me properly? Kyousuke sighed internally.

"So, what happens next? How exactly does your protagonist grow stronger? In these kinds of manga, the biggest appeal is the protagonist's journey of constant growth."

Wait… growth? Is that really the main focus?

Hojou Kyousuke frowned.

Wasn't Saitama already invincible from the start?

No, I'm not misremembering… He really is OP from the get-go.

Maybe comedy manga doesn't need traditional power scaling?

"To get stronger, he follows a strict daily regimen—100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run."

"And no matter how hot it is, he never turns on the air conditioner."

"After three years of this training… he becomes unbeatable. That's where the story starts."

Eriri's fingers stopped tapping on her phone.

"…Push-ups? Squats? No AC? And you're skipping the entire power-up process?!"

"Well, yeah. He starts off already the strongest. No matter how powerful the enemy, he can defeat them with a single punch. Isn't that kind of satisfying?"

"…You know what? That actually sounds kinda fun."

Eriri rested her chin on her phone, lost in thought.

"Alright, do you have any actual drawings? Let me see."

Hearing all this was one thing, but she needed to see it to judge properly.

"I, uh… haven't actually started drawing yet. It's just an idea for now." Kyousuke scratched his head.

"I have a drawing app on my phone. Just sketch something for me."

Eriri opened her go-to drawing app and handed him her phone.

Looking at the unfamiliar interface filled with strange icons, Kyousuke suddenly panicked.

"Uh… thanks, but I'll use my own phone." He returned her phone and opened his favorite Notes app.

"Oh, makes sense. You must have your preferred drawing app."

"Ahaha… yeah."

Hojou Kyousuke let out a dry laugh and hesitated. How should he start?

Let's see… The first chapter featured a monster, right? A cockroach mutant? No… wait. It was something about food waste…

Oh! It was Vaccine Man!

The story began with Vaccine Man destroying a city with an energy blast. Summoning his fragmented memories from the anime and manga, Hojou Kyousuke started sketching.

Since he was short on time, he quickly drew three rough pages:

Vaccine Man unleashing an energy blast, leveling buildings.

Saitama saving a little girl and standing among the ruins, his cape billowing. A speech bubble hovered over his head.

Saitama throwing a punch, instantly obliterating Vaccine Man.

After finishing, Kyousuke stared at his drawings in silence.

"…What's wrong? If you're done, let me see."

Seeing that he had stopped drawing but wasn't handing over the phone, Eriri grew curious.

"…Never mind. I just realized that everyone has things they're bad at. And the most important thing in life is knowing your limits." He turned off the screen, making it go black.

"Come on, don't be like that! Let me see!"

Hahaha… So he can't draw at all, huh?

Seeing his reaction, Eriri instantly understood. This guy, who had seemed so capable until now, actually had such an embarrassing weakness? Her curiosity was fully piqued.

"I already deleted it. The world isn't ready for that level of artistic expression." Kyousuke clutched his phone, suddenly realizing he might be what people call a soulful artist.

"Hahaha, what are you even saying?! Just show me already. You're gonna ask me about light novels next, aren't you?"

Kyousuke hesitated, gripping his phone tighter, then looser. After some internal struggle, he finally unlocked it and handed it over.

"Hmm… As a monster design, this is actually pretty solid. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable… which is perfect!"

Eriri, who had long since set aside the ice pack, held the phone with one hand while covering her mouth with the other, trying to suppress her laughter.

"…If you want to laugh, just do it. I don't mind."

Kyousuke leaned against the wall, defeated.

"Pffft—HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The moment he said that, Eriri completely let loose, laughing uncontrollably. Her bright, unrestrained laughter echoed through the small private booth.

Luckily, thanks to the room's excellent soundproofing designed for gamers who liked blasting their volume, the shop owner wouldn't come knocking anytime soon.