91 A Devoted Purist!

"I don't actually like that stuff!"

"And what were you rambling about just now? I absolutely don't have those kinds of interests!"

"None at all! It's just... just... Anyway, my favorite games are all about pure love! That's right, I'm a staunch purist!"

"The only reason I draw those kinds of things is because that's what otakus want!"

Eriri frantically shook her head, her beret tumbling off once again as her golden hair whipped through the air, even smacking Hojou Kyousuke right in the face.

Raising a hand to shield himself from her hair's assault, Kyousuke gave her an exasperated look.

"You do realize you just told me everything, right?"

"Hmph! This is just an artist's professional integrity! I don't actually enjoy drawing that content—it's just market demand!"

"Sure, sure. You're just catering to your audience," Kyousuke replied with a knowing smirk.

"Exactly! Even though I'm just a lowly otaku, as a doujin creator, I have to consider market trends!"

Eriri's once pristine golden locks had become a tangled mess from all her frantic shaking.

Kyousuke, feeling a slight itch in his fingers, had the sudden urge to smooth out her disheveled hair—his mild OCD acting up again.

"You really know your stuff. Though, judging from your reaction earlier, I guess the path of professional manga might be a dead end for you."

"Still, with that level of awareness, you might have a shot at making it big in the doujin world."

Crossing her arms confidently, Eriri tried to put on a serious face, but the corners of her lips were slightly upturned, and the trace of smugness in her tone completely betrayed her enjoyment of the conversation.

"Doujin, huh? Can you actually make money from that?" Kyousuke asked curiously.

"Of course! At every Comic Market, the top-tier doujin circles rake in millions!"

"Top-tier, huh? What about someone like you?"

"Why are you singling me out? Are you looking down on me?!"

"Got it. That means doujin isn't exactly a goldmine for you yet."

"I just debuted, okay?! And besides, I do this out of passion! Those who get into it just for the money are nothing more than opportunists!"

Eriri huffed, clearly a little worked up.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I'm only interested in manga for the money," Kyousuke said flatly.

"I-I wasn't talking about you specifically..."

Hearing his response, Eriri suddenly remembered that Kyousuke wasn't actually an otaku.

He was just someone trying to break into the industry purely for financial gain.

"It's fine. You're not wrong."

Not just an opportunist—Kyousuke was a full-blown plagiarist.

Sure, he was copying works that didn't exist in this world, but he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking he was spreading some kind of artistic gospel.

To the original creators from another world, please bless me with success in adapting your masterpieces.

'If I make good money, I promise I'll donate some of it to some shrine!' 

While Kyousuke indulged in his ridiculous thoughts, Eriri's mood seemed to dampen.

This situation reminded her of her childhood friend—the one she and her family had unintentionally pulled into the otaku world.

"Sorry... I shouldn't have been so quick to push you into the doujin scene."

"You should really focus on refining your drawing skills first. Your earlier approach is a good one—once your fundamentals improve, you'll definitely be able to create something great."

"You okay? I can tell when someone's just trying to be nice. I don't mind your advice."

Noticing the shift in her tone, Kyousuke tilted his head slightly.

"It's nothing."

Eriri shook her head before glancing at her phone.

It had been over thirty minutes since she last spoke with her mother.

Since their home was in the northern district's Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, and getting to Akihabara required passing through Toshima and Bunkyo wards.

Plus the fact that their driver needed to pick up her mother from her father's location first, she figured she had another thirty minutes to kill.

With renewed determination, Eriri grinned.

Time to show Kyousuke the full power of a genius artist!

"Alright, let me teach you some drawing fundamentals."

She opened up a drawing app on her phone and placed it on the table, motioning for Kyousuke to come closer.

He eagerly leaned in. It wasn't every day a real artist was willing to mentor him—no way was he passing this up.

"If you were doing traditional hand-drawing, you'd need to practice line control first—drawing straight lines, perfect circles, and other basic shapes. With digital drawing, things get a little easier, but only slightly..."

As Eriri explained, she effortlessly demonstrated on the screen.

Meanwhile, Kyousuke was having a small existential crisis.

'Hey, system, didn't you give me a scientific aptitude?'

'You do realize math, physics, biology, and chemistry all involve drawing diagrams, right?'

'Geometry exists, doesn't it?! Then why the hell do my drawings look so awful?'

'I remember my math teachers back in my past life sketching flawless circles like it was nothing—why can't I do that?!'

Silence.

'Hey! Say something! Don't play dead!'

Ding~ 

A faint sound echoed in his mind, so soft he almost thought he imagined it. But other than that, nothing else.

"Are you even listening?"

Eriri's lively explanation came to a halt as she realized Kyousuke was staring at her hand instead of the screen.

'Geez, I know my hands are pretty, but at least pay attention!' 

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm listening!" Kyousuke quickly snapped out of it.

"Then show me—draw a circle."

Eriri slid her phone over to him.

...

'Damn it, system, does this skill even work? If not, I'm about to embarrass myself again.'

Having completely tuned out Eriri's instructions, Kyousuke felt a bit panicked.

Slowly, he reached out and placed a finger on the screen, hoping for some divine intervention.

A different sensation coursed through his fingertips.

'I... I can draw a perfect circle!' 

With newfound confidence, Kyousuke swiftly sketched a circle without hesitation.

!?

Eriri's blue eyes widened in shock.

Without using the app's shape tools, he had just freehanded a perfect circle.

Just to confirm, she quickly used the app's built-in circle tool and overlapped it with his drawing. They were an exact match—pixel for pixel.

"How... how did you do that?!" Eriri demanded, turning to him in disbelief.

Kyousuke chuckled, grabbed her phone, and casually drew another flawless circle.

"Unbelievable! You need to apologize to every struggling art student in the world!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry. Let me try redrawing my earlier sketches."

Still grinning, Kyousuke picked up his own phone, eager to put his newfound talent to the test.