Upon seeing the expression on Mihari's face, Akifumi couldn't help but feel a slight curiosity about the comic that Shiina Mashiro had drawn.
"Can I take a look at it?"
"Sure." Mashiro nodded, and Akifumi wasted no time grabbing the comic and starting to read.
The story was simple—a boy and a girl like each other, eventually come together, and live happily ever after, eventually tying the knot.
After finishing, Akifumi fought back a chuckle, "This isn't so bad, is it?"
"Really, you think it's good?" Mashiro's eyes lit up with hope.
Akifumi grinned and ruffled her hair, to which she squinted her eyes in enjoyment.
"For your first attempt at drawing a comic, this is pretty good."
Looking at Akifumi, who was treating Mashiro like a doting parent, Mihari couldn't help but mentally roll her eyes. 'Don't keep spoiling her.'
She let out a tired sigh before continuing, "Maybe it's good, but a story like this would never get published."
"Why?"
Mashiro didn't understand.
Mihari explained, "In the earlier pages, the focus is mostly on the minor details around the characters."
"They only have a couple of conversations about school work. But then, on page 8, suddenly they're confessing to each other and becoming a couple."
Mashiro frowned.
"But why? What reason do they have to get together?"
Mashiro, serious as ever, replied simply, "Because of a crush."
"Hahahaha!"
Akifumi couldn't hold back, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, "Well, as a sci-fi story, it's not bad."
Mihari shot him a fierce glare, "Stop making it worse!"
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry!" Mihari, suddenly reminded of how frightening Akifumi could be, apologized quickly.
"Anyway, Shiina-san, you should think more about why the two characters got together. What event made them brave enough to confess?"
"I understand." Mashiro nodded, still confused, but willing to listen to the advice.
Mihari looked at Akifumi and muttered, "Aren't you two really close? Why don't you just teach her?"
"Well," Akifumi waved his hand dismissively, "You can't rush things like that. As she experiences more, Mashiro will naturally get better at drawing comics."
Mihari shook her head.
Though she didn't entirely understand, she couldn't argue as an outsider.
"By the way, Food Wars is going to debut in the first issue of November."
"You should just tell Eriri about it."
'Of course, I will talk to the author directly!' Akifumi thought to himself.
'But if this childhood friend remembers, giving her a surprise later would make for a nice gesture.'
He had to suppress the urge to comment on the fact that Mashiro had so many beautiful girls around her and was still single.
It felt too awkward to say.
Was Akifumi unaware of why Mihari mentioned this?
Not at all.
He just hadn't figured out how to balance his relationships with the different girls around him yet.
It wasn't a romance novel where a guy could just coast by with good looks and drawing talent.
'Wake up. If you're this naive, then you deserve to stay single.'
"Oh, by the way, when will your next work be finished?" Mihari asked.
"Don't worry, I'll get it to you before Madoka Magica finishes its serialization."
Mihari smiled, "As reliable as ever!"
After finishing up the discussion, the two left Shueisha.
"Are you thinking about what Otosuna-san said?" Akifumi asked.
"Mm-hmm."
Mashiro nodded, her face still clouded with confusion.
Seeing this, Akifumi paused for a moment before asking, "Mashiro, do you like Madoka Magica?"
Mashiro thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"I mean... before, I saw a little boy reading it at the art exhibit, and I was curious about what was so interesting to him."
"So that's what made you want to learn comics in Japan?"
"Yes."
'So it wasn't just about liking the story? It was something deeper,' Akifumi thought.
Not wanting to delve too deeply, he just said, "Well, that's not really important."
Then, after thinking for a moment, he added, "After watching Madoka, did you ever wonder why Madoka decided to become a magical girl?"
Mashiro thought for a moment before answering simply, "For everyone sake."
She meant all the characters who appeared in the story.
"That's right."
Akifumi smiled, nodding.
"Mami, as Madoka's guide, helped her realize how harsh being a magical girl was. Sayaka and Kyoko revealed parts of the cruel truth. Homura, though initially hard to understand, eventually showed Madoka that she was fighting for her."
"And when the Night of Witches came, Homura couldn't stop it alone. The result of failing to stop it was that everyone would die."
"Everything led Madoka to understand why she became a magical girl and what her true reason was."
"So, what you need to think about, Mashiro, is what brings two characters who have no interaction to finally come together. What events gave them the courage to confess to each other?"
"Not just the simple feelings like 'I like you' or 'I've had a crush on you.'"
"Because everyone knows that for a relationship to start, there has to be mutual attraction, but what really matters is the journey that gets them there."
"Do you understand?"
Mashiro looked deep in thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I think I get it. It's not about having them start a relationship—it's about what makes them decide to."
"Exactly! You're getting it!" Akifumi grinned, ruffling her hair again.
This time, Mashiro didn't smile in enjoyment but instead was lost in her thoughts.
After a few moments, she looked up at him and said firmly, "Akifumi, teach me how to draw comics."
"Why?"
"Why the sudden urge to learn?"
"Because I need to know how to draw comics... it's really important to me"
Akifumi was taken aback.
Looking into Mashiro's determined eyes, he suddenly understood why she wanted to draw comics.
Maybe others, especially top-tier oil painters, would think it was a waste of time.
But for Mashiro, she understood something deeper: she was stuck in a creative block.
No matter how much she painted, she wasn't growing anymore.
But in comics, she found her potential for improvement.
'She may look clueless, but this girl is surprisingly sharp and perceptive,' Akifumi thought to himself.
He shook his head. "The way I teach might not be the best fit."
"Is it about drawing other people's comics?"
"Exactly."
Mashiro replied without any confusion, "After today, I realize I'm still far from drawing real comics. Before I can do that, I need to improve."
.........
[TL Note]
Hey there! If you're enjoying this, be sure to check out
p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL
Please remove the hyphen to access the page normally! Just a heads-up, there will be new advanced chapters every day in there! And thank you so much for reading!