章節 128: The Comic Drawn by Mashiro
Faced with Megumi Kato's question, Izumi Kotomi found herself unable to answer right away.
That's right, who would she paint?
Seeing that Kotomi didn't respond, Megumi didn't press the matter. Instead, she smiled softly and offered some encouragement:
"I'm really looking forward to seeing your painting, Kotomi."
—And, I'm also looking forward to seeing who you'll paint.
The walk home today felt much shorter than usual. Even though it seemed like they hadn't been talking for long, they were already at Kotomi's doorstep.
"See you tomorrow, Kato."
"See you tomorrow," Megumi Kato waved to Kotomi before continuing on her way toward her own home.
Meanwhile, Kotomi turned around and unlocked the door to her house.
"Welcome home, Onee-chan," greeted Izumi Aimi, who had been home for a while, as soon as she heard the door open.
"I'm back~"
After kicking off her shoes, Kotomi and her younger sister headed to the living room, planning to watch TV and have some snacks.
"Onee-chan, could you buy some cheese and BBQ-flavored chips next time? I'm getting tired of the tomato flavor."
"That's because I like tomato flavor, so I always buy it."
"You're so selfish! You should consider what flavors your cute little sister likes, too!"
"You little brat! Can't you just buy your own snacks? You're eating the ones I bought, and yet you have the nerve to complain!" Kotomi playfully ruffled Aimi's hair in mock frustration.
This girl… she's this close to needing some tough love… ahem, I mean, she's this close to getting scolded!
While they were watching TV, the sound of the front door opening signaled the return of their mother, Izumi Akina, who had just come back from grocery shopping.
Seeing the two of them snacking again, Akina reminded them, "You two, don't eat too many snacks or you won't have room for dinner."
Aimi shrugged and, acting like she knew her sister all too well, said:
"Mom, you can always trust Onee-chan's appetite. A bag of chips is nothing—she could eat every bag in the cabinet and still out-eat everyone at dinner."
The undisputed eating champion of the Izumi family—Izumi Kotomi!
"That's true!" Akina exclaimed, realizing something.
Her beloved eldest daughter had been a "tough competitor" who could finish off a whole rice cooker since she was little.
Hearing her sister and mother team up against her, Kotomi's face turned red, and she stammered, "I-I don't eat that much!"
She just eats a little more than the average person.
"Well, we can certainly afford your appetite, but be careful not to overeat, or you'll never find a husband~" Akina teased before heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
No worries! After all, I have a Queen physique—no matter how much I eat, I'll never gain weight!
Kotomi heard the teasing but let it go in one ear and out the other, feeling completely unfazed.
Just then, Aimi suddenly placed her hands on Kotomi's shoulders with a serious expression and said in an unusually firm tone:
"Kotomi, no matter what you become, I'll marry you in the future. Don't worry!"
"I wasn't worried until you said that! Also, call me 'Onee-chan' properly!"
"Kotomi, your ring finger is so pretty, but it feels like something's missing... Oh, I know! A ring! It'd be perfect if I could personally place one on your finger!"
"Uh, let's forget about the ring for now. Could you let go of my hand, please?"
…
After dinner, Kotomi returned to her room and finished her homework in under half an hour.
Instead of turning on her computer to draw manga as she usually did, she took out the manga Mashiro had created from her bag. Mashiro had been eagerly waiting for her feedback.
The thick stack of hand-drawn manuscript paper felt heavy in her hands.
It was B4-sized paper, with beautifully drawn manga on every page.
Kotomi sat down in her chair and began flipping through the pages. Mashiro had neatly numbered each page at the bottom with a black pen.
Kotomi read through the manga in the order Mashiro had laid out.
The art was fantastic—truly stunning. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it exquisite.
No matter how she looked at it, even if she tried to find faults with it, the characters and backgrounds on the pages were impeccably drawn—simply flawless.
On each page, Mashiro had created breathtaking compositions. Just looking at the artwork was a visual delight.
The illustrations were so flawless that there wasn't a single thing to nitpick. Whether from a broad perspective or examining the tiniest details, Mashiro's overwhelming skill was on full display.
The paneling was also quite interesting—different from most current manga.
The loose paneling gave the manga a sense of freedom and unrestrained flow.
It was an unusual approach, one that Kotomi had only seen in a handful of other manga. She couldn't even recall the names of those works anymore.
As Kotomi continued reading page by page, the numbers at the bottom of the pages climbed higher and higher, starting from 1.
Finally, she reached the last page.
The story in Mashiro's manga came to its conclusion on the final page, in the last panel.
And then, it ended.
Kotomi organized the stack of manuscript paper on her desk and drank the remaining warm water in her cup.
After finishing Mashiro's beautifully drawn manga, she let out a long sigh of relief.
What she thought was:
—Finally, I finished reading all 62 pages of this manga.
As for the feedback Mashiro was eagerly anticipating, Kotomi had no idea how she would give it tomorrow.
She had planned to write a detailed review of the manga and offer a few suggestions from her perspective.
Now, Kotomi didn't even know how to turn her thoughts into words for something like this.
"This is so dull. This manga is just too boring..." Kotomi groaned, rubbing her temples in frustration.
She could swear, in all her years of reading manga, this was the most boring one she had ever come across. No contest.
Dull and boring.
The level of dullness was shocking.
Under the gorgeous illustrations, the content was so lacking that it felt like a joke.
It was a shoujo manga.
In the setting of a typical Japanese high school, a boring girl falls in love with a boring boy, and the boring boy falls in love at first sight with the boring girl. No plot development, and the story ended with the line, "I like you..."
In the final panel, the female protagonist confessed, "I like..."
And she didn't even finish the sentence.
It was clearly a deliberate cliffhanger to get readers excited about the next volume.
Looking closely, Kotomi saw that, sure enough, in small letters at the bottom of the last page, there was a sentence.
[Stay tuned for the next volume! Also, the final volume!]
"This story doesn't make anyone want to read the next volume," Kotomi muttered in exasperation.
It was a manga with an extremely beautiful art style but with a plot so hollow and dull that it made you want to facepalm.
Kotomi had originally thought of reading it a second time to find more positive aspects to praise.
But honestly, she couldn't muster the will to read it again.
The only merit it had was—excellent artwork.
…
The next morning, as soon as Kotomi entered the classroom, she felt Shiina Mashiro's gaze on her, the orange-red eyes filled with eager anticipation.
—Anticipating what kind of feedback Kotomi would give?
Once Kotomi sat down, Mashiro couldn't hold back any longer and immediately asked:
"Kotomi, did you finish reading the manga I drew?!"
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