"...Everyone has already gathered, right? I think I've already told you the story... But it seems like we got into some trouble."
Kotori placed her elbows on the large round table. She spoke with a stern expression.
That was a given, considering the situation. Anyway, this wasn't the first time that a girl with unique preferences appeared. However, this time, their tactics had already failed them.
"2D... That means she'll only love manga characters and the like?"
The girl standing next to Kotori had short, boyish hair, and a face like a doll. She spoke with a fairly monotone voice. She was the Spirit whose Reiryoku had last been sealed by Lucas---Tobiichi Origami.
It wasn't only her. Right now, in Ratatoskr's underground facility, along with the Fraxinus's crew and Lucas, all the other Spirits and Shidou gathered here.
Although Kotori didn't want to include the girls in capturing a new Spirit... Upon facing a new Spirit whose type had never been handled before, she had to use any insight available to her.
She thought they could think up something based on their shared experiences.
"Perhaps..."
Kotori replied back to Origami with a pale face, and then a tall girl sitting on the right side shared a comment.
"Ah~ I see~ I also have an idol friend who's the same as her."
Miku, the girl with long, indigo hair said as she moved her index finger.
---This girl is also the same, a Spirit. A national idol currently growing in popularity: Izayoi Miku. Although she usually has no spare time even after her work is finished, she still came right away when she got a call from Kotori.
"My first love is Sieg-sama~ That's what she said. Ah, Sieg-sama is an anime character by the way, but that's only her stage image. In order to get closer to her fans, she chose to have the same hobby as her fans. Well still, that girl has a boyfriend actually~" After saying that, Miku she started laughing.
"...It'd be alright if Nia was the same as that idol... But looking at her hobbies and attitude, I don't think she's lying."
Kotori said with a sullen face, Miku replied with an "Ara" as her idea was turned down.
On the other side of the table, Kaguya made a sound as if she were deep in thought.
"Fuun, so Honjou Souji was a woman... She has already succeeded in fooling my eyes."
"Ah, so Kaguya already knows her?"
In response to Lucas, Kaguya nodded.
"Of course. Even we hurricane children have an interest in these things."
"Information. Kaguya mainly chooses to read Shōnen manga, but she also buys ecchi manga by inserting it between battle and sports manga."
"Wait a minute, Yuzuru!" Kaguya's face went red as she shouted and quickly tried to cover Yuzuru's mouth.
"Don't say inappropriate things!? By the way, you're also the same! Doesn't the Shōjo manga that Yuzuru always reads have even more explicit scenes!?
"Question. Can you please explain what kind of explicit scenes? Please explain with detailed examples."
"T-That's... A man and woman on the bed..."
"Repetition. I can't hear very well. Please say it once more."
"U-Ugu... Muu..." Kaguya's face went even redder as she looked increasingly more and more frustrated. Kotori clapped her hands to break up the two twins.
"Well, although it's good for you to be on such good terms, we can do this afterwards. Right now what's important is figuring out how to capture Nia."
Once Kotori said that, everyone returned to the round table and thought deeply.
A moment later, Yoshino raised her hand slowly.
"Uhm... Is it alright?"
"Yes, of course."
"That's... Perhaps, the way to befriend Nia is to give her more time, I think. If we face her directly, I think she will be able to understand Lucas..."
Kotori groaned while placing her hand on her chin and considering Yoshino's suggestion.
"Maybe... That's the more proper method. Even if she only loves 2D beings, if we continuously approach her sincerely, the potential of her opening her heart isn't zero. After all, Lucas did manage to get something, although still minimal."
"Then, the plan shifts to a long term approach?" Lucas asked in response to Kotori.
"The worst is that there's no other way to do it... That will be our last resort. While we do have to do this carefully, if DEM catches whiff of her whereabouts again, then there's no guarantee she'll be safe. We can't do it too slowly."
"I-I'm sorry..."
After Kotori said that, Yoshino bowed while apologizing. Kotori shook her head side to side.
"There's no need to apologize. Honestly, I also want to go that route... If she just took a careful look, I think she would realize that Lucas can easily beat those manga characters." Kotori said that while averting her gaze away a little, and stirred her Chupa-Chups stick.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment..?" Lucas muttered.
"Muu..Why can Nia only love 2D?"
"That's..."
Although Tohka asked such a simple question, Lucas couldn't answer it.
Surely, that's the root of this problem. Why can't Nia love anything but 2D... why can't she love a 3D human being.
Although Lucas asked her directly for the reason, Nia herself couldn't answer.
Kotori also thought about the question. While placing her hand on her chin, she replied.
"I'm also a bit curious... I'll do some investigation."
"Investigation?"
"Ten years ago Nia was already a manga artist. Regardless of whether she was a real human or a Spirit, she must have left some traces of her past in this world. That will be our clue."
"I see..."
Lucas folded his arms while considering that. Kotori had a point, for sure.
"Although... It's not like we're guaranteed to find something that'll help us. We should still think up a plan just in case."
After that, someone responded to Kotori's words. It was Natsumi, who was sitting right next to Yoshino, that let out a small voice.
"...If that's the case, isn't it better to just follow the person's preference? But that's the original problem, isn't it?"
"Even if that's true... Both the heroic showoff and the game ended up in failure you know. Even though crossdressing worked on a certain someone back then..." Kotori said as she turned to look at Miku. Miku noticed her gaze and threw a kiss to Kotori in response. Kotori let out a sigh and resumed her thought.
"...The problem is, Lucas can't cross the dimensional barrier. Or perhaps we should use a road roller or something to flatten him?"
"Hey..." Lucas started sweating at that suggestion, while Natsumi raised a finger in response to Kotori.
"...Uhm, what if I use Haniel to transform Lucas into a manga book..."
"Wasn't the approach to becoming 2D already ridiculous enough!?"
Lucas said that as the sweat continued to worsen. Natsumi puffed out her cheeks.
"...I-Isn't it obvious that it's a joke. Sorry. I know I'm not a character who can make jokes... I get it, I'll keep quiet. I won't say anything anymore..." Natsumi slowly slumped down from her chair out of depression. Lucas quickly tried to stop that.
"N-No, that's not what I meant... Sorry."
"Mu..."
"N-Natsumi..." Yoshino stretched out her hand and pulled Natsumi back into her chair.
"I see."
Origami, who had been deep in thought, suddenly raised her voice.
"Hm? What's wrong Origami? Did something come up?"
Origami nodded, and then she said something unexpected.
"Natsumi's plan will probably work. The part about Lucas becoming a book."
Lucas' eyes opened wide when he heard Origami.
"Eh? W-Wait a minute. Although Nia said she can't love anything but 2D, she means the characters in the manga, not the book itself you know? Even if I became a book..."
Lucas said with a bothered face, while on the other side of the table, Natsumi kept staring at him.
"...Ah, you listen to Origami... Of course you would. That's because my brain is categorically different from Origami's. The persuasive power of her words are also obviously on a different level too. No wonder, that should already be obvious..."
"That's not it..."
Lucas struggled to explain himself to Natsumi as she sunk back into her depression.
But, as if nothing was actually happening, Origami continued.
"That's not what I meant. I'm not saying to turn Lucas into a book. Instead, I'm saying to create a manga that has 'Lucas' as a character in it."
"""Wha...!?"""
Upon hearing Origami's proposal, everyone who was sitting in the meeting room raised their voices simultaneously. Only Tohka didn't react for a moment, then she said "Wha...!?" as if to match everyone else's reaction.
"I see..."
Kotori placed her hand on her mouth while making a serious face.
"A manga where Lucas becomes the protagonist... Huh? Certainly it would be a 2D character as well."
"H-Hey, hey, wait a minute. Even if it works for a while, the me in the manga won't be the same as the me in real life, right? Won't it end up with the same as the game...?"
Lucas responded with a sullen face.
Right. Just by looking at today's example already made them understand that Nia is fairly strict in regards to her favorite character's appearance, let alone personality.
If Nia said something like "Lucas wouldn't do such a thing!", it would cause him to have an identity crisis.
But, as if to counter that thought, the Yamai sisters raised their voices.
"Fufufu, if that's the case, in order not to separate from reality, isn't it better to just draw something real? Thankfully, there's a mountain of material about Lucas that can be used for a manga."
"Consent. If we portrayed Lucas like that, then it won't be the same as tricking Nia like with the game. As expected from Master Origami. It's a good idea."
"No...even so, Nia has her own personal preference in the first place, right? What's more important is whether Nia would read it or not, and if she'd like the character in the book or not..."
"It's alright." Replying to Lucas, the girl sitting next to him, Kurumi, spoke.
"If we draw Lucas-san in a way that he'd actually be, I'm sure Nia can take a liking to you."
"Kurumi..." Somehow, Lucas felt a little embarrassed when Kurumi said that with a smile.
After that, both the crew and the Spirits unanimously gave their agreement of the plan.
"Lucas' documentary, is it? If that's the case, it will probably work..."
"But, that also means that we should draw about the Spirits and Shidou too, right? Is that really alright?"
"What? It's only Nia who's going to read it, even if it was leaked, nobody would think it's anything but fiction. And if she ends up liking Shidou more, then he'll just have to seal Nia."
"Kukuku... It seems like us Yamai should lend our power."
"Consent. In our thirty-ninth match, the submission illustration showdown, our works got printed together under the title Rare Illustrations From Twins!, and we ended up with another tie."
"...You two really do everything..."
"Hey, wait..." Lucas raised his voice nervously, but no one seemed to pay him any mind.
Kotori clenched her fist and hit the table to calm everyone down.
"Well then, let's vote on it. Who approves of this project to create a manga about Lucas?"
"Yes!"
In response to Kotori's words, everyone raised their hands except for Lucas.
"..." Everyone looked towards him.
"......" Lucas gave out a sigh, and slowly raised his hand up as well. Everyone cheered out of excitement.
"Alright! Everyone agrees! Let's get to work on the plot right away---"
Then, at the moment Kotori finished her sentence, the console installed inside the conference room started ringing.
"Eh...? This is...?" Kotori looked perplexed as she turned her gaze to the console.
"It's a call. However, it's from an external line...? And I don't recognize the number at all..."
Kotori pushed the call button as she said that. When she did, the familiar voice of a girl could be heard coming from the conference room's speakers.
"You're quite the schemer, boy."
"Wha..."
Upon hearing that voice, everyone's face went pale from shock, starting first with Lucas'.
"N-Nia...?"
Right. The voice heard that came from the speaker was the Spirit who was the main topic of the discussion in the conference room.
"Impossible! This underground facility's comms are encrypted, how can she easily---"
Mikimoto shouted, however his voice stopped halfway.
It seems like he realized the problem mid thought. With the omniscient Angel Raziel that Nia holds, any encryption or other security measure meant nothing.
"I see. You've heard everything... Haven't you?"
"Well yes~ I do really dislike spoilers, so I didn't want to use Raziel this way, but I don't want you playing around with my otome heart anymore."
Nia said with a laugh. Lucas started sweating at the tone she delivered that with. The others also noticed that, and then started whispering to each other.
"...S-She's angry, isn't she...?"
"...Uhm... It feels like she's really angry."
Perhaps Nia didn't take notice of those whispers... But then Nia continued her words as if to reply to them.
"...Well, it's fine since you've seemingly changed your plan. But that plan, don't you think there's a big hole in it?"
"Hole...?"
"Yes. Why are you talking as if I'm going to read it when you're finished?"
"..." Lucas realized the mistake they made... Certainly that was something they hadn't considered.
In the case of a manga lover like Nia, it would make sense that she would read it unconditionally, but... Perhaps they were only relying on the other party's kindness.
"Isn't that right? I'm super busy with work, and I have a limited number of books I can read in the time I do have, you know? Actually, I haven't even read ten percent of the books I bought today. There's a lot of series I love that continued releasing while I was in confinement. Why would I waste my limited free time reading a book drawn by an amateur with an ulterior motive like that!? Well... If it was before now then I might have been willing to read it, but I'm in angry mode right now. I could even defeat an Asura with my rage alone. As if I would read a book from the people who played with my Otome Heart!"
"N-No way..." Yoshino was on the verge of crying when she heard what Nia said.
"Well, bye! That's it! Stop doing useless things!"
"-Wait a minute."
Right as Nia was going to cut off the call, Kotori placed her elbow on the table and stopped her.
"Un...? Aah, you're Kotori, right? I guess this is the first time we've talked to each other like this. Hi, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
Kotori replied to her, and continued what she was about to say.
"I'll get straight to the point. From the way you spoke, I think it's... If it's a book worth reading, then you'll spare some time to read it, right?"
"...Hm? What are you talking about?"
"Please answer. If the manga we create is better than even your own manga at anything, then it'll be worth reading, right?"
"Ahaha! Well, I think it would be. But, whether something is enjoyable or not is up to the reader themself. Even though you were the one who said that, that's really amusing. Do you really think that I enjoy the same stuff you do?" Nia laughed loudly when she heard Kotori's question.
"Certainly you're right about that... But if that's true, shouldn't there be at least one standard we can use to judge it?"
"Standard...?"
When Nia asked back, Kotori replied back to her with an extremely serious tone.
"Yes---How well it sells."
"Wha...!?"
It wasn't just Nia who was surprised by Kotori's proposal. Everyone else present in the conference room immediately pointed their gazes toward her at the same time.
"Fuun... How interesting. Do you seriously think that you can win against the Honjou Souji in sales?"
"Yes. If we win, you will obediently read our book."
Nia kept silent for a few seconds, then she went *Ahaha* as she chuckled at the idea.
"It's fine. Let's see whether you can really win or not."
After Nia said that, she cut off the call.
The conference room was left in a deep silence.
"Hey, Kotori. Why did you say that...? Our opponent is a pro manga artist you know?"
"It couldn't be helped, right? She clearly said she wouldn't read it anyway, that was the only option."
"Even if that's the case..." As Lucas came to the brink of panic, Kotori extended her palm to stop him.
"Calm down. It's not like I wasn't thinking when I said that."
She raised her Chupa-Chups stick towards Lucas.
◇
"...Haa."
Nia gave out a long sigh as she was lying on her bed.
On one side of the bed, there was a mountain of manga and light novels piled up, but right now she just didn't feel like wanting to read any of them. She doesn't even feel like working on ideas for her new manga. Instead she just continued listlessly looking at the ceiling.
She was thinking about the more important problem at hand---The information she obtained from Raziel and the call she just got off from with Lucas, Kotori, and the others.
Drawing a manga with Lucas as the protagonist in order to have Nia read it and then fall in love with Lucas himself.
"...They're underestimating me." Nia pouted out of displeasure. She certainly is fond of manga and anime. And when she said she never loved anything that wasn't 2D, she wasn't lying.
But that doesn't mean that she will love anything as long as it's 2D.
That point has been a common misunderstanding of otaku for a long time.
Setting up a popular stage for an anime at some local hotspot, a so-called pilgrimage tactic used by a town's local government to encourage tourists, thinking that otaku just inherently love these kinds of things, don't they? As long as they add an easy-going moe character, everything will go smoothly.
Naturally, what an otaku actually wants is an interesting story or characters, not just anime or manga. The actual character traits are equally a part of the moe of a character.
It's the same as it's always been. Even though Nia has Tokiya as one of her waifus (Even if he's a man, he's still a waifu to Nia), it's not just because he's a manga character. It's because he has a personality Nia loves that made her hold him so highly in her heart. It's not like her heart races for any manga character.
And besides, even if they draw a manga based on a real person, it's not like Nia will be able to open her heart to that person in reality.
"..."
She fell back into silence, and gently stroked the air with her left hand.
Following her movement, a book quietly appeared in the space.
Raziel. An Angel that knew everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen, and both Nia's blessing and curse.
"..."
Nia softly placed her hand upon its front cover without opening it, old memories from the not so distant past started flowing through her thoughts.
Although she held the omniscient Angel that could know anything and everything in this world, she's never had any particular desire or ambition, nor does she think she would ever use this power for wrong. She prefers living this kind of peaceful life.
Honestly, thanks to her carefree, sociable personality, she felt that it has always been fairly easy interacting around in society... Well, even still, Rasiel's power has been a huge help.
However, there was one time, a time when Nia's mind was troubled with just one question.
"How was I born anyway?"
That was the beginning of all her mistakes.
Back then, if she could have just ignored her curiosity and not have used Rasiel, well, maybe she would have been a more sensible Spirit.
Nia already understood the reason why she became her current self.
...And her past self from long ago.
She understood that... No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that she remembered it. At that moment, Nia felt grossly nauseous, as though all the contents of her stomach were trying to force their way out.
Her mind continued producing the poison known as distrust.
And to make it worse, in Nia's hand existed an Angel which could know everything in only a short moment.
She began to do some exploration into the lives of the humans who lived around her. From friends, to acquaintances, to even the owner of her favorite shop.
-And then, Nia ended up alone.
The more she investigated, the more she knew, and the more she couldn't stand the creatures called human beings.
Even if they had a kind face, there was always a cruel character hidden beneath. No matter how much love existed, there was always a pitch-black abyss inside their heart. Nia became disgusted by the creatures called humans.
But regardless of her revulsion toward humans, she still existed within human society. It's impossible for her to live without interacting with anyone.
That's why Nia masked herself expertly. She tried her best not to use Rasiel on someone she just met, and interacted with people as if they were NPCs in a game.
But deep in her heart, there was still one existence which she could open her heart to.
Those who lived in a much different world than hers, those who lived in the 2D world.
Those manga and anime characters who didn't have a hidden side other than the ones Nia could see for herself. Those characters will never betray her.
Nia immersed herself in that world. It became so essential to her life that she sought out a job where she could create that kind of world herself. That's why, it's not correct to say that Nia cannot love anything but 2D. Nia just cannot open her heart to real human beings.
"That's why... It's useless."
She stared at the ceiling above her with her hand still placed carefully on Rasiel's cover.
For instance-That's it. Were Lucas's words lies or not?
"..."
Nia let out a small sigh and tried to brush away her idle curiosity. She should wait first, her curiosity always brings an undesired consequence.
She's already experienced that an untold number of times. Whenever she became curious, she always ended up filling her heart with more and more suspicion.
"...I shouldn't."
Talking to herself, she returned her hand to its original place.
Then---Nia sighed again. She hated that part of herself. But...when she thought about it, maybe she was able to trust Lucas. Lucas was the first person she couldn't find anything about, an existence that even the omniscient Angel doesn't know of.
Maybe, just maybe she can---
◇
"---This is the room. Please come in."
Kotori unlocked the door using a key and urged Lucas and the others to go in.
The room was on the first floor of the tall building next to the Itsuka residence, where the Spirits Shidou sealed resided. Lucas looked back at the Spirits and Shidou behind him and then slowly turned the doorknob and entered.
They each took off their shoes as they entered the room. Everyone's eyes glimmered with wonder once they saw the inside of the room.
"This is..."
A few large working desks were lined up inside the twenty tatami space. On top of them, various drawing tools were already prepared.
It was like a larger version of Nia's workroom, but at the same time, this room had some notable differences to Nia's. All the desks and tools were all brand new, as if they had never even been touched before.
The meeting only happened about an hour ago too. At that time, Ratatoskr had already been preparing this workroom... As usual, they're an amazing organization.
"Ooh~! This is... Amazing~"
"Looks like a pro's..."
"Kaka! Isn't this an appropriate place for us Yamai to show off our skill?"
The Spirits each came into the room after Lucas, and immediately, they were all caught admiring the room's interior and the equipment brought for their plan.
Lucas turned his glance towards Kotori as he saw everyone's reactions.
"...You even brought in all this equipment... So, you're really serious."
"Really really, totally serious-But frankly speaking, there's no other way, right?"
"Well, that might be true enough..."
Lucas scratched the side of his head as Kotori folded her arms and walked to the center of the room. She then turned her body toward everyone.
And then, she raised her voice loudly.
"Alright, everyone. Our deadline is two days from now. On December 31st, during Comic Colosseum's last day, Nia's circle will be participating."
Kotori spread both of her hands, and then she let out a voice in a tone similar to that of a conductor at a concert.
"-On that day, we'll set up our booth next to Nia's. We'll be printing our doujin with the same number of copies as her, and then we will sell them faster than her."
All Spirits raised their voices "Ooh...!" in response to Kotori.
Right. This is what Kotori meant earlier when she said she was 'thinking.' From Lucas' information, Kotori knew that Nia was going to participate with her doujin at the end of the month. If they focused until that date together, then hopefully they'll be able to knock Nia down with one blow.
"The problem is that we don't have much time. Though the background and finishing touches will be done by our support team from Ratatoskr, the rest is all our responsibility. It won't be a lie when we hand her a book created by us. As such, the story and main character's drawings will be done by us. I've already prepared the printing equipment. In the worst case we'll have to finish the manuscript by 3:00 a.m. on the 31st."
"But... Are you sure this will work? Our opponent is a pro manga artist, you know?"
"Well, it's not like I'm thinking that it'll be simple. We wouldn't be able to match her commercially, there's no way we would win in that case, right? But because it's a doujin event, the number of books we can bring with us is limited, that's the only way we can fight her-Besides, because it's doujin, it'll be alright even if there aren't that many pages."
"That's true... Then, let's say we can sell the books faster than Nia, how do we make her actually admit defeat...?"
"That'll probably depend on how we negotiate with her during the contest, that and her own pride. But since our goal is to just get her to read our book, I think our chances are fairly high."
"...Then, the problem is-" Lucas asked with a serious expression, and Kotori replied back to him while nodding.
"Yes. How can we create a doujin that will be able to touch Nia's heart? Also, how will we sell faster than her?"
After Kotori said that, she walked up to the whiteboard on the wall while the jacket hanging on her shoulders fluttered behind her. She stood directly in front of the board.
"-Then that's it, let's decide on everyone's roles first. The story will be written together by everyone... The problem is the art. I want to ask a question first, is there anyone here who has experience drawing manga or illustrations?"
Kotori asked while looking out over the Spirits. Several people raised their hands. Lucas, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and the ex-humans Origami and Miku.
"Well, that's what I guessed... First we should see everyone's drawing skills. Everyone, sit at any desk you like. Let's start by drawing a picture of the one everyone likes."
"Ooh~! Drawing Shidou. Leave it to me!"
"Fufun, well fine. You better watch my art skills!"
"Consent. Lucas, please sit down over there."
"Hey, how am I supposed to draw that way?"
"Darling, please look here, look here~!"
"...."
After all of the Spirits sat down in their chosen chairs, they began sketching away with the nearby paper and pencils. And then, it looked as if Kotori just remembered something.
"Ah, that's right. Shidou, please draw something too."
"Me!?"
"Yes. Back then, you used to draw characters in your notebook, right? If I remember correctly-"
"Ah!-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Shidou screamed to try and drown out Kotori's voice. It was so loud, it startled the Spirits who then all turned to look at Shidou.
"W-What's wrong, Shidou...? Why are you screaming like that...?"
"I-I was just so... surprised."
"...Well, if that's it, let's leave him alone."
It seemed like Natsumi understood the state he was in as she put a hand on Yoshino's shoulder. Yoshino turned to her with a little confusion evident on her face.
"Then let's hurry, let's hurry, because I'll be drawing as well."
"Ku..."
Kotori pointed her Chupa-Chups stick as if to urge him to hurry. If he doesn't do as she asks, she'll probably mention too many unnecessary things. Shidou swallowed his regret and took one of the identical sketchbooks that Tohka and the others started drawing in.
And then, thirty minutes passed. By then, everyone had finished their drawings.
"Well, let's see everyone's pictures, one by one."
"Ooh! Please look!"
"I... finished too."
Responding to Kotori's words, both Tohka and Yoshino showed their pictures to everyone.
Their pictures really were cute...But cute in a way that looked like an elementary schooler's drawings.
"I see... Uh, they're cute."
"Really?"
"Yes. But, we won't be able to use those for the doujin this time."
"I-I'm sorry..." Yoshino dipped her shoulders forward in an apologetic manner. Shidou patted her head gently to comfort her.
"Well, next. By the way, this is mine."
"Ah~ then I'll show mine too~! Here!"
Kotori and Miku both showed off their pictures.
Their art quality certainly was more "mature" than Tohka and Yoshino's, however, rather than looking like professional manga art, they looked like what you'd expect from middle or high school girls to draw in their notebooks. Their characters were still quite lovely looking.
"Kukuku... Then the next one will be us!"
"Presentation. Please look."
The Yamai sisters said with voices full of confidence as they showed their pictures.
"Ooh!?"
The quality was surprising. As expected from the two who held an illustration contest between themselves. Kaguya and Yuzuru's drawing quality is on a different level from the previous four.
Of course, they weren't absolutely perfect, but these illustrations could still easily be used for a manga.
By the way, Kaguya's drawing of Lucas is in a hot-blooded Shōnen manga style, while Yuzuru's drawing of Lucas is quite handsome and clearly a Shōjo manga style.
"Those are amazing, you two."
"Kakaka! Obviously!"
"Consent. There's nothing we Yamai cannot do."
Those two beamed, full of confidence. Kotori looked at their pictures while saying "Fumu" and rubbed her chin with her hand. She then turned towards Shidou and Origami.
"For now, let's consider our main artists to be the Yamai sisters-Well then, next, let's see the rest."
"Y-Yes..."
"Understood."
In response to Kotori, Shidou and Origami showed their pictures. Everyone was looking at them.
"Fumu-fumu, though still not comparable to Kaguya's and Yuzuru's, Shidou's drawing isn't too bad. Then Origami's is... Eh? Hyaa!?"
Kotori screamed when she saw Origami's picture. Honestly, she should have seen this coming. Origami's picture was drawn very realistically and with amazing technique, but... Lucas's figure was completely naked and not only that, he was entangled passionately with Origami who was also naked.
"Wha...!?"
"...!?"
All the Spirits freaked out following Kotori's reaction. Only Yuzuru was staring at the picture with shining eyes.
"W-What did you draw, Origami!?"
"Lucas becoming one with me."
"What kind of unnecessary things did you add!?" Kotori screamed and turned Origami's picture over on the table.
"Geez... Since your drawing really is amazing, I'll put you with the Yamai as a lead artist, but please don't do that ever again, alright...?"
"I do not understand. If you want to sell the doujin well, then putting an adult-only element is inevitable."
"Our booth will be displayed in the 'all-ages' section only, thank you!" Kotori let out a sigh out of exhaustion after shouting at Origami.
"Then, Kurumi. Please show us your drawing." Kotori then turned to Kurumi on the other side of the room. She flipped her paper to Kotori. It was a cute drawing of a cute cat sleeping.
"It's really cute but...." Upon looking at closer inspections, the proportions were slightly off and the detail was around the level of Kotori and Miku.
"Next is...Natsumi. Can you show us your drawing?"
"...! Ah, no, I..."
When she heard Yoshino, Natsumi moved her shoulders and tried hiding the paper behind her back.
"Aah, that's right. Natsumi. Can you please show us?
"...T-That's alright. This isn't a good picture anyway. Isn't it better to just continue with Kaguya, Yuzuru, Shidou or Origami?"
"Since you already drew it, we want to see it too, come on."
"...U-Uu. Since it's not very good, don't expect anything, alright?"
"It's alright. My picture isn't very good either."
"In fact, my condition is bad because I didn't get much sleep last night. It's also been a long time since I gripped a pen..."
"I understand."
"In truth, I need ten more minutes to draw because I was hesitating with what pose to use, it's also been a very long time since the last time I had drawn in the first place, and I'm really tired due to the lack of sleep-"
"Aah, I understand already, so hurry up and show us!" Kotori raised her voice to urge Natsumi and snatched the paper from Natsumi's hand. When Kotori looked at the paper-her eyes widened in surprise.
"Eh... This is-"
"A-Amazing..."
"What... did you say?"
The Spirits expressed their amazement one by one.
However, that was only natural. Natsumi's drawing wasn't inferior to a pro's art, in fact it might even beat out some pros.
"Isn't this amazing, Natsumi? Do you have some kind of special skill?"
"...No, rather than special skill... Back then I was interested... I transformed into a manga artist..."
"Ah-"
Right. Natsumi has her Angel Haniel. She's a Spirit of mimicry by nature. She can transform into anything and change her appearance into any form she likes.
She's even able to disguise herself as another person so well that their closest friends wouldn't easily notice. To that extent, she's been shown to even emulate her target's actions nearly perfectly. She's a genius when it comes to observing and imitating.
"Well, I think that concludes all the ---"
"Uhm...We still haven't seen Lucas-san's picture..." Yoshino pointed out, and all their eyes turned to Lucas who was sitting at the other end of the room, looking down at his paper.
"W-wait, I'm not finished yet..." Lucas said, and sounds of scribbling could be heard from his direction.
"Just show us already, we won't judge you if it's bad." Kotori said, and Lucas reluctantly gave him his paper after hesitating.
"T-this is....?!"
"He even did the inking already?!"
"I-impossible!"
Everyone gave a shocked gasp when they saw Lucas' drawing. In just half an hour, Lucas drew a full double page of Fraxinus EX floating above Tenguu City. Even though the sketch wasn't completely erased, the amount detail of the city was out of this world.
This wasn't just a pro. This was beyond of what even professional Mangaka could do in half an hour.
Well, the objective was to draw the one you like, but Lucas thought itd be annoying to deal with the girls argueing if he were to draw one of them. Instead, he chose something that was deep in his heart. Something he takes pride in, something he put his heart and soul into. The Fraxinus airship.
"I guess that settles it." Kotori voiced her decision. "The main artist will be Lucas. The Yamai sisters, Shidou, Origami and Natsumi will all work as assistants."
All the Spirits nodded together in agreement.
"Umu, I agree!"
"Lucas-san... Amazing."
"No objection."
"I-I'm fine as long as it's not me..."
"Fufufu... Well fine, this time I'll let you take the lead."
"Agreement. I will let you be in the limelight."
"Lucas sure is amazing at everything, huh?"
"Kya~! Lucas, can you please draw a love story between me and Darling after this~?"
"...." Lucas couldn't help but smile. "Then, I'll take the place as the main artist. But don't complain if you can't handle the amount of detail."
Then, Tohka noticed something and asked.
"By the way Kotori, what should we do?"
"Now that you mention it~ Ah! Are we going to give everyone a massage when they're tired, and sing a lullaby while sleeping together~!?"
Miku twisted her body and her eyes started to sparkle. Natsumi shuddered and shrieked a little before hiding behind Shidou.
"That's not it. I have another job for everyone else-Perhaps this mission is even more important than creating the manga."
Kotori replied and shrugged her shoulders at Tohka. Miku, Tohka and Yoshino exchanged glances at each other, while tilting their heads in wonder.
"An important mission... What's that?"
"I wonder what we're going to do~?"
"That's something to look forward to-More importantly, everyone, let's start thinking of a story for our doujin."
"Nu? Aren't we going to write about Lucas?"
"While that's true, there's a limit to the number of pages we'll be able to work on. Although we'll get some more assistance from Ratatoskr, at best, we can do about sixty-four pages, minus four for the front cover, and one for the imprint page. So in total we'll need around fifty-nine pages. We should try to write a story within that limit that'll make Nia fond for Lucas."
"Muu... I see. That's pretty difficult."
Tohka folded her arms with a difficult face. Kotori walked to the white board in the middle of the room and stood up in front of it.
"That's why, let's discuss that first. We'll figure out the title and story within the day, and finish drawing all of tomorrow."
"...Thinking about it, that really is an unreasonable schedule... Do you really think we'll be able to finish it?"
"There's no other choice than to finish it."
Kotori popped the cap off her pen's cap, the sound signaling the beginning. She wrote Project Lucas Doujin on the white board.
And then, Kotori turned towards everyone and loudly declared.
"-Well, let's start our manuscript (Date)."
◇
And so, Lucas and the other's battle had just begun.
After the storyline was decided by everyone, Lucas and the other Spirits began splitting their work between the drawing team and the support team.
Firstly, for the drawing team, Lucas is in charge of working on the major parts of the drawing: sketching the rough outline and drafting the cover.
Although they wanted to lighten his burden more, in order to keep the drawing style consistent, this task had to be entrusted to Lucas alone.
While Lucas and the others were free, they watched a video that gave a simple explanation on the creation process for a manga. They then practiced their sketches on paper in order to prepare before they actually started helping out with the manga.
When everything was done, it was already 2:00 a.m. on the 30th of December.
Although naturally everyone should go to sleep and continue working on the drawing early next morning, Lucas insisted that he would continue his work. In solidarity they all decided to work overnight and take naps in turns in order to maximize their efficiency.
When Lucas drew the draft, he framed his illustration using a ruler and a pen. Then, he drew the text box. Once that's done, the real work will begin. Everyone else would re-draw the rough sketch of the characters Lucas had drawn using pencil.
However.
"...Uwaah! I drew over the frame!"
"Ku... Jet-black tears have fallen upon the holy ground!?"
"Disturbance. The ink has already adhered under the ruler."
"...No problem. We can still fix this."
Although Shidou and the others had all drawn illustrations before, they're still amateurs (exception being Natsumi and Lucas). There's no way they could draw it without making a few mistakes in the beginning.
With enough concentration and adaptive power, they looked at the draft's open space and moved their pens more carefully. Somehow, they managed to draw the line properly on the draft... Well part way through, Kaguya and Yuzuru switched their pens from a milli-pen to the superfine marker for inking the small parts.
Once the inking was done, they erased the pencil traces diligently. Then, they changed the image into data using a scanner and sent it to the support lead by Nakatsugawa.
Though they definitely were rushing their work, with only a handful of people, they wouldn't be able to finish their manga in only two days otherwise.
With only two days, there's also very little time for them to improve on their working speed. Inking Lucas's rough sketch using a pen is more stressful than everyone had thought it would be.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Inside the large room, the sounds of pens and pencils scratching against the paper resonated. Even though they had some music playing on the CD player for background noise, there was almost no effect at all on anyone, almost as if they couldn't hear anything else.
-After some time had passed since they started.
"Hi, everyone. How's the progress?"
Suddenly, the room's door flew open. It's Kotori, who brought some bags in both of her hands.
"...Aah, Kotori. It's going well, somehow."
"...Somehow, you look older even though it's just been a few hours since we last saw each other." Kotori said as she placed the bags on the table.
"Refreshments. I'll put them here, please drink them whenever you have time to take a break."
"Kaka... An offering, huh? What strong dedication, Kotori."
"Gratitude. Thank you very much Kotori."
"..."
The Yamai sisters expressed their gratitude, Origami kept her silence while waving her hand.
Since Kotori already got a response from everyone, she walked over to Lucas's desk.
"...Lucas, can I have a moment?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"It's about Nia, so-"
"...! Did something happen!?"
When Lucas asked, Kotori nodded. Then, once again, she raised her voice to everyone.
"Sorry, everyone. I'll be borrowing Lucas for a while. Please finish the rest of the sketches in the mean time, and maybe get some rest. He'll work twice as fast once he gets back."
"Hey!?" Lucas voiced his protest, but Kotori didn't care. She gripped his sleeve and pulled him forward.
"H-Hey..." Lucas, while being dragged by Kotori, walked out of the room like a dog on a leash. Just as they left the mansion, he lowered his eyes due to the dazzling sunshine.
"Ugh... It's already this bright? This is bad, how many hours are left?"
"Although the manuscript is important, first get into the car."
After saying that, Kotori pointed to a car parked out in front of the mansion. Lucas got into the back seat as per Kotori's instruction. The car left right away, moving along the road.
"Then..." Lucas looked to the stores and houses outside the window as he asked Kotori.
"Did you find out something about Nia?"
"Yes-Actually, we managed to contact someone who is one of Nia's mangaka acquaintances."
"Is that true? Then, if we ask that person-"
"Yes. We might be able to find out something regarding Nia's past." Kotori said that while looking at Lucas. Lucas gulped down his saliva.
After twenty minutes had passed, the car carrying Lucas and Kotori stopped right before a café.
"-It's here. Reine is already talking to that person."
"Aah." Lucas and Kotori got out of the car. Still a little nervous, he proceeded into the café.
They looked around inside the café-then they heard someone calling out for Lucas while raising her hand a little.
"Hi, Reine."
".....I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"...Aah, you've arrived, Lucas, Kotori."
Reine talked with her usual sleepy tone. She was similar to Lucas who was currently also sleep deprived due to last night. Then, she introduced them to the person who she was sitting with.
"...Let me introduce you. She's a manga artist. Her name is Takajou Hiroki."
"Ah, nice to meet you-"
Lucas bowed to her-but at that moment, he stopped his body's movement.
He thought that Takajou Hiroki was the name of a guy. However, in front of him, there was a woman with thick glasses who seemingly looked just over twenty.
Then, he remembered he had discussed with Nia during their date. Nia herself said there's plenty of female manga artists who use masculine names as their pen name, just like her.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kunshu Lucas."
"My name is Itsuka Kotori. Thank you very much for coming here today."
"Ooh, thank you for your politeness."
In response to Lucas and Kotori's greeting, Takajou placed her hands on the table as she bowed in return to them.
And then, she looked up to see both Lucas and Kotori.
"...Well then, today you wanted to ask something about Honjou-sensei, right?"
"Ah-Yes. That's right. Can you please tell us everything you know about Nia?"
When Lucas asked that, Takajou corrected the position of her glasses and her lens started shining.
"Although I don't mind it... What kind of relationship do you all have with Honjou-sensei?"
"...?"
"No, pardon me, but our careers are at the peak of our popularity. I won't leak any information to some unrelated person."
"I see..."
It didn't seem like this conversation would last any longer. However, Lucas couldn't think of any good explanation. He continued to rack his brain for any reasonable answer.
"-Actually, Big Sister Nia is my distant relative, but we couldn't contact her for several years now... So we've been asking around to find out what her circumstances were." Lucas said those words with absolute confidence and no change in her expression.
"Fumu, I see."
Takajou groaned a little before nodding. Certainly, Takajou believed Lucas because he just used her real name, Nia, which had never been released to the public before.
"I understand your circumstances. I've also been worried about Honjou-sensei, so I'll cooperate with you as long as it's within my abilities."
"Really? Thank you very much." Lucas placed his hands before him, and bent his body to once again bow to her.
However---Takajou scratched her cheek a little.
"Although... I don't know how helpful I can be."
"What do you mean...?"
"Actually, I haven't met with Honjou-sensei in several years. Beyond that... it also seems like Honjou-sensei hates me."
"...Care to explain?" When Lucas asked, Takajou shook her head as she continued.
"...About eight or nine years ago, we had met during a publisher's party and became friends, but one day, she became strangely cold towards me and started keeping her distance... I thought we had a good friendship as fellow manga artists but... It looks like I did something carelessly rude to her without realizing."
"That's..."
When he heard her explanation, a crease formed in Lucas' brow. Next to him, Kotori also had a similar expression as if she realized something. Perhaps what Kotori was thinking was also what Lucas was-the Angel Raziel.
"What's wrong?" Feeling that Lucas and Kotori's reactions were strange, Takajou inclined her head.
"No, nothing's wrong."
"Hm... Is that so? Anyhow, that's it. Although I can tell you what I know, I'm not sure if it will be useful or not."
"Please tell us." Lucas said while nodding, Takajou returned the reply back by shaking her head as well. Then, she continued.
-Approximately forty minutes later,
Lucas and Kotori thanked Takajou as they left the café. They went back to the same car that brought them here and drove away. As the car moved, they stared at the outside scenery.
From their conversation with Takajou, Nia has a sociable personality which makes her friendly and talkative towards anyone.
However, Nia doesn't like to talk about herself before she became a manga artist. Especially, past relationships with her friends. She always tries to smooth talk her way out of those conversations.
More importantly, even when someone like Takajou appeared, who seemed easy to get along with, she kept her distance with her at all times.
"...What do you think Kotori?"
"Seemingly-"
In response to Lucas, Kotori moved her lips.
"There's no doubt that it has something to do with Rasiel... If you think about it carefully, it's not strange. If you had an Angel that could know everything in the world, most people would investigate the people around them, right?"
"..."
"Perhaps that was the reason why Nia distrusts humans-But that's just it. There's no human who can be a saint all night and day. Everyone will eventually at least talk bad behind someone's back, or make a white lie, or neglect some part of their responsibilities. With Raziel, it's only natural to feel disgusted with human beings." Kotori scratched her head.
"...The root of the problem is surprisingly deep. When I heard that she could only love 2D characters, I thought it was some kind of joke, but... she won't open her heart so that no one would ever be able to betray her, right? Isn't that just... really sad?"
"..."
Lucas kept silent for a while as he thought about what Kotori said.
Maybe what she said is true. Perhaps it was because of that reason. The reason why she never talked about her past relationships with friends... the reason why she was so absorbed in the 2D world.
However, there's still one thing that felt strange. About Nia, who suddenly acted coldly and kept her distance with Takajou... That one thought remained stuck inside Lucas' mind.
"...Lucas?"
"Eh? Aah..."
Lucas replied to her, as Kotori looked at him, clearly a bit displeased.
"I understand that you're sleepy because you worked all night, but this is an important matter. You can't just space out."
"Aah... Sorry." Lucas responded back with a short reply. Upon thinking about Nia's life, he gripped his fist.
"Anyhow, for now, let's complete our doujin. No matter what we do, we should first make a place where we can talk to Nia once again."
When Lucas said that, Kotori nodded confidently back to him.
-Their work reached its climax on December 31st, precisely at 1:00 a.m.
Inside the workroom on the first floor of apartment, Lucas and the others were still busy using their pens to ink the empty spaces on the manuscript.
"..."
Inside the silence, Lucas moved his body over the desk as if he was stuck to it. There were no rough sketches to be made anymore, and the remaining work was inking.
He was wearing gloves with fingertip attachments in order to not splotch the manuscript. He also had a cooling sheet stuck on his forehead to prevent him from falling asleep.
Empty coffee cans and bottles from nutrition drinks lined the edges of the table.
"...1:00 a.m... We should send the data for the finishing touches... We're almost at our deadline... You know?"
"...Ui~..."
"Ans...wer. Over here, only a little bit more..."
"..."
It's only been a day since they started working. Lucas never left his seat, he didn't drink, eat, or go to the bathroom. He continued working on drawing. It exhausted his mind more than he expected.
However, Lucas was not the only one who had fallen into such a state. On Lucas's left, both Kaguya and Yuzuru were in the same boat as him. Their heads drifted side to side as well. The only one who was still calm was Origami, but sometimes she just stopped moving every few hours, as if she ran out of battery.
Shidou and Natsumi were also like Kaguya and Yuzuru, with their heads wobbling.
But what he didn't notice was how bad his own state was. He hadn't taken a single nap yet. His eyes were really red, and his fingertips were trembling. However, no matter how much Shidou and the others pleaded with him to rest, Lucas never once stopped drawing. With that tenacity, Lucas already achieved a pro's greatness.
Looking at his figure, Shidou couldn't let out any complaints of his own. He collected all of his remaining willpower and placed them into his fingertips. Slowly, he started inking the last part.
"Alright... This is... The end, the finish..."
Shidou said that with a quaking voice, then, he collapsed onto the desk-Of course, after putting aside the manuscript.
At almost the same time, the Yamai sisters and Origami also finished their work. Similar to Shidou, Kaguya and Yuzuru collapsed onto their desks, Origami stretched her body and then stopped moving for a while, and Natsumi froze in place as if she became a stone statue.
Then, after waiting for the ink to dry, they erased the pencil traces and gave the manuscript to the support team.
"Well, it'll be alright to entrust everything else to Ratatoskr..."
Not so long after that, the door of the workroom opened. Kotori and the others from the other team came inside with a big cardboard box.
"...Hi, Shidou."
"Aah, Kotori... Eh?"
As Shidou replied back to Kotori and the others, he struggled to raise his tired eyes.
Kotori, Tohka, Yoshino, and Miku appeared to all have the same sleepy faces as Shidou and the rest.
"You all... What happened?"
When Shidou asked, the girls looked at each other before turning back to Shidou.
"That's a secret, Shidou."
"Please... Look forward to it."
"Ufufu... Lack of sleep is a beauty's most powerful enemy, but we can't just let darling and the others do all the work~"
After saying that, Tohka, Yoshino and Miku laughed despite how worn out they were. Shidou tilted his head in wonder.
"More importantly, how has your work come along?"
"Aah... I just finished right now. After we're done with erasing and scanning them, we'll send them to the support team. I think Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami and Natsumi have also already finished."
"Is that so? Thank you. Well then-"
After she said that, Kotori looked around at the room.
Right. There was a girl who was still continuing her work-Natsumi.
Shidou piled up his papers for a few seconds and slowly got up from his chair. He walked towards Lucas along with Kotori and the others.
Upon seeing that, both the Yamai sisters and Origami followed them as they all coalesced around Lucas. (Natsumi was still out cold)
"Lucas... Are you alright?"
"..."
"Lucas?"
"...! A-Aah... yeah..."
When Lucas tried talking to him, all Lucas did was shrug his shoulders. His face was drained of color by fatigue. Under his red eyes, there were huge dark circles. Looking like this, it was clear Lucas was close to his limit.
"Since we already finished our work, we'll take over for you. You're exhausted, right? Please go get some rest."
"It's fine. Only a little bit more..." He took a energy drink that was placed on his desk hours ago, and devoured it in a second before getting back to working. At this point, the drink was a little warm. Caffeine didn't help a single bit, but at the very least it was refreshing.
"Wait a minute... Lucas, haven't you still not taken a single break since yesterday? And you've even been doing the double the amount of work on both the manuscript and the draft..."
"That's right. Our game will be at the sales event. Leave the rest to us, the dark dimension of sleep is already calling out to you."
"Agreement. You are overworking yourself, Lucas."
"Resting is also important work."
However, even though the Yamai sisters and Origami tried to talk him into getting some rest, Lucas didn't stop hia work at all.
Staring at the blank space of the manuscript, Lucas inked them with his pen wholeheartedly.
"...I said... It's fine."
"B-But..."
Even though Shidou said that, Lucas kept drawing beautiful lines with trembling fingers.
"I decided that... I'll show Nia. The most important thing in life." Lucas forced a smile on his tired face, before he lifted up his pen from the paper.
"The beauty...of friendship.....!" With thriving determination, Lucas finished his drawing a few minutes later. "Haah...." Lucas exhaled his breath, and stood up from his desk.
"Ugh...." His legs were completely numb after sitting for so long, and the pressure of gravity returned tenfold on his body.
"Careful." Origami caught his collapsing body, and he hung his arm over her shoulder.
"You worked hard, Lucas."
"..."
◇