Shiina Mahiru flipped through a few more pages, then couldn't hold back her critique.
"Mashiro, what is going on with this manga of yours?"
"In the previous chapter the leads had only just met, and then suddenly they're kissing?"
"Where did the whole 'getting to know each other' part go?"
"And what about the love rival who showed up—where did they disappear to?"
Faced with Mahiru's questions, Mashiro tilted her head, a little troubled.
"I don't know."
"Mashiro just wanted to draw the scenes in her head. As for why it turned out like this, Mashiro doesn't understand."
"As for love… Rita didn't teach me."
"Mashiro only knows that people who kiss will get married…"
Mahiru stared at her adorable blank look and felt a headache coming on.
Her deadbeat father really knew how to pass the buck—dumping a life-inept girl on her. And Maki-kun was awful too. Mashiro didn't understand anything yet, and he'd already swooped right in.
"So, Mahiru, do you have any advice?"
Mashiro looked at her other "handler" with hopeful eyes.
"I've been rejected so many times. The editor won't accept it at all."
Mahiru couldn't help a deep sigh.
"Getting rejected is normal. Your manga doesn't even communicate a basic story clearly. That said, I know it's not entirely your fault."
"You haven't experienced anything, so of course you can't draw something engaging."
"Mm…" Mashiro frowned. "The editor said that too. What exactly makes it engaging?"
"Mashiro wants to draw a manga that makes people smile."
For over a decade she'd stayed in her grandfather's studio, painting. Called a "genius painter," she basically did nothing but paint every day. Everything else—everyday life—Rita handled for her perfectly.
"A manga that makes people smile, huh? That's a tough one to answer. Honestly, Mashiro, you don't seem to have a natural knack for comedy."
"This kind of question is better for Maki-kun—he's a genius light-novel author. If you want to draw good manga, filling in your basic life knowledge is important."
"That's a required course for any mangaka."
"And also, reading more light novels will really help your plotting."
Mashiro's eyes lit up. "Got it. I'll go find Hayashi Maki right now."
"Uh… that urgent?"
Watching Mashiro's retreating back, Mahiru could only shake her head. To draw manga as exquisitely as illustration yet make the plot that abstract… Mashiro really was something.
Right then, Hayashi Maki was online comforting "Ako wife." With the guild meet canceled, Ako was crying in chat. In the middle of that, Mashiro pushed the door open.
"Hayashi Maki, come."
Without another word, the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.
"Eh? Where to?"
"To Mashiro's room."
A bewildered Hayashi Maki stepped into Mashiro's room to find Mahiru looking exasperated.
"Maki-kun, give Mashiro a proper lesson. But no funny business—she's basically a kid."
Mahiru said her piece and slipped out before he could respond—even closing the door for them.
Mashiro held out a stack of pages. "Hayashi Maki, look at my manga."
He skimmed for a minute and couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth, arriving at the same conclusion as Mahiru.
"Mashiro, this is way too abstract. The male and female leads getting together at lightning speed is one thing, but what happened to the love rival that showed up? They vanish for no reason."
"Also, there are some issues with your draftsmanship. I don't mean polish—your art is extremely good. Most mangaka can't draw characters this attractive."
"Even the backgrounds—you nail the details."
"But, how to put it—the male lead's body looks… off."
"It just reads weird."
Hearing his critique, Mashiro didn't get mad—her eyes got brighter.
"The editor said that too. Mahiru said you can help me draw a good manga—can you?"
The innocent face, pure and tempting at once, made Hayashi Maki swallow. "Ahem. Of course I can help, but… how will Mashiro thank me?"
Quietly laboring for nothing wasn't his style; a devil seeks a return, maximizing benefit and pleasure.
Mashiro thought for a moment, then guided his hand onto her pale thigh. Enduring the tingling warmth of his palm, she said earnestly, "I came here because I want to be a mangaka."
"Hayashi Maki, as long as you help Mashiro… you can do the bad things you like."
"Deal. But I have a condition—Mashiro isn't allowed to do bad things for any other guy. Only me."
"Okay."
Facing his shameless demand, Mashiro agreed without fuss.
Hayashi Maki promptly swept her up and set her on his lap. Holding her manuscript, he started pointing out issues one by one.
"First, your story structure is incomplete."
"You're trying to draw a romance, right?"
"Then you need to make the story clear."
"Start with how the leads meet, then their interactions, how their feelings deepen, confirming the relationship, what their life is like after they start dating, the problems they face while dating, and finally how they overcome them and walk into marriage together…"
After laying it all out, Hayashi Maki glanced at the girl in his arms. "Make sense?"
Mashiro wriggled twice, nodded to show she understood, then muttered, "Hot."
Hayashi Maki was hot too. With a pure, airheaded beauty in his lap, his wicked thoughts weren't easy to cage. But that wasn't the point—the point was…
"Do you really get it? Do you know how to draw it now?"
Mashiro shook her head decisively. "I don't understand a lot of things…"
With no common sense and a blank slate, she found his explanation reasonable, but had no idea how to execute it.
Hayashi Maki sighed. He knew Mashiro wasn't like Eriri or Senpai; she didn't have a foundation of theory. It would be harder for her to draw something engaging—she was stepping into a field she didn't understand at all.
"Can Hayashi Maki teach Mashiro?" she asked, eyes lifting to him in hopeful appeal.
"Of course. But I've already given you a lot of pointers—shouldn't Mashiro give me a little reward, so I'm extra motivated to help?"
The big bad wolf finally bared his fangs with a crooked grin.
Mashiro nodded lightly. "Okay. What counts as a reward for Hayashi Maki?"
He drew a deep breath, lifted her top, and lowered his head to kiss her snow-white skin. "Just a moment—that's the best reward. And there are other kinds too… I'll teach you those later."