The goal of the dinner was for the Baumkuchen girls to get to know one another, not to have an orgy... If they actually had one, there were too many people for Rin to handle. If they went round-robin, he wouldn't finish until tomorrow night.
Some had partied together before, but others only knew each other from the group chat and were meeting in person for the first time. The goal was familiarity.
At least next time there was a "mega-party," it wouldn't be awkward!
The day after the dinner, the studio officially opened for business. Rin helped them move their various writing and drawing supplies into the building.
When Rin arrived at Elf's house, she, Alumi, and Sagiri had already packed their things. Sagiri and Alumi were reasonable, but Elf alone had more stuff than the other two combined.
"You're just writing a novel, why do you have so many boxes? A laptop, a keyboard, and maybe a monitor isn't enough? You should be able to fit that in a backpack."
Rin looked at Elf's mountain of boxes with a sigh. Elf just put her hands on her hips defiantly.
"How can I work without my figures and desk ornaments? And the game console for the lounge! I am volunteering my equipment for the good of the circle."
"Just say you want to play games," Rin laughed helplessly before helping them load the truck.
Rin used to have a psychological shadow regarding driving because of his past life's "Isekai Truck" accident. He avoided driving whenever possible.
Now, while he couldn't quite headbutt a semi-truck into the air, he knew he wouldn't die if hit. His trauma had faded significantly.
He had even rented a small pickup truck specifically for this move.
It wasn't just the three of them; Shihali and the others had things to move too, but the biggest loads belonged to Orie and Sahodo.
Orie had to move walls' worth of fetish lingerie, cosplay outfits, and rolls of fabric. Sahodo wanted to move everything from her dorm.
Even though she had privacy in her dorm, drawing R18 doujins there made her incredibly nervous... Rin felt like it was basically a "public exposure" play for her.
Rin went to Orie's apartment first, having been there once before.
When the door opened, the foyer was already stacked with boxes. On the floor were several open crates filled with neatly folded fetish lingerie.
"Sorry... I haven't finished packing. Please wait a moment, Mr. Ito."
"It's fine, let me help you."
"Uu... mmm." Orie's face turned bright red. After all, these weren't normal clothes—they were lewd outfits... and they were ones she had worn herself.
She made her outfits based on her own measurements, and of course, she was the primary fit model... Sometimes, when the mood struck, she'd wear them and masturbate while looking at the manga they were based on.
Watching Rin's hands touch the lingerie that had been soaked in her own juices made Orie flush with heat. But since she was inconveniencing him, she didn't want to waste his time and had to let him help.
Rin chatted with Orie while they packed.
"Did you take the day off today?"
"I... I was going to, but my senior, Sato, told me to just say I'm 'visiting artists'... After all, you and Sahodo are both under my care... hehe."
Orie laughed sheepishly. As a corporate newbie, she had wanted to do things properly, but she quickly learned the art of slacking off on the company's dime.
"By the way... how are Alumi and Sahodo's doujins coming along?" Rin asked. They had handed their drafts to Orie during the tour, but she needed to get them approved by the department.
"Well... Miss Sahodo is planning a long-form series. Since she's a newcomer, the department asked her to draft storyboards and scripts for the next few volumes. The other editors liked them and agreed to serialization, however..."
"However?"
"Miss Sahodo's art style isn't 'erotic' enough. It needs some refinement, and that's my responsibility."
"That's good news."
Sahodo had failed her submissions over twenty times before. She was in the same boat as every other industry newcomer; if not for her student allowance, she wouldn't be able to feed herself.
For most rookies who can't even get a foot in the door, they wouldn't care if they had to redo everything from scratch as long as they got a slot.
"I'm not an expert at drawing... I might need to trouble you for help with that, Mr. Ito."
"No problem," Rin agreed readily. "And Alumi?"
"Alumi is a guaranteed hit. She's already famous as an illustrator, and her style is incredibly sexy."
"I'll leave them in your hands then."
"Of course..." Orie smiled shyly. "Discovering them is a big win for my performance review."
"And how do you plan on thanking me?" Rin smirked, channeling a classic line from an adult manga. "Miss Orie... you wouldn't want your performance review to suffer, would you?"
"Eh?" Orie jumped, looking up in shock. Seeing Rin's playful grin, she let out a sigh of relief. "Seriously... I thought I was in an actual doujin for a second."
"Hehe." Rin laughed. "Maybe you are."
"Eh?" Orie froze, remembering the time she went to Rin's house. She had worn fetish lingerie under her clothes just for Mashiro and ended up putting on a show for them.
"To make Sahodo's manga more erotic..." Rin pointed at the boxes of lingerie. "I'll need your help with some 'references' later, Orie."
"Uuu..." Orie turned beet-red and pouted. "Mr. Ito!!!!"
In reality, Sato had mentioned similar things to her. As Orie's senior, she had done the "dirty work" before—using her own body to provide inspiration for artists who were stuck on a plot.
Orie had even heard that another editor used sex to seduce wealthy artists... most artists are shut-ins with no social lives and too much money. If an editor can become their "partner," they've hit the jackpot.
Rin never missed a deadline, so he had never needed that kind of "service" before. And as a former Pure Love Warrior, he never would have accepted it.
But now...? Hehehe.
Remembering what Sato told her, Orie swallowed hard. She lowered her blushing face and gripped the fabric in her hands, speaking softly.
"I-If Sahodo needs it... then... I don't mind."