Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

Akifumi accepted the manuscript from Eriri and skimmed through it, his expression quickly turning serious and evaluative.

A few minutes later, as he lay sprawled on the couch, Akifumi noticed his little brother acting unusually tense.

He immediately adjusted his posture, subtly turning his back to Eriri.

"What are you doing?" Eriri asked, puzzled.

"Too full. Can't sit like that, or I'll gain weight."

"And you think that position will stop it?"

"Absolutely!" Akifumi declared with a straight face, spouting nonsense.

Eriri hesitated but ended up mimicking his position.

Akifumi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Whispering under his breath, he muttered to himself, "You just can't make things easy for me, can you? Always thinking about dirty thoughts just by reading manga! Sure, her art style's sexy, and the plot's solid this time, but this is definitely the wrong moment!"

Of course, there was no response.

A few more minutes passed.

Akifumi finally finished reading the entire manga and set it down.

Instead of speaking immediately, he waited until his thoughts settled.

Only then did he turn back around.

Hearing the shift in movement, Eriri nervously asked, "So? How was it?"

"It's really good!"

After a brief pause, he added, "Honestly, it surpasses all your previous works. If it weren't for the fact that your art style stayed the same, people might question whether it was even done by Kashiwagi Eri or not."

Eriri's smug expression froze instantly at those last four words.

"Idiot! Shiina-san is here! Don't go shouting that name out loud!!" she snapped, panicking.

Had she gotten so used to Shiina being around that she'd completely forgotten to be careful?

"Sorry."

Akifumi apologized earnestly.

"But she's in the kitchen—she probably didn't hear that, right?"

He then whispered, "By the way, with Shiina-san here, I can't help much, can I?"

"I didn't know she'd be here either!" Eriri sighed.

"So, what now?"

"Sigh... Whatever. There's still plenty of time. After finals, I'll just finish it up on my own."

'Yes! No more extra work!'

Akifumi tried his best not to grin.

"By the way," Eriri suddenly said, "now that I'm done, isn't it time for you to fulfill your promise?"

Wait—his promise? Akifumi's stomach churned.

Was this day already here?

He felt an ominous pang in his gut.

"What wrong?," Eriri declared boldly.

'It's not like I'm doing anything scandalous. Even if my identity gets revealed, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!'

Somewhere, someone—who did draw scandalous stuff—suddenly felt attacked.

"Why do I get the feeling someone's badmouthing me?"

Eriri shot Akifumi a suspicious glare.

"You're not thinking bad things about me, are you?"

Akifumi blinked innocently.

"What bad things?"

Eriri scrutinized him for a moment before sighing and dropping the issue.

"Never mind. Just fulfill your promise! Introduce me to the Warrior of Love and Hope-sensei!!"

Facing her excited, expectant gaze, Akifumi hesitated.

He sighed deeply.

"Just... don't be disappointed, okay?"

Eriri was baffled.

"Huh? Why would I be disappointed?! Meeting my idol would be the best thing ever!"

Without explaining further, Akifumi gestured.

"Follow me."

Eriri obediently trailed after him.

Just as they were leaving, Shiina Mahiru emerged from the kitchen, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

Akifumi paused and considered for a moment.

"Want to come too, Shiina-san?"

"Come too? Where are we going?" she asked cheerfully.

Eriri perked up.

"Are you a fan of the Warrior of Love and Hope-sensei too?!"

The joy of discovering a fellow fan lit up her face.

Given her masked persona at school, Eriri rarely found anyone with similar interests.

But with Akifumi's home being outside school grounds, she'd stopped hiding her geeky passions.

Naturally, discovering a potential fellow fan made her excited.

Unfortunately, Eriri had jumped to conclusions a little too quickly.

"Warrior of Love and Hope...?" Shiina blinked, puzzled.

"Is that some kind of codename? It sounds odd."

Akifumi's lips twitched.

Yeah, yeah, i know the name was a bit strange—thanks for pointing that out.

"No, it's not like that," Eriri explained.

"They're a rookie manga artist I really admire!"

"Oh..." Shiina nodded blankly, still not quite understanding.

Eriri pouted, dissatisfied with Shiina's tepid reaction.

Before she could gush about the artist's greatness, Akifumi led them into his room.

"Wait here for a second," he said.

[TL Note]

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