Ero Manga Sensei - Volume 12 - Chapter 2

EROMANGA SENSEI VOL. 12 CH. 2

Now begins the family dinner and bath.

For the Izumi family, the order of baths wasn’t set in stone and tended to vary day to day.

I heard that today is part of the “Cute-ify Sagiri” policy.

“Sagiri-chan! Let’s take a bath together!”
“Okay!”

“I brought my carefully selected skin care products. I took great care in their selection, so be prepared!”

“Eh? We can’t! I can’t do that yet!”

—There was a battle unfolding right before my eyes.

Sagiri used to refuse taking a bath with someone else despite the fact she was able to live in the same room as her.

Elf is quite capable at wooing my sister.

“We won’t know if it’s possible until we try.”
“It’s impossible!”

“When I get out of the bath, I’ll teach you breast massages, okay?”
“Ehhh?”

There was a clear refusal coming from Sagiri. This was to the extent that she basically stopped moving entirely.

“…Does it work?”

She showed genuine interest in it.

“Of course! It has been proven to work on my own body!”
“Oh~”

Sagiri’s eyes twinkled at the confident salesperson.
But, when glancing at Elf’s chest, Sagiri in an obviously disappointed tone goes,

“… Really?”
“Hey! What do you mean ‘really?’”

They went to the bedroom and began to cause a racket. I went to the living room and, once again, began work on my laptop.

Heh, my heart felt like it was smiling.
That same Sagiri who used to never leave her room…

Well, now she can even go downstairs while people are there.
She can have fun chatting with her friends.

Live under the same roof as your friends.
Now you’re at the point that you can take a bath together.

“Sagiri’s Hikikomori-ness is getting better and better.”
“Yeah…”

There was a reply to my talk to myself.

“I’m thinking to myself ‘ What have I accomplished?’”

“If you say it that way, that would apply to both of us, Kyoka-san. As a fellow family member, I feel this odd mixture of happiness and melancholic…”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Masamune-kun. You being here was integral for Sagiri’s recovery. No matter what anyone says, know at least that.”

“………. I-If you say so…”

I wanted to make our dream come true and to help Sagiri, all while having fun.

But, well…
Our dream hasn’t come true yet.

Sagiri is being saved.
Not just by me, but through everyone’s efforts.

That was a huge blow for me—somehow disappointing.
I am insignificant—an unimportant person.

But… at the same time, I’m happy—because Sagiri’s happiness is also my own.

Despite the issues, the anxiety, the frustration, all in all—everything is going well.

The world has a brighter tomorrow.
That’s what I thought anyway.

Just then… while quietly working alone,

“Masamune~ I’m done taking a bath~!”
“Elf-chan! Don’t head to Nii-san like that! You need to put some clothes on!”
“Yeah, yeah I know.”

“I’m not sure you do!”

The loud ones are back.
Apparently both finished their bath safely.

“You guys took too long taking a bath, you know…”

It’s a good thing Kyoka-san went in first since she has to go to work early tomorrow.

“Sorry about that. I brought a bunch of things, so it took us a while to try them all! Right Sagiri?”
“Yeah!”

Sound like they had a blast—I wonder what they ending up doing?
I caught myself looking at my sister’s chest as I thought about that.

Breast Enlargement Massages… Did they end up doing that?

…I mean… it doesn’t seem to have any immediate effect—
“Nii-san, Nii-san!”

Sagiri, dressed in pajamas, seems to be excited and comes up to me whose just sitting on the sofa.

Just then, she embraces my sweetly.

“Ya, what’s this all of a sudden?”
“Hnn, what is it?”

“T-This!”

The sensation of a devilishly warm Sagiri made my cry internally.
That’s foul play, Sagiri! One of these days, you very well may kill me!

Sagiri then speaks in a voice of pure joy.

“Notice something different about me?”
“…Er… It’s… Um… Your delicious scent…?”

“…Why do you have to say it in such a perverted way?”
“Just… Because!”

“Isn’t there a better way to have worded that?”

Sagiri gazes me with discontent.
I managed to get the words out of my clouded mind.

“…Is this… tea scent?”
“Yes! It’s the new bath powder!”

“It was released today so we both had to try it right away! It smells delightful, doesn’t it~?”

Even Elf is digging into me.

“Aah, it’s fine if I enjoy without holding back, right?”

I was approaching my absolute limit so I had to I ducked away from them and ran.

“I’m taking a bath!”

As I escaped, I could feel them smiling at me with light chuckles as a follow-up.

D-Damn… What’s with this sense of defeat…?!

I made my way to the dressing room right before the hallway, took off my clothes, and walked right in.

The scent of the baths salts wafting in the air.
The sweet, succulent aroma of Sagiri and Elf still lingering…

「…………………………」

I cranked up the shower tap to minus infinity.

“AHH!!!”

Cold showers, they work wonders for bo— restoring your sanity.
Really though… Elf is on a warpath today.

Both Elf and Sagiri are seem… different than usual—their attitudes hasn’t changed much… but something’s off, I can feel it. It may be slight, but how is this difference weighing this strangely?

“Um…. What could it be…?”

I feel as though I’m being entangled in a plot like I’m in a war-themed light novel.

… I’m not exaggerating!

“Hm… There’s more things in the bathroom again.”

In order to self-reset, allow me to introduce a bit of trivia.

There’s a lot of instances where in the walls of bathrooms, there are steel plates which you can stick magnets to.

I don’t mean to insult your intelligence— personally I just learned about it after being taught by Muramasa-senpai during the time she and Elf stayed with us for a time.

From what I can gather… It seems that there’s a need to have a variety of bath supplies that goes beyond just soap, shampoo, and conditioner. There’s actually a plentitude of bath products for when one takes a bath. And if you don’t use it all the time, then it’s obvious you don’t like it.

Let me break it down like this:
(Number of Woman Living in Japan) x (Containers that Will be Placed in Bath/Washrooms)

Add to it the variable of magnet-type shelves I alluded to before and you got yourself a lot of space being used.

「 The number of bottles I completely don’t understand is increasing… 」

Is it safe to assume that a man with a sister, or an old man and his wife and daughter—do they also understand this feeling of “Isn’t all this already enough?” or “The heck is this?”

There’s a music box that looks like some good-looking food, a salmon-roe bowl with scent infusing oils and some beautiful decorations.

Are these really bath items?

Only the ducks that Muramasa-senpai brought were comfortable.
While the bathroom is becoming cuter, it’s not really a comfortable environment for a high school guy.

Thinking about all this, my brain finally cooled down.

“…. Welp.”

Wash my body, then dip into a bathtub that has hot water that looks like a blood pond…

Recently, for one reason or another, I couldn’t take a long bath, so I was kind of looking forward to this—

AH!—
“Masamune~! How’s the hot water?”
“Ahh… Ah!”

I squatted down in the bathtub with a loud scream, turning away from a stunned Elf.

“Geez, don’t open so suddenly!”
“Aw I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with your girlish reactions every time.”

“The bath temperature is fine. Can you, like, leave?”

I cover my body with both my arms and frown sharply.

「…………………………」

“Leave!”
“Oh come off it, Masamune. Stand up for a moment.”

“Aren’t you being a bit too straightforward right now?”

Are you EroManga-Sensei?

“Not really. It doesn’t actually mean anything… Fine, you don’t have to stand up. Just show me your arms.”

「…………………………」

I did as I was told— no questions asked.
Elf then glared sharply.

“You… Have hives on both your arms.”
“Ah… Yeah…”

That’s right. My arms were covered all the way up to my wrists with hives.

To be perfectly honest, it looks disgusting. I don’t want to describe it in detail.

I really didn’t want to talk about it, so I kept silent… but Elf apparently took this matter seriously and muttered in a grave voice,

“…Maybe the bath salts were ineffective… I’m sorry.”

I suddenly feel self-conscious and hid my arms in embarrassment.

“No, I don’t think the bath salts will help… It’s been like this for somet time now…”

“…Since When…?”

「…………………………」

“…Well…?”
“…From about two weeks ago… It comes and goes but—“

“I didn’t notice it before because you wore long sleeves. What a rookie mistake…”

Elf bits her lower lip in regret.

“For now—don’t take too long of a bath and go to the hospital first thing tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you being too cautious?”
“Even so, go. You got that?”

I just received an undeniable order.

“… Yes.”

I had no choice but to answer so.

“I won’t tell Sagiri about this.”
“Please don’t. Thank you.”

“Hm…”

Elf was pondering about something for a bit and then said,

“Since it can’t be helped, I’ll tell you this… It happened to me too.”

“Huh?”
“I’m afraid so. I became like that before my own anime came out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… I mean, I went to the hospital, but I didn’t know the cause at the time… Apparently it was stress.”

「…………………………」

Elf was… stressed out?

“You were like that?”
“Well…”

Ambiguous at best. I do think that was the case… maybe.

“I don’t think that’s the case for me even though I am stressed… nowadays especially. I’ve already survived the peak of my busy schedule. Even the light novel is quite ahead of schedule. It’s being advertised so… actually, I’m in great shape at the moment.”

“That was the same for me. I didn’t have any serious nor particular symptoms—actually I was feeling pretty good… But stress-induced symptoms still came out. The doctor told me that’s the case with most examinees.”

「…………………………」

Were you an examinee while being a light novelist right before a serialization as well?

Yeah, sounds very similar to me.
Trying your best for an obscene amount of time.

But the fruits of labor will come out.

And if that’s the case, our worries aren’t special at all. Rather, it’s probably a common problem everywhere.

It may be important for a person with tunnel vision, but stepping back and looking at the entire problem, there may not seem to be any issues.
But. For those who are about to take an entrance exam, failure is synonymous with the end of the world. Every year, every year, many people get sick and sometimes suffer death. High school entrance exams, college entrance exams. My senpais may have had a similar problem to me.

Just like the younger senpai right in front of me.

“It’s the Cutest Yamada Elf-chan episode, so please don’t forget about it tomorrow… That being said, let me tell you—

Since I’m a super genius with the spirit of Orichalcum, I can say this: nobody will think you’re pathetic as long as you remain the same. So even if you’re in great shape, be safe and rest up.”

「…………………………」

“So what do you say to that, Kouhai-kun?”
“… I’ll feel scared if I don’t do something.”

I lower myself deeper into the bathtub, dipping my chin into the water.

“I’m afraid that if I rest—if I don’t do anything, I’ll fail. If I fail, I will fail to achieve my goals… If I fail my goals, my dreams won’t come true. And it will be because I took a break—no matter what people tell me, I think I’m going to do so regardless.”

Like Tsukimizato-san.
At that time, I was saved by Sagiri from that fear that I deeply recognized.

But… that gut feeling still lingers.

“…I don’t understand.”
“I figured.”

“But know that I don’t think you’re pathetic. You’re such a small thing, but that’s why you’ve been able to work so many times harder than others.

“…Small thing.”

Trying to make compliments like that always gives a feeling of strangeness. Genius-types who don’t like being called a genius often appear in their own creations. The trouble they experience is having their efforts be dismissed because they were talented.

I, on the otherhand, am not talented so my problem is completely different. Is the path I have taken so far worth it?

That’s the million-dollar question.

I always wrote Light Novels for fun, I always wrote because I wanted to write, and have always tried to do something about it because I was in pain. I always tried to escape from fear and despair by writing—because I was scared.

Isn’t that effort? Is it so wrong to be this way?

…I think there are a lot of answers to those questions but I don’t think any of them fit me.

I took a breath and submerged myself.
Elf then said to me,

“What’s with that look? You’ve been praised by me, so just be super happy.”

“…Elf’s way of complimenting makes it seem like you’re looking down on me. I hate that.”

I hope you can leave soon. How long will you stay in the bathroom?

“Ahh—But isn’t there a “faint part of Sagiri” about Masamune?”

“Not at all.”
“Ahh, I see. Then, I’ll take my win ♪”

“What do you mean?”
“I’m more hated by you than Sagiri.”

“…..O-okay.”

That’s about right.

“You love that you hate me.”
“Why are you happy about that?”

I don’t get her at all!

“Kuku, I won’t say. So then, go to the hospital tomorrow and report to me. That’s an order—Obey me.”

Elf grinned brightly and laughed as she finally left the bathroom.

「…………………………」

I watched her leave in silence.

「 Bah! Why is she like this?! 」

I splashed the hot water about.
The Next Morning

Sagiri and Elf saw me off at the entrance as I was leaving for school.

“Masamune, you haven’t forgotten, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”

I respond to Elf as though I’m her adolescent son. The way that Elf is taking care of me… It’s grinding my gears and I can feel those gears chip away. But in the end, I couldn’t be honest about how I felt about this.
Even after school that day, as soon as I left the school grounds, I was called out in a parental tone, saying,

“Masamune! Over here!”

I glance over and it’s Elf in uniform.

“Why are you here?”
“I’m here to accompany you to the hospital.”

“I don’t trust you. I’m not a kid. I’m leaving for there right now.”
“I wonder if you’re lying about that. Did you book an appointment?”

“Yeah, during lunch time.”
“Did you book with the one I recommended?”

“Yes.”
“Good.”

She looked relieved and said that she’s been worried about it all morning.

“What are you? My mum?”
“You… Can’t you at least call me Onee-chan?”

…In any case, it was not a name for younger people.

“Or… Oku-san or something.”

I ignored the delusions.

“Thanks for your concern. I ask that you take care of me.”
“Just doing as I’m requested.”

Two people walking side by side. The wind’s blowing. It’s November so you would think it’s cold.

Along the way, we started chatting.

“By the way, Masamune. Tell me your work schedule, from this month to the end of the year.”

“Huh? I mean I don’t mind, but…”

I open my task management app on my smartphone and handed it over to Elf.
She took a bit checking it over.

“They’re all big plans like new publications and events. There are so many things and details missing besides this too.”
“I have it, but I can’t seem to write it down.”
“What’s the most recent one?”

“The storyboard for the anime finished, so review it and return for fixing.”

“Okay… but what’s the problem?”
“It’s the entire thing. It’s not a thing I can properly review.”

“May I ask why?”

“When I look at the storyboard… I don’t actually understand it. And so— I don’t know how to manage it.”

“I was just studying how to do it.”

That’s what I wanted to say. I had bought a book to prepare for it because I knew that there were many things to go over about the storyline of the anime after hearing my senpais’ input.

“It was worth the read. I’m glad that I have that knowledge… People within the anime business assumes that the original author will understand all of this, like the storyboard and screenplays, and therefore be able to properly supervise the content and scripts.”

But I don’t know how to read a script, how to analyze a screenplay, nor do I understand how to breakdown a storyboard. There’s no flexibility here, no excuses being accepted— but all the while not bothering to even teach me and build me from the ground up. And so there’s this subtle nuance that if you don’t understand: Do Not Interrupt.

“That’ll be the case wherever you go. In fact, one can be a light novelist or a mangaka8, but have no experience in anime. There are only a limited number of people who can suddenly do something outside of their line of expertise.”

As we talk, we cross over a pedestrian overpass.

“I just suddenly become busy, so I then may not have enough time to study, or even have enough time to get involved in the first place.”

“There are many cases in which people don’t have a choice whether or not they’ll be allowed to be involved from the very start.”

“So what then? Am I lucky? Since I was able to get involved, but it’s not enough even though I studied and prepared prior to the meetings— An author should be able to be beneficial to the work by their involvement.”

“That’s correct. So what do you know then? You can follow the mapping of a storyboard, yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean I understand how to read it, but I don’t understand the full scope of it when it’s completed.”

“Scripts, storyboards, screenplays – you’ve only seen this much, yeah?”
Elf snaps her fingers and points to herself

“I have zero experience when it comes to seeing the full scope of the animation production process, so even if I know how to read a storyboard, I still wonder if I’m actually able to imagine the final result.”

“Well, I’m entirely inexperienced myself. When I change from a screenplay to a storyboard, the number of scenes and lines will increase or decrease.”

From there, a script meeting is held and the scenario in question will change based on the input from the producer and director. And even after that, it will more than likely change many more times after that than you can imagine. I see fans of the original story on the all over the internet being angry at the anime’s scriptwriter, complaining, “Why is this scene in it?”

There’s a chance it was in the script

But was later deleted when the playwright deemed it necessary and sent it back.

“When a storyboard’s scenario changes from the screenplay, it has to be reviewed in its entirety to see if the lines in the revision are still appropriate or if the storyline has become strange. That’s what I think the original author’s role is when it comes to these things.”

“If the author participates in the production that much, then sure.”

“I don’t know how to explain… like if you don’t understand the scope of the final product intimately, it’s difficult to concrete revision plan— especially when it comes to dialogue.”

I had ended up telling the director what concerns I had regarding the revision. Although the original author participates to help the movie, I feel like I needlessly put an extra burden on Director Amamiya because of my naiveté.

“Wait a sec…”

Elf pauses, starts using her smartphone, and then shows it to me.

“This was the screenplay of the first episode of the animated version of “The Dark Elf of Bakuen.”

She keeps on showing me, but then switches windows on her phone.

“And this is the same scene as a storyboard.”
“Ah.”

“Next is the same scene in the script.”

「………………」

“And this is the completed scene.”

A video started playing on the smartphone. Screenplay, storyboard, script, the completed scene. I’ve seen the entire process—

“Even after seeing it… I can’t seem to connect the storyboard with a completed scene in my head…”

“Okay, then how about this?”

Elf then proceeded to show me an edited storyboard and made it into a crude video.

“I used the actual voice dubs for this. Do you understand that the characters’ names are displayed at the timing of every dialogue?”

“Uh….”

I began to strain and squint my eyes, trying to see it more clearly.

“It’s just halfway between the storyboard and the completed scene. In this way, you should know the, ‘Specific timing of the dialogue.’ That’s was Masamune was concerned with, yeah?”

“That’s correct.”

There was a moment of clarity—a light bulb turned on in my brain.

“Okay… Now this I can understand. If the storyboard looks like this… Oh so that’s how it works… So that’s the reason for the ‘split dialogue’…”

“If it’ll help you, I can show you all 12 episodes later today.”

“You sure? It’d be super helpful but… How did you understand my problems?”

And its solutions?

“I’m a senpai whose already done all this?”
“Oh, yeah.”

The troubles of a Kouhai were, of course, already experienced by Senpais.

“Ah, I want to head home right now and watch 100 episodes worth of material! I think it’ll be for my growth!”

“I’ll give you the materials I used during my prep-work, but don’t strain yourself over it. Also, you know you aren’t going home, yeah? You’re going to the hospital right now, yeah?”

“…. How about tomorrow?”
“It was a good idea to accompany you, stupid Masamune.”

With my ear being pulled, I was (forcibly) taken to the hospital.

Next Morning, 03:30AM

I had to go to the bathroom. The hallway was still dark, but I know not to turn on the lights. I was gently sneaking, stepping lightly.

And—

“Good Morning.”

A voice came from the darkness. My shoulders stiffened. I slowly turned my head towards the voice, but then a finger started poking my cheek.

“Oh… Elf. Good Morning.”

She was pranking me this early in the morning, but her eyes were still squinting at me.

“It’s super early. It’s not even 4 o’ clock yet.”
“Well, I’m awake.”

“Didn’t Sagiri make you go to bed early after being mad at you some time before? So then why are you up so early now? Lack of a full night’s rest can also cause nettle rash. Even if you go to the hospital and get meds, you can’t deviate from your lifestyle, can you?”

“… Yeah, are you mad?”
“Slightly”

She booped my nose with her finger.

“I understand how you feel. I was the same way—and recently so was Sagiri.”

“What is this about Sagiri?”
“I’m already up and drawing right now.”

“Why are you up this early? When did you wake up?”

I mean, when it comes to overworking, I’m guilty, and while it’s fine to do your best, if you end up burning out because of it, then there’s no point and you’re just hurting yourself.

“I can ask the same question.”
“Yeah… Sorry.”

“If you can’t sleep now, then take a nap later. It’s not the best, but it’s something. –By the by, I told Sagiri the same thing as well.”

“…Yeah I got it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”

Elf turns the lights on. As the hall lights up, you can see the two girls better now. Elf seems to have already put on ordinary clothes instead of rocking pajamas right now.

“You got up as early as us.”

Elf chuckles and closes on eye while looking at them.

“Well, since we got up early, let’s make good use of our time.”

I was led up the stairs by Elf.

3:45AM : Sagiri’s Room
“Yamada Elf-chan’s secret plan to turn the tables…”

Elf raised her right arm high in front of me and Sagiri, then waved her arm energetically.

“Masamune! Sagiri! I’m going to make a Doujinshi[10] and participate in the winter comics!”

“… Why are you like this, especially this early in the morning?”
“…I was in the middle of doing something important…”

We ended up reacting quite coldly.

“That’s why you need a break!”

While she says this, her energy levels remained at a constant full throttle.

“I know the progress of your work and have scheduled accordingly for the future of us all! I’ve checked it multiple times.”

When being called out for providing such insight, Sagiri and I looked at each other.

— Did you teach Elf those things?
— You did the same thing too?

Elf shrugs mockingly in front of us and keeps eye contact.

“You guys are still busy every day – is that really what you should be doing right now?”

“It’s not the, ‘Absolute Thing I Have to do Now,’ but it’s something I want to do right now.

“Tombstone quote for a Workaholic.”

Elf just sighed in amazement.

“I assure you, Masamune and Sagiri… You both should have done enough already as the author of the anime’s source material— What you’re doing right now is ‘Nitpicking small details’ and ‘Scope Creeping[11]’.”

“But… if there’s something you can do… you should do that thing.”

“That’s a great mindset, but you should take my advice. It’s a good thing to take a break—have you ever actually thought about it? What you both are going to do after fulfilling your dreams?”

“Our Dream…”
“And what to do after…?”

Sagiri and I asked back in unison. Elf was hard baiting us to play along— Well, that’s what I thought, but we still took it.

“Yes, you guys are desperately trying to make your dream come true—but have either of you thought about to do after your dreams come true?”

Elf’s speech was more oppressive than usual.

“Yeah do you best to make your dreams come true—But what’s after that? Do you care about doing your best then?”

“That… I don’t even know if I can make our dreams come true… Is that something I need to think about right now?”

“You need to think about it.”

Elf continued,

“Not just Masamune and Sagiri—this is for all the authors out there, Listen up, rookies! Because if you neglect it, you’ll inadvertedly set your goals towards the “Success of the Anime” and keep it there. The original story will be over, but you’ll start to mass-produce spin-offs—start producing as if the stories connect with each other and enter into a blatant cash-grab that any reader can see through – Be aware of the shame of it!”

“Elf-chan’s book was also given 2-stars from an amateur review right after the anime ended.”

“Oof!”

“You did write a lot of spin-offs, didn’t you?”
“Oh shut your mouth!”

“The Yamada Elf got angry at the development of fighting the same boss while dumping new characters.”

“D-D-Don’t just focus on one part of what I’m saying. I’m not talking about you right now! Understand? You guys do your best to make your dreams a reality. Not only do I have to do my best, but I also have to prepare for after making my dreams a reality.”

“…So basically we should follow your advice?”

“Exactly! If you do what I say, both of you will improve your levels as creators, be able to have some good ol’ fashioned R&R, and get closer to the future you both want— All positives, I guarantee it!”

“I don’t believe the last part at all.”

“Immediately after my anime series finished, a review on Amazon gave it 5-stars. So there’s no mistaking it!”

I can’t do these things by myself! I wonder if I get it’s worth even getting upset over.

“And thusly, I’m going to make a Doujinshi.”

Interestingly, this whole ordeal reminds me of scene in a Doujinshi based on the second season of Suzumiya from way back when.

And yet, why do I feel comfortable about it?

— Dreams are important after they come true.
I remembered someone telling me that, and it kept bounding around.

“Hey Sagiri… Have you ever made a Doujinshi?”
“Why would you ask a hikikomori such a thing?”

“…Sorry.”
“I mean, of course I have.”

“Do you have it on you?!”
“Yep, I drew an erotic Doujinshi and showed it to Nii-san.”

“Ahh!”

Yep, there it is! That’s when that happened!
Before, there was a bit of a predicament because the girls at the time didn’t know where the, uh ‘chinchin[12]’ was…

“The erotic manga of the second season drawn by the official illustrator of SekaImo[13] herself… I wonder if it has a Doujinshi…”

“Hey now… Come on…”

I don’t think it’s completely inaccurate to call it that nowadays…

“But what Elf wants to make is something probably different from, well, ‘this,’ yeah?”

“I mean yeah. Of course I will listen to the ideas and opinions of my cohorts and decide accordingly… but I decided to make the Doujinshi a Light Novel with Illustrations and not a Manga.“

She put her hands together.

“In essence, an Offset book.”
“An Offset book?”

Sagiri repeats like a parrot.

I’m not going to go too much in depth with what an “Offset Book” is, but basically it’s a a particular fully created Doujinshi by which must rely on a printing company to custom bind based on requirements.

That brief explanation I just gave you is about the exact same information that Elf explained to Sagiri.

“Hm…” Sagiri ponders, “I’m not sure if I completely get it, but it seems fascinating.”

The words that followed must have been true since her face showing more and more enthusiastic about it.

I guess I suppose I should start thinking that way myself.

“Hey Elf, what’s your experience with Doujinshis?”
“None!”

Elf retorts, loud, proud, and boastful. Is this really gonna be okay?
… I’m suddenly starting to worry.

“It seems that there are a variety of things that need to get done such as participating in a large event, creating a social club, and taking requests.”

“Rest easy. I made a social club under Aniki’s name and I’ve already made a request. I announced the results yesterday.”

It seems that he got elected.

“Oh, so then you’re all go to go.”
“Elf-chan… Who are the members who will actually work with you? The three of us here?”

“No, no, it’s…”

Elf taps her cheek with her finger as she ponders away at the question for a moment.

And then,

“Let’s summon the rest of the club members before we have a full-scale meetup!”

“And… That is who exactly…?”

When asked, Elf smiled softly,

“Army-chan.”

Ah. Makes sense.

“Hmm… Okay, that’s why… I see.”

In less than 10 minutes after Elf’s announcement, all the club members congregated in my living room.

And by that, I mean only one additional person arrived.

“Oh! Now that’s intriguing! Make your Doujinshi— I’m in!”

The wild, red-haired girl.

Armeria-san, the head illustrator for all of Yamada Elf’s works.

And, as you know, she is also a friend of us siblings, in particular with Sagiri who considers her as both an Onee-san and her disciple.

“Have you ever done a Doujinshi, Army?”
“I’ve done one overseas! Though I’ve always wanted to do a Japanese Doujinshi conference.”

Considering that, solely relying on Army as the experienced one may be risky for us. For all intents and purposes, this is really the first take at a real Doujinshi for all of us.

Sagiri blinks for a moment then asks,

“Armeria-san… It’s not even 5AM yet. So how did you get here so fast anyway?”

“If my dearest beloved Emily beckons me, I will always come forth post haste!”

That didn’t answer the question at all.

She was called by Elf and simply came to my front door within 5 minutes.
At 5 in the morning.

A normal, reasonable person would still be sleeping!

To be frank, I wanted to ask more questions but it felt too strange that I hesitated.

Because it’s scary…

For one reason or another, she stayed at Elf’s house. She knew in advance that she would be called at this hour. I just have to force myself to agree with that kind of notion.
If that turns out to not be true, I would completely freak! So I didn’t ask further.

“Hehe~”

Elf moves to the center of the room and twirls around.
With her arms spread wide, said,

“I, Masamune, Sagiri, and Amelia – We’re going to make the Doujinshi together!”

“Yeah!”

Army-san agreed immediately. However, Sagiri and I still had our doubts.

“Hey Elf… Shouldn’t we also include Muramasa-san?”
“That’s right, we’re not calling her this time around.”

Elf nodded definitively.

It wasn’t that she forgot to call her, it was the fact she chose not to call her. A brief look around and I noticed that both Sagiri and Armeria staring at me.

I just had to take a deep sigh.

“Why?”

Elf prefaced, “The creative process should be done with the minimal number of people, particularly when it’s gonna be made in a small group. Muramasa would have said it herself anyway—‘Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth.’ I agree with that, so I won’t be calling Muramasa.”

“Are you saying that Muramasa-san is going to hold the Doujinshi back?”

「…………………………」

“No.”

Elf shook her head and said in a voice much quieter than usual.

“We would be holding Muramasa back.”

「…………………………」

I— No, both Sagiri and I stared at Elf.

I couldn’t believe that the Elf said something that would make her humble herself like this.

This is perhaps the first time hearing it.

“… Why are you two looking at me like that?”

Elf contorted her lips awkwardly at our reaction.

“Remember how it was when we went head to head against Muramasa, we wrote a joint novel?”

“Oof, that was god-awful.”

It was a complete mess.

“Yeah.”
“Well, it was fun to work together to make it.”

“Sure…”

Elf took a deep breath.

“At that time— If we were more capable, the end results would have definitely been different.”

「 ……… 」

“That joint novel was just for goofs and gaffs. I made that novel with the sole intent on showing Muramasa the true joys of creating things together, and achieve that purpose we did.”

“—Actually, I wanted to make it enjoyable for anyone to read.”

You don’t say?

“Wait… I don’t quite understand.”
“Sometimes we just have to start over.”

You didn’t want the creators to have fun, but you genuinely wanted to make it enjoyable for everyone who reads it— and us enjoying it had nothing to do with it? If all the participants were as good as Muramasa-senpai and Rintaro Umezono… Even for a joint novel, they would be able to pull it off.

But we couldn’t pull it off that time, I dragged you through the mud.
Is that how you truly feel about that time?

“Isn’t it such a frustrating feeling?” Elf laughed ferociously.

“So, let’s run it back! You and I will do our best to create this. Only then we’ll be able to cath up with her——— Masamune?”

“Huh?”
“Are you… crying?”

“Oh… Hah.. No I…”

I didn’t notice.

I wipe my tears with my sleeve. Elf peers into my face.

“Something a problem? Get something in your eyes? Or was the memory that frustrating for you?”

“… No, that’s not it.”
“Then… What?”

I quickly looked away.

“…It’s what you just said.”
“Huh?”

“No, nevermind— Don’t worry about it!”

You can read me.
I know you know deep down.

The person that I respected—— that I regarded as a great senior whom I felt was so far ahead of me, recognized me as “The Izumi Masamune that won’t weigh Yamada Elf down now.”

Before I knew it, my eyes started tearing.

I couldn’t admit it.

“As you were saying?” I retorted earnestly.

Not just because Sagari was enthusiastic.
I wanted to do this out of my own will.

“We’re gonna have to do that.” Elf gave off an air different than before, with a chuckle and a fluttering expression.

After the long meeting, Elf proclaims cheerfully,

“Well come on! Rally on me! We will form our doujin circle, ‘Yamada Elves and Her Servants’!”
“What kind of name is that?”

“Fufufu— Problem? It’s pretty straight forward, easy to understand, and has a wonderful ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“Excuse me Emily, but let’s have our group’s name be, ‘Yamada Elf’s Panties’.”

“It’s not as though we’re selling my underwear!”
“Just saying, if I was Elf-chan’s elf, I would absolutely show up from sheer curiosity. I think it’d be adorable.”

“Oh? Then, would you like that direction as the cover illustration?”
“You Perverts! Absolute fiends!”

“The Apprentice and EroManga-Sensei, shut up! Anything more than this is most definitely sexual harassment.”

“… I don’t know anyone by that name!”

The usual lines once again arrived. Sagiri turn away, pouting.
Elf looks unusually exhausted, rotating her shoulders.

“Well, I’ve already signed us up and selected! So the name of the club won’t change! Hah!”

“… I woulda been happy with panties.” Sagiri was complaining about that.

Maybe you should be a little more embarrassed with being hung up with that suggestion. I know I’m embarrassed, so I’m okay with not being ‘Panties’.

Elf recovers and continues.

“Am I the leader of this group?”

“Of course”
“Sure”
“Yeah.”

No one objected, and so the leader was decided.

Next,

“Then I’ll continue to manage us. Now, shall we discuss what we will make?”

“You’re going to be making a Doujinshi that’s a novel but with illustrations, right?”

“ Yeah— Well, I need to decide on some specifics, like— what kind of book is this? What should I focus on?”
I interjected, “I’m a beginner, so I’ll leave that up to you. I just want to know the format before I start writing.”

“That’s a given. It’s the first time all of us have written a Doujinshi, and I think we’ll be using the popular A5-sized, two tiered paper set. I’ll discuss the format in detail with Masamune separately.”

“Okay.”

A way of writing text changes depending on the format. A5-size, double tiered characters will be more compact than paperback, so if you write normally, it’ll be harder to read.

On the other hand, since it’s not a published light novel, but also being a work from the original author, the target age may inadvertently rise as well. The percentage of readers who are unfamiliar with your works may decrease.

It’s a different style of reading—so the format of writing is also different. Then, how do we arrange the characters? How does one make it easier to read?

—Should the way I put in Kanji change?
—Should I limit the number of characters in a given scene?
—If needed, how much would you change from the norm?
—How frequent should I put in line breaks?
—What is the ratio between dialogue and background sentences?

Thinking about things like this is always a lot of fun.
And Elf might have agreed with me on that point.

“I’ll make it enjoyable and give you results. In the end, what we gain is what’s most important.”

Elf’s lines seems to answer what I thought, raising a finger with a smile.

“At this event, we will announce the goal we need to accomplish. One is to make a quality book that is profitable—”

“Of course.”

All the participants are professionals.

Although this was our first go around, I think I needed to make sure things are clear with the group.

“The second is to finish the event in the black after taking expenses into account.”

“If we gloss over too many details, we will go over-budget in an instant, so be wary. This goes especially for Emily and Sagiri. Well, since I’m participating in the project, so I think I can manage that.”

“How many books will we make?”
“What about price?” Sagiri and I asked concurrently.

“If possible, I’d like to price it at ¥1000 (~$10USD) so it’s hard to match. As for the amount, I was thinking 100 copies is sufficient.”

“That’s a solid plan, Elf.” Armeria-san says, inquisitively swinging her head.

I would have to agree. I thought Elf would start off with, “We are going 500 copies!” as though it didn’t matter if we were first timers there.
The number of copies may seem a bit too low— almost overly cautious even.
But what are my thought about it? Well, 100 copies of a Doujinshi for us first-timers— There are several other writers who will also be participating besides us.

So, I think with this, we’ll be able to sell out without any problems.
Pretty sweet plan, huh?

I glance over to Armeria-san who has the most theoretically experience between us as she goes,

“I’m not sure about Japanese Doujinshi eventsm but if we’re the leader, shouldn’t we print more?”

“Well, since it’s me participating, I have no doubt we’ll be able to sell out, even at a 1000 copies. But, if you print a lot, the seller will be super burdened.”

“Ah…”

Among the 4 of us, 3 members (including myself) will be entering this kind of venue for the first time. I don’t know what it’ll be like, so I think it should be better to err on the side of flexibility.

Besides, our purpose isn’t to make a lot of money, per say.
These were Elf-senpai’s thoughts.

While I was convinced with her explanation, Armeria-san asked,

“Do you want me to call some helpers?”

“No, don’t call them. I’ve already borrowed some power from my Aniki, and I’ll have him escort us on the day… but we will be doing things ourselves from the beginning to the end.”

“Hmm… You’re in good spirits.”
“Teehee~ I mean, I am the leader of this group!”

Elf beams pride with that statement, talking about her plan with great excitement.

“Now then! Let’s get down to brass tacks with the group leader (me): finishing the event in the black— with a profit after costs! At ¥1000 x 100 copies, if we subtract the necessary costs like the membership fees and travel expenses for three people, the remainder becomes our budget for printing!”

Suddenly, a big ? appeared above everyone’s head.

Except Elf.

So, on behalf of the members, I had to ask,

“Just to be clear, Group Leader Yamada Elf, how much is 1000 x 100?”
“100,000”

“Wha…”

She’s completely unaware of the problem.

I hope you don’t make a single mistake in your maths while explaining it in a cool way.

“Hey Armeria-san, this is our leader?”

“This is Emily’s cuteness, right?”
“Sure. If you’re not participating in the same project, it’s adorable.”

“Sagiri!! Masamune’s being mean to me! Comfort me!”
“Elf-chan, I want to make it full color.”

“You realize how huge of a request you suddenly made!?”

I know it’s what Sagiri wants, but I have to ask why.

“Hey Sagiri… While it is a Doujinshi, is it being full color necessary?”

“Yes”
“Do you mean not only the cover but also the text pages as well?”

“Let’s see… All the illustrations will be in full color.”

「 ? ? ? 」

“O-Okay… And how many pages are there going to be?”
“About 100 pages.”

“What!? Are you telling me that you are going to draw and fully color 50 illustrations?!”

See, I knew things would fall off the rails like this!

“In the first place, if you print 100 copies of a book in A5 full color, it’s going to cost a lot of money. Even without my bad maths skills, if we set the price at ¥1000, we will be in the red.”

“I’m gonna need a lot of advice and consultation. Maybe it’d be better to use a non-book format… but I’m confident in the content.”

Sagiri’s face glew with such motivation that everyone felt like listening to the end.

But at the same time, I had a bad feeling.

“I can’t imagine what exactly Sagiri wants to make. Explain a bit more, if you please?” Elf inquired.

“Hmm… Okay then.”

In response to Elf’s question, Sagiri sat flat on a cushion and nodded her head.

“Firstly, Armeria-chan and I will draw 10 color illustrations of the cute girls. So don’t worry too much about that workload.”

“Yeah… Okay… Well, I get that part.”

“I’ll make a lot of difference between facial expressions, torn versions of clothes, and risqué poses to choose from.”

“…Doujinshi… What do you do with the text then?”
“Put coloured text on top of the color illustrations in an alluring way.”

“A collection of erotic computer graphics.”

Elf’s cheeks turned red.
EroManga-Sensei, on the other hand, had the brightest eyes.

“I’d like the price to be ¥972.”
“Where did that specific price come from?”

“20% off for ¥777. According to research, this is the standard price online.”

“How did you get these details!?”

What do you mean ‘Standard Price’?

“For now…” Armeria-san scratches her head in exhaustion.

“EroManga-Sensei’s evil enthusiasm trying to infest us. No! Reject it! Objection! This is for Yamada and Izumi Masamune’s original goal for this meeting: Let’s make a Doujinshi, not an erotic CG[14] book.”

“Well… If you want to put in a good scene, that’s fine…And I don’t know anyone with that name!”

“I’m sorry, EroManga-Sensei~”

Sagiri, I wanted to hear your requests as much as possible, but… I think it’ll be torturous for me to make an erotic CG book with 3 beauties.

And—

The policy for us has already decided on some details.

Costs will be split equally, and the profits— only after the costs are taken out, will be split equally.

We’re going to make a 100 page Doujinshi.
Color only for the cover, Several monochromatic illustrations in between.

Izumi Masamune and Yamada Elf will write one original novel each with just under 50 pages in A5, two-tiered paper.

Although goods won’t be distributed, a small number of acrylic stands and the like will be produced by Armeria and Sagiri for Decoration of the booth.

—And so on.

“After we’ve made the plot, we’ll hand it over to the illustrators and we’ll all start working together from there.”

“We all work in parallel.”

“Yep yep. And the feel and flow will be different than a commercial novel— Will you be alright?”

“Of course”

I didn’t want to say that.

“It’ll be alright, Sagiri.”

“Okay. I can draw an illustration just by Izumi-sensei’s plotting and explanations… I’ll be able to do it…”

Clenched fists and power move inward. Sagiri was in motivated mode.

“Oh, look at those two. I’m so sorry that you’re this motivated.” Elf said, simply.

“I’m going to reverse the usual pairing. Armeria-chan will draw for Masamune’s novels, and EroManga-Sensei will draw for mine.”

“What!? Why?”

Sagiri leaned forward, her hands hitting the floor. Elf grinned at her pose.

“This is the very mission we need to accomplish for this event. By changing the environment from the comfortable, everyone can achieve further growth. And because of that, we’ll produce something even better than ever.”

“That’s… Not true…”

Sagiri tightens her lips in full discontent.

“…You sure it’ll work?”
“Yes.” Declared Elf.

“Especially those like us who have been working with the same illustrators since our debut. New challenges will definitely lead to growth. Since you’re involved in the anime work, you’re not aware of this.”

“… I understand..”

Sagiri nods heavily.

I’ve been doing a lot of new jobs myself… Now I can do things I couldn’t do before. “I didn’t know if I could do it,” turned out to be possible— or stayed beyond my grasp. I was forced to understand what I lacked.
And so I practiced, studied, and practiced some more— I learned new skills.

In the first place, this doujin project is to grow together towards a future where your true has come true.

“Hey Sagiri… Do you want to try it?”

“…Do you remember when I said, ‘Izumi-Sensei doesn’t like working with illustrators who aren’t me?’”
“Of course.”

It was when I first met Elf.
We didn’t get along well at all, so we fought a lot— back then, we had a confrontation through novels. Sagiri was staying in her room and was doing special training with her illustrations which was the result of misinterpreting Elf who moved next door as being the new illustrator that will work with Izumi Masamune (いずみマサムネ)[1].

“Even when I versed EroManga-Sensei G, that was the case too.”
“…I See.”

When Armeria-san concelead her true identity and confronted Sagiri. She got angry at EroManga-Sensei G for preventing her from working together with Izumi Masamune (いずみマサムネ)[1].

She cherished working with Izumi Masamune (いずみマサムネ)[1] so much.

“If you know it, then fine.”

Sagiri, with a truly discontented face, says in a soft voice,

“I’ll lend him to Armeria-chan for only this time.”
“Ohh! I got a loan!”

The conversation between us was very bizarre from the outside looking in.

“Nevermind, give him back to me.”

“Hah, I get this. And Masamune know why! This time, we’re going to work together while loving me and not with Sagiri!”
Armeria-san, who was already used to it, put her arm around my shoulder.

“Bah! Don’t do that!”
“It’s only a little tease— Well, Masamune?”

“Hey, don’t make fun of Sagiri.”

As I complained to Armeria-san, she moved her face close to mine and whispers with a nasty smile,

“Doesn’t this look like a golden opportunity? To make your favorite girl get jealous over you?”

“… honestly, yeah.”

Armeria’san always tries to make Elf jealous… So I get it from her standpoint.

“But I’m not going to do that.”
“Ho oh! You’re quite the ‘gentle’man, aren’t you?”

She grinned and held out her right hand.

“Sorry it’s only gonna be for this one time, but let’s cooperate well— partner.”

“Thank you.”

I held the hand of the illustrator I would be relying on tightly.

This was originally a ritual between Izumi Masamune (いずみマサムネ)[1] and EroManga-Sensei.

“Sagiri, we can’t afford to lose either.”

Elf held out her right hand to Sagiri.

“We’ll make something more interesting than that pair!”
“Elf really like to play, don’t you?”

“Yes, I love it! How about you?”
“Well, I neither hate or like it. But I know I don’t want to lose.”

“Teehee~ I know.”

They looked at each other and stood tall.

“Let’s win, Elf! Against Izumi and Army!”

Izumi Masamune and Yamada Elf will publish one novel one after another in the Doujinshi. Meaning if you read it, you can directly compare it.

Both Illustrations and the Novels. This game…

It was… Inevitable.

And—

The enemy this time wasn’t only the Yamada Elf.

This time, EroManga-Sensei is my Enemy.

Translation Notes

1) Name is in Kanji—Pen Name is in Katakana
8) Mangaka : Manga artist / writer
9) Kouhai – Junior
10) Doujinshi – Original work done in relation to a source material. Typically not from the same group.
11) Scope Creep – Adding on more and more content in a project, making it impossible to finish.
12) Chinchin – A childish way of saying a penis. Left in for hilarity’s sake.
13) SekaImo – Abbv of Izumi’s anime “The World’s Cutest Little Sister” not to be confused with the Korean Manwha with the same acronym (세계제이릐 여동생: The World’s Greatest Little Sister—SekaImo”
14) CG – Computer Graphics