Chapter 310: Chapter 308: A Little Story After Drinking
For a manga artist transitioning from pure love genres, the concept of style is naturally not a problem. After all, if you can’t even draw the characters well, how can you make other people’s brothers cry?
Shirakawa Sawahei took the sample issue that Ise Yu Yuzhijin brought back from the mailbox, flipped through it casually, and found that although this guy was usually unserious, the drawings were indeed quite good.
With a level 5 drawing skill, I’m willing to call you the strongest in this wave.
"In a while, I’ll invite Sister Rion and Miss Morihara, and we’ll all go out for a meal together!" Cute little Ise Yu said excitedly, "Let’s not reveal to Minister Sakurazawa and the others yet. I’ll share the joy with them once my manga really starts to take off~"
"So what do you think counts as really taking off?"
"Well... of course, it’s when I can take time off for any reason I want..."
"..."
As expected, this guy’s mind is still full of goofing off...
But since Ise Yu was preparing to celebrate, Shirakawa Sawahei, being her housemate and friend, naturally didn’t intend to oppose her. The girl cheerfully coordinated a meeting time with Hinata Rion and Morihara Tomona, and then snuggled back into the sofa, switching to a waste mode...
It’s been a long time since I could lie peacefully on the sofa watching TV... A long-lost little happiness... So nice...
During the dinner gathering in the evening, Ise Yu and Hinata Rion chatted for a long time, holding their gifts.
After all, in Neon, it’s customary to bring souvenirs when going on a trip. Morihara Tomona also received a souvenir from the slacking-off girl, feeling very touched.
"It’s such an honor that Teacher Hei Bai remembers me... By the way, when’s your submission for the third Chapter..."
Bringing up this topic, Ise Yu Yuzhijin’s face froze for a moment, and she slowly said, "Well... about the third Chapter, I’ve got plenty of inspiration... I’ve been working diligently these past few days, but because new ideas occasionally pop into my head... I often make slight changes..."
After listening to Ise Yu’s seemingly earnest explanation, Shirakawa Sawahei silently summarized it for her.
Still drawing, still drawing (0%)
"Oh, I see... Well, I’ll be waiting for your submission, Teacher Hei Bai." The newbie editor smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, teacher."
"It’s really nothing... Miss Morihara, you’re the one working hard..."
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
"By the way, Sister Rion, what have you been up to during the summer vacation? It seems like other than Summer Comic, there’s been nothing much going on with you."
"Me? I’ve of course been busy with the comic book store... The adult world isn’t easy, you know... Youth is so nice..."
"Teacher Hinata is busy with work too..." Morihara Tomona raised a glass in admiration, "Recently, our magazine has been quite busy... It’s still the best to be a student, having both summer and spring vacations..."
"Exactly, exactly, let’s drink a toast..."
Seeing the two begin to binge on beer, Shirakawa Sawahei quietly moved his glass a bit away.
It’s not possible yet, can’t do it, haven’t found a skill partner to boost my drinking capacity...
The two adults, after drinking a round, planned to find a new place to start another round—Neon people seem to really love going from one tavern or izakaya to another, which they call "ladder sake", implying climbing up one level at a time.
He wasn’t worried about Hinata Rion and Morihara Tomona’s safety since this izakaya culture is quite prevalent in Neon. Occasionally, in the mornings, you could see people in suits lying on the streets, mostly office workers who got drunk the night before and couldn’t make it home.
The only thing to pay attention to is hoping these two won’t end up going to Ginza for drinks... Young ladies going to find other young ladies, what kind of image is that~
"Shirakawa~ Should we also go for the next round~"
"What next round? You want to join them for drinks?"
"Nope." The slacking-off girl cheekily said, "I just wanted to get something to eat, I’ve heard there’s a famous oden place nearby~"
"Let’s go buy some for a midnight snack!"
"..."
To Ise Yu Yuzhijin’s surprise, Shirakawa Sawahei didn’t immediately refuse. He hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating something.
"Let’s go buy then." Shirakawa Sawahei nodded, "Let’s also grab some beer on the way back."
"Eh? Buy beer? Shirakawa, aren’t you unable to drink?"
"Could it be, you’re thinking about having Chinese-style beer duck?"
...
Without further explanation, he quickly bought the oden with the girl and then went to a convenience store to buy a batch of beer.
Even though drinking by minors is prohibited in Neon, as long as you’re not in a school uniform challenging the shop clerks, they won’t force you to show identification. Shirakawa Sawahei smoothly got the beer, and took the puzzled slacking-off girl back home.
"Shirakawa... Why on earth did you buy beer?"
"To conduct an experiment."
Shirakawa Sawahei unpacked the beer, checked the alcohol content carefully, and seriously told Ise Yu Yuzhijin, "In a while, I’ll start measuring my ultimate level of drunkenness by milliliters, so keep an eye on me and make records."
"Scientific observation!" Ise Yu Yuzhijin exclaimed, "I’m great at that, back in elementary school, my teacher always praised my drawings of mice in my science diary..."
"..."
"More or less. Just keep an eye on me, note my reactions when I’m drunk, and don’t let me get hurt."
The slacking-off girl readily agreed, and upon seeing this, Shirakawa took out the measuring cylinder and began testing in 20ml increments.
The first sip... No feeling...
Second, third sips... Shirakawa slowly increased his alcohol intake, gradually noticing changes in his body.
By about half a bottle, Shirakawa could feel a significant level of drunkenness; this was different from the beach barbecue incident when he drank a lot in one go and blacked out. This time, he came prepared and roughly gauged his current limit.
He gestured to the slacking-off girl, indicating he was now in a drunken state and for her to take notes. With that, he leaned against the sofa and gradually lost consciousness...
"Shirakawa..."
"Shirakawa?"
Ise Yu Yuzhijin shook his arm, realized he was genuinely drunk, and only then relaxed, flashing a typical villain smile.
Heh heh... Heh heh heh heh...
...
As his consciousness slowly returned, Shirakawa Sawahei gradually opened his eyes, noticing that this time the headache was noticeably milder than the last...
So... what was my final record?
He looked around and noticed cute little Ise Yu lying on the nearby sofa, clothes disheveled, exposing an alluring collarbone, her eyes empty and sorrowful, with a standard look of life weariness.
"Shirakawa... so mean... Obviously, we’re just friends... Yet taking advantage while drunk..."
"I most hate it... this kind of Shirakawa... Waaa..."
Shirakawa Sawahei: ???