"Sagiri, are you hungry?"
After hanging up the phone with Black Cat, there was a knock on the door.
That was her adopted brother, Izumi Masamune. Since her stepfather and mother passed away, only she and her adopted brother remained in the family.
To be honest, she had a good impression of this older brother, after all, when she was feeling down and withdrawn, he took care of everything, not only taking her to school but also preparing food for her.
Thinking about this, Sagiri felt a little guilty.
Because she didn't want to have any contact with the outside world, her older brother shielded her from everything, and she spent her days as a shut-in, either drawing or playing games.
The Black Cat I just met was someone I met through playing a game.
At that moment, Sagiri happened to feel a little hungry.
He opened the door and said, "I'm hungry."
Recently, strange memories have been popping into her head, fragmented and disjointed, which has greatly improved her NEET symptoms. So now she dares to open the door and communicate with her brother.
"Then come down for dinner."
A gentle expression appeared on Izumi Masamune's face.
My younger sister has recently started opening the door, and she's no longer afraid even when she's home alone, which is a great start.
If this continues, she will likely soon be able to emerge from the shadows of the past and enjoy the sunshine.
"Good."
A rather weak voice rang out, and then she followed behind her cheap older brother.
After lunch, Sagiri planned to return to her room.
Just then, the doorbell rang, Izumi Masamune, who was about to clear the table, was immediately stopped. He wondered why someone would come to the door at this hour.
When Sagiri heard the doorbell, she immediately returned to her room.
Even though her brother is outside and she can go out on her own, she will still instantly hide back in her room if any other strangers appear.
Izumi Masamune, and a little girl in a black dress stood outside.
"Who are you?"
Izumi Masamune was certain that he did not recognize this girl who exuded an elegant air. Seeing her appearance, he felt as if he were seeing a Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese woman).
"Hello, is Izumi Sagiri home?"
The other party did not answer the question, but instead seemed to ask it rather impatiently.
"Sagiri ...is..." Izumi Masamune nodded, then his face showed an expression of disbelief as he said, "Could you be Sagiri's friend?!"
Sagiri attended Sagiri before she became autistic, so she should have had friends or classmates. At first, some friends and classmates came to visit her, but Sagiri never opened the door or responded. Over time, those people stopped coming.
Only her class monitor, Megumi Kanno, persisted and gave her some study summaries.
But every time Kanno Megumi came over, she was turned away at the door; Sagiri simply wouldn't open it for her.
The beautiful young woman before him, who resembled a Yamato Nadeshiko, was visiting for the first time. Izumi Masamune was very curious about how his sister knew her.
I guess so.
The Black Cat nodded indifferently, then turned its head to look behind Izumi Masamune, wanting to see where Sagiri was.
With her computer skills, it would be easy for her to find out Sagiri's home address. She had planned to visit her home a long time ago when she was commissioned to draw illustrations for the novel.
But I haven't had time to come over.
She can't take it anymore.
Since becoming the illustrator for her novel, she has received an average of three sarcastic phone calls a day. Each call is not to inquire about problems with the novel or to offer creative advice, but rather to launch into a tirade of sarcasm before immediately hanging up.
Since he wouldn't even talk to me on the phone, Black Cat had to come over to teach this guy a lesson.
She's already mocked her own novel, so how could Black Cat possibly tolerate her?
"Sagiri is in her room on the second floor, but she doesn't like to meet with others. Even if you are a friend, she may not see you. So if Sagiri doesn't want to see you, don't be angry. Because all sorts of things have happened at home, Sagiri is not very happy."
Izumi Masamune hurriedly tried to make amends for his sister, hoping that the other party would not be disappointed even if he did not see his sister.
Sagiri's friends were disappointed because they didn't get a response, and then they never came back.
"Oh?"
The Black Cat raised an eyebrow.
That girl sometimes does speak in a very weak voice, making her sound easy to bully, but in reality, what she means is that she really wants people to beat her up.
For example, mocking the problems with her novels is already commonplace.
She also frequently engages in online arguments with haters on anonymous forums. On these forums, she has a well-known nickname. "The Dog of the Seraphim Artist." Whenever she smells someone insulting her, she immediately attacks. Her greatest achievement was exchanging insults with someone for an entire year until the other party admitted defeat.
After learning this news, Black Cat had already made a decision: not to engage in verbal sparring with her, to ignore her taunts, and to wait until the day he couldn't hold back any longer before having a real-life offline showdown.
Now she's here.
Then she learned from her brother that this guy had autism? Or was he a shut-in?
When did otaku become so powerful?
A hint of suspicion flashed in the Black Cat's eyes, then it said, "It's okay. Sagiri and I have been online friends for several years. She'll let me in."
Izumi Masamune looked surprised when he heard this.
"Oh, I see." Izumi Masamune opened the door, let the Black Cat in, and asked curiously, "How did you meet my younger sister?"
"We met while playing games. Your sister is too bad at the game; she can only win by clinging to me," Black Cat said calmly.
Playing with someone?
The word instantly popped into Izumi Masamune's mind, and he smiled and said, "Thank you so much for playing with my sister."
The Black Cat glanced at him and said, "This isn't free."
"Huh?" Izumi Masamune was a little confused. It wasn't free? But didn't his sister have no money? How could she pay for a companion?
He couldn't understand this problem. He had all the family's money in his hands, so where would his sister get the money to hire a companion?
Could it be...?
An unbelievable thought flashed through Izumi Masamune's mind.
At this moment, the Black Cat had already gone up to the second floor and arrived at a door with a pink sign that read Sagiri's name.
Now that we're here, the Black Cat won't show any politeness to Sagiri.
He pressed the doorknob and opened Sagiri's door.
Normally, Sagiri locks the door, but recently she felt she needed to make a change, and since her brother lives alone at home, she has gradually stopped locking the door.
However, this gave the Black Cat an opportunity.
The door was opened, and Sagiri looked completely bewildered.
Since my brother never comes in without knocking, it must be a stranger who comes in.
Upon seeing the Black Cat dressed in a black dress, Sagiri was stunned and speechless. She stood up nervously, wanting to call her brother for help.
Then, the Black Cat slammed the door shut. The loud bang startled Sagiri, who shrank back nervously, her eyes darting around frantically, searching for a chance to escape.
"So you're the x Manga Artist."
It should have been a question, but the Black Cat said it with an affirmative tone.
"Who is it? Don't... don't... come closer." Sagiri resisted, her voice weak, her tone conveying a sense of vulnerability.
"Hehe, accept my judgment! I am the fallen angel Black Cat, x Manga Artist, and today is my death anniversary!" Black Cat instantly jumped onto Sagiri and pinned her to the ground.
Recalling Sagiri's mockery over the past few days, Black Cat's anger swelled even more.
When Sagiri heard this nickname, she immediately realized that her powerful backer had come knocking on her door.
Her writing is terrible, and she often mocks her, telling her to stop writing because it's awful and she'll never have a chance to win a new author award.
Aside from being a top player in the game, everyone else on my three-year online friend list was a complete noob. My initial unease about this stranger vanished instantly.
The thought that she would actually come to beat her up triggered Sagiri's rebellious spirit. She said weakly yet firmly, "Your novels are awful! They're all just plot devices. Who could understand them?"
Then they started fighting.
Izumi Masamune happened to walk up to the second floor when he heard the two arguing. He was delighted; it had been so long since he had seen Sagiri so lively.
And what topics they were talking about.
X Manga Artist? A newcomer award? A bad novel?
Wait a minute, the x Manga Artist, isn't that the illustrator who's always collaborated with me on my novels? She's actually my sister!
When he learned of this, Izumi Masamune was stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief. His sister's money was not obtained illegally, but was earned through her work as an illustrator.
However, the content of the x Manga Artist's work isn't exactly normal either.
The x Manga Artist is widely recognized in the illustration industry for his superb skills. However, all his illustrations ultimately carry a mysterious aura that stirs the viewer's desire.
After thinking for a moment, Izumi Masamune slowly withdrew, waiting for his sister and her friends to finish playing before taking some drinks and finding an opportunity to go in.
However, Izumi Masamune was unaware that the two girls inside the room had fought so hard that they had even taken off each other's clothes.
It was Sagiri who moved her hand first.
When the fight started, Sagiri's idea was to lift up her opponent's skirt and see what she was wearing underneath.
So the Black Cat learned from the barbarians' superior techniques to subdue them; if you take off my clothes, I'll take off yours too.
Soon, the two people in the room had their clothes thrown aside, leaving them with only two pieces of cloth on their bodies, facing each other almost naked.
The Black Cat gritted its teeth and said, "I need you to apologize to me! My novel isn't bad!"
Sagiri retorted without backing down, "Trash novel, even a dog wouldn't read it!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Sagiri, your brother brought you some drinks. May I come in?"
Black Cat & Sagiri (Erkang's hand) quickly stopped them, saying, "Wait!"
The two quickly put their clothes back on, then sat Sagiri at the table. At this moment, Sagiri picked up the megaphone, put it on, and said, "Brother, come in."
Izumi Masamune carried in two drinks and immediately noticed his sister and her friend's messy hair. It looked like they were fighting and had messed up each other's hair.
He ignored the situation, put down his drink, and sat down at the table.
The two had originally planned to continue their fight after Izumi Masamune left, but now that a third person was present, they were both too embarrassed to continue.
"Um, Sagiri, you mean the x Manga Artist?"
"I don't know this name!" Sagiri's face instantly turned red. The thought of her brother seeing the drawings she posted on her blog filled her with shame and indignation, and she quickly retorted.
Black Cat chuckled, "It's her! She's the Manga Teacher!"
Sagiri bared her teeth at the Black Cat, as if to say, "You just wait."
"Um..." Izumi Masamune scratched his head and said, "I am Izumi Seimune, who has been cooperating with you all along."
Sagiri was taken aback.
It seems the editor mentioned this name to her.
She has been responsible for illustrating the author's novels for the past two years, but the work has always been handled by the editor. She would draw illustrations for whomever the editor asked her to, so she never got to know the illustrators she was working with.
"Eh, it's actually my brother?" Sagiri exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide.
What an unexpected coincidence!
Then Sagiri immediately said with sparkling eyes, "Brother, you're a novelist, your novels are much better. Come and see, Black Cat's novels are just awful. You're a novelist too, you can definitely give a professional evaluation!"
The Black Cat actually went to her door to beat her up because of her mockery. There was also a novelist there, so her brother could also say that her novel was trash!
"Huh? You're a novelist too?" Izumi Masamune looked at the Black Cat with surprise.
Gokou Ruri felt a little embarrassed when people found out she was writing a novel, but since she was currently cosplaying the Night Demon Queen, shyness was not an option. So she regained her composure and said, "That's right! I put a lot of effort into writing it. As long as there are good illustrations, my novel will definitely win a newcomer award!"
Izumi Masamune was ashamed; even he dared not say those words.
Is Sagiri's friend really that confident?
I took the tablet from Sagiri, and there was a Word document open on it. The dense text inside was almost dizzying to read.
"... this..."
"Isn't it a headache? These densely packed settings are like ants, so numerous and messy, you can't even see a single one!" Sagiri said angrily.
In order to create a character based on the setting, she gritted her teeth and studied for several days, a process that was extremely painful.
Izumi Masamune frowned as he glanced at it.
Then he commented, "Well... it's not entirely without merit, but there are just too many plot points that negatively impact the viewing experience."
Black Cat's novel writing style is to start with a plot and then follow it with a long section of setting, which can easily make readers lose interest in continuing to read.
Didn't your editor mention this issue to you?
Based on his writing experience, editors are very responsible towards their authors. Even for someone like Black Cat, the editor would still offer some suggestions, such as deleting some settings.
The Black Cat lowered its head and said, "I have said that, but if there are too few settings, readers will not be able to feel the grand world I have created."
Izumi Masamune: Sweating Soybeans. jpg