"J-just ten original manuscripts..." Eriri murmured. "It's not like I'm..."
"Just for this period of time..." Sogo Doma sighed. Even he had to admire Mashiro's prowess as a many-tentacled monster. If he hadn't become serious and far surpassed her, he might have started wondering whether she was even human!
Of course...
Her improvement had also been visible to the naked eye. Though Shaqiang had been guiding her, her progress was still unexpected. The proof was that Sogo Doma had been criticizing her less and less. With her first manuscript, he could immediately say, "Why does this male supporting character even exist?"
The second manuscript: "Wasn't his exit way too abrupt?"
The tenth manuscript: "Let's not talk about the male supporting character, but the heroine falling in love was way too easy..." That was all he could criticize, from the plot to the characters' emotions.
"So, what kind of feeling is love?" Mashiro Shiina asked, puzzled.
Sogo Doma: "..."
He didn't want to answer.
Fortunately, Mashiro had needed to take make-up exams at the time, giving him an excuse to stop her from continuing. Drawing manga had somehow made her confront a serious question like emotions. Heh heh...
Setting that aside.
"Y-you're lying!" Eriri seemed to realize something as well.
Geniuses weren't scary. What was scary was when a genius worked harder than you did.
"Why would I lie to you?" Sogo Doma shrugged again. "Mashiro's been rejected many times. An ordinary person would have long given up on becoming a manga artist. After all, her achievements in other fields far surpass anything she's done in manga..."
"But she still chose to become a manga artist," Eriri murmured.
"Mashiro just wanted to convey something more interesting to them..."
"More interesting?"
"Honestly, I find doujinshi pretty interesting too..." Sogo Doma added.