Eriri face flushed as she protested, but deep down, she was thrilled. She was delighted by Kyousuke's recognition of her value and satisfied by the affirmation of her abilities.
"Fine, I'll do it. Just pay me 1,000 yen a day."
"Actually... I wasn't planning on hiring you..." Kyousuke muttered under his breath.
"What?! Are you messing with me?"
Still basking in her excitement, Eriri's mood took a sharp turn at his words, instantly flaring into anger.
What was with this guy? One moment he said she was invaluable to him, and the next, he wouldn't even spare a measly 1,000 yen?
Her heart swelled with grievance. She was already willing to help him for free, yet now he—
"No, no, wait! That's not what I meant!" Kyousuke hurriedly explained upon seeing her face darken.
"What I'm saying is that the standard pay for a manga assistant doesn't even come close to the value of what you're offering. And that 1,000 yen? It's way below market price."
"Then what do you suggest? Spit it all out at once. If you keep me in suspense, I won't help you draw!"
Though she said this with irritation, the truth was that she had already decided to help him, no matter what.
"Let's make this a joint project. We'll co-author the manga and share the profits equally."
Kyousuke hesitated before speaking. Initially, he had only planned to give Eriri a cut of the manga's profits while keeping all the rights for himself.
But when he saw the amount of effort and passion she had poured into those illustrations, he couldn't bring himself to be that stingy.
"Co-author? Do you even understand what you're saying?"
Eriri stared at him, mouth slightly open, her bright blue eyes filled with disbelief.
"More or less."
"Then why?! Aren't you drawing this manga just to make money? Even if it gets serialized, it won't bring in that much. If you split it with me, you'll have even less left for yourself."
"Even if I need money, there are some things that should never be compromised."
Hearing this, Eriri lowered her head in thought for a few seconds before looking back up at him. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she grinned.
"Haha! So this is your so-called 'morality driven by personal interest'?"
"If you want to put it that way, sure."
Though Kyousuke was technically copying a manga from his past life, he still deeply respected the hard work that went into creative endeavors.
A flexible moral compass could be spun into a noble pursuit, right?
One day, when he made money, he'd make sure to compensate everyone generously.
"Alright, I accept! But I won't co-author it with you. You have your principles, and I have my pride. I, Eriri, will create a work of my own!"
Her voice was brimming with confidence. Anyone who heard her declaration wouldn't doubt for a second that she would achieve her goal.
"Then let's give it our all" Kyousuke, thrilled to have recruited such a powerhouse, grinned.
"First, let's properly discuss the story outline."
Eriri opened a blank document, ready to take notes. She knew Kyousuke was a complete newbie, so she would have to guide him through the process.
"Well, uh... Even though you keep asking about the outline, I don't actually have one..." Kyousuke admitted sheepishly.
"That's fine. An outline is basically just your ideas for how the story will unfold. For example, if your manga is about heroes fighting monsters, think of it like Ultraman—what kind of monsters do they battle?"
"What's the backstory behind these monsters? What are their abilities? And then, what kind of heroes are there? What's their history and skill set?"
Eriri, on the verge of debuting as a doujin artist, was clearly well-versed in story development.
She spoke with such clarity and confidence that Kyousuke felt utterly lost.
To be honest, while he remembered parts of the original manga's plot, recreating it in full was another matter entirely.
As for the monsters, he could recall Cockroach Man, Subterranean King, Crab Man, Vaccine Man, the Giant, Deep Sea King... Oh, and the meteor—the one from the episode that partially revealed Saitama's perspective on heroism.
Then there were others... Seaweed Man? Mosquito Woman? Mad Scientist? Artificial Monsters? And later, the Monster Association...
Wait, now that he thought about it, even though he couldn't remember all the details, the fragments he did recall were already enough to create a lengthy series.
So, he relayed everything he could remember to Eriri, who diligently recorded it all.
"So, what's the core appeal of this manga?"
"We need to establish that first because every part of the story—whether it's the heroes, the monsters, or the plot twists—must revolve around that central theme."
Kyousuke had braced himself for Eriri to roast his jumbled ideas, but instead, she furrowed her brows in concentration and methodically helped him organize his thoughts.
As he marveled at her professionalism, he also pushed himself to think harder.
"The appeal... It's about creating a protagonist who feels like the final boss from the very first chapter. An invincible hero."
"Saitama—the embodiment of pure, overwhelming power. No matter how strong the monsters are, he can defeat them in a single punch."
"Alright, with that as the core theme, we need to figure out how to emphasize the protagonist's strength. Like you said, we can do that through the monsters' power levels, which, in turn, should be highlighted by the presence of other heroes."
"There's one hero called Mumen Rider. He has no superpowers and is ranked at the lowest tier. In everyday life, he's just a regular office worker. But whenever he sees a monster attack, he rushes to the scene on his bicycle, no matter how dangerous the enemy is."
"Hero rankings?" Eriri paused in her typing.
"Yeah, heroes are ranked from lowest to highest: C, B, A, and S. Monsters are categorized as Wolf, Tiger, Demon, Dragon, and God."
"Nice, simple and effective."
———————————————————————
One hour later.
"What you've told me so far is enough to sustain a six-month serialization. But what happens after that?"
Eriri pulled her hands away from the keyboard, revealing a neatly organized story structure in the document.
She had somehow turned Kyousuke's chaotic ideas into a coherent narrative plan.
"..."
At that point, he could only hope for divine inspiration—or maybe some generous 'gifts' from a certain someone.
He had already recalled as much as he could, thanks to ONE-sensei's unique art style making things more memorable.
But as for the later arcs, especially the Monster Association, he was completely blank. He could only give Eriri a rough outline and let her fill in the gaps.
"What if we just... stop updating when we reach that point?" Kyousuke tested the waters.
"Hah?! Do you even hear yourself?! That's pure evil!"
Eriri, who had been maintaining a serious demeanor, instantly exploded with fury.
"I mean, isn't it common for authors to suddenly go on hiatus?"
"Do you even understand how heartbreaking that is for readers?!"
Remembering all the authors who had vanished mid-story, Eriri clenched her fists in frustration.
"A hiatus is an unforgivable sin!"
"Alright, alright! No hiatus! I'll figure something out when the time comes!" Kyousuke quickly surrendered.
"No! You start figuring it out now!"
Though still huffing with anger, she let the matter slide—for now.
"Besides, who knows? We might get axed before we even get that far," Kyousuke muttered under his breath.
"Huh? What did you just say? Are you doubting your own story, or do you not have faith in my drawing skills?!"
The girl, whose anger had just started to subside, put down her stylus and glared at him, clearly annoyed.
"Sorry, sorry! Please forgive a newbie's lack of confidence. With the invincible drawing skills of Eriri-sensei, our manga is bound to be a massive hit! Now, let's get started already!"
Realizing he'd misspoken, Kyousuke quickly apologized.
"Hmph, that's more like it. Remember this—if even the creator has no confidence in their work, how can they expect to move others? A true work of art is something the creator pours their entire soul into!"
Eriri declared passionately, like the protagonist of a morning drama, her words filled with hot-blooded determination.
"Got it. I understand, Eriri-sensei. Thank you for the lesson," Kyousuke replied, knowing full well that the tsundere girl was just trying to encourage him in her own way.
"You've already gotten the hang of using the tablet, so let's start working on the first chapter!"
When it comes to manga, people argue over what the most important element is.
Some say it's the artwork, others say the story, some insist on paneling, and others emphasize character design.
Take One Punch Man's original creator, ONE-sensei, for example—his storytelling, paneling, and character designs were so compelling that even with his... unique art style, he still managed to attract a massive fanbase.
This proves just how crucial those elements are.
For Kyousuke, who had already watched both the anime and manga, things were much easier than starting from scratch.
Even if his memory wasn't perfect, he had a solid framework to follow. The character designs? He could just copy them as is.
As for paneling, even if he couldn't recall every detail, his highly analytical mind allowed him to logically deduce movement and spatial composition, making sure the characters truly came to life on the page.
Alright, I've got this!
Having sorted everything out in his mind, Kyousuke rolled up his sleeves, took a deep breath, and gripped his stylus with determination.
Eriri scooted her chair closer, sitting right next to him. Whenever he hesitated, unable to put pen to screen, she would offer some guidance.
Unfortunately, since he wasn't drawing in his signature "soulful" art style, the comedic value took a serious hit.
What a shame, Eriri thought, just as she caught sight of Kyousuke's version of Saitama—drawn in a completely different style from hers.
"Shouldn't his uniform have some kind of emblem?" she asked.
"No need. That's part of his charm," Kyousuke replied firmly, though deep down, he wasn't entirely sure if ONE-sensei had left it blank due to artistic intent or simply because he couldn't be bothered with details.
"...Can he fly?"
"No. He got strong through training. No matter how much a human works out, they shouldn't suddenly be able to fly, right?"
"And yet, doing push-ups and squats made him invincible? That's supposed to be logical?"
"Ugh, stop nitpicking!" Kyousuke pouted.
"Huh?!"
Hearing that all-too-familiar phrase, Eriri froze. Wait a second... why does this feel so familiar?!
Before she could challenge him on it, the door suddenly swung open. Both of them instinctively turned their heads.
"My, my~ You two seem to be getting along quite well," a teasing voice called out.
It was Sayuri-san, standing there with a plate of freshly cut fruit, wearing a knowing smile as she glanced at her daughter.
Following her mother's gaze, Eriri turned back—and immediately noticed something.
In her focus on watching Kyousuke draw, she had unconsciously leaned closer and closer.
Now, she was practically pressed up against him. Worse still, her moist, cherry-red lips were barely five centimeters away from his face.
Realizing this, Eriri instantly leaned back in a panic, waving her hands frantically.
"W-We're not getting along at all! We're just work partners, that's all! He's nothing more than my new money-making tool! That's it!"
Blabbering excuses, Eriri quickly stood up. With her short yet perfectly proportioned legs, she took a few quick steps over to her mother and snatched the fruit plate from her hands.
Then, under Sayuri's amused smirk, she slammed the door shut with a bright red face.
"Don't bother us until dinner!"
"Ara~ That's quite a lot of time. Plenty of opportunities to do all sorts of things, hmm?"
Sayuri's teasing voice rang out from the other side of the door.
"Shut up!!!"
Eriri shouted her signature catchphrase at the top of her lungs, as if trying to reclaim ownership of it from Kyousuke.
"And you!" She turned to glare at him. "Quit staring and get back to work! We need to finish enough pages for our first submission before dinner!"
Still grinning at her flustered reaction, Kyousuke quickly lowered his head and resumed his "literary plagiarism" mission.
———————————————————————
With his near-perfect memory and precise hand control, Kyousuke worked like a drawing machine, quickly finishing the parts featuring Crab Man, Vaccine Man, and the Giant.
According to Eriri, for their submission, they needed around 60 to 70 pages. Kyousuke wrapped up 60, leaving some room for Eriri to add extra details.
After packaging the files and sending them over to her, his work was done for now.
At first, Eriri had been laughing nonstop at the ridiculous character designs—like a crab man in a diaper, a brat with a butt-shaped chin, and a giant who accidentally killed his brother while scratching an itch.
But once she received the files, her expression turned serious.
She put on her anti-smudge gloves, picked up her stylus, and dove into the meticulous task of polishing the pages.
Seeing her so focused, Kyousuke pulled out his phone, thinking he could check if Shouko, Sakura, or Naoka had sent any updates about tomorrow's Azalea Festival plans.
However, before he could even unlock the screen, Eriri caught him.
Without looking away from her tablet, she spoke in a firm tone.
"What do you think you're doing? Sit next to me and watch carefully—there are parts I need your input on before I can proceed."
"Oh, uh, okay." Like a scolded grade-schooler, Kyousuke quickly scooted his chair over.
"Idiot, not that close!"
Feeling his breath on her face, Eriri's cheeks flushed as she hurriedly protested.
"Oh, then I'll move back a little," Kyousuke said with a smirk, shifting exactly one centimeter away.
"You...! Hmph!"
Realizing he was messing with her, Eriri huffed but didn't argue further. Instead, she turned her attention back to her work.
"For the color page, what's your vision for Saitama's outfit?"
"Yellow jumpsuit—not too tight, though, needs to be a bit loose. Black belt, red gloves and boots, pure white cape. And most importantly—his bald head must be perfectly smooth and shiny."
"...Really?"
Eriri had a million things she wanted to complain about, but she simply sighed and got to work.
"What about Crab Man's chest? Should it look like muscle, or a crab shell?"
Huh? Kyousuke blinked. Was there a difference? Staring at his own crude sketch, he made a decision.
"He's a monster, so go with the shell!"
"But monsters usually have muscles!" Eriri argued.
"Then why would he get mad over a kid drawing nipples on his chest?"
"...Fair point."
———————————————————————
An hour later—
"Eriri, take a break. Stand up, stretch, rest your eyes for a bit."
"Huh? But we're in a rush, we need to move faster!"
Interrupted from her drawing trance, Eriri wanted to protest. But hearing the concern in Kyousuke's voice, she couldn't bring herself to argue. Instead, she simply pouted.
"No way! If you keep going like this, your eyes will give out, and your future kids will be nearsighted too!"
Kyousuke insisted. In truth, he had wanted to say this half an hour ago, but seeing Eriri so focused, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her.
It was only when he noticed her wincing and stretching her neck in discomfort that he finally steeled himself and spoke up.
"Come on, get up and do some radio calisthenics with me!"
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Eriri by the arm and pulled her up.
"Alright, alright, I get it!"
Shaking off his hand, Eriri adjusted her clothes and shot back, "Are you one of those Neon people obsessed with collecting likes for doing radio exercises?"
Like Kyousuke, Eriri had a rather flexible sense of nationality. Whenever she faced something that Japanese people loved but she didn't, she would instantly become British.
"Haha, if you say that, one day I'll take you to Akihabara to do radio calisthenics in public!"
"Yada! Absolutely not!"
The horrifying image popped into her mind—middle-aged men in business suits awkwardly dancing in commercials or music videos.
No way! That was even worse than being outed as an otaku!
"Then hurry up and exercise with me! Sitting for too long is bad for both your body and your eyes. You used to get sick a lot, didn't you? Staying up late to draw all the time, never exercising..."
———————————————————————
Hearing his words, Eriri silently took off her glasses and stepped behind him, stretching her arms and legs to follow along.
"The Sickly Beauty of Shimamura Middle School."
That was one of Eriri's secret nicknames at school.
It wasn't meant to imply she was pure and untouchable.
It was because she got sick so often—at least once a month, without fail.
But to achieve exceptional talent, pure talent alone was never enough…
Except for this freak, Kyousuke.
Anyway, because of a certain obsession in her heart, Eriri had spent years staying up late drawing—day after day, month after month, year after year.
With a lifestyle like that, of course, her body suffered. Of course, her eyesight got worse.
'Kyousuke… If he ever runs out of money, I'll lend him my share first. No interest. And he can come over to eat whenever he wants. Dad seems to like him anyway.'
Watching the boy in front of her waving his arms and legs, calling out, "One, two, three, four!" and urging her to keep up, Eriri felt a strange warmth flow through her chest.
Aside from her parents, no one had ever cared about her like this—not even the childhood friend she once believed in.
With that thought, she shook off her fatigue, straightened her back, and focused on matching his rhythm.
"Put some effort into it! What, you didn't eat dinner?!"