Eriri ultimately couldn't out-stubborn Kasumigaoka Utaha. Under her gaze—which she claimed was for "accompaniment" but was actually surveillance—the two of them began the questionnaire.
"Question 1: Is Jhin-sensei some kind of literary professional? The stories you're in charge of feel so exciting!"
"Thank you for your support and love. I am not a literature-related professional. If I had to say, I'm a cook."
Originally, Jhin could have just filled out the entire questionnaire himself. However, using the excuse that she couldn't see the questions, Kasumigaoka Utaha turned it into a strange setup: Eriri sat with her, asking Jhin the questions from the sheet. After Jhin answered, Kasumigaoka Utaha would write it down.
"Saying you're a cook straight up is too ridiculous." Eriri was not very satisfied with Jhin's perfunctory answer.
Jhin leaned his hand on the table, propping up his left cheek in boredom. Hearing Eriri's complaint, he raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure I don't look like a chef?"
Eriri was speechless for a moment. She really couldn't say Jhin didn't look like a chef. His cooking could definitely stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the level of head chefs at most star-rated restaurants; that was beyond doubt.
"Then I'll just write it down according to his words?"
"Write it. Try to make it sound a bit formal."
"Don't worry, I am a literary professional. I understand at least this much."
Kasumigaoka Utaha wrote the answer in the response field for the first question. Her slender hand guided the pen tip across the paper, leaving behind elegant handwriting.
"Your handwriting is quite nice."
"Thank you for the compliment, Scum-kun."
Jhin's mouth twitched, black lines covering his head. How did he inexplicably become "Scum-kun"? "Kasumigaoka-san, could you change the way you address me?"
"Rest assured. In situations other than just the three of us, I will still call you Jhin-san, Scum-kun~" Kasumigaoka Utaha was very happy to see Jhin's aggrieved look. Spinning her pen, she urged Eriri, "Sawamura-san, hurry up and ask the questions."
"Mm. Question 2: How did Jhin-sensei and Kashiwagi Eri-sensei come to collaborate? Are you two friends who know each other in reality?"
"It was a coincidence, I suppose. Regarding real-life matters, I think it's better not to reveal anything."
"Question 3: Jhin-sensei, can you make Kashiwagi Eri-sensei release some loli characters? Please!"
"About this question, I think it still depends on Eri... Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's thoughts. Whether to draw it or not depends on him. Oh right, Kasumigaoka-san, remember not to use the female 'she' for 'him' here."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Hasn't Eriri always kept the gender of the Kashiwagi Eri identity unpublished on social media accounts?"
"Ah, that matter." Since it came up, Eriri felt it was better to explain. "My doujinshi are always handed over to the circle to sell, right? At first, I thought I'd reveal my gender after becoming an adult. But as time went on, it felt harder and harder to state my real gender. Also, I was worried about being harassed if some people knew I was female."
"Indeed..." Kasumigaoka Utaha had also thought about concealing her gender at the very beginning. However, her editor persuaded her not to do so. If the novels became popular, she would eventually have to hold signing sessions and meet fans. Doing so would be meaningless and might even bring about strange negative effects.
As for the worry about being harassed, her editor was very responsible and hadn't revealed a bit of her personal information. But Eriri was different. The things she drew were male-oriented, and they were pornographic doujinshi at that. Male fans made up the vast majority. No one could guarantee there weren't people with corrupt morals among them, so naturally, there were more concerns in this regard.
"Question 4: Jhin-sensei, will you continue to collaborate with Kashiwagi Eri-sensei in the future?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, I will collaborate with Kashiwagi Eri-sensei for the long term."
"Question 5: Jhin-sensei, regarding future doujinshi plots, have you considered changing the genre?"
"Changing the genre is something Kashiwagi Eri-sensei and I have considered before, but no decision has been made yet."
"Are we really going to change the genre? I feel this Chronicles of the Fallen Princess could still have a sequel." Eriri still had some feelings for this highly significant doujinshi. Recently, the number of publishers and game companies contacting her through the circle had almost doubled compared to before. If possible, she still wanted to release a sequel to thank the fans.
Discussing the doujinshi content, Jhin finally lowered the hand propping up his face and energized himself. The previous formulaic answering was too boring; he had wanted to sleep. "Releasing a sequel is certainly fine, but we indeed cannot be limited to just humiliation and hypnosis genres.
"A top-tier artist, while possessing their own unique art style, must also be able to draw good works based on different genres. Trying different fields, constantly innovating and challenging oneself—isn't that the way to train oneself and improve technique?"
"That makes sense. Then should we change the genre for this sequel?"
"No." Jhin shook his head, revealing a brilliant smile. "With the speed of the two of us, it should be more than enough to draw two doujinshi before the next Winter Comiket starts, right?"
"That's right, let's do it!" Eriri also got fired up. Before this, she had never considered such a thing. After all, a person's energy is limited, not to mention she was still a student, so she had even less time to do things that consumed such large amounts of time.
She stood up, took out paper and a pen, and asked Jhin, "Apart from the sequel, what genre do you plan to choose for the other doujinshi?"
"How about Pure Love?"
Eriri practically wore the words "Not Usable" on her face. As an author of humiliation-genre doujinshi, she was perennially influenced by plots like NTR. In terms of sensory stimulation and utility, NTR completely destroyed Pure Love. She now felt that reading many Pure Love works was like reading normal manga; her heart couldn't stir a single ripple.
Laughable. My dopamine wouldn't secrete even a little bit.
"You don't think that Pure Love can't involve training plus hypnosis, do you?"
"!?" Eriri felt sudden respect. "Elaborate!"
"Scum-kun, being able to discuss topics filled with lustful dirty jokes in front of two beautiful girls, you must be very happy in your heart right now." Kasumigaoka Utaha wanted to interrupt this topic; she didn't want to get involved in the lewd atmosphere between the two.
Jhin kept a straight face. "This lady, I have undergone professional training. I generally won't laugh."
"Which means you don't deny that you are very happy in your heart, right?"
"No, I am very happy!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was defeated by his thick-skinned behavior. She now just wanted to finish the questionnaire quickly and leave. Looking at the way Jhin and Eriri got along, she couldn't see even a spark of romantic chemistry; they were purely wasting her time. "Hurry up and finish the questionnaire; I haven't eaten breakfast yet!"
"Then why did you stand silently by the door frame while I was eating noodles?"
"Just answer the questions!"
____
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