He said he was looking for a temporary assistant, but it proved to be quite difficult to manage.
Because even if he drew by himself, it would probably take less than a month to finish; with an assistant, the work time would be even shorter.
However, it was hard to recruit an assistant for such a short-term temporary job.
Sigh.
Maybe he should draw it himself; he was too lazy to go through the trouble for such a small matter.
However, just as he was about to give up on this whim, things took a turn from an unexpected angle—
『Rin』: "Actually, if the work isn't particularly complex, I should be able to help out a bit."
"Hmm?"
Seeing the email from Shimizu-san, Akira was a bit surprised.
When chatting with Shimizu-san, he had only mentioned it in passing; he didn't expect her to send such a message the next moment.
At the same time, he suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Shimizu-san on the streets of Akihabara.
At that time, he noticed that Shimizu-san seemed to know a lot about drawing, and she explained that she had studied drawing for a period of time when she was a child.
But—
『Akira』: "Won't that interfere with your work at Being?"
『Rin』: "No. If the results of this TV promotion are good, I might have to participate in another TV program after this, but other than that, there's nothing else."
Because the terms of their contract mentioned that in principle, they only had to cooperate and participate in TV programs; there were no other mandatory requirements.
If that was the case, then there didn't seem to be any problem.
So, Akira immediately replied to the email:
"In that case, do you want to give it a try?"
...
"Excuse me."
The next morning, Rin stood at the door and nodded gently to him.
She was dressed simply today in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with white casual shoes on her feet, looking very clean and refreshirefreshedest area of the white T-shirt bulged slightly, and the boundary between the hem and the blue jeans was distinct, perfectly highlighting her slender waist and straight, long legs.
He was slightly dazed for a moment upon seeing this, but quickly reacted and responded with a smile:
"Please come in."
Following Akira into the house, Rin felt a bit nervous.
Although she had come to Akira's house before to help him move, she had only vaguely held feelings for him then, so it didn't feel like much.
But now, she was clear that she had fallen for him. Under these circumstances, her mood upon coming to his house again was completely different from before.
Entering the living room, Rin curiously scanned the indoor environment—
Compared to how it looked when she last came, the most noticeable change in the living room was the addition of an electronic keyboard, a CD player placed next to the TV, and a few more issues of Shonen Jump magazines on the bookshelf...
More importantly, the originally clean and tidy manga workbench had now become quite cluttered, looking more like the manga studio she had imagined.
Overall, compared to when he first moved in, there was much more of a lived-in feel.
Noticing Rin's observant gaze, Akira scratched his head and laughed:
"Well, I haven't really tidied up, please don't mind."
"I think it's quite nice."
Rin shook her head dismissively, then chuckled softly:
"Besides, I can see that Mochizuki-kun has settled down."
"Is that so?"
Hearing Rin say this, Akira was a bit surprised, so he also scanned the living room.
Then, he thought about it and smiled:
"Perhaps that is indeed the case."
At least compared to when he first transmigrated, he now had a relatively stable environment and financial security, work goals, many new friends, and someone he liked...
Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked at Rin, only to find that she was also looking at him at that moment.
The instant their eyes met, Rin naturally looked away, as if the eye contact just now was just an accident.
However, he could see that her cheeks seemed to be slightly flushed.
Well, in any case, his life was indeed much more stable now.
But that wasn't the focus today.
Akira led Rin to his workbench, had her sit down, then pulled out a Line Art he had prepared in advance and placed it in front of her, smiling:
"Anyway, try drawing one first."
"But I'll say this upfront: I won't lower my standards just because of our relationship."
"I know."
Rin nodded to show she understood, then asked:
"What work do you need me to do?"
"Let's start with Beta-nuri."
Beta-nuri is considered the simplest task in drawing. The main thing to watch out for is not letting the ink overflow the designated area. It requires almost no drawing skill; it mainly tests a person's attentiveness.
But indeed, not everyone can do this kind of work well.
Fortunately, Rin's hand was very steady when drawing; it seemed there was indeed no need to worry too much.
He just didn't know if this'steadiness' came from her studying drawing as a child or from years of playing instruments.
After filling the area that needed to be black for the first time, the next step was waiting.
As the ink dried, the color might turn gray or become unevenly black, in which case it would need to be inked again.
Usually, in drawing, it needs to be inked twice to achieve an ideal and uniform black.
This process cannot be accelerated through drawing skill, so for Akira, it was a rather time-consuming part.
As long as Rin could help him share this part of the work, it would already save him a lot of time.
"Hmm, not bad."
Looking at the finished product Rin had inked, Akira nodded and said:
"Now then, try applying screentones."
...
Whether it was Beta-nuri or applying screentones, they were time-consuming tasks that didn't require much drawing skill but rather tested attentiveness and patience.
And Rin didn't seem to lack in either area.
Not only that, considering she had studied drawing after all, he tried letting her do some relatively simple line-tracing work, and found that the results were also quite good.
This time, he praised her with satisfaction:
"It seems Shimizu-san's drawing foundation is very good."
"Is that so? Thank you."
Receiving praise, Rin couldn't help but show a trace of a smile, but then she said a bit nervously:
"Then, will this be able to help Mochizuki-kun?"
"Of course."
Akira smiled and reached out his hand to her:
"Or rather, I'll be troubling you for a while."
This scene felt familiar.
Rin curled her lips slightly and reached out her hand to hold his.
Mochizuki-kun's palm was large and very warm.
"Same here, please take care of me from now on."