Meanwhile, the three-month manga Newcomer Award was also nearing its end.
Eriri and Mashiro participated in the Newcomer Award launched by Shiratori-sha, a famous comprehensive publishing house in the industry. This manga publishing house was one of the industry's big three, and many noteworthy works had appeared in its female-oriented manga section. It could be said to be the most favored publisher by shoujo manga creators.
Among the Newcomer Award entries, the top five works would qualify for direct long-term serialization. As for the remaining serialized works, it depended on whether editors favored them, and it was not ruled out that they could achieve long-term serialization through a resolution by all editors.
However, since it was a famous publishing house, the competitive pressure was, of course, far greater than that of other mid-tier magazines. Many authors participated in the Newcomer Award, even some who had already debuted in other smaller magazines.
Of course, these were all authors whose works had been canceled; otherwise, if they wanted to switch publishers and debut, they could directly contact an editor and take a faster route, so their strength was not necessarily extraordinary.
"Congratulations, Eriri. You're currently ranked third, so you can basically debut stably."
On the weekend, he called his childhood friend to offer his congratulations.
"Well, it's just so-so. It's only third, and it's not very stable. There are still 10 days left, and people behind me might overtake me."
Although her words seemed humble, he could completely hear a hint of pride and self-satisfaction in Eriri's voice.
However, being able to debut was within expectations. This also aligned with Kashiwagi Eri's strength.
After designing a reasonable plot, combined with Kashiwagi Eri's exquisite and alluring art style, the beautiful girls in her drawings alone were enough to attract attention.
"How about Shiina? How is she doing recently?"
Eriri then asked.
"Don't tell me you haven't paid any attention to Mashiro at all. I don't believe it for a second. The rankings are right there, aren't they?"
"I... I did look, but that's not what I meant!"
"So that's it, you're just concerned about Mashiro's current situation, Eriri is being tsundere again."
"*Gah*! Don't misinterpret what I said! Shiina is my recognized rival, I was just… trying to understand my opponent, that's all!"
"It doesn't matter, it's the same thing anyway."
"Damn it, are you going to tell me or not! If you don't, I'm hanging up!"
"Actually, it's nothing much, just a bit disappointed, after all, for Mashiro, this counts as a long-overdue failure…"
Having gotten the answer she wanted from her childhood friend, Eriri hung up the phone.
"Yay!"
"I won!"
"This is my first victory, isn't it!"
She pounced onto the large bed, hugging a Madoka Kaname body pillow, her expression very joyful.
But not long after, she sat up again, her mood turning a bit dejected.
"I won… but why do I feel no sense of reality at all? It's so boring."
The twin-tailed girl muttered to herself, then leaned her entire body backward.
Because the victory was too easy, with almost no resistance; Mashiro unexpectedly didn't 'unexpectedly' perform, the work she drew was so 'inferior' that it was buried among the submissions.
Perhaps, only the drawing quality was astonishing.
Other than that, it was not worth mentioning.
…
["Nice drawing, can I contact you? Shiina-sensei."]
["I feel the author would be better as an illustrator, drawing manga is a bit lacking, though this is already the best drawn manga I've ever seen."]
["So strange, so strange, how can a manga be so uninteresting?"]
["Shiina-sensei, have you considered other paths?"]
["This is the first time I've seen such a manga; the level of interest in the work is completely inversely proportional to the exquisiteness of the drawing."]
["I feel the author could work as an assistant to learn a bit, the potential is quite large."]
Mashiro opened her computer and, with practiced ease, glanced at the comment section.
Previously, she didn't care much about other people's opinions, but ever since she started drawing manga, she realized that if she wanted to draw interesting manga, readers' opinions were very important.
However, no matter how much she looked, she couldn't make sense of it.
Because she had already received everyone's feedback from Chihiro and Ayano.
She had no choice but to close the website, then habitually picked up her drawing pen, wanting to continue drawing, but her arm paused, and she put down the pen again, looking at the stack of manga and light novels beside her desk.
"Even with conscious training, I still couldn't make it for this newcomer award?"
Izumi Chihiro stood at the doorway, saw this scene, sighed in his heart, then pushed the door open and entered.
Although he was expressionless, he felt Mashiro's dejected emotions at the time, which should count as an expression of emotion, right?
Even if it was a bit forced.
"Chihiro."
Mashiro turned her head, her orange-red pupils revealing some emotion.
"Mashiro looks a bit disappointed."
He walked closer and said.
"It's alright, if this submission failed, there's always next time, right? I believe with Mashiro's ability, such a challenge won't hinder you for too long."
He stroked the girl's hair as if petting a kitten.
Just as he understood, Mashiro was a stubborn girl who wouldn't give up easily.
So Mashiro just looked up and said: "Next time, I will succeed."
A few minutes passed.
After expressing her emotions, he felt that Mashiro had finally returned to her usual state, though still as expressionless as ever.
"Chihiro, next, I want a stronger stimulus."
Mashiro's clear, limpid eyes shone brightly, as if covered by a layer of mist.
Such suggestive remarks, combined with such eyes, if one wasn't careful, one might think she had entered a certain state and was inviting him.
The girl always made such displays in this unconscious state, which really gave him a headache.
Izumi Chihiro noticed that after saying this, the girl's gaze fell on the manga and light novels nearby.
"Mashiro has finished reading them?"
He tried asking.
"Yes, I've read them several times."
Mashiro replied.
"In that case, then…"
Izumi Chihiro wanted to recommend Nayuta's work to her.
The emotions that Nayuta's brushstrokes could evoke were unique in the industry, and this might allow Mashiro to be further moved.
"I want to read Chihiro's work first."
After getting the silver season in her hands, Mashiro made another request.
"Mine? Alright, I guess."
He hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.
Since the conventional approach wasn't very effective, he should also make flexible changes.
What he didn't know was what kind of changes Mashiro would undergo after this round.
This is truly something to look forward to
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💯 PS = 2 bonus chapter