Raize first took Mashiro to report to Chihiro, wanting her to join his club.
Chihiro already knew about Raize and Mashiro. Though she looked grumpy, she agreed readily.
She also knew about Raize sharing his lunch with Mashiro. From now on, Mashiro's daily bento was settled, saving Chihiro some effort.
It wasn't that this older teacher was irresponsible. She knew Raize's character well. From Hiratsuka and Mashiro's editor Ayano, she had learned quite a bit about him and felt reassured.
"Excuse us."
Raize brought Mashiro to the Service Club. At this time, Yukino was sitting quietly in her chair reading. Sunlight spread at her feet. No matter the setting, this girl could always become a delicate painting.
Yukino's head moved slightly. The knocking, the door opening, and Raize's calm voice pulled her out of her book. She raised her eyes, her blue gaze probing Mashiro behind him.
News had already spread at school. The world-famous painter Mashiro transferring here was truly rare.
Yukino closed her book and looked calmly at Raize.
"Good afternoon, Yotsuki-kun. First, congratulations on your game selling so well. And welcome, Shiina-san. I'm Yukinoshita Yukino. Please take care of me."
Yukino had also heard about the success of Raize's game. As someone sharing the same clubroom, she naturally offered her congratulations.
"Yukino is very pretty…"
Mashiro blinked her phoenix-like eyes and calmly looked at Yukino sitting there. With such a beautiful girl in front of her, an urge arose in her heart to use her as a model.
The direct, airy words made Yukino blush slightly. She hadn't expected such straightforwardness, especially being called Yukino on their first meeting. She coughed lightly.
"Thank you. You're very pretty too, Shiina-san."
Raize watched the two with interest. He could tell why Mashiro had complimented her—because the drawing paper and pen in her hands were already itching to move.
"Shiina, do you want to draw Yukinoshita?"
Raize asked directly, and Mashiro nodded seriously. She felt that using Yukino as a manga model would be excellent.
The pet girl looked at Yukino and said softly:
"Yukino is very pretty and suitable as a model. Can I draw you?"
Yukino's face reddened slightly. She wasn't very good at handling Mashiro's blunt style of communication and forced herself to stay composed so she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of Raize.
Being praised by a world-class painter as beautiful and suitable to be drawn was such an open and direct compliment that Yukino's affection for Mashiro rose rapidly.
But if she really became a model for Mashiro, and the finished painting ended up being displayed somewhere public, just imagining it made Yukino blush uncontrollably.
Although it was an honor to be used as a model by a world-class painter, the shy and somewhat narcissistic Yukino simply could not accept that kind of treatment.
"…Um, thank you for the compliment, Shiina-san, but I don't have any intention of being a model, so…"
In the end, the bashful Yukino gently declined Mashiro's request. If this continued any longer, she would really embarrass herself.
Raize saw the slight disappointment on Mashiro's face and smiled as he comforted her.
"You and Yukinoshita are just meeting for the first time. Once you get to know each other better, she definitely won't refuse you."
"Let me help you draw the manga you want first."
Hearing this, Mashiro was no longer disappointed. After all, her main goal was to learn from Raize how to draw manga that people would find interesting.
Mashiro was full of anticipation for achieving something extraordinary in manga.
Seeing Raize help her find a graceful exit, Yukino quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, just talking with Mashiro for the first time already made Yukino extremely uncomfortable and unsure how to respond.
Mashiro's sincerity and straightforwardness made her uneasy. There was no way she could use her usual communication style with Mashiro.
Yukino didn't dislike Mashiro. On the contrary, through their brief exchange, she developed a favorable impression of the girl and admired her excellence.
Reaching world-class achievements at such a young age was something her peers could only look up to.
However, when Yukino saw Mashiro and Raize standing close together, with Raize speaking and Mashiro listening attentively, a question arose in her mind.
Given Mashiro's talent, shouldn't she be in the art club? Why was she here instead?
Yukino was the head of the Service Club, while Raize was the head of the Game Development Club. Neither of them seemed related to the art club at all.
"Excuse me, Yotsuki-san. May I ask what Shiina-san is doing by your side?"
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Yukino spoke up to ask Raize what was going on.
From the way Mashiro looked, she was like a student humbly receiving guidance, while Raize looked like a teacher instructing her.
Strange. With Mashiro's abilities, what could Raize possibly teach her?
"Shiina came to Japan because she wants to draw manga. I'm helping her fix the flaws in her manga."
Raize didn't hide anything and directly explained the reason.
Upon hearing this, Yukino widened her eyes in disbelief and looked at the blank-faced Mashiro.
She was truly shocked. A world-class painter came to Japan to draw manga, and Raize was helping her fix its flaws!?
Raize noticed her reaction, greeted Mashiro briefly, then handed Yukino the rejected manga drafts lying on the table.
"It's hard to believe, right? But it's true. This world-class genius has taken an interest in manga, which is why she came to Japan. But her manga has serious flaws. You'll understand once you read it."
Still confused, Yukino took the manuscript and carefully read it. Judging from the cover, it seemed to be a shoujo romance manga.
Flip.
The exquisitely detailed art instantly stunned Yukino. She silently marveled at how worthy Mashiro was of being a world-class painter. Just the artwork alone showed her incredible foundation.
Flip.
After the initial shock, Yukino began to read seriously, intending to properly appreciate a world-class artist's work, but… why did it start to feel increasingly strange?
Flip, flip, flip…
As she flipped faster and faster, Yukino's delicate brows gradually knitted together, visibly tightening.
Once she finished the stack of pages, she raised her head with a complicated, hesitant expression and looked at Mashiro, who was watching her expectantly, waiting for her feedback.
Yukino wanted to speak, but she didn't want to hurt Mashiro's feelings, so she hesitated.
"Alright, stop holding it in. You already know the flaws in Shiina's manga. The art style and quality are fine, but the manga isn't interesting at all."
Hearing this, Mashiro lowered her head slightly. She already knew her manga's weaknesses, but hearing it stated outright still made her feel bad.
Seeing Mashiro's dejection, Yukino shot Raize a sharp glare. You already knew—couldn't you have said it more tactfully!?
Even though she was unhappy with Raize's bluntness, he was right. Mashiro's manga was beautifully drawn, but it was completely uninteresting.
The plot was like a dry chronological log. The character relationships didn't connect properly. The male lead fell in love immediately with no reason or development, and the female lead always wore a blank expression.
This was exactly what Raize meant by flaws.
Seeing Mashiro's disappointment, Raize felt a little sorry and walked over, gently patting her head as he comforted her.
"Don't worry. I guarantee your next manga will be a success."
Feeling the warmth on her head, the pet-like girl looked up at Raize, squinting slightly as she gazed at his gentle smile, and softly responded with an "Mm." She felt genuinely excited about the manga she would create next.
After comforting Mashiro, Raize turned to Yukino and said with a smile,
"I can help fill in the gaps in Shiina's manga. That's why she's staying by my side."
"You…"
Yukino was about to speak, but she suddenly recalled the two games Raize had produced—Devil May Cry and Sekiro.
Not only were they extremely fun to play, but their stories were also powerful and captivating.
Yukino herself had secretly bought Sekiro and played it in her apartment, spending a long time on it. She had cleared two endings: Return to Mortality and Dragon's Homecoming.
Both endings left a deep impression on her.
The worldbuilding and storytelling showed that Raize really did have the ability to help Mashiro.
She finally understood why the two of them were together.
Raize and Mashiro continued discussing ideas, and Yukino no longer interrupted them.
Raize planned to modify and fine-tune the story of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou and have Mashiro draw it herself.
After all, Mashiro understood herself best. Using herself as the heroine was perfect.
The true meaning of "I draw myself."
When Mashiro understood Raize's idea, her eyes sparkled. Her editor, Ayano, had once suggested drawing inspiration from real life, but when Mashiro tried, it still ended up like a dry log.
Now that Raize proposed structuring the story with herself as the heroine, her thoughts became active.
Inspired, Mashiro immediately began sketching character settings, while Raize offered suggestions and subtle guidance from the side.
She incorporated character inspirations such as her unreliable editor Ayano, the equally unreliable older single woman Chihiro, and her caretaker Rita back in England.
As for Mashiro herself… Raize trusted that she understood her own role. Probably.
Under Raize's guidance, Mashiro became more and more enthusiastic, but when it came to drawing her own character, she completely lost all sense of proportion.
"Shiina, please base your character on reality, okay? You've clearly drawn yourself too voluptuous, and you're not someone who takes good care of yourself. Don't forget who the 'pet girl' refers to."
Raize twitched at the corner of his eye and made Mashiro pause her pen.
Mashiro looked conflicted at the confiscated character sheet and hesitantly asked,
"Can't it be a pet boy?"
Raize stared expressionlessly at another male lead design Mashiro had drawn.
That face looked a little too much like him.
No—now that he was expressionless, it looked even more like him.
He immediately saw through Mashiro's ambitions—she wanted to flip the roles in the manga.
So he had no choice but to remind her,
"Shiina, the general audience prefers cute girls. That's how your manga will be more appealing."
As he spoke, Raize picked up the pen himself and drew the character design for "Pet Girl Mashiro" right in front of her.
The expression and face were exactly like hers. Beside it, in large letters, were written her character traits.
Gentle personality, naturally airheaded, emotionless tendencies, slow to react to the outside world, lacking basic life skills, needs to be taken care of, possesses an unconventional way of thinking, loves Baumkuchen and pineapple bread.
As for the male lead, he didn't draw himself. He didn't completely copy the original either, changing the appearance and adjusting the character settings.
After all, Sorata's behavior in the original—especially when he lost his temper at Mashiro—left Raize with some misgivings. Even if he understood the difficulty, he still didn't forgive it.
Mashiro carefully examined her character sheet and felt something strange inside, but she didn't object. She focused on the parts about Baumkuchen and pineapple bread and nodded in satisfaction.
"No. This one won't do."
Mashiro suddenly spoke seriously, pointing at the character Raize had drawn. Then she picked up the male lead design she had drawn herself—one that looked almost exactly like Raize.
She pointed at it right in front of him and said,
"I want this."
"…Alright, but I'm changing the character settings."
Raize's words stalled. Seeing Mashiro's serious expression, he knew he couldn't persuade her to change the design, but the character traits absolutely needed modification.
Otherwise, if the manga became popular and people realized the character had a real-life model, who knew if they'd come knocking at his door.
Mashiro didn't object and let Raize revise the character settings. After he finished, she looked them over carefully.
Then, right in front of Raize—whose eye was twitching—she added more traits:
"Mashiro's caretaker," "makes delicious bentos for Mashiro," "Mashiro's manga assistant," "Mashiro's…"
Raize screamed internally.
This is your ideal image of me in your heart, isn't it? Do you want me to be a full-time nanny that badly?!
Seeing her about to add more, Raize couldn't take it anymore and stopped her.
"If you keep adding more, the character will collapse. Stop here."
Hearing this, Mashiro looked up at Raize's troubled face. In his vision, a small warning symbol seemed to appear.
She lowered her head and calmly added one more line:
"Extremely shy big boy!"
"Shy my ass!!!"
Raize roared in a low voice.
Today's face-to-face interaction made Raize personally experience Mashiro's terrifying black-hearted power.