Chapter 88: It's not an easy art style to master
After taking the train back to the station closest to her home, she exited, found her bicycle parked somewhere, pushed it to the intersection, and just as she was about to ride it home, someone suddenly walked past with his head down.
"Hmm?"
Eriri glanced at him, got off her seat, held the handlebars, and then pretended to casually approach him.
But the other person seemed completely unaware of her presence and continued walking, which made her a little annoyed, so she patted his shoulder.
"Who are you…?"
Izumi Chihiro snapped back to reality, questioned, but what met his eyes was the familiar golden twin tails.
"Me! Eriri! Understand?"
Eriri raised an eyebrow, her tone arrogant.
"Oh."
He spoke flatly.
"What were you thinking just now? You were so engrossed, you almost hit a utility pole, so I came over to remind you."
Eriri snorted, feigning exaggeration.
"Nothing much, I've been thinking about my new work recently, so I got distracted."
Izumi Chihiro replied, while also scrutinizing his surroundings.
There's no utility pole by the road here?
"New work, huh…"
Eriri was very sensitive to that word, her gaze shifting.
Frankly, she was already considered a fan of Izumi Masamune, so she would naturally be very interested in Izumi Masamune's new work.
However, Izumi Chihiro was her childhood friend, and if she acted like a fan, asking this and that, wouldn't that make her seem inferior to him?
She couldn't stand that.
So, she had to try a less direct approach to inquire.
"Hmm, I've also been considering a new work recently, but if you finish the main story of white album, then I'll have to consider postponing mine… So, how far along are you with your new work? Do you have time to finish white album? You need to be clear so I can start my work; otherwise, you're wasting my time, and for many fans, that's a huge sin."
"It's going well, the first volume is almost halfway done, and the current progress is good. Although the style is different from before, I'm getting the hang of it, so it shouldn't be a big problem."
Hearing Eriri's words, Izumi Chihiro thought for a moment before replying.
"Then what are you still agonizing over? And thinking so deeply?"
Eriri was puzzled.
"It's not mainly my problem."
Izumi Chihiro frowned.
"Not your problem… Could it be Sagiri? Has she encountered some difficulty?"
Eriri reacted.
"Because the new work is a magical girl theme, some of the settings require some amazing visuals to be depicted. Sagiri, she understands what I mean, but after a long time, she still can't draw the feeling I want…"
He sighed, his expression helpless.
"Your new work is a magical girl… Wait, are you such a girly-hearted guy?!"
Eriri said with surprise.
Finally, she heard some useful information, but it was truly unexpected.
What is a magical girl, isn't it something for children?
A few years ago, she often stayed by the TV to watch works of that genre, largely because there were many cute characters in them.
However, after a little while, she found that those plots were a bit unreliable and couldn't hold up under scrutiny, so her interests shifted.
"Girly-hearted? You're right, everyone's impression of magical girl was indeed like that before, but my new work will have a different interpretation…"
At this, Izumi Chihiro's lips curved into a wicked smile.
This smile made Eriri feel an inexplicable unease.
What exactly does Chihiro want to do?
He wouldn't even spare magical girl, would he?!
But she couldn't ask for more detailed questions anymore; she figured Chihiro wouldn't answer them.
"Bye-bye."
It was time to part ways, so she waved goodbye and walked up Detective Slope, pushing her bicycle with both hands.
"But, Sagiri can't draw it? Is Chihiro too strict, or is it really difficult? If it were based on her previous performance, even if the skill was a little off, Chihiro should have accepted it… So Chihiro must have his own understanding."
This point bothered her greatly, and she kept muttering about it until she returned to the villa on the mountain.
…
Night fell.
In the secluded room, no lights were on; only the moonlight from outside entered through the window.
A silver-haired young girl was hugging her curled-up legs with both hands, her eyes gazing at the crescent moon in the sky, her pupils reflecting colors different from usual.
"What should I do? How can I draw something that Ni-san will be satisfied with? If Ni-san has already finished the first volume, and I haven't made any progress, wouldn't I be completely dragging him down…?"
Sagiri's self-imposed mental goals were completely unmet, so her mood was very dejected at this moment.
After all, she had already made up her mind to become an illustrator worthy of her brother's work!
But if she can't even solve such problems independently, how can she talk about becoming the best illustrator?
Her cute little face completely drooped.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a message notification. She picked it up and saw it was a message from Eriri-nee-san.
"I heard Sagiri encountered difficulties with her work. What exactly happened? Could it be that guy has raised his standards recently? That's too hateful!"
It seemed like a complaint about her brother, but in reality, it was another level of support. After all, she was her brother's illustrator, and helping her was helping her brother.
Sagiri had always understood it this way.
So, she spoke about her shortcomings in the conversation.
She truly couldn't draw works in the style her brother spoke of right now.
It's not that she couldn't learn it; after all, she now had some basic drawing skills, and learning a unique drawing style wasn't difficult. The only difference was time, but given her current progress, reaching a sufficiently satisfactory level would likely take a very long time.
"I see, it's a collage style. That guy's demands are too peculiar! If you haven't specifically studied this unique style, it's very difficult to master…"
In the room, seeing the opened message, Eriri also had a solemn expression.
As an excellent artist, she could, of course, understand the difficulties Sagiri was currently facing.
Trying to quickly master that drawing style was not easy, even for her, who was at a higher level now.
Unless it was that person…
But, was this really a necessary requirement?
She expressed doubt.