Click!
Haru carefully closed the door, hesitated for a moment, but decided not to lock it.
In Elysia and Mobius's eyes, he was just taking Griseo upstairs to look at paintings. If he locked the door, it would seem like he was trying to cover something up.
But not locking it seemed to lack privacy and carried the risk of social death...
Haru thought for a moment and moved a chair behind the door, sitting on it himself.
This way, even if Elysia or Mobius wanted to come in, there would be buffer time for him and Griseo to calmly destroy evidence and avoid exposing their secret.
"Raika-ken sensei, is it safe now?"
Griseo watched Haru busily working around, sitting obediently on the edge of the bed, her small, delicate feet slipping out of her slippers and swaying slightly in the air.
"Kaie-se sensei, I've made all necessary precautions. We can talk freely in this room."
Haru made an OK gesture, his expression becoming very serious.
At this moment, he no longer treated Griseo as a child but adopted the attitude of dealing with an artist of the same caliber, respectfully addressing each other by their secret identities as "sensei."
"Yesterday, Kaie-se sensei sent a message hoping I could accompany her in painting. Does this mean..."
"That's right, exactly what you're thinking, Raika-ken sensei."
Griseo nodded, her cute little face serious as if trying to imitate the mature appearance of adults, or perhaps she had simply picked up someone's influence.
Haru received a definitive answer from Griseo and couldn't help but fall into thought.
Although their conversation just now was like riddles, Haru, who had formed an alliance with the girl, naturally understood...
Griseo was planning to use the identity of Kaie-se sensei to paint some works that wouldn't be good for acquaintances to know about, so she was using the excuse of painting together with him as cover.
This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this.
Through their tacit cooperation, he and Griseo had successfully hidden their alternate identities from the other Golden Courtyard members over the past six months, avoiding a socially devastating outcome.
It was precisely because of this...
That Griseo was so close to Haru. After all, in a certain sense, they had a life-and-death friendship!
"Kaie-se sensei, when are you planning to start creating?"
Haru readily agreed to help Griseo cover, directly asking about the timing to prepare in advance.
But unexpectedly, Griseo shook her head, her small hands clenched together in distress.
"That... how should I put it..."
"I've read some reader comments. Although they praise my art, there are always people saying the manga's plot is too bland and clichéd, like playing house. So this time I want to draw something completely new."
"Trying to break through yourself and attempt new subjects - that's great!"
Haru looked at Griseo and said with a smile.
He had also read Griseo's manga, and the plot indeed had an old-fashioned Mary Sue romance style, with a group of handsome male leads based on people around her surrounding a princess-like female protagonist, and the romantic scenes were childishly innocent.
This was perfectly normal.
Griseo was young with limited experience, so her manga plots were mostly adapted from her own experiences.
As the youngest member of the Golden Courtyard, Griseo enjoyed princess-like adoration. Even the hot-tempered Kalpas would gently make cakes for Griseo...
So Griseo's manga ended up this way - readers found the plot childish and clichéd, with only the gorgeous art style making up for the plot's shortcomings.
Now that Griseo wanted to address her weak points, Haru was supportive. He just wondered why the girl seemed hesitant.
"I..."
Griseo hesitated, her small face blushing faintly from embarrassment. "I've thought for a long time but still can't come up with new content, and I don't know how to make the plot better."
After hearing this, Haru seemed to understand something.
So that was it - Griseo had writer's block... no wait, in artist terminology, this should be called creative constipation.
For creators, this wasn't anything new.
Human inspiration was limited.
And even with inspiration and ideas, it didn't mean one could transform them into works. Sometimes it could be as difficult as constipation... This was even more painful than running out of inspiration!
However, for Griseo, who had been hailed as a genius since childhood, creative constipation was probably a first!
Haru thought thoughtfully and comforted her with the tone of someone experienced.
"Don't worry too much. When you can't think of anything, forcing it won't help. In my experience, if you relax for a few days and look at other works, inspiration should flow again."
"Mm, I understand."
Griseo sat with her legs together, hands on her knees, her expression seeming much more relaxed due to Haru's understanding.
"Actually, I've already found some works to study, especially yours, big brother Haru, which gave me great inspiration."
"Having inspiration is good... wait, whose did you say you looked at?!"
Haru was speaking normally when his expression froze and his eyes involuntarily widened.
"I looked at big brother Haru's... oh no, Raika-ken sensei's 'Aspiring to Become a Magical Girl.' The plot inside is indeed much more exciting than what I draw!"
Griseo said very seriously, her small face slightly red, her purple crystal-like pupils sparkling with admiring light.
But Haru felt no joy whatsoever, only shock in his heart.
His erotic illustrations occasionally being leaked by silly netizens was unavoidable, but complete manga plots should only be viewable on certain apps, and Griseo supposedly wouldn't use those apps.
"Griseo, you... where did you see it?"
Haru asked with some difficulty.
"On the Pixiv site where you published it. It's even visible just by opening the homepage because it's always at the top of the rankings."
Griseo answered matter-of-factly.
That 'Aspiring to Become a Magical Girl' had a plot that was both lewd and crazy, so being popular with readers was within Haru's expectations.
But Griseo was a minor - how could she possibly purchase such R18 content on Pixiv...
Haru rubbed his temples and suddenly realized that this manga featuring magical girl corruption as its selling point was one of his few all-ages works.
Yes, you heard that right.
Although the manga contained many problematic elements like corruption, tentacles, SM, and underground spaces, 'Aspiring to Become a Magical Girl' was still an all-ages work suitable for everyone.
In the world before Haru's transmigration, this manga was even openly published in all-ages manga magazines and even got an anime adaptation.
In other words...
Even elementary school students like Griseo could directly purchase and watch his manga on the official website!
Read 30 advance chapters on: patre on.com/Bored_Mortal