Chapter 48: Occasionally, there are bonus illustrations.
Two months had passed since the start of the school year, and to the eagerly anticipating readers, the fourth volume of demon slayer was finally released.
The cover of the fourth volume featured two main characters: one was prominently displayed in the front, while the other stood behind, in the back, signifying the importance of both their roles.
As for the other characters, perhaps due to considerations of the plot in previous volumes, they hadn't appeared on the cover for several times.
Everyone understood the author's intention; after all, as powerful supporting characters, they deserved some resources, right?
The Infinite Train Arc featured Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku, the Entertainment District Arc featured Sound Pillar Tengen Uzui, and this volume it was the turn of the two in front of them: Mist Pillar Muichiro Tokito and Love Pillar Mitsuri Kanroji.
Upon their first appearance, everyone only had a superficial impression of the Nine Pillars, not understanding their actual personalities, which led to differing evaluations of them before and after.
The previous Flame Pillar and Sound Pillar were just like that.
From initial dissatisfaction to later emotional changes, relying on the author's technique of initial suppression followed by elevation, mastering the degree of this was something he only barely managed after multiple revisions.
After this volume, similar techniques would also need to be employed, but unlike last time, this time he had already mastered the skill with ease.
Due to different environmental factors, the personalities of the Nine Pillars varied greatly, and Muichiro Tokito and Mitsuri Kanroji, who appeared in this volume, were actually two of the more likable ones.
One was a cute, lovesick girl, and the other was a naturally air-headed boy with poor memory.
Additionally, the previous Pillars had all demonstrated the uniqueness of their breathing style sword forms. This time, they also wanted to know, what kind of fighting style were Mist Breathing and Love Breathing?
After all, demon slayer was still a hot-blooded battle novel, and essentially, there were many readers who praised combat power. In the pursuit of combat aesthetics, there was also a pursuit of breathing style sword forms.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting.
There was a new round of buzz online.
Unfortunately, this time the release date was a Friday, so many student readers couldn't go to bookstores to buy it immediately. They could only anxiously wait for the dismissal bell to ring.
"Sorry, please excuse me for a day today, I have an urgent matter, thank you."
"...I understand."
Some students even skipped their club activities after school, just to see the contents of the fourth volume of demon slayer earlier.
Readers who could follow along to this point were usually no longer just readers, but loyal fans.
Typically, as long as your quality doesn't drop too much, they will gladly buy the entire series, collect it at home, and it will become a period of time worth remembering for them.
...
The plot of the first part of the fourth volume continued after the battle in the Entertainment District. Due to the death of an Upper Rank demon, Kibutsuji Muzan held an Upper Rank meeting in the Infinity Castle, and all the Upper Ranks finally appeared.
Because Upper Six had died in battle and the Spider Lily could not be found for a long time, this made Kibutsuji Muzan very angry.
Just then, Upper Rank Five Gyokko received a very important piece of news...
So he was arranged to carry out a mission with Upper Rank Four Hantengu.
Tanjiro, who had recovered after a period of recuperation, was disliked because his nichirin blade broke again. To re-obtain a nichirin blade, he wanted to plead with Hotaru Haganezuka and thus came to the village where the swordsmiths resided.
Because the nichirin blade was a very important part of the Demon Slayer Corps, the location of the Swordsmith Village was very secluded to prevent attacks from demons that could lead to the death of the swordsmiths, thereby reducing the output of nichirin blades.
When Tanjiro arrived at the village, Love Pillar Mitsuri Kanroji was also present due to a new nichirin blade. Not only her, but also Genya Shinazugawa and Mist Pillar Muichiro Tokito, among others.
Of course, since the plot of this volume was still in its early stages, it was still in the setup phase, with nothing particularly noteworthy.
If there was one thing worth seeing, it was definitely one of Eromanga-sensei's very alluring illustrations—Mitsuri Kanroji in a hot spring.
In the spring water shrouded in white mist, the long-haired girl stood upright, fully revealing the 'bunnies' that even her uniform couldn't hide on a daily basis. Crystal clear water droplets flowed down her delicate, snow-white skin, and a faint smile made her both sexy and charming.
Although she was exposed, no information about the key areas was revealed at all, as if a thin veil was laid over them. This kind of semi-transparent mood made it even harder for people to control themselves.
["Woohoo~ Eromanga-sensei's illustration is too good! It seems all those battle scenes he drew before were a complete waste of his talent!"]
["Tsk tsk tsk, has Eromanga-sensei studied with Kashiwagi Eri-sensei? I feel like his drawing is getting more and more flavorful."]
["Eromanga-sensei, it seems I misunderstood you. I used to blame you for being a useless illustrator, but it seems you just hadn't found a scene where you could shine!"]
Many readers were deeply impressed by this image, and this was the second time the name Eromanga-sensei made them remember him.
Before, only the illustrations of Daki and demonized Nezuko had made them think slightly more highly of this illustrator.
Now, they truly and completely acknowledged this illustrator.
Compared to his previous unhelpful performance, Eromanga-sensei's progress was already very obvious.
When Izumi Chihiro saw this illustration before, he was actually very amazed, because he saw Eriri's shadow in this painting.
It wasn't a deliberate imitation, but rather a result of learning and integration, which led to Sagiri's drawing ability improving again.
This was something worth praising.
Just as he had always been learning and integrating the writing styles of other authors, to grow, one must draw on the strengths of many.
Even those styles that seemed unique were only able to break free from their confines and create their own, unique style after going through such a learning phase.
In fact, while he was improving himself, Sagiri was also silently transforming.
No longer relying on her mother's help, but growing on her own.
"I want to become Ni-san's exclusive illustrator… No, I will become an illustrator worthy of Ni-san's works."
In her small room, after seeing her brother's improved grades, Sagiri clenched her small fists and made this vow to herself.
And now, she was putting that path into practice.
Since her brother's goal was 'Light Novel Master,' she also developed a goal: to become the greatest illustrator!
Once one has a goal in life, the direction forward becomes much clearer, and growth becomes even more intense.
The current Sagiri had truly become his fellow traveler.