It wasn't until the afternoon that the highly energized Rin Ito finally put aside his drawing tablet and prepared to rest.
However, before Rin Ito could lie down, a loud doorbell rang from the entrance.
"At this time... who could it be? Coming..."
Opening the door, Rin Ito was greeted by Miss Orihime Tsukimoto, the editor from Crab Publishing, a big-breasted girl with glasses. She was dressed in a black flared-sleeve base shirt under a wide-collared dress held high by her large chest, and below the dress were black pantyhose and short heels similar to Suzu's.
Clutched to her chest was a tightly sealed manila envelope. Judging by the sharp edges pressed into the paper, Rin Ito guessed it contained Underground manga.
"Good afternoon, Ito-sensei."
Orihime smiled and bowed slightly to Rin Ito. Even with a bra, the softness in front of her chest trembled slightly with the movement.
Rin Ito welcomed Orihime into the house, told her to sit anywhere, and poured her a glass of water.
"Miss Tsukimoto, what brings you here? It shouldn't be submission time yet, should it?"
"It's about that." Orihime nervously adjusted her glasses, her legs, encased in black pantyhose, pressed tightly together in anxiety. "Ito-sensei mentioned wanting to try drawing Reverse-NTR manga, right?"
"Ito-sensei's previous work was mostly pure romance, so... I found some materials for you. These are doujinshi from the egoistic-lily circle, which collaborates with the editorial department. Although they mainly focus on Humiliation, they also have a lot of NTR elements that Ito-sensei can reference. I hope they can be helpful."
"Don't be so nervous." Rin Ito smiled to reassure her.
Orihime Tsukimoto was a new editor at Crab Publishing. Facing the old hands who wouldn't draw until the deadline, the gentle-natured Orihime, as a newbie, couldn't push the submissions at all. Because Rin Ito was desperate for money and never delayed, he was one of the easiest authors to work with at Crab Publishing. As a courtesy to the new editor, Rin Ito's account was transferred to Orihime.
"egoistic-lily? I remember that circle has the highest sales among the department's collaborators, right?"
Rin Ito tore open the manila envelope, which was filled with Underground manga whose covers were extremely explicit. He flipped through a few; the artwork was exquisite, and the plots were stimulating. No wonder their sales were high. Most of this circle's doujinshi were Humiliation fan-fictions... Humiliation fan-fictions, of course, weren't about the male lead humiliating the female lead, so they naturally contained a lot of NTR, making them excellent reference material. It saved Rin Ito from having to search online.
However...
"The editorial department only publishes egoistic-lily's original doujinshi, right? Did you specifically ask egoistic-lily for these fan-fictions, Miss Tsukimoto?"
"Yes..." Orihime nodded shyly. "Though it was a shame I didn't get to meet the lead artist of egoistic-lily."
egoistic-lily was the highest-selling doujinshi circle the department worked with, but the lead artist was highly mysterious. Even the editors only ever met their manager.
"By the way, I've finished the line art for the new doujinshi. Do you want to see it?"
"Are you sure?"
"Miss Tsukimoto, you're the editor."
Seeing Rin Ito's hesitation, Orihime's cheeks flushed with shyness. I'm an editor now! Not just an ordinary reader!
Orihime followed Rin Ito upstairs to his room.
"Excuse me... Ito-sensei's room is so... clean."
Cautiously stepping into Rin Ito's room, Orihime's eyes subconsciously darted around. Rin Ito's room was surprisingly ordinary. Forget explicit figures; there weren't even regular action figures. There was no bad smell, and the trash can didn't have balls of used tissue paper.
Seeing Orihime's careful demeanor, Rin Ito couldn't help but smile wryly. She's an editor for erotica manga, yet she's so innocent?
"Don't worry, there's nothing inappropriate to see. Have a seat."
Rin Ito had Orihime sit in front of the computer and opened the draft he had worked on all night and morning. Orihime adjusted her glasses and began to examine the draft carefully.
"Speaking of which... Miss Tsukimoto, why did you decide to become an editor?"
She was timid and shy—completely unsuited for an editor's job. Being an editor required the courage to lock up the author and withhold food until the manuscript was done!
"Because... I love it. I love lewd manga." Below the computer desk, her toes, encased in black pantyhose, curled tightly together, and her cheeks were flushed crimson. "Manga artists release and express their personal fetishes through creation. The excitement and emotional impact of these works are incomparable to ordinary manga!"
As she spoke, Orihime turned and looked at Rin Ito excitedly. "The scenarios the girls in the manga go through before the act... the sense of transgression from glimpsing the extraordinary in the ordinary is something ordinary manga can't achieve!"
"And the girls in lewd manga are all beautiful and cute. The expressions on their faces as pleasure rises from deep within their bodies make even my heart race as a woman! Lewd manga is amazing, but I don't have the talent for drawing, so I came to the editorial department."
"I get it, I get it... calm down." Rin Ito nodded thoughtfully. "So, Miss Tsukimoto has a voyeuristic fetish? Or maybe one for being tied up and forced to watch?"
"Eh? N-No, it's not like that!!!" Orihime frantically waved her hands. "I just purely love manga! I don't have any strange kinks!" The shy Orihime quickly focused her gaze back on the screen. "Ito-sensei! This is harassment, not work!"
"Alright, alright, let's talk about work." Rin Ito chuckled. "Do you have any suggestions for the plot, Miss Tsukimoto?"
"Well... I thought of an idea on the way here." Orihime tightly gripped the hem of the dress she wore while sitting in the computer chair. "For example... Ito-sensei's girlfriend is at work. I, as a new editor, come to the manga artist for the first time to rush a submission, and then... and then I get violated by Ito-sensei."
"Uh... Miss Tsukimoto, do you want to be violated by me?"
"N-N-N-No, it's not like that!!!!" Orihime frantically shook her head. "I meant the plot of the manga! Like... a new editor and the manga artist... using the excuse of 'research,' the new editor is made to strike embarrassing poses and is disciplined, or even made to kneel under the desk with the excuse that the manga artist is too busy... Is that okay?"
"Hmm... that's actually not bad, but it doesn't sound like Reverse-NTR."
"Then let's change it..." Orihime paused, then suggested, "How about a sadistic editor aggressively pushing for the submission?"
"Are you talking about Miss Misa?"
"Exactly... Ah!! NO!! I didn't say Miss Misa is a sadist!! Please don't tell Miss Misa!!!" Orihime looked at Rin Ito with pitiful, watery eyes.
Misa, whom she mentioned, was the editor in charge of training Orihime and had previously been Rin Ito's editor. Misa was known for her fierceness among the editors. However, Rin Ito's relationship with Misa was quite good because he submitted his work frequently. In Rin Ito's view, any artist who didn't submit work diligently simply wasn't poor enough.
"Heh heh heh... Miss Tsukimoto, you wouldn't want Miss Misa to know you said bad things about her, would you?" Before he could finish, Rin Ito couldn't help himself. "Miss Tsukimoto, did you think I was going to say something like that? Don't worry, I won't tell Miss Misa."
"Phew..."
Relieved, Orihime continued to discuss the manga plot with Rin Ito in front of the computer... The discussion was mainly Orihime talking and Rin Ito listening. Although Rin Ito was the manga artist, he felt Orihime's passion far exceeded his own.
...
Time passed to the end of the school day. Kaede and Suzu didn't stay long after school, instead taking a taxi to the airport. Kaede hadn't told Rin Ito about Mashiro. Aside from assuming Rin Ito was asleep after pulling an all-nighter and not wanting to disturb him, Kaede wanted to surprise him... This is a rich girl!
The rent and care fees were substantial, enough for the three of them to live comfortably with plenty left over. Once she arrived, Rin Ito could draw less manga and wouldn't have to stay up all night anymore.
Arriving at the airport, the two headed to the international arrivals hall. The flight was on time. Amidst the bustling crowd, Kaede and Suzu immediately spotted the dazzling blonde hair, similar to Chihiro-sensei's, and the delicate, doll-like girl.
"Miss Shiina, over here~~~"
Kaede and Suzu called out Mashiro's name and waved at her. Noticing the two, the expressionless doll-like girl walked towards them.
"Shiina-san, Chihiro-sensei asked us to pick you up."
"Chihiro?" Mashiro tilted her head.
"Yes, Chihiro-sensei seems to have been busy, so she asked us to pick you up. I'm Kaede Hoshizuki, and this is my sister Suzu Hoshizuki. You can just call us Kaede and Suzu!"
"Mashiro Shiina, that's my name."
"Can we call you Mashiro? Let's go, Mashiro. Where's your luggage? Don't you have any?"
After the brief introductions, Mashiro followed Kaede and Suzu out of the airport.
"Mashiro, did you go to school in England?"
Mashiro shook her head.
"Huh? You didn't go to school?"
Mashiro nodded.
"Then what did you do in England, Mashiro?"
"Drawing."
"Ah! Chihiro-sensei mentioned you're very good at drawing. You transferred here to draw manga, right?"
Mashiro nodded.
She answered three questions with two words. Mashiro, like Suzu, was not the talkative type. Kaede did all the talking along the way, with Mashiro and Suzu only nodding occasionally. Fortunately, Kaede was used to talking to herself after spending so much time with Suzu.
Chihiro's reason for asking Kaede and Suzu to help, besides knowing their financial difficulties and wanting to help them earn money, was another factor: Mashiro lived in a world of art. She was slow to react to the outside world, had no friends, lacked common sense, and needed others to care for her to live. Chihiro wanted Mashiro to interact more with her peers and make a few friends.
Soon, the two brought Mashiro to Rin Ito's doorstep.
"My house is next door, but we usually eat at my boyfriend's place... He's a manga artist too."
Upon hearing this, Mashiro, who had been expressionless like a doll, finally showed a reaction.