"Tohru, I'll leave the kitchen to you. I'll be back soon." Liu Ming said to Tohru as he untied his apron.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine with me here. But, you must come back quickly. Don't spend too much time with that guy."
Tohru nodded in agreement, then, thinking of something, added another sentence.
Liu Ming shrugged helplessly. He knew that the 'guy' Tohru was referring to was Natsuno Kirihime.
She had already lowered her guard against everyone else, but when it came to Natsuno Kirihime, Tohru always showed hostility.
He didn't know why.
Was it because the two hadn't made up after the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall incident last time?
"What do you want from me again? You can take back your persuasion; I won't change my mind." Liu Ming came to the small private room and directly stated his intentions.
"How heartless. I've served you for so many years, and you treat me like this. Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Editor Hiiragi Suzuna pretended to wipe away tears.
"Heh heh." Liu Ming crossed his arms, completely unmoved.
Just as Hiiragi Suzuna had said, they had known each other for so many years; who didn't understand each other's temperament?
With Hiiragi Suzuna's masochistic personality, Liu Ming didn't believe she would actually cry.
"How boring." Seeing that Liu Ming hadn't fallen for it, Hiiragi Suzuna stopped pretending.
"I'm really here for something this time." Hiiragi Suzuna's expression also became serious.
Liu Ming looked at her calmly, not responding.
"Someone is planning to make your fairy tale 'the little mermaid' into a movie." Hiiragi Suzuna didn't care and continued.
"Live-action or animated movie?" Liu Ming wasn't too surprised; after all, it wasn't the first time.
"Animated movies are too expensive. They plan to make a live-action movie first, and if the response is good, they will continue with an animated movie."
"Okay, I understand. The rest is the same as before; you can discuss it with them."
Liu Ming didn't care. In the past, his works were also authorized to the company Hiiragi Suzuna worked for.
"I know that. I came this time to discuss with you about finding an illustrator for the drawings." Hiiragi Suzuna continued to explain.
"Didn't I tell you a long time ago? You can handle these minor matters entirely. Why are you asking me again now?"
Liu Ming looked at Hiiragi Suzuna in confusion. After all, he had never cared about these trivial matters before.
"Uh~" Hiiragi Suzuna's expression was a bit subtle. She hesitated for a long time without speaking.
At this point, not only Liu Ming but even Natsuno Kirihime, who had been sitting next to him, looked at Hiiragi Suzuna with a strange expression.
Hiiragi Suzuna's demeanor like this was truly rare.
"If you don't speak, I'll go back to work." Liu Ming didn't have time to play guessing games with her here.
"No, don't! I'll tell you now." Hiiragi Suzuna quickly blocked the doorway, afraid that Liu Ming would actually leave.
"Actually, I already have suitable candidates. Although they are still newcomers, their art style is truly excellent and very suitable for drawing 'the little mermaid'."
"If that's the case, then what's the problem? Why did you hesitate just now?" Liu Ming didn't completely believe Hiiragi Suzuna's words, as her behavior just now was too suspicious.
"They used to draw 18+ doujinshi and only recently transitioned. I was just afraid, Teacher Liu, that you would misunderstand."
"That's fine, as long as the skill is up to par. But what did you mean by 'they' just now? Are my other books also going to be made into manga?" Liu Ming asked.
"Not yet, but with Teacher Liu's talent, it's only a matter of time. I'm just recruiting them in advance, aren't I? Don't let their youth fool you; their drawing skills are truly remarkable, and they are very famous in the doujinshi world."
"Oh~~, now that you put it that way, I'm a bit curious about them. Who exactly are they, that you have so much confidence in them?" Liu Ming raised an eyebrow.
"They are Teacher Kashiwagi Eri and Eromanga Sensei."
"Speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. You might not know, but they are both second-generation, and the first generation are their respective mothers. Both are only ten-something years old, yet they already have the ability to inherit these two pen names, which is quite impressive."
"Since you have so much confidence in them, I won't say much more. Bring them over when you have time. I will explain the personalities and key points of the relevant characters in 'the little mermaid' to them, to provide them with drawing references."
"That's really great. However, Teacher Kashiwagi Eri is easy to handle, but Eromanga Sensei has a bit of a problem. She's a severe shut-in, so getting her to come over will be very difficult." Hiiragi Suzuna was a bit troubled.
"That's your problem. Don't expect me to go find her; I'm very busy here. If I leave, I'll have to close the restaurant. Will you compensate me for the losses then?"
"No, you can't close the restaurant." Natsuno Kirihime couldn't help but speak up. If this place closed, where would she eat?
"This matter is not up for discussion. You figure it out yourself. It's just an illustrator. If she doesn't come, just find another one."
Natsuno Kirihime glared sharply at Hiiragi Suzuna. As a best-selling female author, she had this arrogance. If she wanted to find an illustrator, just by putting out the word, countless people would line up for her to choose from.
Of course, with Liu Ming's current reputation, he could also do the same. It's just that he was used to being low-key and didn't care about these things at all.
In the past, he left all such matters to Hiiragi Suzuna to handle.
"Yes~~" Being provoked by Natsuno Kirihime, Hiiragi Suzuna's masochistic tendencies immediately flared up, and she stood up straight.
"I can just call her mother. With her mother there, she should be willing to come."
"Her mother?" Liu Ming asked.
"Yes, the first-generation Eromanga Sensei. I think if she knew her daughter had the chance to draw for your work, she would definitely be very happy. After all, Teacher Liu is now a world-class author."
Liu Ming remained silent. He thought to himself, 'The second-generation Kashiwagi Eri should be Sawamura Spencer Eriri, and the second-generation Eromanga Sensei should be Izumi Sagiri.
But what about her mother? Isn't she already dead? Could it be that she hasn't remarried yet?'
Liu Ming shook his head, shaking off the unnecessary thoughts in his mind. Their situation had nothing to do with him, so there was no need to care.
"Liu Ming, shouldn't you go back to cooking? I'm quite looking forward to it." Natsuno Kirihime checked the time. Without realizing it, they had been talking here for half an hour.
"Do you have anything else to say? If not, I'll go back to work." Liu Ming looked at Hiiragi Suzuna.
"No, I mainly came to talk about these things today." Hiiragi Suzuna shook her head.
Liu Ming nodded to the two of them, then left the small soundproof room.
"Hey, wait, I haven't ordered yet." Hiiragi Suzuna suddenly remembered that ever since she entered the restaurant, she had been pulling Liu Ming to discuss business, and she hadn't placed an order yet.
"You can order from Sora and the others." Liu Ming said without looking back.