Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

As Mahiru walked into the kitchen, the lively room instantly fell silent.

Looking at Mashiro, Akifumi thought for a moment before asking, "Mashiro, are you planning to draw manga?"

"Yes."

Mashiro nodded without questioning how Akifumi knew she came here to draw manga.

Talking about it with Mashiro was surprisingly pleasant.

While most people might wonder how he knew, Mashiro didn't ask many questions.

"Do you know any editors?"

In the original story, she had spoken with editors before coming here.

Even though the story had no content, her world-class artistic skills would be enough to make any editor treasure her work.

The ability to tell a good story can be learned, but producing top-tier art like hers is a talent that can't be faked, no matter how hard someone tries.

"No."

Mashiro's answer didn't surprise Akifumi.

Given the drastic changes in her timeline and the course of events, contacting the original editors again wouldn't be easy.

"Do you want me to help?"

"Mugi, are you drawing manga?"

So, this girl is sharp where she cares and completely oblivious where she doesn't, huh?

Most people wouldn't catch on this quickly.

"I'm drawing manga." Unable to lie under Mashiro's expectant gaze, Akifumi answered.

"Can you teach me?"

Knowing the plot, Akifumi understood why Mashiro couldn't draw.

She lacked real-life experience, which is essential for storytelling.

Drawing oil paintings, as Mashiro did, was impressive, but drawing manga required a whole different skill set.

Mashiro's world was focused purely on art; she even struggled with basic life skills, like dressing herself, as seen at the beginning of the anime.

"It's not that I can't teach you. It's just... maybe the real issue isn't about drawing manga. It's more about learning to enrich a life that's been too simple so far."

"So... I can't be taught?" Mashiro's eyes reflected disappointment.

"That's right," Akifumi replied without hesitation.

"But there's another way—one that's simpler. But you probably won't agree with it."

"A simpler way?"

"By copying others' work, you can learn and feel their stories."

Mashiro shook her head, "Drawing someone else's manga isn't true manga."

Though Mashiro might not fully understand what manga truly was yet, she had a very clear definition of what it was not.

"So, the only thing you can rely on is yourself," Akifumi said with a smile, ruffling her hair.

"For now, just try drawing your own manga."

"Okay," Mashiro nodded seriously. "Thank you, Mugi."

Akifumi waved it off. "I didn't do anything."

Mashiro didn't reply, but as the door opened again, a cheerful voice echoed from the kitchen.

"I'm back~!"

Eriri excited voice filled the air.

'Thud, thud, thud,'

She quickly appeared before them, and, unsurprisingly, immediately spotted Mashiro sitting on the couch.

"Shiina Mashiro!?"

Eriri's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait... do you know her?" Akifumi thought, but then Eriri's next words made him realize he was overthinking it.

"You're Shiina Mashiro?!"

Eriri dashed in front of Mashiro and grabbed her hands with excitement.

"I'm your fan! Please, can I have your autograph?!"

It turned out that Eriri recognized Mashiro from the internet and TV.

"Mugi," Mashiro looked at Akifumi for help.

Akifumi sighed, asking, "Eriri, do you know what you look like right now?"

"A stalker chasing after a beautiful girl."

"I'm not a stalker!!"

Eriri's face turned red, realizing she had been too overzealous and had scared Mashiro.

She immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry."

Mashiro shook her head, stood up, and walked to where her luggage was.

"Why is Shiina Mashiro here?"

"And... why did she call you Mugi?"

Eriri's face shifted to one of curiosity and suspicion.

"She's a relative of Mahiru's, here to learn to draw manga."

"Draw manga!?" Eriri was shocked, clearly unable to comprehend why a world-class oil painter would suddenly switch to drawing manga.

In every field, there are certain biases.

Manga artists often look down on others, and artists who focus on oil or traditional art tend to dismiss manga as something lesser.

Akifumi shrugged. "What people want to do is their choice. We outsiders don't have much say in it."

"Right." Eriri nodded, still somewhat puzzled, before her face shifted to a more serious expression.

"You still haven't explained why she called you Mugi!"

"Well, Mashiro's from here, but she's lived in the UK. Do you think she knows all the local customs?"

"Ehh…"

Eriri reluctantly accepted the explanation but was still a bit dissatisfied.

Just then, Mashiro, holding a sketchpad, walked over to Eriri and handed it to her.

"Here."

"Eh? This is... an autograph!?" Eriri, who had been upset earlier, now had a face full of joy.

"Yes." Mashiro nodded. "You said you wanted one."

"Thank you, Mashiro-chan!" Eriri beamed, hugging Mashiro tightly, barely able to contain her excitement.

"By the way, I'm Sawamura Spencer Eriri, but you can just call me Eriri."

"Okay, Eriri."

"Time to eat~!" Mahiru's voice came from the kitchen.

"Yum!" Mashiro's eyes lit up.

"Mahiru's cooking is amazing!"

"Thanks." Mahiru smiled shyly.

Eriri, sitting next to Akifumi, didn't hurry to start eating.

"So, does this mean Mashiro will be staying with Mahiru?"

Mashiro looked at Mahiru and said calmly, "If it's inconvenient for Mahiru, I can stay with Mugi."

?? x3

'Stay with me!?'

'Are you seriously that clueless about politeness?'

Akifumi pulled a small smile but stayed silent, knowing someone else would handle the rejection for him.

"No!"

All eyes immediately turned to Eriri, who had been so excited moments ago but now seemed to shrink into herself, blushing and murmuring:

"I mean, you know, there could be issues with a guy and a girl living together…"

"Why?" Mashiro asked, completely confused.

Mahiru sighed, not bothering to explain why, but simply said, "It's not inconvenient."

"I'm happy to have Mashiro stay with me~."

At this point, Mahiru was thinking about how to manage the living costs, but... why hadn't anyone told her about this?

Was it because they didn't want to see her? Even a phone call would've been nice…

The sparkle in her eyes dimmed slightly, and the smile on her face seemed a bit forced.

..................

[TL Note]

Hey there! If you're enjoying this, be sure to check out

p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL

Please remove the hyphen to access the page normally! Just a heads-up, there will be new advanced chapters every day in there! And thank you so much for reading!