Chapter 27

Around two weeks had passed since the controversy involving Nadia. As expected, the controversy had died down. As luck would have it, the government decided to create a very controversial policy. People’s attention turned that way, and our controversy was buried in a matter of days.

“Here’s to our success!” Nadia shouted while putting the big bowl of rawon in the center of the table.

“Yeay!” The four of us raised our hands in unison.

We gathered in Nadia’s dining room. She had invited us here to celebrate. Carol and the Prez were here with us. Originally, we didn’t think about inviting Prez, but Prez decided to tag along. Well, none of us disagreed with the idea. If anything, Nadia seemed happy to have another person along with us. We came to Nadia’s house to celebrate the success of our first manga.

“It's great,” Prez said. “You three did a great job. Mind putting in a photography club plug-in next time?”

“The fact that we didn't get any new members after Nadia joined means a plug-in wouldn't change anything.”

“Aww…”

Was Prez really expecting something to change?

“Maybe our next work should be about photography?” Nadia asked.

“Yes! Yes, please!” Prez said in excitement.

Well, in the end, I'm just following Nadia's idea. If she wanted to write one, then I wouldn't mind.

Prez turned her attention to Carol. Carol pretended not to notice.

“Carol, are you going to-”

“Nope.”

“I haven't asked anything!” Prez shouted.

“What were you going to ask?” Nadis asked, full of curiosity.

“I was wondering if she'll cosplay the characters.”

… She's the main character.

Of course, I wouldn't tell that to Prez. Still, Carol didn't need to cosplay; she's already her.

“I don't mind doing that!” Nadia offered herself up.

“Alright then, I'd better start preparing.”

I had a feeling that Carol would end up being involved, one way or the other.

“Anyway, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

We let Nadia take first, despite Nadia insisting otherwise. She did cook for us, after all. After that, we took turns scooping up the dish. Nadia had made a lot. Maybe a bit too much, especially since there were only four of us.

“Thank you for the food, Nadia.”

“Whoa! This is delicious!” Prez said. “Can’t believe you cooked this.”

Nadia scratched her cheeks. “Well, I did cheat a bit.”

She still used pre-made seasoning, although she told me that she wanted to be able to cook it from scratch next time.

Nadia took a sip from her rawon. “Phew… That was intense.”

“The flavor?” Carol asked.

“Oh, no. I mean, what happened after we upload?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

Unlike Nadia, I wasn’t used to all the sudden attention. Followers bombarded my once peaceful social media account the moment we uploaded the manga. Many people praised both the story and art. As it turned out, a lot of people genuinely enjoyed it.

Some still tried mentioning the controversy two weeks ago, but their comments got buried. Some even joked about how the controversy with Nadia was just a way for the government to draw attention away from their new policy.

That said, a lot more people asked if this story would be continued. Many wanted to know what would happen next. We made it as a complete story, but I could see it being expanded with new arcs.

“I’ll think about it. I hope you’re ready for some more work, Harto.”

“Bring it on.”

Maybe, one day, I could create something purely me. Something that would make people happy, like how Nadia made many people happy.

A work I could truly be proud of.

•••

After dinner, we made our way home. I walked with Carol, hand-in-hand. I had asked if she wanted to call her driver, but she told me that she wanted to spend some more time with me. We walked underneath the moonlit sky, enjoying the cold night breeze.

“You know… I enjoy working on the manga,” Carol murmured. “I might not have done much, but being around you and Nadia is fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And… I might not want to leave you alone with Nadia.”

“... Are you jealous?”

“You never know.”

She does sound jealous.

“... Things… might be tough going forward.”

I didn’t know much about fame. I gained my current popularity not through my effort alone, but also Nadia’s and Carol’s.

“I… I’m going to need your help going forward. Both as your partner and your friend.”

“... Then don’t worry about that. I’m going to accompany you.”

“Thank you, Carol.”