Chapter 5

How the hell did we come to this…

I had grabbed my sketchpad and was furiously scribbling on it to try and capture the model at the center of the room.

That model was Mana.

In probably the skimpiest outfit she had worn so far. She had traded her T-shirt and jean shorts for a low-cut crop top that showed her stomach, alongside a skirt I couldn’t remember she had sneaked in among the rest of the clothes.

“Is this enough? Should I raise my skirt further up?”

“N-No, this is fine,” I stammered.

“Alright, then I’ll just stay still and let you sketch.”

She was doing the pose the client asked for—leaning on her back, her legs ever-so-seductively pulled up just enough so the skirt wouldn’t reveal what shouldn't be revealed. I had even set a big light to shine on her so the shadows were done properly.

Most shocking of all, though, she was unusually quiet, holding still like a proper model.

She really seemed to be in her element.

And damn, it was extremely useful to have such a convenient life model I could pose however I wished.

“Hey, Mana. You seem particularly content just posing like that.”

“I could ask the same about you,” she retorted. “Does seeing a girl pose like this turn you on?”

“You idiot. I was being serious here.”

“Eh-eh-eh, sorry, sorry.” She paused for a bit, as if switching mental gears.

“Is your… lore part of why?”

“I guess? I do remember modeling, and I instinctively know what to do,” she explained. “But well, I guess I am happy. Just watching anime all day is fun, but I don’t want to feel useless, you know?”

“Clearly you have no problems just lounging around all day eating snacks.”

“Hey! But well, I mean… Like, I’m considering what my purpose is, you know? Why I was made real and all that. I guess I don’t mind this… at least my body is useful for something.”

“That sounds way worse than it should… but I see your point.”

Mana was real now, but there really was no reason for her to have been “created” in the first place. It was just a big coincidence. I guess she must be struggling with that part of it—her reason for existing in this world.

While I was waxing poetically about Mana’s existence, I found that my sketch had been completed without me even noticing.

“Oh, you can relax now. I’m done with the sketch, so I only need to scan it, and I can do the rest on my own. Good job.”

“Ahh, finally! My butt was starting to hurt!” She said as she got up. “Hey, hey, let me see!”

She trotted over to my side and peered into the sketch I’d drawn on my sketchpad. “Ohh, looking good! So that’s how I looked, huh?”

“Pretty much. The main thing I wanted to capture was the lighting and—”

“Why am I bald, though? And why have my boobs vanished?”

I paused for a second before answering. “The character I have to draw has a different hairstyle, and she’s pretty flat, so I didn’t bother drawing those parts.”

“Is that it? I feel like my identity has been stripped out.”

“Your identity is your hair and your chest?”

“Eh-eh. Of course not! I think my legs are quite nice too!”

Okay. She’s just hopeless.

“If you’re just going to make those silly comments, then scram and let me work in peace.”

I had turned back to my tablet and was about to put on my headphones to listen to some podcast or another—but I still felt Mana’s presence hovering over me.

“…What? You need something?”

“Ah– No, I…” This is odd. Why is she so hesitant? “Do… do you mind if I watch you draw?”

“Eh…? Why?”

“You don’t need to accommodate me or anything! You can keep your headphones on and everything. I just want to see, that’s all.”

Mana’s face was unusually serious. I couldn’t just turn her down.

“Sure, I guess. Suit yourself.”

“Thanks!”

She walked over to the kitchen area, snatched a stool, and plopped herself down just inches away from me.

“But I’m telling you, this will be boring to watch.”

“I don’t mind,” she said, her voice steady. “I want to see you draw.”

That made me feel ever so embarrassed, so I turned around, ignoring her presence as best I could, and started working on that sketch.

⬡⬢⬡⬢⬡

In the end, I managed to progress quite a lot with the illustration, doing all the line work and basic shading.

“Phew. I think that’s enough for today,” I said as I stretched my back a bit.

“Good work!”

“Woah—! You’re still here?”

“Yup!”

Mana was just there, staring at me with a dumb smile on her face. She hadn’t interrupted me even once.

Honestly, she had been so quiet I forgot she was even here.

“You sure were focused. You didn’t even notice I went to take a shower and got dressed right behind you.”

Now that she mentions it, her clothes were different.

She was out of her crop top and skirt and was wearing one of the pajamas we bought earlier today.

“Wait, you didn’t—”

“Ah-ah-ah!” She started slapping my back. “Don’t worry, I didn’t take a shower. I took one earlier today, remember? We need to be conscious of your expenses, right?”

That’s not what I was worried about, but thanks, I guess.

“That aside… you spent all this time here?”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, wow. I bet it was so boring. You could have gone to watch something, you know.”

“Not at all! It was fascinating.”

I think this was the first time anyone has called my art “fascinating.”

“W-Well… thanks, I suppose?”

“More importantly, I hope your commissioner likes your art. It’s looking wonderful already! I’m sure everyone would agree.”

“Ehh… I’m nothing special. There are tons more amazing artists out there.”

“Really?! No shot.”

To prove my point, I opened my main social media and just scrolled in front of Mana, the avalanche of artwork from people all over the world mesmerizing her completely.

“Oh, wow! You weren’t kidding!”

I handed her the phone, letting her play like she was a little kid.

“And those are just my mutuals. I don’t actually follow many artists.”

“Huh? But why?” Mana asked. “Wouldn’t they be a source of inspiration?”

“Nah. It makes me feel like a failure seeing people who are so much better than I am.”

“Aww, don’t say that,” she said with a pout. “Your art is better than many of these people, you know?”

“Even if that’s true… it’s pointless when I don’t pull the numbers.”

“Hmm? Why?”

“The bigger the presence you have on social media, the more likely it is for people to commission you. Plus, nowadays these sites offer monetization based on the amount of likes you get. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.”

“I see… that’s super unfair. The better artists should have more commissions!”

“Welcome to the real world.”

Mana seemed legitimately bummed out about this, which made me slightly happy.

At least she gets how difficult this all is for me.

“Oh-oh, what’s this?”

She had that curled-up smile on her face, and I just knew she was up to no good.

“Hmm? Spotted something interesting?”

“You have a girl in your mutuals?”

“Geh—”

I mean, it’s not like there weren’t female illustrators—obviously. And I was mutuals with a fair few of them. Not that I ever spoke with any of them, though.

So why am I getting so flustered?

“Look, see here,” Mana said, shoving my phone in my face.

It displayed one of those “art vs. artist” posts that were ever so popular nowadays, with the artist herself, Aru-chan, side by side with her own artwork.

“Wait, 40 thousand likes?! This is insane!” Mana said. “Her art isn’t even that good!”

“What can I say? People like cute girls.”

“But look, her body’s nothing special! I’m way cuter and sexier than her!”

She has no concept of humbleness either, does she?

“You’re an exception, you know? I drew you to—” But I cut myself off.

“Tooo….?”

“Never mind,” I said. “It really doesn’t matter whether a girl is particularly cute or not; they always get attention if they post pictures of themselves online.”

Mana sighed. “Is just posing and drawing some lame artwork enough to draw this many people?”

I sighed right back. “Welcome to the real world.”

“And her account is monetized too…” Mana said, noticing the blue checkmark next to her name. “How much do you think she’s earning?”

“Hmm… maybe ¥50,000 per month? Not to mention all the commissions coming her way.”

“What—”

“She probably gets plenty of creeps in her DMs, but surely she’s getting a ton of legitimate commission requests.”

Mana stayed still, mouth wide, then flopped back onto my bed.

“This is totally unfair…”

I shrugged, “It’s the reality of being a freelance artist, unfortunately. There’s always someone willing to do anything for attention. If you’re done being shocked, maybe we should start getting ready for din—”

I narrowed my eyes. Even from this angle, I could tell Mana had a look on her face that just screamed, “I had a nice idea.”

“What are you plotting…?”

“Oh… nothing, nothing. Dinner, right? I’ll grab the ramen!”

Mana got up and trotted over to the kitchen, almost tripping on her feet as she went.

She’s planning something…

But no matter what I did to coax it out of her, she stayed as quiet as a tomb the whole rest of the evening. I barely found myself able to go to sleep, just wondering what sort of plan she had in mind.

Well, it surely can’t be that bad.

Oh, how wrong and naïve I was.