Unexpectedly, the editor from the manga editorial department, to whom she had submitted her work, showed up in person. Square, flustered, hurriedly welcomed her into the house.
Because the apartment was long and narrow, the ventilation wasn’t very good. Even after a whole day, the smell of alcohol hadn’t completely dissipated; a faint trace still lingered…
Hopefully, Miss Nangong’s nose wasn’t that sharp.
Square could only pray this was the case, or else she wouldn’t even know how to explain herself.
“Sorry, as you can see, I don’t even have a proper living room, so you’ll have to make do sitting on this chair!”
Nervousness made her tongue-tied as she spoke.
“I’ll go make some tea for you… uh, I don’t have any tea at home… is coffee okay?”
“Do you have any beer?” Nangong Hopes’ unexpected reply caught her off guard.
“Huh? I don’t drink… I’ll go downstairs to buy some! Please wait a moment!”
“No need! I was just joking~ How could I let a minor little girl drink alcohol?”
Seeing that Square was actually about to go downstairs, Nangong Hopes grabbed her wrist.
“After all, I’m here on a personal visit, not official business. Even if I’ve looked over your manuscript, whether it passes the editorial department’s review next time is still uncertain… After all, for a small magazine like ours, it’s the editor-in-chief alone who makes the final call.”
“Just being able to get guidance from an editor is already something I’m deeply grateful for!!”
Square’s tone was exaggerated. Nangong Hopes sighed helplessly.
“No need to say that. Your drawing skills are already quite excellent; you’re more than capable of drawing manga. What you’re lacking is refinement at the core—you need to revise the characters and plot, which is actually much easier than polishing your drawing technique.”
Her words were very fair, pointing out the problem while acknowledging Square’s abilities. This positive feedback made the girl sitting by the bed beam with joy.
“I didn’t expect Miss Nangong to appreciate my work so much… even if it’s just polite words, I’m happy! Thank you!”
“This isn’t polite talk. What I say is fact, and of course, so are your flaws.”
Nangong Hopes shook her head and picked up her shoulder bag from the floor to rummage through it.
“Coincidentally, I live nearby, so I thought I’d come see what kind of person ‘True Sword Hero’ really is. Looking at your pen name, I thought you’d be some burly man, but you’re actually a little girl…”
Square’s pen name was “True Sword Hero.”
Originally, she wanted commercialized heroes to see what a real hero looked like…
But in the end, her manga couldn’t even be published, and this pen name became a running joke mocking herself.
“Here, this is a souvenir.”
She pulled out a yellow oiled paper package tied with twine from her bag. This kind of wrapping was usually for street snacks…
“Thank you, what is it?” Square asked.
“I bought it after work. It’s just some cheap bar snack.”
Square took the package and untied the string.
“You actually use bar snacks as a souvenir? Miss Nangong really has personality… Eh?!”
Before she could finish, she let out a scream like a cat encountering a cucumber.
Inside the opened oiled paper was a bundle of white, slightly golden meat strips emitting an enticing roasted aroma…
It was hand-pulled shredded squid.
After being roasted to dehydrate, then hand-torn, there could be no crueler way to die.
Square felt as if she heard the squid’s unwilling cries.
This empathetic stress reaction almost made her throw the package out, but doing so would scatter “dismembered limbs” all over the room, so she forced herself to suppress the panic and quickly covered the paper back up, preferring not to see it at all.
“I-I can’t take this!”
Her trembling hand shoved the package back into Nangong Hopes’ arms, who looked puzzled.
“Huh? The squid here is really tasty. I always buy some to go with drinks after work… Are you allergic to seafood or something?”
Square just blurted,
“I can’t eat squid, please put it away quickly!”
Her heart raced and blood pressure rose, her little face pale. Though Nangong Hopes didn’t understand the reason for such a strong reaction, she complied and tied the squid back up before putting it back in her shoulder bag…
Still, she was completely baffled by this response.
“True Sword Hero, what exactly is…”
“L-let’s just talk about the manga!”
The unsettling feeling brought on by the squid strips crawled over Square’s whole body like ants. She tried to change the subject to dispel this chilling discomfort.
She grabbed some manga drafts from the table.
“These are some new manga ideas I came up with. Please take a look. I hope you can give me some advice from an editor’s perspective.”
“Oh, this time it’s magical girls? Previously it was all masked heroes… Are you preparing to draw a female protagonist’s work?”
“Yes, it’s a story about an evil sea monster from the deep transforming into a magical girl who infiltrates human society, but is mistakenly revered as a hero.”
Square gave a broad overview of her new work. Nangong Hopes flipped through the simple line art and character designs.
“A monster that’s not a hero but is mistaken for one, and eventually becomes a true hero… anthropomorphizing a legendary beast into a cute girl, borrowing Kraken’s popularity… Hmm, I think this idea has potential, but the details aren’t polished enough yet.”
Recognition and praise were a rare delicacy for Square.
She scratched her head with narrowed eyes.
“This idea just came to me yesterday, but I accidentally fell asleep halfway while drawing last night, and today I had other things…”
Nangong Hopes hesitated, then asked,
“You went to the Sigma series fan meeting? The one at Monument Plaza?”
“Ah? Um, how did Miss Nangong know?”
Square asked, and Nangong Hopes pointed at the white baseball cap on Square’s head.
“Your hat, it even has the Pure White Storm autograph on it… and…”
She took out her phone and showed Square the clip from a live stream she’d already seen in the elevator, which had been widely shared.
Square hastily reached out to block the screen, protesting,
“Wait, Miss Nangong, please don’t watch this, it’s too embarrassing!”
“Even if you say that, I already saw it on my way here. Not only that, half of Central City knows about it… some little girl had a toilet go invisible on her in Monument Park.”
“Why does news like this spread so fast? The internet is full of perverts!”
Square loudly complained about this unchangeable fact.
“It’s okay. People won’t recognize you without your clothes, and so much happens in Central City daily, everyone will forget in a few days.”
Nangong Hopes comforted her but then changed her tone.
“However, if you want to use this opportunity to get famous…”
“What do you mean?”
“Open a new social media account as the shōjo manga artist ‘True Sword Hero’ and issue a public protest while promoting your new manga.”
Square understood what Nangong Hopes meant: character marketing.
Using this incident’s attention to shift focus onto her manga and gain initial popularity.
“Actually, your manga isn’t bad. With a few adjustments, it could become popular. First, finish your storyboard and script, then show it to me…”
Nangong Hopes said enthusiastically, but Square shook her head to interrupt.
“No, I don’t want to ride this wave.”
“Hm?”
“I want to be more dignified…”
Square spoke seriously.
“To be a manga artist, not famous because of such hype. Are the authors you manage known by such means?”
Nangong Hopes, both questioned and trusted, fell silent for a moment.
True Sword Hero was far more mature than her appearance suggested.
Just like her pen name, she seriously wanted to become a manga artist. She wanted people to talk about her manga in the future—not the little girl caught in a bathroom affected by a battle.
“Okay, I’m sorry…”
Facing Square’s counter, Nangong Hopes reflected for a moment.
She hadn’t considered the feelings of this young girl, who still stubbornly drew on paper and naturally despised using such methods to gain attention.
“Is this your pride as a manga artist?”
Square silently nodded.
But that was only part of the reason. Square’s real goal was to become her original self again—there was no way she would use a girl’s image for character marketing.
“Sorry, then forget what I just said… Actually, I have another idea.”
“What idea?”
“Since submissions to the magazine require review…”
Nangong Hopes pointed at the computer.
“Why not try publishing it online first!”