My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

Furthermore, because of Naoto, Eriri's reputation as the ace of the art club seems somewhat undeserved.

The fact that the school's best artist isn't in the art department is simply laughable.

But what can be done? If you can't compete, you can't compete. Does this mean her painting skills will suddenly improve by leaps and bounds?

"Eri, let's take a break. Maybe we shouldn't participate in this competition. With Yamashita-kun around, we probably won't have a chance to win any awards."

Seeing Eriri like this, the art club president kindly said something to her.

Now that things have turned out this way online regarding Naoto and Akira Nagumo, he absolutely doesn't believe that Eriri could beat these people to win the award.

Moreover, there are some college students among them. Eriri isn't a straight person or a cheater, so how could she possibly win?

However, the minister's words only made Eriri angrier.

What does this mean? Is she really that much weaker than a straight person?! How much does this person look down on her?! Yes, she can't beat them, but does that mean a weakling has to admit defeat?!

"Naoto Yamashita! You just wait! This time, I'll make you pay!"

Chapter 177: Preparing a Surprise Attack on the Art Department

In the creative club's room, all the club members were gathered together.

On the blackboard behind Naoto, the words "First Collective Meeting of the Creative Club" were written.

Looking at Naoto over there cosplaying as Commander Ikari, basically no one except Nanako knew what kind of trouble he was up to this time.

Although it's not the first or second time that straight people have suddenly gone crazy and caused trouble, that doesn't mean they've gotten used to it.

"Ahem, it seems everyone is here. So, I hereby formally announce that the first collective meeting of the Creative Society is now in session!"

As Naoto announced this, apart from Nanako and Mitsuo, almost no one applauded; everyone looked at Naoto with puzzlement.

This awkward atmosphere always makes it hard to stay relaxed.

"Ahem, Naoto, what brings you here today? I'm in a hurry to get back and study."

"Yeah, Zhiren, what did you call us over here for? I still have two manuscripts to finish drawing."

None of these despicable club members cared about Naoto's embarrassment; instead, they were thinking about how to get through it and then go about their own business.

This is especially heartbreaking for Naoto. Before, everyone was quite enthusiastic about this club. When did it become so that they don't even bother to come when called?

"Ahem, actually, it's like this: recently, Hachiman's light novel is finally going to be published, you all know that, right?"

"Huh? Is it time for Hachiman-san's novel to be published? That's great!"

"I've never heard Hachiman mention this before. Hachiman, you're being too polite."

"Hachiman, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Hachiman could only manage a wry smile at the others' surprise. What was Naoto doing now? He hadn't even told Yukino about this, waiting until the product sold well before revealing it, and now Naoto was spilling the beans?

"It's alright, it's just that it's about to be published, but there are still some issues that haven't been resolved. I guess the publication of this book might be a bit uncertain."

"What on earth happened?"

"Actually, this is because the illustrator of Hachiman suddenly resigned, and now that there is no illustrator, we are looking for a suitable one."

"Hachiman-kun's illustrator resigned?"

"how so?!"

"Haven't they found a new illustrator yet?"

Upon hearing that Hachiman's illustrator had resigned, the group, who knew the importance of illustration, were all very surprised, and then began to worry about Hachiman.

"Wait a minute, could you tell me first, is the lack of illustrators a serious problem?"

Meanwhile, a group of girls, led by Mikichi, didn't seem to know much about light novel illustrations. They appeared to think it was a serious matter.

Seeing that the girls didn't seem to understand this, Naoto and the others explained it to them.

"Illustrations are currently a necessity for light novels. Without illustrations, the sales of light novels may plummet."

"In that case, why don't you just draw a picture for Hachiman?"

At this point, Kenji also offered his opinion.

With two JUMP manga artists here, how could they not handle a few illustrations?

“No, Mikichi. Illustration is different from manga. It’s not that we can’t draw, but if we really try, all sorts of problems might arise. Besides, what Hachiman needs right now is an illustrator he can work with long-term. That’s not something you can find so easily.”

The others began to wonder about Hachiman's current predicament. Why were they gathered together? Was it so that they could find a suitable illustrator?

"Hey, Zhiren, where are we going to find an illustrator we can work with long-term? We don't really know any illustrators right now, so how about we draw a few to start things up?"

"Supreme, are you an idiot?! Now that you've drawn it, are you going to take responsibility for it later? What if the art style is different? What will happen to Hachiman-san's novels in the future?"

Akito directly blocked the solution proposed by the Supreme Court.

After all, they were responsible for this illustration, but what about the illustrations afterward? What if this one is exceptionally good, but the later ones are a complete mess? Wouldn't that constitute deception?

Are the later works no longer for sale?

This is why Naoto didn't draw illustrations for Hachiman directly before; there was simply no other way except to find a long-term collaborating illustrator. Unless Naoto becomes Hachiman's exclusive illustrator.

At this moment, Yukino seemed to have figured something out and directly asked Naoto and Hachiman, "Have you two already found a suitable candidate? And this person is a bit tricky, and you can't handle him, so you're planning to send us?"

Both Hachiman and Naoto were astonished by Yukino's amazing intuition.

Before the two of them had even said anything, Yukino had already guessed most of it.

"Huh? Someone's chosen? Who is it?"

"A troublesome person? Is this illustrator very talented?"

Everyone else became curious about Yukino's guess.

As a straight person, finding someone should be easy for me right now.

After all, the name ONE still has a terrifying appeal to outsiders.

"This person is Kashiwagi Eri, one of the two rising stars among the illustrators. However, as far as I know, her true identity is our art club's ace, Eriri-san."

Okay, now you all understand why Naoto finds this matter troublesome.

The Art Club—that's the Creative Club's number one enemy! Not to mention, this person is actually the Art Club's ace.

Everyone had heard that Eriri was very dissatisfied with Naoto and had always wanted to challenge him.

If a straight man wants to ask her for help, it's really not an easy thing.

"That's why I asked everyone for help. I can't do anything about the art club. After I refused them last time, I basically have no contact with them anymore. This is something I can only rely on everyone to do."

Upon hearing this statement from the straight man, everyone looked at each other and fell silent for a moment.

"Actually, there's no need for everyone to go through all this trouble. After all, it's just a delay in publication, and I can wait patiently."

"Hachiman! Are you really going to give up so easily?"

Just when Hachiman himself was thinking that he should just let the matter drop, Yukino suddenly interrupted him.

For some reason, at this moment, Yukino seemed to see—fighting spirit in everyone's eyes?

Chapter 178: It's Time to Use Plan B

“I’m saying, it’s definitely not going to work for us to just go directly to the art department, is it? None of us have any connections with the art department, right?”

Although everyone has decided to find a suitable illustrator for Hachiman, they still haven't figured out exactly how to get Eriri to draw illustrations for him.

The students in the art department are mostly art students. There aren't many of them in PK Academy. In Naoto's class, there isn't even a single person from the art department.

Trying to find someone probably won't work; the chances of succeeding by swaggering into the art department like this are basically only one in ten.

"So, the best way is for you to talk to her alone. I asked around, and recently, because she's planning to participate in the art competition, Eriri stays at school until very late every day. There should be no one in the art club at that time, so you can take advantage of that time to have a good talk with Eriri."

"But even if we talk it over properly, Eriri might not agree. After all, Hachiman already asked her for help before, but he still couldn't get her to help. If we want her to agree to help, we'll have to use other methods."

"So, this is where you, Naoto, have to step in. I have a way to make Eriri definitely agree to your request."

At that moment, Yukino quietly said a few words to Naoto and Hachiman, causing them to stare at her with wide eyes and expressions of horror.

I never imagined that there were such vicious schemes in the world. Where did Yukino learn these things from?

"Don't look at me like that. I just learned a little bit from my sister. Well, whether this succeeds or not depends on you."

Seeing Yukino's confidence, Hachiman and Naoto knew that this was not a good thing to do, but they had no choice but to give it a try.

I hope Eriri won't be angry when she finds out about this.

Time gradually passed, and evening began.

School had already let out by this time, and even most club members had gone home.

"Eriri, goodbye then."

"Ah."

After Eriri was the last member of the art club to leave the classroom, only Eriri remained sitting in front of her canvas, lost in thought about her painting.

With time running out, Eriri's painting is still unfinished. Now, Eriri can only hurry up and prepare her painting so that she can finish it before the deadline.

Unfortunately, Eriri's predicament is similar to Naoto's before her; drawing such a broad theme as friendship is no easy task.

"Friendship... how exactly do you create something like that?"

Whenever Eriri thinks of the image of friendship, her mind goes completely blank.

In the setting sun, a beautiful blonde girl sat alone before a canvas, silent. Golden sunlight bathed the entire classroom, creating a breathtaking scene.

If someone were to paint this scene, it would truly be a remarkable painting.

Eriri was selected for the school's exhibition as soon as she entered high school. She is truly a rare artistic genius in the school, whether in fan art or other aspects.

However, such people have a very unique characteristic: they have no friends.

Eriri, who has always been physically weak since junior high school, even earned the nickname "pure and innocent girl." When she was younger, she would often take leave from school every month, which resulted in her having virtually no friends.

For someone like Eriri, friendship isn't something you can just draw and express.

Just as Eriri began to ponder how to draw, the door to the art club was suddenly opened.

"Huh? Lingmei, did you forget to take your things?"