In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Now, she can confidently hand out her business card when she goes out, which reads "Cartoonist - Aoi Airi," instead of vaguely saying that she is a "painter" or "freelance illustrator" as before.

This confidence and honor made her overall demeanor much brighter and more self-assured!

When the first chapter of Death Note was published, Utaha, who had never gotten along well with Eriri, secretly bought the issue of Jump immediately.

When she saw the pen name "Qingyuan Aili" on the cover, she immediately sneered disdainfully, instantly understanding its meaning.

Aohara Airi Aohara Airi... If you break it down, it just means "Childhood friend Aohara Chiya loves Sawamura Spencer Eriri".

This is just too much! This kind of elementary-level wordplay perfectly reflects that blond idiot's simple and direct way of thinking; it's incredibly childish.

Despite her disdain, Shiyu was actually somewhat envious.

If she hadn't already been using the pen name "Kasumi Shiko" in the light novel world for a long time, accumulating considerable fame and a readership, changing her name now would have caused a lot of inconvenience and confusion.

She might... also be tempted to use a pen name with a special connotation, and secretly and boldly show affection with Yuan Qianye on social media, right under the public's nose.

Furthermore, putting aside personal feelings, Kasumigaoka Utaha also has to admit that the Death Note illustrated by Eriri is indeed of excellent quality.

Whether it's the meticulous and skillful drawing techniques, the ingenious and fluid composition, or the excellent rendering of light, shadow, and atmosphere, it all demonstrates a level far exceeding that of ordinary newcomers.

The market response has confirmed this, with readers showing an explosive level of enthusiasm!

Jump, as Japan's largest-circulation weekly manga magazine, places great importance on reader feedback.

Under this premise, it developed a mechanism that is fundamental to its existence—reader questionnaire surveys.

At the end of each issue of Jump magazine, a paper survey postcard is included.

The questionnaire will list all the serialized works in the current issue, and readers will be asked to select their top three favorites and answer specific questions about the characters' charm, art style, and comprehension of the story.

The editorial department compiles these returned questionnaires weekly and uses this data to rank all serialized works based on popularity.

The ranking will be directly reflected in the order of publication of works in the next issue of the magazine.

The more popular a work is, the earlier it appears in the title page, usually meaning a more prominent cover, opening color page, or center color position.

Works that consistently rank at the bottom, regardless of the author's qualifications, face the risk of being ruthlessly canceled.

This is an extremely brutal yet highly efficient and direct popularity competition system that completely follows the law of the jungle: the survival of the fittest.

Eriri's Death Note, after its first chapter was published, immediately soared to fifth place in the reader survey, making a stunning debut!

Subsequently, thanks to its tense and exciting plot, brilliant battles of wits, and Eriri's increasingly refined drawing skills and highly expressive storyboards, its ranking has steadily risen, and in recent episodes it has not fallen out of the top three!

This is undoubtedly the greatest affirmation of this work from readers and the market!

Meanwhile, in the editorial department, Death Note naturally received treatment commensurate with its abilities.

She has successively won prestigious featured resources, including prime-page spreads, color pages in the middle of magazines, and color pages at the frontispiece—honors symbolizing popularity and status—gaining greater exposure and attention.

The Death Note notebook, a key prop in the manga, has also started to be sold in various bookstores and stationery stores thanks to the efforts of the editorial department's IP division. It has been a huge hit in terms of sales and popularity!

Recently, in schools across Japan, students may not all have one, but the black-covered notebook with the word "DEATH NOTE" printed on it has indeed become a small trend.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

September 27th, after school started, in the afternoon.

The student council room at Zongwu High School.

The latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump lay open on the table, the page displaying the reader survey results, with a prominent table showing this week's rankings.

"Number One: [Death Note]!"

The results of this reader vote were the same as the previous two times, with Death Note once again taking first place.

A smile played on the lips of Yuan Qianye, who was present at the scene.

Eriri suppressed her excitement.

Yukino, who usually has a calm expression, softened her expression at this moment because of her best friend's success.

Gen Chiya laughed and said, "Congratulations, Eriri! As expected of you, you've won three consecutive championships. Keep it up, and the name 'Aohara Airi' and the work 'Death Note' will definitely leave a strong mark on manga history and become an unforgettable masterpiece!"

Eriri waved her hands sheepishly, "No, no, it's just that your original story, Chiya, is so excellent, the setting and plot are so captivating! I only managed to achieve such good results by drawing based on your script and storyboard drafts..."

Yukino sided with Chiya this time: "While Chiya's original work is the foundation, manga, as a visual art, cannot succeed solely based on an excellent script."

The expressiveness of the visuals, the rhythm of the storyboard, the aesthetics of the composition, and even the emotional tension contained in each frame are all crucial.

In this regard, Eriri, your contribution is decisive. There's no need to be overly modest; you can certainly be even more proud.

"But... I'm not the only one responsible for the artwork. Without those assistants..."

"The studio assistants did take on the basic tasks such as outlining, blacking out, and applying screens, but weren't the core parts, such as the overall composition, the expressions of the characters, and the creation of the atmosphere of the scene, all completed under your command and supervision?"

The spirit of the characters, especially the intellectual battle between Light Yagami and L, is largely brought to life through your drawing.

Therefore, you are undoubtedly the most important person to have achieved such results.

Gen Chiya smiled and nodded in agreement: "Yukino is right. The script is the skeleton, but your paintings are the key to giving it flesh and soul."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Eriri. You are a very successful manga artist now, so hold your head high!"

Chiya and Yukino kept praising Eriri, making her cheeks even rosier.

Just then, the door to the student council room was pushed open with a "click".

Kasumigaoka Utaha walked in gracefully, carrying her schoolbag.

The uniform jacket of the Soubu High School was casually open, the white shirt underneath was bulging, and the black over-the-knee socks under the skirt outlined the beautiful lines of her legs.

"Wow, what a happy occasion!" Shi Yu casually put down her schoolbag and went to the snack cabinet to grab a drink. "What good thing happened?"

Having officially reconciled with Chiya and herself at the end of August, she wanted to spend more time with her lover during her final year of high school after the start of this semester. As a result, she joined the student council and took on the role of advisor. Now, she is an official member of the Soubu High School student council.

Gen Chiya raised his jump and showed her the page displaying the reader survey results: "Eriri's manga is number one again this time."

Utaha looked at Eriri: "Eh~ Not bad, congratulations."

Eriri hesitated for a moment before replying, "Well... it's alright."

"We should definitely celebrate this properly. I know of a newly opened seafood buffet restaurant."

"I'm fine..."

"That's perfect, I'm free tonight. I'd like to congratulate you properly. Also, that shop is in the mall near our school, so it's not too far for everyone to go there after school."

Shiyu took out her phone and showed Eriri the promotional video for that store.

Eriri's eyes widened instantly when she saw the average cost per person marked in red. She realized what was happening and was furious: "Over 16,000 per person?! You're just trying to rip me off under the guise of congratulating me!"

Shiyu blinked, feigning innocence: "Eh? You're such a great manga artist, is the expense of treating someone to a meal really a problem?"

"The restaurant you chose is way too expensive for this price range!"

The two, who had been in a good mood just moments before, started bickering again as usual.

Yukino smiled silently, got up and went to the inner cubicle to organize the documents.

Now, she's starting to get used to having Shiyu in the student council.

Seeing the two noisy people, Yuan Qianye raised his hand to quiet them down. Just as he was thinking of offering to treat them to dinner that evening, the door to the student council room was pushed open again.

Saeko, wearing a disciplinary committee member armband, walked in: "Chairman, we have a guest."

She took a few steps forward to make way, followed by Kaguya Shinomiya, who was wearing a school visitor badge on her chest, and Ai Hayasaka and Chika Fujiwara, who were walking side by side with her a step behind.

"You are a rare guest indeed, please have a seat."

Yuan Qianye smiled and stood up to greet him.

Utaha and Eriri, who were just bickering, stopped tactfully.

One person went to make tea while the other went to get the cake to serve, showing a perfect understanding between them.

…………

252: He must like me! (5k)

"The president must like me!"

Four Palaces Villa.

late at night.

Before going to sleep, Hayasaka Ai was informing her young mistress of the day's activities.

As she was saying goodnight and turning to leave, Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly and confidently uttered the same words without warning!

Hayasaka Ai stopped in her tracks.

She turned around and saw her young mistress's rosy face, her sparkling eyes filled with undisguised joy and anticipation.

Hayasaka Ai's feelings at this moment were somewhat complicated and difficult to contain, but after all, she was a young lady.

She composed herself and put on an eager-to-hear-it look: "Miss, you're talking about the president, which president?"

Kaguya cupped her face in her hands, looking shy as if she knew the advisor was really annoying: "Who else could it be? How many student council presidents do I know? Besides myself, there's only President Gen!"

"Oh." Hayasaka Ai wanted to laugh, but realized it would be impolite, so she held back.

Kaguya, lost in her own world, continued, "Didn't you notice? When I bothered him this afternoon, his attitude towards me was clearly different, wasn't it?"

Hayasaka Ai frowned and thought carefully for a moment, but there was no answer.

From her perspective, at least, she did not observe any similar signs.

Qianye received them in a very normal manner.

There were quite a few people in the student council room at that time, and later Chiya's younger sister Rikka also came over.

So, with so many people around, even she couldn't have a proper conversation with Qianye, not even a subtle exchange of glances.

If I'm like this, then I can only imagine how the young lady behaves.

"Oh dear, you're just an observer, of course you wouldn't have noticed."

“Miss, you could be more explicit. I am someone you can absolutely trust.”

Hayasaka Ai sat down on the edge of the bed; she wasn't in a hurry to leave at all.

The young lady's feelings for Qianye, or to put it more bluntly.

Ever since the last joint training camp in the mountains, where she was rescued from the jaws of a wild bear by Chiya, the young lady's girlish heart has been firmly attached to Chiya.

To be honest, the young lady's one-sided romance is actually quite difficult to handle from all angles.