Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

In the rented room.

"...Erina, look! I'm going to be a great manga artist!! Waaah!!!"

Eri Aragaki happily held up... a can of Coca-Cola, opened it, and exclaimed joyfully.

Tonight's dinner was more lavish than before, with Eri Aragaki cooking herself: pan-fried saury, shredded pork with garlic sauce, stir-fried cabbage, three-cup chicken... and she even bought a big watermelon.

That's quite extravagant.

Before this, Erina Aragaki didn't know that she knew how to cook Chinese food.

Chapter Sixteen: Erina's Curiosity

However, Eri Aragaki had previously demonstrated her cooking skills, so Erina Aragaki wouldn't particularly doubt them.

It's only when someone who has never cooked before suddenly starts cooking and the food looks, smells, and tastes delicious that people become suspicious.

Although the original owner was a second-generation rich kid, she wasn't a chaebol heiress, so she naturally cooked for herself on a regular basis.

Therefore, Eri Aragaki is not so suspicious now.

Eri Aragaki was still quite excited, and she was excitedly planning for the future.

"After receiving the two million yen, I will first pay off the one million yen installment debt to ease the pressure."

She counted on her fingers, calculating how to spend the money she had just received, and said, "After that, we'll move to an apartment near Erina's school. Then you'll have one room, I'll have one room, and we'll add my studio..."

I also need a bathroom with a bathtub, a separate kitchen, a balcony... and I'll buy a computer, a game console, a new TV..."

She gestured with her hands as she spoke, her eyes shining brightly.

"But wasn't it said that the two million yen would take two weeks to arrive?"

However, at this moment, Erina Aragaki said, "And don't we have to pay taxes or anything?"

Eri Aragaki's eyes widened immediately, and she exclaimed, "??"

"It seems so, that editor also mentioned it."

She then remembered and said, "I remember that even after taxes, it would still be 1.6 million."

She put down the can of cola, started counting on her fingers, and said, "One million six hundred thousand. After paying off one million in installments, I'll only have six hundred thousand left."

Erina Aragaki nodded.

Eri Aragaki sighed and said, "If that's the case, then we can't spend too much money recklessly..."

Putting everything else aside, my plans to buy a top-of-the-line computer or desktop PC will probably fall through.

She was well aware that prices in Japan were, undeniably, extremely high.

Especially in this era, the Republic has not yet truly evolved into an industrial Cthulhu.

Without the superpower of Industrial Cthulhu to "drive down prices," computers and consoles certainly wouldn't be that cheap.

But it's okay, Eri Aragaki is still very confident.

Because she's about to take off completely.

No one in this era understands better than her how profitable the Attack on Titan IP is.

At that point, she could afford to buy not only a computer host, but also a luxury yacht and drive an Impart.

Eri Aragaki remained confident, waving her hand and saying, "It's okay, Erina, we'll have a new home soon!!!"

Erina Aragaki still suggested, "Nana-san, let's save some money, just in case we need it someday."

Eri Aragaki nodded and said, "Okay, I'll save some money for later."

Actually, she planned to keep about 100,000 yen, since she would have money when she started serializing her manga!

She picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of Three Cup Chicken, put it in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face.

Then she asked, "By the way, Erina, how's your job search going?"

“I found a part-time job at a bookstore near the school.”

Erina Aragaki put down her chopsticks and said, "However, they said they also need your written consent as my guardian."

In Japan, minors aged 15 and over are allowed to work, but they must meet certain conditions.

For example, a written consent form from the guardian is required.

There are also restrictions on working hours; on weekdays, it cannot be later than 10 p.m.

They cannot engage in dangerous or health-damaging work.

You must not go to places related to the sex industry or gambling.

You need to provide proof of enrollment from the school.

The working hours per week shall not exceed 28 hours.

The time limit can be appropriately relaxed during winter and summer vacations, but it cannot exceed forty hours...

In short, the laws and regulations in this area are indeed quite comprehensive.

These regulations are all designed to protect the rights and safety of minors. Let's not even talk about whether they are useful or not, just how comprehensive they are!

"Sure, no problem."

Upon hearing this, Eri Aragaki immediately said, "I'll write you a consent form tomorrow."

Erina Aragaki nodded and said, "Thank you, Nami-san."

She paused, then asked, "So, will Naisan quit her job at the convenience store next?"

Logically speaking, Eri Aragaki should have resigned from her job to become a full-time manga artist since she was about to become a full-time serialized manga artist.

"This is how I submitted my resignation, and Manager Tanaka accepted it."

Eri Aragaki said, "But he begged me to wait until he found someone else before I resigned, because the convenience store is short-staffed right now, so I agreed."

She explained.

After all, Manager Tanaka usually takes good care of her.

A while ago, I saw her buying discounted groceries and often letting her take them without paying.

She wasn't a cold-blooded person; she understood the principle of reciprocity.

Moreover, she hasn't officially started serializing "Attack on Titan" yet, so she doesn't have the pressure of meeting deadlines.

I can still help out during this time.

"Hey?"

Erina Aragaki sighed and said, "You're too kind, Natsumi-san. I don't think there's anything wrong with just resigning."

Eri Aragaki patted her head and said, "You can't do that. You have to have a conscience."

Erina Aragaki felt a little embarrassed when touched and shrank her neck.

Suddenly, Eri Aragaki noticed a copy of Weekly Shonen Jump next to Erina Aragaki. She blinked and asked, "Erina, what's this...?"

Erina Aragaki immediately picked up the copy of Weekly Shonen Jump and said, "I saw this when I went for a job interview at the bookstore today. Didn't your manga win an award? I want to see it too."

She opened the magazine and turned to the supplement at the back.

"Hmm, the work that won the Tezuka Award this year, Nai-san's, received the highest nomination award, right? It's Attack on Titan, isn't it?"

Actually, Erina Aragaki isn't the kind of person who never read or read comics before.

After all, ACG culture is prevalent in Japan.

Many Japanese people, even those who are "normies," must have read manga at some point in their lives.

However, Eri Aragaki and Erina Aragaki mostly read shoujo manga when they were young.

For example, works aimed at women, such as "Sailor Moon," "Fushigi Yuugi," and "Ouran High School Host Club."

So while Eri Aragaki's earlier statement about becoming a manga artist surprised Erina Aragaki, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

After all, the original owner wasn't the kind of aloof beauty who never reads comics.

Erina Aragaki never expected that Eri Aragaki would suddenly say she wanted to become a great manga artist to earn money and pay off her debts, and then she actually won an award right away.

The surprise came so quickly...

However, she was also very curious about what Eri Aragaki's manga works were like.

Chapter Seventeen: Fan Discussions

Eri Aragaki was a little embarrassed at this moment, but since she was a plagiarist and copied other people's works, she didn't feel like she was afraid of having her dark history seen or being publicly executed.

"That's right, it's that work."

So she said directly, "But it might not be the type of manga that girls like Erina would like."

Erina Aragaki became even more curious and said, "Since it's a manga by Naka-san, I'll definitely like it."

She turned to the first page of Attack on Titan and started reading.

Eri Aragaki didn't disturb her and continued eating.

A few minutes later, Erina Aragaki let out an "Ah!"

"Humanity's natural enemy... giants?"

A few minutes later, she bit her lip and said, "That's really terrible..."

A few minutes later, her expression became tense.

"Is it possible that humanity still lacks the power to contend with giants?"

Eri Aragaki couldn't help but laugh as she watched her sister's changing expression.