Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

She heard what sounded like a heavy object falling to the ground first, followed by Erina's anxious shouts, and then the phone seemed to be put down.

"What happened?! Erina? What happened to Eri?"

She immediately shouted anxiously on the other end of the phone.

Chapter 43 Maintaining a Slight Hunger

Eri Aragaki has clearly recognized her problem.

Eri Aragaki, Eri Aragaki, you haven't even succeeded yet, you haven't become a big manga artist who can earn a lot of money, how come you've become lazy so quickly?

She's already starting to slack off, even though she still has so much debt to pay off.

Eri Aragaki felt she was being very wrong, even though the impact of not submitting the manuscript on time this time might not be too great.

But this kind of mentality is not acceptable.

Therefore, Eri Aragaki felt she needed to adjust her mindset. For example, she had to prepare for the manuscript submission soon and absolutely could not afford to be too lax.

We cannot turn back before we achieve victory!

With this "staying hungry" spirit, she has been working tirelessly to finish her manuscript these past few days.

Finally, with Erina's help, until...

"Finally finished drawing."

Eri Aragaki looked at the completed drawing in front of her and let out a long sigh.

A relaxed expression finally appeared on her tired face.

Although there are still a series of tasks left to complete, such as blackening and applying halftone dots, there's still a day left...

She turned to look at Erina over there.

Aragaki E saw her sister looking at her and was about to speak.

Just then.

Eri Aragaki felt the scene in front of her suddenly flicker, like the screen flashing when the TV signal was bad.

Then she heard Erina shout...

"elder sister."

The sound seemed to be coming from a very far place.

Then she knew nothing more.

When Erina Aragaki saw her sister's body sway to the side, she jumped up and reached out to support her, but it was too late.

Eri Aragaki slid off the chair and fell onto the studio floor, her eyes closed and her face deathly pale.

"elder sister!!"

……

Eri Aragaki felt very bad.

It felt like being hit on the head with a stick and then kicked in the stomach.

I was also very sleepy and had no energy at all.

However, she didn't know when it started, but she felt the discomfort in her body ease a little, and she also heard some familiar voices.

"...Are you alright, senior?"

"...His body temperature and breathing seem normal, it's just...he's probably too tired, plus it's probably his period."

"...Yes, my sister hasn't been getting much rest lately."

"...Oh no! My sister's drawings aren't completely finished yet..."

"These drawings must be finished, but why do they look different from the comics I usually read?"

"...Yes, and these areas need to be blacked out, and here, here, to put up halftone dots and chat bubbles..."

"My sister needs to rest now, I need to finish these things for her."

"Huh? Erina, are you alone?"

"...Then...I'll help with these drawings..."

……

Eri Aragaki can only hear these voices, but her consciousness is hazy, making it difficult for her to understand the meaning of these words.

Her current IQ is comparable to that of a Hakimi.

She fell asleep again, until...

"Do we need to put up the internet address here too?"

"I asked Natsume Akane."

"Okay, Sister Qian, you can just stick them on according to the characters and backgrounds and then scrape them off."

Erina looked at it, nodded, and said.

At Natsume Akane and Takeda Ayane's insistence, Erina accepted their offer and helped Aragaki Eri finish the remaining manuscript.

At first, Erina picked up the screen printing paper and the scraper and demonstrated it to the two of them.

Natsume Akane learned quickly. After trying it twice, her hand movements became steady, and she could scrape the dots cleanly and neatly, not at all like a beginner.

She still occasionally asks Erina about it.

Ayane Takeda was a little slower, but she quickly grasped the essentials.

The three people sat down around the workbench. One person was responsible for attaching the dots, one person was responsible for blacking them out, and one person was responsible for attaching the speech bubbles.

This continued until evening.

"Ah."

A muffled voice came from the bedroom.

Lying in bed, Eri Aragaki opened her eyes.

She stared at the familiar ceiling for several seconds, her mind still foggy.

She remembered finishing the last stroke in the studio, then turning to look at Erina, and then... she couldn't remember anything else.

She moved her fingers and felt a blanket covering her, and her bed in her bedroom beneath her.

How did she end up in bed?

"Senior, you're awake?"

Ayane Takeda's voice came from the side.

Eri Aragaki turned her head and saw Ayane Takeda running over, her eyes red and holding a halftone screen in her hand.

Then she saw Natsume Akane walking over from the studio, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Then there's Erina, peeking out from behind Natsume Akane, her expression a mixture of worry and joy.

"Why are you here?"

Eri Aragaki propped herself up to sit up, the blanket slipping off her shoulders.

"Sister, you just fainted."

Erina Aragaki walked over, squatted down by the bed, reached out and touched Eri Aragaki's forehead, and said, "After you finished drawing the manuscript, you suddenly slid off the chair, and I called you for a long time but you didn't respond."

Eri Aragaki was slightly taken aback.

She... fainted?

She remembered.

When she finished the last stroke, she felt the scene in front of her flicker, and then she knew nothing more.

Now, recalling the sounds she had just heard, she suddenly understood.

"We'll take care of the rest of the work for you, sister, you can rest now."

Erina Aragaki pointed in the direction of the studio and said, "Akane-nee and Ayane-nee are here to help. The manuscript is all done, so you don't need to worry."

Eri Aragaki followed her finger and looked over.

On the studio's workbench, the previously scattered artwork has been neatly packed into file folders, and the halftone paper and tools have also been cleaned up.

She remembered that before she fainted, she still had some work to do, such as blacking out and adding halftone dots, but that should all be finished by now.

"Let me serve you a bowl of porridge."

Takeda Ayane suddenly stood up, walked towards the kitchen, and said, "I bought some porridge at the convenience store when I came over, and I also put an egg in it. Senpai, you must be hungry."

Eri Aragaki then noticed a convenience store bag on the coffee table containing several bowls of instant porridge and several bottles of sports drinks.

She was indeed very hungry at that moment.

Takeda Ayane poured the porridge into a bowl, microwaved it for two minutes, and then handed it to Aragaki Eri.

The porridge was plain white porridge with a beaten egg nestled inside and a pinch of salt added; it smelled delicious.

Eri Aragaki took the bowl and scooped up a spoonful.

After swallowing, she found herself so hungry that she couldn't stop eating, finishing the whole bowl of porridge mouthful after mouthful.

After finishing her meal, she placed the empty bowl on the coffee table and let out a long sigh.

My belly feels warm.

It seems... while it's good to stay hungry, it's best not to starve yourself too much at once.

From now on, I won't keep myself hungry, but rather just keep myself slightly hungry!

Eri Aragaki looked up and saw Ayane Takeda staring at her, her expression a mixture of worry and relief.

Natsume Akane leaned against the door frame of the studio, her arms crossed over her chest, but a smile played on her lips.