However, there was no response, only more messages.
"If there's anything, just say it. I'm listening."
Looking at this message, Yukima Azuma sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Eromanga-sensei, don't be too unreasonable! If this is how you're going to communicate, why did I come all the way here?"
"Even if you don't want me in your room, at least open the door, we can talk through it."
Yukima Azuma didn't press her to come out.
He cleverly avoided the sensitive topic.
Asking a Hikikomori to leave her room was like asking Bocchi to hug strangers on the streetit was an impossible task.
"Is this... not okay?"
"Of course not! Please take your work seriously!"
"But..."
"No buts! Eromanga-sensei, you know how much effort I've put into this project!"
There was complete silence on the other end.
A moment later, strange noises could be heard coming from inside the room.
Objects clattered against each other.
After a long while, the door finally creaked open just a tiny bit.
The gap opened, but there was no further reaction.
Yukima Azuma tried to push the door a little more.
Immediately, he saw inside the pink-colored room.
Izumi Sagiri, dressed in sportswear, looked like a little green dumpling.
She wore a large pink cartoon mask.
Sitting in the corner of the room, far from the door.
She was leaning against her small bed.
Still vigilantly watching the door like a frightened little animal.
Yukima Azuma had a moment where he wanted to rush into the room and tease the cute little girl.
But in the end, he restrained himself.
That would be too cruel.
Moreover, it might create a psychological trauma for Izumi Sagiri.
Yukima Azuma sat down on the floor outside the door.
As he had said before, one person inside the room, one person outside the door.
He took a tablet out of his bag.
Yukima Azuma began to briefly explain the points the anime director had communicated, as well as his own requests and suggestions for the illustrations.
At this moment, Izumi Sagiri, who had been cautious earlier, saw that Yukima Azuma was truly talking about work.
She clearly relaxed much more.
She grabbed the tablet from the corner of the room, started taking notes, and began adjusting the illustrations according to what Yukima Azuma had said.
Chapter 142: Using a meal to tempt the genius artist to sell herself to capitalism
"Is this... okay?"
The girl's voice was a bit hesitant.
Because there was no longer the barrier of the internet,
Even Eromanga-sensei from the legend could no longer maintain her tough demeanor.
The sound was as soft as a whisper.
Fortunately, Sagiri had a livestreaming device, wore headphones, and connected it to the room's audio system.
It wasn't impossible to hear the voice.
It was just that the headphones' output couldn't use a voice changer, so she had to speak with her real, soft voice to communicate with Yukima Azuma.
As she spoke, her small fingers raised the drawing board, presenting it to Yukima Azuma.
Yukima Azuma nodded.
The issues the director had raised had mostly been dealt with.
Additionally, the character emotions Yukima Azuma mentioned had been perfectly adjusted.
At this level, the draft was already a work of art.
However...
"By the way, why are all the characters in Eromanga-sensei's drawings... flat-chested?"
Kurokawa Akane's character was designed with a B-cup.
But the feel that Izumi Sagiri drew was almost like an A-cup.
Though it was a minor flaw, it felt strange when such small issues appeared in Izumi Sagiri's otherwise perfect artwork.
Upon hearing Yukima Azuma's question, Izumi Sagiri hesitated.
She noticed Yukima Azuma was staring at her.
And it was related to her work.
Izumi Sagiri closed her eyes and yelled:
"Because there are things I've never seen in real life, I can't draw them!"
Yukima Azuma glanced at Izumi Sagiri's flat, unremarkable body.
Umu, after all, she's just a little girl.
Come to think of it, in the past, Eromanga-sensei's works always had similarly styled characters.
Looks like she's using herself as a reference for the drawings.
Seeing Yukima Azuma nodding as if in thought,
Izumi Sagiri immediately crossed her arms, warily stepping back a bit.
She looked like she was guarding against a pervert.
However, since she was wearing a large cartoon mask, her actual facial expression couldn't be seen.
But, this little skit unexpectedly had an incident.
Izumi Sagiri suddenly stood up, and her small body unexpectedly staggered.
As if she couldn't stand properly, she fell forward.
Initially feeling a bit embarrassed, Izumi Sagiri suddenly felt dizzy.
Soon, the world before her seemed to flip.
The distance between her and the tatami mat on the floor was getting closer.
She reflexively shut her eyes.
She waited for a long time, but the pain never came.
Her body didn't feel the impact of the tatami either.
Instead, it felt as though she had fallen into a soft sofa.
Carefully opening her eyes, Izumi Sagiri realized Yukima Azuma, who was previously standing at the door, was now right in front of her.
She had fallen into the arms of the young man, which explained the soft feeling.
Having never experienced close contact with the opposite sex,
Let alone hugging, she had never even had a boy's finger touch hers.
Not to mention being someone with severe social anxiety, to the point of not daring to leave her room.
For someone like Izumi Sagiri, suddenly falling into the arms of a young man, one could imagine what would happen.
As soon as she realized the situation, Izumi Sagiri nearly "exploded."
She struggled to break free.
But after only a few movements, dizziness hit again.
Her small hand, which had risen, went limp and dropped.
Her eyes rolled back, and Izumi Sagiri passed out on the spot.
Even Yukima Azuma was startled by this unexpected situation.
He didn't recall Izumi Sagiri having any serious medical conditions.
After removing the large cartoon mask,
Yukima Azuma immediately understood why the girl fainted.
In the summer heat, even though the room had the air conditioner on,
It wasn't enough to handle the fact that Izumi Sagiri had wrapped herself up like a sticky rice cake.
She must have been too focused on drawing and not noticed her condition,
Standing up and moving around caused her to suffer from heatstroke.
Yukima Azuma quickly helped her remove the soaking wet sportswear,
Leaving just the inner clothes, which were drenched in sweat.
He didn't want her to misunderstand the situation when she woke up, as those typical scenes in anime.
If heatstroke wasn't dealt with in time, it could lead to serious issues.
Afterward, he laid her down with her limbs spread out on the tatami mat.
Yukima Azuma went downstairs and found some ice from the fridge.
He placed the ice on Izumi Sagiri's forehead, soaked a towel in cool water, and wiped her hands and feet.
Izumi Sagiri only felt a vague dizziness,
Her body felt hot and hard to breathe.
It wasn't until a cool breeze blew through
That she began to feel a bit better.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Izumi Sagiri drowsily opened her eyes.
By reflex, she looked toward the cool breeze.
She saw Yukima Azuma, holding her paper fan in his hand, gently fanning her.
She tried to move her body but still felt weak and nauseous.
At the same time, Izumi Sagiri noticed that the cartoon mask on her face was gone.
Immediately, she tried to sit up and resist.
Yukima Azuma extended his hand, placing it gently on her forehead, and gently pressed her back down.
"Don't try to move anymore. You've got heatstroke, it's very dangerous, do you understand?"
Normally, Izumi Sagiri would definitely be embarrassed and angry, refusing to listen.
But now, because of the heatstroke, she had no strength left to get up.
She could only lie there like a dried fish, allowing Yukima Azuma to take care of her.
Not to mention her emotions, this state also allowed her to hear him speak more clearly.
The cool breeze from the paper fan blew across Sagiri's silver hair.
Each gust of cool air made her feel more exhausted.
From being unable to move to not wanting to move at all.
"I've handled your first aid, but if you still feel unwell tomorrow, we should go to the hospital for a check-up."
"Don't think this is a small matter. Severe heatstroke can.... In any case, you need to be careful about staying cool in the summer."
As he spoke, Yukima Azuma lightly tapped Izumi Sagiri's forehead with the paper fan.
"Th-thank you."
Izumi Sagiri's small pale pink lips moved.
Her voice was so quiet it couldn't be heard clearly.
But Yukima Azuma could tell from the shape of her mouth that she was thanking him.
Since Sagiri was now a "patient," he didn't tease her by saying, "Huh? What did you just say?"
About half an hour later, Izumi Sagiri sat up.
Her head still felt a bit dizzy,
But most of the symptoms had subsided.
Regaining some strength, Sagiri no longer reacted strongly.
If it were before, she would have tried to force Yukima Azuma out of the room by any means.
But now, they had been sitting next to each other for a while.
Sagiri understood that Yukima Azuma wasn't a bad person.
So even though she was still embarrassed, she no longer wanted to act aggressively toward him.
Seeing Sagiri's shy demeanor,
Yukima Azuma quietly thought to himself that today was indeed lucky.
If it weren't for Sagiri getting heatstroke, trying to have a face-to-face conversation with this little girl would certainly take a lot of effort.
If this were a galgame, the relationship progress bar would have definitely jumped up significantly.
"My... My name is Izumi Sagiri."
Sagiri softly spoke, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.
Perhaps she thought that since Yukima Azuma had come into her room, it would be difficult to just maintain a purely professional relationship.
"My name is Yukima Azuma."
Yukima Azuma said, using the paper fan to write his name in the air.
Izumi Sagiri seriously committed the name to memory.
Then, just as she was about to say something,
Guru guruuu~~~!
Sagiri's stomach betrayed her first.
The protest from her stomach immediately made Sagiri's small face turn bright red. She quickly placed her hand over her stomach and cautiously glanced up at Yukima Azuma's reaction.
If he dared to laugh at her,
Then she would... she would... definitely get mad!
However, Yukima Azuma clearly had no intention of mocking her.
"How does Sagiri usually handle meals?"
Yukima Azuma noticed that Sagiri hadn't left her room, and the house didn't seem like it was regularly lived in.
It seemed like the aunt who adopted Sagiri wasn't home every day.
"I order takeout," Sagiri mumbled, her gaze instinctively drifting toward the windowsill.
There, a basket was tied with a long nylon rope.
Yukima Azuma followed her gaze and immediately understood the system.
After ordering the food, the basket would be lowered through the window, the food placed inside, and then the basket pulled back up.
Should he praise Sagiri for being such a clever girl?
She even thought of this method.
"Is there anything for cooking in the fridge?" Yukima Azuma asked casually. "Eating takeout all the time isn't good. Let me cook for you, change it up a bit."
Hearing that, Sagiri gently shook her head.
"I don't know."
Yukima Azuma smacked his forehead.
Of course, this girl never leaves her room.
"Then I'll go check downstairs."
"No need... it's too much trouble."
"It's fine. We're probably friends now, right? It's nothing."
"Friends... friends..."
"Isn't that so?"
"It's..."
(Note: Why do I feel like I've experienced dj vu at this part?)
Sagiri felt that Yukima Azuma, who shared her interests and even entered her room, truly fit the image of a friend she had in mind.
Yukima Azuma smiled and waved, then went downstairs.
Sagiri's kitchen was clearly not used often, but there were some fresh ingredients in the fridge.
They must have been stored for convenience.
Yukima Azuma quickly took a look.
In the end, he decided to make grilled mackerel with miso soup, along with a small serving of rice.
These were traditional Japanese dishes.
Yukima Azuma didn't eat them much himself, but considering Sagiri's usual takeout choices, simple traditional Japanese food like this seemed like the best option.
Even a basic dish needs the right hands to make it.
When Yukima Azuma, with his cooking level 7, started preparing, the aroma of grilled mackerel immediately filled the air, tempting everyone nearby.
It didn't take long before Yukima Azuma placed a plate of fragrant grilled mackerel, a bowl of miso soup, and a small bowl of rice on the table.
"Enjoy~."
Yukima Azuma placed the food on the small table and smiled.
The smell of the food enticed Sagiri so much that she couldn't take her eyes off it.
The aroma was truly irresistible.
Normally, Sagiri would never eat in front of others.
But with a dish made by someone with cooking skills like Yukima Azuma, the little girl was completely defeated.
She picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a small piece of fish, and put it in her mouth.
The wonderful taste spread across her tongue, making Sagiri close her eyes in pleasure.
"So delicious!"
She murmured in awe.
Yukima Azuma sat down beside her, maintaining a respectful distance so she wouldn't feel pressured and could take her time to adjust.
After Sagiri had eaten a few bites, Yukima Azuma smiled and said:
"By the way, I don't think you've ever signed a contract with any company, right?"
Sagiri, captivated by the taste of the food, unconsciously nodded.
But immediately, she realized something.
Wait!
She had fallen into a trap!
However, the food was already in her mouth. Could she really spit it out now?
Having eaten someone else's food, it felt like she was in a vulnerable position.
"Umm, never signed... for some special reasons."
Sagiri replied quietly.
"Is it because you're not good at communicating?" Yukima Azuma said bluntly.
Sagiri swallowed a small bite of rice, staring at Yukima Azuma, unsure how he knew this about her.
Seeing her confusion, Yukima Azuma seized the opportunity to continue:
