Where Does That Money Come From?
"Hey, lift your hips a little higher."
"……Like this?"
"More."
"Haa… This is seriously hard."
I compared the rough illustration that had just arrived with my 'sister'.
Maybe because her body was relatively stiff, something felt a little off.
In other words, the composition of the rough looked somewhat unnatural.
That was why I was examining my 'sister' for anything that needed confirming regarding the illustration.
"Hey, can't you lower your waist a bit more?"
"How am I supposed to go any lower from here—ah, aaah! Are you crazy!?"
It was the so-called Cat Posture.
But her hips needed to point even higher toward the ceiling than they did now.
Her narrow waist had to curve much more beautifully.
"……Just bear with it. I heard this stretch is really good for women."
"You crazy bastard! My back is—ahh!!"
"Uh, hmm… It looks pretty close now."
"Haaaaah—!!"
Thanks to her waist folding sharply downward, the line running from her hips downward looked quite convincing.
The part that had felt awkward to me wasn't her hips or waist, but her upper body.
Since her breasts were large, they should sag lower than they currently did to look natural.
Even now, her chest was jiggling beneath her tank top, so the rough in my hand looked relatively unnatural by comparison.
Her arms were also a little longer.
Of course, the proportions in the illustration itself were flawless.
But when compared directly to my 'sister,' they still felt slightly out of harmony.
"Are your arms a bit long?"
"Let go! Let go of me right now!"
Her face was half-buried in the bed.
Actually, "collapsed" was a more accurate description.
"Ah, good work. This is good for your body, so do it once a day without fail."
Thud— Thud—
I patted my collapsed 'sister's back a couple of times.
Then, to prepare for the inevitable outburst, I quickly slipped out the door.
"Yaaaaah—!!"
The quiet house filled with my 'sister's voice.
I rushed into my room and locked the door.
Then I organized the parts that had felt awkward to me and sent an email to the illustrator.
*
Just as I was about to fall asleep, my phone chimed.
"Haa…"
I groped around for my phone.
That notification sound was probably an email.
And there was only one person who would send an email at this hour.
[RE: Sending the Rough]
Even though writers were known for having no sense of day or night, quite some time had passed since the rough left my hands.
Yet the illustrator was only replying now…
As expected, the email was quite long.
My face twisted into a frown as I read it.
"……If you're sorry, then don't send it."
I brushed my messy bangs back.
Then I checked the rough I had sent earlier and compared it against the illustrator's requests.
"……The waist can be fixed… Wait, no bra? How is the chest supposed to sag any more than this?"
The clothes were already skin-tight to begin with.
And if she was wearing underwear underneath, there was no room for anything to sag further.
"Do the proportions look that fucked up? The forearms look short? Ha… This is pissing me off."
Still, it was the client's request, so I swallowed my irritation.
"Wrinkles…? Picking at weird details again. If you're going to be like that, at least draw the nose properly… How have I been putting up with that dot for a nose until now? Or is making the pelvis bigger and the waist narrower natural? What kind of perverted illustration needs wrinkles anyway…"
This wasn't the first time, but it always managed to annoy me in the strangest places.
And even if I did everything they asked, they'd probably say it still looked awkward and demand more revisions.
"Huu…"
Explaining with words wouldn't get through anyway.
Or rather, they wouldn't even try to understand.
They'd only realize something was wrong after seeing it with their own eyes.
At least I was still paying extra for revisions, which was why I'd been letting it slide so far.
Of course, I could already picture the future of repeated revisions, but as always, I sent a mechanical reply.
[Understood^^!]
[I've checked everything you sent.
I'll contact you again once the revisions are done.
Have a good night!]
"Ugh…"
The heat rising through me chased away all traces of sleep.
"Nngh, nngh…"
I stretched while lying down.
Crack— A satisfying sound came from my bones.
I got off the bed, turned on the light in the dark room.
"……I'm wide awake now."
I knelt in front of the full-length mirror.
Then I fumbled to put on the bra I had tossed aside earlier.
"Huuu…"
I flopped face-down onto the floor.
I thought my proportions weren't bad.
And an illustration that was practically a carbon copy of me glowed on my phone screen.
"……Good for women, my ass. It's just exhausting."
*
"Hey, I'm heading out."
"Ah, yeah."
"I'll be late today, so don't wait up and throw a fit. Just eat first."
"……Yeah."
"……You're not listening to me right now, are you."
"Yeah."
"Haa…"
It was a deep sigh pulled up from her core.
A look of exasperation flew my way.
"When are you going to become a proper adult?"
"Aren't you going to be late? Hurry up and go."
I waved my hand at my 'sister,' who looked ready to start lecturing.
Once she got going, there was no end to it, so I had to cut her off now.
"You, seriously, until when are you going to—"
"Ah, I got it. I got it, so just leave already."
I turned my back completely while eating at the table.
Then I stubbornly scooped up more rice and shoved it into my mouth.
"Eat, shit, eat again, shit again… Ugh."
"Hey! This house is on my loan, you know…? And I contribute more to the living expenses, so why are you complaining again."
"……Right. Interest and all that—where the hell does that money keep coming from? A NEET bastard who just lazes around at home."
"Ah, I still have some savings left. Aren't you leaving? You're really going to be late…?"
"It's a flexible schedule, so it doesn't matter, right?"
It wasn't an empty statement—her bag dropped to the floor with a thud.
Then she strode toward me.
"……They say even dogs don't bother someone while they're eating."
"What does someone worse than a dog have to say? At least dogs are cute."
With her arm propped on her hip, my 'sister' looked down at me with cold eyes.
"……Don't tell me you're doing something illegal?"
"Ah! Stop saying crazy stuff. Hah, hahaha!"
A hollow laugh burst out at the ridiculous suggestion.
After all, she had no idea that my living expenses came from writing erotic novels—incest ones, at that.
And I hoped she would never find out.
"……Anyway, if there's anything hard or difficult, just say it. Don't go around doing weird shit like an idiot. You'll end up causing a bigger accident."
"Ah, I already told you it's not that… What do you take me for."
It had already been three years since I became a NEET.
In other words, it had also been three years since I started living as an incest erotic novel author.
And I could never tell anyone around me about it.
No—forget the people around me, I couldn't reveal it to anyone at all.
"……Hmph. Fine. Anyway, I'm really leaving now."
Even my 'sister' was like this.
She already treated me like I wasn't human. If she ever learned about my other side… just imagining it made me shudder involuntarily.
Click— Clack—
My 'sister' finally left the house.
Just in case she had forgotten something, I spent about thirty minutes doing housework.
"Huu…"
I finished the simple cleaning and dishes.
Then I locked my room door, sat at my desk.
"Haa… When am I ever going to finish the remaining thousand characters…"
Out of habit, I checked my email first.
There was nothing particularly important.
Then I checked the comments on my work.
I confirmed there were still three hours left until the next upload.
"……Should I watch one drama episode first."
This was all to gain inspiration for the work… Using that plausible excuse, I started watching the drama I had fallen asleep to yesterday.
Since there were still three hours left, I figured it would work out somehow.