Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Volume 6 - Avatar's Passion (2)
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"By the way, Kali's holed up in his room again today."
Until recently, he'd at least chat with me about the comics I was drawing, pondering together on what direction might work best.
But now, he wouldn't come out at all, wouldn't play with me or anything.
Well, when has Kali ever been any different? It'd probably be better to finish this comic first and then ask for his opinion.
There was that one time before, but I didn't want to force him to hang out.
"Ah, lost in thought again... I need to get back to drawing."
I'd started working on the comic, but Kali kept popping into my head, making it impossible to focus.
Well, it made sense—the male lead in the comic I was drawing right now, a swordsman character named 'Milk' based on Kali, and the female protagonist 'Strawberry,' a mage character modeled after me.
When I first told him about it, Kali said it was fine to use him as inspiration, but warned me to be careful not to go overboard with the vibe, or it could ruin the work.
Th-that just means the story of us two getting together would sell like hotcakes, right? Something I'd obviously embrace for my sake?
So he was worrying about the comic getting ruined first and foremost?
Hehe, Kali's such a guy.
"Ah, here, Kali... no, Milk needs to look a bit weaker, huh?"
Strawberry, the protagonist, is a magic department student praised for her talent, and the story unfolds mostly through her daily life with her magic department friends.
But she keeps bumping into Milk, this ordinary guy from the swordsmanship department, and can't help but find his prickly attitude hilarious, especially since he's not even that skilled.
And the way he butts in all the time despite lacking skill just seems reckless.
"Hehe, but that's what makes it good..."
But then Strawberry ends up in serious danger because of her own mistake, and with no one coming to save her, she's in despair—until Milk swoops in to rescue her.
It's the love story of how Strawberry falls for him after seeing Milk sigh in relief, all battered and relieved that she's okay.
I named it Pink Diary to capture the color scheme of strawberry red mixed with milk white.
Basically, I draw the characters small and cute, but Kali advised that for those serious parts I just described, drawing them big and cool would really hit the spot.
That's why I'd been practicing those kinds of panels separately.
Since most of the comic would use the small chibi style anyway, as long as I could nail one big, awesome panel even if it took forever, it'd be enough, right?
"Hmm, thinking about it makes me miss him even more."
It would've been great if Kali could enroll in our academy too.
But now it seemed like he'd completely given up on swordsmanship, so joining the academy was probably out of the question.
That's actually part of why I set the comic not in a generic academy, but focused mainly on the romantic relationship between Strawberry and Milk.
It's basically a fantasy where I'm dreaming of love with Kali at the academy, getting scolded or envied by friends for my actions.
Well, Kali did say he liked that it wasn't realistic, just drawing what I wanted to see...
But how does Kali know so much about comics when he's never drawn any himself?
Is he seriously hiding in his room all day stacking up new releases and reading them alone?
If that's the case, I should show him some of mine.
Of course, only if it really is—but later, I'll casually probe and ask him to share if so.
Since he knows so much about comics, he'd probably recommend some awesome ones, right?
Honestly, when comics first started popping up, I was stuck in the academy, so I had no clue.
I was just thrilled reading Artist Siu's works and didn't know much else.
"But drawing my fantasies—no, my story—like this is pretty fun."
Kali said my knack for naturally picking out the fun parts people would enjoy was a real talent.
I don't know if it's talent or just good scheming.
I deliberately stage scenes that even I think would be fun.
And when I put extra effort into parts, Kali praises them, so it feels like I'm doing well.
"Anyway, to make this even more fun, Milk and Strawberry need deeper misunderstandings..."
For now, Strawberry clings to Milk because she likes him, but Milk can't understand why she likes him and gets scared.
Those clashes from their mismatched thoughts are super fun.
And occasionally, Strawberry gets thrilled and falls even harder from Milk's casual, thoughtless actions—my heart races just drawing it.
But as a fun element, it's great, though I didn't love it feeling too one-sided like a pure crush.
That's why I planned it to start that way, but shift midway when the protagonist suddenly becomes Milk.
In truth, Milk isn't weak—he's hiding his power...!
But there's a strict rule against ever mentioning it.
So he secretly saves Strawberry every time she's in massive danger, but since she has no idea, he holds no expectations.
Yet Strawberry feels something special in how he always oddly likes and cherishes her, and falls in love.
Milk likes her too, but hides it fearing she'd be in danger if known.
This way, they both love each other, but one side can't express it, creating endless fun situations.
Honestly, this setup came from my anxiety that even though Kali treats me well, he might not actually like me.
Of course, I'd never tell Kali that.
"Hmm, that's enough for today? Time to prep dinner..."
Ah, but first, I should wash up.
Probably because it's summer, I'm sweating a lot—definitely time for a bath.
"And I should shave down here too."
As I started washing, I noticed the hair around my privates had grown back.
I used to just let it grow, but back at the academy, everyone started shaving smooth while reading Descent of the Avatar, and it became a trend.
I skipped it there because it was a hassle, but since vacation started, I'd been doing it regularly.
Why? Because I'm living with Kali now.
If he ever saw down there by chance, I wanted it clean and smooth, no hair.
Honestly, I don't think Artist Siu drew it hairless for nothing.
It just feels prettier to me too.
Is it because humans see this as normal?
Elves don't have hair there naturally, right? So jealous. It's such a pain to maintain.
Well, at least there's a way to make it similar—I started using magic to remove the hair.
After clearing all the hair and washing up clean, my freshly shaved privates felt so soft and sleek—nice sensation.
It gave me this weird feeling like I'd become half-elf or something?
"Alright, hair's perfect too."
Once I'd dried all the moisture from my body and hair, I brushed it out and tied it into my usual style with a ribbon to hold the shape.
I checked the mirror for anything off, but it was fine, so I headed out relaxed.
Right as I stepped out to cook, I realized it was still too early.
"Did I bathe too soon? Prepping dinner now might be way too early..."
Guess I'll rest a bit, and if Kali comes out soon, ask what he wants to eat before cooking.
I reviewed the comic pages I'd drawn earlier, checking for issues.
I jotted down ideas for better fun and unintended problems.
"Wow, Kali's really stubborn. At this point, shouldn't he come out and at least look at my face? I wanna call him for dinner early."
But I couldn't lie, so I tied on my apron to start prepping anyway.
Well, there was that time we almost never saw each other again—sharing meals every day is a happy life.
This might be more than enough to be grateful for.
"Hmm, but seriously, what is he doing? He's been like this lately."
Even while cooking, I couldn't stop worrying, so I paused and started quietly searching the house.
Come to think of it, lately he'd seemed like he was hiding something from me.
Most of it was probably in that room he's in, but if I looked carefully, maybe I'd find something he overlooked.
Honestly, after the last incident, barging in and pressuring him felt off.
Just secretly figuring out what he's up to would satisfy me.
This isn't tormenting Kali, so it's fine, right?
"Hm?"
I casually opened a drawer, and in the corner, something out of place caught my eye—a single piece of paper.
I pulled it out: a fancy, cute-looking letter.
Don't people usually use these feminine envelopes to whisper sweet nothings to a guy they like...?
"Wh-what? No way, right?"
Did some other girl send Kali a love letter, and he's hiding it here so I wouldn't find it?
The thought made my chest tighten, a suffocating feeling hitting me.
No, it's probably just the design—nothing special inside.
Forcing optimistic thoughts, I started reading the letter...
"Eeeeeek!"
I nearly fainted reading, "I dedicate my life to you."—a blatant confession anyone could see.
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