Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Volume 7 - What the Hell Is That, Otaku? (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ugh, this is seriously killing me."
It's my own work, so why do I have to stand in line for hours just to pick up a copy?
Even as those thoughts crossed my mind, I couldn't help but grin when I realized that insane line from earlier was all because of my comic.
I mean, how much did it sell for there to be a lineup like this just in the capital?
I heard every exhibition hall across the country went all-in on this today.
"Hehe, at least we got our copies."
"Yeah. They must've thrown everyone they had at it. Looked like they could hand them all out by the end of the day."
True. Exhibition halls aren't like those convenience stores crammed everywhere. Folks from areas without one nearby probably all flocked here to the capital.
Makes it seem like an unavoidable phenomenon now that I think about it.
Still, next time, I need to figure out a way to grab one without waiting forever and actually enjoy some sightseeing.
Honestly, seeing lines like that makes me thrilled, but I worry it's too rough on the readers.
"Rozaria?"
"Hm?"
"Oh, sorry. Keep reading."
I'd noticed Rozaria go quiet all of a sudden, but she was already sprawled on the bed, flipping through the comic.
Better pretend I'm checking it out too before she catches on that I didn't even glance at the contents.
Of course, I do need to confirm what the final printed version looks like, since this isn't just a sample.
"Hehe, Cheat-chan's so cute."
"Yeah."
I tossed back a casual agreement to her mutterings, and it hit me—Rozaria often liked characters similar to herself.
Last time, she adored Strawberry, the protagonist from her own comic Pink Diary. Here, she seemed taken with Chitrinita, the tsundere who resembled her.
"Huh?"
"What's up?"
After reading for a while, Rozaria tilted her head and opened the book to show me.
Probably the scene right before the first Corrosion fight in Avatar Zeal.
With five battles in the story, I'd detailed a strip-down scene for each one.
This part must've been the two pages dedicated just to Nigredo undressing.
I always put my all into the act of disrobing.
"Hmm, I don't get what this is."
"Huh?"
Her finger pointed to Nigredo in her underwear.
I puzzled over what she meant for a bit until I noticed it was right on her chest.
Was she questioning the huge breasts?
"You saying something that big doesn't make sense? That's just 'cause yours are small. Other people... Ow!?"
"Not that! I mean what she's wearing!"
"Are you really a mage? Why are your hands so quick..."
If it wasn't the breasts, was she talking about the bra on top?
What was wrong with the bra all of a sudden?
The design was too modern...
'Huh?'
A sudden chill washed over me as something I'd overlooked hit home, draining the color from my face.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Rozaria was staring at the bra like she'd never seen one before.
Did this world not have bras?
I'd assumed they existed and rolled with it, but maybe they didn't.
Sure, common knowledge like that should be in my head, but Kali never cared about women's underwear.
Actually, even accounting for that, the complete absence of any memory about bras felt off...
"Kali?"
"Oh, sorry. Got lost in thought. Yeah, wonder what that is..."
Her tone wasn't playful enough to be teasing me about underwear, and there was full nudity right after anyway—no reason to pick on the bra specifically.
Which meant Rozaria was genuinely seeing a bra for the first time.
Come to think of it, I'd casually used the term "bra" in the comic, but now it felt like I'd scribbled it in half-asleep without thinking.
"Maybe that's the point of this work?"
"The point...?"
"Siu's pieces always hide some deeper meaning. White Flower on Water revolutionized deformed art, Descent of the Avatar birthed the medium of comics, and the orc-elf one cleared up misconceptions about orcs and half-orcs."
Fuck, everything but Descent of the Avatar was pure accident.
I'd drawn this one thinking it was just straightforward fanservice, yet here we were with the same mess.
I'd zeroed in on the scene of her shedding layers of underwear because it turned me on—no grand plan, and I never expected this misunderstanding.
"Look, every character wears one. Or maybe in this comic's world, that's standard? Anyway, since it keeps showing up, there must be something to it."
Okay, fine, it was my mistake, but I had my grievances too.
Even in a medieval fantasy world, magic fixed so many inconveniences.
Refrigerators powered by magic were standard for nobles, and bathrooms were legally mandated to use magical sanitation—spotless.
When drawing, it always felt at least early modern, if not fully contemporary.
How was I supposed to guess bras as a concept didn't exist?
I could've bought "the design's too trendy, starting a fashion wave," but the total nonexistence was a blindside.
I could spin it as unique to that world, but the artist was "Painter Siu," treated like an archmage.
No intent, yet they'd blow it up into something profound.
'Same as last time.'
All I wanted back then was to draw an orc pounding an elf with his massive cock, her belly bulging lewdly.
Of course, I couldn't make it just that, so gags crept in naturally.
The part hailed as emotionally resonant—the orc discrimination story during the marriage approval?
I'd just adapted the classic K-drama trope of overcoming family opposition to interracial love for the era.
"Uwuu, poor Cheat-chan."
Meanwhile, Rozaria was immersed in Chitrinita's emotions, tears streaming as she read.
I stroked her hair to comfort her while my mind raced with how to handle this.
'Don't panic—check public reaction first?'
Word would spread soon enough.
Reviews and questions would filter in from the markets.
Better not stress now; wait till opinions solidify.
Might be jumping the gun.
Rozaria was a genius and spotted the bra's uniqueness right away.
Average folks might just see it as underwear and move on.
Please, let it be that simple...
'Ah, fuck.'
A few days later, when I went to check, that prayer shattered mercilessly.
Of all timings, I ran into Professor Rondo and Elder Sharon right as I arrived.
Even Professor Rondo, a woman, and Elder Sharon were deep in bra talk?
"Making it without knowing what it is would be weird, right?"
"But it's from 'Siu's' work. Make one first, and we'll figure it out."
"That's exactly why we should be cautious. Botch it, misinterpret the intent, and it becomes a huge problem."
"Fair point..."
Thank goodness it hadn't hit markets yet for that reason.
But why was the elder pushing to produce something so clearly unrelated to art?
I was losing my mind.
"I get it's like straps to hold the breasts in place..."
"Huh, didn't know that existed. Most use corsets, no?"
"Elves don't favor corsets. Too much jiggle looks bad either way. For larger ones, some races bind with straps."
"Oho, then you wouldn't need it."
"......."
Professor Rondo glared at Elder Sharon with fiery eyes.
He finally apologized and changed the subject.
"So can't we just copy the design? Why invent a new one?"
"Presenting something new—like with the comics? Showing it can be secured this way."
"Shouldn't it have clear advantages then? Comics nailed what static art couldn't: capturing time."
"Figuring that out is Painter Siu's homework this time. That's why it's drawn naturally in the work, no explanations."
Watching them earnestly debate the bra's "intent" made me want to bolt.
But as a mere noble's kid, snubbing Elder Sharon was impossible—as I'd said before.
Someone save me!
"What do you think? Any idea what your master intended?"
"...Probably nothing?"
"Hahaha, you're still green. You don't get your sly master's artistic philosophy yet."
No, fuck, there was zero intent, you lunatics! ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇