'I don't want to lose…' Tanaka slowly widened his eyes. 'This... really seems like it's the case?'

Yes, that was correct.

His feelings were actually just as simple as the young author had said.

'I simply don't want to lose!'

"You're right, Sh.o.r.e Sensei." He revealed a simple smile that was far different from his earlier complex expression. "I just don't want to lose… I want to be able to draw art for a novel I like. I want this job. I don't want to lose to anyone else, even if that person is the story's author: you!"

Seiji smiled as well.

"I'm happy that Brother Monogatari is a story that you enjoy so much. This story isn't something I wrote by myself. My partner wishes for me to be able to draw for our story. I agreed, which is why it became something I want to do as well. I don't want to lose either, even if I'm not even able to be called an artist yet, even if my opponent is a first-cla.s.s artist like you, Demon Soldier Sensei."

The two of them exchanged glances as their wills clashed in midair.

"Let's begin."

"Yep."

Tanaka and Seiji both brought out their drawings and placed them on the table in front of each other.

Seiji picked up Demon Soldier Sensei's drawing and began looking at it closely.

'Amazing!'

That was his first impression.

Demon Soldier Sensei's drawing was of the male lead fighting with weapons against the main antagonist. The drawing was done quite well, and seemed to be quite spirited.

The drawing did an especially good job of showing the antagonist's vicious expression after she revealed her true self. Half of her face was a scary demon, and the other half was still a beautiful human female. This contrast between the two halves of her face gave such a visual impact that it would leave anyone a deep impression.

The story's description of the antagonist's true appearance wasn't exactly like this, but drawing her like this was within the bounds of creative liberty. And, this definitely had a nice effect.

Seiji even took inspiration from this drawing and wondered if he should modify the physical description of the antagonist in the story.

This was the power of a first-rate light novel artist's ability!

Not only did he draw a drawing that matched the story's scene, it even surpa.s.sed the author's imagination and influenced the author.

Apart from the antagonist, the male lead's expression was done excellently as well. Seiji was able to detect a strong fighting will from the male lead's eyes, and the runes on his face seemed quite cool as well.

The actions, clothing, weapons, and shading… Seiji carefully inspected it all.

Meanwhile, Tanaka was also going over Sh.o.r.e Sensei's drawing in detail.

It was so exquisite!

That was Tanaka's first awed impression.

What Sh.o.r.e Sensei drew was the battle between the male lead and the antagonist right before it was about to begin. There was a tense sensation as if things were about to explode.

The characters, the clothing, the weapons, the shadows, the shading… everything was exquisite and obviously drawn at a higher level compared to him!

With greater focus on details, that would give anyone a better first impression. Basically, the "quality" would appear higher, or it could also be described as the "completion rate" being higher.

Tanaka was also capable of drawing to such a detailed extent, but he didn't have enough time.

Basically, the other party's drawing speed was much quicker than his!

He lost at speed… and detail. It felt as if he had been forcefully punched, being suppressed by the difference in ability.

'Then, what about the content?'

Tanaka looked at the three characters within the drawing.

The male lead who had just drawn his weapon, the antagonist who had transformed into a demon, and the female lead who was observing from a corner.

'He actually drew the female lead as an observer as well!?'

When Tanaka first saw this, he felt that it was a minus. However, when he looked at it in more detail, he changed his mind.

The female lead was in the shadows, and not noticeable at first glance. The viewer would definitely first pay attention to the male lead and the antagonist. Only by looking closer would the viewer discover the girl in the shadows.

The female lead was the narrator of the novel, as well as the story's biggest mystery. For anyone who hadn't finished the story yet, they would only think that this girl was an observer in the background.

But if the reader carefully looked at her, or looked at this insert art again after finis.h.i.+ng the novel, then the reader would feel like something was slightly abnormal.

Her expression while observing seemed a little strange. It was like she was concerned about the male lead, while also seeming like she was wearing a mask. The look in her eyes was deep, and it seemed like she was smiling yet not smiling. It was abnormal and mysterious.

This feeling matched the entire atmosphere of the story, and improved the overall feeling of immersion from looking at this drawing. This wasn't only a battle between the male lead and the antagonist, and contained something else… which permeated throughout the whole novel yet was indescribable.

Tanaka could only exclaim in respect at this drawing.

As expected of the story's author… This was an excellent insert art for the novel that only the story's author would be able to draw.

"It's my loss." Tanaka came to this conclusion after making a detailed comparison of his own drawing with Seiji's.

He put Seiji's drawing back down on the table in front of him.

"It's your victory, Sh.o.r.e Sensei… As per our agreement, I'll give up on this job."

"Thank you, Demon Soldier Sensei."

Seiji also returned Tanaka's drawing to him.

"Don't say thank you… I truly admit that I've lost this compet.i.tion." Tanaka took back his drawing and glanced at it before he made a move to rip it up.

"Wait!" Seiji stopped him from doing so. "This is a great drawing. Demon Soldier Sensei, if you don't want it anymore, could you give it to me?"

Tanaka was astonished by this.

"Why… would you want…"

"Like I said, this is a great drawing, and I really like it," Seiji said sincerely. "Sensei, the way you drew the antagonist was even better than I imagined. I'm even thinking about changing the story's description based on the way that Sensei drew her."

Tanaka blinked at this, before revealing a faint smile.

"I see… in that case, this drawing of mine won't have been completely wasted.

He looked over once more at his own drawing before handing it to Seiji.

"Thank you." Seiji showed his grat.i.tude as he took the drawing.

Tanaka took a sip of his black coffee that had gone cold already and felt its bitterness before looking back at the boy across from him.

"Sh.o.r.e Sensei, I'd like to ask, how old are you right now?"

"I'm sixteen," Seiji answered.

"Sixteen… You're a high school student." Tanaka sighed. "Amazing. You're probably only in your first or second year of high school, and can write such an incredible story already, as well as draw so well… this must be a so-called genius. I'm currently twenty-two years old and started drawing seriously since middle school. In high school, I began to submit manga drafts and received an award when I was in my third year of high school. After that, I've never made any progress… in fact, you could even say I've gone backwards.

"I saw the limits of my own ability… Although I really didn't want to believe that these were my limits, they indeed existed, like an insurmountably high wall.

"I once believed that I was talented.

"But that was only a mistaken impression of mine. The moment that I had believed myself to be talented was actually the very moment that I reached my limits.

"I'm only an ordinary person… true geniuses are people like you, Sh.o.r.e Sensei.

"You can write a good story, and draw well as well. If you make publis.h.i.+ng a manga as your goal, you'd surely be able to succeed in short time, and receive a serial publication.

"And as for me… how much long will I still struggle? Will I be able to succeed? Should I just give up on… my so-called dreams?"

Tanaka collapsed somewhat listlessly against his chair with a vacant gaze.

He wasn't actually saying all this to Seiji. Instead, he was talking out loud to himself.

As an artist and attempted author who had met with multiple failures, he was expressing his own confusion. He didn't care who the listener was.

"Dreams: a beautiful yet cruel word," Seiji said calmly, fixing his stare on Tanaka. "If you really don't want any more pain, then give up now."