She was polite, without other intentions, yet those listening perceived an irresistible force in her words.
"I, I am!" A short girl with a round face and a bob haircut stood up.
"Hello, I am Kiyono Lin from the Human Observation Department." Kiyono Lin's self-introduction was utterly a waste of time.
Apart from Dubian Che, who had missed the opening ceremony and dedicated himself to studying, there was no one at the school who didn't know her.
"I am Ogawa Seimi, the head of the Art Department." The bob-haired girl promptly nodded in response.
"Ogawa, could you spare some time for us outside?"
Poor Ogawa Seimi seemed like a lower grade student pressured by her senior's imposing aura, obediently following the two outside the corridor.
"Ogawa, does the Art Department plan to help other clubs with props and costume designs during the Cultural Festival?" Kiyono Lin asked, her arms crossed.
"Yes." Ogawa Seimi nodded obediently.
Standing behind Kiyono Lin, Dubian Che, not quite five feet tall and still sporting a bob haircut, felt like they were conspiring to bully a primary school student.
"The Human Observation Department plans to perform a play during the Cultural Festival, could you help us with the design?" Kiyono Lin inquired.
A hesitant expression appeared on Ogawa Seimi's face.
"Don't worry—if it's not possible, just say so. We never coerce anyone," Dubian Chae comforted her.
"No, no!" Ogawa Seimi quickly waved her hands. "That's not what I meant!"
"Worried about not designing something appealing?" Dubian Che asked.
"Yes, yes!" Ogawa Seimi nodded hurriedly.
"Mr. Dubian," Kiyono Lin turned around, "you are the playwright and have ingeniously calculated our body measurements with your clever yet vulgar mind, so you handle the costumes and props."
"I think 'vulgar' is unnecessary."
Kiyono Lin ignored Dubian Che's comments and continued, "The Art Department will provide the schemes; you just need to check if they meet the characters' requirements. Can you handle this simple task?"
"That should be no problem, but what will you do?"
"Lighting, venue, sound."
"You've got your work cut out for you."
"Just stay here; I'll go alone to find the Craft Department. We need to settle these matters quickly before rehearsals start."
After watching Kiyono Lin stride away with her "world's most beautiful legs," Dubian Che looked at Ogawa Seimi.
"Ogawa, I look forward to working with you," he said politely.
"Ah? Yes, yes, please instruct me."
"Don't be nervous, Ogawa." Even though Dubian Che did not smile, his tone remained warm. "I'm not like the ice queen Miss Kiyono. I'll never force anyone, so having the costumes and props approximately right will be fine."
Ogawa Seimi sighed with relief and said thankfully, "That's a relief."
"Mr. Dubian, the draft of the female protagonist's costume is ready, please take a look~~ (attachment.jpg)" (20:14) Google seaʀᴄh novel⦿fire.net
"Still designing this late? You're working hard, Ogawa!" (20:15)
"No big deal~~" (20:15)
"Wait a moment, I'll take a look." (20:16)
"Mm-hmm~~ If there are no problems, I will note them down, finalize the details, and then color them." (20:16)
"Should we take in the waist of the skirt a bit more? Also, there's something off about the skirt's hem." (20:17)
"I won't send each one individually; I'll summarize and send them all at once to you, Ogawa." (20:17)
"Mm-hmm~~ Thanks for your hard work~~" (20:18)
"Ogawa, take a look, here are the issues an amateur like me found problematic (a page full of notebook.jpg)" (20:23)
"So many?" From the second floor of a house in Shibuya, Ogawa Seimi blurted out subconsciously.
"Just look at it and change what's necessary. I'm bad at art, and the suggestions might not even fit the human model." (20:23)
"Thanks for your hard work." (20:24)
Ogawa Seimi set her phone to stay lit and began modifying each line using the photo in the notebook.
Her phone ran out of battery midway, so she plugged in a charger.
"Mr. Dubian, I'm done~~" (23:06)
"Still working? You've really put in a lot of effort." (23:07)
"First look and it's fantastic! Worthy of the head of the Art Department!" (23:08)
Ogawa Seimi leaned back, relaxing her body after maintaining the same posture for a long time.
"Now it's 11 o'clock, I can keep drawing for another hour. By pushing hard tomorrow, one piece of clothing every two days, that's five pieces in ten days. Excluding weekends, I should finish everything by next Friday, leaving a week to work on my own Cultural Festival piece."
She planned out the schedule.
This was something she had promised to do personally, so she felt awkward asking the other art club members for help.
Besides, in addition to the art club itself, everyone had their class performances, so they were all busy.
Her cellphone vibrated on the desk and Ogawa Seimi quickly sat up.
"Ogawa, must have won a national competition award before, right?!" (23:13)
"I did in elementary school~~~" (23:14)
"I could tell just by looking, Ogawa is the kind of person who has talent!" (23:14)
"Nope, I just like drawing~~~~" (23:15)
Ogawa Seimi smiled as she looked at her phone screen, lightly typing in the text before she could finish...
"These are my revision suggestions, sorry to trouble you." (23:16)
"Notebook half-filled with notes.jpg" (23:16)
"Not 'Okay~~', are you mad, Ogawa? Really sorry." (23:17)
The irate Ogawa Seimi was startled and quickly replied:
"No no, I just want to revise it quickly~~" (23:18)
"Sorry, I misunderstood you, Ogawa. You're working so hard!" (23:19)
"No problem~" (23:19)
"Know it's hard yet still so many suggestions!" By now, Ogawa Seimi had completely lost the docile look she had during the day, her face looked ferocious.
"Let's revise it tomorrow. Get some rest early tonight." (23:20)
"Revise tomorrow! Revise tomorrow! Revising my head! Go to hell!" Ogawa Seimi grabbed a stuffed doll from her bed and started punching its head furiously.
After tiring herself out, she picked up her phone to reply to Dubian Che.
"Okay (smile.jpg)" (23:22)
"Ogawa, no '~~', I'm worried you're really angry." (23:23)
"Ah—" Ogawa Seimi's fingers turned into claws, her teeth clenched tight.
"No no~~ I also want to draw every image well, make the designs even prettier~~" (23:24)
"Is this the spirit of an artist? I'm so ashamed, I should learn from you!" (23:25)
"Nope~ I'm going to rest now~ Mr. Dubian should rest early too~" (23:26)
"Mmm~~ Goodnight~~" (23:26)
Putting down her phone, the 1.5-meter tall Ogawa Seimi with a bob haircut casually tossed her left leg over the chair and picked up a stylus, burying herself in revisions.
At midnight, she had revised half.
She grabbed the doll, punching it furiously, "You asleep yet? Eh? You must be, right? Damn it, I'm still revising!"
At half past midnight, another quarter was done.
"Die! Die! Die!" The doll's head never bounced once.
At one o'clock, Ogawa Seimi made a wild animal-like growl from her mouth, finishing the last few strokes.
"Mr. Dubian~ finished the revisions~ Take a look~" (01:01)
"Go to hell! Asshole! Idiot! Someone who knows nothing and just keeps talking!" she cursed at her phone, then went to bed full of anger.
She swore to herself, any more requests from Dubian Che, and she'd refuse outright!
The next morning, Ogawa Seimi opened her eyes and instinctively reached for her phone.
There were a few line messages under the time.
"Ogawa, I always thought I was a very diligent person, but you are even more so, it must be so tough on you." (05:06)
"I can't slack either, here are some more opinions (notebook half-filled with notes.jpg)" (05:10)
"It's getting better, really looking forward to the finished product. Let's make the best clothes together!" (05:11)
"The best clothes! The best clothes! I'm going to kill you!" Ogawa Seimi shook her cute bobbed head while vigorously strangling the doll's neck.
Three minutes later, she put down the doll, brushed the stray hair from her mouth, and replied:
That day, Ogawa Seimi changed her line profile picture.
It showed a little girl with a bob haircut and large black-rimmed glasses, lifting her head from a digital tablet, staring at the screen with a 'why don't you just die' look.