Dead trees in winter, backlit silhouettes, wooden buildings.

There are depressing clouds in the sky outside the window. Inside the window, a man is holding a baby and leaning on a chair, singing softly. Next to him are a rattan cradle and a long stick of wood and precious stones.

The man's face does not look like the child's father, but his mysterious temperament and light angle reflect his vicissitudes that are inappropriate for his age...

His eyes were not looking at the child in his arms, but looking out the window, but the expression on his face had an indescribable feeling.

——This is the content of the comic that takes up the entire first page of the comic.

The whole thing uses black and white light and shadow and delicate lines, but the effect is so appropriate.

Mashiro is indeed Mashiro. Just this single-frame comic with no plot, no language, and even no color expresses a story world that can attract the human soul into it.

Turning to the next page, the man in the painting who was originally looking out the window suddenly turned around and looked out of the screen. He happened to be eye-to-eye with the comic reader.

At this moment, Xingji felt like he was facing himself.

"Is this...me?"

Sure enough, just like what Hoshikki said to Rita just now, Mashiro ran upstairs not because he was sad or disappointed, but just because he was inspired by seeing Hoshikko's situation at that time.

Looking further back, the standard one-chapter manga with a total of sixteen pages is all about Hoshikatsu and Kazuyo's every move when they are together as seen through Mashiro's eyes.

Because there are only two creatures, Hoshikaku and Kazuyo, there are no lines in the entire chapter except for various onomatopoeias that embellish the environment and a man's scary lullaby.

But it is such a 16-page comic with a bland plot and no lines. As a reader, Xing Ke didn't feel bored at all.

Because the amount of information conveyed in the comics is so sufficient——

Who is this man?

What is his relationship with that child?

Why does this person seem to have no kindness at all, but yet he takes care of every detail of his children?

Why do men do things beyond physical phenomena from time to time?

Why does every move of this man seem to have profound meaning and foreshadowing?

What is the story and background behind this?

…

Sixteen pages is just right as a chapter in a comic, and it is also just right for publication as the first chapter. It not only whets the reader's appetite, but also demonstrates the author's drawing skills and the interest and depth of the comic... In this regard

There is only one sentence that Xingke can give to Mashiro:

"I want to read the next chapter."

"No."

"It's a pity, that's true. Even this chapter was rushed out in the afternoon..." Xingke now felt that he was extremely thirsty.

"That's not what I meant." Mashiro sat there hugging his knees, carefully exploring the stars.

"It's not that the painting hasn't been completed, it's that the story after this hasn't happened yet."

“Pfft—hahaha, it’s true, it’s true, the protagonist of this comic is me.

Mashiro, you were able to draw such an interesting comic about me being bored, dazed and lazy, and add such a saintly aura to it with the lens and brush, it’s really amazing..."

Xing Mo couldn't help but laugh.

Because the scene of Hoshikaku taking care of children made her feel very harmonious, and she wanted to continue drawing the following content, so she felt that Hoshikaku should be suitable for taking care of children... This truth made sense to Mashiro.

Xingke felt deeply at this moment that Mashiro had learned bad things from himself——

In the name of drawing materials, everyone is treated like a character in a comic novel.

No, perhaps it should be said that the original Mashiro had such qualities. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to creating interesting comics and was not bound by common sense... but Xingke just brought her here and cultivated this quality.

come out.

However, this should be regarded as retribution, right? People who treat others as characters in novels, just like Xingke, will eventually be unable to escape the fate of becoming characters in other works one day...

"Just like I was once written into the background of Rowling's novel, you might as well be Mashiro? You might also be a character in a certain comic."

Maybe it was because Hoshiki's question omitted the thinking part of his own mind, and the question seemed a bit too jumpy? Mashiro thought about it for a while before coming up with the answer, a calm enough answer:

"...That's not even possible."

"Don't you think there's anything strange?"

"No, I can also draw myself into comics."

"I see, this kind of thinking? This is a blind spot——"

Since you can draw yourself into comics and adapt the story at will, of course others can too. Portrait rights are difficult to maintain in the same world, let alone safeguarding rights across worlds?

"That's right. You are much more open-minded than Ilia when she was a child. When that child first knew that she was a character in the novel, she felt a little disappointed and asked me to enlighten her."

"...There is actually someone you appear in front of me."

Mashiro raised the drawing board in his hand to show that he understood the reason.

"So, you don't care at all as to who has whom, and who has whom later? It's amazing, it's amazing."

Xingke couldn't help but admire, and reached out to touch Mashiro's head as a compliment. But at this time, Mashiro seemed to have remembered something, and asked with some trouble:

"Someone, Qianxun and Rita are both very strange today. Is it because of someone you brought back a baby?"

"Yes." Xing Mo closed his eyes and nodded in confirmation.

"Qianxun just said something to me that I didn't quite understand. Everyone felt that I should express my opinion on someone bringing back a baby."

"And what's your opinion?"

"I don't know. I'm not surprised..." Mashiro only had doubts in his eyes at this time.

Xingke did a lot of things that were unexpected and beyond the common sense of ordinary people. Just bringing back a little baby was nothing.

Compared to the "well-informed" Mashiro, Chihiro-sensei and Rita are just making a fuss.

Suddenly, Mashiro seemed to think of something, his eyes lit up and he said:

"Qianxun wants me to praise the baby for being cute? The baby is indeed very cute."

"No, she wants you to ask me what is the relationship between that child and me." Xingji felt that he would lose if he was serious.

"I see!" At this time, it would be very appropriate if a special light bulb appeared on Zhenbai's forehead: "So, what is the relationship between someone and a baby?"

"That child is my own."

"Biological...what?"
Chapter completed!