It's the weekend, and my group has finished recording all the scenes at a train station. Since using such a place for recording requires it to be closed to the public, even for a short time, we need a written permit. Fortunately, obtaining this permit doesn't have to involve the lengthy process of going to city hall and waiting for days—sometimes even weeks—for approval. There's an agreement between the university and the city of Kyoto that simplifies things. We only need to submit a special application to Misaki-sensei, who will forward it and receive the appropriate response in about two or three working days.
It was the producer's responsibility to handle this, but Eiko served as both the director and producer since she didn't trust our colleagues to manage it properly. So, she took it upon herself to do it. The fact that Misaki-sensei is her sister was an added benefit.
With that sorted out, our remaining task is to choose the best scenes and edit them into a film format. We decided to take the weekend off for some well-deserved rest, which I really appreciated.
Even before I started to spend my evenings doing what I referred to as "dungeon runs," I was busy with various other activities. I felt pent up, having gone more than ten days without the company of a woman for the night. I had all the chapters of "Lord of the Mysteries," but they were in English, so I needed to translate them into Japanese. This translation was the easiest task I've taken on so far.
Since I want to start my own company, I've researched the regulations for forming one, including the required liquid capital and what to do for future employees. I consulted with more experienced individuals and have already spent more than 100,000 yen on that.
However, I believe this investment won't be a problem, as I expect my dungeon runs to help me earn some money. I haven't received any money drops from the zombies I've faced, but that's probably because those are boss drops. I'm not worried, though, since it's a boss drop, the amount of money dropped should be substantial.
In addition to that, I'm working on other projects. While they are inspired by my previous work, that doesn't mean they're easy to replicate.
With all the tasks for the day completed, it was finally time to relax. My destination? The Yasaka Shrine. Supernatural or not, I need to pet that fox!
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I took a nap in the shadow of a tree in the park near the shrine, which felt great and was just what I needed to energize me. Since I was feeling good, I decided against returning to the share house and chose to spend a few more hours enjoying the scenery and making another drawing.
Just before taking out the necessary items from my inventory, I sensed something with my [Mana Sense]. When I looked in the direction my instincts pointed me, a fox appeared. Not just any fox, but the same one as before.
Thanks to my [Cold Reading] skill and my leveled-up mental stats, I could tell it was a female and that she recognized me. She seemed surprised but not scared, eagerly making her way to my spot.
"No supervision this time?" I thought. Her expression didn't change, but I could see a pout and a clear "I'm a big girl" look on her face. That look melted away the moment I started petting her. [Head Patting] and [Massage] skills came in handy.
After five minutes of heavy petting (not that kind, you perverts!), I could see a question in her eyes. She wanted to know why I was here again. I could have ignored her question and continued the petting session like a normal human, which would have been the right choice… but when have I ever made the right choice? I like to do whatever I want whenever I want.
"Well, I finished my version of homework with the other colleagues and needed to relax a bit, so I came here to take a nap and do some drawing."
She seemed quite shocked, judging by her wide-open eyes and gaping mouth. She even blinked. Whatever supernatural being she was, she had a surprisingly human mind. I guessed that she might be some kind of yokai—monsters from Japan—or perhaps an animagus like those from Harry Potter.
"No, I cannot read your mind," I told her.
"KON!"
"No, I truly can't."
"Kon-kon!"
"Pink elephant, but that's just a guess!"
"Koooon!"
"Also, why pink? And why elephants? There are many different colors and animals. Why not a cyan crocodile or a brown eagle?"
"Kon?"
"It could have been a dinosaur! Or even a household appliance—a black washing machine!"
"Kooon Kooon!"
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, I was about to start drawing something. Do you want to see my previous works?"
"Kon!"
She eagerly nodded, and I was ready to perform my comic scene for the first time. One thing about my system is that it is not static but dynamic. By that, I mean that as long as it is thematically accurate, new functions can be developed. For example, I was trying to level up a skill called [Mental Mapping], but the moment it reached level 10, it disappeared, and I obtained two functions called [Note] and [Map].
The new functions did the same thing as the skill, but with the added benefit of having infinite space for it. The skill at level 9 granted me a space as big as a blackboard to write and draw whatever I wanted in my mind. Now, I have infinite space to take notes, with each note being numbered. I can also add tags to search for a specific note without having to examine each one individually.
Anyway, this means there's synergy not only between stats and skills but also with the system itself, which is what I was doing right now...
"Now, just wait a moment while I find it..." I placed both my hands behind my back, as if I were searching through my pants, while I looked at my inventory screen.
"No, not that one... neither that... oh, here it is!" Suddenly, like Jim Carrey in 'The Mask', an A4 album appeared comically in my hands. The little fox was agape for the second time, but I could see the stars in her eyes, happy to witness a magical spectacle.
I opened the album, and she looked at each image before turning to the next one. Nothing impressive, as they were just sketches of my real drawings, made to take the correct measurements before the final product. However, some sketches were detailed, and sometimes she stopped at one to ask what it was. I described characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Mr. Monopoly, and others.
Until she found one specific sketch— the most detailed of them all. It depicted a guy in armor holding a strange weapon. "Ah, do you want to know who it is? Don't worry, he's just the Guy with the Yo-yo." She didn't catch the reference, of course; there's no way she could, as it's one of my current most important projects.
"Well, why don't we try to draw something?" The yellow fox stood on her hind feet and pointed her front paws at me, indicating she couldn't draw with them.
"Ah, don't worry, we can work with this!" I pulled something else from my pants, but this time it wasn't a simple album. I brought out a canvas and a tripod for it, only to look back at the small fox and realize I needed to return the tripod to my inventory. I then took out an already-filled palette, a bunch of paintbrushes, and a plastic sheet to avoid ruining nature with wild paint sprays.
She was once again puzzled about how she could paint, as the same problem remained. "Try and copy me," I suggested. I placed the palette on the ground and took a paintbrush, putting it in my mouth. Adjusting my grip with my lips, I crouched down, took some yellow paint, and moved to the canvas to try painting a sun.
The fox followed my instructions, and after a little struggle, we started to work on our piece. It was messy, almost barbaric, but it was fun. Since we didn't talk much, we just growled at each other; we had different ideas of what we should create. We went with the flow, painting and ruining our work over and over.
After an hour of struggle, our artwork was complete. I wanted to paint a shrine, while she had her own idea... To be honest, I had no idea what she was trying to accomplish. The result wasn't the sunny and cheerful image I had envisioned but rather something out of a horror story. When our ideas diverged, the colors mixed... and the result was just that.
"I'll call this horror of two mouths!" I said.
"Kon!" the fox replied, clearly happy—at least as much as she could be given the sheer amount of paint on her fur. I thought about making a joke about her being a "dirty fox," but considering she was probably even younger than me (and I'm only 9), I decided against it. After all, there could be supernatural FBI agents around, the kind that capture lolicons, and I didn't want to take any risks...
Also, I'm into mature women, and now that's a problem for them—after all, I'm just a shota. After five minutes of cleaning the paint off her paws to avoid stains on the floor or whatever her house was made of, her tail drooped as she looked at her sun painting.
"Oh, you have to go? Then do you want the canvas?" I asked.
"Koon!" she exclaimed, clearly wanting it. I took a clean rope from my inventory—still unstained—and tied the canvas to her back. It created a fun image that I captured with a picture, as the canvas was larger than her, making it look like a painting with a yellow tail floating behind her.
Then, without removing my clothes, I used the [Equipment] subfunction of inventory to change into clean, dry clothes. It had been a really fun afternoon... especially since the mess with the fox's fur was not mine to clean!
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**(POV: Kunou)**
Today has been so much fun! I had lessons with other yokai under my mom, but since I didn't want to study, I decided to escape.
I wandered around in my fox form until I caught a familiar scent. I followed it and found the human boy who gives the best scratches! I went up to him and got my scratches. Ueueue~, they were the best!
Then, I discovered that the human could read my mind! He started talking about animals and colors, and I shared that my favorite is foxes, particularly yellow ones! Just like me and Mom!
After that, we started to paint using our mouths, and it was super fun! But I don't understand why he ruined my painting with his colors—mine was way better! At least the painting turned out great and is now on my back as I head home. I can't wait to tell mom everything about today! Maybe we can do something similar together!
"Moooom, I'm home!"
After a few moments, the sliding doors opened, and my mom appeared in her bright orange kimono. One day, I will have a body as big as hers! I know I just need to eat my veggies and drink my milk, and I only dislike a few of them!
"Ara~? What do we have here? A floating painting?"
"Look, look, Mom, I did this!"
She took the painting from my back and examined it.
"Yes, yes, Kunou is—... Kunou..."
Oh no, I can hear that tone in her voice...
"Go to the bathroom; I'll scrub you hard enough to get rid of those stains before your lecture..."
"Yes..."
She's mad, I can feel it. But then she petted my hair. I looked up at her while in my human form.
"But... tell me everything you did today, okay?"
"YES! You're the best!"
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**(POV: Masachika)**
It's almost evening, and I don't want to enter a dungeon. Now that I think about it, there's a setting I have yet to explore. It should be perfect to end the day.