Side Story – Meetings: A Writer and Her Illustrator

"Production and exportation of catalysts have increased by 10% since the last cycle and while there are concerns about procurement of the items – something we need to talk about with the Guild, everything is still going as predicted from this year's forecast."

Within a certain room in the Basilicom of Lowee, stood an elderly lady wearing an elaborate dress of red, gold and blue, and seated before her was a young girl. The young girl wore a white cap with light blue ruffles and a brown and gold under and center piece. The clothing she wore was that of an opened white jacket with powder blue markings, with dark brown lining

"…"

"That concludes the report for this quarter, Lady Blanc."

The elderly lady ended the report and with a respectful bow, carefully handed a large folder stuffed with various documents.

The report had been a rather positive affair, but there was a hint of a frown upon the sandy-brown haired girl's face. Given that the girl in question was not one to show her expression so explicitly, it was a telling a sign that she was troubled when it was easily perceivable by someone who was not as acquainted as the elderly woman was with the young looking girl.

"Is there something wrong, Lady Blanc?"

"…no. Thank you for your report, Nami."

It was an expected reply, the elderly woman named Nami thought.

It was a reoccurring event in which Nami would recognize something off from Blanc's disposition but one which would be brushed off by the girl in question. This had started a couple of months after her return from Celestia, and had become more and more apparent as time went on.

Not for the first time Nami wondered if she should pry further, but she quickly reminded herself that she was just an Oracle – one that was quickly reaching the day in which she should retire and hand down her title to the next successor. If the CPU of the landmass deemed that the information was for her to know, then she would say so otherwise, it would be far too disrespectful.

"If that is so, then by your leave."

Nami made to walk towards the doors of the meeting room. Although no words were spoken by the CPU that dismissed her, the silence that followed after the dismissal of her concerns might as well be one for the often silent CPU.

Normally, being the case.

"Nami."

Nearly jumping in surprise at the sudden but quiet call, Nami managed to control her reaction to that of a small twitch and calmly turned towards the CPU.

"Is there anything you need of me, Lady Blanc?"

For a moment, Nami wondered if she would be called out for her disrespectful action of leaving without getting any confirmation from the petite CPU.

"…has there been any reports about Planeptune's CPU?"

To her relief and surprise however, the topic was about something else entirely.

Unlike Lowee, Leanbox and Lastation, Planeptune was notable in the sense that its CPU had not once been sighted in its Basilicom despite the descent of the CPUs nearly 2 years ago. Judging by the way that her CPU had not made any mention of or taken note of this oddity meant that she either didn't care about it or that she knew something about it.

Nevertheless, Lady Blanc was hardly a talkative person (barring certain circumstances that were best avoided) and it would be going beyond her duty to ask. All that mattered to her was how the landmass was ran and the state of her land's CPU. That being the case, it was certainly surprising that after all this time, her CPU had asked about the missing CPU.

"No. There have been no sightings of Planeptune's CPU or Oracle." Nami answered.

All that Nami had heard about from Planeptune was that despite its CPU and Oracle going missing, the Basilicom of the landmass was efficient and well managed enough to maintain the current state of affairs. Although given the rumors that seemed to be going about by the members of the Guild, it seemed that monsters were quickly becoming a problem to the land of Purple Progress.

"…I see. Thank you, Nami. You may leave."

Bowing before she left, Nami wondered what had brought that line of questioning about. That question continued to bother her throughout the day as the expression that her CPU held when she had received the answer to her question was unsettling to say the least.

Blanc, otherwise known as White Heart to the public, mulled over the content of the report that she had received from her Oracle. Although she was certain of Nami's performance as the years had proved her competency and skill in managing the landmass, it was best to be sure as Nami was quickly coming to the age in which she would pass down the torch to the younger generation.

It saddened her that another loyal and trustworthy Oracle was soon succumbing to the effects of time, but this was something that she had inevitably gotten used to. It was a simple fact of life – everything and everyone will one day fade away.

Not even CPUs, as eternal as they are, were exempt from this fact of life. After all, ever since that fateful clash, no one has seen or heard from the so called missing CPU of Planeptune.

The mere thought of Planeptune's CPU sent Blanc to a dark mood.

Despite the events of the fateful clash, there had been little to no difference since then. If anything, the monster infestation had only grown worse once everything had settled down after her descent to the land of the mortals.

The end result should have been different – something should have changed since the conclusion of the clash.

Yet why was everything growing worse?

Stagnation had been the name of the game for the past year now and although her Oracle told of positive numbers, the share energy she received from the populace told of another story.

Blanc wished for more power.

Not for herself, but for her landmass – she didn't like it that adventurers were risking their lives for her people. Even if they did not believe in her, it pained her to see the injuries that would come from battling monsters that CPUs should be taking care of.

But Blanc was only one person. She could not be in multiple places at the same time. As strong as she was, the number of lives her hand could reach were still limited.

She found it distasteful, but all she could do was rely on the adventurers and hoped that the arcane artes that she had passed down to the magical community developed into even a bastardized version of the lifesaving healing artes that she could attain if she had enough share energy to save those who were injured in such an endeavor.

Closing the folder that held the reports, Blanc gave a tired sigh. An action that she would never show anyone else.

Share energy.

A form of energy that was derived from the belief of humanity towards their goddess and one unique to and only capable of being utilized by CPUs.

It was that which allows Blanc to utilize HDD and triumph odds that would send even a battalion of adventurers running with their tails behind their legs. A CPU with enough share energy was said to be able to alter reality to her whims and that anything a mortal deemed impossible was well within the realms of possibility for the CPU.

Although it was something that she had never experienced as her share energy have never reached to that point, but she was certain of the truth of this belief.

She wondered about the CPU of Planeptune. Was she truly gone?

If she wasn't, then that would make more sense but given the state of affairs in Planeptune, there was no way she would be able to maintain her power if she did not answer the call of her people. Given that Blanc had been doing her best to do just that in the years that followed her descent yet her shares continue to plummet, it was the height of stupidity that Planeptune's CPU hadn't appeared by this point.

But as she hadn't appeared… where did the excess share energy go?

Even if the people of Planeptune had not known of the circumstances that faced their CPU, doubts about her would still rise especially to those of lacking faith. Those doubts would then manifest as errant belief to another land's landmass – even if it was minute, and a thought that barely came in passing, if Planeptune's CPU was not there to receive the weakened share energy, it would automatically go to the sharicite of the CPU who still exists. The only time that the share energy completely ceases coming from a particular person was either through their death or once doubt closer to conviction tainted their views of all the CPUs – hence it was unlikely for a landmass' worth of share energy to completely cease from appearing.

That amount of share energy, despite being weak should still be noticeable especially in large quantities.

She was sure that the share energy hadn't made its way to the CPUs of Lastation and Leanbox, otherwise those detestable women would be showcasing it for all to see just to garner even stronger share energy from those that believe in them.

As that hadn't happened, Blanc couldn't help but feel trepidation for what the future held.

Placing the folder to a nearby cabinet, Blanc made her way out of the meeting room and headed towards her personal room in the Basilicom.

Although she wished to think more on the matter, the stress of the last few days had been slowly getting to her. Hence, she figured that the next most prudent course of action was to relieve it.

And due to a certain hobby of hers, she had one reliable way to do it.


Lowee – the Land of White Serenity.

It was a landmass unique for its almost perpetual winter and a bastion for the practitioners of the arcane. Unlike the lands of Planeptune and Leanbox, most of the automations and functions were in some way powered by the abundant leylines of the landmass.

This had the effect of making the air saturated with mana, but as most of the locals were using magic in some way to heat themselves up, it was far less noticeable than it should be.

"I can now see why they also call Lowee the land of the arcane… n-not only the air, but the way that p-people live here is quite different from Leanbox and Planeptune." IF commented, shivering as she rubbed her gloved hands together.

Wearing a blue winter coat reminiscent of the usual jacket she wore, IF couldn't help but marvel at the lights and structure of the main city of Lowee. Apart from the mechanisms found in Lowee, all of the houses were made to encapsulate as much heat as possible. Those that didn't fall under this category and looked more like a building from the other landmasses, were those that used a combination of magic and technology to keep the insides warm.

"…I suppose they would be seeing as how c-cold this place is." IF's companion, a blue-haired boy wearing a black colored winter coat and a dark colored striped scarf wrapped around his neck, replied. He had a large great sword strapped to his back that seemed at odds with his seemingly ordinary presence.

It was their first time in the landmass of Lowee, and despite reading up on the land, the temperature that assaulted them as they made their way to the landmass had still caught them off guard. IF didn't have enough control with the few spells that she did know to create a small flame to warm herself up and with the state of things, she was hoping to rectify that once their excursion in the landmass they're in ended.

"L-lets head over to the Guild office and see if we can find someone to teach us the local spells that could keep us warm."

Once the pair had obtained the usual briefing of what-not-to-do in Lowee from the local guild and had procured some of the local spells used to keep the body warm, the pair had decided to eat before venturing further around the city and eventually taking up some requests from the guild.

"They seem a bit more receptive here." IF mused, eating her stew in a sedate pace. The heat that emanated from the meal made the food taste a lot better given its contrast with the cold weather.

"Receptive?" Shidou asked, similarly enjoying his stew.

"What I mean is that they're more accommodating to us adventurers. Don't you remember? It took us weeks before the guild in Leanbox started giving us their time of day."

IF was clearly irritated by that memory, more so given that it was the guild from the landmass whose CPU she most admired. Shidou on the other hand, didn't know what to expect seeing as he was still learning what was 'common practice' in the past few months. It was due to this state that Shidou thought that the actions of those from the Leanbox guild were 'normal' instead of the other way around.

"Either that, or they really need adventurers. There are a lot more requests here than in Leanbox's board and there are even more adventurers here than in Leanbox's guild."

That observation might have been caused by the weather, seeing as staying outside for any period of time was almost a death sentence. Nevertheless, the guild hall and the connected dining hall were filled to the brim with various adventurers both young and old. It made the atmosphere a lot more homely and accommodating.

It felt nostalgic, if Shidou was going to be honest with himself. Yet despite marking that sort of feeling, he had no idea what he was being nostalgic about. The confusing sensation made a bitter smile float to his lips as he watched over the other guests.

"Hmm… before we do anything, why don't you look around Lowee for a while?"

"IF?"

When the blue-haired boy looked towards his partner, he noticed that she was looking down, as if avoiding his eyes.

"You… you might find something related to your past here. So maybe… maybe walking around might jog up your memories."

There was hesitation within IF's words, one that Shidou wasn't sure on what brought it about. Shidou might be able to know more if IF made eye contact with him, but she was surreptitiously avoiding his eyes knowing that once she did make eye contact, the reason for her request would be made clear to the boy.

If IF wasn't keen on revealing her exact thoughts, then Shidou decided to respect her wishes.

"If you say so." He said after a moment's silence. "When and where do we meet up?"

"I spotted an Inn on the way here from the Sky Port, according to the guild receptionist I talked with a while ago, that would be a good place to start until we can find an Inn that would suit our needs and budget. As for the time… let's meet in about 2-3 hours."

Although it was a rough start in Leanbox, they had eventually gathered enough reputation to take on quests that left them with more than enough spare change to save on more costly equipment that any long time adventurer worth their salt would have.

That, and a safehouse to return to.

Staying in a cheap inn was all well and good, but in the long term, acquiring a safehouse would cut down their expenses by quite a lot and it also served as a location for them to store belongings or items that they couldn't carry with them during the day.

Depending on what happened during their stay in the land of White Serenity, investing in a safehouse (be it purchasing one or by renting) might be a viable course of action.

"Right."

The pair soon finished their meal and parted ways to accomplish their separate objectives.

With the help of the rather simple spell that the locals used to warm their bodies in this weather, Shidou could appreciate the scenery far better than when he had arrived to the land of white serenity. Without the biting cold, his body was less rigid and his eyes wandered from each building to each new landmark.

Looking past the buildings were large mountains that towered over the largest building and gave a natural defense to the main city of Lowee. It was a fair bit similar to Leanbox in terms of geographical positioning, but unlike the land of Green Pastures, there was far more snow to see and it had less to do with the height of the mountains.

"Hmm… this spell really makes traveling around the landmass a lot more enjoyable. I wonder why there are still so few people outside though?"

Although the spell was simple, it was still taxing for long term usage. Shidou, of course, was unaware that his massive mana stores were not the least bit normal.

After an hour of seeing the sights and trying some of the local delicacies, Shidou decided that although he had felt nostalgia in the guild hall, it was more about the atmosphere rather than the location itself. The snow itself wasn't something that was new to Shidou either, but he was certain that wherever he originated from, it did not snow as much.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever used spells before…"

Another nail in the coffin that this was the place where he was born was that even the children that were old enough to go to school here knew the local spell of keeping one's self warm. Before today, he had never used such a spell and if it weren't for the sheer simplicity of it, he doubted he would have been able to perform it under an hour of being taught on how to use it.

His initial foray with the arcane artes occurred a few weeks into their foray as adventurers in Leanbox. It had been an uphill climb and had only cemented his lack of worldly knowledge.

With that conclusion set along with visiting several key landmarks, Shidou decided to pursue another line of thought that IF and one of his acquaintances in Leanbox had brought up in passing.

It was easy to change pursuits for the blue-haired boy seeing as he didn't have much of an attachment to his past life. Perhaps if he had more clues rather than vague feelings, he would be more inclined to search for it alongside his missing memories, but seeing as he had been abandoned and that no one had searched for him in the months (or maybe even years) before IF had picked him up, it was natural this would be the case. He appreciated IF's efforts nonetheless, and he couldn't find it in himself to stop her from doing him a favor he wasn't sure he wanted granted.

Stopping in front of a rather large bookstore, Shidou stepped in after a moment's hesitation.

IF had always said that Shidou needed a hobby, maybe he could find one through the countless books of this bookstore.


Using a rather discrete exit from the Basilicom, Blanc was greeted by the ever cold weather of her landmass. Although her clothing was not exactly made to withstand the temperature that one would face outdoors in a normal day (at least in Lowee), she did not shiver. Almost as seamlessly as she had left the building she called home, a spell had been silently cast over her body that rendered the biting cold to one of comfortable warmth.

Had any of those vaunted magicians of the Lowee Noble Families seen the act, they would have been green in envy at the clean and efficient execution of the spell.

This was a given seeing as Blanc, out of all the CPUs, was the most experienced and knowledgeable when it came to the arcane artes.

"Mmm… the coast is clear."

With no one nearby, Blanc quietly made her way to the city proper.

There should have been no need for her to act so covertly given who she was, but her Oracle could be quite strict when it came to her wellbeing and would like it that she was at least with 2 body guards whenever she went out in her non-HDD form.

She understood where her Oracle came from, but even if she wasn't in HDD form, her control of the arcane artes was still unmatched and should that fail her, she was adept at using her hammer to render any foolish challengers regretting the day that they made her their enemy.

Besides, she was out only to visit the local bookstores for books and materials that she could use for her hobby. It should hardly take that long!

…and thus, Blanc echoed the same words that girls used to try to convince their boyfriend to escort them to the mall.

It didn't take long for Blanc to reach her destination. Without even looking at a map or the street signs, she had found the bookstore in less than half an hour of simple walking. The streets while not exactly empty, were not filled with people despite the fact that it was mid-afternoon. The few people that were out and about were mostly adventurers judging by the weapons that could been seen on their person.

Some Lowee guards could be seen prowling the streets, but Blanc made sure to avoid their sights in case they recognized her.

The occasional detour to avoid the eyes of the guard had cost Blanc some time, but as the city was neither in high alert or in any danger, the amount of guards in the streets were few enough that she could bypass them without even using a spell to conceal her presence or going through some more esoteric means of avoiding them.

With her goal well within reach, Blanc stepped into the large bookstore and was briefly buffeted by warm air before the door behind her closed, keeping the warm air inside properly insulated. With the cold now absent due to the shop's heaters, Blanc dispelled the heating spell and took a look around the bookshop.

Apart from the shop keeper who merely nodded respectfully to her upon her entrance and had gone back to reading a copy of the 'Lowee Times' with his cup of coffee, there was only one other person within the shop. Given the rather simple getup of the only other customer within the shop, she would have outright ignored him if it weren't for the clearly noticeable great sword strapped to the boy's back and his distinctive dark blue hair.

While it wasn't a rare sight to see an adventurer in a bookstore, normally an adventurer would be found in the bookstore that held grimoires and the like. Recreational reading was becoming less and less common these days for those who were part of the guild as they were usually more inclined to play video games.

That being the case, it was rare for an adventurer to head over to a bookstore like this. It was distinctly noticeable to Blanc's attention seeing as she was a regular to this particular shop – this meant, without a doubt, that the boy was from some other landmass.

Frowning minutely at that thought, she decided to ignore the blue-haired boy and continued with the purpose of her visit.

With a veritable horde of books that she has yet to read within the expanses of the bookshop, Blanc was not particularly short of what she needed from the bookstore. To be specific – she needed inspiration.

If it wasn't clear enough, the sandy brown-haired CPU was an aspiring writer.

…and if anyone had the courage to actually say what they thought of her writing, then it's safe to say that they might have spent some time in the emergency room.

Sifting through the shelves, Blanc was tempted to buy just about any book that caught her attention but the reminder of her purpose here kept her hands by her waist.

Blanc was certain that if she fell into the trap of opening any one of the books that caught her attention then it wouldn't be long before she completely forgot about her purpose and end up spending the rest of the night and perhaps the rest of tomorrow morning reading through it until her Oracle found her… which didn't sound like a bad thing, now that she thought about it.

Shaking her head as if to drown out that errant thought, she moved her body towards one of the shelves that had been in her mind ever since departing the Basilicom.

Her Oracle always complained that she couldn't quite understand what was happening in her novels or whatever her characters looked like.

…It was less of a complaint really, but more of an actual observation but Blanc disregarded that notion from its very onset.

Perhaps one way to get actual feedback would be to increase the reviewer's understanding of what was being written – it was due to this thought that Blanc found herself in front of the section where 'How to Draw' books were shelved. After all, wasn't there a saying that goes 'a picture paints over a thousand words?'

With her mind set, she eventually pinpointed a 'How to Draw' book based on the author's name from the spine of the book. If she recalled correctly, the author of the book was the illustrator for some game about sword wielding fairies… she couldn't quite recall the plot, but the art was definitely something that she could say was top of the line.

Her hand moved to take the book from the shelf, but she found herself flinching when she felt the hand of another on top of the book.

Taking her eyes off of the book, Blanc looked at the owner of the hands she had touched.

Blanc's eyes met with dull brown eyes and for a moment, she thought that the eyes were that of the color of amber. His eyes were innocent and bright, it did not look like it belonged to a veteran adventurer and it clashed quite heavily with the weapon he had strapped behind his back.

"Uh, sorry… were you hoping to buy this book?"

The voice of the blue-haired boy shook her out of her reverie and her outstretched hand slowly descended down to her waist.

"Yes."

The answer was curt, but Blanc felt a curiosity towards the boy. There was something… odd with his presence. It wasn't anything alarming, but now that she was so close to the boy, something was setting off her instincts.

"You can have it then."

"But you need it as well, don't you?"

As much as Blanc needed the book, it would be bad form for a CPU to put her needs above mortals…at least, in front of them. If that boy wasn't here, then he might as well cry a river since she got to it first!

"Don't worry about it." The boy said with a smile, it looked a bit forced but not because it wasn't the genuine emotion prevalent. It was more akin to someone who didn't show that much expression in the first place and found that trying to inject emotion required more effort than normal. "I think I can work with the author's art books instead."

"Work with?" Sensing something strange from the boy's words, Blanc echoed the words that confused her.

"I've been trying to mimic the illustrator's drawing style for the past hour or so." The boy said with a shrug. "There's something about one of the characters that she drew that seemed familiar to me…"

Now that the boy brought it up, she noticed that there was a sketching book by the boy's left hand. Judging by the fact that she could still spot the price tag on the sketching book, she figured it was just recently bought.

"So you have drawn something already?"

"Huh? Er, yes. I'm not sure if it's any good though. I've only tried my hand on it today."

"...let me see."

"You don't have to sound so disappointed, you know." The blue haired boy commented as he handed her his sketchbook.

Blanc was mildly surprised that the boy had easily pegged her prevalent emotion given that even her own Oracle had trouble doing the same despite the many years they had worked together. She would have pursued that line of curiosity if it weren't for what she saw in the sketchbook.

"I-it's not really identical to the art style of the illustrator." The blue-haired boy started a bit nervously seeing as Blanc had been silent after looking through his sketches with utmost concentration. "And as for the last sketch, I was trying to illustrate a scene from one of the books that caught my interest-"

Anymore words that the blue-haired boy was going to say was halted as petite hands with the strength of steel clasped onto his shoulders. With a look that sent shivers down his spine, the sandy-brown haired CPU spoke with crisp authority.

"Draw for me."

Whatever plans the blue-haired boy had for the next few hours was mercilessly taken up by his new acquaintance.


When Blanc had laid her eyes on the very first sketch, she was utterly surprised at how beautiful and downright aesthetically pleasing art the boy had used.

The boy's words of 'not really identical' was downplaying the sort of ability the boy had with drawing. To put it plainly, she would have mistaken the art from someone where the title of 'amateur' had been in a distant life. If the boy said he had just started drawing today… was this what they called talent?

Surely, there was some discrepancies between the two drawings but disregarding the few (and easily missable) errors, there was no doubting the boy's ability.

Her drawing, Blanc would reluctantly admit, was outright atrocious. Comparing her capability in drawing with the blue-haired boy would be comparing the work of a child to that of a professional. The difference was so distinct, that despite her pride, she had to reluctantly admit this fact. It was only reinforced when she 'convinced' the boy to draw some things for her. At first, the drawings were based on some of the illustrations from the book she had procured earlier and later, she began testing his ability to draw things based on descriptions alone.

The boy struggled for the latter part but after several tries (and with some more clarifications from her part) he had managed to draw something she thought could only be accurately found within her own imagination.

That was her thoughts as she held the page of the sketchbook that matched her stringent standards. The boy before her looked exhausted and his hands were messy courtesy of the countless corrections he had done to arrive to the drawing that Blanc held.

"...you are good at this." She finally said. "Are you sure this is your first time drawing?"

There was self-depreciation and there was this. Naturally, Blanc was doubtful about the claim but the boy's countenance did not seem like one that would lie and he did not boast about his ability to draw when he had every right to.

"It is." The boy insisted. "At the very least, it's the first time I had done so before I lost my memories."

"Lost your memories?" Blanc felt herself frowning at the admission.

For the boy's part, he merely shrugged and continued as if he was talking about the weather.

"I have no memories of who I am before 4 months ago." The boy admitted. "So as far as I know, this had been the first time I've drawn."

While the boy did not seem offended by the question, Blanc felt guilty of bringing the topic up.

"Don't feel too guilty about it." The boy said waving it off with a light chuckle, once again reading through her expression even though the change was minute enough to be unreadable to almost all observers. "I sometimes forget that fact myself!"

The boy had attempted to inject cheer into his voice as if trying to give her a form of assurance that it was alright, that he didn't mind it. Given that the boy was slightly awkward when it came into the expressing emotions department, it was blatantly obvious what he was trying to do.

That very effort made Blanc feel all the more guilty.

"Your name."

"Huh?"

"We've been here for quite a while, and you've never told me your name."

The 'here' that Blanc referred to was the Basilicom. After procuring some more sketchbooks and drawing materials, Blanc had bodily dragged the boy to the Basilicom and into one of the many meeting rooms of her abode. The boy had clearly been uncomfortable at entering the place from a back entry, but seemed to have calmed down when those within the building had simply nodded towards their general location.

The staff knew better than to bother their CPU when she was at this state but they couldn't help but feel curious as to what had occurred.

After all, this had been the first time that any of them have seen the CPU dragging a boy around.

"Oh! That's right, my name is Shidou." The blue-haired boy said with, what he supposed was, a small grin. "I'm an adventurer."

Although Blanc had already assumed as such given the great sword that the boy, Shidou, had carried around throughout their time together, it was still surprising given the form of disposition the boy held. He felt more like a civilian than an adventurer but perhaps due to the boy's lacking memories, it could be explained that his lacking disposition was due to still learning of it.

"I'm Blanc. I... work here."

She hesitated for a moment, before mentioning a half-truth.

There was no need for her to lie… after all, it wasn't as if it was a secret that she was the CPU of Lowee. Although that was the case, it did not mean that she paraded that knowledge around when outside of her HDD form. If she did, she wouldn't be able to sneak out as often as she did whenever the mood took her.

"I figured that was the case when the staff here didn't seem to mind me going in from an entrance that wasn't the front…"

That also reminded Blanc to inform her staff not to educate the boy on whom he had been speaking with throughout the duration of his stay and that they should inform her should the boy be within the immediate premises of the basilicom.

"That's enough of a break. I want you to illustrate this next."

It was merely a whim from Blanc's part but nevertheless, once the idea manifested and the words had spilled out of her lips, she felt no regrets for her action.

"Wait, is that a manuscript?" Shidou asked, paling at the veritable stack of papers that Blanc pulled out from one of the cabinets.

"Of course it is."

"...I'm not going to feel my arms tomorrow morning, am I?"

"You're an adventurer. Toughen up."

From there, the pair continued to work with more illustrations while talking to one another. It was a rare occurrence for Blanc to speak more than she had to, but somehow, whether it was due to describing the illustrations that she wanted the boy to do or some other factor, she found no problem with conversing with the boy before her.

If Blanc took a moment to think more on the subject, she would have realized that she enjoyed talking with the blue-haired boy as there was no need to keep up appearances. To the blue-haired boy, Blanc was simply a person that worked in the Basilicom who wanted her writing to take a less than written form and to Blanc, the boy was a curious adventurer that had a strange past and stranger disposition for someone involved with the guild.

It would be around late evening when the two finally parted. It was not a farewell; it was a temporary parting where they would soon meet again. After all, this was simply the beginning of a friendship between a CPU that aspired to be a writer and an adventurer who happened to have the skills to be an illustrator.


Author's Notes:

Happy New Year everyone! This was actually supposed to be released a few weeks ago but I ended up getting distracted and then work suddenly started once again... I only managed to find the energy to submit this today seeing as I have more time than usual to revise this before submitting it.

If it isn't obvious yet, this happens several months before Lost Fragments begins and a few weeks before Shidou obtained the crystal fragment that allowed him to access the Angel, Sandalphon. Hopefully chapter will shed some light as to the background of the world this story takes place in.

Thank you to all those that reviewed! There will be more world building in the future just to set how different this world is and how certain mechanics interact. It's true that Shidou is more competent here compared to his LN counterpart (at least, up until Volume 15) but that's mainly due to being an adventurer for a whole year (hence making fighting a common day occurrence).

Well clothing damages does happen as I have alluded to in some of the earlier chapters, but if it would get to that extent... that's still up in the air as of the moment.

As for Shidou's capability in drawing – while he's not in the same level as Natsumi, he has definitely improved after working on illustrations alongside her during Nia's arc. As to why he had improved, that may be covered sometime in the future when I start dropping more clues as to how Shidou got sent into the Neptunia world in the first place.

There would be a few more side stories in the future to show what had happened to Shidou and IF that led up to the beginning of this story - but that won't be anytime soon. The next chapter will have us back where we left off last chapter.

Until then, I'll be signing off - and hopefully the next chapter comes within two months...