Tanaka fell silent.
Seiji took a sip of his coffee as well and allowed everyone to remain silent for a while.
"But, I can't give up, right?" he asked lightly.
"If you could give up, Demon Soldier Sensei, you wouldn't be so frustrated.
"You're so lost right now because you refuse to give up … Even if you see the limits of your abilities and realize that you're mediocre, and you feel pain at chasing after your dreams, you still refuse to leave and want to continue down this path.
"If that's the case, then let's continue. It doesn't matter if you struggle or feel lost, as long as your feet can still move, continue down this path. "
Chasing after one's dreams sounded romantic, but how many dreamers would actually feel like they were doing something romantic?
So-called chasing after one's dreams was actually more like arduously walking on a muddy and thorny road, painful, confused, and unable to find a direction.
Wanting to cry, wanting to shout, falling down more than once, not wanting to stand up again, wanting to leave many times …
But when he regained his senses, he discovered that he was still walking.
He was in pain, numb, just like a zombie, but he was still walking on this damned road, refusing to leave.
'I don't want to give up. ' He said in his heart.
He wanted to do it. He was shouting in his heart.
He desired … to reach the other side of the light.
"Demon Soldier Sensei, although you feel like you're covered in wounds and weak, and you're lying on the ground without moving forward, you're actually still walking.
You're still holding onto your paintbrush, and you still don't want to lose. That's the proof.
I respect such a person, and I hope that you don't think this is sarcasm … "Seiji paused for a moment.
"… Demon Soldier Sensei, you can continue being a 'mediocre' person, and 'struggle' in an unsightly manner until you 'despair.'"
After saying that, he finished his coffee in one gulp, put down his coffee cup, put away the two paintings, and left.
Saki, who had been silently observing from the side, left with him.
Tanaka, who had been silently lowering his head, had a strange expression on his face.
It seemed like he wanted to laugh, but also like he wanted to cry. His entire face seemed to scrunch up, and he made a "heh heh" sound as tears started flowing from his eyes.
"If this isn't sarcasm … what else could it be … you brat … you're so impolite …"
He covered his face and let out a low, strange sound that was unknown whether he was laughing or crying. His heart was very depressed, but it also seemed to be very carefree.
I'm just a clumsy mediocrity, struggling unsightly, but even so, I'm still …
…
After that.
Shengli Tanaka, who returned home, felt much more refreshed than when he left home.
During the duel with the young genius, his opponent's words had allowed him to gain, or rather, gain a new understanding of something.
Something dark that had been accumulating in her heart for a long time seemed to flow out along with her tears.
Looking at his painting tools, he had the urge to create something immediately.
Sitting in front of the table, he picked up the paintbrush and let his thoughts wander.
Inspiration flashed in his mind. The characters, the setting, the story, the background … gradually became clear.
It felt great.
With this wonderful feeling, Tanaka started drawing again.
First, it was the character sketch, then the world setting sketch, the story sketch …
He kept on drawing, and the passion in his heart gradually grew into a great wave of heat.
His expression became more and more excited, and his eyes became brighter and brighter. He didn't even notice that he was hungry. Apart from going to the toilet once, he spent the rest of his time in front of the table, painting fanatically as if he was possessed by something!
Draw, draw, draw …
When Tanaka finally stopped drawing, he discovered that his hand, and even his entire body, felt numb.
Just how long had he been drawing for?
He didn't know, and he didn't care.
He took out a box of instant noodles and used the time to calm down. Then, while eating the instant noodles, he examined what he was drawing.
The main characters were two teenagers.
One wore striped sportswear, had yellow hair that resembled weeds, and dark red eyes. She had a determined expression as she looked up at the sky, giving off a hot-blooded aura.
The other wore a jacket and long pants, had smooth black hair, and black eyes. She was handsome, and had her head lowered in contemplation, giving off a mysterious aura.
The story began from the meeting of these two main characters — the encounter between the "mediocre" and the "genius."
In a world where demons were rampaging, ninjas who mastered magical ninjutsu fought against the demons and protected humanity, and an ordinary yellow-haired teenager was determined to become a powerful ninja.
But he was quite lacking in talent. When his teacher taught him the most basic magical ninjutsu, the other students were able to successfully cast it after just a few tries, but he was unable to do so. That was why he was ridiculed.
Even though he used his free time to practice, he was still unable to keep up with the other students' progress, and ended up in last place.
After a long time, even the teacher couldn't stand it anymore and persuaded him to give up on becoming a ninja.
The yellow-haired teenager was depressed and wanted to change his mood. When he went to play in the forest, he accidentally ran into a demon and was about to be eaten.
At this moment, the black-haired teenager appeared and used a high-level magical ninjutsu to save him, and instantly slew the demon!
The yellow-haired teenager was grateful to the black-haired teenager for saving his life. He admired the black-haired teenager's strength and wanted to become friends.
The black-haired teenager coldly refused. However, the yellow-haired teenager didn't give up. He persisted in becoming friends with the black-haired teenager, which even caused some commotion.
After a series of events, the two of them became teammates in the same team.
The team was on a mission, but they didn't expect that the target demon would explode with unimaginable power and instantly devour their teacher!
The black-haired teenager stalled this supernatural demon by himself and allowed the others to escape.
The yellow-haired teenager returned and did his best to save the black-haired teenager at a critical moment. However, one of his arms was bitten off!
Seeing that the yellow-haired teenager was about to be devoured by the demon, the black-haired teenager grit his teeth and used his hidden power. He transformed half of his body into a monstrous form and forced the supernatural demon to retreat!
The first chapter of the story ended with the black-haired teenager in his inhuman form and the yellow-haired teenager with a broken arm. The two main characters stared at each other from afar.
The names of the two main characters, the background settings, the plot details … there was still much that needed to be completed.
After Tanaka finished reading through the story, he felt a surge of passion in his heart. He wanted to immediately move on to the next step, which was to draw a storyboard!
He wanted to properly draw this story and do his best … no, it had to be better than "best"!
This was a step forward … surpassing all of his failures so far, a chance to break through his "limits!"!
Shengli Tanaka's eyes sparkled so brightly that it seemed as if flames were burning within them.
What should he call this manga?
He thought of it almost instantly.
"Let's call it 'Specter Ninja!'"
…
Seiji didn't know what would happen to Demon Soldier Sensei in the future, but he sincerely hoped that Demon Soldier Sensei would be able to realize his dream.
"After I return, I'll send you the specific requirements for the illustration." Saki told him. "As for the contract, I'll contact Demon Soldier Sensei tomorrow to cancel his request, and then send it to you."
"Alright, thank you for the trouble, Editor Yoshizawa."
"No need to be polite."
The editor looked at Seiji and recalled everything she had just witnessed. Her mouth arced upwards slightly.
"Harano … he's really cool."
"Eh?"
"I thought that you would sympathize with Demon Soldier Sensei, or perhaps say something comforting, but you said something like that … I think it was well said," Saki praised Seiji.
Seiji blinked upon hearing this.
"Sympathy or consolation? That Sensei doesn't need any of it. He doesn't even need any encouragement. No matter what anyone says to him, he'll still persevere in the end.
Actually, I only said a few useless words. At most, I helped him recognize his own will. There's nothing 'cool' about it.
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