Under the Blue Sky, Work to the Bone

You've already seen this bit, so let's just go ahead and hit the old "Skip" button, shall we?

Well, here we are, back in the same room.

I must say, it felt almost comforting to check in here for the first time again.

We can rest up later. First, we're paying a visit next door.

Open up!

Huh? Who're... Master!? What are you doing in my room!?

Ch-chotto a minute! Don't look at my face! Just go away! Get out!

We're not going anywhere!

Who!?

I'm Jeanne d'Arc, and I have some questions for you.

Huh? Jeanne d'Arc? But, I've seen her around the hotel a few times...

Isn't she the elegant, graceful holy maiden who's always wearing white?

No, you're, uh, thinking of a different Servant.

(Hmm. I can see I'm better off dropping this subject. Woo, go me.)

Okay, so...what did you want to ask me, Jeannie?

？！

...Hmm, I see, I see.

Osakabehime.

Does Lady Alter's request not enrage you?

I mean, who is this upstart intruding in your room and saying she wishes to draw comics without any prior experience doing so?

It is like a young man showing up out of nowhere, declaring himself a general, and demanding to be given an army to command.

Well, sure, it definitely comes across as a little...arrogant?

If I were in your shoes, I would take advantage of the confusion to cut off her head when she wasn't looking.

Well, I'm no master wordsmith like, say, Andersen or Shakespeare. I'm still just an amateur myself.

Maybe we're both underestimating each other.

I'm not underestimating you.

It's just...now that I know she drew this manga, I want to make one that's even better. A lot better.

？！

Huh? What's that all about? You never breathed a word of that the first time around.

I kept it to myself because it was my problem to deal with, not yours. But now, I'm not holding anything back!

We all have to take first place at ServantFes now, so it's better to have a simple, clear-cut goal to shoot for, right?

Hmm. Let me see that.

... ...

... ...

...? ...!?

"#%"TBHEY$#Y"$#%!? `=*=&$#H%E$Y#"!!!

Wh-what's wrong with you!?

This manga's sugocool!

I mean, it's clearly a doujin! That much is obvious!

But I get a sense of a professional at work from this, on par with any veteran!

The artist has an incredible sense for their craft, but it still gives off a sense of amateurishness!

And above all, it just...kira kiras!

It's...like it's captured the beauty of the world free of artifice or adornment!

Whoever drew this is...is...an absolute tensai! Heaven-sent!

Hmph. I knew it had to be her.

I don't know much about this Jeanne, but you say she's the one who drew this?

If she did, I'm super impressed. No wonder it sold more than any other doujin when it came out.

...And now you want to surpass it, Jeannie?

Yeah, I do.

...Well, just so you know, beating this is gonna be really hard, especially for a beginner.

Just taking a good shot at this is going to take way more work than you think. I'm talking absolutely bonkers levels of dedication.

You do get that, right?

...Yeah, I get that. I've already gotten a taste of how much work making a doujin is.

I see. Okay then, you can borrow the drawing tools I've been using.

I can teach you the basic fundamentals of what goes into this, so I want you to try doing it for yourself.

At this point, you don't have the drawing skills or the artistic sense to even compete with something like this, let alone surpass it.

But, you're a Servant, and you've got six days to work with. So do your best to make a miracle happen.

...Yeah. Yeah! You damn well better believe I will!

Okay then, listen up. I've got plenty of advice for you, but one thing is more important than any other!

You might be a super beginner, but you have one thing no mangakanot even the one who made this doujincan match!

Passion.

You want to draw a great doujin more than anything, right? So hold on to that desire.

Because if you ditch that, all you'll have is your skills and your craft.

And the only people who can draw doujin on skill and craft alone are the pros.

And since neither you nor I are pros, that means we gotta stick to our passion!

...I just refuse to lose to her. That's it.

Master's exactly right.

All you need to do is point that competitive streak towards mastering manga and you'll be set.

Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry... My doujin is gonna blow hers outta the water.

？！

Master, you'll be helping as one of her assistants too, right?

？！

Damn straight he will. You never know what's gonna come out of his mouth. He's got a real talent for coming up with story ideas.

Really? I never would have guessed... I didn't think you were interested in that sort of thing, Master.

Anyway, you can never have too many capable assistants. Um, you said you were staying next door, right?

Good. Help me carry this stuff over so I can set up a space for myself.

You're going to help too, Osakabehime? We certainly appreciate it, but are you sure you don't mind?

Nope! Your timing was perfect! I was just looking for a little inspiration myself.

And there's nothing like being in the same room as other hardworking artists to get you fired up! Now let's draw some mangaaa!

？！

We'll help too, of course!

Indeed. Now that I've changed into a swimsuit, my Spirit Origin is polished and ready to go!

In fact, it's so polished, I feel as if I've returned to my youthful days of training on Mt. Kurama!

Okay Master, just tell me what you need! In fact, why don't I start by finding a demon and bringing you its head in celebration?

Well, now that this ship's already sailed, I wanna do what I can to take BB down a peg or ten.

So I'm gonna start taking this manager position more seriously than ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Hah, you're all even more fired up than I am! Damn, even in Luluhawa, you're still just a buncha chumps!

Oh, Senpai! This is about the time on our first day here when the

That's right! The Foreigner! This is when the Foreigner shows up at Waikiki Street!

Foreigner? Is that another name for the crafts festival being held the day before ServantFes begins? The Wonder Stage?

No. Nothing like that. This is just some crazy trying to ruin everyone's fun.

I dunno what her problem with ServantFes is, but she keeps trying to wreck the convention center.

Yeah we can fill her in about all that later! Remember, dealing with this is part of our job, too!

Right...! Let's go ask XX to go back home!

Aah! Toto-sama!? You already bit the dust!?

Wait. Crap. I think I'm getting dizzy too...! Hey, you! Who the hell do ya think you are!?

None of your business! Die, Foreigner!

Aaaaaaaaahhh!

You've already seen how this goes, so let's just hit the old "Skip" button, shall we?

That's a Foreigner...?

To think the Servant world was so horrid! That there could be anything worse than Mecha Eli-chan.

Um, can you actually beat her? She's got, like...laser beams and vulcan cannons!

That's true... We've given her a good fight every time but we've never really defeated her before.

It'd be way easier to focus on our doujin if we could take her out sooner, but I don't see how to do that...

We'll have to figure that out another time. The good part is that now we know exactly when and where she'll be showing up.

And there's no reason we shouldn't be able to drive her off again, like we did last time.

Yeah. And since we pretty much gotta fight her on the last day anyway, let's just forget her for now.

The only thing we need to be focusing on right now is our doujin.

Especially now that we've got Osakabehime here to show us the ropes.

This time, we're damn sure gonna finish in time to send it to the printer! Got that, everyone!?

？！

(...I'm glad we're all united on this front, but I still can't help but wonder what became of our problem child...)