Chapter 59: Rushia post-meeting

　I was supposed to have a meeting outside with Rushia.

　The hotel I was assigned was a high class hotel in Tokyo.

　Rushia was waiting for me in a room on the top floor of the hotel.

“Okaya. I’m sorry to bring you all this way.”

“No, …… it’s fine. More importantly, …… your outfit …….”

　Rushia usually wears kimono.

　But today, she was wearing an adult dress.

“There was a little party. So I’m dressed like this, only now I’m a little out of it.”

“I see. …… party. That’s why you’re wearing the dress.'”

　She is usually a purely Japanese woman, but in her dress, she really looked like a princess from some other country.

　A white dress, pure white skin and hair.

　I could even feel the divinity from her now.

“Well, let’s get started with the meeting …….”

　Gohon, she coughed and cleared her throat.

“Okay. Before the meeting, don’t you have something to say……?”

　Rushia said with a composed face.

　But she glanced at me as if she was expecting something.

“Aah, …… yeah. You look good in that dress.”

“I-I see!　Fufu….♡ Thank you♡ It’s most satisfying to hear you say so, Okaya!”

　Rushia stands up and spins around on the spot.

　The hem of her fluffy dress flipped up, revealing her shiny white thighs, which were strangely flattering.

“Shall we start our meeting?”

“Yes, please.”

　We’re in the lobby of a hotel room.

　The room was also luxurious, with a sofa set.

　Rushia is sitting right next to me, snuggled close to me.

　She looks up at me, smiles, and rubs her cheek against my shoulder.

“You’re kind of spoiled today, aren’t you?”

“Umu…… I’m tired from the party this morning.”

“I see. It’s not easy being a young lady.”

　When I touched her silky hair with my hand, Rushia’s eyes beamed with happiness.

“That’s …… the character sketch.”

　I took out a color-printed character rough of Kimitabi from the case.

“Ooh!　Amazing ……, it fits my image perfectly ……!”

　Rushia’s red eyes sparkled as she looked at the rough sketch she received.

　Patapata, she flapped her legs and opened her mouth wide like a child.

” This is awesome, Okaya!　Thank you!”

“No, you should be thanking Misayama-sensei for the illustration.”

“It is natural, but it was Okaya who gave me such a wonderful painter, right?　Thank you!”

Kyuu, Rushia holds my arm and smiles innocently like a child.

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

　More than before when I saw this girl laughing, I started to think more …….

　I want to make her laugh more …….

　I remember the first time I met her, she had a sad look on her face.

　She was in tears because she had been denied her manuscript and the world she had written about. ……

　Now, I’m happy that she’s smiling.

“Is this rough draft okay?　If there’s anything different from the setting, I’ll ask him to correct it.”

“There is no issue. The boy and the princess are exactly as I expected.”

[Kimitabi] is a work that is classified as a so-called world type work.

　The heroine is a girl who was born with the power of a god, the princess.

　The setting is that if the princess wishes for something, whatever she wishes for will become a reality.

　The heroine wished to “eliminate sadness” from the world.

　At that moment, the memories of people all over the world were lost.

　The logic seems to be that if memories are lost, there will be no more conflicts and thus no more sadness.

　However, every time the princess uses her power, she loses something precious to her as compensation.

　The princess lost her name because she lost the memory of her grief.

　The protagonist, on the other hand, does not know his own name because he has no memory.

　This is why the hero is called [Boy] and the heroine is called [Princess], each of which has no name.

　…… Misayama-sensei has drawn pictures that match this worldview.

“This person is very skillful. She’s very good at what she does. She’s done some of the artwork for Kamimatsu-sensei, whom I respect, right?”

“That’s right. Yes, even though the same person draws them, they have completely different styles, right?”

　Kamimatsu-sensei’s second work, [Boku no kokoro wo kimi ni shite yo.] (I give my heart to you.)

　Also known as “Bokushin”.

　In Bokushin, Misayama-sensei draws a cover that looks like a novel.

　On the other hand, in [Kimitabi], she uses light colors and lines that match the world view.

“Yeah!　It’s amazing ……, as expected of Misayama-sensei!　I’d love to meet her and thank her.”

“I wish we had the chance to meet her, but she’s very popular and very busy.”

　I’ve emailed her several times asking her to have dinner with me ……, but she has always refused.

　According to her, [because he is a cheating NG].

　I guess she has a boyfriend.

“I wonder what the cover will look like~ …… I’m looking forward to it!”

“I’ve already placed the order, so look forward to it!”

　The way the cover is made varies from editor to editor.

　There is a pattern where the artist is left to his or her own devices, but to some extent, I give the artist instructions.

　The artist is also given a copy of the work, and after discussing it with them, we finally come up with a plan.

　If I specify too much detail, I end up cutting off the room for imagination, so I just use it as a reference.

　But we don’t cut corners.

“Okaya gives me peace of mind and allows me to concentrate on writing. I’m really grateful to you, Okaya.”

　Rushia closes her eyes and puts her head on my shoulder.

　Akari is the image that comes at me forcefully, but Rushia is the image that comes quietly …… close to me.

“…… It’s strange. Just being around you makes me feel so at ease.”

“Me too.”

　Her lustrous hair was like the fur of a kitten’s litter, and it felt good to the touch.

“Ah right. I’ve got your manuscript for the author’s school.”

“Uu…… Okay.”

　A novelist’s writing is never released to the world as it is.

　Once the manuscript is reviewed by a professional writer, called a “reviewer,” who checks the text.

　The reviewer will point out typos, misspellings, and misuses at a very detailed level.

　However, there are some expressions that writers write knowing that they are misused or misspelled.

　The author themselves will make the decision whether it was intentional or not, and whether it was an accident or not.

　This is called author’s proofreading.

“I hate this process of authoring.”

　I took the manuscript out of my bag and placed it in front of Rushia.

　The manuscript was covered in red letters and full of suggestions.

“I can’t help but feel uncomfortable when people make changes to a document that’s already been written. ……”

” I often make changes to your stories, too, you know?”

“It’s okay for you. Okaya is special. But I don’t want …… anyone else to touch the treasures that I and my friend have created. ……”

Rushia blushed and scowled.

　She was so adorable that I couldn’t help but nod my head.

” Authoring is one of the most important jobs of a writer. If you’re a professional, you understand that, right?”

“…… Of course.”

　She looked up and nodded firmly.

“As long as I’m getting paid, I’m responsible for the end result. This child is the precious child of me and Okaya.”

　She held the author’s manuscript carefully in her arms and patted it gently.

“My child …….huh. Your right.”

“～～～～～～～～～～!”

　She shakes her head, her face reddening.

“O-Of course it’s a metaphor!　It’s a metaphor!

“?　Yeah, of course I know that.”

“…… Muu. Okaya is not fair.”

　Rushia’s lips pucker and she sighs.

“I’m the one who always gets nervous and has a hard time with my heart. It’s unhealthy.”

“That’s what they say. ……”

　I’m looking for peace of mind in Rushia.

　She’s the kind of partner that will walk with you and be there for you …….

“R-right. O-Okaya….You know. Can you unhook my dress, please?”

“What’s wrong?”

“T-This….dress. I’m in a bit of pain. ……, please.”

Rushia turns her back on me.

　Behind her ears and even down her neck, she was bright red.

“I see. Then…..”

　I touch Ruhisa’s back.

“……Hmm♡”

　Jiji…….I lowered the zipper a little …….

　Her pure white back and slightly sweaty skin appear in front of me.

　A sweet scent softly …… hit my nostrils.

“Okaya….It’s all right, okay?”

Rushia’s red, puffy eyes look at me.

“….I rented a hotel room for that purpose. Actually, I would have preferred a lounge.”

“I….see”

　What a lovely maiden.

　I tried to touch her, but hesitated.

　She was so fragile that I was afraid she would break if I touched her.

　…… At the same time, I feel the urge to force this small, fragile being to be mine.

　The two conflicted, and I …… hugged her from behind.

“…… ah ♡”

“Please bear with me.”

“……Yes♡”

　The warmth of the hug and the feeling of being completely absorbed by it was very comfortable.

　She relaxed her body and leaned her back against me.

　We haven’t kissed or even gone beyond that, but I still feel like we’re …… deeply connected.

“…… I love being squeezed like this by Okaya more than anything in the world.” [TL: M?]

　Rushia turns to me and smiles faintly.

　The cherry-red cheeks and fresh lips are a thrill to behold.

　When I hug her sweet scent and thin …… soft body like this, I feel that Rushia is also a woman.

　She is not a child, she is a woman.

“…… Hey, Okaya. I have to be back at the venue in ……10 minutes.”

“Okay, …….”

“We have……10 minutes. To do this.”

“Roger that.”

　Rushia and I didn’t do anything more than that.

　I just snuggled up to her.

　I felt a tremendous sense of comfort just from that.

　It would not be an exaggeration to say that she was emitting some kind of negative ions.

“Umu, I feel better.”

　Rushia stood up and nodded vigorously.

　I put the zipper back in place.

“Good luck, Rushia.”

“Yeah, you too Okaya, goodluck.”

　We headed back to our respective workplaces.

　I went to the editorial office, she went to the social hall.