Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 168: A Proud Feeling
That night, I placed Velvet’s manga in a spot where it would be easy to notice and decided to observe everyone’s reactions.
As for Velvet herself, she had holed up in her room at the villa, too embarrassed to show her face.
I would have liked her to see the reactions together with me, but if the feedback was good, I’d go and bring her out.
Thinking that, I acted casual and played games in the recreation room.
The first ones to arrive were Sheila and Helena.
As usual, they had come to play Smash Bros.
“Just give me a moment to finish up here. In the meantime, why don’t you read that manga while you wait?”
“You don’t have to worry about us. But yes, I’ll take a look at the manga.”
“Master, please teach me some moves. My win rate against Sheila has been dropping again lately.”
Sheila headed toward the manga shelf, while Helena sat down beside me.
That wasn’t exactly what I had planned, but since I had placed the manga in a noticeable spot, it was sure to catch Sheila’s eye.
“I don’t mind. But I’m not exactly an expert—are you sure that’s fine?”
“Of course. Please just teach me the basics.”
“Um… Sato. What is this comic written on paper?”
The fact that Sheila had taken the bait so quickly almost made me pump my fist in the air.
But I couldn’t let it show on my face, so I answered calmly.
“Ah, that? A friend of mine drew that manga. If you’d like, please give it a read.”
“A friend of yours? …Ah, I see. A friend from another world?”
“Well… something like that.”
“That’s amazing! To have a friend who can draw manga! I’ll gladly read it right away.”
“Thank you.”
I started giving Helena some pointers in Smash Bros., but my attention kept drifting toward Sheila as she read Velvet’s manga.
She looked completely absorbed in it, which gave me confidence that the reception was good.
“Master, is this combo input correct?”
“Ah, no, press it just a little later.”
“L-like this? Ugh, this is hard!”
While I was teaching Helena an instant-kill combo, Sheila suddenly stood up behind us.
It looked like she had just finished the manga.
“Sheila, did you finish? How was it?”
“It was really good! A little rough to read at some points, but the art was great and the story was perfect! I didn’t realize manga could be wrapped up so neatly in a shorter format.”
“Thank you for saying so. I’m sure my friend who drew it would be happy to hear that.”
“I definitely want Velvet to read this too—since she’s such a huge manga fan! I’d love to hear her opinion. And she happens to be visiting now, so I’ll go call her!”
“A-ah, wait, I’ll call her. You stay here and keep playing with Helena.”
“Is that all right?”
“Yes, of course.”
I quickly excused myself and headed straight for Velvet’s room.
It wasn’t about me at all, but for some reason I felt proud, as if it were my own work being praised.
Skipping lightly for the first time in ages, I knocked on her door. She answered immediately, and I stepped inside.
“D-did someone read it?”
Velvet was kneeling formally in the middle of the room, doing nothing else.
She hadn’t gone to the recreation room, but her posture alone made it obvious how anxious she’d been about it.
“Yes. Only Sheila so far, but… she praised it to the skies!”
“R-really!? W-well… I guess as long as it wasn’t poorly received, that’s good enough.”
She tried to play it cool, but the way her lips trembled upward betrayed how happy she really was.
“No, not just praised—highly praised! Honestly, I felt proud myself.”
“Why are you the one feeling proud? …Still, thank you. This really is such a precious experience for me.”
“I should be the one thanking you. If you keep creating, I’ll support you with everything I’ve got.”
“I don’t think I could stop anymore, even if I tried. So, I’ll be counting on you. By the way… did you just come here to give me that report?”
“Ah, I almost forgot. Sheila actually said she wanted Velvet—the manga fan—to read it, so I came to get you.”
“…Huh? You mean… me, reading my own manga?”
“She doesn’t know you drew it. To her, it’s just manga she wants to share with a fellow fan.”
“No way! That’s like the ultimate embarrassment!”
Velvet refused flat-out.
Of course, if she couldn’t reveal she was the author, reading her own manga in front of others would feel impossible.
“But that just shows how much she admired it. Should I tell her you’d already gone to sleep?”
“Sorry for Sheila, but could you do that? Just… tell her thank you for me.”
“No can do. If you’re supposed to be asleep, you can’t say thank you. And if you’re awake, it would be weird for me to thank her in your place.”
“…True. Forget what I said, then.”
“Right. Save your thanks for when you reveal yourself as the author one day.”
“…Yeah. When the time comes, I’ll tell her myself.”
After saying that, I left Velvet still kneeling there, and headed back to the recreation room.
I just hoped that, after this, Velvet would feel glad that she had shown her manga to others.