Another month passed.
In the outer area, inside the church of the shelter.
After Nia Honjo drew the final stroke on the paper, she set down her brush and let out a long sigh.
"It's finished. It's finally finished."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the final volume of Silver Bullet, over 200 pages thick. A sense of accomplishment surged within her.
This feeling of achievement even surpassed completing the main mission in the previous world.
She had been in this world for three and a half months.
That meant she had been updating almost every day at a rate of two pages per day.
Two pages a day!
It hadn't been easy!
Not only did she handle the characters and backgrounds, but she also wrote the dialogue and composed the panels all by herself!
To fully embody the role of a reclusive cartoonist, she hadn't even dared to hire an assistant, completing all the work on her own.
Now that the comic was finally finished, the most crucial part of her role-playing was complete. The final evaluation for her performance would undoubtedly be at least an A.
"Congratulations, Miss Honjo," said Kayo Senju, who had been abducted two months ago and now worked as a secretary. Her expression was as blank as ever. "Do you need me to contact a publishing house for you?"
"Can I still reach my previous publisher?"
"According to my research, your previous publishing house disappeared shortly after the Great Disaster began."
"Then just pick one."
"Understood."
With this major task completed, Nia Honjo relaxed completely, slumping in her chair like a puddle of mud, utterly unmotivated to move.
*Gurgle…*
Her stomach growled in protest.
"Now that I think about it, I didn't eat last night," Nia Honjo said, patting her stomach. "Kayo, could you grab something from the kitchen for me? I don't feel like moving."
"I prepared dinner for you yesterday."
"Did you?"
"I left it at your door."
"But when I went out this morning, I only saw an empty plate."
"Then someone must have stolen it. Also, Miss Honjo, don't wait until morning to eat dinner. Skipping meals is bad for your health. If you don't develop better habits, you'll be more prone to illness as you get older."
"Ahhh, no way, no way!" Nia Honjo covered her ears. "Are you my mother now?"
"I understand it's embarrassing for an adult to be lectured by a twelve-year-old, but Miss Honjo should feel even more ashamed of herself for living such a sloppy and irregular life. Drinking during the day, working late at night, skipping meals, and neglecting sleep. You don't wash dishes or throw away empty bottles. Before I came, it was hard to imagine how you managed to take care of yourself."
"Why not let Nibelcole handle this kind of thing?" Nia Honjo said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, what's the point of having a daughter?"
"Sigh… I used to envy Nibelcole," Kayo Senju said, holding her forehead. "Distance really does make the heart grow fonder."
Two months ago, when Kayo Senju was still at her old company, she worked with her former partner, Shougen Ikuma.
Though she was treated as a tool, her life was far better than that of most cursed children, and she had no complaints.
But for some reason, the company boss who always wore a cold expression around cursed children suddenly summoned her with a smile, offering to transfer her to a cursed children's shelter in the outer area.
Though it was framed as a discussion, Kayo Senju knew she had no real choice.
As for the shelter, she had never heard of it and doubted its existence. She assumed it was just an excuse.
Originally, she thought the higher-ups had decided to execute her due to her rapidly increasing erosion rate. She had even prepared herself, boarding the car to the outer area without resistance.
But to her surprise, a shelter for cursed children had been built in the outer area at some point. There, she met Nia Honjo, who had helped her before, and became the shelter's financial manager.
However, managing the finances of a shelter with fewer than a hundred people was a breeze compared to her previous job. It felt like retirement.
The rest of her time was almost entirely spent taking care of Nia Honjo.
After two months of living together, the image of the mysterious, holy nun, the friendly and kind police officer, and the wealthy philanthropist in her mind had completely shattered.
Kayo Senju sometimes wondered if Nia Honjo would starve to death at home if no one was around to take care of her.
After all, the church refrigerator contained nothing but beer!
She used to feel a little sorry for Nibelcole for being naive, but now it seemed that if she had to take care of Nia Honjo, it was better for her to be a bit clueless.
Being too smart would only raise her blood pressure!
During this time, seeing the empty bottles scattered across the floor and Nia Honjo half-naked and sound asleep countless times, Kayo Senju felt her blood pressure was more likely to spike than her erosion rate.
"Eat, eat. I'm starving," Nia Honjo urged.
"Don't rush me. I'll go right away."
Kayo Senju set down the manuscript and headed toward the shelter.
However, as she opened the door, she saw another cursed child standing there, looking as if she had been about to knock.
"Kohina, is something wrong?" Kayo Senju asked.
"Someone's driving over here. They're the owner's friends. Should we let them in?" Kohina Hiruko asked.
"Hmm, Mr. Satomi and Ms. Tendo?" Kayo Senju guessed. "Let them in."
"Okay."
Kohina Hiruko nodded, turned, and walked toward the shelter's iron gate.
As Kohina left, Kayo Senju tense muscles relaxed.
She knew Kohina's identity and her father's.
After all, she had attended the Defense Ministry meeting where Kagetane Hiruko had caused a major disturbance.
When she first arrived at the shelter and learned that Nia Honjo had allowed such a dangerous person to stay, her first reaction was to urge Nia Honjo to send her to the government.
But the thick-skinned Nia Honjo didn't care at all, so Kayo had no choice but to let it go.
Even now, she still didn't believe that someone so dangerous could lose her ferocity and truly integrate into the shelter.
And that wasn't even considering the fact that Kagetane Hiruko had, in a sense, died because of Nia Honjo.
"How big of a heart do you have to keep your enemy's child by your side?" Kayo Senju muttered as she walked toward the kitchen. "This is such a headache."
Five minutes later, Rentaro Satomi and his group entered the church.
"Tell me, why did you call us here?" Kisara Tendo asked bluntly, yawning as soon as she walked in. She looked too exhausted for small talk.
"You came at the perfect time," Nia Honjo said, sipping a beer she had just taken from the refrigerator. She patted the chair beside her. "Sit down. Don't just stand there like idiots. I've got something good to show you."
"New information?" Kisara Tendo eyes sharpened. "Who are we dealing with this time?"
There was an agreement between Kisara Tendo and Nia Honjo.
In exchange for Nia Honjo joining the company, Kisara had obtained the dirt and evidence on the five Tendo family members responsible for her parents' deaths.
So far, Kisara Tendo had successfully killed two of her five enemies.
The first was Tendo Kikunosuke, the Tendo family's black glove, who handled their dirty work.
The second was Tendo Heemin, who worked in the government's financial department.
During the Holy Emperor efforts to destabilize the government, Tendo Heemin had been exposed by the media and brought down.
Seeing the situation was irreversible, the Tendo family cut their losses, sending this influential family member out of the Tokyo area to wait for an opportunity to return.
However, Tendo Heemin never made it out of Tokyo.
After learning his escape route from Nia Honjo, Kisara Tendo blocked the highway in the outer area alone, wielding her sword, and killed her enemy with her own hands.
Having tasted the sweetness of revenge once more, Kisara Tendo had been eagerly awaiting the next move.
Feeling Kisara's intense gaze, Nia Honjo took another sip of beer and said slowly, "Well, that's not it. I called you here this time because I want you to see the final volume."
"Final volume?" Kisara Tendo was baffled. "What final volume?"
"The final volume of Silver Bullet," Nia Honjo said as if it were obvious. "You haven't forgotten that my main job is a cartoonist, have you?"
The corner of Kisara Tendo eye twitched. "Is this the 'big thing' you mentioned in your message?"
"Isn't it a big deal?"
"What kind of nonsense is this! Who cares about your comics at a time like this!" Kisara Tendo snapped. "Do you know how busy I've been lately? Thanks to that Aldebaran corroding the monolith, all of Tokyo is in chaos! And you're telling me you've been drawing comics this whole time?!"
Three days ago, the Tokyo military had detected abnormal Gastrea activity outside the monolith.
At first, only a few senior military and government officials knew about it, and no one intended to leak the information, as it would cause unnecessary panic.
But for some reason, many media outlets had caught wind of it and sent helicopters to investigate.
What they found was shocking.
In the unexplored areas beyond the monolith, the density of Gastrea had increased exponentially. The media, terrified, fled after capturing only a few videos.
Naturally, these videos were broadcast to all of Tokyo, plunging the city into fear and tension.
As for who leaked the information to the media, Nia Honjo and the others knew the answer.
It was Kikunojou Tendo, of course.
After his plan to use the Legacy of the Seven Stars to summon the Zodiac failed, he seized this rare opportunity to spread unrest and panic throughout the city.
Though no one knew whether this was a natural gathering of Gastrea or a coincidence, Kikunojou Tendo deliberate propaganda convinced everyone that an invasion was imminent.
And then, the Gastrea really did attack.
Aldebaran, originally a stage-four Gastrea belonging to the Taurus zodiac, appeared at the monolith.
This Gastrea, though only stage four, was nearly as infamous as the Zodiac. It possessed incredible regenerative abilities, could produce corrosive liquids, and secreted pheromones to control lesser Gastrea, forcing them to fight for it.
This time, all of Tokyo was in a state of complete panic.
Kikunojou Tendo never imagined that the rumors he had spread would actually come true.
As a result, the people of Tokyo grew restless, their morale visibly deteriorating, and the crime rate soared to its highest point in a decade of peace.
In all of Tokyo, perhaps only Nia Honjo who had known Aldebaran would appear and the Holy Emperor who had preemptively ordered a new monolith remained relatively calm.
This war would have been a catastrophe for Tokyo. The Third Kanto War from the original timeline would not occur again, thanks to the cooperation between Nia Honjo and the Holy Emperor.
But to maintain the ruse, the Holy Emperor had made a grand gesture, holding an emergency meeting with Kikunojou Tendo and other military leaders to deploy soldiers, police officers, and cursed children.
This was also why Kisara Tendo had been so exhausted lately.
She didn't know the truth, and when she learned that, at this critical moment, Nia Honjo had been leisurely drawing comics, she nearly fainted from anger.
It would have been one thing if she had just drawn them herself, but she had also called over two busy people herself and Rentaro Satomi just to celebrate this trivial achievement.
"Let's go back!" Kisara Tendo glared at Nia Honjo, tugging on Rentaro Satomi's sleeve. "We don't have time to waste on this."
But Rentaro didn't budge.
Kisara Tendo looked at him, confused.
"Well, actually, I'm quite interested," Rentaro Satomi said sheepishly. "I've been waiting for the final volume for a long time. How about we finish reading it before heading back?"
"You!" Kisara Tendo rolled her eyes in frustration at her partner's disappointing behavior.
"Aha, it seems I understand men's hearts better than you do, Kisara," Nia Honjo said with a meaningful smile.
"Tsk…" Kisara Tendo grumbled. "Is Silver Bullet really that good?"
"Well, it was one of the best-selling boys' comics before the war," Nia Honjo said proudly. "Want to read it? It's free."
"I'll pass."
"Since we're already here," Nia Honjo said slowly, "we might as well stay."
Yes, they were already here.
Leaving now would feel like a bigger waste.
Though she wasn't particularly interested, Rentaro seemed to like it a lot.
"Fine, then give me a copy of the first volume too," Kisara Tendo finally relented. "I'm here now, after all."
"Hehe."
Nia Honjo rubbed her hands together, looking like a shrewd merchant.
"I promise you won't be disappointed."