Chapter 219: Best Acting Award

"It has my style..."

As a mangaka, Kuroneko has her preferences for her character designs. She forsook the cutesy designs and pursues dark and seinen themes. Her lines tend to be sharper and darker in shading than usual.

(A/N: A milder Berserk, if you may.)

Meanwhile, Madoka's manga is the exact opposite of it. A lighter tone is used when drawing it as well as aesthetics that appeal more to the children. It is more evident during the time they are raiding a labyrinth, which forms a sharp contrast with the other manga out there.

Lastly, Shinji's manga is simply an adaptation of the game available in this world. It is nearly the same as the original Fate series, but without any Zouken Matou to twist his growth. Due to that, he is an acceptable and proper human being.

"Kal'tsit is with two other [Creations] for now. We should rejoin with her first to have more first-hand info."

"I agree. From what she told us in the chat group, it seems that the magician knows many things around here."

"I don't have a problem with it. They should be the ones fighting against that girl, right?"

Kuroneko and Madoka replied.

Shiro recalled how that girl disdained both creators and creations. She also mocked him for joining their side, a clear tell-tale sign that she is their enemy. In fact, he already had this guess the moment he clashed head-on with the girl.

"That girl... She's very dangerous. I could not even injure her. If she did not leave that time, I would probably be the one escaping from her."

Hearing this, Kuroneko was surprised. She has the power to destroy buildings and cause damage to an entire city alone. Since Shiro is stronger than her, becoming what he called a "god", she got caught off-guard by their enemy's strength.

Though, it is also that she had somewhat expected when she saw the word 'emergency' in it. This world where anime characters became real can be more ridiculous.

"She's that strong? No wonder this quest turned out to be an emergency." She said.

They conversed until the clock ticked 12. Planning, catching up... they got so engrossed that they did not notice the passage of time.

"About your bedrooms. There are two upstairs. I'll be sleeping here in the living room." Shiro said.

In his house, one of the rooms is converted into a work room. The other one serves as his bedroom while the last one is a guest room. Having experienced some night-overs due to work, he learned and designated a guest room.

"Sensei, you can—"

"We can sleep together, Shiro." Kuroneko interrupted with a calm face. "It is not that big of a problem, no?"

She smiled with her usual confidence—one that is no longer 'fake' that is the result of pretending. A slight blush is present on her ears. It is not hidden by her gothic attire, thus both Shiro and Madoka saw it. The former was startled upon guessing his correct and the latter nodded with understanding.

'Kuroneko-senpai is making her move now!'

In a mission, she got to know more about this senpai of hers—both in the chat group and in Shiro's tutelage. There, she found out that the first chat group members spent more than a year and a half in a certain world. It is the catalyst that developed their connection and their understanding of each other.

She also realized that she might have feelings for her mentor, Shiro. It only became more evident as she saw her responses toward the girl sleeping in his lap that one time.

"It... is not a problem for me."

"Ah?"

"Ehhh?!"

Clarifying his response, he said, "I mean, I don't have a problem sleeping together with whom I trust, not to mention you."

"I understand..."

At first, Kuroneko was slightly dismayed by his response, only to blush once more when she heard what he said in the end.

'I won't lose my love again... Ever.'

Right now, she felt nothing but determination in his heart. She had lost in this war called "love" once, teaching her the preciousness of it. Now that she's less accustomed to modern norms, she is more open to more things. She will no longer give up, left behind whilst pathetically crying under the night sky.

*****

"If you still doubt the phenomenon just now, then maybe you should doubt the existence of the employee and the existence of the store next. Or the possibility that your actions have dissociated from your cognition and are impossible to comprehend. After that, we enter the realm of solipsism and ontology. Or the only..."

(A/N: Solipsism and ontology are both branches of philosophy—metaphysics and epistemology.)

Souta and Selesia listened blankly to Meteora's incomprehensible rambling. The two became silent—Meteora's words going and coming out of their ears—while learning the value of their existence to the world.

"She's talking about how Mizushuno is doubting our existence. There is too much evidence that proves that we, characters that are supposed to be fictitious, are present in this world. If you still don't believe it then there is no helping it."

Suddenly, Kal'tsit translated Meteora's ramblings into something understandable.

"Ah."

"Now I understand!" Selesia exclaimed. "You are trying to crack a joke!"

"Ah!"

Enlightened, the two sent grateful looks toward the cold-faced feline doctor.

"I appreciate your help. I am surprised that someone can fully understand my intent."

"Experiences." Kal'tsit replied to Meteora.

Souta realized something as he said, "Right! Kal'tsit-san is responsible for the majority of the info dumps in the manga!"

While they are conversing, Souta froze as a person appeared in his sight.

"What's wrong, Souta-kun?"

"It's nothing, Selesia-san... I just saw a very famous person. Someone that I look up to."

Just as she was about to ask, her eyes fell upon the trio going the opposite way as them. The most eye-catching one is the man wearing black long-sleeves. His dark hair and crimson eyes caught the attention of many people as he walked past them. There is also the woman who wore gothic-style clothes. She has an air of a "noble girl", perfectly encapsulating her outfit. Lastly is the adorable pink-haired girl wearing a school uniform. Out of the three, she looks the most normal.

"Madoka... Meteora-san, a creation."

Madoka Magica. Souta had read this manga, planning to do so as a casual one. This became different once he progressed through half of the first volume. What he expected to be a light read, one similar to Precure, turned into one with a dark theme.

For once, it stood out in the vast majority of the manga, hence its immense popularity. Every time a volume is out, it gets sold out on the first day. Even when many chooses to buy the soft copy, it still happened.

"Excuse me."

"Hm?"

The three of them stopped walking upon Meteora's interception.

"Avalken... and Vogelchevalier? Holy..." The man showed an expression of surprise before he laughed. "Looks like I did not go crazy."

*****

Fact #97: In Oreimo, it was shown in the side stories that Kuroneko, despite everything thaat happened between her and Kyousuke, remained as their friend. They were shown to be hanging out as usual. The original four-man group from online was still together. I found this very surprising since in the Oreimo Kuroneko manga, Kuroneko herself moved out of their city in order to move on from Kyousuke. Though, everything went in a different route there. Kyousuke ended up with her as he and Kirino had a normal relationship. This is also the manga where I got the inspiration of mature Kuroneko. Simply put, this manga cemented Kuroneko's best girl position in Oreimo. Like, seriously, love do make people blind. How can Kyousuke hurt her feelings like that..?

PS: That rejection scene is the most impactful one for me. The way her VA did her acting whilst heartbroken... I do recommend you all to check it out. It's in Season 2, Episode 14, 6:29.