When I arrived downstairs, Bella was sitting on the living room couch.
"What happened?" I asked as I approached the couch.
Bella immediately stood up, startled, and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
"I'm so sorry! It's my fault! I left the draft on the table when I went out the house with you, and my mom ended up grabbing it."
I stared at her for a few seconds.
She handed me the draft of Volume 1 of Overlord, wholly ruined. The paper had turned orange, the ink had smudged, and the entire document was stained. The first few pages were illegible.
It was easy to understand what had happened.
Someone had spilt juice on the papers.
I had orange juice at Bella's house yesterday, so it made sense.
"When you said your mom wasn't careful, you weren't lying," I chuckled. "But don't worry, it's fine. I can rewrite the first pages without a problem."
"You're not mad? Are you sure?" Bella looked at me with tearful eyes, clearly feeling very guilty.
"Yes, it's no problem. But next time, I'll give you a copy."
"No, you don't have to! Just write down the characters' appearances on a paper like you did with Priscilla. That's enough."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, no need to give me the first volume."
"Alright then. But don't be so nervous. Tell your mom not to worry."
"She cried for hours yesterday, thinking you'd hate her."
"Your mom is really something else."
"Isn't she? She's more childish than I am."
"Your eyes are a bit red. Are you sure you weren't crying too?" I teased her with a sly smile.
"I wasn't crying! I just didn't sleep well because I was working."
"Ah, of course."
After a few more minutes, Bella left, and Hestia moved closer to inspect the ruined draft.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" she asked.
"I'll admit I'm a little annoyed since I wrote all that by hand instead of using the computer, and it took quite a bit of time. But it's fine."
"I see. That girl doesn't even seem like an artist."
"What do you mean?"
"She's so beautiful—she looks like a noble from a wealthy family. She doesn't seem like someone who draws or paints for a living."
"She comes from an amazing family. They're very rich."
"She seems nice. I didn't talk much with her because I was annoyed about the draft. But if you're not upset, I guess I overreacted."
"Haha. Well, I better start rewriting this. I'll work on it in my room during the day, so try not to bother me."
"And I'll get back to work. See you later." Lili said her goodbyes and left.
"Won't you have breakfast before heading to your room?" Hestia asked.
"Call me for lunch; I'm not hungry right now."
"Alright."
I climbed the stairs and went to my room. As soon as I entered, I separated the salvageable pages from the ruined ones. At least the first 20 pages were utterly destroyed.
Pages 21 to 30 had some juice stains but were still readable. Even so, I set them aside to rewrite as well.
"I need to rewrite 30 pages. It's a bit of work, but I think I can finish it today."
The problem is that I still need to draw the characters for Bella.
"Writing down the characters' appearances on paper is pointless. I'll make some copies after rewriting the 30 damaged pages and give one to her."
And so, my work began.
####
Night arrived.
I had been writing all day, stopping only for lunch and a quick afternoon shower.
"This is the last page."
For some reason, I felt mentally exhausted and on the verge of collapse. And I hadn't even started the drawings yet!
But even though I was close to my limit, I kept writing until I finished the final page. At last, I completed the 30th page.
Then, a notification popped up.
[The skill "Writer" has leveled up to 6.]
The "Writer" skill leveled up!
This will help.
"Yawn~~" I stretched, letting out a big yawn.
I went to the bathroom and took a hot shower before collapsing into bed. I didn't even bother with dinner, falling asleep within seconds.
Before I knew it, morning had arrived.
"Hey, wake up~~" I heard Hestia's voice calling me. "Breakfast is getting cold."
"What time is it?"
"It's almost lunchtime," Hestia said as she glanced at the pile of papers on the desk in my room. "You worked so hard yesterday, so I let you rest."
"Thanks for that. I feel refreshed now."
I got up, washed my face, and went downstairs for breakfast.
After eating, I returned to my room to start drawing the characters for Bella.
I began with a drawing of Demiurge, whose design was simpler, and then moved on to Shalltear.
While sketching Shalltear, a system message appeared.
[You have learned the skill "Drawing LV1"]
"Oh? Thank you, God! You're really helping me out!"
Immediately, my drawing improved significantly.
[The skill "Drawing" has leveled up to 2.]
The skill kept leveling up repeatedly, and my drawings became increasingly refined.
Hours later, I had completed the drawing of all the characters.
Even though they weren't colored, they were stunningly detailed, with heavy shading that made them stand out beautifully.
"Bella will be shocked when she sees these."
There's no way anyone improves this quickly in just one day.
####
Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl
Next chapters: Chapter 187 - You've got to be kidding. / Chapter 188 - After lunch / Chapter 189 - I'm suffering. +18 / Chapter 190 - Good smell... and good taste. +18 / Chapter 191 - Soma Familia. / Chapter 192 - God Soma / Chapter 193 - Soma accepted everything easily. / Chapter 194 - A bad idea. / Chapter 195 - Ishtar is annoying. / Chapter 196 - Ishtar is out of her mind. / Chapter 197 - Healthy sex with Ishtar? +18 / Chapter 198 - I'm not yours, you're mine. / Chapter 199 - Choosing skills after a long time. / Chapter 200 - He wants to meet Haruhime?