The Forum's Speculation Turned Me into a Distillery Henchman

She'd only shared a table with two cute girls at a cafe, and they'd just chatted a little over their meal because they got along. But that night, she dreamed the whole thing had been drawn into a manga, complete with comments and bullet-screen messages.

Manga artist Kobayashi Yuko: ...Have I worked so much overtime that I've lost my mind?

For several days in a row, she kept running into the two high school girls, along with a little boy who was always wary of her. And the dreams about the manga kept coming.

Kobayashi wondered if she was ill. She stayed up late looking up all kinds of information, only to find that even this scene had been drawn into the manga.

She decided it was time to see a therapist. At four in the morning on the day before she was supposed to go, a call came through on her phone.

"Rose, we have a mission."

A man with an unfamiliar voice spoke on the other end.

"...Are you okay? Have you looked at the time?"

Without even listening to what he said, she forced out the words coldly, immediately hung up, closed her eyes, and toppled onto the bed.

The manga appeared before her again, and it had stopped right at the moment she hung up.

In a black-and-white double-page spread, a long-haired man who looked like bad news was clearly angry that she'd hung up on him. His stern eyes flashed with menace, while bullet-screen messages floated across the top of the page.

[I knew she was up to something!]

[Woohoo, another codename member joins the liquor company! Wait, she hung up on Gin. She's got guts!]

[Place your bets, place your bets! How much alcohol does the new girl have in her system? Ten-to-one odds!]

[The boss looks so angry. Is she going to get killed off right after her introduction?]

[Wow, does she have a temper when she wakes up? I think that's my thing. I hope the beautiful lady survives what's coming.]

[...]

Kobayashi Yuko: "...?"

Kobayashi Yuko fell into deep thought. Kobayashi Yuko's brain overloaded.

Seriously, this was a huge problem!

Reader advisory:

1. The heroine is the center of this self-indulgent story. She's a fragile manga artist, and the forum's existence makes her seem to appear out of nowhere in the liquor company. To stay alive, she'll pull plenty of outrageous stunts and show off.

2. This is a rescue story. We'll save as many characters as we can. The author has favorites, and even if a character is at the bottom of the ocean, she'll drag them back.

3. The heroine is gloomy, pessimistic, and avoidant. She's flawed, not a saint, and extremely selfish.

4. Lots of bugs and a mountain of headcanons. The characters' values don't represent the author's.

5. You don't need to tell me if you're dropping the story. I've already listed the things that might bother you, so there's no need to repeat them in the comments. If you feel uncomfortable while reading, please stop.

Theme: Believe in yourself and create miracles. As long as your thinking doesn't go off the rails, there are always more ways than obstacles.