It was worth paying attention to him who knows if their paths would cross again?
But...
'Well, this is unexpected,' she thought to herself.
She had imagined a greasy, unkempt otaku but was instead faced with a refined and handsome young man.
'Honestly, with looks like that, he could make a living even without talent.'
Despite her thoughts, Hayasaka Ai maintained a professional expression.
"Please confirm the delivery," she said formally.
As expected of someone with years of acting experience, she was flawless.
If he hadn't known her identity, Akifumi would never have suspected a thing.
But he was no amateur in acting either.
"Where's the package?" he asked with a perfectly puzzled expression.
"Follow me," Hayasaka Ai said, leading him to the truck's cargo area.
Two workers waiting nearby immediately opened the truck's iron doors.
Akifumi's jaw dropped when he saw the stacks of boxes inside.
"Don't tell me..."
"Akifumi-san, please confirm the contents," Hayasaka Ai said.
His mouth twitched. "You're saying all of this...?"
"Yes, it's all yours," she said with a straight face, though she was desperately holding back laughter.
'Too bad my lady can't see this expression!' she thought.
'And there's no chance to take a picture either.'
After reading "Madoka Magica," she'd initially thought her lady was just being dramatic.
But seeing Akifumi's face now, she kind of got it.
Akifumi felt a chill run down his spine.
"What exactly is in these boxes?"
"Razor blades."
"???"
He was dumbfounded.
But after hearing the contents, he started to understand why she'd come to him.
"Just to confirm... How many blades are we talking about?"
"Not much just about a ton."
!!!
Should he be impressed by the sheer extravagance of the Shinomiya family?
They were truly in a league of their own!
Sending razor blades to an author? And starting with a whole ton?
"Pfft!"
Eriri couldn't hold back her laughter.
Pointing at the boxes, she asked, "Are you serious? All of this is razor blades?"
Without a word, Hayasaka Ai took out a knife and sliced open one of the boxes, revealing stacks of gleaming blades inside.
Eriri was speechless.
"Wait... Is this really how Shueisha sends gifts to their authors?"
She had considered sending Akifumi razor blades herself after reading the second volume of "Madoka Magica."
But it was just a fleeting thought.
She never actually went through with it.
Now, seeing an entire truckload of blades was simply absurd.
"Ahem." Hayasaka Ai feigned embarrassment.
"Actually, I must apologize to Akifumi-san."
"We're not here on behalf of Shueisha."
"We were sent by one of your fans."
A fan?
One fan who sends an entire ton of razor blades?!
This was getting more ridiculous by the second.
Akifumi smiled bitterly.
"Can I refuse to sign for this?"
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't carry all of this, and I definitely have no place to store it."
"Well..." Hayasaka Ai pretended to be in a tough spot.
"Don't worry. I won't make things difficult for you," Akifumi said with a smile.
"I'll take a photo and post it on SNS. That should count as me accepting it, right?"
"And with this many blades, you could probably sell them for a good price. Consider it your tip for the trouble."
After a moment's hesitation, Hayasaka Ai nodded.
"Alright."
Of course, she had never intended to force him to accept the blades in the first place.
Her lady's only request was to deliver them, not ensure he signed for them.
Besides, package acceptance was always up to the recipient.
If he refused, there was nothing that she could do.
[087] "Shokugeki no Soma" Confirmed!
It was the best possible outcome given the situation.
"Thanks for handling it," said Akifumi Mugiho, relieved after taking the necessary photos.
As the truck drove off, Akifumi exhaled deeply.
"How did drawing a simple manga lead to something this crazy?"
"It's just absurd!" Eriri couldn't help but complain as she watched the truck disappear from view.
"Are fans really this passionateand this rich these days?" she exclaimed.
"One ton of razor blades? Do you know how much money that's worth just as scrap metal?!
And they actually bought them at full price!"
The sheer grudge against Madoka Magica's ending must have been astronomical to spark something this extreme.
If it had been Eriri, she admitted she'd have just fumed silently and moved on after a few days.
Akifumi shrugged indifferently.
"Who knows?"
Then Eriri's expression turned serious.
"Waithave you ever leaked your personal info?"
"You think I'm that dumb?"
"Then how did that fan get your address?!"
With the financial resources and connections of the Shinomiya family, digging up a simple address wouldn't be a challenge.
Of course, Akifumi knew better than to say that out loud.
"If they can send a literal ton of razor blades, do you really think finding an address is difficult?"
"...Fair point," Eriri conceded, though she couldn't resist snickering.
"See? That's what you get for messing with Madoka Magica! Now fans are sending you razor blades!"
"At least someone cares enough to send me razor blades. No one's even bothered with you," Akifumi quipped.
Eriri's smirk froze, and she immediately fell silent.
Back at home...
"Aren't you two supposed to be picking up a package? Why are your hands empty?" Mahiru Shiina asked, confused.
Eriri grinned mischievously.
"Hey Mahiru, wanna guess what it was?"
Akifumi rolled his eyes and headed straight to his room.
"What's wrong with Akifumi-kun?" Mahiru asked in bewilderment.
"Don't be fooled by that calm facehe's probably super annoyed right now," Eriri teased with a laugh.
"What happened?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just a fan sending him a ton of razor blades."
"...Seriously?" Mahiru was speechless, then sighed in disbelief.
"People really have nothing better to do, huh?"
"Who knows?" Eriri shrugged.
Meanwhile, Akifumi wasted no time in his room.
He edited a post and attached the earlier photo before hitting send.
"Thanks to my passionate fan for the one-ton gift of razor blades. Nearly killed me carrying it upstairs. [Image Attached]"
The comments poured in immediately after refreshing:
"Is that for real? A ton of razor blades?"
"How rich is this fan?!"
"I can totally imagine the look on the author facemust've been priceless!"
"Kukuku, that's what you get for being so ruthless! Feel the love, demon!"
"Wait, what's the author address? Can the fan share it?"
Akifumi couldn't help but roll his eyes at the flood of reactions.
At least this ridiculous saga was finally over.
It was closure for those upset by Madoka Magica's ending.
As for his address being leakedhe wasn't worried. Knowing the Shinomiya heiress, she wouldn't know his address.
And given her unspoken agreement with Hayasaka Ai, they definitely wouldn't pull anything that childish.
Still...
"Has she met Shirogane Miyuki yet?"
If the heiress had done something this outrageous, it was probably because of that.
But Akifumi brushed the thought aside.
"Not my problem."
Time flew by, and the Summer Comiket on August 11th kicked off.
Akifumi had no interest in the "Holy War."
He'd been to it before and didn't want to endure the blazing heat again.
Eriri, however, took leave on the 13th.
After all, it was her hard work on displayno way she'd miss it.
Soon, August 16th rolled around.
That day, the first chapter of Shokugeki no Soma finally met Akifumi's standards.
A thrilled Eriri dove back into her work with renewed enthusiasm.
By August 28th, fueled by her initial success, she'd completed chapters two and three.
Seeing the timing was right, Akifumi took Eriri and her work to Shueisha on August 29th.
In a small meeting room, Eriri sat nervously, clearly on edge.
"Relax," Akifumi reassured her, and she calmed down a bit.
Soon, the editor, Otosuna Mihari, walked in.
"Long time no see, Akifumi-sensei," she greeted warmly.
Akifumi raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you just pick up Anohana's draft from me last week?"
"Funny as always," Mihari replied, unfazed.
She then turned to Eriri. "Good to see you too, Eriri."
Mihari had grown familiar with Eriri after regularly visiting Akifumi's place for drafts.
"And Shiina too," she added with a smile.
"H-hello, Editor Otosuna-san!" Eriri stammered nervously.
Having been an editor for six months, Mihari exuded maturity and reliability now.
She smiled warmly at Eriri before turning back to Akifumi.
"Just so we're cleareven with our connection, I won't hold back."
Akifumi waved dismissively. "Do whatever you need."
"I'm just helping you boost your stats out of goodwill."
"Should I thank you, then?" Mihari retorted playfully.
"Of course," Akifumi replied without a hint of modesty.
Mihari shook her head, amused, and turned back to Eriri.
"Alright, let's see the manuscript."
"Yes! Here it is!" Eriri handed over the carefully prepared pages.
Mihari removed the cover sheet to reveal the title: Shokugeki no Soma.
On the cover, a confident red-haired boy grinned alongside a serious yet proud blonde girl.
Just from the cover design and character composition, Mihari's eyes lit up.
"This looks amazing!" she exclaimed instinctively.
"If the content is on par with this cover, getting serialized shouldn't be a problem."
She glanced at Akifumi.
"Looks like I owe you a thank-you after all."
"Of course," Akifumi said smugly.
Mihari chuckled and focused on reading the manuscript.
Half an hour later, she sighed and put it down.
Eriri anxiously asked, "Well? How was it?"
"I can't wait to see how the story unfolds," Otosuna Mihari smiled.
"Which means...?"
"It's approved!"
..................
[TL Note]
Hey there! If you're enjoying this, be sure to check out
p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL
Please remove the hyphen to access the page normally! Just a heads-up, there will be new advanced chapters every week in there! And thank you so much for reading!
[088] "Madoka Magica" Animation Completed! "Flower Name" Finished!!
In a moment of surprise, Eriri froze, her blue eyes widening as she smiled with excitement.
"Did... did it really pass!?"
"Yes," smiled Mihari, nodding.
She couldn't help but think, This is the right reaction!
She glanced at the person beside Eriri, and thought.
'Is this guy heart made form stone?'.
Who else could remain so calm after something like this?
"Mugiho, I passed! I really passed!?" Eriri shouted excitedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Akifumi replied, rubbing his ear.
Can't she keep it down a little? And why's she so hyped about this?
"Congrats," he added casually, "But maybe try to calm down a bit?"
"All this is just the initial assessment," he continued.
"There's still a long way to go before an actual serialization."
"What!?!" Eriri's face froze, the joy fading as she processed his words.
"But didn't I pass?"
"It only passed here," Akifumi explained, gesturing to Mihari for more details.
"Is it just me, or is this guy getting better at giving me orders?" Mihari thought with a sigh but smiled as she explained to Eriri:
"Well, like Akifumi-san said, this is just my approval. The final decision comes from the editorial board after a meeting."
She added, "Once they approve, that's when it can actually move forward. And with several projects already ahead, it'll take some time before it officially gets serialized."
"Oh..." Eriri slumped a little, muttering, "Why does it have to be like this?"
Mihari couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
I'm just a small editorthere's no way I can control any of this!
"But don't worry. With a work of this quality, serialization is just a formality," she reassured.
After all, she'd been analyzing a lot of the works in her magazine recently, and Shokugeki no Soma definitely stood out.
Its unique art style, interesting characters, and compelling story made it superior to many currently serialized works.
"If this doesn't get serialized, something's wrong!" she thought, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Once it gets serialized, it'll definitely receive great reviews!" Mihari said with enthusiasm, looking at Eriri.
She mentally added, This is my second big project!
And this one definitely doesn't have the same 'rebel' vibe as the first!
Maybe I can actually train her into a real asset!
But then, a thought crossed her mind, and she sighed.
'Wait... aren't they childhood friends?'
The bond between childhood friends, that was a tough one to beat, even for an editor and author who were getting closer by the day.
Sighing internally, she realized:
'Even before this second big project of mine is fully formed, it already feels like a lost cause!'
Annoyed, she tried to brush it off.
Meanwhile, Akifumi looked at Mihari, puzzled by her sudden shift in expression.
If only he knew the whirlwind of thoughts running through her mind in those few seconds.
Trying to lighten the mood, Akifumi turned to Eriri and said,
"Well, this is just how it goes. And hey, you can take this time to draw even more, right?"
Eriri sighed.
"I guess that's all I can do now."
"Anyway, thank you so much for all your help, Otosuna-san!"
Mihari felt a rush of pride.
'Is this what it feels like to be an editor? '
A simple thank you from Eriri made her feel on top of the world.
"No need to thank me, it's my duty as an editor!" Mihari grinned, patting her chest proudly.
She thought to herself, Maybe there's still hope for this project after all?
Then, turning to Akifumi, she casually asked, "Hey, do you have some time after this?"
"Huh? What's up?" Akifumi was a bit confused.
The meeting today was supposed to be just about Eriri.
Eriri raised her hand, asking, "Should I leave?"
"No, it's not confidential," Mihari waved her off.
"It's fine for you to stay."
"Well," she continued, "I just got word that the first episode of Madoka Magica's anime adaptation is finished. Would you like to see it?"
"Already finished?" Akifumi was taken aback, but then thought, Well, that makes sense.
If they're aiming for an October release with the fall season, they must've finished the first episode already.
