"Sure." Akifumi Mugiho nodded, then added in an offhand manner, "By the way, arranging a serialization in advance like this... is it because of some mistake on your part, Otosuna-san?"
Caught up in her joy, Mihari laughed. "Ahaha, I can't believe you figured that out"
The last syllable caught in her throat as realization dawned.
"You... you... heard that?"
"Yup." Akifumi Mugiho grinned mischievously and casually waved his phone.
"Not only did I hear it, but I recorded it too. Want me to play it back?"
Mihari stared blankly at the handsome teenager in front of her.
The initial excitement drained from her face, replaced by sheer panic.
Two words echoed endlessly in her mind:
"I'm doomed."
....
[016] Are High Schoolers Always This Impressive?
"Editor Otosuna, you wouldn't want this matter getting out, would you?"
"What do you want?"
Faced with the threat, Mihari clenched her lips. She tried to put on a stern face, but anxiety gnawed at her heart.
Of course, she didn't want this getting out.
It might seem trivial on the surface, but after a sleepless night reflecting on it, she realized just how serious that small slip-up had been.
Imagine this: all the contestants in the competition had only one shot at evaluation, while one person had already secured a serialization deal and was on track to win a prize.
Anyone would be outraged.
People would question the fairness of the Tezuka Awards.
Those eliminated or with hidden agendas might even stir up trouble over it.
Sure, outstanding works often receive preferential treatmentit happens in every industry.
But there's a reason why "unspoken rules" are called that: they can't be made public. If exposed, there are consequences.
"Why was I so nave to think I could just cover this up?"
What would happen next?
Getting fired?
If only it were that simple.
She envisioned herself being sued by the company for the massive financial and reputational losses caused by her mistake.
Saddled with a lifetime of debt, she'd work endlessly to repay it...
Her imagination spiraled into an image of her elderly self, lying on a hospital bed, weakly whispering final instructions to her children:
"Make sure...to...pay off..."
"Ahhh!" she cried out in frustration.
"I didn't even get to finish my last words before dying!"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Akifumi Mugiho watched her in bemusement, completely unaware that she'd just lived an entire lifetime in her mind.
"What are you going to do now?" he repeated, amused.
Snapping back to reality, Mihari's expression hardened as a realization dawned on her.
"I get it now," she said with grim determination.
Huh?
Akifumi blinked in confusion. What exactly did she mean by "get it"?
Her gaze was resolute.
"Do we have to do it here?" she asked with a voice thick with emotion.
Tears shimmered in her orange-tinted eyes.
Before Akifumi could react, she started unbuttoning her shirt.
Wait, what?!
Akifumi's eyes widened as pink fabric and fair skin filled his vision.
His body reacted instinctively, slamming her shirt closed in a flurry of panic.
He stole a glance at the ceiling. No camerasthank goodness.
Probably for author privacy reasons?
Wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead, he scowled.
"What the heck are you doing?!"
Mihari glared at him, her face a mix of humiliation and defiance.
"Isn't this what you wanted?"
"What I wanted?"
Akifumi rolled his eyes. Thinking back, he realized his earlier words probably did sound misleading.
"Was this partly my fault?" he sighed internally.
"Look, I never said I wanted you to do anything like this!"
"Huh?" Mihari froze.
"How about buttoning your shirt first? There's no camera, but if someone walks in"
Wait, so... she misunderstood?!
"Ughhh!"
Her face turned crimson. She clumsily tried to rebutton her shirt but fumbled in her panic. Tears threatened to fall again.
Akifumi folded his arms, thoroughly entertained by the scene.
Not look? Yeah, right. Who would listen to that?
Two minutes later, Mihari finally managed to button up and exhaled in relief.
Akifumi regretfully looked away.
"So...what's your real goal here?" she asked, still flushed with embarrassment.
Akifumi casually pulled out his phone and displayed the recording screen.
"There was never been a recording."
"Huh?! What?!"
He shrugged. "From the start, I was just messing with you. Who seriously records conversations with their editor?"
The weight on her chest lifted instantly.
"Akifumi!!" Mihari fumed. "Do you enjoy messing with adults that much?!"
"Wait, that was a prank? You really think so?" Akifumi blinked innocently.
"Wasn't it?!"
"By the way," he added with a sly grin, "I still have that email you sent. Mind being a little nicer to me?"
"Ughhh!"
'How dare he?!'
'Is this kid a devil?!'
"I'm very sorry!" she bowed deeply, completely surrendering.
Akifumi looked pleased.
"I hope this serves as a lesson to be more thorough with your work. I wouldn't want to hear that you got fired for some careless mistake."
"Are you calling me an idiot?"
Despite her urge to retort, she knew she had no right after yesterday's mistake.
...Maybe he was trying to help in his own twisted way?
She sighed. "Was this your way of giving me a warning?"
Akifumi smiled. "If you really want to thank me, just buy me dinner sometime."
'I didn't say I wanted to thank you, jerk!'
Even though she mentally cursed him, Mihari bowed politely.
"Fine. When I get paid next month, I'll treat you."
"I'll look forward to it."
Akifumi grinned before reminding her, "Can we get the contract now? We've already wasted a lot of time."
"You're the one wasting time!"
Despite her grumbling, Mihari fetched the contract.
Akifumi reviewed it, signed, and stamped it without hesitation.
"You just signed it?" she asked in disbelief.
"Why not?"
"Aren't you underage? Don't you need a guardian's consent?"
"I've got that covered."
He handed her a sealed envelope.
"I have my parents' signatures. Want me to call them?"
Mihari inspected it, nodded, and marveled, "You're surprisingly prepared."
"You gotta start grinding while you're young, right?"
'This guy's more mature than I am!'
Suppressing her disbelief, she began discussing serialization details.
.....
[017] Senpais Head Is Gone!
"Hey, Otosuna-chan, how did it feel meeting the mangaka for the first time?"
"Is he easy to get along with?"
"Did you show him your editor's authority?"
Facing her colleagues' curiosity, Otosuna Mihari smiled politelythough there was a trace of awkwardness in itand answered each question.
"Not bad at all!" (Disastrous, actually.)
"He's pretty easy to talk to." (If all mangaka were like that, I might as well quit editing!)
"Did I show authority? Uh... probably?"
'Authority? Yeah, right.'
Despite her inner complaints, Mihari maintained a sweet smile. Women really are born actors, aren't they?
Back at her desk, she rubbed her face, stiff from forced smiling, and let out a heavy sigh.
'Getting toyed with by a kid like that how embarrassing!'
After lying on her desk for a while to recover, she sat up with renewed determination.
"Alright, time to work hard!" she said, pumping her fists for motivation.
She pulled out the hefty manuscript handed to her by Akifumi Mugiho.
"Whoa, this thing is thick! How many chapters is this?"
Curiosity piqued, she counted the pages.
Exactly 80 pagesenough for four chapters!
"Does this guy not know what a creative block is?!"
Hadn't she received the manuscript only about ten days ago? And he's still a high school student with classes to attend, yet he manage to make this much in such a short time?
"What a monster!" she muttered in disbelief.
Of course, it was possible he had drawn it in advance, but stillhaving the patience to stockpile that much work was impressive in itself.
'I just hope he isn't only focused on speed.'
With that thought in mind, she opened the first page and started reading.
"Hmm, the quality hasn't dropped compared to before. Nice, nice!"
A few pages in, Mihari nodded in satisfaction, fully immersed in the story... ahem, work.
"Kyoko is adorable!"
"And Kyubey is amazing tooperfect pet for a magical girl!"
"Even though she looks shady at first, Homura is so cool!"
"Ahhh! Senpai's transformation scene is fantastic! That skirt, that waistline, and that..."
Her face unconsciously broke into a grin.
All the stress from earlier seemed to melt away, thanks to these lovable characters.
Even as she enjoyed herself, she didn't forget her job as an editor.
'I have to say, that guy's art style is perfect for the magical girl genre!'
She jotted down a few notes.
'But here, here, and herethe negative space and shading feel weird.'
They weren't major flaws, but they were noticeable enough to be distracting.
'Well, he's still a total rookie, so it's normal to have these kinds of mistakes. That's what I'm here for!'
Despite the substantial length, it was just a matter of putting in extra time.
Twenty minutes later, she had already reviewed most of the pages.
"There are some minor flaws, but his cliffhanger technique is amazing!"
Almost every 19th page ended with a suspenseful twist.
For instance, in the section she was currently reviewing, the climax seemed like it would be the upcoming battle.
However, the focus subtly shifted to Kyoko's resolve and decision to become a magical girl.
"Watching cute girls bonding really is satisfying!"
"Next up should be Kyoko's debut, right?"
"I wonder what her transformed look will be. Can't wait!"
Eager with anticipation, she turned to the next page.
'Huh? Is it still Senpai's turn?'
She saw Senpai wiping away tears, her gaze firm, smiling again.
Beside her was a bold line of inner monologue:
"I have nothing to fear anymore! Because... I'm no longer alone!!"
"What a shame," Mihari sighed. "Looks like Kyoko's transformation will have to wait for the next chapter."
"Well, Senpai's part isn't bad either!"
This flashback and dialogue, along with the monologue, made her character so much richer.
"It's not even about being the main character anymore but I just love this character!"
And what's better than seeing your favorite character shine?
Grinning, Mihari eagerly flipped the page.
Then...
...??
Her smile froze.
On the page was a small corner shaded in dark shadowsa headless corpse.
What?!
The previous page had boldly declared, "Nothing to fear anymore," and now this?!
Isn't this supposed to be a magical girl story?
What's with this sudden plot twist?!
She averted her gaze, took a few deep breaths, and finally calmed herself.
But when she looked back at the page, her lips trembled.
"Senpai!"
"Waaaah, my Senpai!!"
The unexpected blow hit hardit hurt, it hurt so much!
Curse you, Akifumi!
Where's the "love and hope" you promised?!
Drawing on her editorial professionalism, Mihari suppressed her turbulent emotions and quickly finished reviewing the remaining few pages.
Homura: "Remember thisbeing a magical girl is just like this."
...
"We knew nothing about magical girls..."
"The meaning of seeking miracles..."
"And the price we pay for them"
Mihari stared at the text, stunned, then fell into thought.
"So... that's what he was really trying to say?"
Cute girls bonding?
Glamorous transformations?
Adorable pets?
In hindsight, those were just her wishful thinking.
"Wait!"
She flipped back through the manuscript.
Seeing the sticky notes she had painstakingly written with little nitpicks, her face turned red.
Without a word, she tore them off, crumpled them, and tossed them into the trash.
"As expected of my mangaka! Thanks to my brilliant guidance, the work is flawless!"
Nodding in satisfaction, she couldn't help but sigh again.
"But this guy really gave me a tough problem!"
As painful as that sudden twist was, the innovation in the plot could redefine the entire magical girl genre!
If the rest of the plot didn't fall apart, this work was definitely a strong contender for the Tezuka Award!
'The Tezuka Award, huh...'
As one of Shueisha's most prestigious prizes, the honor it represents was undeniable.
A fiery gleam appeared in Mihari's eyes.
"But that's for the chief editors to worry about!" she said with a carefree smile.
Whether it became a finalist or a winner, she was excited to see how things would unfold.
And of course, the prize money for discovering such a gem would vary accordingly.
"Today was such a good day!"
What? Akifumi threatened and toyed with her?
Is just an mangaka bonding with their editors, and it has nothing to do with the threats!
[018] Eriri's Request
May 2nd.
Simply put, it's the fourth day of Golden Week.
Golden Week in Japan spans ten days from the end of April to early Maya glorious stretch of holidays strung together.
Naturally, most people take this chance to go on trips. But Eriri isn't one of them.
To the rest of the school, Sawamura Spencer Eriri might seem like the quintessential popular girl at the top of the social food chain.
But in reality? She's a seasoned otaku with over ten years of experience.
Travel?
Why would anyone choose that over staying at home with the AC on full blast, sipping on Coke, snacking, reading manga, and gaming?
For the past three days, that's exactly how Eriri had been spending her time. But today was different.
At the crack of dawn (or, well, 10 a.m.), Eriri put on a sun hat and a green tracksuit and headed out.
By 11:45 a.m.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...
The frantic doorbell ringing made it crystal clear how annoyed she was.
Standing in front of the familiar door, Eriri's face twisted in frustration.
"Don't tell me... he's still in bed at this hour!"
Sure, living alone during the holidays means enjoying some freedom, but still being asleep at this time? That's just lazy!
"If I'd known this would happen, I should've grabbed a spare key from mom."
Living alone comes with the occasional dumb mistake of forgetting your key.
So keeping a spare at a friend's place is perfectly reasonable.
Given the long-standing friendship between their families, mom holding onto it made total sense.
