What Ryoka Konoe hadn’t expected was that Tsukasa Higashino never showed up for the art club that afternoon.
So for the rest of the day, she could only stare blankly at the empty seat beside her, occasionally scratching her head as she sat there clutching her palette and brushes in a daze.
Of course, Tsukasa had never planned to appear in the art room today.
He had an appointment with Koharu Hosokawa at Urashima Publishing to discuss what would happen next with Ring.
So the moment classes ended, he left school and headed straight for Hitotsubashi in Chiyoda.
Chiyoda had long been one of Tokyo’s political and economic centers.
The Hitotsubashi area, in particular, was home to a dense concentration of newspapers and publishing companies.
Urashima Publishing wasn’t the only one.
Other major publishers on the same level, including Iwakado Publishing and Mazuki Shoten, also had their headquarters in the Hitotsubashi area.
When Tsukasa entered the first floor of Urashima Publishing, he was greeted by a smiling receptionist behind the front desk.
He walked over and introduced himself directly.
“I’m Tsukasa Higashino.
I have an appointment with Editor Koharu Hosokawa of Urashima Publishing.”
“Please fill out this form.”
The receptionist checked the day’s schedule, then handed him a sheet of paper.
Tsukasa gave it a quick glance.
It was nothing unusual—just a standard visitor form asking for his name and contact information.
“By the way, I still don’t know your name.
I’m Tsukasa Higashino.”
He smiled as he filled out the form.
“Hm?”
The receptionist blinked, clearly not expecting him to ask.
“I might be coming here pretty often in the future.
It’s always better to know a familiar face.”
Tsukasa handed the completed form back to her, then added with a grin, “Besides, you’re so pretty that asking your name seems perfectly reasonable, doesn’t it?”
Amused by his playful remark, the receptionist laughed.
“You can call me Ms.
Uzaki, Higashino-kun.”
After a little more casual conversation, Tsukasa waved goodbye to Ms.
Uzaki, with whom he had already managed to become somewhat familiar, and finally headed inside.
This was simply another part of dealing with people.
If things went well, he would probably be visiting Urashima Publishing fairly often from now on.
Filling out the same visitor form every single time would be a nuisance.
Tsukasa figured that if he brought Ms.
Uzaki some fruit the next time he came, they would probably be properly acquainted after that.
But that could wait.
Right now, the important thing was settling everything concerning Ring.
After entering the editorial department and giving his name, Tsukasa was shown into a small meeting booth.
There were several similar booths nearby, where editors and manga artists were engaged in conversations of their own.
Some artists were celebrating after winning Weekly Shiver’s Newcomer Award.
Others sat there looking utterly crushed because the popularity of their manga had fallen.
Of all the conversations around him, the one that left the strongest impression on Tsukasa was between a middle-aged manga artist and his editor.
“Please, Editor Oshima.
I really need this serialization. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
I have two children at home, and I still have to pay their school fees.”
The middle-aged artist suddenly rose to his feet, overwhelmed with emotion.
His eyes were red, his nose twitched, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had gone pale.
There was still a light burning in his eyes, as though he were desperately trying to tell the editor—
Just give me one more chance.
One more chance, and I can change my fate.
But the male editor opened his mouth and found himself unable to say a single word.
His fingers merely pressed down on the artist’s manuscript before slowly tightening around it.
He remained silent.
That wordless silence gradually calmed the middle-aged artist.
The fire flickering in his eyes slowly died.
It was as though something had been pulled out of him, leaving nothing behind.
He was still the same man sitting there.
And yet, somehow, he no longer looked like the same person.
The middle-aged artist sank back into his chair in a daze.
Only then did he finally understand.
This had never been about whether his editor was willing to give him another chance to change his fate.
The world simply didn’t care about his fate in the first place.
That was reality.
Real life was never as kind as manga, novels, or anime.
This was the adult world.
Dreams and destiny often had very little to do with it.
Countless people sold their dreams simply to pay for food, utilities, and the ordinary necessities of life.
There was nothing unusual about that.
This middle-aged manga artist was not the first person in the industry to face such a choice.
And he certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Just then, a voice came from beside Tsukasa.
“That’s Tamura-sensei and Editor Oshima.”
Tsukasa turned his head.
A young female editor stood nearby with a stack of manga manuscripts in her arms, looking solemnly toward Tamura and Oshima.
“Tamura-sensei was called in today to discuss the cancellation of his series.
His manga has ranked fifth or sixth from the bottom three times in a row, so the magazine has decided to force it to conclude.”
The young editor looked at Tsukasa.
“The series taking its place in the magazine is yours, Higashino-sensei—Ring.”
Koharu Hosokawa felt rather strange as she said those words.
More than anything, she was surprised.
No matter how she looked at him, Tsukasa was clearly still in his teens.
He was even wearing his high school uniform.
This boy had created Ring?
For a moment, Koharu genuinely wondered whether there had been some kind of mistake.
She sat down, poured Tsukasa a cup of coffee, and introduced herself.
“I’m Tsukasa Higashino.
Nice to meet you.”
They shook hands, completing their formal introduction.
After studying him for another moment, Koharu finally spoke.
“Before we discuss the details, there’s one thing I’d like to confirm.
Higashino-sensei, was Ring created entirely by you?”
Considering the quality of the manuscript, she simply couldn’t imagine a teenager having enough free time to produce something like that alone.
“Yes.
I created it by myself.”
Tsukasa had no idea what Koharu was thinking, so he simply nodded.
“That entire manuscript, at that level of quality, was done by you alone?”
Koharu found the situation increasingly difficult to believe.
“Yes.”
Tsukasa nodded again.
“Have you ever drawn manga professionally or even seriously…before this?”
“No.
This is my first time.”
“Uh…”
Tsukasa looked perfectly calm, without the slightest trace of guilt or hesitation.
Koharu couldn’t help opening her mouth in disbelief.
His first manga?
He had never done this before, and his very first attempt had produced Ring?
Could genuine geniuses actually exist?
The thought crossed Koharu’s mind as she took a sip of coffee and decided not to keep interrogating him.
Tsukasa was a rookie manga artist.
She was a rookie editor.
In a strange way, perhaps the two of them were perfectly matched.
“All right.
I’ve reviewed the first chapter of Ring, and there are no major problems.
It has already passed the serialization meeting, so official serialization can begin next week.”
Koharu flipped through the Ring manuscript as she explained.
“Our offer is eleven thousand yen per manuscript page.
Is there anything you’d like to discuss regarding that?”
She waited.
But after quite some time passed without Tsukasa answering, Koharu instinctively raised her head.
At some point, Tamura—the manga artist whose series had just been canceled—had come to stand beside them.
Oh no.
Koharu’s heart jumped.
After all, it was Tsukasa’s Ring that had taken the serialization slot previously occupied by Tamura’s manga.
If Tamura had overheard their conversation, would he lose his temper and attack Tsukasa?
In an instant, the atmosphere became tense and painfully still.