“Editor Hosokawa, how did your discussion with Higashino-sensei go?”
The moment Editor-in-Chief Urashima saw Koharu Hosokawa return, he couldn’t resist asking.
It should have sounded like a superior checking on a subordinate’s work, but with the television beside him still wrapped in a massive iron chain, the scene was so ridiculous that it was difficult to take him completely seriously.
“Everything’s settled.
He already has the later plot worked out quite thoroughly, so I don’t think there’ll be any major problems with the serialization.”
Koharu answered first, then hesitated before looking at him again.
“Chief, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hm?
What is it?” Urashima tilted his head.
Koharu was one of the promising young editors the publishing house had recruited.
She was enthusiastic about her work, comfortable dealing with strangers, and—most importantly—extremely confident.
So whenever there was something he could reasonably help her with, Urashima was willing to lend a hand.
“Are rookie manga artists nowadays all like this?
Do they not need guidance from an editor?
No assistants either?
Can they really produce good manga entirely on their own?”
After meeting Tsukasa Higashino, Koharu had fallen into a deep crisis of professional confidence.
“Huh?”
Urashima stared at her.
“Every manga artist has to grow alongside an editor.
Nobody can suddenly sprout wings and fly into the sky all by themselves.”
“But what if someone was born with wings and really can fly?”
Koharu looked up at him in confusion, sounding completely serious.
“That’s impossible.”
Urashima gave an awkward laugh.
He had seen Tsukasa from a distance earlier.
The boy was incredibly young.
And young men like that often loved putting on a brave face.
Tsukasa had probably discovered that he possessed some talent for manga and then casually told Koharu things like, “I don’t need an editor,” or, “I don’t need assistants to help with backgrounds.”
But how could that possibly work?
It wasn’t that Urashima looked down on Tsukasa.
Quite the opposite—he thought very highly of him.
After all, producing a work as strong as Ring at such a young age was remarkable.
But precisely because Ring was so good, Urashima understood just how unrealistic it was to maintain that quality without editorial guidance or assistants to save time on backgrounds and other labor-intensive work.
Maintaining a weekly serialization at Urashima Publishing was brutally demanding.
Prioritize quality, and your speed suffered.
Prioritize speed, and your quality suffered.
And Tsukasa thought he could casually handle everything himself while preserving Ring’s current quality?
How could that possibly happen?
Urashima concluded that Tsukasa was simply too young.
He still possessed the pride and stubbornness of youth, which was probably why he had spoken so confidently to Koharu.
In that case, perhaps the boy needed a small setback to dull those unnecessary sharp edges and help him mature.
Urashima quickly came up with what he considered an excellent plan.
He cleared his throat.
“Three days before Higashino-sensei’s next deadline, call him and ask how much of the manuscript he’s finished.”
“Without manga assistants, there’s no way he’ll be able to complete a high-quality manuscript entirely on his own.
Once you ask about his progress, he’ll realize his mistake.
He’ll probably apologize, and then he’ll finally understand that he needs your guidance and the help of assistants.”
The more Urashima thought about it, the better the plan seemed.
He could already picture Tsukasa awkwardly apologizing to Koharu over the phone.
It would knock some of the young man’s excessive pride down a peg and make him more mature, while also restoring Koharu’s confidence in herself as an editor.
Two birds with one stone.
Urashima considered the plan from every angle and grew increasingly pleased with himself.
For a moment, he almost fancied himself another Hannibal Barca, having just devised a brilliant strategy to outmaneuver his opponent.
“Really?
That does sound pretty good.”
Koharu immediately understood what he meant.
If this could make Tsukasa appreciate the importance of editors and manga assistants, then it would certainly be worthwhile.
And giving him three days before she called meant he would still have plenty of uninterrupted time to work on Ring.
Koharu’s confidence instantly returned.
Her spirits rose again.
In a few days, she would call Tsukasa and make him understand that an editor wasn’t someone he could simply brush aside.
Even if she was only a rookie editor!
The following day, during lunch break, Tsukasa sat at his desk thinking about the upcoming chapters of Ring.
The manuscript for Chapter Two was almost finished, but Weekly Shiver was, naturally, a weekly magazine.
That meant he also needed to plan the storyboards and pacing for the chapters that would follow.
He ate while thinking, only to hear Ataru Ushirohara call to him from nearby.
“Higashino.”
“Hm?
What is it, Ushirohara?”
Unlike usual, Ushirohara wasn’t glued to his girlfriend today.
Instead, he was staring at Tsukasa with an expression of utter disbelief.
After a moment, he patted Tsukasa on the shoulder and spoke in a meaningful tone.
“Higashino, I’m glad you managed to get over your breakup, but I never realized you were this kind of guy.
You just broke up with Asami Manaka, and you’re already dating Yumi Takahashi from Class D?”
Huh?
What was this about now?
Who was Yumi Takahashi?
Tsukasa searched his memory and confirmed that the name meant absolutely nothing to him.
Amused, he asked, “Ushirohara, who exactly is this Yumi Takahashi you’re talking about?”
“Still pretending you don’t know?” Ushirohara clicked his tongue, completely convinced Tsukasa was playing dumb.
“Anyway, Takahashi is looking for you.
See?
She’s right outside.”
Tsukasa followed the direction of Ushirohara’s gaze.
A girl with a long ponytail was peeking into the classroom from the doorway.
She had neat, attractive features and an unusually upright, righteous air about her.
Her ponytail swayed behind her whenever she moved, making her look energetic and full of youthful vitality. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Tsukasa looked at her once.
Nope.
Definitely didn’t know her.
Still, since she had apparently come looking for him, he couldn’t very well ignore her.
Tsukasa stood and walked toward the door.
Yumi Takahashi had noticed the boy sitting in the corner quite some time ago.
The moment she saw him approaching, however, her expression abruptly hardened.
She shifted her stance like someone preparing for a fight and demanded,
“Are you Tsukasa Higashino?”
Hm?
Why did that sound exactly like something a movie villain would say before attacking the protagonist?
Tsukasa blinked, then smiled and shook his head.
“No.
I’m not Tsukasa Higashino.”
This girl had appeared out of nowhere looking as though she wanted to fight him on sight.
Why would he willingly invite that kind of trouble?
“Huh?
You’re not Tsukasa Higashino?”
Yumi immediately looked back into the classroom in frustration.
“Where did that sneaky, despicable bastard run off to?
He isn’t even staying in his own classroom.
He must have a seriously shady personality.”
In the space of a few sentences, she had already completed a full character assessment of Tsukasa without ever realizing she was talking to him.
Tsukasa, standing beside her and listening to himself being insulted, merely smiled.
Then he asked with impeccable politeness, “What do you need from Higashino?
I’m a friend of his.
If you have something to say, I can pass the message along.”
“You’re friends with Tsukasa Higashino?”
Yumi turned back toward him and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
She had come here today to avenge Ryoka Konoe.
For the past two days, Ryoka had been distracted and restless.
When Yumi finally asked what was wrong, the problem somehow led back to Tsukasa Higashino.
That tiny amount of information was more than enough for Yumi’s imagination to produce several million words’ worth of melodramatic romance.
Perhaps Ryoka had been toyed with and abandoned by a scumbag.
Perhaps she had been bullied and was too frightened to tell anyone.
Whatever ridiculous, soap-opera-like scenario Yumi could imagine, she immediately applied it to Ryoka.
Once she had finished constructing the entire fictional tragedy in her head, she suddenly slapped a hand onto the bewildered Ryoka’s shoulder and solemnly declared,
“I’ll get revenge for you!”
And so she had marched all the way to Class A.
After spending all this time here, however, she had failed to find Tsukasa Higashino and had only managed to locate one of his friends.
That made her furious.
Not because she hadn’t found Tsukasa.
She was angry because she had wasted so much time that she hadn’t even gotten to eat lunch.