Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 142 In Broad Daylight (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
Sure enough, the streets were deserted.

But Ai Hoshino soon discovered the existence of the boundary.

She stood in the middle of the road, looking far ahead.

“This dream is based on our memories, so things that aren’t in our memories don’t exist in this world, and the more unfamiliar something is, the more blurry it becomes,” Ai Hoshihara said.

Upon hearing Ai Hoshihara's words, Ken Sakamoto shook his head and said, "It's not a memory shared by either of us."

He walked to the apartment building's manager's office and looked inside; the room was completely empty.

“You’ve lived here for many years, you must have been to the caretaker’s office before,” Ken Sakamoto said, pointing inside. “If you had any memory of the caretaker’s office, it wouldn’t be a blank.”

"what……"

Ai Hoshino frowned and pondered for a moment, then pulled Ken Sakamoto along and headed towards the public park across from the apartment building.

It's called a park, but it's really just a small open space with some sports facilities installed inside.

Ai Hoshihara went straight to the park's restroom and pulled Ken Sakamoto into the women's restroom.

Just like what I saw in the administrator's room, it was completely blank.

Then she pulled Ken Sakamoto to the men's restroom next door. This time it was different; it was fully equipped.

“It’s your memory…” Ai Hoshihara looked at Ken Sakamoto and said, “So, all the places you’ve been to exist in this dream.”

"Luckily, I didn't go into the women's restroom next door..." Ken Sakamoto said.

“Then you’d be a pervert,” Hoshino Ai said.

“I think we’re pretty perverted right now…” Sakamoto Ken said. “I’ve only ever seen people like this, sitting together in a park’s men’s restroom, in my doujinshi.”

"What, you want some more doujinshi plots?" Ai Hoshihara raised an eyebrow and said.

"No, those kinds of scenes are just for watching; if you were to actually do it, you'd have to be careful about hygiene..."

"This is a dream, and it's actually quite clean."

"It's mainly a psychological issue..."

Ken Sakamoto pulled Ai Hoshihara outside and they arrived at a park bench not far away. He turned around and, without saying a word, pulled her into his arms.

"Is this fine?" Ai Hoshihara gently nibbled on Ken Sakamoto's ear and said.

"There's no such opportunity in real life, in broad daylight..."

Before Sakamoto Ken could finish speaking, his mouth was gagged, so he stopped talking.

……

A studio in Taitung District.

Inside, several assistants were working on their drafts. After receiving a message from Ken Sakamoto that morning, Keiko Kaji arrived as soon as possible to help him review the assistants' artwork.

Although she is not a professional illustrator, as an editor, she has good taste and was able to point out some problems in the artwork of the three new comic artists.

Around noon, the doorbell rang. Kaji Keiko thought it was Sakamoto Ken returning, but it turned out to be Natsume Mio.

Natsume Mio bowed slightly to Kaji Keiko and greeted her, "Kachi-san, good afternoon~"

"Mio, are you here to see Sakamoto-sensei?" Kaji Keiko asked.

"Mmm." Natsume Mio nodded repeatedly.

“Oh…” Kaji Keiko looked at Sakamoto Ken’s drawing table and said, “Sakamoto-sensei said he has to go out and won’t be in the studio.”

"Huh? Ah Jian went out?"

"Anyway, Mio, come in first."

After Natsume Mio entered the room, she looked at the empty table and felt a little disappointed.

She came specifically to see Ken Sakamoto, and even brought a bento box. Actually, she sent Ken Sakamoto a message before she came, but he didn't reply, and the message is still unread.

She assumed that Ah Jian was focused on drawing and hadn't seen the message because his phone was on silent, so she came over to give him a little surprise.

"Mio, did you bring a bento?" Keiko Kaji asked, noticing the bag in her hand. "Yes," Natsume Mio nodded, "I brought a bento for Ken, but he's not here..."

Keiko Kaji shook her head and said, "Sakamoto-sensei just told me that he was going out today and asked me to come to the studio early, but he didn't say when he would be back."

"Didn't you see Kaji-san this morning either?" Natsume Mio asked.

Keiko Kaji shook her head again.

"I see..." Natsume Mio placed the bento on Sakamoto Ken's desk and picked up her phone to check it.

The message remains unread.

“What would he do…” Natsume Mio frowned, her mind racing with all sorts of possibilities.

Immediately after clicking into Mikazuki Haruna's chat interface, Natsume Mio considered for a moment and then sent her a message.

Natsume Mio: "I'm at Ken's studio again."

Less than two minutes later, the other party sent a reply.

Haruna Mikazuki: "Ken was drawing, why did you bother him again!"

Mio Natsume: "/smile"

Exit the chat with her.

It's certain that Ah Jian wasn't with her, and she didn't know where Ah Jian was.

Then don't worry.

It could be classmates or friends, which is normal.

Natsume Mio stayed in the studio until the afternoon, and Sakamoto Ken still hadn't returned, which meant he must have been having lunch outside.

I clearly prepared a bento box...

Mio Natsume said to Keiko Kaji, "Kaji-san, would you like a bento?"

Keiko Kaji covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "Okay, then I'll try the bento that Mio prepared for Sakamoto-sensei."

"Anyway, he didn't come back at noon..."

Mio Natsume handed one of the lunches to Keiko Kaji, while the three assistants went to the convenience store next door to buy bento boxes. Ken Sakamoto would then reimburse them for their lunch expenses based on the receipts.

Since there was no need to rush to meet a deadline, there was plenty of time to rest after lunch. The three assistants took out their own comic books to read, while Keiko Kaji laid her chair flat, intending to take a nap.

Sitting in Sakamoto Ken's chair, even though there were quite a few people in the room, Natsume Mio felt rather lonely because he wasn't there.

She went upstairs and saw that there were actually five rooms in the building, but four of them were empty. The only one with things in it was the bedroom on the third floor.

Although there were things placed there, they were actually just bedding laid out on the tatami mats, and a low cabinet and table in the corner, which looked like they had been moved from an old apartment.

This is way too rudimentary. Ah Jian really doesn't care about anything except comics.

But what is he going to do with those three rooms on the second floor? Isn't it a bit of a waste to just leave them empty...?

Natsume Mio sat on Sakamoto Ken's futon, her mind wandering through various thoughts.

From where Ah Jian went today, to thinking about when I'll be back later, and then to my preparations for casting the voice actor for the animation...

Before I knew it, I was lying down.

Hugging Sakamoto Ken's pillow in his arms, he buried his head in it and took a deep breath.

When she was at home, she would hug her pillow tightly, imagining that Ah Jian's scent lingered on it.

Now, the pillow in my arms truly carries Ah Jian's scent.

A reassuring aura.

She took another deep breath and hugged it tightly, as if she were really hugging Ah Jian.

Then, I just fell asleep.

　It's the last day of October, please vote with your monthly tickets!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)