Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 146 Sakamoto-sensei is probably sleeping with a fan.
Ken Sakamoto opened the studio door.

"Please come in."

He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter; Ai Hoshihara stepped inside.

Inside the studio, Keiko Kaji was having a lively discussion about the plot with her three assistants when they heard a noise at the door and all four of them looked up at the same time.

"Sakamoto-sensei, you're back... Huh?"

Keiko Kaji's gaze fell on Ai Hoshihara after Sakamoto finished working out, and a look of surprise flashed across her face.

She didn't know the woman, but a certain intuition told her that the woman had a special aura.

Ai Hoshino was wearing cotton casual clothes that she had chosen for comfort when she went to the lab from home, but her elite aura was very obvious.

Keiko Kaji stood up, and her three assistants, Nobuyuki Ryu, Tomoharu Kaku, and Tatsuya Endo, also stopped what they were doing.

Sakamoto Ken seemed oblivious to the change in atmosphere in the studio. He looked around with a perfectly measured expression of confusion on his face.

"Huh? Kaji-san, aren't they here?"

"Them?" Keiko Kaji paused for a moment before realizing who Ken Sakamoto was referring to. "Oh... they went out together and haven't come back yet."

This is what I just agreed on with Ken Sakamoto on LINE.

Sakamoto Ken's tone sounded slightly disappointed: "I see..."

Keiko Kaji pointed towards the kitchen counter: "Mio-chan even brought you a bento box for lunch, but you haven't come back yet, so it was just me and her eating together."

Ken Sakamoto hummed in response but didn't say anything more.

Ai Hoshino stood quietly to the side, her eyes subtly scanning every corner of the studio.

Of course, she also listened to what Keiko Kaji had to say.

My gaze fell on the kitchen counter, where there were indeed two clean lunch boxes.

It seems that Ken Sakamoto did not lie completely.

At least, those two women did come at noon.

“Oh, right, Kaji-san,” Sakamoto Ken then turned to the side and introduced Hoshihara Ai to everyone, “This is someone I just met… um, an enthusiastic reader.”

"I was just browsing around the bookstore this morning when I unexpectedly ran into a reader who recognized me. She was very interested in my comic studio, so I brought her here for a visit."

"reader?"

Kaji Keiko and her three assistants were all taken aback.

This woman, who seems to have a very strong presence, is actually a reader of Sakamoto-sensei?
Ai Hoshihara chimed in, echoing Ken Sakamoto's performance: "I'm a fan of Mr. Sakamoto and I really love his work."

Ryuki and his two companions immediately greeted them respectfully: "Hello, hello! We are Sakamoto-sensei's drawing assistants!"

"Hello." Ai Hoshihara smiled and nodded, her gaze sweeping over the three men. The three men were nothing special, and her gaze finally settled on Keiko Kaji.

"You must be Ms. Kaji Keiko, Sakamoto-sensei's editor? I heard Sakamoto-sensei mention you earlier."

“Haha, yes, yes, you talked a lot about comics?” Keiko Kaji said.

Ai Hoshino stepped into the studio, looking around at the equipment with great interest, and said in a curious tone, "So this is what a manga studio looks like. It's so professional."

"Take a look around."

Before Ken Sakamoto could finish speaking, Ai Hoshihara had already walked around the studio.

Since her purpose was to meet the other two girls, Ai Hoshihara wasn't really interested in the equipment in the studio.

She checked the time and said, "Alright, then I won't disturb everyone's work any longer. Thank you, Sakamoto-sensei, for showing me around."

As she spoke, she turned and walked towards the entrance.

He walked to the door, then turned back to look at Ken Sakamoto: "Sakamoto-sensei, would you like to come out with me for a moment?"

This tone...

Keiko Kaji and her three assistants exchanged another glance.

This doesn't sound like the tone a typical fan would use when talking to a comic artist...

It's more like... a superior giving instructions to a subordinate?

But none of them dared to utter a sound; they just watched silently, their ears perked up.

Ken Sakamoto remained calm and nodded, "Okay."

Ken Sakamoto followed Ai Hoshihara out of the studio. The door slammed shut behind them.

The two stood in the quiet corridor. The "fan" expression on Hoshino Ai's face vanished instantly, and she squinted at Sakamoto Ken.

"Didn't you say they were in the studio?" Ai Hoshino's voice carried a hint of accusation.

Ken Sakamoto shrugged helplessly: "I didn't know they went out either. You heard what the editor said."

Ai Hoshihara stared into Ken Sakamoto's eyes for a few seconds, seemingly trying to determine the truthfulness of his words.

"Really?" Ai Hoshihara leaned closer to Ken Sakamoto and said, "Could it be that you deliberately timed this so I wouldn't see them?"

"That's not true," Ken Sakamoto vehemently denied.

"I'll trust you for now." Ai Hoshino didn't dwell on the matter any further, crossed her arms, and said, "Anyway, I already know the address of your studio."

“You are welcome anytime,” Ken Sakamoto said.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run into those two here later?" Hoshino Ai raised an eyebrow and said.

Ken Sakamoto shook his head, his tone calm: "We'll see when we run into each other, and you'll help me anyway."

"help you?"

“Well, you’re the older sister, you definitely won’t stoop to their level,” Sakamoto Ken said.

"See if I hold it against you or not." Hoshino Ai strode towards the parking lot. "I have to go back and continue analyzing the data. I might need your cooperation in the experiment again soon."

“I’ll fully cooperate.” Ken Sakamoto nodded with a smile. “Just next time… Ai, take it easy on me, don’t exploit me so much.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Hoshihara paused in her tracks, turned back to look at Ken Sakamoto, and a sly smile curled at the corner of her lips: "It's your fault for being incompetent, and you're blaming me?"

Ken Sakamoto: "I've decided to start working out."

“Then let me see the results of your fitness journey,” Ai Hoshihara said.

After Ai Hoshihara finished speaking, she didn't linger. Ken Sakamoto didn't follow her, but watched her figure disappear around the corner before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Today is over.

Moreover, bringing her to the studio for a tour was also to prepare for what would happen when they returned.

When Ken Sakamoto returned to the studio, Keiko Kaji and her three assistants all cast a complex look at him, a mixture of curiosity, admiration, and gossip.

Endo Tatsuya and the others didn't say anything, after all, Sakamoto Ken was their boss, but in their hearts they were all thinking that the woman from earlier definitely had a more than just a simple fan-writer relationship with Sakamoto-sensei.

Sakamoto-sensei is probably sleeping with fans...

They have professional ethics too; they can just think about these things in their hearts and silently admire them, but they won't say it out loud.

After all, they themselves had such thoughts to some extent, but... their level was far from Sakamoto-sensei's.

Kenjiro Sakamoto ignored their gazes and walked straight back to his seat.

He calmly asked, "Gentlemen, where are we in today's original artwork?"

Kaji Keiko quickly picked up a few sheets of paper beside her: "Seven pages have already been completed. Ryu-san and the others are quite efficient."

Tatsuya Endo chimed in, "It's mainly because Sakamoto-sensei's storyboards are very clear, making them easy to draw."

“Okay.” Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, “Don’t overwork yourselves, everyone. We don’t need to rush to finish the manuscript.”

"Yes Yes Yes……"

The three assistants responded, but Ken Sakamoto had already focused his attention on the manuscript in front of him and continued drawing the storyboard for the next scene.

……

At that moment, Ai Hoshihara started her black Toyota and drove smoothly out of the parking lot.

Just as she was about to drive onto the main road, an eye-catching red Porsche turned in from the main road.

The two vehicles met at a narrow intersection.

Ai Hoshino didn't pay much attention; this kind of car is commonly seen in Tokyo. She turned the steering wheel and drove onto the main road.

The red Porsche slowly turned into the alley and finally stopped in the parking space where Ai Hoshihara had just parked.

Both car doors opened simultaneously, and Mikazuki Haruna and Natsume Mio stepped out of the car.

(End of this chapter)