Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

Chapter 112 Year-End Party [Part 2]

After finishing speaking, Masaya Sakurai went to get food and sit down with his wife and daughter, just like he used to.

Chinatsu followed her mother, holding a plate, and waved to Eri Aragaki. Eri Aragaki gave her a thumbs up.

"Sister, why aren't we at the same table?!"

At that moment, Erina grabbed Eri Aragaki's hand from the side and held onto her wrist tightly. "I saw our names over there, several tables away from you."

"They should be categorized as popular cartoonists, assistants, editors, and regular cartoonists, don't worry."

Eri Aragaki patted the back of her hand, "And Ayane and Akane are with you too—if anything else happens, you can just come and call me. Ayane and Akane, you can relax and find something to eat. We can also get together and chat later."

Anyway, you can walk around the buffet area freely; you're not nailed to a chair.

17

"understood."

Ayane Takeda and Akane Natsume weren't that nervous, and said...

Ayane Takeda is actually a social terrorist. She is the kind of person who is very outgoing and can chat with any customer when she works at the convenience store. She is also an active member of the school club.

However, this only applies to peers and ordinary people.

She might feel a little timid in this kind of setting and with popular cartoonists around.

But now, when she heard that the table she was assigned to as an assistant was filled with young people around her age, she wasn't so afraid anymore.

Natsume Akane, on the other hand, is relatively self-centered. She is not afraid of socializing, but she is also too lazy to socialize and only likes to interact with people she likes.

She wasn't nervous in this situation; she just didn't intend to talk to unimportant people.

Erina was quite scared, after all, she was still just a high school student.

In a setting filled with adults, and all of them prominent figures in the comic book industry, she was a little unsure of what to do with her hands.

"Let's go get some food together."

Eri Aragaki reassured Erina by gently removing Erina's hand from her arm and leading them toward the buffet area. "Eat first, you won't be nervous if you're full."

However, when they got to the buffet table, they saw that there were quite a few people in several places.

A few people were gathered around several food tables, but they weren't fighting over food; they were just standing and chatting.

However, it wasn't because they fenced off the area for food, but rather—

"Hojo-sensei, I'm a fan of City Hunter. I've been watching your works since I was a child."

"Araki-sensei, could you take a picture with me later? I brought my camera."

"Kishimoto-sensei————"

Those famous and popular cartoonists were chased around and talked to by ordinary cartoonists and assistants who were obviously their fans.

A young man stood in front of Hojo Tsukasa, holding an autograph board, his face flushed as he spoke.

Another manga artist wearing glasses was shaking hands with Hirohiko Araki, and then excitedly rubbed his palms together.

But the cartoonists and assistants who came here were clearly not those fanatical fans; they were quite sensible.

No one screamed, no one pushed or shoved, and no one held their phone up to take pictures in people's faces.

After all, they are all figures in the comic book artist circle.

Everyone waits for the other person to finish talking before stepping forward, or stands quietly to the side and listens for a while before looking for an opportunity to speak.

Besides, this is a year-end party, so everyone is here to get to know each other.

So Hojo Tsukasa, Araki-sensei, Kishimoto Masashi, and the others didn't act arrogantly or look down on them at all; on the contrary—

They started chatting directly.

Hojo Tsukasa even added a quick sketch of Ryo Saeba's head to the other party's autograph board. When the young manga artist walked back with the autograph board, he was practically floating.

It's not just these few popular manga artists; many new manga artists, such as Tsugumi Ohba, Ken Koen, Tite Kubo, and Keisuke Itagaki, have also come to them for advice.

Tsugumi Ohba and Ken Koen stood by the dining table, one picking up sushi and the other pouring drinks, while three or four people around them took turns talking.

Eri Aragaki peeked out again to look for Oda. Her gaze swept around the venue and she quickly found Oda, the one Masaya Sakurai had mentioned "wearing a fish head mask".

That fish-head mask was so conspicuous in the crowd that it was hard not to spot it, but—

But she saw a familiar face—

Akira Toriyama.

Wasn't it said that Akira Toriyama wouldn't be coming?

The words Masaya Sakurai had just said flashed through her mind: "It seems like I've only been here once in recent years, back in 04."

Next to Oda and Akira Toriyama, there was a familiar face to Eri Aragaki: Masahiko Ibaraki, whom she had just met.

The three of them stood together, with Masahiko Ibaraki tilting his head and talking to Akira Toriyama.

Akira Toriyama laughed as he listened. Oda was wearing a fish head mask so his expression couldn't be seen, but he had his arms crossed over his chest and his body leaning back slightly, looking very relaxed.

Meanwhile, two or three new manga artists and their assistants were also working alongside Oda and Akira Toriyama.

A young female manga artist stood in front of Akira Toriyama, holding an autographed plaque, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"Akira Toriyama, I am a big fan of Dragon Ball."

"Oda-sensei, I really like One Piece."

This confirms it; it really is Akira Toriyama.

Eri Aragaki stood by the buffet area, holding an empty plate, gazing at Akira Toriyama's face, a face she had seen countless times in her previous life's marketing videos.

He was wearing a simple dark sweater and looked quite relaxed and friendly.

However, looking at the situation over there, Akira Toriyama and Oda were surrounded by three or four people, and Masahiko Ibaraki was still standing there.

And then there was a cartoonist wearing glasses walking over there, who also seemed to want to say hello.

After all—Akira Toriyama currently holds a very high position.

After Osamu Tezuka and Fujiko Fujio, he is the face of the Japanese manga industry and its greatest senior.

Even within Japan, there's a prevailing view that Osamu Tei is the first-generation god of manga, Akira Toriyama is the second-generation god of manga, and Oda is the third.

This clearly demonstrates Akira Toriyama's high status and great influence.

Now that Akira Toriyama has made a rare appearance at the year-end party, it's clear that Eri Aragaki won't be the only one to send her greetings.

Eri Aragaki decided not to rush and would go to Akira Toriyama later to ask for his autograph and a photo.

Anyway, the year-end party has just begun, and Akira Toriyama won't disappear immediately. It's not too late to go when there aren't so many people around him.

Now----

Let's find something to eat with Erina and the others first.

Eri Aragaki turned her attention away from Akira Toriyama and looked at the long table in front of her, which was covered with food. The aroma of fried chicken and grilled steak mingled with the buttery scent of French desserts.

They then went to get their food; Erina took a few hand-rolled sushi and a piece of fried pork cutlet.

Ayane Takeda hesitated for a moment at the dessert section, then finally picked up a slice of cheesecake and a macaron, while Akane Natsume took a few slices of salmon sashimi and some salad.

Everyone then chose the food they liked.

There's really nothing to worry about, since it's a self-service event and it's obvious that there aren't many restrictions for the intergenerational gathering.

In other words, there is no limit to how much, how many times, or how much you can eat; there is no need to rush to take a lot of food at once.

Just as Eri Aragaki reached over and used tongs to pick up a piece of steak, she walked away...

We encountered a little problem.

That is————

"Hello, are you Teacher Who Doesn't Eat Pears?"

A very unfamiliar voice suddenly appeared in Eri Aragaki's ear.

Eri Aragaki turned her head and saw—uh—it was a man she didn't recognize.

He was wearing glasses, had an average appearance, and was thin. He was about the same height as Eri Aragaki, and was dressed in a "trendy" style that was common among Japanese men at the time, which made him look even more ordinary.

But after all, those who appear here are probably fellow cartoonists, and she might be dealing with a popular author she doesn't know.

So she immediately replied, "Yes, you are—"

"I am Hideaki Sorachi, the author of 'Gintama'."

Hideaki Sorachi said with a grin, "Riko-sensei is so beautiful, even more beautiful than in the magazine photos. She's already beautiful in the photos, but I didn't expect her to be even more elegant in person."

Eri Aragaki suddenly realized, "So it's Hideaki Sorachi, the author of Gintama!"

Hideaki Sorachi has always been an author who doesn't like to appear in public; people are probably more familiar with his gorilla portrait.

Now, Eri Aragaki finally saw what he looked like in person.

All I can say is that he really does resemble Gintoki from his manga, mainly because of his deadpan eyes under his glasses.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Faced with Hideaki Sorachi's praise, Eri Aragaki could only reply.

"Who are these people?"

Hideaki Sorachi then looked at Erina and the others next to Eri Aragaki, his gaze sweeping over the three girls, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.

Erina, Ayane Takeda, and Akane Natsume all glanced at them curiously but didn't say anything.

At this point, Eri Aragaki finally began to guess Hideaki Sorachi's thoughts.

Hideaki Sorachi suddenly came over and struck up a conversation, immediately complimenting her on her beauty. Then he stared at the three girls beside her, looking around. He was probably a single male manga artist of his age, and he seemed to have some designs on these pretty girls.

Eri Aragaki felt a little helpless, but it was actually quite normal, wasn't it? Men would take the initiative to strike up a conversation with a pretty girl.

Moreover, they were probably the youngest-looking women present; the others, like Akira Amano and several female manga artists specializing in shoujo manga, all looked to be around thirty years old.

Having lived as a man in her past life, she understood this feeling all too well—seeing an attractive young man in a social setting and wanting to...

This is especially important because it's a year-end party for Shueisha, and everyone here is a colleague in the industry.

The stereotype of cartoonists is that they are homebodies and have difficulty finding partners, so it seems that people in the same profession are indeed more likely to be together.

Because they are both cartoonists, their hobbies and jobs are highly similar, making it easier for them to understand each other.

For example, Naoko Takeuchi and Yoshihiro Togashi are typical examples.

But when it happened to her, she felt uncomfortable.

It's not that she has any problem with Hideaki Sorachi as a person; she was quite fond of watching "Gintama" in her previous life, and could be considered a fan of Hideaki Sorachi.

But—it's just pure discomfort—

First of all, there's her own personality—her hobbies, once set in her previous life, haven't changed since she became a girl in this life.

She also dislikes being stabbed in the back.

Secondly—to put it bluntly, she's possessive of her food.

"These are my assistants."

Eri Aragaki said it casually, her tone becoming somewhat indifferent.

However, Hideaki Sorachi remained smiling, displaying an incredibly shameless attitude, showing no sign of giving up, and was about to continue the conversation with Eri Aragaki.

But at that moment—

"This must be Teacher Aki, the one who doesn't eat pears—Aki? You're here too?"

She looked up and saw Oda and Akira Toriyama, both wearing fish-head masks, walking towards her.

Oda's fish head mask still looks strange no matter how you look at it, and Akira Toriyama is walking next to him.

The two walked through the aisle between the buffet area and several tables, heading towards Eri Aragaki and Hideaki Sorachi. Oda, with his chin raised by his fish-head mask, nodded towards Eri Aragaki.

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