Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

Upon seeing Eri Aragaki's personal number card, Masaya Sakurai immediately felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I was rude."

He quickly apologized and said, "Please come with me to the reception room."

He led Eri Aragaki through the editorial department to the Shueisha Club guest room at the end of the corridor.

Masaya Sakurai gestured for Eri Aragaki to sit down, then asked, "Aragaki-sensei, do you prefer coffee or tea?"

Eri Aragaki chose tea without hesitation. "Tea, thank you."

She doesn't really like coffee because it reminds her of the sleep-deprived days she spent as a beast of burden in her past life.

As someone who would die if she didn't sleep, she absolutely hated this kind of life.

Masaya Sakurai walked to the tea station in the corner, made a cup of tea, and brought it over.

He placed the teacup in front of Eri Aragaki, then sat down in the chair opposite her.

Masaya Sakurai opened the folder he had brought and took out a document from it.

He immediately got into the swing of things and said in a businesslike manner, "Aragaki-sensei, today I mainly want to explain to you the rewards for being selected for the Tezuka Award and the subsequent serialization matters."

Eri Aragaki nodded.

"First of all, the prize money for being selected is two million yen."

Masaya Sakurai said, "The prize money will be deposited into your bank account within two weeks after you sign the prize confirmation form. There will also be a certain amount of tax deducted, so please make sure to check this at that time."

Eri Aragaki, however, paid no attention to what followed and simply nodded perfunctorily, saying, "Okay."

"Secondly, and most importantly, selected authors will have the opportunity to have a work serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump."

Masaya Sakurai continued, "The specific serialization time, length, and content all need to be negotiated and determined by both parties."

He took out a document containing the standard terms of a serialization contract.

"Let me first tell you about the basic requirements for serialization."

Masaya Sakurai pointed to each item in the document and explained them one by one—

"First, weekly serialization requires a draft of about nineteen pages per week, which is a lot of work. Many newcomers can't adapt to it at first, so we require that at least three to five chapters be prepared before starting serialization."

"Secondly, the standard fee starts at 12,000 yen per page. The fee will be gradually increased based on reader feedback and popularity ranking after serialization. The higher the ranking, the higher the fee."

"Third, the royalty rate for standalone books is 10%, which means that for every standalone book sold, you can receive 10% of the book price as royalties."

"Fourth, the copyright of the work belongs to you personally, but Shueisha owns the exclusive publication rights and the rights to publish the collected volumes. The adaptation rights belong to you, but Shueisha will participate in the revenue sharing, with the author receiving 60% and the publisher receiving 40%..."

"fifth……"

Eri Aragaki listened and nodded, having already done her research before coming.

The treatment she learned from researching at the internet cafe was not much different from what Masaya Sakurai had said, which put her at ease a little.

After Masaya Sakurai finished speaking, he asked, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

Eri Aragaki thought for a moment and said, "Not for now. I can accept these conditions."

"That's good……"

Masaya Sakurai nodded and said, "Also, let me explain your editing arrangements to you."

He sat up straight, his expression becoming more formal.

"At Shueisha, a main serialized manga artist is usually paired with a dedicated editor who is responsible for the entire process from storyboarding and plot to deadlines."

Sakurai Masaya spoke slowly, making sure Aragaki Eri heard him clearly.

Eri Aragaki nodded; she was already familiar with this.

Shueisha's popular manga series generally follow this setup, which is a one-to-one responsibility mechanism.

However, there are exceptions. For example, some of the flagship works, such as "One Piece" and "Naruto," have a whole, long-term, and stable team of editors.

A globally popular work like One Piece will have a collaborative team consisting of the original editor and editors responsible for media and merchandise, to ensure that the main storyline and derivative developments proceed in tandem.

However, this applies to popular manga works and popular manga artists; for newcomers... they are far from meeting such standards.

Eri Aragaki listened attentively.

"And currently, you've joined as a new comic artist."

Masaya Sakurai continued, "Therefore, the editorial department will assign a main editor, along with other editors to assist in connecting with new authors in batches, providing submission feedback and debut guidance. We will contact multiple potential authors at the same time, and then match them with a dedicated editor after the incubation period ends."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Currently, the editor-in-chief's arrangement is that I will be your primary editor, along with four other editors who are not individually responsible for popular comic works, forming a team to support you and other new comic artists."

Eri Aragaki said, "I understand. Please take care of me from now on."

Sakurai Masaya quickly returned the greeting, saying, "Nice to meet you, I'll do my best to help you."

He picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then put it down.

"Next, I'd like to know your plans for your upcoming serialized works."

Masaya Sakurai looked at Eri Aragaki and said, "It seems like the story of the Attack on Titan chapter you submitted isn't over yet."

"Yes, I've been working on the Attack on Titan manga for a long time."

Eri Aragaki nodded and said, "Moreover, there's not only more to the story, but I haven't even finished drawing the earlier parts of the story either."

"The beginning part?"

Sakurai Masaya immediately became curious and asked, "Your submission already explains the Colossal Titan's destruction of Wall Maria three years ago, right? What's the plot before that?"

"The chapter I submitted started three years after the destruction of Wall Maria."

Eri Aragaki immediately said, "But there are still many scenes that weren't drawn on the day the Maria Wall was destroyed."

"On that day, a colossal giant suddenly appeared and kicked down the gate of Wall Maria."

She gathered her thoughts and began to speak, "Titans poured into the walls, causing the deaths of many civilians. The protagonist Eren's mother was trapped under a collapsed house and unable to move."

Eren and Mikasa tried to save her, but ultimately, they were too weak and were forcibly taken away by Hannes. Eren watched helplessly as his mother was eaten by a Titan.

Masaya Sakurai's expression turned serious, and he remained silent.

Upon hearing this, he suddenly realized, "That makes sense now."

Why is Eren so determined to drive out the Titans?

While you could argue that this is simply the character's design, and that's just how Allen is, it's not a flawed personality trait.

However, it still gives people the feeling that the character is not three-dimensional enough or logically complete.

It turns out that the plot was missing a part that helped develop the characters' personalities.

Indeed, if there were such a plot point earlier, fans would be able to better empathize with Eren's feelings and understand why he was willing to risk his life to join the Survey Corps to drive out the Titans.

"Afterwards, Allen's father injected a drug in front of Allen and then disappeared."

Eri Aragaki continued, "He left Eren a key to the basement and told him to go there because the truth was there."

"So Eren's goal all along has not only been to kill all the Titans, but also to find out the truth left behind by his father in the basement."

Masaya Sakurai nodded. This was indeed an important plot point and could advance the entire manga's storyline.

"The chapter I submitted was about the recapture of the Trost District."

Eri Aragaki then recounted the subsequent plot, saying, "But after humanity's victory, Eren, who was the key figure and hero of this battle, was suspected of being a threat to humanity because he was a monster capable of transforming into a Titan. He was brought to a military court for trial."