Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

Shiori Shirakawa stood up after a few seconds of silence.

"Then I'll brew more coffee."

She didn't ask why.

Simply take the coffee beans out of the cupboard and put them on the grinder.

"I'll buy some rice balls and put them in the fridge. You can heat them up yourself if you get hungry."

"OK."

"If you feel tired, you can rest your head on the table for a while; don't push yourself."

"OK."

Shiori Shirakawa turned around and looked at him.

"Can you tell me why?"

Yuma Kamiya briefly recounted what had happened in the editorial department.

Shiori Shirakawa nodded slightly.

"Then I will help you too."

You still have to go to work today.

"I can help you blacken it tonight. There's no need for any special techniques; I'll just sit here anyway."

She poured the ground coffee into a filter paper and poured hot water over it.

The aroma of coffee quickly filled the entire kitchen.

"Besides, I'm really not comfortable with you drawing a thousand autographed pictures by yourself."

Yuma Kamiya looked at her.

"Shiori".

"Um."

Why don't you ever ask me if I'm sure I'm right?

Shiori Shirakawa hands over a cup of coffee.

  

"Because you are Yuma Kamiya."

"If you say you're going to do something, you'll definitely do it well."

The next morning, Ryota Onodera delivered a thousand copies of the manga and a signed illustration board to his apartment in Itabashi Honmachi.

The living room was piled high with cardboard boxes, making it look very full.

Shiori Shirakawa glanced at the cardboard boxes before going to work.

I'll help you after I get off work.

Be careful on your way to work.

After the door closed, Kamiya Yuma sat down at the drawing table in the master bedroom.

He picked up the dip pen and mixed the Frillien Blue.

The first signed drawing board was placed in front of me.

It depicts a pale moon grass.

It feels very comfortable to draw on the drawing board with the tip of a pen.

After finishing the first drawing, he placed the autograph board on the left.

He then picked up the second drawing board.

Each type of Crescent Moon Grass is different.

Each flower holds a moment in my memory, which is why I find them so meaningful.

I don't feel tired at all.

His god-like speed in drawing signatures made his fingers seem to be wound up like a spring.

It can be done with almost no thought, as naturally as breathing.

One painting after another, ten, fifty, a hundred... soon there were several.

When Shiori Shirakawa got home from get off work, the lights in the living room were off.

She pushed open the door to the master bedroom and saw Yuma Kamiya sitting at the drawing table.

On the left is a stack of already drawn signature boards, and on the right is a pile of blank signature boards.

There are many paint boxes and dip pens on the table.

There was a large wet patch on the back of his shirt, but his hands remained steady.

She put her bag down and changed her clothes.

Then I went to the kitchen and prepared dinner for the two of them.

One portion was given to Yuma Kamiya, and the other was eaten by myself.

After eating.

She picked up a black marker and began to blacken the background of the manuscript for episode five.

The room was completely silent, except for the sound of pen nibs scratching on paper.

Such an environment makes people feel very safe.

Three days later, in the evening, Ryota Onodera rang the doorbell.

When Shiori Shirakawa opened the door, her eyes were already a little bluish, but she was in good spirits.

"The autographed illustrations are all complete."

She turned her body to the side to let him in.

When Ryota Onodera entered the master bedroom, he found a thousand autographed drawing boards neatly arranged on the table.

Each one has a blue moon grass on it.

And each color is different.

Kamiya Yuma leaned back in his chair, a dip pen in his right hand, and had already drifted off to sleep.

Ryota Onodera picked up the top autographed card.

The edges of the petals of the Crassula ovata have a very light warm gray layer.

It's like the first rays of sunlight shining on the petals at dawn; it's incredibly beautiful.

He picked up the second one.

It's also a blue moonflower, but its petals are a cool-toned blue, like under the moonlight, giving it a unique charm.

The third one, the fourth one, the fifth one...

A thousand signed illustrations, each with its own unique beauty.

Ryota Onodera placed the autograph board on the table and spoke in a low voice.

This child must be crazy.

Shiori Shiwa is at the door.

He has always had this kind of personality.

Ryota Onodera turned his head towards her.

"You haven't had a proper rest these past few days, have you?"

Shiori Shirakawa did not say anything.

Ryota Onodera sighed.

"I'll deliver these autographed panels to the bookstore. You two must get a good rest tonight."

On the day of release.

Temperatures in Tokyo have dropped to their lowest levels since autumn, and it's getting a bit chilly.

In the very center of the manga section at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Shinjuku, there is a storefront poster for "Battle Rhapsody".

The bright red title, the huge battle scene, and the flat display that takes up an entire wall are very eye-catching.

The bookstore clerk opened a box of "The Burial of Frilian" and looked at the blue sea of ​​flowers on the cover.

"What kind of comic is this? I've never heard of it before."

"It's a work selected for the Newcomer Award, and I heard the editorial department doesn't think much of it."

Another clerk took the book and flipped through it.

"The painting is quite beautiful, but there are no battle scenes in it, so it probably won't be popular and won't sell well."

He placed the book on the shelf in the far corner of the comics section.

Only a narrow side seal is visible.

The sixth floor of the Shueisha editorial department.

Takahashi stood by the window, holding a cup of coffee, looking at the street scene outside.

Yoshikawa Taro sat at the conference table, flipping through today's morning paper.

"How's the situation at the bookstore?"

Takahashi turned around.

"The publicity for 'Battle Rhapsody' is all in place. Kinokuniya, Sanseido, Maruzen, and other major bookstores in Tokyo have all given it the best display space. The first print run is 50,000 copies, and all the resources for publicity and distribution have been fully utilized."

"That's 'Frilian'."

Takahashi took a sip of coffee.

"As per his request, there were no posters, no inside pages, and no store recommendations. There were only a thousand signed picture books scattered in more than twenty bookstores, placed in corners like ordinary new books."

He put down his coffee cup, his tone carrying a hint of relaxed schadenfreude.

"Director Yoshikawa, we'll see the results next Monday."

Yoshikawa Taro didn't say anything, he just turned the newspaper to the next page.

An office building in Marunouchi.

Shiori Shirakawa sat at her workstation, a stack of documents waiting to be processed in front of her.

She glanced at the clock on the wall.

It's exactly twelve o'clock.

Lunch break time has arrived.

She put the stamp back in the drawer, picked up her coat, and went outside.

"Miss Shirakawa, would you like to go to the cafeteria for lunch together?"

A colleague peeked over from the next workstation and asked her.

"I have something to take care of today, you guys go ahead."

Shiori Shirakawa walked briskly out of the office building, crossed two intersections, and turned into the bookstore she frequented on the street corner.