Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

Shiori Shirakawa stood there holding the remittance slip.

It was as if they were frozen on the floor.

"You just told my uncle you'd give him 500,000. I thought you were just showing off."

"When have I ever been stubborn?"

Shiori Shirakawa carefully placed the remittance slip on the drawing table.

Then she reached out her hand and pulled Kamiya Yuma up from the chair.

"What's wrong?"

"Go to the French windows."

She held his wrist tightly and led him to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.

The midday sun shone through the window, and the ginkgo leaves falling from the trees downstairs were covered in golden yellow.

Shiori Shirakawa pointed to the Banqiao Street outside the window.

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"You said last time that trees can't grow to the sky. And they've certainly started falling. But here..."

She turned around and pressed Kamiya Yuma against the French windows.

She placed her hands on Yuma Kamiya's shoulders.

"You sold 150,000 copies. Not 1,000 signed copies, but 150,000 copies. Every single one of them contains your drawing of the Azure Moon Grass. Not the Azure Moon Grass planted in the soil, but the Azure Moon Grass planted on paper. The tree on paper will not fall. The tree on paper will never fall."

Something was swirling in her eyes.

I haven't been a burden to you.

Yuma Kamiya looked at her.

"When have you ever been a burden to me?"

"It all started that rainy night. You stayed at my house and painted all night. Then you moved next door. Later you moved in with me. It felt like you were taking care of me every step of the way. You bought me cakes from Ginza, you gave me your assistant's allowance, you told my uncle you'd pay the 500,000 yen. I kept thinking, if I hadn't lived next door, would you have had to work so hard? If I hadn't…"

"Shiori".

Yuma Kamiya interrupted her.

Do you know what the foreword of the first volume of the collected edition said?

Shiori Shirakawa was stunned.

"What did you write?"

"Dedicated to the person who treated me to a croissant when I was at my poorest. And to the tamagoyaki she made."

Shiori Shirakawa's slender fingers.

It slid down slowly from where his shoulder was.

"You never told me that."

"Because I think you'll find it yourself when you see the book. But it seems like you haven't had a chance to turn to that page yet."

Shiori Shirakawa buried her face in his chest.

After a while, she finally spoke in a muffled voice.

"Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet) is sweet. Croissants are the cheapest kind you can find at convenience stores. How dare they even mention such junk in the editor's note?"

"match."

"Where does it fit?"

"It fits anywhere."

Shiori Shirakawa did not refute this.

She lowered her face even further. The ginkgo leaves outside the window continued to fall.

The sunlight shone on many leaves, turning many of them golden.

She reached out from behind and hugged him.

He used all his strength to hug her.

"You're not allowed to say anything about being a burden or not anymore."

Above her head.

You can hear the sounds made by Yuma Kamiya.

I haven't been a burden to you.

"I have never been a burden to you."

Shiori Shirakawa did not look up.

"What if my uncle comes to borrow money again next time?"

"I'll deal with him. You just need to make the tea."

"What if you convince him again?"

"Then I'll draw him another map showing the route to sell the house. It'll be more detailed than the last one."

Shiori Shirakawa couldn't help but laugh.

She lifted herself up from his chest, tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes.

But a smile had already appeared on her face.

"You're a really strange person. You're so gentle when you're drawing comics, but you show absolutely no mercy when you're reasoning with people."

"Because saving face won't solve the problem."

Yuma Kamiya looked at her.

"But your uncle needs to resolve his debts, not his feelings. Once he sells the house, gets his aunt's medical treatment, and finds a new job, then we can talk about feelings."

Shiori Shirakawa looked at him for a while.

"When exactly did you start understanding all this?"

"I've always understood."

"What about the bubble bursting? You said on the news last time that it was about to peak. How did you know that?"

Yuma Kamiya turned to look out the window.

"Because trees can't grow to the sky. Land prices can rise for a year, two years, five years, but they can't rise forever. All bubbles look like a golden age when they're inflating. But when they burst..."

He looked away and looked at her again.

"But this has nothing to do with us."

Why?

"Because regardless of whether land prices rise or fall, you'll always be my assistant. The hourly wage is 1,200 yen, meals included. The benefits are better than those of civil servants."

Shiori Shirakawa stared at him.

"Who wants to be your assistant forever?"

"What do you want to be if not an assistant?"

"I want..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

The tips of her ears turned red again.

She loosened her grip on her hand, turned around, and walked towards the kitchen.

"I haven't finished speaking yet."

Kamiya Yuma's voice came from behind her.

"When you don't want to be an assistant anymore, what do you want to be?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Then I'll speak."

"Don't tell."

"You weren't this shy when you pinned me against the French windows earlier."

Shiori Shirakawa took a spatula from the kitchen, her back to him, the tips of her ears extremely red.

That's a special case.

"What special circumstances?"

"Because I was so excited to see the royalty statement."

"Will there be any special circumstances when the next royalty statement arrives?"

Shiori Shirakawa turned her body slightly.

Then, holding the spatula, he pointed in the direction he was in.

"Dinner's ready."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Hamburger steak".

......

When Ryota Onodera called.

Kamiya Yuzuru was standing in front of the drawing table.

We are currently finalizing the storyboard for episode 8.

"it's me."

His voice was filled with excitement.

"Hey kid, did your royalties arrive?"

"arrive."

Thirty-two million.

Ryota Onodera read out the number.

"You currently have more cash on hand than I've accumulated in twelve years at Shueisha. I'm calling to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"How do you plan to spend it? I'm not trying to pry into your private life, but you know how the economy is right now..."

Suddenly, a semi-transparent light screen appeared in front of Yuma Kamiya's eyes.

[Worldline Convergence Point: Class Choices After Nouveau Riche]

Option 1: Embrace the bubble and purchase a luxury apartment and sports car in Ginza. Reward: Admission to Tokyo's upper class, title of "Spendthrift." (Warning: Assets will shrink by 70% after six months)

[Option Two: Remain unmoved and upgrade studio equipment to establish a dedicated manga corporation. Reward: God-level manga skill "Emotional Storyboard Rhythm," and the exclusive title of "Boss Shiori Shirakawa."]