Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

Ryota Onodera pointed to the two original manuscripts on the table.

"The crown was never placed on her head, the confession was never spoken. Simmel died, and Frilian never had the chance to tell him herself that she was slowly beginning to understand. It's a pity, yes. But isn't that what everyone goes through?"

Takahashi's lips moved slightly.

"But the readers..."

"Readers are smarter than us."

Ryota Onodera interrupted him.

"It's not that readers can't understand slow pacing; it's that we've never given them slow pacing. It's not that readers don't need regrets; it's that we've never allowed regrets to exist."

He turned around and faced everyone.

"Dragon Ball is fighting, Saint Seiya is fighting, Fist of the North Star is fighting. Our readers have watched battles for ten years. Haven't they ever, for a fleeting moment, wanted to stop and catch their breath?"

Takahashi stopped talking.

Sato lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the manuscript.

Tanaka remained silent for a long time.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth.

The lighter clicked, the flame leaped up, and lit the cigarette butt.

  

He took a deep breath.

Smoke rose slowly under the conference room lights.

Then he reached out and took the two original manuscripts.

It was laid out again in front of me.

Floral corolla spread.

Simmel's eyes.

I want to know you a little more.

Tanaka stared at those two pages for a full three minutes.

The ash had accumulated to a long length and wasn't flicked off.

"Onodera."

"exist."

"You've convinced me."

......

The meeting room door was pushed open.

When Ryota Onodera walked in, he reeked of cigarette smoke.

His expression was strange.

It's like we just finished a battle and won.

But the victory was too risky, so much so that they didn't even have the energy to celebrate.

"Onodera-senpai?"

Yuma Kamiya stood up from his chair.

The next second, a stack of manuscripts was slammed onto the table.

The top page was stamped with a bright red seal.

Selected.

The highest award.

Kamiya Yuma stared at the seal for a full five seconds.

"This is......"

"The highest reward."

Ryota Onodera pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.

It felt like I could finally catch my breath.

"Two million yen. It will be transferred to your account next month."

Kamiya Yuuma's finger hovered above the red stamp, not falling.

"It was Editor-in-Chief Tanaka who made the decision."

When Ryota Onodera said this, there was still a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Do you know what Takahashi said at the judging panel? He said this wasn't a shonen manga. Sato said the pacing was too slow. Four people objected, and two abstained."

"Then what...?"

Ryota Onodera took out a cigarette case from his pocket, then thought for a moment and put it back.

"It was the editor-in-chief who decided on this. Do you know what a really cool thing he said was?"

"What did you say?"

"If Jump doesn't even dare to publish this kind of manga, what kind of Shonen Jump is it?" "Yeah, we draw adventure manga, but we ourselves don't dare to take risks. What right do we have to be the number one shonen manga?"

Ryota Onodera, his voice rousing, looked at Yuma Kamiya's pale face.

"You haven't eaten anything since this morning, have you?"

"I overslept this morning and didn't have time..."

"You bastard."

Ryota Onodera took his wallet out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

He pulled out three 10,000 yen bills and slapped them on the table.

"This isn't a loan to you."

He spoke before Kamiya Yuma could.

"Consider this a reward. You finally shut those old guys up. Well done!"

"But you've already borrowed 30,000 from me..."

"That's compensation for burning your pants, it's different, that has to be paid back."

Ryota Onodera pushed the manuscript in front of Yuma Kamiya.

"Here you go. The ink isn't completely dry yet, don't smudge it."

The moment Kamiya Yuuma's fingertips touched that red seal.

Suddenly, a screen of light appeared before my eyes.

[Worldline convergence point confirmed: "The Burial of Frillien" successfully selected!]

[A rare branch reward has been triggered due to the host's insistence on maintaining an authentic connection to the era.]

Option 1: Immediately take the money and have a lavish meal at a high-class restaurant in Ginza. Reward: Stamina Recovery Potion (to cover up your poverty).

[Option Two: Endure your hunger and go to claim the "Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet) as a return gift." Reward: God-level manga halftone sticker technique (significantly improves drawing efficiency during serialization), and storyboard panels for the first ten chapters of "Frilian."]

Looking at the two options, Kamiya Yuuma secretly scoffed inwardly.

"Is there even a choice? Isn't everyone aware of my poverty? Is there any need to hide it?"

He silently repeated it to himself.

"I choose option two."

The light curtain dissipated.

A flood of information suddenly rushed into my mind.

Techniques for arranging dots and handling gradient stickers.

How to achieve the most subtle grayscale transition in the shortest amount of time.

These things are like decades of experience, clearly etched in my mind.

Then there are the storyboards for the first ten chapters.

Frilian embarks on a journey with her apprentice, watching the sunrise at the beach.

They found the wine that Simmel had buried years ago on the snowy mountain.

In a small, unremarkable town, you encounter an old man who remembers the legend of the hero.

The ending of each episode leaves you hanging at the most tantalizing point.

Yuma Kamiya took a deep breath.

"Onodera-senpai."

"Um?"

"How do I get to Ginza?"

Ryota Onodera was taken aback.

"Are you going to Ginza now? If you're eating, the cafeteria downstairs is..."

"It's not about eating."

Kamiya Yuma carefully folded the three 10,000 yen bills and put them into his wallet.

"Let's go shopping."

"What should I buy?"

"cake."

Ryota Onodera said angrily.

"You idiot, eat your food properly! You've been starving all day, and you're going to buy a cake?"

"I didn't eat it myself; someone made tamagoyaki for me."

Kamiya Yuma bowed to him.

"I can't go back empty-handed."

Ryota Onodera stared at him for three seconds.

Suddenly I understand why this boy can draw such detailed comics.

"Go out in that direction from the counter, turn right, and take the Hibiya Line."

"Thank you, senior."

When Kamiya Yuma reached the door.

Ryota Onodera's voice came from behind.

"Kamiya."

"Um?"

"Submit the storyboard outline for the first ten episodes by Friday."

"understood."

......

Ginza 4-chome.

When Yuma Kamiya came out of the subway station.

My legs are starting to feel weak.

I've only had two cups of cheap coffee from the break room since this morning.

But he still gritted his teeth and kept walking.

The streets of Ginza still retain the grandeur of the bubble economy's heyday.

The shop window displays dresses and handbags that an average person couldn't afford with a month's salary.

A woman in a Chanel suit walks across the sidewalk with her poodle.

Yuma Kamiya stopped at an intersection.

The cake shop is just around the corner.

The shop's name is in French, which he doesn't quite know how to pronounce.

There was a queue at the entrance.

Everyone looked like they had just stepped out of a high-end office building.

Yuma Kamiya stood at the end of the line.