Cartoonists and their assistants

"I should thank you too. Although I was forced into it, becoming a manga artist seems quite interesting."

"I have a true understanding of the moon," he casually said, easing the awkwardness.

This statement was made with the sincerity of the person in question.

Sometimes, hobbies are things we develop a liking for unintentionally after experiencing a certain kind of joy.

Although drawing the name took quite a bit of time, he enjoyed it very much.

Sharing your past life's touching moments with others and anticipating their reactions—that feeling...

It's not bad.

"Without true knowledge, I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it..."

As she spoke, the girl was about to drop her little pearls.

"Well, maybe, but it certainly won't be as smooth as it is now."

But after noticing the smug smile on her childhood sweetheart's face, she changed her statement with a touch of pride.

"Anyway, I'll have to keep asking for your help from now on, partner."

Please continue to guide me in the future!

Following the mood, the two reached out and shook hands.

.......

It's the weekend.

The two met with the editor again in a small room.

"Congratulations again on the successful serialization. This is an unprecedented achievement, and you should be proud of it."

Minamoto spoke up.

"That's right, Makoto and I will be the number one manga artist duo in history!"

Eriri also seemed to agree wholeheartedly, speaking without any modesty.

It has to be said that girls of this age also have a bit of youthful exuberance and naiveté.

"Ms. Minano, let's get down to business."

Mizuki Maki, not wanting to hear her boasting, turned and said.

"Regarding the contract, once you've confirmed everything is correct, you can sign it... By the way, do you have a bank account? If not, remember to open one before receiving your payment. Also, although you're newcomers, since you've gone straight to the serialization stage, the price is 12000 yen per page. The payment for color pages is 1.5 times that of black and white pages, and there's also a one-year signing bonus..."

The editor gradually explained to the two of them.

Given Eriri's family's financial situation, she doesn't care about this money at all.

But for Mizuki Machi, it was quite considerable.

Having independent financial means gives you more autonomy.

In that case, even if I marry a rich and beautiful woman in the future, I won't have to be a live-in son-in-law!

Do you have a studio?

Minano Matoi asked.

Both of them shook their heads.

"We all drew them at home ourselves."

"It's best to rent a studio outside. Drawing comics requires focus, and having a studio will also make communication more efficient."

"Indeed, it's easy to be influenced when you're at home."

Eriri thought about how her father would occasionally throw parties and secretly made a note of it.

"Next topic, what are your plans regarding assistants? I can help you make connections... Of course, if you know anyone who understands comics, we can also collaborate."

Minamoto's gaze swept over the two of them.

"Eri, what do you think?"

Mizuki Machi's gaze fell on the girl.

"I feel I can handle the workload of the monthly magazine. As long as I get home early every day, I don't need to hire an assistant for now."

Eriri thought it over but still chose to be stubborn.

More importantly, if an assistant comes, wouldn't that disturb their time alone together?

It might even affect efficiency!

"Finally, there's the schedule. The deadline for submitting the manuscript is two weeks before the release of Monthly Shonen Gangan, which is Monday. We need to submit the chapter that comes out one day later than the chapter that's released that day. Since it's a monthly magazine, apart from the first chapter which has a lot of content, it's about 45 pages per month on average."

"So, that means about 1.5 pages of content per day?"

Eriri could faintly see beads of sweat dripping from her ears.

For her to maintain both quality and quantity in her artwork, the workload is extremely high right now.

But having an assistant might help alleviate a lot of her stress.

But the words have already been spoken...

That's about it.

Minamoto thought for a moment and realized that he seemed to have overlooked something.

"Oh, right, as this is a particularly memorable first issue, you also have a color cover page. Remember to draw it and hand it to me within two weeks. Goodbye."

After the meeting, the two left the building.

"Makoto, even now, I still feel like I'm dreaming... It wasn't until I signed the contract that I realized we actually did it! I never imagined becoming a manga artist could be so easy..."

Eriri suddenly began to feel sentimental.

"Thank me."

Guan Yue Zhenzhi smiled lightly.

"Thank you so much!"

Eriri deliberately used a strange tone.

"By the way, what are your plans regarding the studio, Makoto? I think Ms. Minano makes a good point."

"Then let's rent a quiet place outside, preferably somewhere close to our home."

"Um......"

Go home.

Both of them shared the good news with their families, and their families unanimously approved.

After the lavish dinner, Mizuki Machi took out her phone, ready to browse the news, when she suddenly remembered something.

So I found someone's profile picture in the list, edited a message, and sent it to them.

"Whose message?"

Takasago Chie, engrossed in reading, glanced at her phone screen and saw a notification.

When she unlocked her phone and saw the message, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face, and she replied right away—

Congratulations, Ms. Mizuki.

22 pen names

A new week has begun.

After confirming my debut, it felt like stepping onto a new stage in my life.

Kanzuki Machi felt like he was walking on air.

Although we benefited from the achievements of our predecessors, it's impossible not to be excited to have reached such a level...

However, his performance won't be as exaggerated as Eriri's.

After all, Eriri is still a middle school student, while he is still an adult deep down. Even though he tried his best to integrate and showed more of his youthful nature when reliving this life, there is still a difference.

"Congratulations, Mizuki-san, you and Sawamura-san have gotten what you wanted!"

Early in the morning, before he had even settled into his seat, he received a congratulatory message.

Within the school, besides Eriri, only Takasago Chie, who had received the news two days prior, knew about it.

Didn't you congratulate me the day before yesterday?

"I think it's more meaningful to offer congratulations in person."

She turned slightly to the side, smiled with her eyes narrowed, and her long, smooth black hair slipped down from her ears.

"So when will we have the chance to see Mizuki-sensei's debut work?"

"Probably in Monthly Shonen Gangan a month from now."

"So you guys submitted a piece about GANGAN..."

The girl, with her exceptional reading ability, quickly retrieved information about the comic magazine from her memory.

"I remember it was originally a seinen manga magazine founded to promote Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, right? Later, with works like The Strongest Bride on Earth and Black God, it became a dedicated magazine for fantasy and comedy series. But now it's much more diverse, with shonen (boys') works also very popular..."

"As expected of Takasago, you can remember this information so clearly. If you could put this energy into your studies, you could definitely get rid of your bottom-of-the-class status and you might even have a chance to get into the top ten."

After hearing this, Mizuki Machi was also impressed.

"Mitsuki-kun, are you praising me or making fun of me?"

Chie Takasago pouted, looking a little coquettish.

"Of course I'm praising you."

"Then I'll take that as it is... Oh, by the way, what are Mizuki-san and Sawamura-san's pen names? That way I'll know later."

His expression stiffened.

This sudden question stumped him.

During lunch break.

This time, it was his turn to call Eriri out.

"How could you forget something so important!"

Eriri almost swore.

During this time, she was preoccupied with comics and neglected the past.

Why didn't Ms. Minano remind us?

Therefore, the two specifically asked the editor.

The latter replied: Sorry, I forgot.

The manga artists that Minamoto Matsubara previously worked with were all people who had already debuted through the Newcomer Award.

This time, the two of them took over the job entirely on a whim, which led to some oversights.

And because it was the weekend and the contract reviewer had just started work, they hadn't yet discovered this oversight.

But it doesn't really matter, it won't have any impact. At most, it will be assumed to be the surnames of both people.

The two childhood sweethearts decided to choose a suitable pen name.

"How is Eri Kashiwagi?"

"It's so strange," said Mizuki Machi suddenly.

"Idiot, don't mention that name again!"

Yinglili looked embarrassed.

The internet leaves its mark; she became a doujinshi artist under the name 'Eri Kashiwagi,' and she certainly doesn't want this dark history to be discussed online.

"Let's choose one, Eriri, and I'll choose one as our pen name."

"it is good."

After discussing it, the two began to think about it.