Cartoonists and their assistants

Page 9

He felt really awkward.

"Thank you."

The girl bit her lip, but still said those words from the bottom of her heart.

She also understood that it was her own willfulness that made her childhood sweetheart accommodate her.

Now, with the final push, she could no longer contain her overwhelming emotions.

"What are you talking about? Isn't this a win-win situation? If we can debut, I, as the original author, might be able to earn a lot of money, and I won't have to worry about buying things and will have to save money in the future."

Mizuki Machi raised an eyebrow.

He still wasn't quite used to such mushy scenes.

After building up goodwill, he immediately changed the subject: "Now that the manuscript is finished, let's try to submit it. Do you have an editor's contact information?"

"No."

Eriri paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Then you should have bought a GANGAN, right? It should have the editor's contact information on it."

"wait for me."

A little while later, the girl found a relatively new copy of "Monthly Shonen Gangan" in the collection of the next room. She found a contact number on it, but it wasn't for a specific editor; it was for customer service inquiries.

"Then let's make the call right away!"

Eriri was incredibly excited, but after taking out her phone and entering the number, she became very nervous and silently turned her head away.

"True knowledge, what's the best way to put it?"

"Just say whatever you want, don't be so nervous."

Don't make it sound so easy!

This is a crucial step towards realizing my dream!

The girl thought to herself, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.

She pressed the dial button, and the call was quickly connected. A voice came through her ear—

"Hello, this is the editorial department of Monthly Youth GANGAN. How can I help you?"

In that instant, Eriri felt her blood boil.

Finally, it's here!

"Ah, um... I'd like to submit my work."

But when the words were about to come out, the girl's voice became very hesitant.

So young? Is he a primary school student?

'Could they be here to play a prank?'

The receptionist on the other end fell silent upon hearing that voice.

Such things happen frequently in their daily lives. Occasionally, some ignorant children will come to the editorial department with their strangely drawn pictures and recommend themselves, claiming that their comics are much better than the serialized works, and that they will know once they try them.

That kind of thing is of course impossible. Every serialization slot is extremely valuable. Even for a second-tier comic magazine like theirs, where conditions are relatively lenient, they would never compromise on quality.

However, at this moment, the receptionist still demonstrated her professionalism.

"Excuse me, is this your first time recommending yourself?"

"Uh-huh......"

"Okay, then please leave your name and phone number so we can contact you later."

"There are two of us..."

"Ms. Sawamura, and Mr. Mizuki, you two, I'll remember you well."

"Could you help us get in touch with them as soon as possible?"

"So, is tomorrow convenient?"

"Let's do it tomorrow! We want to debut as soon as possible!"

......

During the discussion, Mizuki Machi watched the girl go from being at a loss at the beginning to showing the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, and couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Will things really go that smoothly?

That's not necessarily true, Eriri.

After hanging up the phone.

Eriri turned around and said excitedly, "It's all arranged! Tomorrow at 3:30 pm, just let the receptionist know when you get there, and an editor will be arranged to meet us."

"That's impressive, you arranged it pretty quickly."

He nodded.

"How about we meet at the station tomorrow? Half an hour early should be enough time... But let's go an hour early, that'll give us more time."

"It's up to you. Just call me when the time comes."

After discussing the matter, Mizuki Machi put his hands in his pockets and left with a flourish.

In the room, Eriri glanced back at the original manuscript on the table, hesitated for a moment, and then carefully checked it again to avoid any mistakes.

Night time.

The girl covered herself with the blanket, closed her eyes, but couldn't fall asleep.

Anticipation, excitement, hesitation, and unease—a mix of emotions welled up inside me.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and several images flashed through her mind—

"What era are we living in? Still using oil painting as a medium? It feels inferior to... comics."

"You'll see for yourself which one is more attractive."

"The world is vast, you have a very narrow perspective."

That was when she was a child who was feeling frustrated because she was overwhelmed by talent. At that time, a classmate named Mizuki, whom she didn't know at all, led her to turn her attention to the field of manga.

Since then, comics have taken on a different meaning for her.

Perhaps only by achieving sufficient success in this area can one prove that they are no less than others and truly experience the joy of painting.

Therefore, she had no choice but to become a cartoonist!

My thoughts gradually settled.

The girl gradually drifted off to sleep.

……

the other side.

"It's been half an hour..."

Mizuki Machi glanced at the time on her phone and couldn't help feeling a little helpless.

"Looks like I'm also looking forward to tomorrow."

13 Editors

"Did you stay up late? You seem a bit tired... Even though it's the holidays, you can't let yourself go too much."

The next day at breakfast, his mother observed his condition.

"I'm surprisingly excited about submitting my work today, and I can't sleep."

Guan Yuezhenzhi spoke frankly and without reservation.

"Eh!?"

My parents were very surprised.

"I see, it's gotten to this point... Well then, I wish you all the best in submitting your work."

"Oh my, I never thought my little man would become the pillar of the family so soon."

Then they both laughed.

"I hope we can achieve success quickly."

He said something to go with the flow, then went back to his bedroom and took a nap.

The time came to half past two in the afternoon.

The two met at a nearby station as agreed.

When Mizuki Machi arrived at the scene, she found that a familiar figure had already arrived, and even seemed a little impatient.

"Zhenzhi, why are you so late!"

Eriri quickly ran to him.

"We're early enough, aren't we? Besides, we have an hour to prepare... But what's with your outfit?"

His gaze fell on the girl, who was disguised with a large hat and black-framed glasses, and even her signature pigtails were gone. She was nowhere to be seen in her usual glamorous image.

"What, is that not allowed? I can wear whatever I want, it's none of your business."

Eriri revealed her sharp little fangs, looking fierce.

"Isn't it just that they want to hide their identity? Honestly, they're already acting like big stars even before they're famous."

He said with a mocking expression.

Actually, it's because they're too embarrassed to admit it. Nowadays, girls will disguise themselves when they go out to buy comics and novels to avoid running into acquaintances like Chie Takasago, which would affect their reputation at school.

"Alright! This isn't important!"

Eriri didn't want to bring up this sensitive topic anymore, and pointed to the screen displaying train schedules.

"Hurry up, we should get on the bus. Don't just stand here like idiots."

The two boarded the tram.

The girl couldn't concentrate at all and quickly changed the subject.

"Zhenzhi, what kind of editor do you think we'll meet? I hope we'll meet a good one."

"It doesn't matter. As long as the work is good enough, the result will be the same."

"It's different! I've heard many stories about cartoonists and their editors. Some met good editors and quickly achieved success, while others encountered unreliable editors who gave them bad advice on their style, resulting in continuous failure until they changed editors and their careers started to improve..."

Eriri began to give examples as if she knew them by heart.

"Uh, we shouldn't be that unlucky, right?"

Kanzuki Maki frowned upon hearing this.

"Who knows? I don't want our hard work to be wasted..."

"You shouldn't worry unnecessarily; we'll be meeting soon anyway."

Seeing the girl's worried expression, he offered a word of comfort.

"Ah."

Eriri closed her eyes to rest.

Unlike her childhood sweetheart, she barely slept all night, so she took advantage of this break to doze off for a while.

After a while, the tram arrived at the station.

The girl got up from her seat in a daze.

"We still have half an hour before our appointment time. It's definitely too early. How about we go downstairs for a coffee?"