Great Mangaka

On Wednesday, as soon as Takumi arrived at work, Genji called him to the office.

"Sit down, I'm going to prepare tea".

The president reassured him on the sofa, took out tea leaves, and prepared it with a smile. He placed the cup in front of Takumi and with care he served him a cup of hot tea.

"Try it"

At his signal, Takumi took the cup with some doubt and drank a sip slowly.

"How is it?" asked Genji with sparkling eyes.

"Mmm? It's not like regular tea..." Takumi frowned slightly: "How should I put it? It's bitter when you drink it, but afterwards, only a fragrance remains".

"Yes, that's right! This is a special Kansai tea. After drinking it, the fragrance leaves no trace of impurities". Genji clapped his hands and praised: "This type of tea is not sold on the market and has no brand. It can only be obtained through acquaintances".

"But Takumi, ordinary people don't distinguish between this and other teas. It seems you have a gift for tea!"

Genji wanted to promote his tea again.

"Okay, you didn't just come to treat me to tea!"

Takumi interrupted him. 'Genji must have found something happy to offer such good tea.'

"You're right. There are two main things." Genji sat in front of Takumi and smiled: "After a few days on NHK News, our company's magazine sales have pleasantly increased".

"Thousands of bookstores in Japan have increased the number of pre-orders for Weekly Shōnen and Weekly Shōjo Manga. This week's issue has not yet been published, and pre-sales have increased by 6,000,000 yen. Before you came, our company couldn't increase that many pre-orders in a year".

Genji looked at Takumi with admiration. 'This child is truly a lucky star for Hinotori Publishing. Since Takumi debuted at Hinotori Publishing, his performance has surpassed the previous ten years in just half a year.'

It's truly amazing. Now, Weekly Shōnen and Weekly Shōjo Manga have been halved, quality has improved, and prospects are promising. As for Kanto's most worrisome problem, after the broadcast of NHK News, the market has also placed full confidence in Hinotori Publishing, which has remained steadfast.

Although the future remains to be seen, in the short term, Hinotori Publishing will no longer be overwhelmed by Kanto.

"Is NHK's information that powerful?"

Takumi was surprised.

"NHK is undoubtedly powerful". Genji poured himself a cup of tea and replied: "But the news itself is too short, and the audience may not pay too much attention to it. NHK's information power lies mainly in its influence".

He explained to Takumi in detail that NHK's information is a weather vane for all media, and its influence on media far surpasses its influence on the audience. NHK introduced Mirai-sensei, and thousands of viewers felt nothing after watching it, but NHK's information was different.

Local media discovered that the central government spread news about a mangaka. Naturally, they followed suit. As a result, there will be subsequent reports about Mirai-sensei in thousands of regions, and these reports are what attract readers' attention.

NHK news flashed by. But the subsequent impact was enormous, and Hinotori Publishing could hardly achieve it with its own advertising.

"And Takumi, in addition to the two magazines, Five Centimeters Per Second's sales have increased even further". Genji took a sip of tea, put it down with satisfaction, and smiled again: "The publishing house has been very busy these days. It is conservatively estimated that NHK news will increase Five Centimeters Per Second's total sales by 100,000,000 yen".

"100,000,000 yen!" Takumi asked, his head spinning. Genji had said before that Five Centimeters Per Second's sales might exceed 1,000,000. But after Kanto's publication, Takumi always felt hopeless. Unexpectedly, it was still a success.

"How do I not know that!"

he exclaimed. "This figure has just been surpassed. Only a few in our company know about it. Other media's data is not very accurate. It might not be clear until next week". Genji said happily: "I gave it to NHK before they found out".

Manga are a highly valued emerging industry in the country. NHK obtained this data and agreed to Genji without a word.

"There will be a report in the next two days, don't worry". Genji said: "If they don't come to interview you, you can work as usual".

Takumi frowned slightly, but NHK's report did not have much impact on Osaka readers and should not cause problems.

"Okay"

Takumi nodded and left Genji's office. It was still morning. Takumi was heading to the video game production department to see Fate/Stay Night's production. He ran into Alice on the way.

"Takumi, good job!"

Alice's face was beaming with joy. As soon as they met, she praised Takumi.

"Well done?" Takumi was confused: "What did you say?"

"It's the last part of the interview with Osaka television station". Alice smiled and said: "Great, boys must be decisive and readers must not interfere in their private affairs".

Takumi was a little stunned. Alice's statement was completely opposite to Genji's.

"Your father didn't say that..."

"It's because he didn't know the effect". Alice was a little excited: "I went online to see the reaction after you said that, and readers accepted it. It had no impact".

"Really?"

Takumi felt strange, so he took some time to search online during his breaks. The result was a little different from what Alice said. Although the female readers didn't get angry, it triggered a new trend.

"Mirai-sensei is so handsome!"

"He's still a pure boy, wow, we all have a chance! Mirai-sensei is much more dominant than idol stars, and he definitely won't be influenced by other people when looking for a girlfriend. The opportunity for a sparrow to become a phoenix has arrived!"

"I want to find a way to get close to Mirai-sensei. The one near the water gets the moon first..."

"Mirai-sensei's personal guardians are recruiting new members. Let's monitor Mirai-sensei's peaceful life, protect his chastity, and prevent any plague from approaching Mirai-sensei!"

"Welcome to the great FFF group. Our goal is to burn all heterosexuals alive, dedicate Mirai-sensei to everyone, and resist anyone who prevents him from being single. Don't join the personal guardians; Haru of the personal guardians has ulterior motives!"

"The great FFF group is gay; please don't believe it".

Upon seeing these fans' messages, Takumi felt that his words seemed to have a contrary effect. Those female readers became more radical, and they all attacked him.

He felt a headache and rubbed his forehead.

"Forget it, forget it".

Takumi refocused on work. At home, Shiori was busy in front of the computer without his attention.

On the screen, a newly created chat room called "Mirai-sensei's Guardians" had members growing rapidly like a snowball, and chat logs updated several lines per second.

"Eh...", Shiori thought complacently: "There are many more people, let's see who dares to approach Takumi".

But a chat window appeared, and the name that appeared was Haru.

"Shiori, you can't be so despicable! You want to use the guardians to help you eliminate dissidents and seize Mirai-sensei. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Mirai-sensei is not yours, and you can't prevent us from approaching him!"

"..."

Shiori frowned.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about..."

She typed and replied, pretending to be confused. 'Because if she admitted it, what would happen if Haru took a screenshot and showed it to others? Then Shiori's selfishness would be exposed.'

"Besides, I want to leave the Alliance of Older Sisters. Keep playing your own games. Don't approach Mirai-sensei in the future; don't approach him; don't bother him; we can still be friends".

After typing this sentence naturally, Shiori closed the window and blacklisted Haru. 'Anyway, he was just an online friend; Shiori didn't feel guilty at all.'

At that moment, the phone rang. Shiori took it out and saw that the person answering it surprised her.

"What's wrong?"

"Shiori, I'm in the chat. You assigned me as administrator. I want to be the deputy head of the guard". Alice's voice came from the phone, as if she were chatting, and her tone was very calm: "You can't control them; leave it to me".

Shiori was enraged.

"Okay..."

But reason made her accept. As a high school student, it was difficult for her to control this group.

And with Alice as an infiltrator, it would be even less likely for other girls to approach Takumi in the future.

The only problem is that Shiori believes Alice is a dangerous woman. She is too capable and lives with Takumi day and night. There is no guarantee that one day...

"What am I thinking!"

Shiori slapped her head. She couldn't let her imagination run wild. If she detached herself from the identity of the parties in the relationship, she would find it difficult to think of Takumi and Alice together. The age difference between them is too great, and Takumi hasn't shown any special interest in Alice for so long.

They are good colleagues, and Shiori believes that her jealousy should not be excessive.

No man likes a woman who is too controlling. For long-term consideration, Shiori believes she should remain calm regarding Takumi's contact and communication with other women...

That's true, but Shiori gets angry thinking about Takumi with other women. She even feels the desire to make all women in the world disappear.

She feels that something is wrong with her state, but this state is temporarily incurable.

"...It's all Takumi's fault". Shiori felt love and hate in her heart, and murmured to herself: "If it weren't for him, I definitely wouldn't be this strange".

At Hinotori Publishing, the innocent Takumi sneezed without realizing someone was muttering about him behind his back.

His attention was focused on Fate/Stay Night. The structure of this galgame is practically complete. Thousands of employees reviewed the information

and entered the text into the computer. The game's CG drawing has also been incorporated. The mangaka have gradually gotten used to the collaboration. The images they draw are very delicate and precise in detail. Even when projected on the largest screen, they show no flaws.

The effort has paid off, which excites the mangaka and makes them work harder.

The progress of the animation and the game's music is also on track. Two of the professional bands invited by Hinotori Publishing have even signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Takumi, promising to compose music for him at the lowest salary in the future.

These two bands are recognized in Osaka. They saw Takumi's potential in musical composition and took the initiative to establish a long-term collaboration.

Everything went well, but Saitama, forgotten by Takumi, received new guests today.

- - - - - -

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