Chapter 59: A Leisurely Arrival [2]
"Then stop for a bit." Alex said. "Look at the sky, look at the trees, listen to the wind. Creation is a marathon, not a sprint. Always sprinting will kill you."
White Night stopped, really looked up at the sky. Winter sky high and pale, a few wisps of clouds drifting slowly. Ordinary sight, but she looked for a long time.
"Teacher," she whispered, "I think I understand a little. Non Non Biyori wants to draw this 'stopping' feeling, right? Not escape, but recharging, to walk a longer road."
"Yeah." Alex nodded.
They continued walking. Passing a stream, White Night squatted to watch water flow. Water clear, stones visible at bottom.
"Teacher, can I draw this?" She asked.
"Yes. But don't draw too detailed. Draw that 'glancing' feeling. Leisure isn't deliberate observation, it's accidental discovery."
"I understand."
Walking down, White Night's steps were much lighter. Watching cows grazing leisurely, smoke from distant roofs, John organizing tools unhurriedly, her eyes grew brighter.
"Teacher," she said, "I know how to draw Non Non Biyori. Not drawing 'story', drawing 'moments'. Not 'plot', but 'atmosphere'."
"Right." Alex's lips curved slightly. "You got it."
__________
Monday, 10:00 AM.
NextGen Manga Monthly and Manga Weekly official websites and social media accounts updated simultaneously.
No text, just one image: Left side, Fullmetal Alchemist Edward's dark silhouette in a blizzard. Right side, Non Non Biyori five girls sitting on the porch watching the sunset, warm.
One line in the middle:
"Darkness and Light, Profound and Healing — Alex Walker & White Night, First Collaboration 'Non Non Biyori', Simultaneous Serialization Starting Next Month."
After posting, for three whole minutes, no comments. Like the whole internet froze.
Then, tsunami.
"What did I see????"
"Alex Walker and White Night collaborating???"
"Non Non Biyori??? This art style???"
"From FMA to Non Non Biyori??? Alex do you have split personality???"
"But why am I so excited!!!"
Ten minutes, shares broke ten thousand. Half an hour, #AlexWhiteNightCollab hit number one trending. One hour later, related topics swept top five.
Forum paralyzed. Server crashed after holding on for twenty minutes, barely recovered two hours later. Homepage flooded with same topic:
"Rational Analysis: What strategy is Alex's move?"
"From FMA darkness to Non Non Biyori healing, how wide is Alex's creative dimension?"
"White Night won big! Collaborating with Alex, value taking off!"
"Shonen World's Newcomer Award suddenly not appealing..."
At Shonen World HQ, Kane stared at the trending screen, face ashen. He spent 15 million on Newcomer Award, heat instantly killed by one image from the opponent.
"They... how could they..." He muttered, then grabbed the phone violently. "Notify all partner media, increase promotion for Newcomer Award! Prize raised to 20 million! No, 25 million! I want everyone to know we are the ones supporting newcomers!"
But the phone voice hesitated: "Chief, just now three media outlets called, said... they want to swap the Newcomer Award coverage for Alex and White Night's collaboration special. They say the heat is too high, missing it is a loss."
Kane's hand froze in mid-air, then dropped powerlessly.
He knew he lost again. Not because money wasn't enough, but because—the opponent always produced things he couldn't.
This time, it was topic explosion brought by ultimate contrast.
Evening, Ranch.
Alex received data report from Sue: Teaser released six hours, total network discussion broke 50 million, related topic views broke 1 billion. FMA Chapter 28 pre-sales up 40%, The Thorn Bird Chapter 12 expectation hit number one.
"Effect exceeded expectations." Sue said on the phone. "Now everyone is waiting for Non Non Biyori Chapter 1. Chief asks if we can release early this week?"
"No." Alex said. "Chapter 1 still drawing. Release on time end of month."
"Okay. Then... how is White Night? Can she keep up?"
"Yes. She learns fast."
Hanging up, Alex continued drawing Non Non Biyori Chapter 1. Drawing the scene of five girls eating, he deliberately drew slowly—drawing chopsticks picking up rice, soup dripping, cheeks bulging when chewing, satisfied sigh after eating.
Very trivial, but triviality contained life.
Drawing, he suddenly remembered the feeling when reading Non Non Biyori in his past life—a pure healing, like hot tea when tired, a hug when cold.
------------
In the last week of January, the first three chapters of Non Non Biyori were released simultaneously in NextGen Manga Monthly and Manga Weekly.
At 10:00 AM on release day, a long line wound outside the Oak Creek Bookstore. As Mr. Henderson shelved the last box of magazines, he overheard several high school students in line debating fiercely:
"How does Alex do it? Last month he was drawing Human Transmutation, and this month he's drawing little girls chasing butterflies?"
"And FMA this issue has deaths on the northern battlefield! I was choking up this morning; I need healing now..."
"I can't believe this is drawn by the same person. Edward cutting off his arm to survive in the snow vs Renge saying 'Nyanpasu' on the ridge—is this reasonable?"
10:30 AM. The first batch of readers finished the first three chapters of Non Non Biyori.
The forum was silent for a full eight minutes—the longest silence record since the Nina arc in FMA.
Then, the first thread shot to the homepage with explosive speed:
"Just finished 3 chapters of Non Non Biyori, I need a psychiatrist urgently—What happened between the Philosopher's Stone and Nyanpasu???"
Thousands of replies piled up instantly:
"Same question! Just crawled out of the FMA battlefield and dove headfirst into rural daily life; I'm bewildered!"
"But Renge's 'Nyanpasu' is so addictive! I've unconsciously said it twenty times!"
"My brain is full of Nyanpasu now, totally forgot what the Philosopher's Stone is made of..."
"The art style is the killer! FMA is cold and realistic, Non Non Biyori is warm and healing. Is this really the same artist?"
"And did you notice? The rural details in Non Non Biyori are deadly real! Did Alex really live in the countryside?"
"Upstairs a new fan? Go read Silver Spoon! That's the real hardcore agricultural manga!"
(To be Continued)
Want to Read more visit my Patreon.con/ Otaku_Reader
Get 50+ Chapter to Read in Advance and may Novel Similar Theme.
1. Parallel World: God Animation ( 25+ Chapter)
—Ongoing ( Daily 2 chapter update)
2. Parallel World: Cartoonist ( 25+ chapter)
—Ongoing ( Daily 2 chapter update)
3. Blue Lock : Monster Wave ( 15+ Chapter)
—Ongoing ( Daily 2 chapter update)
4. Manga Artist: Second Chance ( 20+ chapter)
—Ongoing ( Daily 1 chapter update)
5. One Piece: Comparing God Valley and Summit War in Live Boardcast accross Timeline. (30+ chapter)
—Ongoing ( Daily 2 chapter update)
@just 5$ Membership