After that phone call discussing his pen name, Akira had thoroughly relaxed during this period.
He would exercise after work and go watch Rin's performances in the evening; life was quite pleasant.
Although he hadn't touched the internet in a long time, he was surprisingly getting used to it.
One could only say that human adaptability is truly terrifying.
With the release of the 26th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, time had unknowingly entered June.
Meanwhile, due to the arrival of the rainy season, after several bouts of rain, the humid air made the already rising temperatures feel even hotter.
Nowadays, there were pedestrians on the street who had gradually changed into short sleeves, and most people also carried an umbrella in their hands.
It was precisely because of the rain that Rin's street performances were not as frequent as before.
But in its place, they had exchanged contact information.
When there were no performances, she would occasionally call him to chat about topics like manga or anime, or have him listen to a new song she had just practiced, so he didn't feel bored at all.
However, as they both gradually became more familiar with each other, Rin seemed to become more and more lively when chatting with him.
Recalling the time they first met, that cold, aloof aura of hers that kept strangers at a distance, it felt like she was a completely different person now.
They had only known each other for a month, which made him feel a bit sentimental when he thought about it.
That said.
Mentioning Tokyo and the rainy season, the combination of these two terms always easily reminded him of Makoto Shinkai.
Whether it was The Garden of Words or Weathering with You, the stories both took place in Tokyo during the rainy season, and both works left a deep impression on him.
Especially The Garden of Words, which was the first work of Makoto Shinkai he had ever watched, and it brought him a small shock.
Exquisite visuals, delicate emotional expression...
Putting aside other excellent aspects, the foot close-ups and the teacher-student romance alone were already too extreme for him when he was still in junior high school.
However, he absolutely sneered at teacher-student romances in reality.
"--There aren't many customers today, either."
Kayo's sigh pulled his thoughts back to reality.
The rain outside the shop had gradually eased, and the pattering light rain, paired with the sparse pedestrians on the street, made it seem a bit desolate.
"It is a rainy day, after all."
He replied calmly, appearing composed and at ease, unlike the sighing store manager.
The reason Kayo was sighing was that the bookstore's performance was linked to her performance bonus, while he, who earned a fixed salary, naturally didn't have to worry about that.
Watching his leisurely, indifferent demeanor, Kayo rolled her eyes at him.
Then, suddenly remembering something, she asked him curiously:
"Speaking of which, Mochizuki-kun, is there any progress on that matter you mentioned before?"
Akira was slightly stunned, but quickly realized what she was talking about, and sighed with a bitter smile:
"Sigh..."
He had been trying very hard to divert his attention, but he didn't expect to be so easily pulled back by Kayo.
Looking at Kayo's puzzled expression, he answered helplessly:
"Regardless of the final result, I should be able to get an answer tonight."
---
Shueisha Headquarters Building, Shonen Jump Editorial Department.
Usually, editors would be running around for the authors they were in charge of, but today they were rarely gathered together, yet the atmosphere was unusually quiet.
A closer look would reveal that the seats of a few editors were still vacant.
At the serialization meeting, it would be decided which new works could begin serialization and which ongoing works needed to be cancelled; it was the core process for the editorial department to screen works and maintain the magazine's competitiveness.
But not every editor could participate in the meeting.
The editorial department had a squad leader system; all editors were divided into five squads, and each squad had one squad leader to oversee management.
The members who could participate in the serialization meeting were only the Editor-in-Chief, two Vice editors-in-Chief, and the five squad leaders, totaling eight people.
Other editors who could not participate in the meeting needed to hand the materials for the works participating in the meeting to the squad leader in charge of them, and then the squad leader would strive for serialization qualifications for the new works on their behalf.
Therefore, during the meeting, editors who had submitted works would occasionally cast their gaze toward the closed door of the meeting room, waiting for the final result with the same anxiety as the authors.
There would also be editors who really couldn't stand this atmosphere and would choose to leave the editorial department to go outside and smoke a cigarette to relieve the pressure.
But at this moment, the atmosphere inside the meeting room was just as intense.
...
...
According to custom, the serialization meeting began by discussing the status of works currently being serialized, analyzing performance rankings, determining whether any works had entered an observation phase, or even directly notifying authors to prepare for completion.
If it reached this step, it was what the public called cancellation.
And after this part of the discussion ended, the next part was the most important part of this meeting--
"Then next, we will begin the part deciding on new work serialization."
The statement from Torishima Kazuhiko, the current sixth Editor-in-Chief of the Shonen Jump Editorial Department, instantly made everyone present perk up, but the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
"Before that, I will say a few words first."
However, Torishima Kazuhiko turned a blind eye to this and said in a calm tone:
"Just last month, Hell Teacher Nube ended its serialization. And earlier in March, the fifth work of the JoJo series, Golden Wind, also ended its serialization."
"Additionally, Rurouni Kenshin has currently entered its final phase, and it is expected to end serialization in the second half of the year."
"That is to say, it is already clear that at least three manga will end serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump this year."
"But correspondingly, so far this year, only one new work, Hikaru no Go, has started serialization. This is not a good phenomenon."
Speaking to this point, his tone paused, and his gaze slowly swept over every editor present, giving people a silent pressure on them.
However, in the next moment, he changed the subject:
"However, even so, in the following discussion, please do not relax the requirements for new works because of this."
"I would rather continue to keep the slots for serialized works vacant than see an unqualified work published in Shonen Jump."
"Do you all understand?"
"Yes!" × n
The editors answered in unison, but at the same time, they couldn't help but complain in their hearts:
It sounds nice now, but when you were forcing us to urge authors for manuscripts every day, you didn't have this face.
"Then let's begin."
Complaining was just complaining; hearing the order, the editors instantly refocused, sat up straight, and looked down at the thick stack of manuscripts piled up in front of them.
At this moment, the Vice Editor-in-Chief to the left of Torishima Kazuhiko spoke up:
"The first work is recommended by editor Tanaka..."