Akira had just returned home from work and, before he could even step through the door, he could faintly hear the phone ringing inside.
Was the timing really that precise?
Or perhaps, he had no idea how many times they had already called.
Hearing the phone ring, his heart tightened slightly; after all, everything hinged on this one moment.
He hurried inside and picked up the phone. Before he could even speak, Hisashi's excited voice came from the other end:
"It's me, Sasaki!"
"Congratulations, Teacher Mochizuki! 'Fate/stay night' has successfully been approved for serialization!"
"...Successfully approved for serialization?"
The moment he heard the news, he realized he wasn't as excited as he had imagined; instead, his feelings became somewhat complicated.
It had actually only been a month since he first transmigrated, but he felt as though he had already done quite a lot.
Now, he seemed to have successfully taken the most important step since his transmigration.
A manga artist...
This was a field that he, in his previous life, had never personally touched—familiar yet strange.
"—Teacher Mochizuki? Are you alright?"
"...Of course."
Hisashi's question pulled him back to reality, and he replied with a smile:
"In any case, being able to obtain serialization successfully, you've worked hard too, Mr. Sasaki."
"No, no, no, it's mainly because 'Fate/stay night' is truly an excellent work!"
Hisashi denied it with a laugh.
Although these words sounded humble, he was speaking the absolute truth.
To be honest, although he had always been confident in the quality of 'Fate/stay night', being able to obtain serialization so easily at the serialization meeting was slightly beyond his expectations.
However, upon closer thought, it wasn't hard to understand.
The work's solid quality, combined with Akira's shockingly young age and clearly visible, terrifying talent, had thoroughly stunned everyone present.
Just like it had done to him initially.
"By the way,"
Thinking of the situation at the serialization meeting today, he said to Akira:
"Besides your 'Fate/stay night', there is another manga that successfully obtained serialization this time."
"That manga is called 'The Prince of Tennis', and the author is Takeshi Konomi, a manga artist who debuted in '93."
"'the prince of tennis'?"
Hearing a familiar name again, Akira's eyes lit up, and he smiled:
"That sounds like it should be a good manga."
He hadn't expected that this manga would also be starting its serialization during this period.
He didn't know much about 'The Prince of Tennis'; he had only watched the anime when he was a child and knew that it was very popular with girls.
As for what little he knew after growing up, it was that he had seen quite a few fanfiction novels based on this work on another green-themed novel app that focused on female-oriented content.
Oh, and he had also heard that the power levels in the later stages of this work simply took off; one could even create black holes with one's hands while playing tennis.
One can only say it's terrifying.
On the other end, Akira's words left Hisashi a bit confused.
Sounds good?
Although he didn't know how the other party had heard that, he nodded and said:
"That manga is indeed quite good."
According to the editor, the author of Prince of Tennis, Takeshi Konomi, had been exposed to tennis since childhood, so the tennis matches he drew had an excellent visual impact, and he interpreted the characters' movements and sense of speed very well.
This was also one of the reasons why he had voted in favor.
However...
"I believe Teacher Mochizuki's 'Fate/stay night' is, by comparison, indeed even more outstanding."
"Thank you for your affirmation."
Hearing Hisashi's statement, he responded with a smile.
Although he didn't know if the other party was just being polite or truly believed it, he didn't particularly care about that aspect.
If he said that out loud, it might make Hisashi feel disappointed, right?
Because he wasn't the type with a strong competitive spirit.
Successfully obtaining serialization meant that he would soon debut as a manga artist and begin serializing Fsn.
For him, this event had only two major significances—
One, he had finally fulfilled the Original Owner's dying wish; two, this meant he could finally start making big money.
Making money!
This was the goal he valued most right now.
Back to the topic.
The matter of 'the prince of tennis' was just a side note; Hisashi quickly brought the topic back and smiled at him:
"Since you've obtained serialization, we can now officially sign the contract."
"As for the time... I'm available whenever; it mainly depends on when you, Teacher Mochizuki, are free?"
"For me, hmm..."
He thought about it carefully and said:
"Afternoon, perhaps. I still have some things to deal with in the morning."
"Alright, then let's set the time for 3:00 p.m. tomorrow."
Hisashi quickly set the meeting time, then smiled:
"How about we celebrate a little after signing the contract? My treat."
"I know a yakiniku place that tastes good; I've been there a few times. Or is there anything else you, Teacher Mochizuki, would like to eat?"
"Yakiniku is fine!"
Akira responded at lightning speed, catching Hisashi off guard.
In any case, with tomorrow's schedule confirmed, Hisashi finally hung up the phone.
He then began to think about what he needed to do tomorrow morning.
Once he officially signed with Shonen Jump, he would debut as a manga artist and begin serializing manga full-time.
Since that was the case, he naturally had to quit his job at the bookstore.
...Hiss—
Something didn't seem quite right!
As for the job at the bookstore, he had absolutely no attachment to it.
But what made him feel troubled was the situation with Kayo.
He had originally told Kayo that he would definitely let her know once there was a result, but he suddenly realized now that this whole situation was somewhat darkly humorous.
He had successfully obtained serialization and was about to debut as a professional manga artist; this was certainly good news for him.
But for Kayo, who was the bookstore manager, this meant that not only had she lost a full-time temporary worker, she also had to find a way to recruit someone new.
This was a bit awkward now.
Although the status of a temporary worker inherently implied instability, meaning one could leave at any time.
But she had taken good care of him during his time working there, and now that it had turned out like this, he felt somewhat embarrassed; after all, he had caused her trouble.
Sigh.
If he had known this would happen, he should have told her in advance to let her be prepared!
He slapped his forehead in regret...
...Eh, wait a second.
It seemed there might be a way to remedy this.
He picked up the landline receiver and called Hisashi.
"Teacher Mochizuki? Is there anything else?"
Hisashi was clearly surprised to receive his call, and he said apologetically:
"Sorry, regarding the signing, could we postpone it for a few days?"
"Eh—?!!"
"What happened?!"
Hisashi's exaggerated exclamation made him hold the receiver a bit further away, and then he replied with a wry smile:
"Please don't worry, nothing happened."
"It's just that, I'm afraid I still have to work at the bookstore for a couple more days."