Chapter 25: The Editor’s Care

Sakamoto Ken was also reading Miss Sniper, and Pantyhose!.

He even savored every single panel.

Seeing the work he had published in his previous life redrawn by someone else was a truly magical feeling.

It was like experiencing being a “victim” in a plagiarism story.

What’s more, the author was one of the three assassins who had sent him to his rebirth…

Although Sakamoto Ken was also engaging in this plagiarism business, he was, after all, copying works that had not yet been born.

Even if Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei himself saw it, he, who was still creating short stories at this time, could only sigh, “Sakamoto Ken-senpai’s manga is too good!”

But Haruna was copying his manga, and he, the original author, had complete memories…

He was watching his own manga being copied by her right before his eyes.

This is a crime in progress.

And I’m actually enjoying it.

The entire manga had no difference in plot and character design, but the art level had clearly improved a lot.

To put it simply, the female protagonist image that Sakamoto Ken had drawn back then could only be said to be barely arousing.

But the female protagonist under Haruna’s pen could make one involuntarily stand up.

Maybe if my manga is redrawn by her once, it really could become popular…

As soon as midnight passed, the works scheduled for today on the JUMP+ platform were uniformly updated.

At this time, Sakamoto Ken was still in the store.

Natsume Mio only came to work on the two days of the weekend, while he had to come every day during this period before school started.

There was still an hour until he got off work, but there were no customers in the store at this time. Miyamoto Shota, who was taking over the late-night shift, had already arrived early.

Thinking about the work update, and since the store required not taking out his phone during work hours, Sakamoto Ken took his phone and went to the restroom.

He opened the JUMP+ webpage.

Only a few minutes had passed, and Sakamoto Ken saw someone had already commented in his comment section.

「First!」

It was a very common post to claim the first spot, but it also showed that the manga already had readers who were following the updates in real-time.

He then clicked on Haruna’s manga update page, and there were already several comments in the comment section.

「Great, another update to read!」

「Author, draw faster, I’m following every chapter~」

「Petitioning with my blood for this work to be published in Weekly Shonen JUMP!」

「Number one in this week’s serialization, no doubt!」

Sakamoto Ken was also a little surprised. He didn’t expect that after his manga was modified by Haruna, it would gain loyal readers so quickly.

Just as he walked out of the restroom, Miyamoto Shota, who was playing on his phone in the dining area, called out to Sakamoto Ken.

He had arrived at the store early, but it wasn’t his work time yet, so he hadn’t changed into his uniform.

“Ken, you’re something else. The manga is really good,” Miyamoto Shota waved his phone at Sakamoto Ken.

“You’re already following the updates?” Sakamoto Ken walked over.

Miyamoto Shota chuckled and said, “I even helped you post in the comment section.”

So it was you who posted it.

No wonder. It’s only been a few minutes since the update. Even a hot work might not have comments.

Speaking of which, Haruna’s manga is even more amazing. She has several in a row.

Sakamoto Ken sat down in the seat opposite Miyamoto Shota. “What are your thoughts after reading it? Tell me.”

Miyamoto Shota chuckled and said, “When will the male protagonist get together with Makima?”

“Is that all you want to see?”

“Of course, Makima-san is too cute.” He flipped through a few pages on his phone and asked again, “By the way, Makima isn’t a bad woman, is she?”

“What, you won’t like her if she’s a bad woman?” Sakamoto Ken asked.

“Then I’ll like her even more,” Miyamoto Shota’s eyes lit up.

“Keep following the updates and you’ll know.”

“Tsk, tsk, not willing to give spoilers?”

“No comment,” Sakamoto Ken shrugged and said.

Miyamoto Shota lazily spread his hands and said, “Still acting mysterious. You probably haven’t even thought about the plot for the later parts, right? I heard that authors usually only know the plot of the latest update an hour before the readers.”

“You’re talking about web light novels. Manga isn’t like that,” Sakamoto Ken said. “Manga is a week, because there are more processes.”

“Alright, anyway, when you get on Weekly Shonen JUMP, I’ll put the magazine in the most conspicuous place in the store every day to boost your sales,” Miyamoto Shota gave Sakamoto Ken a thumbs-up and said.

“Then thank you very much.”

Sakamoto Ken also knew he was just joking.

After all, JUMP’s weekly circulation was over 2 million copies. It would be good if this store could sell 20 copies. It wouldn’t affect the sales at all.

Moreover, it was uncertain if he could get on JUMP soon. He hoped he wouldn’t lose to his own work from the previous life.

Soon, it was time to hand over the work. Sakamoto Ken took the onigiri he had gotten for free from the store and went home, planning to have it for breakfast the next morning.

He didn’t rush to finish his manuscript tonight. He slept until the next morning, until he was woken up by a phone call.

He looked at the time. It was just past nine-thirty.

“Sakamoto Ken-sensei, sorry to disturb you so early in the morning. Are you up?” Kaji Keiko’s voice came from the phone’s earpiece.

This question is completely pointless. If I wasn’t up, how could I answer your call…

Sakamoto Ken was still sitting on his futon, his hair a little messy, but thinking it was his editor’s call, he said, “I’m up. What’s the matter, Editor-san?”

“I’ve read the first seven chapters you sent me. The content is quite good, so I won’t offer any opinions. And now there’s enough manuscript for a tankōbon volume.”

“Can a tankōbon be published?” Sakamoto Ken immediately asked.

“Ah… a tankōbon isn’t that fast. But with Chainsaw Man‘s current performance, it’s only a matter of time,” Kaji Keiko said. “I’ve already seen last week’s reader poll results. Among the new works, Sakamoto-sensei is leading by a landslide, with over 6,700 votes. The second place only has 2,800. At this rate, serialization in the main magazine should be stable.”

“So, today I wanted to talk to Sakamoto-sensei about the design of the color page cover. When it’s later launched in the main magazine, it can be used directly for the new serialization promotion.”

Color pages…

Sakamoto Ken immediately had an image in his mind. Just like the manga content, he just needed to replicate the image from his memory.

And it wasn’t limited to what Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei himself had created. There were also various fan arts, and even doujinshi.

He was a fan of Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei back then. He still had some treasures about Makima in his browser’s bookmarks.

For example, there was a work where Makima used her skill to summon heavenly justice, and that hand gesture was used to do other things with Denji-kun.

And Denji transformed into Chainsaw Man using the traditional method, with his head and hands turning into chainsaws. Was it possible that other parts could also turn into small chainsaws?

Of course, Sakamoto Ken wouldn’t draw these…

But in serious fan works, there were still many beautiful designs that were suitable for use as color page promotions.

Probably hearing no reply from the other side for a while, Kaji Keiko took the initiative to say, “Sakamoto-sensei? I don’t know if it’s convenient for you, but if possible, how about we talk face-to-face about the color pages and the subsequent plot design?”

She paused for a moment, then continued, “Sakamoto-sensei, you don’t have to trouble yourself to come over. I can come to your residence.”

An editor’s home visit?

This kind of thing was not uncommon in the industry. Some editors in charge of famous authors would even deliberately move near the author’s residence to rush their manuscripts.

They would even book a hotel room for the author, prepare coffee, Red Bull, Lipovitan, nitroglycerin tablets, and squat there while the author created, giving the author physical care.

It was said that during the bubble era, there were even examples of editors taking authors to Kabukicho for on-site experience to help them gather material.

Sakamoto Ken immediately replied, “No, it’s not convenient to meet here!”

It wasn’t that he felt embarrassed about living in a dilapidated apartment. It was mainly his subconscious vigilance about revealing his address to a woman…

It seems I still haven’t gotten rid of the psychological shadow.

“Oh my, I was just about to get the keys to the company’s shared car,” Kaji Keiko said. “It’s not convenient to talk on the phone either. Then I’ll have to trouble Sakamoto-sensei to make a trip here?”

“It’s fine. I have plenty of manuscripts saved up anyway, so I don’t need to rush,” Sakamoto Ken said. “Then I’ll come to the editorial department this afternoon.”

(End of Chapter)