Great Mangaka

On Thursday morning, Mizuki, editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōjo Manga, stood outside the building, nervously adjusting her clothes.

Today she came to talk about short manga with Mirai-sensei. This matter was related to her future and the future development of Weekly Shōjo Manga.

The company launched the column "Mirai-sensei's Guidance Room." At first, she didn't have high expectations, but yesterday, Kurosawa, editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen, met with Mirai-sensei, and upon his return, he ordered the entire editorial department to work overtime and study the new theme all night. It was said to be an unprecedented theme that would have a revolutionary impact on the manga industry. All the male editors asked their artists to prepare their works, hoping to seize the opportunity and gain Mirai-sensei's approval.

Mizuki still remembered the lively scene she witnessed in the Weekly Shōnen editorial department after work yesterday. The editors gathered to discuss and debate, their faces flushed. It was a very lively experience. In her impression, such a lively scene only happened when the company was founded.

Seeing this, Mizuki couldn't sleep well all night. Weekly Shōnen got a miraculous theme from Mirai-sensei, so what about Weekly Shōjo Manga? 'Could Mirai-sensei prepare another such excellent theme?'

Sighing lightly.

"We can only take it step by step."

Mizuki cheered herself up and turned to ask Sakura, who was guiding her: "Sakura-sensei, is Mirai-sensei easy to talk to?"

"Editor-in-chief, don't worry."

Sakura smiled and said, "He is very kind. You can see Mirai-sensei's smiling face as you enter."

Although she said so, when they actually entered, the Takumi who appeared in front of them was completely different from usual.

"This is the theme for Weekly Shōjo Manga. The new story must be written according to the previous requirements!"

Takumi said nothing polite and handed the information directly to Mizuki. He exhaled a chill that surprised Sakura: "What's wrong with Mirai-sensei?"

But Mizuki, who saw Takumi for the first time, had a different feeling.

"Is this Mirai-sensei? His aura is very frightening."

She felt a tingling sensation all over her body. Takumi's aura was like that of a beast, more powerful than some adults, so she didn't even dare to be surprised by his age, so she quickly took the information and read it.

The name of the material is...

"Magical Girl?"

Mizuki was momentarily distracted. 'What is the relationship between magic and girls?'

She continued reading.

Magical girl refers to a female character who uses magic. It is also a series, and its influence is not much greater than that of Gundam. There are many types of magical girls. Takumi explained the most important one: transforming combat magical girls. Transforming combat magical girls have been the most widely used since the 1990s. That is, the protagonist, or she and her friends, suddenly acquire the power of transformation and use it after transformation to fight against evil forces.

Heroines in this type of manga are usually ordinary, but at critical moments they can transform spectacularly and fight with elegant movements. Their stories advocate justice over evil. The girls wear sailor suits, lolita outfits, and other costumes, and fight with various magic. This highlights the preference of female artists and readers for beauty to the fullest, and also attracts the attention of male readers. It can be said that it is popular among both men and women.

Mizuki deeply admired it. She discovered that this theme subverted the concept of the current manga industry. It surprisingly inverted the status of female characters. They were no longer weak, 'as if declaring to the world that "fighting is not just for men"!'

"..."

Mizuki became increasingly surprised as she read. This theme combines the appearance of a weak and cute girl with great power, which is refreshing. 'What is male superiority and female inferiority? In the world of magical girls, everything is done by women.'

She could already foresee the excited expressions of the artists. This theme was very attractive. Beautiful fighters fighting evil and saving the prince charming. 'How many wonderful works could come out of this!'

"It won't be worse than Weekly Shōnen! No, it's even better!"

thought Mizuki. She stood up excitedly and bowed to thank Takumi. Takumi's attitude remained very cold, but Mizuki was convinced.

"By the way, Mirai-sensei, we will pay you for this theme..."

"I know, 10% of the royalties is enough,"

Takumi interrupted. His cold attitude today was due to this matter. Kurosawa had already told him the reward.

Tsukimoto Genji set the standard for the remuneration of short stories. For manga published in "Mirai-sensei's Guidance Room," 20% of the royalties within one year would be granted to Takumi. This remuneration was very high. Other artists usually received 8% of the royalties, of which one-quarter went to Takumi.

Although he didn't earn as much money as he did, 20% of the royalties was truly impressive. It could be said that this was the biggest concession made by Hinotori Publishing and other artists, and Takumi didn't object to the amount.

However, what were royalties? They had to wait for the individual volume release, and it would take several months to receive them. Takumi's manga were very fast, and others were slower than him. Receiving the first payment for a new theme would take at least half a year.

'Half a year, the bet was lost: how to solve Miyuki's problem in time?'

"That old fox..."

Even after a day, Takumi was still indignant. Tsukimoto Genji didn't allow him to publish new manga and used this method to delay the release. Obviously, this was causing problems for Takumi.

Apparently, Takumi was relying on the Gundam and Magical Girl series to win the December bet. Even if he won, Tsukimoto Genji would train him as Hinotori Publishing's successor. But without the royalties from new manga, and relying solely on the income generated by the three books The Legend of Wukong, Detective Conan, and Inuyasha, Takumi shouldn't have trouble acquiring 2.5% of the shares in half a year, but there was no hope of surpassing Tsukimoto Genji!

It seemed Takumi would win this bet, but Tsukimoto Genji wouldn't lose either. Not only did he not lose the majority of his shares, but he also gained a free successor.

'No wonder Takumi felt uncomfortable.'

"Hmph..."

After seeing Mizuki off, Takumi snorted coldly. 'Tsukimoto Genji was very cunning. If he didn't find a way, he would fall into a trap.'

Miyuki's diagnosis was advanced, after a few years. He didn't know the specific situation now, but delaying it for too long would do more harm than good. Takumi was grateful to her deep down. He didn't want to waste time. If she recovered sooner, he could put his mind at ease sooner.

The current situation was that

Takumi's manga publishing rights were tied up by Hinotori Publishing. He couldn't assign them to others for publication; otherwise, the bet would be invalid. Hinotori Publishing was very tempting for Takumi. He didn't know how many years it would take to develop his own company, so the bet had to be made.

If he did it, he would find legal loopholes to launch new manga and quickly recover the royalties.

The only way was to serialize online!

- - - -

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