I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

“Wow… this is amazing.”
I couldn’t help but let out a word of admiration as I looked at the variety of dishes spread out on the dining table.
British cuisine generally has a strong image of being bland.

But that doesn’t mean British people can’t cook.
In fact, quite a few world-renowned chefs are British.
And as far as I could tell, Rika’s mother clearly belonged in that group.

“Fufu, I went all out for the first time in a while since we had a guest coming.”
As she said that, Rika’s mother proudly puffed out her ample chest.
Her mannerisms were practically identical to Rika’s.

Was this what Rika would be like once she got older?
We didn’t start eating right away, since Kishimoto-sensei hadn’t come out of his room yet. Rika’s mother told us to wait a moment and walked toward the study in the living room.
“Dear! Hurry up and come out! The food’s going to get cold!”

Then, the door that had been firmly closed opened, and stepping out was a man who looked to be in his mid-40s with a friendly expression.
He gave off a gentle, mild impression at first glance, but I knew exactly who he was.
I’d seen him in several online photos taken during magazine interviews.

A manga artist—Kishimoto Musashi.
Real name: Kishimoto Sojiro.
Commonly called a living legend.

He’d been working for over 20 years and was one of the most revered giants in the shounen manga industry.
When Kishimoto-sensei spotted me, his face lit up with surprise.
“So you’re Yu-seong-kun? You really do look like a protagonist from an '80s shounen manga, just like I heard.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Kishimoto-sensei.”

I was so thrilled to meet a manga artist I admired that I reflexively spoke in the most formal honorifics.
“Haha, standing and chatting must be tiring—come sit down. My wife put a lot of effort into this meal since you were coming over.”
“Oh, you~”

Judging by their easy expressions of affection, the couple seemed to have a very close relationship.
Once Kishimoto-sensei took his seat at the table, we were finally able to begin lunch.
“Try this too.”

“Ah, thank you.”
The food on the table was mostly Italian dishes adapted into Western-style Japanese fare.
A British woman, marrying into Japan, cooking Italian dishes with a Japanese twist—it was a bit ironic.

Still, as I ate the lasagna Rika’s mother had personally served and marveled at the flavor, Kishimoto-sensei, slicing into a sirloin steak, spoke up.
“Lately, every time Rika sits at the table, she talks about Yu-seong-kun. I’ve been really wanting to meet you. It’s the first time our daughter has ever shown she’s close with a boy.”
I swallowed my food and responded preemptively to avoid any misunderstandings.

“Rika and I are just ordinary friends. We only got close because I helped her out when she got lost on the subway on her first day after transferring.”
Then, Rika’s mother, twirling some pasta around her fork, chimed in.
“I drive her near the school in the mornings, so I didn’t know, but she told me she always gets your help in the evenings on her way back. That’s actually why we invited you for lunch today—to say thank you.”

“Haha… I see.”
Something… something felt uncomfortable.
When I first came here, I was filled with excitement about meeting Kishimoto-sensei in person, but sitting here with Rika’s parents now felt more like facing a high-pressure job interview.

Unable to hide the tremble in my voice, I just kept quietly stuffing food into my mouth, and that’s when Rika jumped in.
“Geez! Papa, Mama, how can you keep bombarding someone with questions while they’re eating?! He’s going to choke!”
Then, in a split second, Kishimoto-sensei’s mood flipped.

“Right? I knew it. I was starting to wonder if I’d been too intense. It’s just that since you’re Rika’s first male friend, I couldn’t help but worry—what if he had bad intentions~?”
“Ryu-chan is not like that!!”
In the midst of their friendly back-and-forth as father and daughter, a remark clearly meant to keep me in check slipped out, but all I could do was laugh it off.

Fathers being overly sensitive to their daughter’s male friends is a classic romcom cliché, after all.
Honestly, if I had a daughter as pretty as Rika, I’d probably see every guy who approached her as a wolf too.
Thankfully, Rika had stepped in at just the right moment, and the stiff atmosphere at the table eased up, letting us finish lunch more comfortably.

After lunch, while we were enjoying the fruit Rika’s mother had peeled and served, Kishimoto-sensei made an unexpected offer.
“I heard °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° from Rika that you’re a fan of mine. If you’re up for it, would you like to take a quick look at my studio after we finish eating?”
“If I could… that would be amazing!”

I spoke without thinking, unable to hide my excitement, and Kishimoto-sensei smiled a bit more warmly than before.
“You can look forward to it. I’ve never even shown the media my studio since moving to Tokyo.”
“Thank you so much, Sensei!”

To see Kishimoto-sensei’s studio with my own eyes—this was a dream come true for a fan who revered a living legend. I could die happy.
***
Kishimoto Sojiro, now forty-five, is a wildly popular manga artist.

He debuted in the industry at age twenty after winning a contest, and for the past twenty-five years, he’s focused exclusively on shounen manga, pouring his energy into his work.
He’d found such tremendous success in one field that he prided himself on having a sharp eye for people.
Having been on the fast track since a young age, it was only natural that many people tried to get close to him for his money.

In that context, the first impression manga artist Kishimoto Sojiro had of Kim Yu-seong, the friend his daughter brought home, was: “Big.”
He hadn’t been exactly short—he’d even been on the basketball team in middle school—but this young man looked far larger than he should have.
Maybe it was his aura. There was something about just his presence—something unprecedented that made people instinctively yield.

He’d worried Yu-seong might be a punk trying to cozy up based on Rika’s appearance or their family name, but after talking with him over lunch, that didn’t seem to be the case.
On the contrary, Yu-seong turned out to be surprisingly modest for how he looked.
Kishimoto couldn’t help but admire the fact that his daughter, who took after him in judging people, had picked a good guy for her first male friend.

And then, his wife suddenly brought it up.
“I drive her near the school in the mornings, so I didn’t know, but she told me she always gets your help in the evenings on her way back. That’s actually why we invited you for lunch today—to say thank you.”
Due to the nature of weekly serialization, he always shuttled between home and his studio and hadn’t known what went on between the two.

Hearing that this young man had been taking care of his daughter in ways he didn’t know about gave him a newfound sense of gratitude.
He went on to ask a few more questions.
What do your parents do? Where do you live? Is Rika doing well at school?

They were normal things to ask a friend of your daughter’s, but to Rika, it didn’t seem that way.
“Geez! Papa, Mama, how can you keep bombarding someone with questions while they’re eating?! He’s going to choke!”
Anyone could tell she was embarrassed.

If nothing else, Kishimoto—ever sensitive to his wife and daughter’s moods—quickly caught on.
Rika clearly liked this young man.
His wife had probably realized it long ago and was just being more proactive in bringing them together.

He felt deeply moved that his daughter had reached an age where she could understand love—but also a little bitter.
After all, this was the same girl who used to say she’d marry Papa when she grew up, and now she’d brought home a guy who might end up as her boyfriend sooner than expected.
Still, Kishimoto Sojiro wanted to be a good dad, so he smiled and said,

“Right? I knew it. I was starting to wonder if I’d been too intense. It’s just that since you’re Rika’s first male friend, I couldn’t help but worry—what if he had bad intentions~?”
“Ryu-chan is not like that!!”
Even though they weren’t even officially dating, the way she defended him like it was her own business was kind of cute.

Amused by his daughter’s fresh attitude, Kishimoto Sojiro gave the young man a warm smile and made him an offer.
“I heard from Rika that you’re a fan of mine. If you’re up for it, would you like to take a quick look at my studio after we finish eating?”
His face immediately lit up.

“If I could… that would be amazing!”
Seeing how sincerely happy he looked, Kishimoto Sojiro softened his expression. Clearly, this wasn’t some lie to win over his daughter.
“You can look forward to it. I’ve never even shown the media my studio since moving to Tokyo.”

“Thank you so much, Sensei!”
Well, now that it’s come to this… I guess I’ll have to make sure to properly help my daughter, who’s basically clueless about romance.