The phone vibrated unwillingly and made a shuffling sound in the quiet conference room.
Kato Yusuke put down the dip pen in his hand, keeping it away from the comic paper where the ink had not yet dried, and took his cell phone out of his trousers pocket to look at it.
Click on the latest notification message on the lock screen, and the screen will be switched to the Line software interface in the next second.
A contact's avatar is wearing a "1" number badge.
[Senior Shiyu: Hi, are you home? 】
Kato Yusuke picked up a bottle of oolong tea from the table in front of him, took two sips, and replied while leaning on the back of the seat behind him:
——[I went back and am now at the Immortal River Comics Department.]
[Senior Shiyu: At this time... didn't you take a break? 】
【Yusuke Kato:(Thumbs up)】
[Senior Shiyu: What do you mean? 】
[Yusuke Kato: Because I have to hand in the original manuscript. 】
[Senior Shiyu: I’m not asking this, but Yu-chan, you only responded with an expression. Did I bother you? Or are you impatient with me? 】
Kato Yusuke frowned and took two seconds to read the message again, confused as to how to respond.
[Senior Shiyu: Why can’t you read it back? Did I say it right? So which side is it specifically? Are you bothered or impatient? (sobbing)]
"Master of Reading Comprehension" - Kato Yusuke thought aimlessly, and then started to reply.
【What's wrong, senior?】
Outgoing messages are read in seconds.
After three seconds, the other party sent a photo, or a group photo.
Kato Yusuke's pupils shrank, and his dark eyes reflected the scene on the screen.
The protagonists in the photo are him and Shiyu.
The two of them were covered with the same thin quilt. Under the quilt that reached to their chests, they were naked and sleeping in each other's arms.
"Morning for two~" - The text sticker on the photo blocks the key areas, but you can still see the perfect curves of the semi-circular E cup and the white skin.
If you want to describe it specifically, the content in the photo is exactly what a couple should look like.
The boy hugs the girl, and the girl rests on the boy's arm, sharing the same bed intimately.
The picture looks fragrant and charming, making people think about it.
[Senior Shiyu: How was yesterday’s commemorative photo? Do you like it~? 】
Kato Yusuke frowned three points, closed his eyes and carefully thought about what happened last night, confirmed it several times, and finally came to a Christmas Eve conclusion.
His brows relaxed a little, and then his temples began to throb again.
He replied with a headache: [From all aspects, senior sister is too fierce.]
Then he stopped replying.
As soon as I put down my phone, it started vibrating again.
So I picked it up again and prepared to mute it.
And new chat messages also popped up from Line.
[Xintiao Xiang: President, do you want to go to karaoke together? It’s just the two of us~]
Also attached is a photo titled "Daily Lesson".
In the photo, the person involved is wrapped in a bath towel, with wet hair, and a rosy look on her delicate skin. It is obvious that she has just taken a bath, giving people a dewy feeling.
I don’t know why, but Shinjoka has become a lot more docile and enthusiastic recently. She often takes some nice photos and invites him.
Kato Yusuke read the message but did not reply.
In the relationship between the two, this represents rejection, and Shinjoka will be wise enough not to ask any more questions.
The next second——
Buzzing~
One after another, another new message was sent.
[Megumi: Good morning, Kako invited me to buy things for off-campus teaching. It seems that Yamaguchi-san and Takei-san are also going. Does Yusuke want to come with him? 】
"..."
Kato Yusuke looked at the screen and thought about it. The off-campus teaching started the week before the end of the month, and there was still a week left, so he started to reply.
——【I don’t have anything to buy, so I won’t go.】
[Hui: Well... I knew you would say that, but it’s not good to stay at home all the time. You should remember to go out for a walk, right? 】
【Yusuke Kato:(Thumbs up)】
There was an interval of two or three seconds.
【Yusuke Kato: Got it.】
After putting down the phone.
Kato Yusuke began to continue drawing the manuscript. The conversation this morning could not help but come to mind, and he became a little more serious when writing.
After talking to Shiyu, he has been thinking about this matter, and the other party's remarks really made him feel something in some aspects.
At least after paying off the debt, he felt that he should consider other things, so the studio and game planning that had been temporarily shelved came to mind...
While thinking about related things, I continued to write.
that's all.
Kato Yusuke stayed from morning to noon, and then from noon to afternoon.
During this period, except for going to the curry shop downstairs for lunch, I basically spent the rest of the time drawing manuscripts.
With such efforts, the progress of the comic manuscript has been smoothly advanced to the thirteenth chapter.
Since the last submission, he has drawn a total of ten chapters in the past two weeks.
After finishing the manuscript of Chapter 13, Yusuke Kato found Deputy Editor Kimura.
The two people together printed out the manuscripts saved on the USB flash drive, and then brought the manuscripts back to the conference room for him to review.
When he first saw the thick stack of "storyboards" on the table, Kimura was surprised, but it was still within the acceptable range.
However, when he discovered that these "storyboards" were all original manuscripts...
The whole person instantly froze on the seat, and he didn't recover for a long time.
It wasn't until Kato Yusuke called his name twice that he agreed as if he was waking up from a dream, and the questions in his mind blurted out without thinking.
"——Isn't what you have been drawing just now a rough draft????"
Kato Yusuke shook his head and denied: "No, it's the original manuscript. There are 10 episodes in total here. From episode 4 to 13, Chief Editor Kimura can check if there are any problems."
"This, this, this, this, this, this..."
Kimura stared in shock, opened and closed his mouth, and then swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, and asked: "Before that, can you allow me to ask a question? Teacher Fujimotoshu..."
"Of course, you can tell me anything."
"Then-huh... may I ask how many words you drew in total during the time you were here just now?"
"Two words."
"In such a short time! Did you make a draft in advance!?"
Kato Yusuke glanced at him, said nothing, and just nodded in response.
Seeing his reaction, Kimura felt a little better, and the expression on his face slowly relaxed, revealing a self-comforting smile.
People only believe what they want to believe and what they can understand.
In any case, he could not imagine that Kato Yusuke could draw a complete two-chapter comic content in a few hours without a draft, unless he was drawing in Natsuki Hachi.
Thinking of this, Kimura quickly lowered his head and checked.
Kato Yusuke didn't rush him, he just sat aside calmly and let him check it while he leisurely drew the manuscript of the next chapter.
Swish, swish,
Swish, swish.
The sound of turning pages and pen movements was heard quietly.
Kimura checked it very quickly. It only took him about half an hour to take a rough look at it. He mainly checked whether there was any damage to the painting. As for the storyboards and plot, he planned to look at it slowly later.
He didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed. The possible collapse of the painting that he suspected did not happen, and the level of painting on each page was the same as before.
On this basis, if there are no problems with the plot, it will basically only need a little editing before it can be published. It will definitely be a qualified comic manuscript.
After realizing this, Kimura was shocked and confused. The current situation really shocked him.
After all, just a week ago, he was discussing with the old editor-in-chief Suzuki about adding a supervisor to Yusuke Kato.
But now, the other party suddenly and quietly gave him such a big surprise!
Ten chapters! This is ten whole chapters!
What other comic book authors would take a full ten weeks to turn in, but here, it seems to be done in the blink of an eye.
As long as there are no errors or logical flaws in these manuscripts.
Even if Mr. Fujimotoshu does nothing from now on and takes a month's leave immediately, these manuscripts will be enough to support ten issues of the magazine.
When such a dreamlike reality is before our eyes, how can we not feel confused?
"——Chief Editor Kimura." Kato Yusuke saw that he was tending to fall into a state of confusion again, so he couldn't help but remind him:
"If you don't plan to continue reviewing the manuscript now, I have something to discuss."
"Ah, yes!" Kimura perked up, "Is there any problem?"
"Well, it's about the serialization of "Chainsaw Man". I have two questions to ask."
"Teacher, please tell me!"
"So first of all, including the original manuscript here, the current plot of "Chainsaw Man" is enough to support a stand-alone book. Have you considered any plans to produce a stand-alone book?"
"Ah, so that's what happened, of course! Judging from the current popularity of your work, teacher, the release of the single volume must be within the established matters. You don't need to worry about this."
"I know this." Kato Yusuke nodded slightly, "What I want to know is about the production of the single book. Can it be done in advance?"
"Ahead of time??" Kimura was shocked, and then he pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and asked:
"Could it be that...Teacher, you think the serialization speed of the magazine is too slow, so you want to publish a single volume directly...?"
"Well, after all, the price of a single volume is higher, which is also good for you."
"Uh...I'm afraid..." Kimura wiped the non-existent sweat on his forehead, wondering:
"I'm sorry that I can't give you a specific answer. If you insist, teacher, I can convey your wishes to Editor-in-Chief Suzuki..."
Kato Yusuke saw that his words were insincere and did not push him too hard, so he brought up another matter.
"Then, if it is difficult to decide on a single volume, can the number of pages and length of each serial issue of "Chainsaw Man" be increased?"
“Improve??How much do you want to increase??”
"Like five episodes in one issue or something like that."
"——Five, five chapters!" Kimura suddenly stood up from his seat and exclaimed: "According to your usual length, teacher, isn't that nearly a hundred original manuscripts!?"
"If it's too much, you can reduce it."
"Let's not talk about it for now. The problem is that this is a weekly magazine! Teacher, can you draw it!?"
Kato Yusuke looked calm and responded: "If you agree, I will find a way to complete it."
Although the words he spoke were euphemistic, his tone was full of certainty, making people subconsciously want to be convinced.
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
Kimura sat down slowly, his expression seemed to be greatly shocked, and he was speechless for a long time.
Although the competition in the comics industry is fierce, it is actually a rather slow-growing industry.
Limited by many factors, the serialization of comics is a long process.
If a popular medium-length work is not cut in half, it usually takes about two years from the beginning of serialization to the completion.
In order to create popular comics, although editors will put pressure on the author, they will not demand immediate results.
When it comes to giving authors time to grow, both the editorial department and the company will be tolerant and helpful.
And Kimura has long been accustomed to this pattern, until what happened today...
After all, in this industry, it is normal for editors to push comics authors for manuscripts, but the reverse situation is really incredible and extremely fresh.
Kimura couldn't help but clicked his tongue when he thought of this, and looked at Yusuke with a strange look in his eyes.
I wanted to ask, "Are you serious?" However, neither what the other party said before nor his calm expression at this moment seemed to be a joke.
After thinking about it for a while, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and started talking.
"I'm really sorry. The matter of increasing the length is not something I can decide on my own."
"Unfortunately, Editor-in-Chief Suzuki went to attend an industry seminar today. Otherwise, after he comes back, can I convey your message to him, teacher?"
Kato Yusuke didn't have any objections to this, and he didn't expect to solve the matter at once, so he agreed with understanding.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you."
"No, no, no, please don't say that. Teacher, you are too polite." Kimura waved his hands and said politely, admiring him for being able to make such a decision without changing his expression.
After all, the pressure of weekly serialization is much greater than that of monthly serialization, but this teacher seems to be dissatisfied and has to put more burdens on himself, which is really rare.
In the end, I can only lament that he is indeed the person Xia Shizi values and neither of them can consider it based on common sense.
Not only does he have similar thoughts, but many others also think so.
After talking about business, Kimura also began to chat with this important figure.
"Speaking of Fujimoto-sensei, have you heard about the news that Kasumi Shiko-sensei's work will be animated?"
"Well, I've heard this before."
"Hahaha, that's it! The debut work can be animated, which is really an amazing achievement. But according to you, teacher, it is entirely possible to do this in the future."
"You're welcome."
"No, I really think so...and thanks to you, our comics department is confident enough to hold a thank-you party this year. Although it is held together with the light novel department, you must be present!"
Kato Yusuke didn’t ask much about this and directly equated it with the company’s annual meeting.
Since today's matters were all done, he had no intention of staying any longer. He said goodbye to Kimura and quickly left the Immortal River.