Over the next two days, Alice and Takumi jointly purchased the missing furniture, including desks, brushes, and other necessary tools for mangaka, and then reserved a room as a studio.
Takumi planned to buy a computer, but Aika stopped him: "You can't spend all your money; you have to save for tuition and hire a tutor!"
Takumi has only received one month's royalties so far. Although next month's royalties will arrive soon, rent will have to be deducted. Aika felt uncomfortable if she didn't save some money.
The tuition for Osaka's N.º 1 High School is 70,000 yen per year, but Takumi's situation is special. He has to focus on manga and can only hire a tutor for his studies. Although Takumi considered it unnecessary, Aika was very firm.
"Okay..."
Takumi listened to his mother's words, but Alice, beside him, was surprised.
"Tutor? There's no need to hire one; I'm Takumi's tutor!" She touched her head and blushed: "Look at my memory, it seems I forgot to say that tutoring Takumi is also my job."
She is a top student, a graduate of Tokyo University, and more than capable of tutoring. Takumi finally understood Alice's role. For a long time, he had wondered why there was an exclusive editor. 'Mangaka are not children and do not need individual editing assistance. Hinotori Publishing's arrangement is unreasonable.'
But adding a tutor is different. Takumi's situation is special. He needs to balance his studies with manga. With Alice in charge, he can reasonably allocate his time.
However, Alice's previous experience as an agent is very useful to her.
"Aika-san, are you a tutor?" Aika was surprised and happy. She believed in Alice's ability, but 'would it be too much trouble for her?' "In this way, we'll give you some extra money. How much do you think you need...?"
"No, no!" Alice quickly refused: "This is my job, and the company has given me sufficient remuneration."
In fact, she envied the attention the company gave Takumi. She was also exceptional when she was young, but no one, except her parents, spent money on her. In the end, it was a matter of strength. Takumi created benefits for Hinotori Publishing, so, as expected, he enjoyed preferential treatment.
The next day, Takumi, having finished his tasks, arrived at the Hinotori Building accompanied by Alice.
It was still work hours, and he caused a sensation as soon as he entered the editorial department.
"Mirai-sensei, what a shame for him!"
"Go serve some water!"
"Mirai-sensei, I'm Hiroshi, editor of Group 3. This is my business card. If you need anything in the future, you can ask me for help..."
"Mirai-sensei, when are you free to meet other mangaka? Everyone wants to meet you!"
The enthusiastic editors served tea and handed out business cards. Alice, uncomfortable, stood next to Takumi, extending her hands to contain the editors' enthusiasm.
"Could you please not snatch him away in front of me? I'm his editor in charge!"
Alice was tall, and when she got angry, the editors stopped.
In fact, many editors had different opinions about this new editor. After seeing the popularity of Detective Conan, the editors of Weekly Shōnen launched fierce competition, but no one became Takumi's editor in charge; instead, a woman snatched him up.
But this outcome was fair. Alice was beautiful and charming, and it was better for her to snatch him from other colleagues. And there was one more girl in the office, and many editors felt comfortable.
"It's okay, Alice, don't be angry, everyone disperse."
An editor stepped forward, and the others nodded and dispersed.
Alice took Takumi to Kurosawa. The editor-in-chief witnessed what happened and smiled happily: "It seems they get along well."
The most important thing for the editor-in-chief and the mangaka is to get along well. Kurosawa was relieved. He began to talk about the main topic. The main reason for calling Takumi was that Detective Conan was going to publish a manga.
A manga refers to the same manga work after its serialization, and the content is reprinted from the serialized publication to become an independent book with a manga as its theme.
"I also saw the poster."
Takumi saw the poster's promotion in the subway and found it strange: "Is the word count of Detective Conan enough?"
Detective Conan has always been serialized in magazines at a rate of one episode per week. Takumi didn't know how many chapters would be needed to publish a single book.
"Enough."
Kurosawa nodded without hesitation: "Now that manga are popular, the company decided to seize the opportunity and release a single manga with the first eight episodes when the ninth is serialized. The estimated selling price is 200 yen."
A common manga in Japan has ten to fourteen chapters. Eight episodes are relatively few, but the price is also low.
Takumi discussed it with Kurosawa, and he found nothing wrong, so he agreed. The manga's release is very soon, right after school starts, in early September.
In addition to this matter, Kurosawa also asked him about assistants. Many professional mangaka rely on assistants. Although Takumi is efficient, Kurosawa considered that he should still focus on his studies, so he suggested hiring two manga assistants.
However, hiring assistants requires money from the mangaka, and Takumi refused without hesitation. He knew his position, and learning was not a difficult task for him. He could easily update one chapter a week.
"Wait until I serialize two manga, and then I'll hire an assistant,"
Takumi said. Although he had an idea, two manga would require a lot of physical strength, and then he would have to ask an assistant for help.
However, this sentence shocked both Alice and Kurosawa.
"Two manga? Takumi, do you have that plan?" Kurosawa was particularly nervous: "Don't be stubborn, just draw one manga."
He was very worried that Takumi would get carried away. 'It's difficult for ordinary people to serialize two manga at once. Even if they could do it, the quality of the manga would decrease.' Kurosawa didn't want to see this situation.
Takumi understood his concerns and didn't say anything definitive.
"I know, this isn't just an example!"
Kurosawa exclaimed with relief.
"Alright, these are the things I asked you to do today. You'll be able to dedicate yourself to drawing in the future." He told Takumi and then looked at Alice: "Alice, these tasks will be assigned to you in the future. If you have any questions, please consult me."
Originally, these tasks were Alice's, but Kurosawa thought that she and Takumi had only been together for two days, so he worried and intervened.
"I know."
Alice didn't mind. She had just joined the company and there were many things she didn't know, and she also needed to learn from Kurosawa.
After the conversation, Alice had to stay in the editorial department managing documents, and Takumi went home alone. Thinking that he didn't have to pay for private lessons, he went to buy a computer and got internet access.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but a shadow was silently approaching.