Chapter 267: Choice
It was dark.
Anne saw the two children off at the door and then returned to the room.
"Your Excellency the Duke, the tea is cold. Do you need me to prepare it again?"
She saw that the tea in the cup was cold, so she asked. Anthony, reclining in the chair, replied softly.
A smile appeared on his lips, and Anne subtly nodded.
"Congratulations to Your Excellency the Duke on the success of the plan,"
she said while preparing the tea. Anne was not surprised by this time's success. They knew everything about Mirai-sensei, including his personality. Mirai-sensei, who knew the whole truth, would definitely not be willing to stay in Osaka.
He was an arrogant boy. He was very liberal. He would never tolerate being deceived by others, much less feel fortunate to have a rich grandmother.
"Success..." However, at that moment, Anthony, sitting in the chair, smiled: "No, I failed, Anne. Mirai-sensei rejected the invitation."
Anne stopped moving her hands.
"What did you say?"
She suspected she had misheard. Mirai-sensei refused to go to England? Why? There was no reason. Were their expert groups' conclusions wrong?
Mirai-sensei has been growing through his own efforts. Could it be a misunderstanding? Indeed, is he the kind of mortal who would be happy to have a powerful family?
"...Your Excellency the Duke, you... smiled..."
Anne was even more surprised, thinking that if Mirai-sensei had rejected Duke Anthony's invitation, why was the Duke still smiling so happily?
"Because that boy jumped out of my hand."
Anthony shook his head and thought of Mirai-sensei. He laughed and said: "Anne. We miscalculated Mirai-sensei. He won't let himself be controlled by others."
This incident made him feel lost, but rather pleased him.
Although he spent months preparing and didn't get the best results, Anthony was very satisfied with Mirai-sensei's performance. At the end of the conversation, Mirai-sensei's decision completely exceeded his expectations.
Perhaps he will surprise everyone too. That is a very characteristic decision of Mirai-sensei...
"I regret..."
Although it's a shame, what cannot be obtained cannot be obtained. Anthony thought so and sighed: "I really want to have that child by my side...".
"If he were in England. With his personality, he could become a politician more powerful than me."
Anne was a little stunned. She didn't understand what had happened. Before, Anthony had always been concerned with Mirai-sensei's manga skills, but this time he admired the boy.
What did they talk about in the conversation just now to reach such a result?
"Your Excellency the Duke, does Mirai-sensei have a very high political opinion?"
Anne asked, unable to contain her curiosity, but Anthony shook his head.
"No, quite the opposite. He didn't tell me what it was." He replied: "That child's world is very simple and he's not interested in political trends."
"I think he will be a mangaka all his life. Those who seek culture and art can be like that...".
Everyone has their own interests. Anthony feels too impulsive. Mirai-sensei does not seek fame, wealth, or fortune. He only seeks his own path.
Anthony wants to take him to England, and the tools are the temptation of power and growth. Mirai-sensei was not interested in the former, but the latter, obviously, deeply moved him.
The boy longed to grow. Anthony believed that Mirai-sensei's greatest advantage over others was not his talent, but his urgency to change. He wanted to mature and face all difficulties with mastery.
Anyone, talented or not, with this desire and motivation, will undoubtedly become very strong in the end.
However, Anthony thought he could give Mirai-sensei this strength, but in the end, he said he wanted to find it himself and didn't want to accept it from others.
"What a proud child..."
Anthony sighed: "When I spoke to Madam Yamada, she described him as a little lion. Without a doubt, the gaze of blood relatives is more precise, and lions must find their own way."
"Your Excellency the Duke... Then, the manga market..."
Anne didn't understand what Anthony was saying. She only knew that Mirai-sensei wouldn't go to England. If Mirai-sensei didn't come, how would England's predicament be resolved? Did the Duke no longer want to worry about this matter?
"It doesn't matter, we have achieved our goal."
Anthony shook his head and smiled: "Mirai-sensei simply took the initiative to cooperate with me. The first step is to give us the English copyrights of One Piece. He said that we don't have to insist too much on letting him go."
That's why Anthony yielded. Mirai-sensei gave up the English copyrights of the manga, which wasn't very different from him going there.
"Is that enough?"
Anne asked skeptically.
"Well, it's enough. One Piece fits our market better." Anthony nodded. At first he wanted to take Mirai-sensei to England and let this young man prepare a manga suitable for the Western market.
But in the end, Mirai-sensei reminded him that, in fact, the current "One Piece" can be used. The characters' names in this manga are all Westernized, and the difficulty of dissemination will not be very high.
And the key is that One Piece sells so well in Japan, and its strength is evident to all, not to mention England.
"So that's it..."
Anne understood that Mirai-sensei cooperated with Anthony and achieved his goal. No wonder the Duke let Mirai-sensei go.
"But Mirai-sensei wasn't surprised by the two pieces of news. What a surprise!"
Then Anne felt a little disappointed. At first, she thought Alice and the Yamada family would be a tough blow for Mirai-sensei, but...
"It was a tough blow."
Anthony said: "Mirai-sensei is just as we expected. He can't handle these two things. He will take action... That's why we underestimated him...".
Anthony calculated the process well, but not the result. When he was sure that Mirai-sensei would obediently go to England, he unexpectedly jumped...
In the end, the boy chose no one and trusted no one. He decided to change.
In the evening, Takumi walked in silence.
"Did you promise Duke Anthony?"
Shiori followed him half a meter behind him. She couldn't help but ask.
"No," Takumi replied. His voice was very soft. In the wind, a sense of distance could be perceived.
Since leaving the family home, Shiori noticed that Takumi was a little strange. He was quieter than usual, but beneath that silence, something very complex seemed to be hidden.
What had happened? Shiori didn't know; she simply stayed behind Takumi, watching his back. She thought that as long as he didn't leave, everything would be fine...
In Takumi's opinion, Shiori was very cunning. He needed silence to discover the truth about Alice and the family. It was like a powder keg about to explode. If Shiori walked by his side, Takumi could explode...
He wanted to interrogate Shiori, ask her what happened that day, and then tell her that he hadn't managed to save him.
However, he couldn't say it. If this matter became public, Shiori would ruin everything. She would go with Alice, and this... Takumi didn't know how to deal with it now.
How would he face Alice in the future, and how would he face that family?
"Family..."
Takumi laughed at himself. What family is he still talking about now? What did that grandmother come up with, buying Sakura Books and secretly helping him?
One day, his grandson would find out about her help and return to her arms with tears in his eyes. How could that be possible!
How embarrassing, how embarrassing for Takumi!
Why did he have to rely on the power of a family that never cared for him or his child when he could do it himself?
Yes, that's right, Sakura Books Bookstore helped him a lot.
However, without Sakura Books, Takumi still trusted in his victory. He had been calculating the distance between him and Kanto, and he never found himself in a truly desperate situation. Without Sakura Books, he only needed to prepare more countermeasures.
But in the end, did it seem like he had been given charity?
"Charity..."
Takumi stopped and looked around. At that moment, were there people from that family secretly watching him?
Those who took him for granted, believing themselves superior, and observing his growth, the "young master," with a "kind" look?
No, Takumi didn't need that treatment, he wasn't willing to accept it.
"I only need to rely on myself!"
After returning home, Takumi and Aika chatted all night.
In the following days, he didn't seem to have any setbacks in manga or in life; instead, he worked harder, especially in the manga world. He started staying up late to draw the subsequent plots and prepared the content for several series for half a month.
"I'll save these manuscripts on the computer; you can print them for post-production."
"Also, these are the story settings, don't deviate, forget it... Anyway, I can review it outside, by video and fax, understand? Don't be lazy!"
"One Piece will be transferred to Weekly Shōnen for serialization, and Mirai Manga... anyway, there's no editorial department, it will be temporarily suspended...".
Two weeks later, many people discovered that something was wrong with Takumi. Mirai-sensei's anniversary celebration was canceled without hesitation, and the subsequent Mirai Manga also announced its suspension.
There was a surprise within Hinotori Publishing, and after the news spread, outside readers were also shocked.
However, just as everyone wanted to ask about the situation, Sun-san drove a group to the Hinotori Building that same day and began to persuade Hinotori Publishing to move out of Osaka.
They offered a very tempting condition. Saitama City, in the Kansai region, was willing to grant the largest tax exemption and preferential policies to invite Hinotori Publishing to settle, and even promised to include it in the city's list of key companies.
If Hinotori Publishing relocated its headquarters to Saitama, it would not only enjoy billions of yen in subsidies every year, but also reduce friction with Kanto. Sun-san even agreed that Weekly Shōnen and Weekly Shōjo Manga would be sold at Kanto Bookstore.
This filled Hinotori Publishing's senior executives with joy. Upon receiving the news, Genji immediately told his secretary:
"Quick, go find Takumi, let him make the decision!"
The secretary immediately ran to the Sakura Garden Community...
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