Fram buried his head in the reading, and once he started, he couldn't stop!
"Hahaha! This is just too funny! Nobita, you idiot! Hahahaha!"
"Fram, once you're done, give it back. I want to read it too!"
"Don't be so stingy. Let me read it one more time!"
"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have given it to you. I'll never get it back once I do!"
"Don't be mad, here you go! I'm in a good mood today—I made a new friend."
"Someone like you actually made a friend? What's their name? Take me to meet them sometime?"
"Seems like his name is Waffle James? Yeah! That's the name!"
"Feels like I've heard that name somewhere before…" Iceburg muttered while looking down.
"Wait a minute!" Iceburg suddenly shouted, startling Fram.
"Look at the newspaper! The author of Doraemon! Isn't his name also Waffle James?" Iceburg excitedly pointed to the comic's signature in the paper.
"Let me see… Eh? It really is! Could it be someone with the same name?" Fram looked uncertain.
"You can ask him tomorrow, can't you? Don't you know where he lives?" Iceburg asked.
"He actually told me. He lives in a standalone villa at 19 Rock Street," Fram chuckled. If it's really him, doesn't that mean I get first-hand access to the newest manga? Just thinking about it makes me happy!
And as for James? He had locked himself in his house, fully focused on rushing his manuscript. Fan point lottery! Time machine! Just wait for me!
This guy still kept thinking about the time machine. Why doesn't he consider the possibility that the system might give him something like dorayaki? Would you trade it in? Trade it? Or… trade it?
Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!
So early in the morning—who's knocking on the door?
James had pulled an all-nighter and had just collapsed into bed at dawn, only to be woken by the incessant knocking!
Opening the door, he saw Fram, whom he'd met a couple of days ago, standing outside with a shy and indescribably admiring gaze.
James got goosebumps. Is Fram awakening some kind of… peculiar interest? Why's he looking at me like that?
Feeling uneasy, James let Fram in. As soon as he entered, Fram looked around curiously as if he were searching for something. James grew more anxious. As they passed the study, Fram's eyes lit up and he rushed straight into the room!
"Hahahaha! James, you really are the one drawing Doraemon! Hahaha! I'm borrowing these drafts to read!" Fram was laughing so hard his expression twisted, tears of joy in his eyes, burying himself in the manuscripts and not even glancing at James.
So that's the reason! James finally understood. Fram must've seen the signature in the paper yesterday but wasn't sure it was him, so he came early today to confirm.
"I worked all night on those. Just don't mess up the order. After you're done, weigh them down with something. I'm going back to sleep!"
Yawning, James gave a few instructions and went upstairs to sleep, leaving Fram in the room, eyes full of tears.
He trusts me this much? He lets me read something so precious without hesitation? Truly a friend!
With a grateful heart, Fram lowered his head and continued reading the manuscript. However, by the second week—he regretted it!
In the second week, the Lucky Star Weekly's sales exceeded 50,000 copies! This caught the publisher Duranda completely off guard, as they had only printed 30,000 copies. Doraemon's influence was growing, and stories of the blue robotic cat began spreading throughout Water 7's streets and alleys. Gadgets like the Bamboo Copter, Time Machine, and Anywhere Door started a "blue whirlwind" in the city.
James had now become the boss of the newspaper, and under the witness of Water 7's current mayor—whose daughter even asked him for an autograph—he got his first fan in this world!
A month later, Lucky Star Weekly had become the most popular newspaper in Water 7. Even merchants from surrounding islands came to buy papers in bulk. The newspaper expanded its staff and reach, and its influence kept growing—tales of the time machine even reached Enies Lobby!
Looking at the piles of drafts, James realized that the newspaper's circulation had peaked. The only way to grow further was to publish full manga volumes—that would boost both sales and influence. Fan value! Fan value! James checked his system yesterday. After a whole month, his fan value had only gone up by less than 5,000? Are the tens of thousands in weekly sales just a scam?!
After interviewing many citizens, James discovered the reason: most people just thought it was an entertaining story. Only kids became true die-hard fans—hence the low fan value.
Now that he had identified the problem, James began brainstorming. Doraemon's target audience was inherently limited, and he couldn't afford to wait for those kids to grow up!
What to do?
Back home, James started rethinking the manga's positioning. In this Great Pirate Era, should manga also evolve with the times? Try something more violent and bloody? But he had already drawn a month's worth of Doraemon and still hadn't met the system's criteria for a lottery draw. How many chapters would it take?
James made up his mind: No matter what I draw next, I'm done with Doraemon. Gotta boost my fan value first!
From then on, James began frantically churning out pages, working day and night. Even Fram and Iceburg, who often came to leech off new chapters, were shocked!
What a dedicated author! He's working so hard for his fans!
They were deeply moved. Aside from reading the drafts, they started helping James with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks… while also eating for free themselves~! James was more than happy to feed them. Once he went out to sea, wouldn't building a pirate ship be as simple as asking these two?
After pouring his heart out for a year, the system finally dinged! James was practically questioning his life by then. I've drawn almost half the Doraemon series, and only now do I get to do a lottery draw?! It took me a whole year, shut in my house, to reach the criteria? And that's WITH system assistance! If I had to do this by memory alone, I'd spend my whole life on Doraemon!
10 Energy Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Five-Star Ratings = 1 Extra Chapter