After seeing Rei off, Miyu returned home.
As she stepped inside, she heard her sister Misaki on the phone.
"Yes, that's right. Please cancel my reservation for Azure Dream, the romance manga I was planning to submit at the Serialization Meeting the day after tomorrow. I'll be submitting a new manga tomorrow instead—a short story of about five chapters. Yes, that's correct."
After a long pause, Misaki finally hung up.
"Sis, you're really invested in Rei's manga," Miyu remarked, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Worried you won't have time to submit his results at the company tomorrow, you're calling your colleagues late at night to give them a heads-up, huh?"
Seeing this, Miyu's mood, which had been weighed down by the 5 Centimeters Per Second plot, unexpectedly lightened.
After all, Rei was her friend—the one she had introduced to her sister. His success brought her a sense of joy as well.
Misaki glanced at her and said softly, "Your friend has great potential."
"Of course I can see that," Miyu replied. "A manga of just five chapters, yet it's so deeply moving. He definitely has potential."
"In recent years, several major manga publishers, including Hoshimori Publishing Group, have been actively promoting young manga artists. Our Editorial Department has been instructed to scout for promising newcomers. It's much easier for new artists to break through now than it used to be," Misaki explained.
"Miyu, I have high hopes for you. I believe you could have your manga serialized in Hoshimori Publishing within a few years. But you need to work hard, otherwise..." Misaki trailed off.
"Don't let your friends get ahead of you," she added.
"Heh, Sis, you're overthinking it," Miyu chuckled dismissively. "My Tale of Sorrow has been serialized for six months, and I've already built up a solid fanbase. Even if 5 Centimeters Per Second is excellent, what kind of impact can a five-week serialization really have? They're still a long way from surpassing me."
The next day, Rei entered the classroom to find all his classmates staring at him with strange expressions.
He immediately understood why: many had likely seen him leaving with Miyu in the car yesterday.
Whatever. If Miyu doesn't care, why should I? Let the rumors spread—they'll die down eventually.
Since transmigrating, Rei had been busy drawing manga every day. But now that the 5 Centimeters Per Second manga was complete and awaiting tomorrow's Serialization Meeting results, he found himself with nothing to do today.
At noon, he habitually went to the rooftop, not to draw, but to enjoy the breeze.
However, he didn't encounter Miyu there today.
Which was understandable.
She also had a manga series currently being serialized and might be rushing to meet her deadline in some other secluded corner of the school.
Another day passed.
Rei went to school and attended classes as usual.
9:00 AM
A commercial building in downtown Tokyo.
This was the headquarters of the Hoshimori Publishing Group, one of Japan's six major manga companies.
The 19th floor housed the Editorial Department of this nationally renowned publishing house.
Hoshimori Publishing Group oversaw dozens of periodicals, each with its own dedicated editorial team.
The Editorial Department floor was bustling with activity as various teams worked on their respective projects.
The editorial team responsible for Sakura Weekly magazine was gathered in a conference room, waiting for their chief editor to arrive.
Despite being called a Serialization Meeting, it was essentially a meeting specifically for the Sakura Weekly editorial team to discuss serialization decisions.
A weekly magazine like Sakura Weekly, with sales in the hundreds of thousands, wouldn't typically warrant the attention of the Hoshimori Publishing Group's editor-in-chief. Senior executives only attended Serialization Meetings for Hoshimori Publishing, where changes to serialized works in the magazine with over ten million weekly sales were discussed.
Therefore, the meeting was chaired by Moriyama Kaito, one of the Editorial Department's seven chief editors.
Each editor and attending manager had a thick stack of manga drafts arranged in order beside them.
Misaki sat in the conference room, one seat to the left of the chief editor's designated spot at the head of the table.
Her seating arrangement clearly indicated that her work performance ranked among the top two within the Sakura Weekly editorial team.
Across from her sat Takeda Jun, a lean man in his thirties.
His expression held a hint of smug confidence as he glanced at Misaki, his greatest rival within the Sakura Weekly editorial team.
Though Misaki was ten years younger than him, her capabilities as an editor were undeniable. In just two years, she had discovered several successful manga artists.
Particularly noteworthy was the high school girl manga artist "Saki"
The latest issue's internal rankings for her Tale of Sorrow had been released. Her fan popularity vote ranking had risen to second place, just over a hundred votes shy of surpassing High Score Romance, the manga series under Takeda's supervision.
Historically, every few years, the editor who performed best on Sakura Weekly had a slim chance of being transferred to Hoshimori Publishing, where they would oversee manga series serialized in Hoshimori Publishing.
Of course, this wasn't guaranteed. The position was also contested by outstanding editors from other high-selling magazine teams.
Still, there was a chance.
Given the timing, the Editorial Department's higher-ups were likely already considering personnel reassignments.
Otherwise, Takeda wouldn't be so anxious about today's Serialization Meeting.
This year's timing was particularly significant.
If he could be transferred to oversee manga series serialized in Hoshimori Publishing, his income would increase at least seven or eightfold, and his industry status would skyrocket.
After all, the average volume sales of manga series serialized in Hoshimori Publishing never fell below a million copies. Even with a minimal royalty rate for manga editors, this would translate to an annual income of tens of millions of Yen.
Misaki was truly formidable. Sooner or later, she would undoubtedly rise to the top, becoming a key figure in the Hoshimori Publishing Group's Editorial Department. But for now...
Things have an order, Takeda thought to himself. If such an opportunity exists, it should go to me, who has toiled in the Editorial Department for over a decade, not to you, a newcomer who's only been here for two years.
Takeda was confident in the work he had submitted for the Serialization Meeting.
Yet, even a lion hunts a rabbit with its full strength. To prevent his rival from achieving further success, the best strategy was to limit the number of "pieces" she could play during the Serialization Meeting itself.
He was determined to secure both serialization slots today.
"Alright, let's begin the meeting," Director Huang Yan announced, pushing open the conference room door and striding straight to his seat.
As soon as he settled in, he cut straight to the point.
"There are two serialization slots available this time. However, we received twenty-one manga submissions, making the competition quite fierce. Let's start by reviewing the first manga on the table: Love Blooms Like Fireworks!"
Upon hearing this, Misaki picked up the neatly stacked manuscript that the staff had already prepared.
Typically, manga submitted to the Serialization Meeting consisted of only two or three chapters.
The attending editors wouldn't read them in detail; with dozens of submissions, a thorough review would take an entire day and night.
As professional editors, they focused on the essentials:
Art style, plot, pacing, dialogue.
"This is really good!" Misaki thought to herself after skimming through the three chapters in a few minutes.
But unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.
Takeda glanced at Misaki's expression and frowned.
"So calm? Could it be that one of the two manga she submitted is even better than mine?"
At that moment, the other editors began sharing their impressions.
"Very impressive."
"Amazing! That plot twist!"
"I found it quite interesting."
"A very well-done manga," Misaki commented.
"Since the feedback is positive, let's keep this manga under observation for now," Director Huang Yan said, putting down the manuscript.
"Next, please turn to the second submission for review, the manga adaptation of 5 Centimeters Per Second."
Takeda picked up the stack of manuscript pages from the table, his brow furrowing as soon as he felt its weight.
"Why is this so thick?" he asked aloud.
"Because all five chapters of the manga are here," Misaki replied, looking at Takeda. "It's a short manga created by a new artist, so we're presenting the entire work at the meeting."
"A short manga? By a new artist?"
As Misaki finished speaking, the attendees exchanged glances, their minds racing.
While Sakura Weekly didn't outright reject short manga series, their commercial value was undeniably lower, making it difficult to build readership. A five-chapter series could only fill a single volume.
Normally, getting a short manga series approved at the Serialization Meeting was far more challenging than securing approval for medium- or long-form works. Moreover, works by new artists faced even greater scrutiny.
Hearing this, Takeda's spirits lifted.
"In that case, how do you plan to compete with me?"
The two manga series he had submitted—Love Blooms Like Fireworks! and Moonlit Glass—were both of exceptional quality, created by two well-established artists he collaborated with.
There was no way his works were going to be defeated by a shorty start from a new mangaka.
There's no need to worry.
Thought Takeda as he picked up the manuscript titled— 5 Centimetres Per Second—with a smile.