At that moment, Takumi was hanging clothes at home when the phone rang.
He rushed to the living room to answer.
"Hello, is this Takumi-san?"
said the voice on the other end of the phone. Of course, Takumi, being over 30, was not surprised by the word "san."
"Yes, it's me. May I ask who this is?"
"This is Kurosawa, editor-in-chief of Hinotori Publishing's Weekly Shōnen Editorial Department. Takumi-san, may I ask if the copyright for Detective Conan that you submitted has been sold?"
The voice on the other end sounded very anxious.
Hearing the meaning of his words, although Takumi was prepared, his heart beat twice as fast and his lips curled slightly: "No, I sent you the only original manuscript."
This answer made Kurosawa, on the other end, breathe a sigh of relief: "In that case, would you be willing to give this manga to our Weekly Shōnen for distribution? We will do our best to promote and feature it, and royalties and participation will be paid according to professional mangaka standards."
Professional mangaka standards! Takumi was stunned for a moment. This far exceeded his expectations. He quickly nodded: "No problem! I'd be happy to give it to you. When do we sign the contract?"
"As soon as possible!"
Kurosawa was eager to sign the contract quickly to avoid further complications: "When are you free? I'll book you a train ticket, and you can come then."
For safety, it's better to sign the contract in person.
However, Takumi hesitated. He suddenly remembered that he couldn't sign a contract at fifteen unless his guardian, Aika, permitted it.
"I'm free during this period, but could you provide two train tickets?" Takumi smiled bitterly: "I'm only fifteen years old, and I need my mother to be present to sign the contract."
"..."
The microphone went silent, and Kurosawa spoke again: "Excuse me, I think I misheard you, could you tell me your age again?"
"Fifteen years old."
"You said that too fast, twenty-five, right?"
"No, I turn fifteen this year and just finished the high school entrance exam."
"What a joke!" Kurosawa exclaimed and hastily apologized: "No, no, I didn't doubt you just now... It's just that I didn't expect you to be so young, at all!"
He was shocked. 'His seventeen-year-old daughter couldn't even draw a chicken, and the other party submitted a high-quality original manga at fifteen. How could there be such a difference between people?'
But at fifteen, such a young mangaka represents...
"No problem." Kurosawa gritted his teeth, 'he mustn't miss the opportunity:' "I'll prepare two round-trip train tickets. The deadline is one week, so please prepare them in advance."
After hanging up, Kurosawa sat down reluctantly.
"Editor-in-chief Kurosawa, what's wrong?"
Sun-san cautiously asked beside him.
"That author, just this year..."
Kurosawa was about to answer, but he suddenly fell silent. 'This information couldn't be leaked yet. Before everything was decided, it was better to keep it a secret. After all, he didn't know what Takumi's guardian thought.'
Saitama Prefecture.
That night, Aika returned home and was surprised to find her son sitting in the living room with a sad expression.
She poured him a glass of water, sat beside him, and asked, "Did something happen?"
"Yes." Takumi nodded and replied, "Mom, I have a friend you should meet... Kenta-kun, that's him. A big company took on a manga he drew, and they invited him and his father to Osaka to sign a contract."
Aika was stunned: "Isn't that a good thing?"
She didn't know much about manga, but she had more or less heard that it was similar to movies and novels.
"Of course it's a good thing, but Kenta-kun doesn't dare to tell his father. If his father knew that he was drawing manga while studying, he would surely kill him." Takumi looked at his mother and cautiously asked, "Mom, how do you think I should convince his father?"
Aika thought for a moment: "How did the boy do on the high school entrance exam?"
"He said he did very well and can get into the best high school in the prefecture."
"Then there's nothing to worry about." Aika took a sip of water and smiled: "Since there's no problem with his grades, it doesn't matter if you tell his father directly."
"Mom, you think so." Takumi nodded and suddenly said, "The truth is, I think so too, Mom. I lied to you just now. How could Kenta-kun have that ability? To be honest, only I, your son, can draw manga."
"Don't be ridiculous, how could you have that ability...?" Aika stopped smiling, the cup she was holding trembled, and suddenly, she turned to look at Takumi: "Did you draw the manga?"
"Yes." Takumi shrunk his head. He feared nothing more than Aika's anger. The admiration he felt for his mother in his previous life hadn't changed until now: "Mom, don't be angry. I'm sure I'll do well on the high school entrance exam!"
Aika looked at him with complex eyes, not even noticing the water spilled on the table. She hadn't expected her son to dare to deceive her. The review she had originally mentioned was, in fact, drawing in the room. However, Takumi's behavior during this period was much more obedient.
"Are you sure you did well on the high school entrance exam?"
"Yes."
"Were your manga favored by a big company?"
"Yes, they want us to go to Osaka to sign a contract, and they'll cover the round-trip tickets."
Takumi tilted his head and replied sincerely. Seeing his sincere gaze, Aika didn't get angry for a moment: "Give me the phone tomorrow, I want to ask you something."
She relented.
The next day, Aika called to confirm that Takumi wasn't lying. She felt very complicated, surprised, happy, and a little overwhelmed. She didn't even know if this matter was good or bad; after all, her son was only fifteen years old that year.
She didn't know what a fifteen-year-old mangaka was, but she did know that fifteen-year-old novelists and stars were very attractive. 'Could it be possible that her son would be so promising at such a young age?' —Aika wasn't sure about this until the moment they left on June 25th.
"I say, Takumi, they won't cheat!" While queuing for ticket inspection, Aika suddenly asked anxiously: "What if they're scammers?"
Takumi, with two large bags in his hands, smiled and comforted her: "How could they be scammers? Mom, you've confirmed it several times! What kind of trickery could there be with the two of us?"
They were poor and innocent, and, frankly speaking, not even thieves and scammers would consider them targets.
Aika calmed down a little. She felt that her son was right. She wasn't a pretty young woman and had nothing to fear. Besides, the company had bought them expensive sleeper train tickets. 'How could a liar be so generous?'
She carefully checked the ticket. The platform was a little cold. It was dark at that hour. The journey from Saitama Prefecture to Osaka would take one night.
After boarding the train, Aika awkwardly exchanged her ticket with the conductor. She hadn't left Saitama since she was born. She felt a little uneasy: she hadn't expected her first long journey to be thanks to her son.
But at that moment, she didn't know that an even bigger surprise awaited her.