"Mirai-sensei, I toast to you!"
At the hotel, Takumi had a headache.
After Tomato and Sakura toasted, the editors and mangaka focused their attention on him and began to toast.
"Well, can I have something instead?"
Takumi said awkwardly while holding a glass of orange juice. This is how Sakura and the others solved it a moment ago. He is not yet an adult, so, in theory, he should be forbidden to drink. In addition, he hates drinking since his previous life, because he would get drunk.
"Orange juice is not okay!"
"Mirai-sensei, don't be so stingy."
"That's right, a real man, I drank strong sake and drank it at sixteen!"
"Mirai-sensei, he's not so straightforward! Tomato is getting married today and everyone is so happy. How can he not drink two glasses?"
While Japanese people sit at the table, there is the phenomenon that they love to persuade others to drink. Whether they are acquaintances or strangers, wine is the usual topic of conversation at the table. Sometimes, if you don't drink, you spoil others' fun.
Takumi sighed. He had to drink today.
"Then..." However, just as he was about to speak, a tall figure interrupted him. Alice, who was eating at another table, was next to Takumi. She smiled and said: "Well, don't pressure Mirai-sensei. How about I drink this wine for him?"
"Alright!"
exclaimed the mangaka.
"Alice is generous, but I don't know how much she drinks!"
"Come on, let's drink first."
The scene changed, and the target of the toast shifted to Alice, which stunned Takumi.
Sometimes he didn't know if the Japanese were enthusiastic or indifferent. They would desperately urge someone to drink. But when someone drank for them, they gladly accepted it. This feeling didn't seem like enthusiasm for people. Rather, it seemed like a pursuit of the wine's atmosphere.
But no matter what, Takumi escaped disaster. Alice has been in the entertainment industry for so many years, so there should be no need to worry about her drinking capacity.
While the crowd buzzed nearby, Takumi started chatting with Kurosawa, sitting next to him: "I'm talking to the editor-in-chief, not to mention the editors. Why are all the mangaka so enthusiastic about me today?"
"It's because of your One Piece." Kurosawa smiled, looked at the toasting mangaka, and whispered: "Many masters aspire to the position of One Piece assistant. Soon, your choice of assistant will be another surprise."
One Piece's style is special, but according to custom, Takumi will sooner or later look for a new assistant. For this reason, many Hinotori Publishing mangaka rushed to imitate One Piece's style, wanting to have the opportunity to be selected by Takumi, and this wedding banquet is an opportunity; everyone wants to show off in front of Takumi.
"I see..."
Takumi understood. It seemed that Tomato and Kenji had already told him the advantages of being his assistant; otherwise, these mangaka wouldn't be so active.
He saw that several mangaka had their own serialized manga. According to common sense, they wouldn't be willing to stoop to come. However, being Takumi's assistant allows one to earn more, and this news excites everyone.
A few meters away, Shiori was sitting at a table with some women.
She looked at Alice, who was next to Takumi and helping him drink, pouted, and said with dissatisfaction: "I drink a lot too."
"Don't go." Aika quickly pulled her away: "Why would a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl drink alcohol?"
Now she could read through some of Shiori's thoughts. She would do anything to show off in front of Takumi. If she wasn't restrained, she might run off to drink in a second.
"Alice won't get drunk...".
Holding Shiori with one hand, Aika looked at Alice with some concern. After more than ten minutes, Alice returned with a flushed face.
"How much did you drink?"
Aika asked worriedly.
"Not much...",
Alice smiled. She seemed normal. Aika felt relieved, and they finished dinner together.
After the wedding banquet, several people didn't dare to let Alice drive after drinking, so they asked Sun-san to accompany them home. Sun-san was one of the few editors who didn't drink. Seeing the red Porsche, his eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.
"Mirai-sensei, please sit down."
Takumi sat in the passenger seat, and the other three women in the back. Sun-san enthusiastically started the car.
It was his first time using such a luxurious car, so he was a little excited. At first, he moved a lot, but after driving for a while, the car gradually stabilized. Takumi chatted with Sun-san, and the three women in the back were very quiet at first, but soon they started talking about something.
"I'm talking about Aika-san." The one who started the topic was Alice, sitting in the middle. She narrowed her eyes, leaned back, and asked in a low voice: "Are you happy now?"
Aika was startled by the question, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Why do you suddenly say something like that?"
"I just want to know...".
Alice put her hand to her forehead. She had something in her heart she wanted to say.
In fact, she had drunk a lot of wine at the wedding banquet. Now, the alcohol prevented her from controlling herself: "Aika-san, you don't have a husband and you raised Takumi alone. Are you happy like that?"
Aika noticed that her sister was a little drunk. If it were Alice, she probably wouldn't ask her that question in the car.
"Well, I'm very happy...".
Aika sighed. She had been suspecting for a while that Alice's family life must be very bad, and her questions today completely exposed it.
"Are you going to divorce your husband?"
With this thought in mind, Aika replied to Alice's words.
"Alice, who says a woman needs a husband to support her? As long as she has a goal in life..." She said: "Whether it's a husband or a son, as long as I'm not alone, I think I can be happy. I raised Takumi, and it was very hard before, but seeing him now..."
Aika looked at Takumi, who was chatting in the front seat, and a loving look shone in her eyes. She seemed not to hear the conversation, and Aika laughed.
"I feel very happy."
Her laughter saddened Alice a little. She lowered her head and found the hands of the woman next to her, who had never received her husband's care. Those hands were full of scars and calluses, traces of the suffering accumulated over the years.
Alice vaguely remembered that when she met this mother and son, Aika's face was wrinkled and her temples were a little gray. However, now, after the suffering,
Aika can still see traces of the past on her hands, but other aspects are increasingly rejuvenated.
"Are you happy?"
Alice turned to look at Takumi with envy. She envied Aika for not having a husband, but for having given birth to such an extraordinary son.
"You're right, Aika-san..."
She laughed, feeling as if something in her heart had been unleashed.
"Who says women have to depend on their husbands?"
Alice's voice reached Shiori's ears. She turned her head and looked at them. She didn't understand what the two older women were talking about, but she thought they were both foolish.
She muttered: "I only need Takumi..."
- - - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 3 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee