After getting married, Tomato and Sakura moved into the Sakura Garden community, very close to Takumi's house.
This made Aika and Takumi happy. Aika no longer had to worry about loneliness, and Takumi's work became more comfortable. He could legitimately ask them to work overtime late.
"This is not the result I expected...".
Tomato moved into his new home happily, but he didn't expect that what awaited him was a nightmare job. In addition to regular Detective Conan updates, he also had to help Takumi with background work and the web layout of One Piece.
Takumi gave him a small salary increase, but Tomato wanted to spend more time with Sakura to enjoy his married life. His dream was cruelly shattered by Takumi, and even the editors of the editorial department forced him to help.
"Tomato, you have to work harder, otherwise there will be too few One Piece episodes next month, which will easily affect Mirai Manga sales."
So said the editors. Tomato gritted his teeth and persevered despite his reluctance. He stayed at Takumi's house almost every day to help, reducing unnecessary work. Takumi was progressing very fast. He calculated the time. If he drew intensely every day, he could finish ten episodes before the next month's premiere.
"Why don't you become the official assistant for One Piece?"
Takumi suggested to the pale and thin Tomato during the break.
"No, I don't want to!" Tomato refused without hesitation. Staying in the studio drawing all day was harder than ever. Furthermore, Tomato thought he didn't have the ability to be One Piece's assistant.
It's okay to let him do some auxiliary work, but if he really wants to draw a story... One Piece's style is too different from Detective Conan's, and he can't do it. The only one who can change styles flexibly is Takumi.
The editorial department was also amazed.
Young mangaka are the most adaptable. As they get older, their styles tend to be fixed and it's difficult to make a radical change. Takumi is already at an age where his style is not yet defined, but he can seamlessly switch between multiple styles. It's a miracle. No one in Japan compares to him.
Tomato is very sad. He works himself to death during the day. He also has to "work" when he gets home at night. As a newly married couple, no matter how tough it is, he cannot neglect Sakura; this hard and sweet life has made Tomato lose a lot of weight.
Takumi understands him, but he is not negligent in his work. He has decided to launch ten One Piece episodes in Mirai Manga next month, because Kanto Manga Company has once again surpassed his sales.
This matter began after the wedding banquet, the week after. Weekly Boutique reduced its price by a fifth. Now, buying a copy of Weekly Boutique costs only 400 yen, while before it cost 500 yen.
The sudden price reduction has sent Weekly Boutique sales skyrocketing, quickly surpassing Takumi's. And the price difference is also greater than before. This put pressure on Takumi. He didn't know if Kanto would launch other new features in the future, so he wanted to secure Mirai Manga's sales next month.
And the best way to secure sales was to increase the number of One Piece episodes.
"They are too shameless! They lowered the price when they saw they were about to lose. It's not fair!" Takumi didn't have time to go out and play with Shiori after the holidays. The girl got a little angry: "Isn't this price war illegal?"
Takumi had also considered her idea. But Alice told him that there was no evidence that Kanto Manga Company had engaged in ruthless competition.
Weekly Boutique's original price was high, and the current price was equivalent to half of Mirai Manga's, but the number of episodes was also half. Kanto adjusted the price to this level, and it couldn't be said to be fierce competition.
Furthermore, Kanto still had room for reduction. They had a unified sales channel, and the costs of intermediate links and logistics were lower than Hinotori Publishing's. If a price war really broke out, Hinotori Publishing would be the unfortunate one.
To respond to Kanto's wave of price cuts, Hinotori Publishing also considered reducing Weekly Shōnen's price, but Takumi initially rejected the proposal.
Reducing prices can increase sales, but he doesn't like this approach, and Weekly Shōnen's price has a special curve. With fewer episodes, it's lower, and with more, it's higher. Breaking the balance is not good.
Magazines are initially distributed with low profits. Even if the price of a copy is reduced by 20 yen, there will be a great loss. Takumi felt that, since he knew how to draw One Piece, there was no need to resort to a last resort.
But what he didn't expect was that the price reduction was just the prelude to Kanto Manga Company's fight against him.
May 27, Osaka First Airport.
Outside the ticket booth, a little boy running on the ground bumped into the feet of a man who had just come out.
"Be careful." The man helped him up and handed him to the boy's mother, who rushed towards him: "Ma'am, there are a lot of people at the airport, please take care of your children."
His voice was very elegant, and his words, as beautiful as singing, made the woman holding the child blush. She looked at the man eagerly. He was wearing a hat and sunglasses covered almost his entire face, leaving only his mouth and nose visible.
However, even so, her heart pounded. From the curve of his face, she guessed he would be very handsome.
"Uh... you are..." The woman wanted to ask, but a blonde woman appeared in front of her.
"Kanto Manga Company's people are here...", she told the man, and several black-suited bodyguards immediately intervened, separating the man from the mother and child, and escorting him outside.
The woman watched them leave, and the man's back made her hesitate. The man radiated a special temperament. She didn't even notice his appearance, but his words and his touch could easily win the hearts of the opposite sex.
Outside the airport, Kazuki and Rina greeted them: "Welcome to Osaka, Ryoma...".
"Hello." The man extended his hand and shook Kazuki's, then he took off his glasses, turned to look at Rina beside him, and smiled: "Little princess, long time no see."
"Yes...".
Rina lowered her head; her face was flushed; this proud romantic princess would only show such a shy expression in front of this man.
Her heart pounded. Ryoma, the entertainment star, was praised by the media as the most handsome man in Japan. If Mirai-sensei's appearance was a moon, this man's face was as bright and dazzling as the sun.
"Osaka..."
Ryoma looked towards the strange city and smiled.
"Is this Alice's hometown?"
The former agent had been reluctant to let him go, but in the end, he went to look for her.
- - - - - - - -
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