The next morning.
In the living room of Miyu's villa.
"Rejected?"
Rei's eyes narrowed slightly at the news.
He had always known that, at the newcomer stage, anything could happen.
But hearing that Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World had failed to pass Mirage Weekly's serialization meeting, he still couldn't help muttering under his breath.
In his previous life, Tonight had risen from the brutal competition of the light novel industry and even received a live-action film adaptation.
Its value had already been proven.
Yet here, it couldn't clear this single serialization meeting.
"Don't get discouraged. There's still Ametsukage Weekly's serialization meeting next week," Misaki said.
"I know," Rei replied with a faint smile.
"I'm not upset, just a little disappointed."
"There's nothing to regret," Misaki said gently.
"This might not be our loss."
A few days later, Ametsukage Weekly's serialization meeting began.
The process was the same as before.
Eleven works were up for review.
But this time, Ichinose Kei, the editor-in-chief of Ametsukage Weekly and one of the department heads of the Hoshimori Group, glanced at the author name on the submission for Tonight, and her eyes lit up.
"Is this the same Shirogane who drew Five Centimeters per Second?"
"Yes," Misaki replied.
"Director Ichinose, you know him?"
"Of course," Ichinose said with a warm smile.
"My daughter loves his manga."
"And I've read the collected volume myself. It moved me deeply. It's been years since a manga left such an impression on me."
The moment she said this, the expressions of the editors around the table shifted.
A flicker of envy even passed through a few of them as they glanced at Misaki.
The truth was simple:
At serialization meetings, editors' opinions were just opinions.Most editor-in-chiefs would listen to the room, but if they wanted to override everyone, they could.
Sales and performance were their responsibility. And with greater responsibility came greater authority.
And Director Ichinose's tone made her feelings very clear.
She was extremely interested in Shirogane's new work.
Misaki blinked in surprise.
How could this week's meeting feel completely opposite to last week's?
But manga is subjective.
Personal taste shapes professional judgment.
Director Shidō of Mirage Weekly feared that serializing a newcomer might result in unstable writing or a disappointing ending, further damaging Mirage Weekly's already dropping sales.
But Director Ichinose wasn't afraid.
Ametsukage Weekly was currently third in sales among the group's magazines. Even if a risk didn't succeed, their ranking wouldn't collapse.
Which meant for her, there was no downside to giving a fresh newcomer a chance.
If anything, she welcomed it.
By early August, as summer vacation neared its end, Rei finally received the news he'd been waiting for.
"It was selected," came Misaki's calm voice over the phone.
"If all goes well, Tonight will debut in Ametsukage Weekly three weeks from now."
"So please come by tomorrow to sign the contract."
"Understood," Rei said, exhaling slowly.
This time, he was familiar with the process.
The royalty share for the tankōbon release had risen from 6% on his previous work to 7%.
And the page rate for manuscripts had increased from around 300 yen per page to 540 yen per page.
Naturally, the rate would fluctuate depending on popularity rankings.
There was nothing to hesitate over.
Rei signed immediately.
"This will be completely different from when Five Centimeters per Second was serialized," Misaki said as she put the contract away, her gaze falling on him.
"You handed me all five chapters at once back then, so there was never any issue of deadlines or manuscript reminders."
"But for Tonight…" Misaki fixed him with a serious look.
"Since you've committed to this, do it properly. Don't become one of those artists who procrastinate endlessly. If the editor doesn't push them, they drown in delays and blow their submission deadlines."
Off to the side, Miyu gave her sister a puzzled look.
Sis…Are you talking about Rei? Are you calling me out too?
"Of course," Rei said with a grin.
"Those kinds of manga artists you mentioned? They're the type I hate the most."
He still remembered the pain of following Hunter × Hunter week by week in his previous life.
Although he couldn't remember the exact events of the manga anymore, the agony of following it week by week was carved deep into his heart.
"Cough… cough…" Miyu cleared her throat lightly.
But Rei completely failed to notice what she was thinking and continued on with conviction.
"The most basic quality a manga artist must have is proper time management. Meeting your deadlines is the first rule of professionalism. Anyone who can't even manage that isn't worthy of being called a mangaka."
Misaki turned to look at Miyu.
Miyu's ears had gone slightly red. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she held it in.
Inside, she grumbled silently:
Rei, I don't believe for a second that you'll never hit writer's block or miss a deadline. When that day comes, I'm absolutely going to repeat those exact words back to you.'
With the serialization confirmed, Rei began preparing for the launch of Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World.
The first chapter would receive a color-page promotion, as was customary for new serializations.
Of course, it wouldn't be a full-color chapter, just about six pages.
The cover of Ametsukage Weekly would also feature a large illustration highlighting the new series.
Naturally, all of this had to be drawn by the mangaka himself.
So Rei spent the end of summer extremely busy.
His social media accounts across multiple platforms had also gained a significant following thanks to the success of the Five Centimeters per Second volume.
With a new serialization coming up, he needed to let his fans know.
Although it was unclear how many Sakura-iro Weekly readers would switch over to Ametsukage Weekly, it was still important.
"September 5th, Ametsukage Weekly! My new series will begin."
A short announcement, but within half a day, it had spread throughout the fan communities of Five Centimeters per Second.
Many of Rei's ( Shirogane's) fans were still carrying the emotional weight of that story.
New readers were constantly discovering it through the tankōbon release.
Most assumed that Shirogane would take at least a few months, half a year, maybe even longer, before releasing a new work.
Some mangaka took years between series.
But the Five Centimeters per Second volume had only been released one month ago.
And Shirogane already had a new serialization?!
What kind of speed is that?!
At first, the fans were stunned.
Then excited.
Then the heaviness from the previous manga washed over them again.
@SakuraPetals_89: So you ARE planning to draw another serialized manga!!
@TrainStationRomantic: Here I thought you were done, thought you'd just drop one emotional bomb on us and retire forever!
@CryingUnderKotatsu: That ending destroyed us! And now you want us to support your next series??
@NotFallingForThisAgain: No way! I refuse! Not even a dog would read your next work!!
…
But then they saw the title:
@LateNightReader: Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World. That…sounded pretty good.
'Another youth romance…?'
...
Bonus @1500
Read 30 chapters ahead at [email protected]/c/Ashnoir