Chapter 24: The Authors Silence
In a high-end apartment complex in the city, inside a middle schooler's bedroom.
The bookshelf was filled with manga—Legend of the Sword God, Magic Academy, Mecha Madness... but the most prominent spot was reserved for Silver Spoon Volumes 1 and 2.
The boy, named Liam, sat at his desk, Volume 2 open before him. He read slowly. When he reached the page where Hachiken stood on the hill, he stopped and stared at the panel for a long time.
"Liam! Dinner!" his mother called from outside.
"Coming!"
He answered but didn't move. He flipped back a few pages, reading the dialogue between Hachiken and Komaba, Hachiken and Mikage, and the scene of Hachiken sitting alone by the pasture thinking.
He remembered last week's parent-teacher conference. The teacher told his mom, "Liam's grades are good, but he's a bit introverted, doesn't mix well."
His mom asked him when they got home, "Do you have no friends at school?"
He didn't know how to answer. It wasn't that he had no friends; he just felt he couldn't talk to them. They talked about games, celebrities, the newest phones. He couldn't chime in.
But reading Silver Spoon, he understood Hachiken's confusion, understood that feeling of "I'm a little different from the people around me."
The door opened, and his mom walked in. "Didn't you hear me call you for dinner?"
"Heard you, coming." Liam closed the book.
His mom glanced at the cover. "Reading that again? How many times have you read it?"
"It's good."
"What's so good about a farming comic..." His mom shook her head. "By the way, your Uncle Steve's son got into City High. Do you want to try for it too?"
City High was the top school in the state, famous for its college acceptance rates. But Liam didn't want to go. He liked his current school; it was ordinary, but free.
"I'll think about it," he said.
His mom sighed and left.
Liam reopened the book to the last page. Hachiken's shadow stretched long in the sunset, and the dialogue box contained only a question mark.
He didn't know what Hachiken would choose.
Just like he didn't know if he should listen to his mom and try for City High or stay.
But he knew Hachiken would make his own choice.
He had to make his too.
Late at night, Alex sat in front of his computer, refreshing the forum.
Volume 2 had been out for only half a day, and the forum had already built threads thousands of posts high. The titles were varied:
"Symbolic Analysis of Vol 2 Cover—Why is Hachiken's Back Turned?"
"Rational Discussion: Will Hachiken Pick Vet or Livestock? (With Ch. 23 Detail Evidence)"
"Viewing Contemporary Youth Career Confusion Through Silver Spoon"
"Serious Question: Is Ag High Really Like the Manga?"
He clicked the first thread. The OP was a veteran reviewer, analyzing the cover from composition, color, and lighting, concluding: "Hachiken turning his back symbolizes his choice is undecided, and also symbolizes the reader standing with him at the crossroads of life. The rising sun implies that whichever path is chosen, there is a bright future."
Replies agreed:
"OP gets it!"
"I knew this cover wasn't simple!"
"The Dairy King's storyboards always have deep meaning!"
The second thread was more technical. The OP claimed to be a "current Ag High student," tabulating every detail regarding Vet vs. Livestock from the first 23 chapters.
"According to stats, Hachiken has 17 solo interactions with animals, 14 showing clear care tendencies. Livestock-related scenes (like feeding large herds) appear 9 times, showing efficiency tendencies but lower emotional investment. Thus, I predict a 73% probability Hachiken chooses Veterinary."
Arguments ensued below:
"Data guy is god!"
"But Vet is harder to get a job in! Hachiken's family isn't rich, Livestock is more practical, right?"
"Did you forget Mikage's line? Choose the thing you won't regret in ten years!"
"But Komaba also said choose the thing you think about when you can't sleep!"
Alex read them one by one. People doing data analysis, writing essays, drawing relationship charts, writing fanfiction.
They were discussing the story he drew.
The characters he created, the dialogue he designed, the plot he arranged—now became objects of thought, debate, and empathy for countless readers.
It was a wondrous feeling. Like planting a tree and watching it grow branches, flower, bear fruit, and attract birds to nest.
He closed the forum and opened his email. Sue had sent a flash report on Volume 2 sales:
Day 1 Sales: 187,000 copies (including pre-orders).
Special Edition 50,000 copies sold out in 3 hours.
Bookstore Feedback: Restock demand exceeds expectations, recommend 3rd reprint.
Reader Survey (Sample): 92% Satisfaction, 95% Anticipation.
Attached were selected comments:
"Never thought I'd queue overnight for a farming manga."
"Hachiken's confusion is my confusion."
"After reading Vol 2, I called my grandpa in the countryside. He cried."
"I decided to apply to Ag University."
Alex read them all. Then he closed his email and opened his drawing software.
Chapter 24. Hachiken had to make a choice.
Alex drew slowly.
{Hachiken stood in the veterinary classroom, looking at the anatomy chart, his hand trembling slightly.
He stood in the livestock barn, feeding the herd, his movements practiced but his eyes lost.
He lay in bed late at night, tossing and turning.
Finally, he walked to the academic affairs office. He picked up the pen.
On the application form, under "Specialization," he wrote two words:
Veterinary Science.}
There was no hot-blooded declaration, no dramatic twist. Just an ordinary morning, an ordinary boy, making an ordinary decision.
But for his life, this decision was not ordinary.
For the readers waiting twenty-four chapters for this answer, it was not ordinary.
Alex finished the last panel and saved the file. Outside, the sky was brightening. The snow had stopped, leaving a thin white layer on the ground.
He stood up, stretching his shoulders, and walked to the window.
The ranch was waking up in the morning light. The herd walked out of the shed, leaving messy footprints in the snow. In the distance, his father John had already started the day's labor.
A very common scene.
But his manga allowed countless people to see the story behind this common scene.
He remembered the comment from the Ag student on the forum: "I used to think agronomy was just farming and raising cows, kind of lame. But after reading Silver Spoon, I think... it's pretty cool."
Cool.
This word usually didn't go with agriculture, pastures, and dirt.
But now, he had made them fit.
His phone buzzed. A text from Sue: "Volume 2 Day 1 data exploded. The Editor-in-Chief says we can start preparing for the celebration party."
(To be Continued)
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