"...So what should we do now?"
"It's hard to say. We'll have to see how Mr. Sasaki responds first."
Akira and Rin were walking towards the Being headquarters building, chatting under the same parasol.
There were two purposes for this trip to Being: first, to meet with their artist manager, and second, to head to the recording studio to start working on "Marigold".
The parasol belonged to Rin.
Their recording studio time was scheduled for the afternoon. Now that it was the end of July, the afternoon sun was intense, so Rin had brought a parasol when she went out.
As for him, he was used to it; he just wore a pair of aviator sunglasses to keep the sunlight from stinging his eyes.
It must be said that sunglasses are a complete positive modifier for a handsome guy; before leaving the house, he couldn't help but be a little narcissistic in front of the mirror for a while.
In his past life, he often fantasized about living off a woman, but in this life, he grew a face perfect for it, yet he insisted on earning money through his own ability. Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable.
Well, actually, you can't really say it's just through ability.
And the way he was making money now seemed much more satisfying than simply living off a woman.
That said, he had originally planned to just go out like that.
However, when he met up with Rin downstairs, she looked at his empty hands and very naturally handed the parasol over to him.
"Hey, let's use it together?"
"...Sure."
And that's how it ended up like this.
The topic they were discussing was the conversation he had with Hisashi yesterday.
In fact, Rin was the first person to know that he was writing light novels, and after he finished writing "Kara no Kyoukai", she was also the first to read it.
As for this matter, Rin's reaction was: It doesn't matter.
Drawing manga, writing songs, writing novels... Most people would be quite admirable if they could achieve success in just one of these, but Akira was able to involve himself in all three, and his performance in each field was very impressive.
"Could you be the reincarnation of da Vinci?"
Rin asked, but Akira firmly denied it.
Although he knew she was talking about that historical da Vinci, in his mind, the figure of a 2D female character always uncontrollably appeared.
Sigh, Tsukihime Fan.
His past life was ruined by FGO!
Returning to their previous conversation, Rin asked with a hint of worry: "Shonen Jump shouldn't give you a hard time, right?"
"Give me a hard time?" Akira rubbed his chin and said, "I don't think they would under normal circumstances. But even if they did, it wouldn't be a big problem."
The worst situation he could think of was simply that Shonen Jump would blacklist him.
But... he wasn't afraid of being blacklisted now.
Not to mention the light novel, which hadn't even started yet, he was currently blossoming in both manga and music. Even if the manga side was suppressed, he still had music to fall back on.
Furthermore, Shonen Jump couldn't exactly be called a monopoly in the industry; if it really came down to it, he could just jump ship to one of the other two.
As a transmigrator with a cheat, he surely had at least that much confidence.
"Besides..." Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "Even if there really is a problem, compared to me, I'm afraid Shonen Jump will be the ones in a more difficult position, right?"
Seeing Akira's relaxed expression, Rin also felt reassured.
"That's good." Although she didn't know much about the situation at Shonen Jump, she knew Akira.
Given Akira's abilities, there really was no need to worry too much about such things.
The two walked into the first-floor lobby of Being and cast their eyes toward the meeting place they had agreed upon with their manager—on a reception sofa not far from the front desk, a young woman in her twenties wearing a gray-white suit and glasses was sitting.
That must be her, right? Thinking this, he and Rin exchanged a look and walked towards her.
At this moment, she also noticed them, then proactively left the sofa and walked towards them.
"You must be Mr. Akira and Ms. Rin of Tsukirin, right?"
"My name is Tanigawa Haruka, and I am the artist manager responsible for coordinating with you. Please take care of us in the future."
The young woman, Tanigawa Haruka, bowed and introduced herself to them.
"Same here, please take care of us." "Please take care of us."
Akira and Rin responded politely as well. Seeing this, a relieved smile appeared on Tanigawa Haruka's lips.
At least from the first impression, neither of them seemed to have a difficult personality, which was a very good start.
That said, both of them looked even more stunning in person than in their photos.
Standing together, they were even more of a feast for the eyes.
Are they really not planning some kind of idol singer project?
She thought this to herself, but on the surface, Tanigawa Haruka smiled professionally and said, "Then, let me take you to the recording studio."
As she led the way, she clarified the current situation for them: "Our most important goal right now is to complete the production of the song 'Marigold'; only after that can we immediately begin promotion."
"The company's goal is to release this song before the end of summer at the latest. There really isn't much time left..."
—Mr. Sasaki, did you not sleep well last night?
"Well, I went to bed a little late."
Hisashi replied vaguely, downing the remaining half cup of coffee at his side.
He did indeed go to bed late last night because he had accidentally gotten absorbed in reading "Kara no Kyoukai".
Although he hadn't finished reading it yet, he could already reach a firm conclusion—Akira was truly terrifying!
As a manga editor, he couldn't judge from a professional perspective whether this light novel could be signed.
But as a reader, he was convinced that this was an excellent work!
At the same time, he finally understood why the other party chose not to create "Kara no Kyoukai" in the form of a manga, but instead in the form of a light novel.
Because this was a work whose charm could only be fully displayed through text.
The entire work was like a poem capable of producing pain. Every sentence in the novel seemed to be laying out the worldview, yet it refused to explain, forcing readers to experience and think with their bodies, while at the same time being immersive.
When describing violent scenes, Akira's writing was precise and restrained, almost like an autopsy report, but such restrained description instead elevated the violence into metaphysical horror.
It was difficult for him to accurately describe this work in simple language, but at least for him, "Kara no Kyoukai" certainly possessed immense charm.
However—Hisashi sighed.
But this also meant that he would have to face a more complicated situation.
So geniuses are such troublesome existences?
...No, he had to talk to the Editor-in-Chief.