Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 106 Sows the Seeds for Material Gathering

Haruna Mikazuki wanted to back up further, but there was a wall behind her, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

Seeing the guy's reaction, Ken Sakamoto knew that his words had achieved the desired effect.

He wasn't thinking about something as simple as progressing in a dating game to increase affection; he was thinking about planting a seed in her heart.

Ken Sakamoto paced back and forth in the extremely quiet room, quite enjoying the atmosphere, so quiet that no extraneous sounds could be heard.

He continued, "Actually, I originally planned to draw and publish the setting that we coincidentally came up with."

"Then why didn't you draw it?" Mikazuki Haruna immediately asked.

Ken Sakamoto countered with, "You've seen 'Chainsaw Man,' haven't you?"

“Of course… I’ve seen them all…” Mikazuki Haruna replied.

“In Chainsaw Man, there are absolutely no stockings, and there are very few depictions of legs,” Ken Sakamoto said.

"Because it's a hot-blooded battle manga, right?" Mikazuki Haruna said.

Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "That's one reason, but I also wanted to draw something like Makima wearing black stockings."

"Then why don't you draw it?" Mikazuki Haruna asked, puzzled.

“I can’t draw it well,” Ken Sakamoto said. “After all, I’ve never worn stockings, and my understanding of them is only theoretical. Without experiencing them firsthand, it’s difficult to capture the texture of the silk fabric in the painting.”

He shrugged and said in a helpless tone, "Rather than end up with something that looks like a mess, it's better not to draw it at all."

"Is that why you gave up that setting?" Mikazuki Haruna asked.

"Hmm." Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "It's not really a pity, after all, I saw that you drew it, and you drew the texture of the stockings very well."

"Th...thank you..." Mikazuki Haruna couldn't think of a reply, so she could only say thank you.

Ken Sakamoto remarked with considerable emotion, "I want to draw stockings someday too..."

“Then go ahead and draw it…” Mikazuki Haruna casually replied.

Ken Sakamoto shook his head and said, "I'll wait until I have a more thorough understanding of stockings. Without enough material, I'd rather not draw them yet."

"You can find material for that..."

"I can't possibly wear clothes made from my own materials, can I?"

Ken Sakamoto then shifted his gaze downwards.

"Huh?" Mikazuki Haruna's legs trembled. "Ha, you, you... why are you looking at me like that?"

Haruna's voice trembled slightly, and her cheeks were burning hot.

Fragments of memories from dreams flooded into my mind.

That's how he seemed back then, using the excuse of studying painting to repeatedly "examine" her.

The final source material far exceeded the initial goal of simply drawing good legs...

Ken Sakamoto sighed and said, "It's alright, it's alright. After all, you're not going to be giving me any material, and that would be too impolite."

"If it's for drawing..." Even as Mikazuki Haruna said this, she seemed a little unsure. Before she could figure it out, her mouth had already started uttering the words, even the order of her sentences was a bit jumbled, "I... it's not impossible... for research, what would you give me with stockings..."

"Really?" Ken Sakamoto raised an eyebrow.

“Wait a minute, but you don’t need to draw these in Chainsaw Man, do you? It would be really weird if you suddenly started drawing the female lead’s legs,” Mikazuki Haruna said.

“I can’t possibly draw Chainsaw Man my whole life,” Ken Sakamoto said.

"Oh...it's for future works."

"Yeah, so there's no rush."

"Phew..." Mikazuki Haruna breathed a sigh of relief.

I thought this guy was going to grab her feet and use them for inspiration.

Ken Sakamoto glanced at the time and said, "It's getting late, I still have to go to Shueisha."

"What are you going back for?" Mikazuki Haruna asked, puzzled.

"Again?" Sakamoto Ken raised an eyebrow, staring at the guy, and said, "How did you know I came from Shueisha?"

“Ha… Well, where else could you have come from? You must have gone to the editorial department first, and then stopped by to look at the house on your way home,” Mikazuki Haruna replied quickly.

Ken Sakamoto shrugged, finding her stubbornness rather endearing. This girl, aside from her stubbornness, is soft and gentle in every other way.

Of course, his mouth is also soft. This stubbornness is not physical; Ken Sakamoto can prove it.

Ken Sakamoto walked to the door and pushed it open.

Instantly, sounds from outside flooded in, making it feel as if the room I had just been in was a secluded otherworld, and I was only now returning to reality.

As Ken Sakamoto walked downstairs, he said, "We've already rented the place, but we haven't bought any furniture or appliances yet. I'd like to ask the editor to help us with the purchases. I heard that the company has suppliers of office supplies and art supplies that are of good quality and inexpensive."

"Huh? Even the editor has to do this?" Mikazuki Haruna said in surprise.

Ken Sakamoto said, "Editors are more experienced in preparing studios, and editors themselves are responsible for anything related to writers and creation."

Haruna Mikazuki thought for a moment and said, "But I feel like everything is related to creation, isn't it?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "Yes, so theoretically you can ask the editor for help with anything."

Haruna Mikazuki almost blurted out, "Even research is fine?", but thankfully she bit her lip, otherwise it would have felt really strange...

It seems like he's encouraging him to do weird things to the editor...

"Oh, then let's ask the editor for help. Hey, can she help pay for it?" Mikazuki Haruna asked.

"It seems there was some kind of reserve fund for serialization, which was used to purchase equipment or something."

"I've never heard of this before. Are there really these benefits?"

"However, it only applies to serializations in Weekly JUMP. I was still on JUMP+ in the first month, so I won't receive the money until the second month."

"Yeah, JUMP's benefits are really great... So, are you short on money?"

"They must be short of money. Renting a house will immediately cost them a million."

“If you need it, I can…” Mikazuki Haruna almost blurted out that she could transfer him some money.

She was still thinking about the "I like you" she blurted out in a moment of impulse, and about the research, while her mouth was responding in a subconscious way.

"The car is here." Sakamoto Ken interrupted Mikazuki Haruna and walked directly towards the taxi parked on the side of the road.

"Are you going back to the company?" Ken Sakamoto asked, turning around as he stood in front of the car door.

"I'll just go straight home... wait, no." Mikazuki Haruna suddenly realized that her car was still parked in the parking lot next to Shueisha.

“I have to go there too!” Mikazuki Haruna immediately stepped forward and got into the car.

Ken Sakamoto knew that this guy must have driven here, and when he met him in front of Shueisha, he immediately started tracking him, leaving his car in the parking lot and ignoring him.

Presumably because there was a driver in the front seat, Haruna, who is usually very talkative, didn't say a word the whole way. She just looked out the window silently and occasionally turned her head to look at Sakamoto Ken.

Ken Sakamoto was looking through the rental agreement, then opened a calculator app on his phone to do some calculations.

He was estimating the monthly expenses related to the house that he would have to pay each month.

If the studio starts operating, there are expected to be four people, including him.

With various equipment and air conditioning, the electricity bill won't be low; it will probably exceed the third tier of electricity pricing. I need to plan a budget of around 2 yuan, and it might exceed 3 yuan in the summer when I run the air conditioning.

Internet, water, gas, town fees, garbage disposal, and especially painting supplies... all of these add up to an estimated 5 or more.

Therefore, in addition to the rent of 330,000 yuan per month, there are also housing-related expenses of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan per month.

Then consider paying the assistants' salaries according to market rates, at 15000 per day, plus transportation and meal expenses, with 20 working days per month, the expenses for three assistants would be over a million.

This doesn't even include the one-time investment in equipment purchases...

Mikazuki Haruna watched as Sakamoto Ken entered numbers one by one into the calculator interface on his phone, and then calculated the result. He was muttering to himself as he finished. After finishing, he leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath.

She knew that Ken Sakamoto was definitely thinking about financial matters, and she really wanted to ask him about it, but she felt that doing so might make him think that she wanted to keep him as a mistress or something...

Although, she did have that thought.

In that memory, it was actually true that she was keeping him as a mistress.

Sending him money every now and then will earn you a truly considerate boyfriend who is full of emotional value.

But why is this guy acting like he's clueless about romance and doesn't want to be a kept man?

Hey, isn't being a kept man appealing?

They can even help you find materials!
(End of this chapter)