Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 179 Mio's Invitation (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

The call has been connected.

Ken Sakamoto thought Ai Hoshihara was going to say something to Mio Natsume, and he was already thinking of an explanation.

In that case, he really wouldn't have a good chance of dealing with it, especially since he couldn't stop Ai Hoshihara from telling Mio what happened last night.

However, Ai Hoshihara did not speak, but smiled slightly at Ken Sakamoto and moved her hands-free phone closer to him, indicating that he should speak.

Clearly, Ai Hoshihara meant for him to lie to Mio Natsume.

Ken Sakamoto thought for a couple of seconds before greeting her, "Good morning, Mio."

Natsume Mio's voice came through the speaker: "Ken~ I'm in Akihabara right now."

Akihabara?
Although it's a very popular place, what made Ken Sakamoto consider it was that the studio was very close to Akihabara.

Since we're already in Akihabara, going to the studio will only take about ten minutes.

From the sound, you can tell that the other party's environment is a bit noisy, with some music playing.

Natsume Mio then asked, "Ken, where are you? Are you at home?"

Ken Sakamoto didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked, "Mio, what are you going to Akihabara for? Are you alone?"

Mio Natsume said, "Yeah, I'm all alone~ Ken, listen! There's a street singer up ahead, and he's actually singing our song."

She must have moved a little closer, because Ken Sakamoto could vaguely hear the melody of "Lemon" being played on a guitar.

There are actually amateur street performers starting to sing?
It seems that "Lemon" is really starting to become popular.

When Hoshihara Ai heard Natsume Mio mention "Our Song," she gave Sakamoto Ken a questioning look.

Ken Sakamoto did not respond to Ai Hoshihara; he was not only talking to Mio Natsume, but also driving.

Ken Sakamoto hadn't told her about "Lemon" yet.

Sakamoto Ken said calmly, "Perfect timing, I also wanted to come to Akihabara. Where are you located?"

"Is Ken coming too? I'm right at the crossroads." Natsume Mio's voice became even more excited.

Ken Sakamoto replied, "Okay, okay, wait for me there..."

He glanced at Ai Hoshino beside him and reached out his hand.

"I'll hang up first."

After saying that, Ken Sakamoto pressed the hang-up button.

After hanging up the phone, he said to Ai Hoshihara, "What you're doing is dangerous; you're playing with fire."

Ai Hoshino chuckled and said, "Your little girlfriend is waiting for you."

There was a hint of sarcasm in that statement.

Sakamoto Ken didn't care at all, since she already knew about Mio and Haruna anyway.

Ken Sakamoto said, "I'll take you back first, and then I'll head to Akihabara right away."

Hoshino Ai said, "Let's go to Akihabara together."

Ken Sakamoto shook his head and said, "You're wearing this? And you're not even wearing anything underneath."

Hoshino straightened her clothes and said, "What's the big deal? Only you know I'm not wearing anything underneath anyway."

Ken Sakamoto decisively replied, "No, what if someone sees us because of the wind or something else?"

"You're actually quite considerate of me."

Ken Sakamoto said, "Of course, no one but me can see it."

Ai Hoshino laughed and said, "Did you say that to both of them too?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded in agreement. "That's right."

Ai Hoshino scoffed and then asked, "What was that 'song' she was talking about earlier?"

“I wrote a song called ‘Lemon,’ which she sings. You can search for it on YouTube and listen to it when you have time,” Ken Sakamoto said.

Ai Hoshino didn't immediately pick up her phone to search. She turned her head to look out the window, remaining silent.

When they made the call, the two had already been gone for a while. Soon, Ken Sakamoto drove to Ai Hoshihara's apartment building.

After parking the car, Ai Hoshihara was the first to open the door and get out.

Ken Sakamoto turned around and reached into the back seat to grab a bundle of clothes.

These are the clothes that Ai Hoshihara changed out of yesterday. Ken Sakamoto folded the pants and placed them at the bottom, with the bra and underwear in the middle, and covered them with the shirt.

After he got out of the car, he handed the clothes to Ai Hoshino: "Don't forget the clothes, they'll ferment if you leave them in the car for a few days."

"What, you like that flavor?" Hoshino Ai casually took it.

"I'm not a pervert."

“You said you liked everything about me,” Ai Hoshihara said.

“Then I can like it too,” Ken Sakamoto said.

"Will you smell it next time?" Ai Hoshino's lips curled up slightly as she teased.

“I’ve already smelled everything about you, but I still prefer you to be clean,” Ken Sakamoto said.

"Tch, I'm not talking to you anymore."

Ai Hoshihara turned and walked into the building, but Ken Sakamoto did not follow.

Upon reaching the gate, Ai Hoshino turned around again, and the two met each other's gazes from a few meters apart.

Ai Hoshihara waved to Ken Sakamoto: "I'm going back now."

Kenya Sakamoto waved goodbye and watched Ai Hoshihara walk into the elevator in the apartment building.

Turning around, Ken Sakamoto walked out onto the main road outside the apartment building.

Bunkyo Ward isn't far from Akihabara, but he had promised Natsume Mio he would get there immediately, so he hailed a taxi on the street and quickly arrived at the heart of Akihabara.

Ken Sakamoto didn't let the driver get too close. Instead, he got out of the car on the side of a nearby street and quickly walked towards the crossroads in the heart of Akihabara.

There were many people coming and going here, and as we got closer, we could hear someone singing.

On the roadside, a street singer held a guitar with a microphone stand in front of him.

Ken Sakamoto's gaze swept across the crowd, and he immediately spotted Mio Natsume.

Machima Red hair is easily distinguishable even among the various colorful hairs in Akihabara.

She was dressed casually today, carrying a canvas bag, looking like she was just out for a stroll.

Ken Sakamoto walked up behind Mio Natsume without her noticing.

At this moment, the intro to "Lemon" started playing again, and the street singer began singing "Lemon" once more.

Natsume Mio was humming along to the rhythm when Sakamoto Ken suddenly patted her shoulder lightly.

The girl gasped in fright and quickly turned her head away.

When she saw that it was Ken Sakamoto, she was slightly taken aback at first, and then immediately threw herself into his arms.

Natsume Mio, nestled in Sakamoto Ken's arms, said, "Ken! I was planning to go to your studio to find you."

Ken Sakamoto gently patted the girl on the back and said, "Are you here to go shopping today?"

“Yes, I mainly want to buy some books.” Natsume Mio patted the canvas bag and said, “Some books about vocal music and voice acting. I’m studying hard, you know, I definitely want to do voice acting for Ken’s anime.”

“There’s definitely no problem,” Ken Sakamoto said. “But I didn’t expect ‘Lemon’ to have reached the point where street performers are singing it.”

Mio Natsume said, "Ken, haven't you checked the viewership numbers these past few days?"

"I haven't actually seen it. How many views does it have now?" Ken Sakamoto asked.

Mio Natsume chuckled and said, "Ken~ you guess a number first."

Ken Sakamoto thought for a moment and said, "150 million?"

Mio Natsume shook her head: "Ken underestimates the songs you create."

Ken Sakamoto guessed another number: "Could it be 200 million?"

Mio Natsume picked up her phone, opened the YouTube page, and showed it to Ken Sakamoto.

On the video page, the play count is displayed as...

273 million.

Sakamoto Ken was slightly surprised. Even though he had anticipated high viewership, he didn't expect it to surpass 200 million so quickly. Moreover, it was already around 300 million by rounding, and it would probably really surpass 300 million soon.

While there are videos on YouTube with millions, or even tens or hundreds of millions of views, 200 million views is already a very high number for a song by a complete newcomer.

Even just looking at the revenue aspect, over 270 million views would already generate more than $5000 in revenue.

Mio Natsume happily put her phone back in her pocket and said, "Ken, I've carefully revised the arrangement and prepared a more complete version, but we still need to practice it a bit more. We'll record it again in the school's recording studio; the effect will definitely be better."

Ken Sakamoto and Mio Natsume stood quietly, listening to the street singer finish singing "Lemon".

Ken Sakamoto felt his pockets and took out his wallet.

He first picked up a 10,000 yen note, then thought for a moment and changed it to a 1,000 yen note.

After all, I'm not a tycoon; the 1000 yen tip was just for hearing someone sing "Lemon" for the first time.

Ken Sakamoto put the money into the street musician's guitar case, and the musician immediately bowed and thanked him.

Ken Sakamoto said, "You sang very well, perfectly capturing the intentions of the lyricist and composer."

The street performer asked in surprise, "Hey buddy, you've heard of 'Lemon' too?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "Of course, a new singer on YouTube just debuted last week."

The street singer remarked with considerable emotion, "Yes, it's quite unexpected that a newcomer could create such a good song. It feels like he's already at a level where he could debut."

Sakamoto Ken smiled and said, "Then please continue to support me." After saying that, Sakamoto Ken turned around and walked towards Natsume Mio, took her hand, and the two walked out of the crowd watching the singer's performance.

Natsume Mio held onto Sakamoto Ken's hand tightly and didn't let go the whole time.

The two strolled casually through the streets of Akihabara and soon spotted the Animate bookstore ahead.

Mio Natsume walked straight inside: "I also wanted to come and check out Animate, Ken, let's go in."

As soon as he entered the bookstore, Ken Sakamoto saw a large promotional poster next to the bookshelf.

The poster features a color page from "Chainsaw Man" along with the text that the first volume of "Chainsaw Man" will be released next Monday.

Sakamoto Ken's gaze lingered on the poster, and he was quite moved.

Publishing a standalone book feels different from serializing it in a magazine or on a website; it's like truly publishing your own book.

Beside her, Natsume Mio said, "I'll definitely go to the bookstore first thing Monday morning to buy Ken's book!"

"I'll sign it for you then," Kenjiro Sakamoto said.

"Hey, thanks a lot, author-san~"

Ken Sakamoto's gaze shifted to the magazine rack next to him.

JUMP has now made Chainsaw Man one of its flagship titles, featuring a large title on its cover.

Another cover story with a title that also features the title is "Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!"

Although he is much less popular on the website, he is still ranked second.

Moreover, it must be said that the assistants that March Spring found were quite capable.

It's important to know that in weekly manga like JUMP, most works don't actually pursue high levels of detail in the artwork.

Especially among the works of newcomers, some of the paintings can even be described as drafts.

After all, each issue of a weekly magazine only gives authors a week to create, and new writers don't have the financial resources of established writers to hire more assistants.

Therefore, the most important thing is the story, followed by the characters and storyboards, which are also the strengths of Chainsaw Man.

After leaving Animate, the two went to Book Off, a store that sells secondhand books, games, and videos. Ken Sakamoto used to frequent this store, where many manga were only 100 yen each.

Along the way, Ken Sakamoto noticed that although Mio always seemed to be smiling, she had a heavy heart.

The two held hands, and Ken Sakamoto could feel that her palms were slightly damp, and her fingertips were gripping her hand quite tightly.

It wasn't until their eyes met that Natsume Mio suddenly stopped and stared intently at Sakamoto Ken.

She hesitated for a few seconds before whispering to Ken Sakamoto, "Ken, when you called me just now, you weren't actually at home, were you? You weren't outside either..."

Sakamoto Ken asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

Mio Natsume said, "When I was on the phone, I could hear an echo in your voice, Ken. If you were at home, the echo wouldn't be like that. Actually, Ken, you were either in a small room or in the car."

How could you tell from that?

Ken Sakamoto was somewhat surprised; he hadn't considered this possibility.

But since Natsume Mio had pointed it out directly, Sakamoto Ken didn't continue to give evasive answers.

Ken Sakamoto said, "I wasn't home just now, but I came right away after I got the call..."

"He's with Ai Hoshihara," Ken Sakamoto stated directly.

When the name "Ai Hoshihara" was uttered, Mio Natsume immediately perked up: "That wicked woman from last night? She came looking for you again today!"

Before Natsume Mio could finish speaking, Sakamoto Ken continued, "That's right, she came to my studio, and then I got into her car. I was actually in the car when I answered the phone just now."

Hearing Sakamoto Ken's explanation, Natsume Mio became even more confused: "But Ken was on speakerphone when he called me just now, wasn't he? If you were in the car together, why would you be on speakerphone?"

Before Sakamoto Ken could even speak, Natsume Mio immediately exclaimed, "I know! Actually, Ken, you just want her to know that I was the one who called, right?"

Can we still understand it this way?

If Sakamoto Ken put himself in Natsume Mio's shoes and thought about it a little, it actually made some sense.

Did Ai Hoshihara consider this situation when she answered the phone in the car?

And it was precisely to help him deal with Natsume Mio that he turned on speakerphone and remained silent throughout.
Following Natsume Mio's words, Sakamoto Ken said, "So, I came to Akihabara to find you as soon as I got off the train."

Mio Natsume asked, "Then why did she contact you?"

Ken Sakamoto looked at the wide variety of books in the Book Off bookstore and picked up a copy of "Pluto".

"Although she said she came to talk to me about comics, she was probably thinking about something else entirely."

Mio Natsume immediately said, "This bad woman is going to bother you!"

Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "Actually, I really think she was my girlfriend in my past life."

Seeing Natsume Mio's small mouth slightly open as if she was about to speak, Sakamoto Ken immediately interrupted her and continued, "Not just her, but also you, and Haruna."

"As I said before, lately I've been feeling like I was a scumbag in my past life who was killed by three women, and I was thinking of turning over a new leaf this time. But look what happened... you all appeared in my life at the same time again."

Natsume Mio said in shock, "Is it the dream I told Ken about? Could it be that the woman dreamed about those things last night too?"

Ken Sakamoto asked Mio Natsume, "Have you and Haruna discussed this matter privately?"

Natsume Mio nodded slightly, then said, "Although Haruna doesn't like to say too much, she must have had a very strange dream too..."

Ken Sakamoto said, "Ai Hoshihara did too; she told me herself."

Natsume Mio bit her lip lightly. She had long suspected that Hoshihara Ai was one of the three people in the rooftop scene, but now Sakamoto Ken had confirmed it.

Natsume Mio asked, "Then... Ken, are you one too?"

Kenjiro Sakamoto: “It might not just be a dream for me… You only remember what happened between you and me, but I remember what happened between me and the three of you… The scenes in my memory are so vivid, it’s like it just happened yesterday.”

Natsume Mio had an "I knew it" look on her face. She said softly, "That's right, I've suspected it for a while, but I just felt... it was a bit too unscientific."

Ken Sakamoto said, "Do you remember when we had just finished our exams?"

"Of course I remember. You took a taxi and left right after the exam. I was even thinking of confessing my feelings to you then..."

Kenjiro Sakamoto: "Actually, I ran away because I was scared by you."

"You were scared by me?" Natsume Mio asked, puzzled. "Am I that scary?"

Ken Sakamoto explained, “In the last few minutes of the exam, I had a dream about my past life. I was stabbed three times by the three of you, leaving six holes in my body, and I died on a rooftop. I even remember the excruciating pain in my chest clearly.”

Natsume Mio timidly shrank her neck and said, "No wonder... I felt like Ken was running away from me."

"So, after we killed Ken, Ken was reborn, right?" Natsume Mio said.

Ken Sakamoto shook his head and said, "Alright, let's not worry about these dreams anymore. At least you won't pull a knife on me now, will you?"

“Of course not, how could I possibly swing a knife like that?” Natsume Mio said.

"What if I end up like the person in that dream?"

"Same as what?"

"He was dating three girls at the same time."

Natsume Mio hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... I don't think so...?"

"What is should?"

Mio Natsume pouted and said, "I can't say for sure. If I were to stab Ken, it would be because I would suddenly become very emotional, like an impulsive murder. So, I can't say for sure whether I would stab Ken."

Natsume Mio took Sakamoto Ken's hand again and said, "Never mind, let's go look around somewhere else."

Seeing that she was trying to change the subject, Sakamoto Ken didn't continue. After all, Natsume Mio already knew the general outline of what had happened.

Judging from her recent probing, although she doesn't fully understand him like Ai Hoshino does, and might even help him, the most crucial risk of her turning to the dark side is very small.

In fact, whether it's Natsume Mio, Mikazuki Haruna, or Hoshihara Ai, they are all equal in terms of information about the previous game.

However, after experiencing the afternoon dream, Ai Hoshihara analyzed the principle behind the online dream.

Ken Sakamoto and Mio Natsume walk down the street in Akihabara.

At noon, Ken Sakamoto and Mio Natsume found a barbecue restaurant and enjoyed a satisfying all-you-can-eat barbecue meal.

It was already afternoon by then.

When they came out of the barbecue restaurant, Ken Sakamoto could clearly feel that Mio Natsume was holding his hand even tighter and leaning close to him.

Ken Sakamoto asked, "Where else would you like to go?"

Mio Natsume said, "I am indeed a bit tired. It's not far from Ken's house, why don't we go to Ken's house to rest? Neither Assistant-san nor Editor-san are in the studio today, right?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded and replied, "They're not here on weekends."

Ken Sakamoto immediately thought back carefully.

After that passionate encounter with Ai Hoshihara at home last night, were there any obvious traces left behind...?

Ai Hoshino took the clothes she had changed out of with her.

She got the sheets wet, so he put them in the washing machine. They should be washed now, but he hasn't taken them out to dry yet.

Oh, and the little things I used last night.

After use, it was put in a plastic bag from a convenience store and thrown into the trash can in the studio on the first floor.

The trash can also contained crumpled manuscript paper and scraps of paper, so Mio probably wouldn't rummage through it.

There's one more thing...

That's the box of 001 that Natsume Mio brought over last time; they used it all up last night.

Seeing that Ken Sakamoto looked like he was deep in thought, Mio Natsume asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Ken? Is it inconvenient at home?"

Ken Sakamoto smiled slightly and said, "It's nothing, let's go."

(End of this chapter)