Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 20 Why am I so bad?
Kanzaki Art Academy.

It's spring break now, and there aren't many people around the campus.

Haruna Mikazuki drove into a side street. Her Pamei was not very convenient to turn in the alley, so she eventually parked the car in the apartment's parking lot.

Since you are not a registered resident, you will be charged the temporary parking fee.

300 yen for 30 minutes. The daily limit is 1500 yen on weekdays, but today is Sunday, so the limit is increased to 2000 yen.

Haruna Mikazuki herself wasn't sure whether it was because she was familiar with the streets or because of the memories from her dream.

After turning the corner, without taking any detours, I arrived at the apartment building.

An unremarkable apartment building, five stories high, with an attached open space for parking.

In that dream about the future, I was a fan of his and was particularly fascinated by this comic. After meeting him in person, I learned that his royalties were meager, so I gave him a tip.

The guy in her memory had also told her that he was only able to afford such a house thanks to the extra tips she gave him.

Otherwise, if the publication of the standalone book "Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!" had failed, he would have had to move back to his old, run-down apartment just from the serialization fees.

Haruna never asked him how dilapidated his previous residence was; she only knew it was a house with a monthly rent of less than 30,000 yen.

What kind of place in Tokyo can you rent for less than 3 yen a month?

She didn't ask many questions at the time, but just told him not to worry about money in the future. If the royalties weren't enough, she would still have her. She just needed to focus on drawing.

It sounds strange, but in that dream, she really did keep a man named Sakamoto Ken as her lover...

Standing in front of the apartment door, Haruna looked at the smart lock on the security door.

There are several ways to open this lock.

Card swipe, key, and password.

She obviously didn't have the first two, but the password...

Haruna Mikazuki skillfully entered the six numbers: 403403.

It didn't really mean anything; it was just the default password the apartment manager gave to each resident. The room number was repeated twice. When I lived there, he never changed the default password.

When I pressed confirm, the door lock actually beeped and opened.

If before I simply felt that I had a complete comic book in my memory, I could explain it by saying that it was a special dream.

But now... the password I learned in my dream can actually be used in reality!

As the goddess who governs literary talent, surely Lady Bensaiten wouldn't reveal her apartment password to me in a dream?
That's right, that's also possible!
It must be that Bensai-ten wanted me to meet with Sakamoto Ken in person to discuss manga creation and such.

Haruna Mikazuki strode directly into the apartment building and went to room 403.

First, I put my ear to it and listened. I could hear the sound of typing on a keyboard, which meant someone was home.

The room door can only be opened with a key, not a combination lock, otherwise Haruna thought she could definitely open it too.

Standing at the door, Haruna took a deep breath and gently patted her chest.

She felt her heart racing.

The memories in my mind felt as if they had actually happened.

I initially supported him solely for his work, as a loyal reader, urging him to update his comics and discussing their content.

And then gradually... I fell in love with him.

To be honest, that guy was exactly her type, especially with his good stamina and endurance, like an ox that never gets tired no matter how much it plows.

The only problem was that it was later discovered that he was seeing two other women behind her back...

Never mind all that, let's meet them first!
Haruna Mikazuki rang the doorbell directly.

Soon, a voice came from inside the house: "Who is it?"

Huh?
Haruna frowned slightly and took a step back.

She heard a woman's voice.

Then, the doorknob moved, and the door was opened from the inside.

The woman standing in front of me looked to be in her twenties, not the Sakamoto Ken I had expected.

The woman looked at Mikazuki Haruna with a puzzled expression and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Mikazuki Haruna blinked, turned slightly, and peered into the room.

Yes, the layout of this apartment room is exactly the same as I remember.

It's a typical 1LDK house. After entering, there's a small step leading to a small kitchen that can only be used with an induction cooker. To the side is the bathroom, and further in is a bedroom of less than 20 square meters. There's also a small balcony outside.

The two appliances visible inside, the washing machine and the refrigerator, were exactly the same as I remembered.

She remembered that washing machine clearly because a few times when she was leaning over it, he used a lot of force and loosened some parts inside, causing the washing machine drum to make strange noises. In the end, she had to pay for a new one.

What is his relationship with this woman?
girlfriend?
But she's too old, and her looks... well, it's not that she's ugly or anything, but Mikazuki Haruna doesn't think she's Ken's type.

Or perhaps an older sister? A relative?
Haruna Mikazuki asked directly, "Hello, I'm looking for Ken Sakamoto. Do you live here?"

"Sakamoto Ken?" The woman frowned slightly and said, "I live alone and don't know anyone named Sakamoto Ken."

"Huh? That's impossible..." Mikazuki Haruna continued to look around the room, making sure she was familiar with every corner, since they were all places where she had fought.

"You've got the wrong person. Ken Sakamoto isn't here." After saying that, the woman closed the door.

Mikazuki Haruna looked around the corridor, her gaze lingering on the door.

She took another step forward and tried to look through the peephole.

However, the peephole is designed so that you can only see from one side, and you can only see a blurry area from outside the door.

Then he put his ear to the door and listened, trying to hear that familiar voice from his memory.

"Click."

The door lock was opened again, and Mikazuki Haruna was so frightened that she quickly stepped back.

"What's wrong with you? I told you Sakamoto Ken isn't here. You've got the wrong person. Please leave," the woman said rudely.

Mikazuki Haruna chuckled awkwardly and said, "Sorry, sorry, I might have the wrong number..."

She walked quickly toward the stairwell.

Just now, it seems the woman didn't go back to her room after closing the door; she was still looking through the peephole, and then she saw the woman lean closer to the peephole.

It would certainly be puzzling if a stranger suddenly appeared at the door and did this...

After Mikazuki Haruna went downstairs, she did not leave the apartment building, but instead went to the mailbox room behind the manager's office.

There are rows of stainless steel mailboxes here, one for each room, with the name of the corresponding resident on each mailbox.

Find room 403, the name is... Yuko Muto.

never heard of that.

As I recall, this room was rented by Ken Sakamoto, so the name here should be his...

Just then, an old man with white hair walked by and saw Mikazuki Haruna looking at the mailbox. He came over and asked her something.

"Hello, are you looking for mail?" The old man glanced at Mikazuki Haruna and said, "You're not a resident here, are you?"

"Are you the building manager?" Haruna asked.

The old man nodded and said, "You can tell me if there's anything, but please don't try to open other residents' mailboxes."

"Ha... I didn't, I was just looking around..." Mikazuki Haruna felt like she was being treated like a bad person, so she quickly stepped out.

"By the way, Administrator, I wanted to ask about room 403..."

Before she could finish speaking, the administrator replied, "Oh, you saw the message on the website, right? You're looking to rent a room?"

"Hey...yes, right! What's going on with that house?"

"Room 403, that lady has only lived here for less than a month. She has to move because of a job change, but she signed a one-year contract. She's looking for someone to sublet her room at a low price, otherwise she'll have to pay a lot of penalty fees," the old building manager said.

So that's how it is!

Haruna Mikazuki felt a "click" in her head and immediately understood.

At this point in time, Ah Jian's financial situation was probably not very good.

That's why he took over the woman's house, saving a lot of initial costs, and the appliances in the house were probably left to him as well.

If things unfold as they do in the dream, he will indeed come and rent this room.

The problem is, everything has changed!

She published her manga "Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!" ahead of schedule!

That means that Ah Jian stopped creating this comic and therefore stopped receiving serialization royalties.

It's even less likely that they'll rent this house.

Unless, the person who competed with her at the same time in JUMP+, Ken Sakamoto, is the one from the dream...

She had thought about it before, but judging from the art style, it seemed unlikely.

A cartoonist's personal style doesn't actually change much from the time of their first publication.

She herself is well aware of the differences between "The Lady" and "Chainsaw Man".

The plot, storyboarding, characters, and dialogue styles are all distinctly different.

She just particularly liked "The Lady" because of her own preferences, while "Chainsaw Man" is definitely an excellent work in the popular sense.

Because I copied his comics, he lost his source of income, which forced him to continue living in his dilapidated apartment...

I don't even know where that run-down apartment is.

I first met him through the manga "Young Lady".

If he hadn't published this comic, I wouldn't even have had a chance to contact him.

That's terrible! Isn't this all my fault?!
How could I be so bad!

(End of this chapter)