Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 75 Are Triangles Stable? (Bonus Chapter, Please Read On!)

The next day at noon, Natsume Mio brought Sakamoto Ken lunch again.

In return, Ken Sakamoto showed her the newly completed manuscript from that day.

When she went to work at the convenience store, around the same time, Ken Sakamoto lay down in the room, closed his eyes, and tried to enter that dream again.

However... no.

I woke up naturally after a nap of about twenty minutes, and didn't dream about anything I expected.

Leaning against the window, the sunlight illuminated half of my body. I could feel the temperature gradually rising and the sun getting stronger.

Looking out the window at the somewhat dilapidated old residential area, Ken Sakamoto rubbed his temples, feeling a little disappointed.

I've dreamt of Haruna, and I've dreamt of Ai.

So, will it be Mio next time?
Speaking of which, a triangle is the most stable structure, and it should be.

Ken Sakamoto believes that the reason why the last timeout was unstable was not because the triangle was unstable, but because a triangle was never formed in the first place.

If the relationship between each person is a line, then three lines radiating out from him correspond to Mio, Haruna, and Ai respectively.

The problem is that there are no lines connecting them.

It can't even be called a "shape," it's just a few loose lines, and of course it's a completely unstable state.

So... how do you make a stable triangle take shape?
Having no ideas for what to do, Ken Sakamoto started drawing with his head down.

Anyway, one thing is certain: the most important thing this time is the comic. Let's secure hundreds of millions in royalties first.

I was planning not to stay up late, but I ended up drawing until 3 a.m.

The manuscript I have now is for "Chainsaw Man," which has been updated to chapter 6, and chapter 7 is scheduled to be updated tomorrow. The manuscript I submitted to editor Jia Zhi is up to chapter 16.

Looking back suddenly, "Suddenly Looking Back" has reached page 117, which is more than three-quarters complete.

I took a shower in the public bathroom and then went back to my room to lie on the bed.

Looking at the night sky outside the window, I recalled that particularly long dream from this afternoon.

The first time was with Mikazuki Haruna, and the second time was with Hoshihara Ai. Both were lucid dreams, and everything in the dreams was exceptionally real, so real that he almost thought he had returned to a certain point in time from the previous playthrough.

Why would I enter such a dream?
And they all happened in the afternoon, at roughly the same time.

He rarely dreams at night, or rather, he forgets everything he dreams about after waking up. But these two times, it was as if he had experienced them all over again, and he remembered them very clearly.

Afternoon...

In fact, Ken Sakamoto also has a deep memory of this point in time.

That day, on the rooftop, he lay in a pool of blood, his body gradually growing cold. No matter how scorching the midday sun was, his strength slowly dissipated, and then he lost consciousness.

At that time, he didn't feel much pain anymore; his consciousness was gradually fading, and he was like someone who had fallen asleep.

Perhaps only someone who has truly died and been reborn can truly understand how he felt back then.

Ken Sakamoto didn't pay much attention, after all, Mio Natsume said she always dreamed about the events of last week's story, and Haruna also drew "The Young Lady" after reading his manga in her dream.

Since they dream about it, it's normal for me to dream about it too.

She rolled over and lay face down on the pillow.

Ken Sakamoto particularly envied Ai Hoshihara for one thing: she could fall asleep anytime, anywhere.

According to her, it's about emptying your mind, feeling your consciousness floating in the void, drifting and drifting, and then you'll fall asleep quickly.

But he tried this method and it didn't work at all; he could only say that she was exceptionally gifted.

She can sleep anytime and has excellent sleep quality, which is probably why she has never lost in her studies since childhood.

……

Ken Sakamoto tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, while Ai Hoshihara had no intention of sleeping at all. In the apartment's study, she sat at her computer desk, staring intently at the screen, her hands flying across the keyboard.

She is recording all her thoughts for the day in a document.

I only planned to take a short nap for half an hour at noon, but I dreamed about him.

Moreover, the dream felt incredibly real; we were intimate for a long time, from the bedroom to the living room, and then to the balcony.

She leaned on the balcony railing, looking at the expansive cityscape before her. In that most transcendent moment, she felt as if she were flying in the sky, and the tingling sensation throughout her body was incredibly captivating.

However, she wasn't... she wasn't just enjoying herself; she was actually thinking.

She felt there were two possibilities.

Firstly, this is information from 2025 delivered to the present.

However, Ken's reaction in the dream was different from the Ken she remembered in 2025.

It's not that it's like a completely different person, but the words, actions, and even the intensity are slightly different.

When she was with Jian, he would always talk to her about science fiction and fantasy, and he could speak Chinese and read Chinese novels.

He told her many interesting stories, but she didn't speak Chinese, so he had to tell them to her.

Books like "Dying on Mars," "Hotel Transylvania," and "Starting from the Red Moon"... as well as "The Three-Body Problem," which they both read. He read the Chinese version, and she read the English version. Later, when the Japanese version was released, she bought it and read it as soon as possible.

But in today's dream, he seemed... to not bring up these things at all.

Most importantly, he mentioned that he was a "scumbag".

His exact words were, "I was dating three women at the same time, and then you all killed me."

Yes, Ken in the last playthrough was indeed a scumbag.

But that's what they eventually discovered, and that's what led to his exposure; he couldn't possibly have revealed it on his own.

Therefore, Ai Hoshihara considered the second possibility.

Could it be that my dream this afternoon was just because I was thinking about him, so I had a dream about him?

But will my subconscious mind stage those kinds of scenes in my dreams...?

It's one thing to go from the bedroom to the living room, but to go even further and be so brazen on the balcony.

I'm not someone who's only thinking about lust, am I?
It should be... no?

Ai Hoshino leaned back in her chair, her legs crossed, and inexplicably felt a bit hot.

In particular, the gentle breeze from the air conditioner blowing on her skin reminded her of the feeling of him touching her.

My hand gripping the mouse was so tight that I got goosebumps all over my arm.

My breathing became rapid, my heart pounded, and the scenes from my afternoon dream played out in my mind.

Ai Hoshino squeezed her legs together, as if that feeling hadn't yet spread from her calves.

After lying on the table for a while, she suddenly stood up, strode into the bathroom, and turned on the water tap.

The icy water splashed down on my face and washed over my body. With a shiver, the burning sensation gradually subsided.

"call……"

Ai Hoshino leaned against the bathroom wall, cold water slanting across her flat stomach, running down her legs, carrying away the heat from her body, and flowing to the soles of her feet.

"I'm not someone who's only thinking about lust; it's impossible for me to fantasize about that man being so unrestrained with me, and in fact, I quite enjoyed it..."

"Therefore, there must be a third possibility for dreams."

(End of this chapter)