Full-time comic artist

Akemi Akemi was conflicted.

The person in front of me, though still a student, is exceptionally talented, mature, and capable.

Such students...

“When you were in sketching class, you weren’t concentrating on drawing a portrait of Asahina Yuko. And you influenced her, making her daydream too.”

Yes, I can't let him waste his talent, so I'm teaching him strictly.

"As a teacher, of course I'm angry."

"Yes!" He nodded vigorously, completely agreeing with his own idea.

Higashino Hibiki shook his head helplessly.

This attempt failed; we can only hope for the next one.

This leaves room for the two of them; there is still hope for the future.

……

11 month 3 number.

"Didn't Higashino go to school today?"

"He took leave."

Nishimura and Kitamoto came to the art department and learned the news from Yoshii Yamahisa.

"What a pity, I was hoping to go eat ramen with him." Nishimura slapped his thigh. "The three of us haven't had a meal together in a long time."

"We'll just have to wait until next time," Kitamoto sighed.

"Oh, right, Yoshii, why don't you come eat ramen with us!" Nishimura looked at Yoshii Yamahisa expectantly: "That way there will be three of us again!"

Yoshii Yamahisa nodded. "Dad said that if a friend invites you, you should accept unless it's something important. Okay, I'll go."

Kitamoto suggested, "Let's go to the store near the subway station."

"set off!"

Hibiki Higashino arrived at the restaurant after his three friends went out for a meal.

The restaurant has a ceiling that is over ten meters high and is resplendent in gold.

And the people who came and went were a dazzling array of stars.

"Is that Professor Hirohiko Araki?" Hibiki Higashino nudged Akemi Akemi and asked curiously.

“It’s him,” Akemi Akemi looked at Araki with envy. “He hasn’t changed at all since I saw him ten years ago.”

Hibiki Higashino: "Perhaps twenty years from now, it will still be the same."

Akemi Akemi questioned, "How is that possible?"

We'll see.

A waiter passed by, took two glasses of juice from his tray, and handed one to Akemi Akemi.

"Cheers."

After clinking glasses, they drank it all in one gulp.

“Akimiya-kun, you’ve come again this year.”

Someone spotted Akemi Akimiya and came over to greet her from afar.

"Miss Akina, it's been a long time!"

She went to chat with her old friend, while Higashino Hibiki walked over to the display wall.

Cartoons featuring award-winning works.

The rankings can give a general idea of ​​how highly one has won an award.

Hibiki Higashino saw from afar that the number one ranked manga was his "Hikaru no Go".

There was also a familiar person watching intently.

……

"Torajiro is dead..."

His voice trembled, and a river of sorrow welled up in the heart of Yamamura Morimichi.

I want to see if the Tezuka Award is as good as my own work.

After watching "Hikaru no Go", I completely lost that idea and became immersed in the story.

Fujiwara no Sai was a chess master in the imperial court during the Heian period, who taught the emperor how to play chess.

During a match that determined who would stay and who would go, another Go player, Sugawara Akita, cheated. Fujiwara Sai tried to expose this insulting behavior of his, but instead, Sugawara accused Fujiwara Sai of cheating.

Therefore, Fujiwara no Sai was expelled from the palace.

Having no other skills besides chess, he committed suicide by jumping into the river in grief and indignation.

However, his pursuit of the "divine move" in Go kept his restless soul from achieving enlightenment.

Across a thousand years, hatred has been forgotten. Only the pursuit remains, the anticipation of the "divine intervention."

Until a child named Kuwazono Torajiro sensed his soul.

So he possessed the child, beginning his legendary life.

At the age of twenty, he defeated his teacher and became the successor of the fourteenth Honinbo.

In the years that followed, he maintained a perfect record against even the most formidable opponents.

Here, Yamamura Morimichi saw a kind-hearted child who dedicated his life to Fujiwara no Sai, helping him continue to fight in the game of Go even after his death.

"When Torajiro picked up a Go stone, his eyes were shining."

"Should I give up my love for Go to make it better for someone else?"

"Torajiro, you are so kind."

Chapter 27 Agreement and Award Ceremony

Yamamura Morimichi was looking at "Hikaru no Go".

Torajiro, who was close to professional level, met Fujiwara no Sai, whom he believed was divine guidance.

He started learning Go at the age of three. Because of his love for Go, he gave up his own identity and chose to exist for Fujiwara no Sai.

Sai, who was always pursuing the divine hand, did not notice this.

A thousand years have passed; he waited a full thousand years before finally meeting someone who could see his soul.

Like a flash flood, he poured out his passion for Go.

His thriving career came to an abrupt end one day when Torajiro was thirty-four years old.

While playing Go, Torajiro spat out a large amount of blood, covering the Go board with bloodstains.

He was critically ill.

Unable to play Go for Fujiwara no longer, he left this world with sorrow and regret.

In the end, only Fujiwara no Sai remained, a lonely soul, waiting for the next meeting with his destined one.

"You've accomplished nothing!" Tears streamed down Yamamura Morimichi's face. "The gods gave Sai some kind of mission in this world, didn't they? Torajiro, you've accomplished nothing!"

"Torajiro, who was still thinking about Fujiwara no Sai until the very last moment... Why?"

This was the first time Higashino Hibiki had ever seen such a sentimental person, bursting into tears in the noisy venue.

He used to really like "Hikaru no Go," but he only got teary-eyed when Sai disappeared at the end of the manga.

"Sigh," Higashino Hibiki walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and handed him a tissue. "Wipe your tears. Be careful, everyone is watching you."

Yamamura Morimichi looked up at the strange looks from the people around him, and said nonchalantly, "Why? Why should I care about what others think? I just want to do what I want to do."

As he said this, he straightened up and wiped away his tears.

"Don't think that by flattering me I'll agree to be your partner. I've already found the veteran, Mr. Arai."

“I have no intention of drawing your ‘The Sun Murder Case’.” Hibiki Higashino shook his head, looking at “Hikaru no Go”, and said frankly, “This story is more interesting.”

"I admit that 'Hikaru no Go' is very interesting, possessing the poignant beauty of cherry blossoms falling. Whether it's Fujiwara no Sai who drowned himself in the lake or Torajiro who died from a serious illness, they both withered away at their most beautiful moment." Yamamura Morimichi's eyes reddened again.

"This comic is far superior to your 'War Between Gods and Men,' like the bright moon shining brighter than rotten grass. You're both comic artists, so you should learn more from other people's storytelling."

Hibiki Higashino looked at him strangely, thinking that someone who wrote mystery novels was actually less intelligent than Yuko Asahina.

"Mountain Village, you really don't know how to talk."

“I’ve always been like this,” he said smugly, arms crossed.

Higashino Hibiki was too lazy to communicate with him anymore. "You said you would apologize with thorns on your back, so please prepare the thorns."

"I remember now! I came to the banquet because I need to talk to you about something."

"You're here to apologize?"

“How could I possibly apologize to a commoner?” Yamamura Moriori shook his head matter-of-factly, scratching his head and saying with a troubled expression, “What I’m trying to say is that we didn’t agree on a time last time. What if you start serializing it decades later?”

Higashino looked at him helplessly. Just how much did he look down on the original owner's work? He'd dragged it out for decades.

But seeing how serious he is, he should keep his promise, right? It will definitely be a great show then.

“Then let’s make a two-and-a-half-year agreement. If I can’t serialize it within two and a half years, I’ll admit that I’m mediocre and not suited to drawing comics. But if I can serialize it within two and a half years,” Higashino looked down at him. This smug bastard was already impatient.

"Please kneel down and apologize with a bundle of thorns on your back, Yamamura-san."

"Two and a half years? Is that a short time?" Yamamura Morimichi asked in surprise. "But it doesn't matter, let's just do it this way."

He held up his little finger. "Come on."

Higashino Hibiki was confused. "What?"

"Pinky promise!"

"...Alright then."

Higashino extended his little finger and hooked it with his.