Tokyo: Oreimo

"learn!"

"Understood!"

The six editors left their seats one by one, walked to the front of the conference table, and wrote the authors' information on the blackboard.

After the last editor returned to his seat, the deputy editor-in-chief, Nakano, frowned and scanned the entire conference room.

Who is the editor in charge of Cardcaptor Sakura?

On the blackboard, there is only one work whose information has not been completed.

Iori Setsuna clenched her fingers tightly under the table.

The failure of "Magical Idol Yumi" left her in a bad mood. Since things had come to this, she could only ask the original author to polish it up and try again in the next issue.

"What bad luck! To come across such an excellent work, where did this writer even come from?"

At the same time, she was also somewhat relieved.

If she were to direct "Moon Witch Transformation," and such a work were to appear, it would likely siphon off a large portion of the readers.

It has the strength to rival them, and might even be superior.

"But right now, it's Saito who should be worried. After the final chapter is published, if this work is released again, its popularity will probably decline rapidly, right?"

Iori Setsuna tried to console herself, managing to cheer herself up a little.

Clang—

The sound of the chair being moved brought her back to reality.

"Saito, what are you doing? The monthly meeting isn't over yet!"

Iori Setsuna instinctively rebuked her, because she noticed that the other person was smiling at her.

Was he furious because Cardcaptor Sakura was voted number one?

But why this expression? Shouldn't he look annoyed?

"Is Editor Iori still half asleep?"

Ritsu Saito chuckled, then rose from his seat and walked step by step to the front of the conference table.

“Isn’t Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nakano looking for me? It’s not a matter of course for me to leave.”

"what?"

Iori was stunned for a moment, and then an extremely terrifying thought popped into her mind.

...

"I feel that the drawing style of this work is somewhat similar to that of Rumiko Takashiro."

Is it a coincidence?

......

The editors' discussions during the previous review process still echoed in her ears.

Setsuna Iori stared incredulously as Ritsu Saito wrote a line on the blackboard.

—Authors: Rumiko Takashiro and CLAMP.

"So I want to thank editor Iori for entrusting such a wonderful manga artist to me."

“…”

"So it really is a work by Rumiko Takashiro."

“I’ve said before that her painting habits are similar.”

"However, the art style has changed drastically. It's no exaggeration to call him a genius. Most comic artists probably can't switch their art style like that, right?"

The praise from the editors around her overwhelmed Iori Setsuna like a tidal wave.

How could this Cardcaptor Sakura anime be drawn by that little girl?

Didn't she say she had absolutely no inspiration?

"Speaking of which, it's another collaborative work. Editor Saito is really good at discovering talent. I've never heard of this CLAMP in the industry."

"You're too kind. This work has nothing to do with me personally, and it's not my turn to contribute yet. It was just submitted to me by Mr. Takashiro after I received 'Moon Witch Transformation'."

Ritsu Saito spoke the truth.

This has nothing to do with whether he made the discovery; the quality of the work depends entirely on the author.

"CLAMP was in charge of writing the manga script, and Takashiro was in charge of the original artwork. The two of them are a powerful combination that has enabled them to create such a work."

"congratulations!"

bang-

Just as the editors were congratulating Saito Ritsu, Iori Setsuna suddenly stood up.

She glared at Ritsu Saito fiercely and left the conference room without saying a word.

The new editors who were originally sitting below him were also very uncomfortable and wanted to leave with him, but when they saw the editor-in-chief Yamazaki frowning in the main seat, they did not dare to move for a moment.

The atmosphere in the meeting room froze.

"Go back to your seat."

Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki glared coldly at Saito Ritsu, tapping his fingertips on the conference table. All the editors fell silent, and no one spoke again.

Saito Ritsu, still smiling, strolled back to his seat.

"They slunk away."

Hideo Nomura quickly moved closer, his tone full of mockery.

The cartoonist, who had previously discarded the work, has now produced an even better piece, making this counterattack all the more satisfying.

"Just a loser."

Saito Ritsu said indifferently.

He never considered Iori Setsuna as a target.

The distinguished editor turned his gaze to the chief editor, Yamazaki, whose hands were crossed on the table and whose expression was unreadable.

"My promotion plan for the new year depends on this work. I don't believe he can still suppress me."

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nakano ignored the incident and quickly announced the end of the meeting.

The editors filed out and left the conference room.

.....

Two hours after the monthly meeting ended, Ryosuke received a phone call from Ritsu Saito.

"Is the top prize awarded monthly?"

"Yes, it will be published in Monthly Ace, and the prize money is one million yen, which will be paid to you as soon as possible."

"Ok, I see."

"By the way, Mr. Takashiro, I plan to submit a proposal for the serialization of Cardcaptor Sakura as soon as possible. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, it will be approved at next year's serialization conference, and it is expected to be published in Kadokawa Manga's main magazine in February."

"Regarding this, Editor Saito, you have full authority to make the decision. We trust you completely."

Ryosuke chuckled into the phone.

"Don't worry about the serialization. The production of NAME is already more than halfway done. I'll show it to you next time we meet."

Thank you for your trust!

On the other end of the phone, Ritsu Saito expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

It's rare to be willing to trust someone who's been tricked by an editor at Kadokawa once.

"I will definitely take responsibility for your work. That's all for now. I wish Cardcaptor Sakura great success!"

Ryosuke hung up the phone and tossed it aside.

In the room, Ling Nai occupied his chair.

Her long, fair legs were crossed on the seat, trembling slightly with a joyful expression.

She heard Ryosuke's phone call clearly because it was on speakerphone.

The other party also specifically mentioned the reaction of the former editor, Iori Setsuna. Ryosuke could tell that Takashiro Ryōno was quite satisfied with this.

"What? They won first place so easily."

"I wish I were there. That editor, Iori, really angered me last time."

Ryosuke ignored her mutterings and walked to the table to check on her progress with the problems.

"The tasks ahead will be heavy. I still have a week of vacation left, so I will finish NAME as soon as possible. I won't be going to the studio for the time being."

"I will focus my main efforts on tutoring you in your studies."

Takashiro Ryouno let out a soft snort, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"What? I could easily have completed these problems already! It's nothing special!"

The girl was very confident. Apart from the first few days being a bit difficult, Ryosuke's so-called academic tutoring had begun to show results after two weeks.

She usually finishes ahead of schedule.

Ryosuke Takagi was quite satisfied with the situation, as it was much better than he had imagined.

"Aren't you getting a little too cocky?"

He pulled out a brand-new handwritten exercise book that he had prepared beforehand from a drawer and slammed it onto the table.

“I’m providing phased tutoring based on your academic progress, and you’ve only just passed the first phase.”

"In terms of levels, you've only just passed the first year of junior high school, you're still far from it."

"Huh?"

"Wait, I don't understand this new question!"

"So, you're really stupid. This is clearly eighth grade knowledge."

Who are you mocking?!