Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

"If you take a leave of absence, the longest you can take is two years."

Ms. Kobayashi nodded, understanding the situation, and softened her tone considerably, saying, "If you want to rejoin the school within two years, you can come and complete the procedures at any time. If it exceeds two years, your student status will be cancelled. Please be aware of this."

Eri Aragaki said, "I understand. I plan to take a year off from school, and then decide whether to continue the leave after that."

Ms. Kobayashi picked up the pen on the table, signed the leave of absence application form, and stamped it.

"Okay, just take it back and hand it in to the student affairs office."

He handed the application form back to Eri Aragaki and said, "If you have any difficulties, you can come and discuss it with the school."

Eri Aragaki took the application form, stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Ms. Kobayashi."

Ms. Kobayashi waved her hand and said, "Go ahead, be careful on the way."

Eri Aragaki took the signed application form, walked out of the guidance room, went downstairs, and headed towards the student affairs office.

After another round of trouble, she finally completed all the procedures and successfully obtained her leave of absence permit.

Eri Aragaki then turned and left the Student Affairs Office.

She stepped out of the office building, the sunlight shining on her face, a little dazzling.

She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She has completed the leave of absence procedures and will no longer be a university student starting next month.

However, she didn't feel sorry for herself, because she had more important things to do.

Chapter 8 Masaya Sakurai

After finally completing all the formalities, Eri Aragaki walked towards the school gate, intending to take the train home.

There weren't many people on campus at this time; most students were in class.

Eri Aragaki walked along the tree-lined path, thinking about her next plan.

She wanted to go back and confirm the announcement time of the Tezuka Award results, which was usually in May.

But she couldn't just sit idly by during this time; she had to do something...

So what she was considering was... whether to first draw some storyboards for the later parts of "Attack on Titan" so that she could use them directly after signing a contract with Shueisha.

Anyway, after successfully signing a contract as a formal manga artist, she definitely plans to copy "Attack on Titan" first.

This is a hugely popular work, but of course she doesn't intend to copy the original entirely. The later parts of Attack on Titan that Nara finished must be changed.

At the very least, the disgusting plot and the distorted "anti-defeat" values ​​need to be completely changed.

She walked along, lost in thought, not paying attention to the road ahead.

Suddenly she felt her shoulder bump against something, and then heard a soft gasp.

"what."

Eri Aragaki snapped out of her daze and realized she had bumped into a girl.

The girl was knocked back two steps by the bump, lost her balance, and fell to the ground with a thud.

The things the girl was holding were scattered on the ground: several books, a folder, and a pencil case.

Eri Aragaki quickly squatted down and said hastily, "Sorry, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

She apologized as she reached out to pick up the things on the ground.

There are two books: one is on the principles of economics, and the other is on the history of Japanese literature.

The folder is a transparent plastic clip, containing some notes and printed materials.

The pencil case was a dark blue cloth case; the zipper had come undone, and several pens had rolled out.

Eri Aragaki picked up the books and stacked them together, then picked up the folder and pencil case, and finally picked up the pens one by one and put them back into the pencil case.

She didn't look up at the girl when she picked up the things; her attention was all on the things on the ground.

The girl didn't say anything, she just sat on the ground looking at Eri Aragaki.

Eri Aragaki picked up all the items, then stood up and handed them to the girl.

She then looked up at the girl's face.

The girl looked to be about the same age as Eri Aragaki, with long black hair draped over her shoulders and bangs that were a bit long, partially obscuring her eyebrows.

Her features were delicate, her skin was fair, and her lips were pale.

She wore a white shirt with a dark blue ribbon tied at the collar, and a matching pleated long skirt.

The girl didn't take the item; she just stared straight at Eri Aragaki.

Aragaki Eri felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and asked, "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

The girl didn't speak, but continued to look at Eri Aragaki.

"Are you really alright?"

Eri Aragaki was a little worried. She leaned forward and asked, "Should we go to the infirmary?"

Could something have really happened?

If something really happens in the accident, it will only make things worse for her now.

The girl finally shook her head, reached out and took what Eri Aragaki handed her, and then stood up from the ground.

When she stood up, she was a little shorter than Eri Aragaki, about half a head shorter.

The girl, holding her things, looked at Eri Aragaki and said softly, "It's okay."

"That's good……"

Eri Aragaki breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't looking ahead while I was walking. It was my fault..."

"It's alright, I have to go now..."

After apologizing and confirming that nothing was wrong, she turned and walked towards the school gate.

However... what Eri Aragaki didn't notice was that after she had walked about ten steps, the girl was still standing in the same spot without moving.

She watched Eri Aragaki's retreating figure, her eyes filled with sadness and complexity.

"They really don't remember me."

She continued, still looking at Eri Aragaki.

Eri Aragaki didn't hear those words; she had already walked out of the school gate and headed towards the station.

……

Time flies.

May is gradually passing by, seemingly fleeting.

Meanwhile, Eri Aragaki is still in the long wait.

Although she took a break from school during this period, she found several part-time jobs, and...

She drew some storyboards for the sequel to Attack on Titan, enough for about two or three episodes.

She also took the time to study the submission rules and payment standards of Japanese manga magazines.

The standard fee for each page of manga in Weekly Shonen Jump is approximately 10,000 to 15,000 yen.

If she can successfully serialize her work, updating about 20 pages per week, she could earn between 800,000 and 1.2 million yen per month.

This money is enough for her and Erina's living expenses and can also pay off some of their debts.

She waits for the Tezuka Award results every day.

until……

June is finally almost here.

Hitotsubashi Building, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

This is the headquarters of Shueisha, a mecca for countless manga artists.

Good morning, everyone.

After arriving at his work station, Masaya Sakurai casually remarked something and then sat down to enjoy the view.

His desk was in the large office of the Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department.

The office is spacious and has more than twenty desks.

Each table was piled high with manuscripts, magazines, and reference materials.

The latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump is displayed on the wall.

Several bookshelves were filled with bound volumes of magazines from the past few years.

Masaya Sakurai is 35 years old and has been working at Shueisha for 12 years.

After graduating from university, he joined Shueisha and worked as an editor at Monthly Shonen Jump for three years.

Later, he was transferred to the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Jump, where he has been working ever since.

He was a man of medium build with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, looking more like a seasoned, laid-back middle-aged man from the Heisei era than an office worker.

After he sat down, he turned on his computer and then took a lunchbox out of his bag and placed it on the table.

His wife prepared the lunchbox for him that morning; it contained rice and a few side dishes.

He hadn't had breakfast yet and planned to eat it during a break from work.

"Hi, Masaya, good morning."

Just then, my colleague, who is also a senior editor, swiveled his office chair over and said with a smile.

Masaya Sakurai turned around and greeted his colleague, saying, "Hi, Shihei, good morning."

Lin Shiping moved the chair forward a little more, getting closer.

Lin Shiping said, "Today is a good day. The results of the Tezuka Award are finally going to be announced."