Cartoonists and their assistants

She followed the two as they flipped through the pages, and after finishing the entire book, she had many thoughts in mind.

But as an outsider, she felt that remaining silent was a virtue.

"However, Mizuki-kun and the others have already grown to this point; they can already show manuscripts to others..."

The girl admired it.

Sawamura didn't care, but she believed that Mizuki's style meant she must be confident to agree to do something so troublesome.

After reading this.

"Let the truth speak for itself."

Eriri gave the person next to her a look.

"It's good enough. Let's submit this manuscript to the Newcomer Award."

Without needing to say more, Mizuki Machi gave the assistant the answer she most wanted to hear.

"Ah."

Asahi Saho's hands trembled slightly with excitement.

"Let's leave the rest to Ms. Minano. We don't know anything about the Newcomer Award process."

he continued.

"Speaking of which, I don't think the teachers participated in the newcomer award?"

"We submitted our work directly, and after getting Ms. Minano's approval, someone else had just finished writing their work, so we passed the serialization meeting and successfully debuted."

"Wow...amazing!"

The assistant was still genuinely amazed.

The more she studied and understood, the more she realized how incredible it was that the teachers could debut at the age of junior high school.

It's not the kind of writing that's just casual; it's something that's been thoroughly established.

"You're really amazing, Mizuki-sensei."

Another voice came from behind.

"Takasago, what do you mean by this?!"

Eriri's expression changed, and she turned around to argue.

"I didn't say that Sawamura-kun isn't amazing. In terms of drawing skills, it's quite rare for someone his age."

"I can't believe it," said Chie Takasago with an innocent expression.

The implication of this statement is quite clear.

"Hmph! Let's go! It's study time!"

Eriri hardened her heart, got up and pulled her away, heading upstairs to the 'seclusion room'.

"Don't hurt each other, Sawamura-kun."

Chie Takasago's aggrieved voice came from upstairs.

......

A few days later, on the university campus.

"Ashisu, let's go to karaoke today!"

"No, no need, I have something to do today."

"Eh, is it still about the comics?"

"Yes, I need to give the original manuscript to the editor for review today."

"Hey! Could it be that we'll be able to see Sahoto's manga in a magazine soon?"

"That's hard to say... Well then, I'll be off then."

After school, Saho Ashisu said goodbye to her friends and rushed to the company building where GANGAN worked, where she met the green-haired loli she had seen several times before.

To everyone's surprise, the first question the other party asked after reading the original manuscript was—

"If you successfully debut, you'll have to leave Mizuki. Will you feel lonely?"

"Probably, considering I've been taken care of by the teacher for so long..."

She paused for a moment, then nodded.

"I see."

Minamoto's eyes flickered slightly, and he continued speaking.

"So, do you like watching the moon?"

"That's a rather...isn't the teacher still a middle school student?"

"So what if you're in junior high? You're old enough to date. A relationship between an older woman and a younger man is fine too. Besides... I think you're about the same level of maturity."

"Ms. Minano, could you please not ask such strange questions?"

Ashisuke's cheeks flushed red, and she rubbed her temples, looking quite troubled.

"I'm just worried about Mizuki's personal life. If something happens to him and he stops drawing manga, it will be a great loss to the industry."

"Isn't there still Sawamura-sensei?"

“They are still children. They might break up at any time because of differences in their beliefs.”

Minamoto's dazzling golden eyes seemed to see through everything.

73 Imagination

Even Saho Ashisu couldn't understand the editor's reasoning for making such a judgment.

However, she felt that what he said was still too outrageous.

After all, she is about 6 or 7 years older than Mizuki. Although the teacher looks more mature than she appears, it is still too much to ask her to be a romantic partner.

"Ms. Minano, please stop joking! If you don't mind a relationship between an older woman and a younger man, wouldn't it be the same if you dated the editor?"

She couldn't hold back any longer, so she slammed her hands on the table and said angrily.

"If we go out together, Mizuki might get arrested."

Minamoto said in a very serious tone.

"..."

Both the foot-length sand grains and the hairpins were covered in black lines.

"Alright, let's get back to the newcomer award."

"....oh."

The topic quickly shifted.

“Our Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine holds two Newcomer Awards a year. The first issue of this year has already ended, so you can only submit your work to the second issue. After the deadline, the editors will select works based on their popularity after publication. There are three rounds in total, and eight works will be shortlisted for the final selection. Then, the manga artists who are serialized in Gangan will act as judges to select three different awards: Special Award, Excellence Award, and Grand Prize. Generally speaking, only the top three Grand Prize winners will have the opportunity to be serialized and compete with the new works of established authors at the serialization conference. However, if there are enough vacancies, even the top three can be serialized.”

Minamoto slowly began to recount his story.

"Only the top three have a chance? I didn't realize I was so far from my debut serialization."

Even the sandstalks on their feet caught the key words and couldn't help but feel a sense of pressure, as glistening sweat gently slid down their foreheads.

"No problem, you are someone recognized by both Mizuki and me, it's just a newcomer award."

The editor smiled at just the right moment.

This encouragement is very timely.

This gave even the most insecure person, Zuxu Shasui, a renewed sense of confidence.

That's right!

She was mentored by the youngest genius cartoonist in history.

If you can't even do this, wouldn't you be ruining your reputation as a teacher?

"Yes, I'm sure I'll win the Newcomer Award and successfully serialize the story! I'd appreciate it if Ms. Minano could be my editor."

She stood up abruptly, her emotions unusually high.

"I look forward to that day."

He smiled faintly.

......

Afterwards, Mizuki Machi and Eriri received a message from their assistant.

"Now it's almost certain that Miss Ashisu will leave us."

"Well, judging from the timing of the Newcomer Award, we still have five months to get to know each other."

"Five months... time will pass quickly... so Sakura should start preparing."

He nodded in response to the girl's reminder.

He is already considering the timing.

"By the way, the works submitted to the Newcomer Award are also published, right? Should we help Miss Ashisu promote them?"

Eriri hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question.

"There's no need for this. Good works will naturally be recognized. Your backdoor approach won't work. The key is the attitude of the editors and us 'judges'."

Guan Yuezhen scoffed.

"Oh, right, we can also vote! That's great, I've never heard of that before."

"Because we didn't participate in the newcomer award..."

"What a pity, the newcomer award also has a prize of 1.8 million yen. You must be very tempted by it."

"Alright, you'll be crying when Bibi and the others outdo you."

Given their capabilities at the time, their short version of "Anohana" would likely have been difficult to surpass the submissions from those other people.

"Thinking about it that way...that's certainly true."

The girl thought back on it and felt a little scared.

This shows that life does indeed require a bit of luck.

Of course, given their age, they won't lose if the editor-in-chief weighs this point and makes the decision.

......

A few days later, the final exams arrived.

This time, everyone's exam scores remained almost unchanged, which relieved the two of them. They didn't have to worry about retaking the exam, and they could have a good time during the summer vacation.

"Mitsuki-kun..."

At noon, a familiar voice came from the back door of the classroom.

When Mizuki Machi turned around, she saw that it was Takasago Chie.

"Takasago-san, is there something you need?"

"Let's go over there and talk."

The girl pointed in the direction of the stairs.

In the classroom, Sakura Chiyo watched the two leave, then turned to look at the blonde young lady in the front row. The girl seemed to have learned about the incident after being reminded by a classmate, and her mind began to conjure up a story about the three of them—

Could it be the legendary love triangle amidst political infighting, where childhood sweethearts meet a heroine who suddenly appears out of nowhere?

Or is Mizuki planning to have her cake and eat it too?

No wonder Takasago had that expression when she talked about Mizuki-san...

"Mitsuki-kun, this is for you."

Mizuki Machi looked at the note handed to her by the girl in front of her. It had the words "coupon" written in big letters on it, and was signed "Takasago Bookstore, Takasago Chie".

"what is this?"