"Then let them stir things up," Haruki said calmly.
"Most of these racing manga won't catch on. Even if they're drawn by veterans from top mangaka, they're still just chasing trends."
His confidence wasn't blind.
Racing manga had existed in this world too. But how many had ever made an impact?
In the end, when people talk about racing manga, only one name truly stands out: Initial D.
This wasn't a genre you could copy and expect to win. Before Initial D, there hadn't been a single hit in the space.
"I hope you're right," Haruka said, nodding slightly.
"By the way, Airi went with you to driving school the other day. She didn't cause any problems, right?"
"Problems?" Haruki paused, remembering Airi's chaos behind the wheel. His stomach turned just thinking about it.
"Good." Haruka nodded, then gave him a look.
"You're about the same age she's only a year younger. Shouldn't be hard to get along. But from now on, if you're heading to practice, message her directly. I'm not getting involved."
She added pointedly, "This whole mess started because of you. You can take responsibility."
"Wait, how is it my fault?" Haruki asked, genuinely confused. "What does this have to do with me?"
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't made Initial D, would she suddenly be trying to get a license?"
Haruki's face froze. Thinking about Airi's impulsive nature, it all added up.
"Anyway," Haruka went on, "there's news on Natsume the animation rights are being negotiated. Kazanami Animation's been in talks with the publishing side all week. We might get an update soon."
Haruki had expected it eventually especially with how Kazanami Animation operated—but not this fast.
"It's a bit of a shame though," Haruka said. "Natsume probably has a year left at most. If the anime airs too late, you might miss the best window to boost its popularity."
She looked at him carefully.
"It's up to you. But I'd recommend not ending Natsume too fast. Rushing the final arc might hurt long-term royalties."
Haruki didn't answer right away.
The original Natsume's Book of Friends had run for years. But Haruki had the system backing him he never planned to invest in it forever. If something better came along, he'd wrap it up and move on.
Haruka had a hunch. She likely suspected he might end the series within the year.
"We'll see how it goes," Haruki said vaguely.
Initial D had just launched. There was no rush. Natsume still had more stories to tell. And if he ever felt like continuing it, he could always spin off a second or third part later.
For now, keeping it running helped with book sales and kept interest high for the anime.
Especially in manga, where the real money came from. Way more than Kazanami Animation's manuscript fees.
Take Airi's Dream World, for example. After three years, it had sold around 30 million copies. With an 11% royalty on a 700 yen volume, that meant about 77 yen per copy.
Even spread across three years, that still totaled over 2.3 billion yen in royalties far more than anything serialization alone could bring in.
The anime? Its real role was visibility. It boosted everything: books, merch, streaming, and most of all more manga sales.
If the Natsume volumes launched during the anime's peak, Haruki could easily pull in millions in a few months.
At that point, would he really need to worry about the cost of The Voice of the Stars or 5 centimeter per second?
"I've said what I need to say. I'm heading out," Haruka said. "I'll keep an eye on Airi. If she falls behind again, no more driving practice until she catches up."
Haruki turned back to his desk and started working on next week's chapter.
Later that evening, Haruka sent him a message:
"Airi won't be leaving the house this week."
Haruki chuckled when he saw it.
He still didn't understand why Airi had fallen behind again…
At Airi's apartment, she sat slumped in front of her tablet, sketching sluggishly. Across from her, Haruka sat at her computer, arms folded.
"So," Haruka said dryly, "you've been… gaming?"
"And you dropped close to 100,000 yen on skins? hundred of thousand just to get one called Elderwood Ahri?"
Haruka stared at her, both stunned and exasperated. "You're an adult. How are you still ?"
"I'm not gonna tell you how to spend your money. Games are fine in moderation. But you know the rule—no going out until your pages are done."
Airi's expression changed. "Wait—what about Saturday practice?"
She was thinking of Haruki and Ryuko. The last few weekends had been fun especially gaming together afterward. She'd bought the Phoenix skin just to show off next time.
"If your manga's done, you can go," Haruka said firmly. "If not, you're staying here."
"…You can't do that!" Airi blurted.
It was already Wednesday. She hadn't finished a single clean page. No way she'd make it in time.
So her gaming reunion this weekend… was going to be canceled?
"What did you just say?" Haruka asked, tilting her head.
"…Nothing." Airi looked down. "Okay."
"Oh, and from next week on, same rule. Miss your page count? No Saturday outings."
Meanwhile, across town at Ryuko's university dorm, she looked like a model student: notebook open, laptop out, focused and serious.
Until you looked at her screen.
A video was playing: "Mastering Jungle Role: League of Legends Basics."
Her notebook? Full of jungle paths, timing charts, champion counters, and route notes.
"There's this much depth to just one role?" she muttered, impressed.
After a short break, she dove back in eyes full of focus.
Haruki, as always, was home tablet in hand, elbows deep in the of Initial D.
Two days later, Chapter 7 of Initial D dropped.
Despite the recent flood of racing manga, the latest issue of Shroud Line proved one thing:
Initial D wasn't just holding steady it was surging forward.
Readers weren't getting bored they were getting hyped.
Everyone knew it was coming. No matter how long the build-up, the showdown with Ryosuke Takahashi was inevitable.
And this issue, it was finally time.
Fans flipped straight to Initial D ready for the race they'd been waiting for since Chapter One.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 55+ advanced chapters)