"Why are both of you looking at me like that?" Haruki glanced between them with an exaggerated shrug.
"If the goal is to reach the top of Sora, then this level isn't nearly enough."
He pointed at the rankings again.
"We're still nearly twenty thousand votes behind first place... that's a huge gap."
Kotone looked over at Haruki. She knew he'd been the one to bring up this whole "reaching the top" ambition in the first place, and while he had genuinely tried his best on The Garden of Words, deep down… she'd always seen that goal more as a direction to aim for than something truly attainable.
Dreams were important. They gave people purpose and drive—but achieving them? That was a different matter entirely.
After all, how many people actually do reach the top?
She liked working toward something beautiful, something meaningful—but this?
This was starting to feel like something beyond her reach. And yet, somehow, Haruki made it seem... possible.
At this rate, with the momentum Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance had built in just two issues, how long would it take for him to actually reach the number one spot? Weeks? A couple months?
The thought made her dizzy.
She looked over at Haruki again. His approach to manga seemed almost casual from the outside. Sure, he was serious when he sat down to draw—but most of the time, he was either reading manga, playing games, or lazing around the apartment.
He didn't agonize over storylines the way other mangaka did. He didn't spend hours racking his brain for clever plot twists or catchy titles. Everything just seemed to come to him naturally—like the stories were already fully formed in his mind, just waiting to be drawn.
Honestly, if humans had ten hands instead of two, Haruki would probably be serializing six manga at once.
Is this what talent looks like? she thought, with a long sigh.
But what she failed to recognize... was that she wasn't all that different.
She didn't attend cram school. She didn't pull all-nighters studying. She didn't even spend her evenings doing manga assistant work like some aspiring artists did. And yet, she had still managed to hold the top spot at one of the best high schools in Osaka for three straight years.
To the classmates she'd left behind, especially those who had spent every waking hour trying to catch up to her, Kotone was already someone far beyond reach.
"Sure, we've made the goal clear," Sora cut in, glancing at Haruki with an annoyed frown. "But the journey's still one step at a time, you know?"
"Building up a fanbase takes time. Developing the plot takes time. You can't just jump straight to the top overnight like it's some game cheat."
Then her expression shifted to one of mischief.
"Anyway, enough with the gloom. This is good news—so let's celebrate! Haruki, you're buying dinner."
"Wait, what?" Haruki raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we just eat like an hour ago?"
"That was dinner. This is second dinner. Supper. Or whatever excuse I need to make you pay."
She linked arms with Kotone and grinned. "Drinks too, of course. What do you say?"
"I-I don't mind..." Kotone said, smiling despite herself. Her eyes curved into gentle crescents, the corners of her lips lifting with quiet amusement.
Madu—a bustling city, known as one of Japan's premier first-tier cities, and the heart of the manga industry.
The seven national manga publications, representing the best in the country, are all headquartered here, attracting aspiring manga artists from all across Japan, each hoping to take the next step in their careers.
But the reality is often different. Many artists who gained some recognition back home find that, once in the city, they leave without having achieved much at all.
In Japan, entertainment options are somewhat limited. TV, movies, animation, and manga are the primary ways for people to pass the time.
This has led to a golden age for the manga industry, with a massive audience and immense cultural influence. Manga artists and their works have reached a level of fame akin to stars.
In the heart of the city, in a luxurious high-rise apartment with a sweeping view of the Tokyo skyline, the person sitting at the desk seemed completely unaffected by the breathtaking view.
Her hair was a little messy, carelessly draped around her face, but even in this state, her delicate features couldn't be hidden. Clear eyes, thin eyebrows, pale skin, with her lower lip slightly caught between her teeth in frustration.
Despite her disheveled appearance, her natural beauty was undeniable, making any minor imperfections seem irrelevant.
Ami Mori sat cross-legged in a chair, wearing a pink pajama set. The table before her was cluttered with discarded sketches and empty takeaway boxes.
She had been sitting there for hours, but no ideas were coming to her.
"Ugh, I just can't draw today!" she groaned, slumping in her chair. "I think I need a break to find some inspiration!"
Suddenly, she perked up, rushing over to another desk. She quickly logged onto her computer and opened the manga recommendation channel on Mangastream.com.
When manga artists hit a creative block, it's common to browse other works for inspiration, though for Rika Mori, it was just an excuse to avoid working.
"Forest Secrets by Yunshen..."
Five minutes later, she clicked the "close" button in frustration.
"This is boring... I almost fell asleep."
"The Wandering Swordsmen —historical manga... not bad, I guess."
Six minutes later, she sighed and saved the page for later.
As she was about to log out of Mangastream.com, something on the homepage caught her eye.
"There's a post recommending a new work from a well-known manga periodical—Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance?"
She hesitated. The title seemed unusual, and she saw the word "remembrance"—suggesting there might be s she hadn't seen.
Still, after a moment of thought, with nothing else to do, she clicked on the post.
Meanwhile, in the city, Haruka Sato pulled up in her car, trying once again to reach Airi . She glanced at the phone screen in frustration—it was still turned off.
With a shake of her head, she got out of the car. Wearing a sharp black professional suit, she caught the eyes of several men around her, but she was used to the attention by now.
"Airi, it's been five days since I submitted that manuscript. If you're going to ignore my calls, at least don't just turn off your phone ," she muttered.
She walked to the elevator and pressed the button.
A few moments later, she arrived at Airi's apartment and rang the doorbell. After waiting a bit with no response, she sighed and pulled a key from her bag, unlocking the door herself.
Inside, the apartment was a mess. Empty snack wrappers, instant noodle cups, and takeout boxes littered the place.
Haruka shook her head in disbelief. How could someone spend so much money to live here and yet eat nothing but instant food?
"Airi !" she called out. "Are you even awake?"
She flipped the light switch and made her way straight into the next room.
There she found Airi sitting at her computer.
"Still on the computer? Let me guess, you're 'working on the manga' now?" Haruka walked over, a wry smile on her face.
Airi didn't respond—her gaze was fixed on the screen.
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "What's going on now? Chest pains? A headache? Maybe you've suddenly developed some mysterious illness that's preventing you from drawing?"
She looked at the mess of discarded sketches and the empty coffee cups on the desk. It was clear Airi hadn't gotten anywhere with her manga.
"Why aren't you talking?" Haruka asked, puzzled. Normally, Airi would immediately be asking for papers or suggestions by now.
But instead, she seemed strangely quiet.
Haruka glanced at the computer screen. Airi was looking at Mangastream.com, a website for manga recommendations. "Reading manga? You really are picky about what you'll read, aren't you?"
Haruka watched with curiosity as Airi's face brightened, a rare spark of excitement in her eyes.
"What is it?" Haruka asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
Airi pointed at the screen, still half-absentmindedly, and spoke.
"Haruka, you said before that you're from Osaka... and that you worked for a while in a manga company there."
"Which company was it again?" Airi's voice was slow, but there was a clear interest in her words.
"A small company called Kurokawa... What's this about?" Haruka replied, a little confused.
"Kurokawa... I knew it," Airi said, suddenly excited. "The author of Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance—it's Mizushiro.-sensei, isn't it?"
Haruka blinked, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Rurouni Kenshin? Mizushiro? Who's that?" she asked, her confusion deepening.
Shout out to Jesus Daniel,Brynden Rivers, for joining my ! your support means everything to me.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 50+ advanced chapters)
(TL:- This story is set in a parallel world, so please don't compare everything to the real world. I chose a Japanese-style setting because I enjoy the vibe seen in manga. There will be places that don't exist in real life, and some things won't work the same way they do in our world. So please don't nitpick small details or expect everything to match real-life logic.)