Aniverse:This Managaka is Black hearted

Black Mangaka 026: Top Treatment

"The young are really to be feared!"

Putting down the manuscript in his hand, Torishima Kazumitsu sighed from the bottom of his heart.

He rubbed his sore eyes, closed them for a moment, and then reopened them.

He smiled apologetically at Minano-chan, who was sitting opposite him.

"I feel really guilty for making an old man like me waste so much of your time."

Minano blinked in confusion.

"Aren't you working? Why would the editor-in-chief say it's a waste of time!?"

"You…"

Torishima Kazumitsu stretched out his hand and gestured vaguely, then smiled helplessly.

"So, what is the editor-in-chief's opinion after reading it?"

"Great." After a pause, Torishima Kazumitsu added, "It's not an exaggeration to say it's perfect!"

"To be able to create at such a fast pace and still maintain such high quality… is this really the work of a teenager?"

"His physique, energy, and brainpower are something an old man like me can only envy!"

Minano-chan was silent for a moment, then said:

"Is there a possibility that this child is simply a monster?"

"That it has nothing to do with the factors the editor-in-chief mentioned?"

Torishima Kazumitsu's expression froze. Then, he looked over with a look of resentment.

"Minano-san, could you give me a little face? Isn't it too much to crush an old man's feelings like this?"

"I don't think so. As for your face… I'll think about it carefully."

"..."

Torishima Kazumitsu was helpless and decided not to continue the topic. Instead, he asked:

"When will Nakahara-sensei finish drawing the cover and color illustrations for the book?"

"Sensei said he'd bring them over tomorrow afternoon."

"???"

Torishima Kazumitsu fell silent, then nodded to himself. "That's right."

"It's only natural for Nakahara-sensei to draw six chapters a month on his own and then complete a few color pages in a day."

Makes sense… What the hell!!

The amount of effort required to create a color illustration can exceed that of several black-and-white pages!

Including the cover and content illustrations, the total number of color pages required is about four!

This workload is almost equivalent to drawing an entire chapter!

What a little monster!!

After expressing his amazement, Torishima Kazumitsu couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Shueisha really found a treasure this time!!"

Wild creativity, an incredibly fast pace, and he's not even 20 years old!

If he can continue to harness this talent and work even half as hard as he does now,

Shueisha won't have to worry for at least the next 30 years.

While he was thrilled about this, he also felt relieved.

"It's a good thing such a little monster landed in our hands."

If he had gone to another publishing house, it would have been a headache.

Students' spending money doesn't change.

If they buy from another publisher, they might not have extra to buy our works.

This is competition between peers!

While some might work part-time to afford their favorite works, that's the minority—it's not the norm.

Retracting his thoughts, Torishima Kazumitsu instructed, "Since Nakahara-sensei is so fast, we must speed up as well!"

"Let's get the finished book out as quickly as possible!"

"There are some decisions you need to make regarding this."

"Oh?"

"The manuscript provided by Nakahara-sensei is 230 pages. Using the conventional 32-page format won't work."

Shueisha's standard single-volume editions are typically 32-page formats, totaling around 180 pages.

This is also the most common format on the market, usually priced at 410 yen (including tax).

Would the different page sizes affect the manga?

The answer is no.

In Japan, authors use B4-size 135g manuscript paper with standard scales for their drawings.

So, regardless of the format—16, 32, or 36 pages—it just gets proportionally resized.

Torishima Kazumitsu smiled and said nonchalantly, "Then let's switch to a larger 32-inch format."

"With so much extra content, raising the price to over 600 yen makes sense, right?"

Minano-chan silently handed him a pen.

Torishima Kazumitsu frowned. "You only know how to exploit an old man like me."

Nonetheless, he took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote down a series of detailed arrangements.

Then, he stamped it with the editor-in-chief's official seal.

"Thank you, Editor-in-Chief."

Minano-chan took the document without hesitation and looked it over.

After a moment, she raised her head, surprise flickering across her face.

"12% royalties? The serialization manuscript fee is now 30,000 yen per chapter!?"

Torishima Kazumitsu replied nonchalantly, "Isn't it normal to offer higher pay when you discover a treasure?"

"Unfortunately, the kid hasn't made any groundbreaking achievements yet."

"Otherwise, even if it meant sacrificing my reputation, I'd beg the board members for an even higher royalty rate."

12% was the highest authority he could grant directly. Anything higher required board approval.

"If other mangaka find out about this treatment, they'll be jealous, won't they?"

"Jealous? Ha."

Torishima Kazumitsu sneered, his kind demeanor fading.

His aura as a superior was fully revealed.

"I don't expect them to have the same talent as Nakahara-sensei."

"If they can even achieve half of it, I'd be happy to give them a raise."

"But can they?"

The answer was obvious.

Minano-chan, unfazed by his imposing aura, sighed.

"While that's true, shouldn't you at least consider how the other mangaka feel?"

"You think I'm senile?"

"Of course, I've thought about that. A confidentiality agreement is standard procedure."

Minano-chan nodded. "Glad to see you're still sharp, Editor-in-Chief."

"..."

If you can talk, speak more nicely!!

Ignoring Torishima Kazumitsu's glare, Minano-chan smiled faintly.

"I believe Nakahara-sensei will be very happy when he hears this news."

"He can't not be happy. This is the best I can do for him as an old man."

Yet, despite his words, Torishima Kazumitsu was smiling.

---

"What's up, Nakahara?"

"I'm sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei. Due to an unexpected situation, I need to take tomorrow off."

On the other end of the line, Shizuka Hiratsuka frowned.

Although he hadn't given specifics, the fact that he was calling at this time meant only one thing.

She instinctively began thinking about how to handle the situation.

As an extremely "straightforward" teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka felt genuine pride and happiness for her students.

So that night, after congratulating Nakahara, she opened the fridge and downed three large bottles of beer, passing out in a drunken stupor.

It wasn't until she woke up at noon the next day that she learned about the storm surrounding Magic Circle online.

After reading a few comments, Shizuka Hiratsuka got so mad that she personally went online to argue!

Unfortunately, despite being a powerhouse in real life, her online combat power was less than 5.

She was utterly defeated in just a few exchanges.

After paying the price of a smashed keyboard, she could only stare at the screen in helpless frustration.

She debated whether to call Nakahara to comfort him, but in the end, he called her first.

And yes, she totally didn't get drunk again and pass out midway.

Hearing Shizuka Hiratsuka's question, Nakahara Hiroshi didn't think much about it.

"Yes, it's for the manga."

As expected.

Shizuka Hiratsuka hesitated before saying, "Nakahara, don't let those online comments get to you!"

"Being envied is proof of talent!"

"You're taking tomorrow off, right? No problem! Just relax!"

On the other end, Nakahara Hiroshi blinked in confusion.

What had Hiratsuka-sensei misunderstood?

And "just relax"… was she serious?

"I think there's a misunderstanding. I'm taking the day off to prepare for the book release."

"Preparing for a book?"

"But serialization hasn't even started yet, the single volume—"

Her words halted.

Her voice involuntarily rose.

"Single volume!? You mean it's getting published before serialization!?"

**