Upon hearing those four words, Otosuna Mihari showed no surprise on her face.
Instead, her expression was one of knowing it all along.
She sighed and said, "You never think about resting, do you?"
"Drawing manga is my rest," Akifumi shrugged.
For his current physical condition, completing a chapter's workload took only half a day.
The best part was that after finishing, he didn't feel an ounce of fatigue, which was a bit excessive.
Other manga artists, even with assistants, couldn't work this fast!
And the most important part was, after completing the work, they couldn't shake off the physical exhaustion.
Compared to that, Akifumi definitely had the right to say he was "resting."
Mihari shot him a side-eye.
"You're a freak. Good thing the other mangakas didn't hear you say that."
"So what if they did?" Akifumi shrugged again. He was simply telling the truth.
"No, what I mean is that if the other mangakas heard you, they'd probably envy you a lot."
"Even if they didn't hear it, they'd still envy me."
Mihari was taken aback. She nodded.
"True."
"Just your age alone is enough to make 99% of people in the industry jealous."
"Let alone your outrageous accomplishments," Akifumi shrugged again.
"If you don't make others jealous, then you're mediocre."
"That shows how successful I am at being a 'genius.'"
Even though he didn't usually bring it up, Every time he posted something online, he could often spot some nasty comments.
As for how those people ended up commenting, a little thought made it obvious to him.
He wasn't naïve enough to think that everyone would like his work.
After all, even the universally recognized "three major manual labor manga" didn't achieve that, let alone a more niche author like him.
The trolls in the comments weren't just people looking to nitpick.
At least 90% were people who didn't like the work, and the remaining 10% were those who couldn't stand anyone being better than them and intentionally looked for faults.
Even world-famous literature gets nitpicked; let alone a small manga artist like him.
No work has ever been universally praised in this world.
It was something Akifumi, with his adult soul, fully understood.
He chose to ignore those malicious comments—never taking them to heart or even giving them a second look.
After all, cruel words came with negative energy.
People who haven't experienced verbal abuse could never understand how much harm those words could cause.
If he paid attention to them too often, even he would be affected.
So, the best approach was to ignore it entirely.
Hearing Akifumi speak so matter-of-factly, even though she knew it was the truth, Mihari couldn't help but roll her eyes and mutter to herself:
"Is this what you call success?"
Even if you're a genius, it only applies to one specific field.
But this guy is so good at so many things, the word 'genius' doesn't even come close. It doesn't begin to cover his excellence.
'Wait, why am I praising this guy?!' Realizing this, Mihari's face turned slightly red.
She quickly grabbed her coffee and took a sip to cover up her flustered expression.
After putting the cup down, her emotions calmed.
"By the way, what's the title of your new work?"
"'Akame ga Kill!'"
Mihari raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"You're finally going to challenge a mainstream genre?"
Many works, just by hearing the title, one could already imagine the type of story.
Clearly, the name Akifumi had just mentioned belonged to that category.
'Mainstream genre?' Akifumi thought, without even needing to know the plot of Akame ga Kill, just changing the title to Slashing Sisters would make the genre more aligned with anything but the mainstream!
More accurately, it should be called "evil path" instead!
However...
"You didn't forget that my debut work was Madoka Magica?" Akifumi spoke half-jokingly.
"Besides, what manga artist can resist a mainstream genre?"
"You can't possibly have forgotten, right?"
Mihari rolled her eyes.
"Madoka Magica belonged to the fantasy genre, but if it was based on battles, it could still qualify as a mainstream genre!"
"True," Akifumi smiled. "Mainstream genres have the broadest audience, so it's only logical to go for it."
Without paying much attention to Mihari's musings, Akifumi continued, "So, can I directly release it as a volume?"
"No... If it were anyone else, they'd probably get a firm 'no' without hesitation," Mihari replied with a sigh.
"But since it's you, everyone's already used to your unorthodox style."
"As long as the work is good enough, I don't think it'll be an issue."
Akifumi smiled confidently. "I'm a little confident about that."
"Anyway, if you want to release it, just bring me the manuscript when you have time..."
Looking at the manuscript Akifumi had already pulled out from behind him and placed in front of her, Mihari sighed again.
"You're always prepared in advance, just waiting for me to bite."
"I'm just delivering results to , my editor-san!" Akifumi responded cheerfully, then added, "But I've only finished the first chapter so far."
Mihari took the manuscript and flipped through it.
It was about 70-80 pages long.
"Is the first chapter this long?"
"This first chapter is already enough content for several chapters. I can already see a little bit of what's coming."
"I'll notify you when there's news."
"Thanks, Otosuna-san," Akifumi smiled and nodded in thanks.
The two chatted a little longer before Akifumi left.
———————————————————————
"Is this Akifumi-sensei's new manuscript?"
A colleague sitting nearby saw the thick manuscript Mihari was holding and couldn't help but exclaim.
She'd seen this scene so many times.
When her colleague spoke, Mihari, who had just returned to her desk, nodded helplessly.
"Yes, it is."
"Akifumi-sensei really has a deep love for manga!" Her colleague remarked with admiration in her eyes.
As an editor, it was normal to admire manga artists who drew well.
"Does he really have that deep a love for manga?"
'He's just in it for the money and wants to see fans cry!' Although Mihari wanted to throw out such a harsh comment, she couldn't deny Akifumi's passion for manga.
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly be so prolific.
"Whether he loves manga or not, his efficiency is definitely number one in the industry."
Her colleague nodded with a smile, then curiously asked, "But Akifumi-sensei has a few works already serialized, right? What about his new work?"
"Well, he just asked me to help him check it out since he wasn't sure about it," Mihari explained.
When she was a rookie editor, she'd never hesitate to say something like releasing a volume right away.
But now, she knew better.
"Wait, Akifumi-sensei has doubts?" Her colleague was surprised.
She remembered the company gossip: Akifumi-sensei never needed editors to check his work; he just released it directly!
Mihari replied naturally, "Even if he's that good, he's not perfect. Besides, I'm a professional! Isn't it only right to leave professional tasks to professionals?"
Her words were firm and full of confidence, showing how much she'd grown.
"So the rumors were wrong?"
"I knew it, there's no way anyone could be that amazing!" The colleague nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing that she had successfully deflected the conversation, Mihari let out a sigh of relief and began to seriously examine the manuscript in her hands.
She opened the cover page, revealing a colorful illustration dominated by shades of red and black.
Just as people decay over time, so too will nations eventually face destruction.
Even the once-prosperous imperial capital, now only a decaying hell on Earth, is overrun by ruthless monsters disguised in human skin, tyrannizing the streets.
———————————————————————
"If the heavens will not punish the wicked, we shall fade into darkness and bring an end to it ourselves!"
"We are the elite assassin group—"
———————————————————————
"Is this the setting?"
"Is this assassin group the faction the protagonist belongs to?"
As an editor, Mihari quickly pieced things together, nodding thoughtfully.
She didn't pay much attention to the artwork or panel composition—the artist's style was already so refined that after a year of hard work, she had no room to offer suggestions.
What she needed to focus on was the story, and then decide whether or not to pass it on to Minano.
The story wasn't too complex: the protagonist, Tatsumi, who lives in a rural village, travels to the capital to save his town.
Upon arriving, he's immediately taken advantage of, realizing the depths of human corruption.
Just as he's about to be cast out onto the streets, a kind young lady picks him up.
Her kindness and warmth fill the naïve boy with gratitude.
———————————————————————
'Didn't they say that this place is full of monsters hiding in human skin?' Tatsumi thought.
———————————————————————
He didn't feel that way at all!
Sure, he was scammed out of his money, but that was because Tatsumi was too trusting in the first place.
———————————————————————
"Wait a minute, wasn't the protagonist supposed to be an assassin?"
Could it be that the kind young lady who took him in is secretly part of the assassin organization?
As she flipped through the pages, Mihari quickly learned that Tatsumi had two companions who had already arrived in the capital before him.
She also found out about the nation's corrupt leaders—officials living in a towering castle—and the assassin group, Night Raid, which might be the protagonist's faction.
On the second night after Tatsumi arrived, the plot took a shocking turn.
First, the young lady's mother was brutally cut in half. Then soldiers and the household's male master were killed.
The huge difference in combat strength led to the protagonist's side being wiped out by the assassin group almost instantly.
Determined to save at least the girl, Aria, Tatsumi confronted the assassins and tried to buy time for the imperial guards.
But in the ensuing battle, he was quickly defeated.
"Is this where he unlocks his hidden power? Does he have some special ability?"
Just as Mihari wondered how the protagonist would overcome this crisis, the next twist left her dumbfounded.
She saw exactly what it meant when they said, "This place is full of monsters in human skin."
"Using sweet words to lure strangers from distant lands and then torturing them to death for one's amusement…"
The graphic, brutal scene made her pupils shake.
She couldn't help but remember what it meant to see an "Akifumi style" work.
When the first chapter ended, Mihari exhaled the tension she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Two characters dying right after leaving the village... Is this really a typical shonen story?" She questioned.
However...
"Well, this is certainly a signature work by that guy."
There was nothing unworthy about it.
At the very least, the shocking twists in the first chapter were enough to leave most readers stunned, eagerly anticipating the next installment.
"Now, it's time to pass it on to Minano-san for further processing."
Mihari stood from her desk, manuscript in hand, and headed toward Minano's office.
By 8 PM, the buzz surrounding Your Lie In April had died down after its conclusion, and many fans returned to watch Steins;Gate on time.
Some 10% of fans chose to wait until more episodes were available to binge-watch.
While these fans felt that episode 15 was a bit slow, it didn't lessen their anticipation for what would come next.
"Can they really go back to the past?"
Many fans were also curious about who Suzuha's father really was.
When the episode refreshed to show episode 16, the fans watching the screen clicked without hesitation.
In addition to these fans, there were also those who hoped to see Akifumi fall from grace, watching the episode at the same time.
At the start of this episode, the main characters were already disappointed, concluding that they might never find Suzuha's father.
Later, Okabe Rintaro tracked down a man, Hashida, who had been attempting to pose as Suzuha's father.
From him, they learned that once the time machine was used to travel back, it would never be able to return.
So, Hashida planned to make the girl happy before it was too late.
Rintaro didn't agree with Hashida's view.
The scene shifted to the time machine being repaired.
Suzuha spoke to Rintaro.
———————————————————————
"I'm really grateful to all of you."
"When I first arrived in this time, I didn't know anyone. Even though this time is peaceful, it felt so scary to me."
"But now, I've made so many friends, and I'm so happy to be able to spend time with all of you!"
"Even though it's short, it's been amazing to be part of the research team!"
"I'm really happy to be with all of you!"
———————————————————————
Fans didn't realize the impending danger, oblivious to the knife creeping closer.
Suzuha's conversation with Rintaro continued.
———————————————————————
"I'll go."
"Changing the future is my father's wish!"
Okabe Rintaro: "Then what about you? Does it not matter to you to change like this?"
"The '70s might not be so bad."
The girl smiled and said, "I'll make more friends like you and live freely there."
———————————————————————
The scene shifted again.
The time machine was repaired, and the final moment of Suzuha's departure was approaching.
Before she left, Mayuri suddenly realized who Suzuha's father was.
"Is he nearby? Could it be Rintaro?"
No, that didn't make sense.
Fans quickly rejected that thought, knowing that wasn't possible.
Then...
———————————————————————
"Could it be?!"
Realization hit them. The fans stared wide-eyed.
"How could such a person have a daughter like her?"
But the reality was unchangeable.
Suzuha Amane was Hashida's daughter, and that fact couldn't be altered.
As the fans watched the screen, they couldn't help but smile weakly.
"This is supposed to be a touching moment, but for some reason, it makes me want to laugh!"
But this moment was indeed emotional.
Following her unseen father's wishes, Suzuha used the time machine to meet him.
Just thinking about it made fans' hearts tremble.
Although she didn't want to part from a father she had just met, to change the future, the girl resolutely boarded the time machine.
"The future... will change, right?" Fans couldn't help but feel a surge of hope.