[45] A New Manuscript

"Ding Dong~"

Iwamoto Yu pressed the doorbell and checked the time...

Hmm, at this time, elementary school students should be at school, so he didn't arrive too early. At this time, Kurokawa-sensei should be at home.

"..."

Iwamoto Yu slowly turned back, looking at the empty street, not sure what was wrong. The atmosphere around here... seemed somewhat tense.

Click

The door was opened slightly, and Kazuya's face appeared from inside. "Iwamoto-san, is it? Come in if you have something to discuss."

"Huh? Alright, I understand..." Iwamoto Yu nodded, wondering why he had a feeling that something was off today.

After Iwamoto Yu entered, Kazuya immediately closed the door.

"So... is something going on?" Iwamoto Yu asked, puzzled.

"No, nothing. It's just that there are some annoying guys around the neighborhood. Let's not talk about that. You came here this time to see the manuscript of the new manga, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Have you finished another new manga?"

"Yes, come on, let's go to the studio and talk."

ゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Not far away—

A person in the adjacent house was observing the situation here with binoculars—

She was a girl who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen years old, with long black hair, athletic legs, and a subtly outlined chest, creating wonderful curves.

Her name was "Shoji Asami"!

At this moment, she was closely watching Kurokawa Kazuya's house, scrutinizing his every move.

"A mangaka... a mangaka... if I could become a mangaka, would he truly notice me and place me in his heart?"

Shoji Asami—

Eighteen years old this year, she was a student at Tohoku University's School of Economics in Japan. For some inexplicable reason, she had become infatuated with the man next door—Kurokawa Kazuya.

At first, when she snapped out of it, she didn't understand her own feelings at that time. But gradually, she understood. And she became even more obsessed than before. Whenever she had free time, she would use binoculars to watch the room next door...

Investigating his interests, she eventually focused on manga.

"Manga... let me check for information."

Yes, although Gaia and Alaya temporarily halted their activities, although the suggestions they received had been dispelled, the experience still remained. Most people had moved on, but a small portion—

Remained trapped.

...

"As for the manuscript, just wait a moment. I'll go get it for you. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, that's not necessary. Just let me take a look at the manuscript." Iwamoto Yu said with some anticipation. Although Kazuya's previous manga was quite strange, he found it interesting.

Now, how would the new manga turn out?

"Here it is." Kazuya brought back the manuscript and waved to shoo away the cat, Kohana, which was playing with Iwamoto Yu. Then he placed the sealed manuscript in front of him.

"Oh, a completely new manuscript that no one has seen before..." Iwamoto Yu exclaimed with some emotion. This was one of the reasons he chose to become an editor.

After opening the document, the first thing he saw was several color illustrations.

"Oh, you've even prepared color illustrations?" Iwamoto Yu was pleasantly surprised.

At the top was an image of a golden-haired girl, wearing knight's armor and holding a golden longsword, exuding a heroic aura. It was entirely different from the previous manga's art style, and even different from the art style of this era's manga.

In an instant, it gave him a sense of astonishment.

He saw this type of character for the first time, saw this type of image for the first time.

"Kurokawa-sensei's art style is so versatile."

Unbeknownst to him, some people might think it was ghostwritten, that it couldn't possibly be the work of a single person. However, that wasn't the case. He had witnessed Kurokawa Kazuya drawing manga with his own eyes, so he was certain that this was his work!

If the characters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure had characteristics of this era's manga, then this felt like real black-and-white photos with accompanying text. But now—this artwork gave him a sense of fantasy.

It seemed to be extraordinarily beautiful, as if it didn't belong to this era.

After sighing with emotion, he reluctantly moved his eyes away from the artwork in front of him and turned to the next page.

The next image featured a golden-haired man, clad in golden armor, with golden hair, a golden earring, and red pupils, resembling a serpent.

It gave off a sinister vibe.

Even though there were no words on it, he was quite certain that this character held a high position.

If one image was a coincidence, then these two images together... Iwamoto Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "Kurokawa-sensei has created a new style of manga art... he truly deserves to be Kurokawa-sensei."

Different people from this era would have different feelings when looking at these illustrations—

Those who were accustomed to the previous artwork might think, "Wow, this is amazing," while others might think, "This is unconventional, and it looks strange,"...

And Iwamoto Yu clearly belonged to the group that thought, "This is amazing."

Because of his preconceived ideas.

After experiencing what happened before, he thought, "Kurokawa Kazuya is amazing," "Kurokawa Kazuya is a genius," and so on.

With this mindset...

Even if Kurokawa Kazuya casually added a few strokes to a page, he would probably think, "Is there a special meaning here?" He would think about everything in a positive light.

This kind of thinking had already taken root in his mind. It wasn't that, as an editor, he lacked the ability to judge the quality and art style of a work.

As a seasoned editor, he had that ability.

If he had received this manuscript from someone else, he might even think, "This is too unconventional; such a work couldn't possibly be liked,"...

But—what he had now was a person, Kurokawa Kazuya, who had broken his preconceived notions.

So, he thought, "It's amazing, Kurokawa-sensei has truly created a new genre."

Such insights.

Then, carrying these thoughts, he continued to read. He would become more and more engrossed...

So, he turned to the third page.

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