[48] Iwamoto Yu's Excitement

With each page of panels—

The summoning of heroic spirits began.

Before, the single-page depictions of those heroic spirits had all been genuinely summoned one by one.

There was an undeniable excitement within him.

This manga—turned him, the editor, into a reader, and he couldn't help but immerse himself in it!

Saber, the gender-bent version of King Arthur, made him drop his jaw in amazement; could they really do this?

And then, Archer, the BUG-like power of King Gilgamesh. Rider, with the majesty to conquer hearts—

All the other heroic spirits were the same... each had their own unique characteristics.

No... not just the heroic spirits, but the Masters as well. Every character felt so vivid.

It made him involuntarily get caught up in it...

When he finally snapped out of it, he had already finished flipping through the thick manuscript!

Along with the dialogue between the father and son under the moonlight. Along with Emiya Kiritsugu closing his eyes and the last words in his memories, "I... want to be a Ally of Justice." Everything came to a close.

This story had completely immersed him, a story he hadn't come to his senses from, came to an end.

Iwamoto Yu felt a bit dazed...

For a moment, he didn't come to his senses...

"How about it? Looks like you've finished it," looking at the gradually setting sun outside, Kazuya said to Iwamoto Yu, "How do you feel?"

"...Um..." Iwamoto Yu thought for a moment and said, "Well... it's fine. It can be serialized in JUMP! Leave it to me!"

"Is that so... that's good," Kazuya also seemed a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this manga to be suitable for serialization in JUMP.

Actually...

After saying that, Iwamoto Yu regretted it.

He couldn't guarantee whether this would be accepted for serialization in JUMP!

Right... this story was too excellent, incredibly so... it flowed seamlessly, and he couldn't help but become engrossed in it.

As for whether there were any plot holes or bugs inside... he had only read it once, how would he know?

But... this first experience made him feel great... absolutely great!

If he had to compare it to Kazuya's previous manga, he could say that "Battle Royale" was instantly overshadowed, and as for JOJO... ah... it couldn't compare. They were fundamentally different types of manga.

Because in his view, JOJO was more mainstream. Whereas Fate/Zero was a bit more niche.

Why would he say that? Because JOJO's art style represented the era, while Fate/Zero... maybe many people would drop it immediately upon seeing this art style.

However, he felt that this art style had an unexpectedly appealing charm after looking at it for a while!

If... Kazuya knew what was on Iwamoto Yu's mind, he would probably find it both funny and exasperating... because in the era he lived in, Fate was relatively mainstream, while JOJO was niche. There were countless people who had walked away from JOJO because of its art style, missing out on this work.

It could only be said that times had changed.

However, even if the art style didn't match this era, a good story was still a good story.

This was a story that had deeply captivated an editor, a professional who had seen countless manga and even grown tired of them.

The reason Iwamoto Yu had impulsively said it could be serialized in JUMP was because of this.

He was still immersed in this manga and hadn't snapped out of it, so when Kazuya mentioned it, he blurted it out.

In that moment, he thought, such a great manga couldn't be buried in other magazines! It had to be placed in JUMP to let the public truly appreciate how good this manga was.

However, afterward, he calmed down...

There was no doubt that this was a manga that deviated from the mainstream. So... could this unconventional manga really be serialized in JUMP?

This... he had no idea.

After all, he wasn't the chief editor, and even if he were, he would have to consider the feelings of others.

But for such an interesting manga, maybe other editors could also be won over, including the chief editor!

Now he could say with certainty...

If this manga had only one chapter, or if, like others, it only had three or four chapters and wasn't fully completed before being submitted to the serialization meeting...

Based on the experiences of characters like Matou Sakura early on, this manga would be sentenced to death immediately. There would be no chance of serialization in JUMP. But—precisely because this manga had been completed all at once, in one breath.

So... that's why he had become so immersed in it and felt a sense of reluctance. And that's why he had that impulsive moment.

"Alright... so, I'll take this manga back now and see if it can pass the serialization meeting. How about it, Kurokawa-sensei?"

"Sure, but aren't you going to have lunch?"

Seeing Iwamoto Yu packing up, Kazuya asked.

"No, I'll pass." Iwamoto Yu shook his head. "If I hurry back now, I can make it to Tokyo before evening, but if I stay here... I'm afraid I won't make it back, and I have to go to work tomorrow..."

"I see, how's work been recently? Still busy?"

"Ah, it's been alright." Iwamoto Yu nodded. "There was a new artist who submitted their work to me recently... I don't know how it's going though..."

Iwamoto Yu spoke but then suddenly paused.

"Well... Kurokawa-sensei, there's something I'm not sure if I should mention..."

"What is it? Just say it. Well, after all, you're my editor."

Iwamoto Yu's mouth twitched.

You do know that you have an editor, right?

Wouldn't other mangaka discuss things a bit before handing over the entire manuscript, just like you?

It wouldn't hurt to discuss it a bit.

From Kazuya's perspective, Iwamoto Yu felt more like a delivery person, someone who simply handed over the manuscript to the editorial department...

That was it.

That was his entire job...

He should be grateful that his job was so easy, but had he taken it too lightly?

He thought for a moment and finally summoned the courage to speak with a slightly desperate tone in front of this golden bowl that would determine his future career, "Kurokawa-sensei, if there are new manga projects in the future, could you let me know in advance? Let me participate a bit too? Anyway... I'm also an editor."

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