Chapter 22: The Manga Contract

“It passed the review, it passed!”

Just as the first class of the morning ended, Miyazaki Yū came rushing into Seiko and Saori’s classroom.

“Seiko, Saori, Usagi Drop passed the review!”

“Really?”
Seiko, who was chatting with Saori, took the letter from Miyazaki’s hand and asked curiously, “Which magazine approved it?”

“Both of them did!
The editors from both FEEL YOUNG and Margaret said my art is very good.”

Miyazaki was in high spirits, clearly very happy.

Miyazaki loved to draw.
She had drawn some manga before and tried submitting them to manga magazines, hoping to earn some money with her talent.
However, those submissions either vanished without a trace or received only a few words of encouragement.
Never before had a magazine explicitly said they would publish her manga.

“Congratulations,” Seiko said while reading the magazines’ reply letters. “But a single manga can’t be serialized in two magazines at the same time, right?
Which one are you planning to sign with?”

“For Yu-chan, it’s definitely Margaret, right?
I remember you’re a loyal reader of manga about handsome princes falling for poor girls, aren’t you?” Saori said with a smile.

Miyazaki’s cheeks turned red as she retorted stubbornly, “Who said I’m a loyal reader?
You remembered wrong!”

“You’re planning to sign with FEEL YOUNG?”
Seiko noticed that the letter from FEEL YOUNG had clearly been handled by Miyazaki for a longer time.

“Yeah.”
Miyazaki nodded, then thought for a moment and explained, “The editor at Margaret said they need to wait for another manga to finish before they can serialize Usagi Drop, which will probably take more than a month.
Also, they want me to draw a few more chapters for them to review before they can decide what kind of contract to offer me.
But the editor at FEEL YOUNG said they’re willing to meet and sign a contract with me right away.
Once the contract is signed, it can be serialized this month, and the payment they’re offering is quite good…”

As she spoke, Miyazaki bowed her head apologetically to Seiko.
Seiko was the scriptwriter for Usagi Drop, yet here she was, wanting to sell their joint work to a second-tier magazine just for the money.
This made Miyazaki feel a little ashamed.

But Seiko just smiled, unconcerned.
“If you think FEEL YOUNG is better, then sign with FEEL YOUNG.
You know I’m not short on that little bit of money.”

It wasn’t just because Seiko didn’t need the difference in payment, but also because the style of the Usagi Drop manga leaned more towards an adult audience.
Compared to the shojo-oriented Margaret, FEEL YOUNG, which primarily targeted young female readers, was indeed a better fit for the manga’s tone.

“Thank you, Seiko.”
Miyazaki was touched and thanked her sincerely.

“Oh, really?”
Seiko gave Miyazaki a wink and said with a playful smile, “If you’re really grateful, how about coming over to my place to play games tonight?”

Hearing this, Miyazaki’s cheeks flushed slightly.
She bit her lip and was about to speak, when something suddenly occurred to her, and a suspicious look appeared on her face.
“The ‘play games’ you’re talking about… is it really that kind of game?”

“Of course it’s *that kind~~ of~~ game~~,” Seiko blinked innocently.
“Why do you ask?”

Saori started laughing and said, “Of course it’s because last time, a certain girl came over all nicely washed and fragrant to ‘play games,’ only to find out they were actually playing the Famicom. Mmph, mmph…”

“Don’t say it!”
Miyazaki’s face turned beet red as she clamped her hands over both of her friends’ mouths.
“I’ll kill you two!”

“Alright, alright, we’ll stop…”

Saori and Seiko finally laughed their fill and stopped teasing her.

Miyazaki thought for a moment, then said with a sigh, “I can’t.
I have to go to the hospital tonight to be with my mom.
After my mom is discharged, I’ll come find you guys to play…”

Finally, with a red face, she added through gritted teeth, “And I’m not playing Famicom with you!”

Saori and Seiko nodded, holding back their laughter.

Watching Miyazaki leave the classroom, Seiko suddenly frowned and said, “I wonder how Miyazaki’s mom’s condition is?”

“I asked a customer at the bar who works at the hospital last time.
He said the situation isn’t looking good,” Saori replied.

Seiko sighed helplessly.
“Well, that’s something we can only help with if Miyazaki asks.
Let’s get back to what we were talking about…”

“Okay,” Saori nodded and continued, “Although the recent casualties have not been small, overall, the cadres in the gumi are relatively supportive of fighting the Takada-gumi.
A few have some complaints, and among them, only two have mentioned you directly…”