"Hey! It should be available so soon!"
Just after dawn, a man ran through the streets of Osaka. His girlfriend had just pushed Haruo out of bed and asked him to go to Sakura Bookstore to buy the Weekly Shōnen that was being released today.
They both like to read Detective Conan, but it has always been a bestseller and is usually sold out.
Haruo ran towards the bookstore entrance, which had just opened. The owner was sweeping dust from the floor with a broom.
"Madam, has the Weekly Shōnen arrived?" Haruo asked, and entered the bookstore with ease.
"Don't look for it." The owner stopped sweeping, looked up, and shouted, "This week's Weekly Shōnen is postponed one day; come back tomorrow!"
"Postponed? Madam, don't tease me, I'll look for it."
Haruo thought the owner was joking and looked around without taking it seriously. As a result, he didn't see the Weekly Shōnen. He couldn't help but curse: "What is Hinotori Publishing doing? Why didn't they notify us in advance about the delay in release?"
On the street, a black Audi stopped, and the passengers in the car heard the curses from the bookstore.
"The publication of the Weekly Shōnen has been delayed. Hiroshi, have you heard anything?"
asked the man sitting in the back seat. His face was sharp and his expression a little childish, but his every movement always attracted attention.
"It seems there was a problem with the ninth episode of Detective Conan." The assistant driving shook his head and said, "The author named Mirai-sensei retrieved the manuscript. Perhaps he was afraid, Mach-sensei!"
Mach-sensei, the man in the back seat, is the author of the manga version of The Detective Sherlock. His real name is Hayama Makoto, but everyone knows him as Mach, his artistic pseudonym.
He is an idol mangaka who holds two positions and is popular with thousands of girls.
Osaka TV invited him for an interview in the morning, and the content was precisely the news about The Detective Sherlock manga. Hayama Makoto remembered that today was the release day of Weekly Shōnen. He wanted to buy a copy to read while he was bored, but he didn't expect the release to be delayed.
"Scared?" replied Mach-sensei, loosening his shirt collar and laughing heartily: "I knew I should give up the single volume. I finally got the manga adaptation rights for The Detective Sherlock. No matter how hard he tries, it's useless."
"But I draw better than him and I'm handsomer. The difference is there. There's nothing I can do if he's scared!"
Mach-sensei acted complacently, not at all like a 30-year-old adult. Although he was curious as to why Hinotori Publishing was willing to postpone the magazine's release for Mirai-sensei, he didn't dwell on it too much.
In the eyes of the assistant driving, this idol mangaka relied on his natural drawing talent and his image to have a good life. Since his debut at 20, his emotional intelligence has not increased, but has decreased, but Tatsuryū Publishing doesn't seem to care at all. In fact, many professional mangaka who adapt novels into manga have personality flaws, but Hayama Makoto stands out especially.
His mind is active, and in the blink of an eye, he remembered the holy war from a while ago. He heard that thousands of female readers had posted advertisements for Detective Conan. Although he didn't know how many of his fans were idols, it was definitely not even a fifth!
"Hiroshi, drive."
Thinking about this, Hayama Makoto happily waved his hand and the Audi headed to the television station.
In the morning, at Takumi's house.
Alice lay silently at the studio door, and the situation was strange.
Aika, who had just come out of the kitchen, was startled by her gesture and almost dropped the cup she was holding.
"Alice, what are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"I'm watching Takumi work, Aika-san, please lower your voice." Alice turned her head and made a shushing gesture, then continued lying down and observing the studio.
In the studio, Takumi was focused on drawing manga. He frowned and smiled from time to time. The brush glided quickly in his hand, and it took him a while to draw.
Alice was stunned. She had never seen such an efficient mangaka, and it seemed that Takumi didn't need a storyboard.
The studio light was sufficient, and the not-too-great distance allowed her to clearly see Takumi drawing a complete manuscript. She was shocked. 'Does a genius really exist in this world?'
Alice wouldn't be surprised if an author didn't need to write a book. But 'what is a manga? Basically, each manga has several areas, and in each one, different details must be drawn. How to distribute the text dialogues, how to combine the characters' movements and expressions to create dynamism, everything must be planned in advance.'
However, Takumi omitted this process. He undoubtedly planned the storyboard mentally. 'This ability is like that of a computer!'
"Aika-san, Takumi came in second in his prefecture's high school entrance exam, right?"
Alice, as if she had seen enough, patted her clothes, stood up, and walked towards the sofa to ask:
"Yes, I was also surprised to hear it!" Aika turned on the television, lowered the volume, and watched with Alice: "If that child had worked harder before, as long as he put in the effort, he could do anything well."
She defined Takumi's change as hard work.
Alice didn't believe it. 'She finally saw that the child she was in charge of was a genius. It was normal for him to come in second on the high school entrance exam when he could draw the original manuscript without storyboards. Alice even suspected that Takumi could do other things well.'
But she was still very worried...
Takumi decided to temporarily change the plot of the ninth episode, and Kurosawa made an exception by postponing the magazine's release, and everyone took a risk.
"Will I do well?"
Alice asked, anxious. She shook her head and then focused on the television. 'Anyway, she couldn't help much, so it was better to watch television first so as not to overthink.'
"Mach-sensei, many people say that the release of The Detective Sherlock's single volume now is to suppress Detective Conan. Have you read that manga?"
The talk show on Osaka television was on, but the characters appearing on it made Alice uncomfortable.
"I've heard of this manga, but I haven't read it". The man in the interview room replied just as naturally: "I think everyone understands that a single volume of manga requires a lot of preparation time. I've been drawing The Detective Sherlock for half a year, and the release date was set a few months ago. How can it be suppression?"
"Don't easily believe rumors or be deceived by those with ulterior motives..."
"Mom." The television suddenly turned off. Aika grabbed the remote control, turned to Alice, and smiled: "Let's not watch television and interrupt the child's work."
Alice was a little stunned.
"Aika-san..."
She was a little moved. Although Aika seemed indifferent to the manga, she obviously knew what was going on. She didn't want Alice to see anything sad.
"Bang!"
At that moment, a noise was heard and the studio door opened.
"Alice."
Takumi came out with a bundle of manuscripts in his hand: "I'm done drawing it, take it to the company."
"I've prepared a character that will make girls scream!"