Chapter 269: Are You Mirai-sensei?
"No, try again."
A cold wind blew outside. In a hotel in Hokkaido, Takumi held up some manuscripts and told the screen: "Haruna, the background is very poorly drawn. Half a year has passed. Why are you getting more and more disoriented?"
He frowned slightly, a look of disappointment on his face.
"But... Mirai-sensei, the New Year is almost here." On the screen, Haruna shrank her head aggrievedly: "Can you give me a vacation? I want to rest for a while."
"Yes, Mirai-sensei, Weekly Shōnen has stopped publishing, and he's giving us a vacation?"
"Master, aren't you coming back for New Year's?"
More heads appeared next to Haruna. Tomato and Sakura looked at him expectantly: "Master, you've been traveling for half a year, it's time to come back!"
"Yes, master, when you come back, we won't have to work so hard. This life is too tough. Those Kanto Manga Company bastards are arrogant all day. Master, please come back and teach them how to behave!"
"We miss him very much..."
The assistants sincerely persuaded him, and Takumi waved his hand: "Well, don't think I don't understand what you're thinking. Don't you just want to slack off? Take a vacation... Let's continue after New Year's."
As soon as he opened his mouth, the screen resounded with cheers.
Takumi had been away from Osaka for half a year. To be honest, at first he didn't expect it to be so long. However, after leaving Osaka, he discovered that the world was vast. From the hottest station to the coldest, he had been to countless places.
Takumi worked and traveled at the same time. He stayed in each place for a short time. He felt that he would soon be able to travel all over Japan. Perhaps he could soon re-understand the world.
But even so. As he walked, he seemed fascinated by the feeling of wandering the world. Looking back, half a year had passed.
During that half-year trip, Takumi's food, clothing, housing, and transportation were paid for by his part-time work. He wanted to see how far he could go, but the result made him smile bitterly: he didn't starve, but continued to send money home.
Before arriving in Hokkaido, Takumi traveled through Japan for two months. He sent home money worth more than a manga and arrived with only travel expenses.
This was the last place he planned to go, and it was almost time to go home.
"It's a shame... I still can't be like Yoko,"
Takumi thought. His trip was not entirely impulsive, but stemmed from a longing in his memory.
Yoko, who changed him in his previous life, her positive and optimistic eyes, which seemed fearless, only revealed her fragility at the last moment, when she closed her eyes.
Before that moment, Yoko's performance was simply perfect, and no one could criticize her. Any difficulty would be easily resolved in front of her.
Where did that sense of perfection that shouldn't exist in the world come from?
Takumi found the answer: the rebirth to nirvana brought about by desperate life and the experience of suffering. Yoko knew that her life was coming to an end, so she could let go of everything. And working and traveling at the same time were the necessary experience to forge that character.
In fact, Takumi greatly envied Yoko. He had been imitating her, but... after all, he wasn't her.
This trip made him understand that only those who truly felt the pain of traveling, who worried about eating and working, and who tried their best to survive, could reach Yoko's level.
Takumi couldn't do it, because he had a supplement.
He wanted to put himself in a desperate situation, but he had photographic memory, a magical airflow, and even his body was difficult to get sick. He could do whatever he wanted and get work and food wherever he went. It was difficult for him to fall into a desperate situation.
"But... there's still progress...",
Takumi thought as he looked at his hands. To train himself, he always found difficult things to do. His current mindset may not be as good as Mirai-sensei's, but he's not far behind.
As for the talents and skills he mastered, he far surpassed her. He learned a series of skills that even surprised himself, and his physical potential was basically unleashed.
Even without drawing manga, Takumi could reach the top in any industry. Now he has that confidence, but in the end, he still thinks manga is what suits him best.
"Let's take a bath..."
After turning off the computer, Takumi took out a towel and went to soak in the hot springs.
This is an ordinary hotel. It has no privileges. The hot springs were full of middle-aged men. Takumi might not have tolerated it before, but now he didn't care.
"Swoosh! Young man, what a nice body you have!"
"Little brother, have you come to show off?"
As soon as he entered, the men laughed. Few young people would be willing to bathe with them, but Takumi didn't care. He washed and entered with an arrogant air.
"Men, I have a normal body, it's you who have gotten fat." He leaned against a huge rock, covered his head with a towel, and said: "If you were younger, you would undoubtedly be better than me."
As soon as these words came out, the middle-aged men in the hot springs livened up.
"That's right. When I was young, my abs were iron, much better than yours."
"Well, Sakata, stop showing off. Everyone knows you were chubby as a kid. I'm the one with a good figure. My wife married me for my figure."
"Don't talk nonsense, Asai! You used to be thin as a bamboo stick. Shortly after you got married, you came to the hospital and said you twisted your back while conceiving at night. I helped you with the treatment!"
"Hahahaha..."
A burst of laughter erupted in the hot springs. Takumi lazily listened to these strangers boast. When he got tired of soaking in the water, he wrapped himself in a towel, gathered his clothes, and returned from the hallway.
To one side of the hallway is the courtyard. Torrential snow was falling, painting the rock garden and the small pond in the courtyard white. The icy wind was even colder.
"Oh, guest... why are you only wearing a towel?" A middle-aged woman in a kimono was surprised to see Takumi: "Go back to your room quickly, it'll be terrible if you stay like this!"
"Boss, I'm fine." Takumi shook his head and smiled: "Thank you, go to work, don't worry."
"Really fine?"
"It's fine."
"Then I'll go first..."
The woman bowed to Takumi. Then she passed by him.
Takumi gazed at the snowy scene for a while. He turned and returned to his room. However, he was a little surprised to see two girls outside the room.
"Kaori?"
He recognized them as the granddaughter and her friend from the ramen shop where he worked part-time, and he couldn't help but be curious: what were they doing there?
"Are you here to accuse me of stealing my skills?"
Takumi thought amusingly. He went to work at that ramen shop because he had heard that the ramen was very good, so he spent a few days stealing their skills; of course, he didn't tell anyone.
"Oh, Takumi-kun!" And she heard his voice. The girl with glasses, Kana, turned her head and cried out in surprise: "Takumi-kun, you're not wearing glasses!"
Takumi usually wore glasses when he worked part-time. He seemed amiable and very thin, but now he had just showered and wasn't wearing glasses, which made Kana feel particularly handsome.
"Hmph... I've come to ask you something...".
When Takashima Kaori saw Takumi, she blushed. She looked away, panicked, and said: "Anyway, you're leaving in two days, I must make it clear!"
"Huh?"
Takumi raised his eyebrows and said nothing. Before she left, he opened the door: "Come in!"
Takashima Kaori entered with a stiff face, and Kana followed her. As she passed Takumi, she suddenly stopped and looked at him: "Takumi-kun, are you 1.80 meters tall?"
"Yes."
Takumi nodded. He had grown a lot in the last six months. Although there was no specific measurement, he was definitely over 1.80 meters tall. If possible, he didn't want to grow any taller.
This height was completely within the standard for Asians. If he were taller, he would be almost the same height as Westerners, which would be strange.
"The height is a bit off... It's impossible to grow so fast... Really no...",
Kana muttered, and followed him into the room.
There was only one space in the room, with a stool and a desk. The two girls sat on the tatami, looking around curiously.
Takumi closed the door.
"Do you mind if I change my clothes?"
he asked.
The two girls looked at him in astonishment. Change clothes? There was no shelter there, and he was going to change in front of them?
"Absolutely not!"
"You... you're fine as you are..."
Takashima Kaori and Kana instantly blushed and refused. Takumi raised his mouth and said: "I was joking."
He put away his clothes, poured tea for the two girls, sat in front of them, and asked: "Why have you come to see me? Kaori, have you... mustered the courage to confess to me?"
"Puff!"
Takashima Kaori spat out the tea, but Takumi caught it with a basin before it hit the floor.
"I, I... why should I confess to you!"
Takashima Kaori stood up, blushing.
"Because you like me?" Takumi gently put down the basin and said: "If so... I'm sorry, I have someone in my heart."
"Probably...",
Takumi added to himself. Anyway, it was just an excuse, it didn't matter what he said.
A little slow and indecisive: this is how Takumi thinks of his past.
He has suffered losses. If he manages to discover and reject Shiori before she feels tempted, Shiori can continue to be his friend. If he had noticed Alice's abnormality earlier and had warned her immediately, perhaps what happened later would not have happened.
Seeing through girls is crucial:
Takumi can now read some of their thoughts. He has put a lot of energy in the last six months into studying female psychology. And Takashima Kaori is a typical tsundere, so it's not difficult at all.
"Kaori hasn't even confessed... and they just left her?" Kana asked with her mouth open. It was the first time she had approached this man, and now she discovered his strong personality.
"No wonder Kaori likes him..."
She subtly looked at her friend, but discovered that Takashima Kaori was pale. Even so, she gritted her teeth and said: "I don't like you, you poor thing. Let me ask you...".
She looked at Takumi with hatred and asked: "Are you Mirai-sensei?"
- - - - - - - -
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