Ayumi Ito's gaze drifted briefly before landing on the pile of drawing paper sitting on the desk next to her.
She spoke up tentatively, her voice soft and careful, "Aoyama-sensei... were you in the middle of working on a manuscript? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to barge in and interrupt you..."
She had a fairly good understanding of the inner workings of the manga industry, where one of the most cardinal sins was interrupting an artist while they were in the middle of a creative flow.
She knew that manga creation often relied on sudden, fleeting sparks of inspiration. A mangaka had to seize those moments of brilliance and pour them onto the paper immediately.
If someone were to interrupt them during that process, that spark of genius could vanish forever, never to be recaptured.
Naturally, being interrupted while working was enough to make most manga artists absolutely fly into a rage.
"It's fine," Hayashi replied, waving a dismissive hand.
He was, after all, essentially a glorified copycat. He didn't have any "sparks of inspiration" to lose; he was effectively just copy-pasting from his memory.
Ayumi's anxious heart finally settled, but as her anxiety faded, her natural curiosity began to bubble to the surface.
"Sensei, how much progress have you made on 'Edgerunners' so far?"
She asked, unable to contain her interest.
"I'm around Chapter 24, I think. But honestly, I haven't even touched 'Edgerunners' recently," Hayashi replied with a shrug.
"Huh? You haven't been working on 'Edgerunners'? Then, these manuscripts are..."
Ayumi reached out and picked up the top page of the new manuscript. On it was a single, striking panel of a young boy with messy blonde hair crawling out from a massive pile of trash. On the boy's chest, there appeared to be some kind of...
A pull-cord?
"'Chainsaw Man'!" Hayashi announced, flashing her a wide, slightly mischievous grin.
"Chainsaw Man?"
Ayumi blinked, her curiosity piqued as she prepared to ask more questions.
But right at that moment, Hayashi suddenly pulled a crisp 100-Yen bill from his newly received paycheck and held it out toward her.
"?"
Ayumi's expression was one of total confusion. "Aoyama-sensei... what is this for?"
"You treated me to that bowl of ramen the other day, remember?" Hayashi asked, showing off his bright white teeth in a cheerful smile.
"I'm not the kind of guy who likes to freeload. This is to pay you back. If I recall correctly, my ramen was 1,500 Yen, and yours, the Chashu Ramen, was 3,400 Yen. Since I'm treating you this time, could I trouble you to give me 5,100 Yen in change?"
Hearing Hayashi's bizarre logic, Ayumi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She truly hadn't expected that he had actually intended to pay her back for that meal, let alone that he would have remembered the exact price until now.
But the fact that he was actually asking for change down to the last Yen... his thought process was truly...
Well, unique.
"No... there's really no need for that. I told you that day that I was treating you, Sensei."
Ayumi shook her head, an amused, helpless smile gracing her lips.
"Ah, but how can I possibly let that slide?" Hayashi pressed, blinking innocently. "Just take it... at the very most..."
A pained, almost heartbroken expression crossed his face. "Fine, I won't even ask you for the change! Just take the whole bill!"
"That's really not the point, Sensei," Ayumi giggled, finding the whole situation increasingly absurd.
In reality, she hadn't given a single second's thought to the price of that bowl of ramen, especially since it hadn't been expensive at all.
Furthermore, the fact that Hayashi had purposefully ordered the cheapest vegetable ramen just to avoid taking advantage of her generosity had made her even more willing to treat him.
But right at that moment, a clear, melodious voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.
"Hayashi! Pochita! I'm here again!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Pochita barked twice with infectious excitement before expertly leaping up and swinging the door open.
As the door swung wide, Tachibana Akane stepped inside, her arms full of various supplies. She froze for a moment when she saw Hayashi and Ayumi Ito sitting across from each other.
Ayumi also froze as she stared at the radiant, vibrant young woman standing in the doorway.
"Wait, is this person... Aoyama-sensei's girlfriend?" she wondered privately.
She couldn't help but admire the girl's stunning, youthful figure, her bright and expressive eyes, and her flawless, fair complexion. Her entire outfit was perfectly coordinated and exuded a sense of effortless style.
Then she took a quick look at Hayashi... well...
Strictly speaking, Hayashi was actually quite handsome, and he kept himself remarkably clean. However, his messy, unkempt hair and his casual, clearly budget-conscious clothing made it...
Difficult to imagine that someone like Tachibana Akane and Hayashi Aoyama even belonged to the same world.
Meanwhile, Akane was also intently sizing up the beautiful, professional woman sitting in front of Hayashi. She noted the woman's sharp, stylish short hair dyed a subtle ash-blonde and her professional grey business suit, which, despite being relatively simple, perfectly accentuated her elegant and curvaceous figure.
If Akane was a radiant picture of youthful energy and athletic charm, then Ayumi Ito was the embodiment of a mature, sophisticated, and undeniably sexy career woman.
However, despite her mature figure, Ayumi's face possessed an almost childlike innocence to it. Akane had no way of knowing that Ayumi was actually quite young, and that her face perfectly matched her chronological age.
It was only those parts of her body that seemed to have developed... a bit prematurely.
The combination of that innocent, youthful face and that incredibly mature, voluptuous figure was a truly devastating combination.
As the two women continued to silently evaluate one another...
Hayashi broke the silence by waving a hand toward Akane. "Akane! You're here!"
Only then did the two women snap out of their internal assessments.
Akane managed a polite, slightly reserved smile as she turned toward Ayumi. "Hayashi... who is this?"
"Ah, let me introduce you. This is my editor, Miss Ayumi Ito."
Ayumi immediately stood up and offered a polite, formal bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ayumi Ito."
So she's his editor...
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of relief washed over Akane.
Wait, with a name like that... is she from Japan?
Akane took a step forward, her expression brightening. "Hello! My name is Tachibana Akane. I'm a friend of Hayashi's."
"I see..."
Ayumi felt a similar sense of realization. For a moment there, she had honestly suspected that Akane was Hayashi's...
But the fact that someone as unique as Aoyama-sensei could actually have a friend like this was truly...
No, no! She shouldn't be thinking about her author that way!
Even if Sensei's behavior was a little eccentric at times, he was undeniably a good and honest person. In fact, you could say that Sensei was simply incredibly straightforward.
Calling him "weird" was probably unfair.
It was only because he was so much more honest and blunt than the average person that he occasionally came across as a bit strange.
Ayumi internally scolded herself for harbinger such disrespectful thoughts about her author.
"I primarily came here today to deliver Sensei's first paycheck. Now that my mission is complete, I really should get going and stay out of your hair."
Seeing Akane's arrival, Ayumi quickly turned back to Hayashi and prepared to make her exit.
"But wait, you still haven't..."
Hayashi held up the 100-Yen bill, looking genuinely conflicted.
"Sensei... I promise you, there's really no need," Ayumi replied with a helpless smile. "How about this? You can just treat me to a meal sometime in the future instead."
She was mostly just using it as a convenient excuse to leave.
However, a look of sudden realization dawned on Hayashi's face. He snapped his fingers and said, "In that case, let me treat you both to a meal right now!"
"And that goes for you too, Akane! You've treated me to so many meals lately, it's finally time for me to return the favor!"
"Wait, what?" Ayumi blinked in surprise.
Akane, meanwhile, merely shook her head with a weary, amused sigh. "Well... I guess that works."
(End of Chapter)
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
T/N: Chainsaw Man (电锯人) - The original title is used.
T/N: Editorial Titles (Sensei/Ito-san) - Maintained for authentic localized flavor.