"Eh? Really?"
Hearing the results from the other end, Akira was pleasantly surprised.
The shōsei results for the first chapter—ranked first!
Although he had confidence in Fsn, he hadn't expected the first chapter to take first place, considering this was Shonen Jump, where experts were as common as clouds.
At this moment, seeing the three assistants staring at him nervously, he smiled and held up an index finger, sharing the good news with them.
The three of them mirrored his reaction, their eyes widening in pleasant surprise.
"Yes! It's first place—!"
Hayato cheered excitedly, but the next moment, realizing Akira was on a call, he quickly covered his mouth.
Seeing this, Akira waved his hand dismissively, signaling that they could talk freely.
Leaving the living room space to the three assistants, he walked to the balcony to continue his conversation with Hisashi.
He smiled and exclaimed:
"First place. Honestly, I didn't expect to get such a good result."
Hisashi laughed upon hearing this:
"Really? I've always had confidence in Mochizuki-sensei."
Although he said that now, he had secretly breathed a sigh of relief the moment he learned the shōsei results.
Akira's talent, ability, and the quality of his work were plain for all to see; even the decision to let Fsn be serialized had been a collective decision by the members at the serialization meeting.
But after all, his situation was truly unconventional. If he couldn't produce results after serialization, as his editor, Hisashi would certainly have to take responsibility.
The current situation was much better.
Although there was a slight boost from being a new serialization, making this first place a bit inflated, it was still a good start.
However...
"If things go as expected, the ranking for the second chapter should also be quite good, but the rankings for the next few chapters might be a bit lower. I hope you're mentally prepared."
"Of course, these are all expected situations, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Mm, I understand."
Hearing Hisashi's reminder, he nodded with a smile.
The second chapter features Emiya Shirou being killed by Lancer, which is also a good talking point.
But after that, the story will shift to Tohsaka Rin's perspective, so it's foreseeable that some readers will feel dissatisfied.
However, after completing that part, the subsequent content of FSN will only improve.
So, he really didn't have any psychological pressure.
After finishing his chat with Hisashi, he returned to the living room. Tanaka and the others had finished their discussion, and their excitement had subsided.
At this moment, he smiled and said to the three of them:
"To celebrate the good results of the first chapter, how about we go eat yakiniku tonight? My treat."
The three looked at each other; there was nothing more to say, so they just cheered.
"Awesome!"
"Long live Mochizuki-sensei—!"
...
...
"Cheers." (x2)
Akira and Rin clinked their iced cola and orange juice together.
Taking a sip of orange juice, Rin put down her glass and couldn't help but ask:
"So, since neither of us can drink alcohol, why did we come to an izakaya?"
The legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old. As two 18-year-olds, they couldn't drink alcohol, which is why they were clinking cola and orange juice.
"Does it matter? The shop didn't say you can't come in if you don't drink."
He said with a smile, then asked her:
"Have you been to an izakaya before?"
"No."
Rin shook her head. Seeing this, he laughed again:
"I haven't been either. So, isn't it nice to experience it this time?"
"Mm..."
That sounded quite reasonable.
Rin was about to nod in agreement when she heard his next sentence:
"Besides, we had yakiniku yesterday, so I wanted to try something new today."
"...That's your real reason, isn't it?"
Rin gave him a look of annoyance. He scratched his head and chuckled:
"Well, half and half."
Because Rin wasn't familiar with the three manga assistants, he had deliberately treated them in two separate groups to avoid awkward situations.
That said, the menu at an izakaya was indeed much richer than other places—yakitori, sashimi, fried food, oden, ramen, etc., everything was available.
The downside was that most of the flavors were just above average; they couldn't be considered the best.
Fortunately, neither he nor Rin was particularly picky. After ordering a bunch of fancy things, they started chatting while waiting for their food.
This dinner was to celebrate the good shōsei results of the first chapter of Fsn, but Akira had another purpose.
"Actually, I wrote a piece of music recently."
"Mm..."
"Hmm?"
Rin blinked, suspecting she had misheard, and confirmed:
"Did you just say you wrote a piece of music?"
"Yes."
He nodded with a smile and took a folded piece of manuscript paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
"I want you to help me see how this piece is written."
This piece was naturally "Glory of the Knight King". He had only transcribed the main melody today, and the details weren't handled well yet.
But that was enough.
Additionally, originally in his plan, he should have played it for her directly; that would have had the best effect for showing off.
However, considering his somewhat regrettable skills, he ultimately had to abandon that plan.
Wasn't it a joke?
Taking the manuscript paper handed over by the other party and opening it, looking at the handwritten score, Rin felt a little surprised.
And...
After scanning the score roughly, her expression instantly became serious.
This piece...
Something's not right!
Then, she began to hum along with the score in her heart. When the melody clearly sounded in her heart, the surprise in her heart gradually turned into shock, and the light blooming in her eyes became brighter and brighter.
What a beautiful piece of music!
The next moment, she couldn't help but stand up from her seat with a 'whoosh', startling Akira, who was observing her reaction.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"No... wait, actually, there is... mm..."
Coming to her senses, Rin sat back down a bit awkwardly, then shook her head. Her gaze toward Akira became very complicated, and for a moment she didn't know how to organize her words.
So, after calming down a little, she said to Akira impatiently:
"Let's go back. I want to play this piece myself."
"Go back? Right now?"
Akira said, somewhat surprised.
Although he had guessed Rin's reaction, he hadn't expected her to be so anxious.
He looked at the table full of food in front of him and spread his hands helplessly:
"But we haven't finished eating yet?"
To this, Rin said in a firm tone:
"Pack it up!"