I’ve Seen This Happen in Real Life All the Time, So All You Editors Really Need to Be More Careful. Like, Seriously.

It was near the end of August—past the gauntlet of the Obon dance, past the equally daunting chaos of Comiket. All the August releases, including the latest in Nayuta Kani’s Landscape series, somehow managed to safely reach store bookshelves, and everything was much more chill around the editorial office than at the start of the month.

“Sounds like The Blue Landscape’s doing as well as we thought it would,” Nayuta’s editor Kirara Yamagata remarked to Miyako as she made copies of the stories submitted for the new-writers contest.

“Really? That’s great.”

Yamagata smiled a bit. “I mean, it’s selling way better than the rest of the month’s titles combined. If this wound up being delayed… Oh, I shudder to think about it. Thanks again, Shirakawa. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Oh, I really didn’t do anything…”

“If you didn’t do anything to make her finish the book,” she ironically countered, “then I guess I’m completely useless, huh? But it’s selling great, and the feedback’s as positive as it always is. And all I did was clean up the typos.”

Miyako could imagine. All the praise heaped upon a book they had a hand in…but it’s not like they worked on the content at all, really.

“Do you want to get more involved with the actual writing, Ms. Yamagata?”

“No.”

The negative response surprised Miyako.

“There’s really no place for me to butt in on her story,” Yamagata flatly said. “Even if we had ample time to discuss the plot instead of the razor’s-edge schedule this time, I probably would’ve still cleaned up the typos and released it as is. It’s so annoying.”

“…Have you ever thought about turning her over to someone else?”

With Yamagata and Nayuta, it seemed like there was none of the trust, none of the friendship, that Itsuki and Toki shared. If anything, Yamagata acted honestly resentful of her. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if she just switched editors? Miyako thought.

But with a sigh:

“I’ve never thought that once in my life.”

“Oh, you haven’t?”

“I mean, if I quit, then I won’t be the first person in the world to read a Nayuta Kani novel.”

She made it sound so matter-of-fact.

“…You really love Nayu’s work, huh?”

“As reluctant as I am to say it, yes.”

She hated the writer, but she loved the writing enough to keep working with her. Maybe, Miyako reflected, that could actually work.

After she wrapped up the copying, Miyako was stopped along the hallway by a voice.

“Oh, Ms. Shirakawa? I wanted to find you.”

This was Kohei Tokuyama, an editor from the Comic Gifted desk that Kaiko Mikuniyama reported to. Gifted ran a lot of manga based on GF Bunko properties; their editors were all on the fifth floor as well, and they socialized together a lot. Miyako knew most of them casually by now, even carrying out a few errands for them.

“Oh, did you need something?”

“Yeah, we just got the sample copies of Gifted in. Could you bring them to the GF office for me?”

“Sure thing.”

Going into the Gifted department, Miyako discovered a stack of boxes near the entrance, each filled with the latest issue of the magazine.

“It’s finally here, huh?”

“Yep. They’ll be on store shelves the day after tomorrow.”

Miyako felt something warm bubble up inside her. The Gifted cover had the Akatsukis from All About My Little Sister posed front and center, touting the launch of Kaiko’s manga adaptation. She picked up a copy and thumbed through it; chapter 1 was right at the front, complete with a color spread to kick it off.

It didn’t take long for her to spot Ichika Akatsuki’s first nude scene a few pages in. This was huge. It meant that bookstores across the entire nation of Japan would soon be stocking a magazine featuring artwork modeled directly after her own boobs. Now, it felt real—and that sense of realness filled her with intense shame.

Tokuyama gave her a look. “Why’s your face all red, Ms. Shirakawa?”

“Oh, um, nothing!” She hurriedly waved her hand. “How many should I bring over?”

“Just this box. That has enough for the GF editors and their writers. Would you mind mailing copies off to the authors today, too?”

“S-sure.”

The nuts-and-bolts work of shipping sample copies and merchandise to people took up a hefty portion of the part-timers’ workday.

“Should I get a copy over to Kaiko, too?”

“Oh, right.” Tokuyama placed another magazine on top of the box. “Ms. Mikuniyama could probably use one.”

So Miyako brought the dozen or so copies of Comic Gifted over to the GF Bunko side, whipped out her shipping envelopes and invoices, and prepared to get to work. But before she could, she snapped a photo of Kaiko’s copy and messaged it to her.

The sample copies are here! I’ll send one to you now, so you should get it tomorrow (*^_^*)

Kaiko immediately responded with a sticker of some cutesy character crying a river of joyful tears.

Actually, where does Kaiko live? Miyako had a list of writers and their addresses—Itsuki Hashima’s, Chevalier of the New World author Haruto Fuwa’s, and so forth—but the list didn’t include manga artists. So she decided to ask her directly.

Can I get your address?

A few seconds later, Kaiko sent the address and a thank-you sticker. Miyako promptly wrote the address on the invoice.

Kaiko Mikuniyama

**-**, ***** City,

Gunma Prefecture, 37*-****

It wasn’t until two days later that Miyako realized she had made an enormous mistake.

That day took a turn for the worse when Miyako was interrupted from her survey tabulation work by a dour-looking Kenjiro Toki.

“…Ms. Shirakawa? Were you the one who sent a copy of this month’s Gifted to Ms. Mikuniyama’s home?”

“Oh, um, yeah?”

“Ooooh…” Toki’s eyebrows shot downward.

“…Um, was that bad?”

“You wrote Kaiko Mikuniyama on the envelope, right? Her pen name?”

“…Ah.”

He was right. That was exactly what she wrote down. The authors on her mailing list did have their real, legal names next to their assumed ones (if they used them), which she faithfully copied over for shipping purposes, but Kaiko had only provided her mailing address, so she didn’t think to ask her real name. She called her Kaiko all the time anyway, so it never even occurred to her that Kaiko Mikuniyama may not be her given name.

“Um, did the post office refuse to deliver it or something?” Miyako tentatively asked.

Toki shook his head. “No, I guess Mikuniyama is her mother’s maiden name, so her family received it all right.”

“Oh, good.” A relieved Miyako sighed.

“…No, well… The fact that they did receive it is kind of the problem.”

“Oh? How so?”

“It sounds like Ms. Mikuniyama didn’t tell her family that she was about to debut as a professional manga artist.”

“Huh…?”

“But since the package had the name Mikuniyama on it, her mother opened it, and that was how she found out. About her pen name, too, and the manga she was drawing.”

“Oh no…”

Miyako was shocked. All she did was write down an assumed name by accident, and now she had put Kaiko in a terrible situation. She had heard from Kaiko, at least in passing, that her parents weren’t very keen about her entering manga full-time. She must have kept it a secret because she still hadn’t fully convinced Mom and Dad back home about it.

Toki sighed as Miyako cowered in front of him. “…This is partly editorial’s fault. We should have made it clear to be careful with addresses, since writers come from all kinds of personal situations like that. It’s not the first time something like this has happened. For example, there’s this writer named Yomi Hirasaka who kept his pen name a secret, but then his publisher Kad*kawa sent him this pointless legal notice about management reshuffling or something under that name, and that was how his parents found out.”

Miyako didn’t really care about the rather obscure author Toki referenced. She had other things on her mind.

“Um, so is Kaiko okay?”

“…Well, Ms. Mikuniyama is at Gifted editorial right now with her father. Her editor, Tokuyama, is handling them, but it sounds, uh, pretty threatening.”

“……!”

Miyako immediately jogged over to the Gifted department. Inside was a small partitioned space for visitors, where she saw Kaiko, Tokuyama, and a stern-looking middle-aged man who was probably Kaiko’s father. Kaiko’s family had run a silkworm-cultivation business for multiple generations; presumably her father was the president. Miyako could see him angrily ranting at Tokuyama, the hapless editor trying his best to mollify him. Kaiko was seated next to her father, her eyes cast vaguely downward. The latest issue of Comic Gifted was haphazardly tossed on the table between them.

She knocked on the partition door.

“Pardon me…”

“Myaa?!” a surprised Kaiko shouted.

“…Who’re you?” her clearly peeved father said as he glared at Miyako.

“My name’s Shirakawa; I work part-time in the GF Bunko department. I just wanted to apologize for all the trouble I caused, putting your pen name on that package.”

“Huh. All right. So I’ve got you to thank for discovering this stupid crap my daughter’s involved in.”

“Stupid…!”

The father paid no attention to the resentful Miyako. Instead, he turned right back toward Tokuyama.

“So that’s it, all right? She’s not drawing any more manga. And whether she’s finished drawing it or not, I’m not gonna let you print it in next month’s issue.”

“Sir, you understand that puts us in a very bad situation…” Tokuyama looked almost puny in the face of this assault.

“Right, right. I know this…isn’t great for you. If you want me to pay reparations or whatever, just tell me what kind of figure you’re thinking of.”

“It’s…it’s really not that sort of problem, sir…”

“Okay, so we’re done talking, then! Let’s go, Kinue.” The father grabbed his daughter by the arm, motioning for the door.

“No! Father, let me go!”

“Please let go of Kaiko!”

Kaiko’s tearful resistance finally made Miyako’s anger erupt. Her father glared resentfully at her.

“This girl’s name is Kinue! Do not call her by that name!”

“Kaiko’s the only person who can draw the All About manga,” Miyako shot back, holding her ground. “When the original writer of this read her manga, he loved it so much he literally started crying! Kaiko has a real talent for this! So please, let her continue working on it!”

“Myaa…!”

A light smile now crossed Kaiko’s lips. But the plea had no effect on her father. He removed his arm from Kaiko, picking up the Gifted on the table and thrusting a nearly full-page shot of the nude Ichika Akatsuki at Miyako.

“A ‘talent’?! Nobody should ever have a talent for drawing manga as disgusting as this!”

“It’s not disgusting! This manga has the power to make people happy, more than you can count! That’s not something just anyone can do. I think that’s really incredible!”

“Don’t give me that nonsense, girl! Do… Do you think I put in all that time and effort raising my daughter just so she could be a manga artist…?!”

There was a streak of grief in the father’s shouting. There was no doubting his feelings for Kaiko. But the sheer contempt he showed for all of Kaiko’s efforts, the manga-artist career, and all the editors and other people bringing this magazine to life was more than Miyako could forgive.

“Sir, you can’t say that unless you realize how much blood, sweat, and tears Kaiko put into drawing this! Sure, it’s a little…all right, fairly raunchy, and I’ll admit that I don’t even like the story all that much, so I can totally understand if it’s not to your liking…but…”

“…” Kaiko’s father remained silent, listening on.

“…But she’s a young woman staking her future on what she knows she wants to do! I think finding something that you really, truly want to do in life is one of the most beautiful experiences you’ll ever have. And actually following through with it, pursuing it, takes an incredible amount of courage. And whether you’re her father or not, you just don’t have the right to say no to that!”

He waited a moment, making sure Miyako was done.

“…So is that all, then? Let’s go, Kinue.”

“…!”

Miyako’s shoulders drooped down. Her words didn’t come even remotely close to touching his heart.

“…I’m not saying you’re wrong. But you’re a total stranger to us. And I don’t want to hear your opinions about how I run my household.”

“Wait a minute! Kaiko is…”

“It’s fine, Myaa,” Kaiko said, her voice serene. “Thank you for going out of your way to defend me.”

The sight of Kaiko’s soft smile made Miyako want to cry. “But this is all my fault…!”

“No, Myaa, there’s no reason for you to feel that way. With all the things publishers send out to people, they would’ve found out soon enough anyway. Really, I want to thank you, Myaa.”

“Huh?”

“…Thanks to you, I’ve made up my mind.” She looked up to her father, eyes resolute. “This was bound to happen the moment I decided to pursue a career in manga. Just as Father said, it’s my responsibility to solve my own problems.”

“…Aren’t you listening to me, Kinue?”

“I am.” Kaiko nodded back. “No matter how opposed you are, Father, I’m going to live my life as a professional manga artist. And if that means cutting ties with my parents, so be it.”

Her father was clearly shaken. “…Pfft. How could a girl as sheltered as you ever go on by herself?”

“I’m not sheltered! I can learn how to cook and do laundry for myself!”

“Learning how to do a few chores is not the point! How’re you going to afford to live? You know full well how hard it is for a brand-new manga artist to keep herself fed. You can’t live just off of what they pay you here. This is a monthly manga magazine, so it’s gonna be a while before they put out the first collected volume—and if Volume 1 doesn’t sell, and sell a lot, they’re gonna cut you.”

“You sure know a lot, sir,” Miyako unconsciously whispered.

It made the father’s cheeks redden.

“It’s… It’s just common sense!”

He must have researched the profession a little himself, Miyako figured. It wasn’t pure prejudice that made him speak up against this.

“Well, I’ll work part-time until I can live off of manga alone! I can make it work!” Kaiko responded.

“You’ve never worked a day in your life before now. I really don’t think you’ll manage to work hard enough to keep yourself afloat, Kinue. Especially while you’re drawing manga.”

“I—I can do it! I can work as an assistant for other manga artists…”

“You? A girl as shy as you? You really think you can?”

“Sure I can! I can do anything for the sake of manga!” she shouted back.

Father and daughter stared at each other for a few moments. Then:

“…Phew.”

It was her father who turned his eyes away first. He had been beaten.

“…Why do you want to be a manga artist that badly?” His voice was softer now, more forlorn. “You could have become a great lingerie designer. When you were a kid, you said you dreamed of using our silk fabric to craft the greatest undergarments the world has ever known. Were you just making that up?”

“No,” Kaiko defiantly replied. “I just found something I want to do even more.”

“…And that’s drawing manga? Can’t you just draw that as a hobby?”

“No.”

“What?” the puzzled father replied.

“My dream is to use Japanese manga, a format known and loved all over the world, to show everyone just how wonderful undergarments can be. And if I want to do that, I’ve got to be on the front lines of the business. As a professional!”

“Kaiko…”

The words moved Miyako’s heart, even as they made her want to edge away from Kaiko a little. Here was a woman, pretty much her age, boldly talking about her dreams and taking concrete steps toward them. It made her feel tremendously sorry for herself.

It’s such a beautiful thing. And look at me…

“Kinue,” her father called her, voice full of emotion. Kaiko responded by removing her hair band, taking the bow (or what passed for a bow) off, unraveling it, and presenting the pair of panties to him.

“K-Kaiko, what’re you doing?!” a frantic Miyako asked.

“Th-this is…?”

He took the panties in hand, a look of utter shock on his face. Kaiko gave him a smile, recalling her past memories with him.

“Do you remember, Father? These panties…?”

“Of… Of course I do…”

He stared at them lovingly, running them across his hands to feel the fabric.

“These are the high-end panties I bought you for your tenth birthday… I thought the pattern looked familiar, but I didn’t think it was the same pair…”

“Every page of manga I’ve ever worked on was drawn with these panties over my face. No matter how hard and painful it’s been, I’ve made it over every obstacle I’ve faced because of the panties you gave me. And I want to keep pursuing my dreams, Father, together with the panties you poured so much of your love into.”

“Kinue…”

Her father’s eyes began to water. He brought the panties up to his face, taking in the aroma. “…Mmm…fffuuu…hah… It smells wonderful. It’s filled with the aroma of years’ worth of hard work. You’ve worked hard…Kinue…”

The panties were lovingly placed back on the table.

“I think I understand how you feel now. All right. I’ll be happy to support your dreams.”

“Father…!” Kaiko beamed at him.

“…But first, we’ll need to go home and explain things to your mother. She’s going to be a lot more stubborn than I was.”

“I know.”

“But with the kind of passion you have, I’m sure we can have her see things our way. Keep up the good work, Kinue…or I suppose I should say, Kaiko Mikuniyama.”

“Of course!”

“Ah, you’ve grown into such a fine woman…Kinue…”

“Well, I’m my father’s daughter.”

They smiled at each other, both shedding tears.

“…Um, is this really something to get teary about…?”

Miyako was less than convinced, but she forced herself to accept it.

Problem solved, I guess?