All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Hearing that Megumi wanted to give her a gift, Kotomi immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. ”Megumi, what kind of gift are you going to give me?”

”What kind of gift do you want?” Megumi asked with a playful smile.

Kotomi opened her mouth to answer but quickly stopped herself. Instead, she said, ”Wait, if you buy me exactly what I ask for, then it’s not really a surprise, is it? It would just be you fulfilling my request. That wouldn’t be any fun.”

After hearing Kotomi’s reasoning, Megumi nodded in agreement. ”That’s true. Even though I already told you about the gift, if you don’t know what it is, you’ll still have some anticipation and excitement. If I just got you what you wanted, the element of surprise would be lost.”

Megumi pretended to have an epiphany as she nodded along, but inside, she was relieved. The smile tugging at her lips was hard to suppress.

Ever since she had returned Kotomi’s phone, Megumi had already decided on the perfect gift. The reason she asked Kotomi about it anyway was to prevent her from getting suspicious when she finally received it.

Despite her sometimes clueless demeanor, Kotomi had a sharp intuition when it came to certain things.

”Then I’ll take care of the gift, and you just focus on waiting for the results of the art competition.”

”Why are you so sure I’ll get selected?” Kotomi tilted her head slightly, looking adorably confused.

Megumi chuckled, amused by her question. She reached out and gently pinched Kotomi’s nose, which was slightly firmer than a marshmallow, and said matter-of-factly:

”Because your competition piece includes an idea I suggested, doesn’t it? Instead of choosing between scenery or people, we combined both in the composition. So, I have confidence not only in your artistic skill but also in the concept we created together. Plus…”

Megumi suddenly lowered her voice. ”You’re also the up-and-coming manga artist that Shueisha has its eye on—Izumi Ki! I have absolute faith in all of Sensei Izumi’s works~”

Kotomi didn’t say much in response—she was never one for long speeches—but her heart swelled with gratitude.

Megumi’s care and encouragement always found subtle ways to reach her.

Anyone in love, when experiencing happiness, can’t help but think: I made the right choice.

”Then I’ll be eagerly waiting for your gift, Megumi.”

”Good~” Megumi lightly tapped her fingers on the desk, smiling warmly at Kotomi.

After School, Art Club

Today was the final deadline for submissions. With the help of Chihiro Sengoku, Mashiro Shiina and Hibiki Naegi had completed their paintings, carefully packed them, and placed them inside wooden crates. They, along with Kotomi’s already packed painting, were carried to the school entrance and loaded onto a delivery truck.

Watching the truck disappear into the distance, Chihiro Sengoku stretched and let out a long sigh of relief.

”Ah! Finally, all three paintings for the competition have been shipped. Now, we just wait to see who will be selected for the first exhibition. Honestly, these past few days leading up to the deadline have been really stressful.”

”That kind of frustration feels like drinking a beer that’s been sitting open in the fridge for too long. Sometimes, while typing away in my office, I suddenly get the urge to slam my hands down on the keyboard.” Chihiro Sengoku sighed.

”What a peculiar metaphor… but now that you put it that way, I almost feel bad for your office computer,” Kotomi couldn’t help but comment.

”It’s not that bad. I’ve guided students through art competitions before. Feeling irritable in the days leading up to the submission deadline is practically a normal reaction.” Chihiro spoke matter-of-factly.

For her, someone whose art classes were often taken over by other subjects, the busiest time of the year was always preparing Sobu High School’s Art Club members for the competition.

Being naturally impatient, Chihiro often found herself overwhelmed when tasks started piling up.

Back in the Art Club room, Hibiki Naegi didn’t plan to relax just because the competition piece had been submitted. Instead, she picked up her sketchbook and began practicing fundamental figure drawings.

She had been drawing for years—practically her whole life—so these basic sketches were no challenge for her.

However, precisely because they were fundamental, many artists who considered themselves beyond the beginner stage tended to neglect them. This was what made Hibiki different. She remained steady and disciplined, using any spare moment to refine her foundational skills.

Some might think it was a waste of time, but Hibiki knew the truth. Compared to other aspiring artists, she had little natural talent. Her abilities only looked impressive when compared to those who had never drawn before.

With her lack of innate talent, the only way she had reached her current level as Art Club president was through sheer effort. Even she had lost count of how many pages she had filled with sketches or how many pencils she had worn down.

Her art had always focused on depicting people, so she believed that continually reinforcing her figure drawing skills was the right choice.

And her progress proved her right—compared to when she had first started, she had improved tremendously.

Even without natural talent, even if her progress was as slow as a snail’s crawl, Hibiki firmly believed that as long as she kept moving forward, no matter how gradually, it was better than standing still.

It was well known among the Sobu High School Art Club members that Hibiki’s favorite animal was—the snail.

Kotomi originally wanted to ask Hibiki if she wanted a drink, but seeing her so focused on her sketches, she decided not to disturb her.

She admired Hibiki’s dedication.

When she had learned earlier that Hibiki had once considered making her the Art Club president, Kotomi’s immediate reaction had been to compare herself to Hibiki—someone who faced the reality of having no artistic talent head-on and compensated for it with sheer perseverance. In contrast, Kotomi couldn’t help but wonder—was she truly fit to be Art Club president?

The answer was no. Even if she hadn’t become the honorary president of the Kendo Club, she would have turned down Hibiki’s offer a year from now.

If it was an honorary position, she would gladly accept, but being a real club president carried a different level of responsibility.

Today, Kotomi didn’t pick up her pencil. Instead, she simply sat in her chair, gazing out the window at the sunlit school grounds, lost in thought.

Behind her, Mashiro held a paintbrush in her hand but made no move to use it. Instead, she gazed at Kotomi’s back, equally lost in thought.

Kotomi stared out the window in a daze, while Mashiro stared at Kotomi in a daze.

September passed quickly, and before Kotomi knew it, she had been a high school student for a full month.

Sitting in front of her computer, working on the manuscript for Chapter 7 of Chainsaw Man, she momentarily set down her stylus and closed her eyes to rest.

Today was Sunday, October 10th.

Originally, the next chapter of Chainsaw Man was set to be Chapter 6 in Weekly Shonen Jump, and Kotomi had already submitted it to Asuka Chizuru ahead of schedule.

But after sending in the manuscript, Chizuru called her and informed her that with the addition of Chapter 7, there would be enough content to publish the first volume of Chainsaw Man as a standalone volume.

In other words, after just one more update, Chainsaw Man could officially begin its journey as a published volume.

Hearing this exciting news, Kotomi couldn’t afford to slack off. After all, the more money she made now, the more she could afford to slack off in the future! She was well aware of this trade-off.

So, instead of lying in bed and playing games on a Sunday afternoon, Kotomi was sitting at her computer, diligently working on Chapter 7. Although Shueisha wasn’t pressuring her to complete the manuscript quickly, she was eager to finish it herself.

She wanted Chainsaw Man to be published as soon as possible.

She wanted to make more money!

Some artists preferred to focus solely on serialization in a weekly magazine. The pay was stable, and as long as they created an engaging opening, they could negotiate a decent manuscript fee. Simply submitting one chapter a month would be enough to earn a solid income.

However, serialization alone wasn’t always sustainable. If a manga failed to gain traction within 30 chapters, it faced the risk of being canceled. But some artists didn’t mind—they never had grand ambitions for their work. Instead, they focused on short-term profits, selling their manuscripts without worrying about long-term success.

For these artists, most of their creative effort went into crafting the first few chapters. They often had no structured outline—just an idea that barely lasted beyond five chapters. After that, the story would start to unravel, and plot inconsistencies became common.

With minimal preparation and no clear direction, it wasn’t unusual for such works to experience sudden declines in popularity, leading to inevitable cancellation. This cycle repeated itself: a new project would start, focus would be placed on the initial chapters, and then it would fall apart once again.

This phenomenon wasn’t rare in the manga industry. Everyone had their own priorities—some simply wanted to sell manuscripts and move on. Without a long-term strategy, they would churn out one short-lived series after another, never expecting longevity.

But then there were artists like Kotomi.

She was the type who wanted her work to be published in standalone volumes as soon as possible. Her goal wasn’t just serialization—she wanted to expand her revenue streams and turn her intellectual property into something more.

”Once I finish Chapter 7, I should start working on the cover for Volume 1,” Kotomi mused, stretching before getting back to drawing.

[I woke up this morning and didn’t see Pochita.]

[I searched all over town but couldn’t find him. I thought maybe a devil had eaten him.]

[But when I got home, I saw Pochita crying as he waited for me.]

[I remember feeling relieved, and just like that, I fell asleep beside him.]

[That person had their cat taken by a devil. How will they sleep tonight?]

The chainsaw erupted from Denji’s head, marking an explosive conclusion to Chapter 7 and bringing Chainsaw Man’s first volume to a close.

After saving her progress, Kotomi let out a long sigh of relief. She double-checked the manuscript twice, ensuring there were no mistakes, then proceeded with her usual routine—renaming the file from ”Chapter 7” to ”Chapter 7: The Fate of Nyako.”

”Ah… finally, after a little over a month, the first volume is complete.”

Before actually drawing manga, she used to think that many series ended too quickly, some only lasting a few dozen chapters. But now that she was doing it herself, she realized that even just seven chapters had taken her nearly a month to complete. At this rate, finishing Chainsaw Man would still take quite some time.

”Well, I already have the full story outlined, so I just need to follow the plan and draw chapter by chapter.”

After taking a quick break to play a game, Kotomi returned to her computer to work on the cover illustration for Chainsaw Man’s first volume. She focused entirely on her drawing, and as a result, her efficiency increased significantly.

By the time she finished, she glanced out the window and noticed that the sky had already darkened. It had taken her four hours to complete the cover.

Perhaps it was just muscle memory at this point, but even though she hadn’t officially leveled up her drawing skills in her system, her speed had noticeably improved.

As for the typography and cover design, she would leave that to Asuka Chizuru. At most, she would provide a few comments if needed.

Chizuru was one of the more experienced editors at Shueisha, so Kotomi felt comfortable entrusting her with this task.

She compiled the Chapter 7 manuscript along with the cover illustration into a compressed file and emailed it to Asuka Chizuru.

”It’s October 10th now. In just five days, Sword Art Online’s first volume will hit the shelves.”

Kotomi muttered to herself, recalling how Yukinoshita had mysteriously called her yesterday, hinting that a special event might take place on October 30th and 31st in connection with the book release. However, when Kotomi asked for details, she was met with a cryptic silence.

”I just hope it’s nothing troublesome.”

She sighed, her primary concern being how much her royalties would increase once the book was released.

As for the so-called ”mystery event,” she wasn’t particularly interested.

However, as she glanced at the calendar, she suddenly realized something important—if she remembered correctly, on October 20th, the Tokyo National Youth Art Exhibition would announce the first-round selection results.

That meant only ten days remained!

Kotomi took a deep breath. She felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness. And, more than anything else… she was excited to see what kind of gift Megumi had in store for her.

Not long ago, Megumi had promised to give her a small present if her artwork was selected for the exhibition.

For the past few days, Kotomi had been eagerly awaiting the results—not just for the competition, but also because she was curious about Megumi’s gift.

Buzz—

The phone in Kotomi’s hand suddenly vibrated, signaling a new email notification.

Who could it be from?

She considered the possibilities. Asuka Chizuru might have received her Chainsaw Man submission, but she wouldn’t reply so quickly. As for Dengeki Bunko? Haruno Yukinoshita usually contacted her via text or phone calls.

It could also be from someone she knew personally. However, the email address she was using now had been created specifically for her publishing contracts.

Aside from Asuka Chizuru, Haruno Yukinoshita, and Tomoka Yuigahama, no one else should have known about this email.

As Kotomi furrowed her brows in confusion, a sudden realization struck her. She lightly knocked her head, murmuring to herself,

”Ugh, did drawing manga these past few days make me lose my mind? Last month, when I filled out the application form for the Tokyo National Youth Art Exhibition, they required an email address. I used this one without thinking.”

Her eyes widened as she sat up straight in her chair.

Could it be… news from the art exhibition?

So soon?! Weren’t the results supposed to be announced on October 20th?

With growing anticipation, Kotomi unlocked her phone and opened her email inbox.

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