[026] Announcement of the Award! "Madoka" Receives the "Selected" Award!!
In that time, the new transfer student, Shiina Mahiru, was no longer the "new girl." She had fully integrated into the class.
With her doll-like beauty, gentle personality, and top ten grades in her year... it didn't take long for her to become incredibly popular at school!
She easily earned the title of "The Fourth Flower of Toyogasaki Academy."
As for the benefits of this title?
Well, it seemed that the boys in her class could only look at her from a distance, too shy to approach her.
It was just one of those things that comes with the territory in adolescence—boys are often too intimidated to get too close to someone they perceive as way out of their league.
On the other hand, Akifumi Mugiho's life hadn't changed much.
He went to school, chatted with his two classmates, then came home and worked on his manga. The only real change was that he had a certain Eriri occasionally disturbing him now.
Money was a bit tight this month, but he'd managed to get through it.
It was 7:48 PM on June 7th.
It had been seven days since the second-round evaluation list had been released.
At Akifumi's apartment…
"I swear, summer's just around the corner, and you're still not done?!" Eriri nagged, her voice growing impatient.
"Have you even written more than five pages?"
"We still have more than a month, right?" Akifumi replied, shrugging.
Eriri looked away awkwardly before muttering, frustrated, "It's crunch time! Don't bring up annoying topics like that!"
Akifumi couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"You didn't even participate in the Tezuka Award, so the list has nothing to do with you, right?"
"Of course it does!" Eriri replied confidently. "I'm a spiritual investor! Plus, this event only happens twice a year—it's a big deal for anyone aspiring to be a manga artist!"
"The winners are definitely worthy of being my role models!" she added.
"Instead of trying to mimic their style, maybe you should start by not missing deadlines. I heard manga is published weekly... with your speed, you're practically asking for trouble."
Eriri pretended not to hear him and muttered to herself, "I wonder if there will be any 'Selected' Awards this time."
Akifumi raised an eyebrow. "When was the last 'Selected' Award?"
"Eight years ago!" Eriri answered without hesitation.
It was clear she followed the Tezuka Award closely, and she could reel off these details without missing a beat.
"Wow, that's harsh," Akifumi said, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation.
"I wonder what kind of award Madoka will get this time."
Getting a chance to be serialized meant at least receiving some kind of award. What it would be—whether "Selected," "Provisional Selected," or "Honorable Mention"—he wasn't sure.
In theory, the additional pages of original content he had submitted could improve his chances.
But if the evaluation was based solely on the required pages for entry, there was nothing he could do. That would be within the rules.
He was nervous, but the clock kept ticking.
20:00, time to refresh.
"Come on, come on! Refresh! Refresh!" Eriri urged, practically bouncing in her seat.
Akifumi rolled his eyes. Here she was, getting more worked up than him even though she wasn't even a participant. Was he too laid-back, or was she just... a bit much?
With that thought in mind, Akifumi quickly refreshed the webpage.
He felt a soft touch on his arm—Eriri had leaned in, her face now only a few centimeters away from his.
Her body was pressed up against his, and Akifumi couldn't help but notice the soft feel of her small chest.
"It's here! It's here!!" Eriri's excitement was palpable as she clapped Akifumi on the shoulder.
"Hurry up and open it!"
"Okay, okay." Akifumi clicked the link, but the page didn't load immediately, likely due to the high volume of people refreshing at the same time.
"Come on, Shueisha, you've got the resources! Spend some money on better website maintenance!" Eriri grumbled, clearly not a stranger to this situation.
She then muttered to herself, "I guess the magic girl manga won't be Akifuming the list this year, huh?"
Akifumi chuckled, "What's your problem with Madoka? Why so bitter?"
"I'm not bitter!" Eriri defended herself. "I just think a theme with no potential shouldn't even make it past the editors."
"Isn't the Tezuka Award all about the story? Does a magical girl story even have a decent plot?"
Akifumi wasn't familiar with other magical girl works, but Madoka certainly had a solid story. After all, it was his story!
"Well, I think Madoka might still be on the list, you know?" Akifumi teased.
"Impossible!" Eriri shot him a skeptical glance but was interrupted as her eyes widened in shock.
"It's out!"
Akifumi's heart raced. He quickly looked back at the screen, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
As the mouse wheel scrolled down, large red characters appeared on the screen.
Neither of them was prepared for this moment. They both stared, stunned.
"Are you kidding me? This isn't a dream, right?" Akifumi asked, his voice in disbelief.
Eriri gasped, her blue eyes wide, then turned to Akifumi, glaring. "Why'd you pinch me?!"
Akifumi, looking completely innocent, replied, "Just checking if you were dreaming."
"Well, clearly not!" Eriri retorted. "But seriously, look!"
The screen displayed in bold red:
"Selected: Magical Girl Madoka — by Love and Hope's Warrior"
"Unbelievable! It's the Selected Award!" Akifumi said, unable to hold back his excitement.
Eriri stared at the screen, her expression mixed.
"I can't believe Madoka made it. It really got Selected!"
The words still seemed surreal, but the prize money—1 million yen—was very real. That amount, converted to 50,000 U.S. dollars, was a huge sum, especially for a high school student with no income.
Best of all, with the award came serialization, which meant more small paychecks rolling in. That was the cherry on top.
Life was about to get a lot better.