[029] Special Treatment! A Single Volume!?
Upon hearing Mihari's apologetic tone, Akifumi Mugiho waved it off dismissively. It was nothing to be concerned about.
Mihari quickly stood up and walked briskly outside the dining area.
Holding a spoon in her hand, Akifumi Mugiho stared absentmindedly at the orange-yellow liquid in his cup.
It was the third day since the Tezuka Award was announced, a Sunday morning.
By now, Akifumi Mugiho was fully aware of the storm brewing online over Magical Round.
Such a huge event was impossible to miss, especially with a quick scroll through the web.
She couldn't help but notice the intense discussions that had erupted in various forums.
After reading some of the heated debates, she found himself quietly admiring the boldness of Shueisha's editor-in-chief.
After all, many of the posts had made valid points.
Setting aside the fact that Akifumi already knew how the story would unfold, anyone else would be hard-pressed to guess what kind of story Magical Round was going to be.
Given the circumstances, it was understandable that some were skeptical.
The editor-in-chief's decision to award the entry prize to Magical Round was a rare display of courage.
Considering how little they knew about him—just a high school graduate—it would have been difficult for Akifumi himself to have that kind of trust in a complete newcomer.
Awarding the entry prize was the most cautious approach, based on the limited information they had.
Later in the day, they were meeting again, this time to discuss the upcoming awards ceremony and the details of the serialization. In the afternoon, at 3 PM, the awards would be presented at Shueisha, and all the other winners would be attending.
As the entry prize winner, Akifumi couldn't afford to miss it, so Mihari suggested he prepare well.
The monetary award would be credited to his account in fourteen working days after taxes were deducted.
As for the serialization details, they hadn't discussed much yet, as Mihari was called away by a phone call before they could get into it.
By the time Mihari returned to the dining area, Akifumi had been lost in thought about the whole thing.
"Sorry about that," Mihari said again, apologizing as they sat back down.
Akifumi raised an eyebrow, noticing a slightly... odd look in Mihari's eyes compared to before.
"What was that phone call about?" Akifumi asked.
It wasn't anything secret, so Mihari replied easily, "It was my editor-in-chief."
"Is it related to me?"
"Yep."
Mihari nodded, a slight look of awe crossing their face.
"I guess it's not surprising... But the treatment you're getting, even I'm a little envious!"
"Can I ask for more details?" Akifumi asked.
Mihari didn't directly answer. Instead, they changed the subject, "You've been working on the manga, right? How many chapters are you at now?"
Akifumi, confused, glanced at Mihari before answering, "About ten chapters."
Ten chapters already!? Considering he had only completed about six chapters previously—half of which were from earlier drafts—this was way beyond the expected pace.
"That's beyond the one-chapter-a-week speed! Without any assistants and balancing schoolwork... Is this what a true monster's work ethic looks like!?" Mihari thought to herself, a bit stunned.
They'd previously been a bit envious, but now, they realized this was no ordinary talent—this was a true powerhouse, someone who deserved success.
If it were them, they knew they would've slacked off once the serialization started, but Akifumi was different. His drive was on another level.
"You're really something else," Mihari finally said, impressed.
Then, Mihari finally stopped holding back. "Akifumi, how would you feel about releasing a single-volume book?"
"Wait, 'Akifumi' now? Just moments ago, it was 'Mr. Akifumi'!" Akifumi shot Mihari an amused look, ignoring the question for a moment.
"Mihari, I've got a friend who wants to see that email you sent me earlier. What do you think I should do?"
"Should I send it to him or not?"
"!!" Mihari immediately sank into a deep apology.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Akifumi! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have been so disrespectful!"
Akifumi gave a satisfied nod. Now that Mihari had acknowledged their mistake, he returned to the main topic.
"A single volume? Isn't that usually something you need to wait for the serialization to hit a certain number of chapters before it's possible?"
In reality, not all serialized manga are eligible for single-volume releases. It required not only popularity, but also a certain number of chapters and a market survey.
After all, serialized works were already available in the weekly magazine, and only devoted fans were likely to buy a single-volume book, especially when the content was mostly the same.
Those who weren't interested in the other magazine works but loved one particular series were the ones who bought single volumes.
But this was all under the assumption that the series had no prior recognition, which wasn't the case for Magical Round.
Mihari nodded, continuing, "It's true, Magical Round is still in its early stages. The feedback online has been... less than friendly. People don't realize that once they see the later chapters, it's going to be a completely different story than just a magical girl show. It'll introduce a whole new angle on the genre."
"But the truth is, it's rare for a weekly series to get a single-volume release unless it's got a lot of popularity. And the fans are growing impatient with the pacing, so we've been discussing the possibility of releasing a volume based on what's already been drawn."
"Are you okay with this idea?"
Akifumi looked at Mihari, realizing the proposal was real. Normally, no one would consider releasing a volume before the official serialization. But given the current buzz around Magical Round, Akifumi couldn't deny that there was something to this plan.
"This is a really good opportunity. I can't find any reason to say no."
Mihari wasn't surprised by the response—this was essentially an offer to make money. Who would turn that down?
But before they could finalize things, there was one last important point to confirm.
"Even though you mentioned you've completed over ten chapters, I need to double-check: do you have enough material for a full single volume?"
Akifumi grinned. "Don't worry, I've got it covered. I'll have more than enough to fill that first volume."