Chapter 123: Female Manga Assistant!
In the reception room, Sonoko first discussed the publishing status of KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World with Yuta. Thanks to its lighthearted and comedic style, the novel has gained significant popularity in the market.
"The current sales trend is steadily rising. Considering the pace of publication and the need to maintain its buzz, we haven't released the entire novel all at once. We anticipate a significant boost in sales once the anime adaptation is launched."
Sonoko shared details about the sales performance and future plans for the novels with Yuta.
After explaining these matters, she looked at him with a touch of sentiment.
"Yuta-kun, are you not planning to write novels anymore?"
Although she wasn't sure what kind of work Yuta had in mind, based on the illustrations and plot design of his last two novels, Sonoko was confident that he could produce excellent works.
A good manga requires both drawing skills and well-crafted storylines.
The latter is an essential quality for a talented novelist, and the former shouldn't be an issue for someone like Yuta, who can create stunning illustrations.
Because of this, Sonoko had high hopes for Yuta and believed his future works wouldn't disappoint.
"I'll still write, but I don't feel like doing so at the moment. Maybe when inspiration strikes, I'll start writing furiously," Yuta replied without giving a definitive answer.
After all, he himself didn't know when his system would provide the next reward or whether it would pertain to novels or manga.
Sonoko watched Yuta closely. After some thought, she said, "It might not be my place to say this, but you're probably aware of how tough life can be for light novel authors and manga artists. Overwork-related deaths are actually quite common in our industry. Yuta-kun, your health… You should spend money where it's needed. I can even help you find some assistants."
Yuta gave Sonoko a speechless look, realizing that her words came from genuine concern.
From Sonoko's perspective, Yuta's physique seemed far too frail, lacking any semblance of strength or robustness.
Light novel authors and manga artists have notoriously demanding jobs, with heavy workloads and often minimal financial rewards.
For some, even if they produce work as prolifically as a sow giving birth, it doesn't matter—if no one reads it, their career is still doomed.
Even for skilled light novel authors, the pressure is immense, akin to carrying a mountain on their shoulders. They have to constantly think about storylines and keep writing day in and day out.
And yet, there's no guarantee that their manuscripts will pass the review process. Sometimes, a draft needs to be scrapped and rewritten multiple times before it's approved.
Those who can effortlessly produce works devoid of plot holes or missteps are rare geniuses, born for this line of work.
Even for such talents, there are countless factors to consider: whether the work is suitable for an anime adaptation, whether it's marketable, or whether it aligns with the preferences of the current mainstream audience.
If someone can casually write a flawless manuscript in one go—with no typos, no weak points, perfectly catering to readers' tastes, and meeting all publishing and adaptation requirements—they truly are born to excel in this industry.
Writing is no easy task, and this is widely understood.
As an editor, Sonoko is even more aware of it.
She frequently has to push for deadlines and deeply empathizes with the overwhelming pressure faced by writers on the brink of losing their sanity.
The stress of churning out ten chapters a day is immense. After all, writers are still human—they need to eat and sleep.
Staring at a screen, watching the word count creep up bit by bit, doesn't bring joy—it's pure torment.
Sometimes, sitting in front of a computer with overdue deadlines looming overhead, it's hard to resist the urge to smash the keyboard into the monitor.
Even when deadlines are pushed, the constant worry of whether there's enough time to catch up hangs over their heads.
Sleep becomes restless, and pulling all-nighters takes a toll on their health.
More often than not, hours are spent sitting in front of the computer, writing nothing, with not a shred of inspiration in sight. The harder they try, the worse the content becomes.
The inevitable result is getting their work rejected by the editor—scrapped and sent back for a rewrite. If deadlines aren't met, the work might get canceled entirely.
Of course, for most writers, they don't even get the chance to face cancellation—they never make it to the stage of being published.
Writing novels is a grueling path, one often lined with failure.
Authors are frequently criticized by readers, even ridiculed for plot points they include.
For example, why would a married woman with children still be a virgin? Because some readers demand it.
What would you do if someone labeled you as a 'homewrecker enthusiast'? What would you do?
You make something up. Spin a tale like your life depends on it.
Find a reason, any reason, that sounds plausible.
It doesn't matter if others believe it or not; as long as you can convince yourself, it's enough.
But when you look back at what you've written and realize it's absolute garbage, it's hard for most people to stay calm and keep writing.
Sonoko believed that Yuta was under too much pressure, which was likely why he was considering switching to being a manga artist.
Compared to light novel authors, manga artists have their own struggles, but the key difference is that manga artists can hire assistants!
Assistants are people who help manga artists by coloring, drawing panels, and other tasks.
If you hire a good assistant, you can focus on drawing the main characters while leaving the backgrounds and minor characters to them.
Of course, the better the assistant, the higher the cost.
Sonoko's suggestion was for Yuta to hire a capable assistant, which would lighten his workload.
With the success of Yuta's two current works, he could easily afford the cost.
While Yuta hadn't been planning to hire an assistant, he realized that he couldn't rely on the system's random rewards forever.
Moreover, he had always wanted to bring the stories he loved to life through his art.
"I don't have much free time right now, but I already have a complete vision for the manga's story. Having an assistant to help with some of the work would definitely make things easier for me, and I'd like to reduce my workload as much as possible," Yuta said as he agreed to the idea. Smiling, he added, "And if Miss Machida is recommending the assistant, I'm sure I won't be disappointed."
"That's great! The person I'm recommending is a girl—she's very talented at drawing and also quite beautiful!" Sonoko said with a playful smile. "Don't worry about her interfering with your relationship with Tojo; she's not the type to fall for someone so easily!"
While Yuta was hoping to have fewer women around him, Sonoko's comment piqued his curiosity. He asked, "It seems you have a lot of confidence in her. What's her name?"
Sonoko smiled and said the name, which consisted of four characters:
"Yakumo Tsukamoto."
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•Yakumo Tsukamoto [School Rumble]
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