To be honest, Ren had never even imagined something like this would happen. After all, the Japan Go Association had been a government entity since the last century when it was acquired due to financial difficulties.
Receiving an invitation from a foreign official organization like this was rare.
If this went well, both Ren and Picca Comics' reputation abroad would skyrocket.
Ren had always wanted to help Jada grow Picca into an even bigger brand. While it was already a big name domestically and had gained some international recognition, who would ever turn down more fame?
Seeing Ren deep in thought and silent, Jada spoke up, "If it's too much, just decline it."
She had been with Ren long enough to know that he wasn't really into playing Go.
"No, why would I decline?" Ren snapped out of his thoughts, turning to Jada with a smile. "Of course I'll do it."
It wasn't like Ren was clueless. Even though there were a lot of manga he couldn't publish from his system's updates, he still had plenty saved up.
And there were definitely a few related to Go in there.
With that in mind, he wasn't going to turn down the opportunity.
"But… do you even know how to play Go?" Jada asked, curious. "I mean, they've clearly mentioned they expect it to be somewhat professional."
"I don't know how to play Go," Ren admitted with a grin.
"Then how are you going to draw it?" Jada was puzzled.
"I didn't know alchemy either, but I still created Fullmetal Alchemist, didn't I?" Ren countered.
"That's different! Alchemy and superpowers are things you can make up. No matter how fantastical, readers will still accept it. But Go is a whole other story. It's not something you can just read about and fool professionals with," Jada said, sighing. After a pause, she added, "Plus, sports manga, especially ones about board games like Go, are incredibly rare. You're an outsider to this world—are you sure you can pull it off?"
"Don't worry," Ren reassured her with a confident smile. "I've got this. And even if it doesn't work out, what's the harm?"
After all, the manga he was planning to draw was a masterpiece in the realm of competitive Go manga.
"I'm not worried about that. I'm more concerned about you taking on too much," Jada said softly, brushing her hand against Ren's cheek with a tender expression. "You're already working on so many series. Instead of adding another project, maybe you should focus on resting more."
"It'll be fine. Don't worry," Ren said, gently patting Jada's hand.
…
A few days later.
Jada was doing her usual yoga routine on the mat. Since having their second child, she had made it a habit to stay in shape.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Ren walked in, holding something in his hand. "Here, take a look at the first three chapters," he said, handing her the manuscript.
"Huh? Already?" Jada blinked in surprise, standing up from the yoga mat and taking the pages from him.
As soon as she glanced at the character designs, she paused for a moment.
The character depicted was a young, slightly handsome man wearing traditional Japanese court attire, known as kariginu.
She'd seen this kind of outfit before in Japanese anime, usually worn by officials in ancient times.
"Is this Go story set in the past?" Jada asked, not flipping through the rest yet. "Wouldn't that make it harder to connect with modern readers? Ancient Go might not have the same appeal as a contemporary setting."
"Who said anything about ancient Go?" Ren replied, looking a bit confused. "This is very much a modern Go story. Just keep reading, and you'll see."
With a nod, Jada continued flipping through the character designs, though still feeling a bit puzzled.
Maybe it was about someone from the past traveling to the present to play Go? She wondered as she kept reading.
A while later, her eyes lit up.
"Oh, so it's like those web novels with a mentor spirit!" she said, excited.
Using the "old master" trope from web novels seemed like a brilliant idea in this context.
After going through the character setup, Jada dove into the first chapter of the manuscript.
"'The Go Sage Descends'…" she read the title aloud before her eyes moved to the panels below.
The story followed a young boy with light hair, named Hikaru Shindo. He was rummaging through an old family home, looking for things to sell, and eventually stumbled upon a square box.
This box turned out to be a Go board. Hikaru intended to pawn it for money, but as he wiped it clean, he noticed what looked like bloodstains on the board. His childhood friend, Akari, couldn't see the stains, but Hikaru started hearing strange voices.
At this point, Jada's attention was fully captured.
In the next frame, a man dressed in ancient clothes holding a fan appeared behind Hikaru.
This was Fujiwara no Sai!
However, Jada suddenly frowned.
There was something oddly familiar about this character.
She stared at the page for a moment, then turned her gaze toward Ren, about to ask him something.
Then she glanced back at the page, looked up at Ren again, and repeated the process a few more times.
Finally, a series of black lines appeared on her forehead.
Good grief, her husband had actually used his own face as a model for this character.
Ren was already quite handsome, and with his artistic skill, he had made Sai look dignified, elegant, and refined, with an air of grace and wisdom.
An idea suddenly popped into Jada's mind, and her eyes lit up with excitement.
She realized she could have some fun with this.
She thought about getting a costume made for Ren—after all, he looked so much like the character.
Considering how Ren loved when she indulged in cosplay for him, it was only fair for her to turn the tables and have him do it for her this time.
And not just this traditional Japanese outfit—she was already thinking about custom-tailored hanfu outfits for him too.
The more Jada thought about it, the more eager she became, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Noticing the mischievous glint in his wife's eyes, Ren suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Jada… what are you planning?" he asked, eyeing her warily.
He had a bad feeling about this.
"Oh, nothing," Jada replied, flipping her hair casually as she gave him a sweet smile. "I'm just surprised at how good your manga is, that's all."
She kept her plan to herself for now—she'd spring it on him later once the costumes were ready.
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