Before this, the youngest mangaka at Shueisha was twenty years old.
Now, with Izumi Kotomi's debut, she had broken that record.
"I didn't expect you to just be starting high school, Miss Izumi... I thought you were cosplaying with that JK uniform," Asuka Chizuru said awkwardly.
When she first saw Kotomi in her high school uniform, she assumed it was a cosplay or perhaps just a fashion preference for JK-style clothing.
But no—it wasn't cosplay. Kotomi was a genuine high school girl!
"I came right after school, so I didn't have time to change," Kotomi replied, just as her caramel macchiato was served.
It was time to get down to business.
Kotomi and Asuka Chizuru began discussing the terms for Chainsaw Man.
As one of the Big Three in the manga industry, Shueisha offered very generous terms.
First, Chainsaw Man would be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, with a five-chapter trial period. If the series garnered enough popularity within those five chapters, it would then be published as a standalone manga volume.
On the other hand, if it failed to gain traction, it would face the dreaded axe—cancellation.
As for the pay, Shueisha offered 15,000 yen per page during the serialization.
Since the first chapter of Chainsaw Man was 54 pages long, the manuscript alone would earn Kotomi 810,000 yen.
Adding that income to her existing balance, her bank account was soon going to surpass one million yen!
Hooray!
Of course, this was just the income from the manuscript. It didn't include royalties from future volume sales or adaptations.
As Asuka Chizuru put it, as long as Kotomi maintained the level of quality seen in the first chapter and kept updating consistently—
The future of Chainsaw Man looked incredibly promising!
After two hours of discussion, they had sorted out most of the details. Asuka Chizuru then took out a prepared contract and handed it to Kotomi.
"This is the contract. Please take a look, Miss Izumi. If everything seems fine, we can officially sign right now."
Kotomi took the contract, read it from start to finish, then picked up the pen and signed her real name and pen name.
She also filled in her bank account details for the transfer of her payment.
As Asuka Chizuru watched Kotomi sign, she noticed that Kotomi's handwriting, unlike the messy scrawl of some mangaka, was elegant and neat—pleasing to the eye.
Once Kotomi finished signing, she handed the contract back to Asuka Chizuru.
After reviewing the signatures to ensure everything was in order, Asuka Chizuru breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she was an experienced editor, handling a new mangaka's contract always made her a little nervous. Only after the contract was signed could she truly relax.
Signing contracts made both authors and editors a little anxious.
"The first chapter of Chainsaw Man will be serialized in two weeks in Weekly Shonen Jump. Given the high quality of the first chapter, most of the editorial staff has expressed strong approval. I'll do my best to secure the opening color spread and even the magazine cover for your debut."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Asuka," Kotomi said with a smile.
The opening color spread and magazine cover were prime spots for promoting a new manga.
If she could land these spots, Chainsaw Man was sure to make a strong debut!
"If we secure the cover, I'll let you know right away. You'll need to create a colored illustration for it. Here's my email address. Once you're done, just send the file to me."
Asuka Chizuru wrote down her email on a slip of paper, and Kotomi immediately recorded it on her phone.
After finalizing the initial serialization details for Chainsaw Man, Kotomi and Asuka Chizuru shook hands.
"From now on, I'll be your editor for Chainsaw Man, Miss Izumi. Please take care of me."
"And please take care of me as well. This is my first time creating a manga, so I'm a total newbie. I'll be relying on your guidance, Ms. Asuka."
"If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me," Asuka Chizuru said, sounding reliable.
Afterward, Asuka Chizuru sent a message to the editorial team.
She informed them that she had successfully signed Izumi Ki and confirmed the serialization of Chainsaw Man.
Shortly after, she received a simple response: "OK."
"The editorial department has received the news of our successful contract. Your first chapter's payment will be transferred to your account within seven business days."
"Got it."
The thought of receiving another payment soon made Kotomi quite happy—extremely happy.
By now, it was evening, approaching 7:30 PM.
"It's time for dinner. If you're not in a rush, Miss Izumi, how about I treat you to dinner? There's a really great tempura place nearby," Asuka Chizuru offered as she put away the contract.
Kotomi's stomach had started to growl after the two-hour meeting. If she waited until she got home to eat dinner, it would be too late, and her stomach would likely rebel.
So, she nodded and accepted the offer.
"I'll gladly take you up on that."
The two left the Akita Café and headed to the tempura restaurant Asuka Chizuru mentioned.
After sitting down, Kotomi ordered tempura shrimp, eggplant, edamame, tofu, and a bowl of white rice.
Asuka Chizuru, sticking to her usual favorites, ordered tempura shrimp, eggplant, and winter melon.
By the way, the restaurant offered free refills on white rice.
"Is this your first time at this restaurant, Miss Izumi?" Asuka Chizuru asked while sipping barley tea.
"Yeah, even though I've been to Tokyo several times before, it's my first time at this tempura place."
"Where do you live, Miss Izumi?"
"Chiba City."
"Chiba City? I have a colleague, Rena, who also lives there."
As they sat across from each other, chatting while waiting for their tempura, Asuka Chizuru suddenly remembered something she had been curious about. Glancing at Kotomi, she asked:
"Miss Izumi, can I ask you a question?"
"Hmm? What question? Is there something unclear about the contract?" Kotomi asked in return.
"No, it's not about the contract. I'm just curious if you have another identity besides being a mangaka?"
"Another identity?"
"For example, are you also the author of the light novel Sword Art Online from Dengeki Bunko—Izumi Ki?"