Chapter 62: Hello, I’m Sakamoto Ken
「I want to be Miss Makima’s dog!」
「I want to be Miss Makima’s dog!」
「……」
Natsume Mio looked at the messages popping up one by one. Although she felt this meme was a bit embarrassing, the corner of her mouth still involuntarily curved up slightly.
She had already put herself in Makima’s place.
I really want to hear A Jian say this to me~
Although in her memory, she had said something similar to him.
With a tail, pouncing onto his body…
Then, Natsume Mio also copied a message from the screen and sent it out: 「I want to be Miss Makima’s dog!」
Mixed into the message bar, she suddenly felt a strange sense of sneaking around.
It was like doing something naughty behind A Jian’s back.
The live broadcast room’s online viewer count had already exceeded 1000. For JUMP’s YouTube channel, which had not been heavily promoted, this was already a pretty good number, and it was still steadily rising.
As the live broadcast start time approached, Natsume Mio grabbed a cushion and hugged it tightly to her chest, staring at the screen.
Seeing so many people liking Chainsaw Man, Natsume Mio felt very gratified.
As a voice actor, she also existed in Chainsaw Man.
And Chainsaw Man was A Jian’s work.
That meant she had become a part of A Jian too~
……
At the same moment, Bunkyo Ward.
Tower Apartment, the air carried a faint fragrance after a bath, the room lights were off, only the TV screen was lit.
The screen showed the YouTube live broadcast room’s countdown, and the comment section beside it kept refreshing with new messages.
The light from the TV screen faintly illuminated the graceful figure of the woman sitting on the lounge chair.
As usual, Hoshihara Ai wore no clothes at home.
Her body was completely unguarded and stretched out, relaxing without any restraints.
She held a whiskey glass covered in fine water droplets, her long white legs casually crossed, feet resting on the low stool in front, slightly turned to the side, her perky hips to her rounded shoulders outlining a perfect curve.
Her gaze seemed lazily cast on the screen, but deep in her eyes was a calm clarity.
Hoshihara Ai had already read through that manga named 《Chainsaw Man》.
It was very interesting, but… it was far from the work in her memory.
In those memory fragments, Sakamoto Ken drew a somewhat risqué borderline romance superpower manga, not Chainsaw Man.
Instead, it was exactly the same as the manga of the same name by the female author named “Miyuki Haru.”
So, the manga itself could not serve as decisive evidence.
The only thing Hoshihara Ai wanted to confirm was one matter.
That was Sakamoto Ken’s face himself.
However…
If he really was that Sakamoto Ken, what to do next?
Hoshihara Ai leaned back in the chair, lost in thought.
She really hadn’t figured out the follow-up for this question.
Approach him? Or continue observing? Or something else…
It was that weightless feeling again…
This mental unknown made her body feel somewhat hot even in the constant-temperature room.
Her breathing grew heavier, her mind sharpened, and she became increasingly excited.
A strange flush spread from her neck, climbing to her cheeks.
Her breathing became a bit rapid, her chest rising and falling more noticeably.
She was very familiar with this sensation; it was the bodily feeling when she was learning any unknown field.
This Sakamoto Ken’s existence was undoubtedly the most interesting subject she had encountered so far.
Hoshihara Ai stuck out her tongue tip, lightly licking her lips, then took a small sip of the liquid in the glass.
So expectant, so expectant…
The answer was about to be revealed soon, right.
……
Shueisha Building.
In the rest room, Mikazuki Haruna was restlessly waiting.
Her mood was very complex.
Both as a rival, wanting to ruthlessly rub this guy’s book into the ground.
And carrying those strange fragments from her memory, feeling like she had a particularly intimate relationship with him…
“Knock knock knock.”
The rest room door was knocked on.
“Please come in.”
The door was pushed open, and in walked Chief Editor Ono Tomohiro.
“Miyuki Haru Sensei, how are the preparations?”
“There’s nothing much to prepare; I can go on anytime.” Mikazuki Haruna acted very relaxed.
For an ordinary live interview like this, she wouldn’t feel stage fright at all.
It was just that today was a bit different…
“Don’t worry, everything is going according to plan,” Ono Tomohiro said. “Sakamoto Ken Sensei is completely unaware of the surprise segment. We’ll announce the addition of a segment when the live broadcast is halfway through.”
“Mm, I’ll leave it to you.”
“But speaking of which, why does Miyuki Haru Sensei want to do this?” Ono Tomohiro asked doubtfully.
“Well…” Mikazuki Haruna smiled slightly and said, “Just consider it my personal request, a little surprise for the rival.”
“Mm…” Ono Tomohiro nodded and didn’t ask more.
This one’s manuscript had been introduced by President Aiga, so since she wasn’t willing to say, he tactfully didn’t pursue it.
“Time’s almost up, please follow me.”
Ono Tomohiro led Mikazuki Haruna out of the rest room, through a slightly dim corridor, to the backstage work area behind the live broadcast room.
Although JUMP’s official video channel didn’t have many followers now, it was after all a department set up by the large group for future online platform promotion, with professional staff and equipment.
The staff here all wore headsets, staring at the monitors in front of them.
“Miyuki Haru Sensei, please wait here for a moment,” Ono Tomohiro pointed to one of the return monitors and said in a lowered voice. “You can see the situation in the live broadcast room through this. When the host gives the signal, you enter from the side door over there.”
“Okay, thank you, Chief Editor.” Mikazuki Haruna nodded in acknowledgment.
Ono Tomohiro gave her a slight bow, then turned and left.
He wasn’t appearing on camera; this live broadcast was handled by a dedicated operations department host and Sakamoto Ken’s editor-in-charge, Kaji Keiko.
Mikazuki Haruna sat on a small round stool, looking at that monitor screen.
The screen showed the scene in the live broadcast room; the live broadcast was less than a minute from starting, and the return feed was already up.
Two women were sitting on the sofa in the center of the frame; one was the JUMP official channel operations department host, the other was Sakamoto Ken’s editor-in-charge, Kaji Keiko.
The camera was currently facing them, seemingly doing final communication.
Eight o’clock sharp.
A light and rhythmic opening music played, and the live broadcast officially began.
The host spoke first: “Good evening, viewers. This is the JUMP official channel. I’m host Onodera. Thank you very much for tuning in on time to our live program!”
Beside her, Kaji Keiko also showed a gentle smile and nodded to the camera.
“I’m sure everyone has felt it recently.” Host Onodera’s tone was full of excitement. “Our JUMP+ platform has seen growth in popularity and downloads due to one work.”
She paused briefly, and the live broadcast room’s real-time comment section was immediately flooded with “Chainsaw Man.”
“That’s right!” Onodera laughed. “This work is today’s protagonist—《Chainsaw Man》!”
“Miss Kaji,” the host turned to her, “as the editor-in-charge of 《Chainsaw Man》 and the talent scout who discovered this work, what was your feeling when you first saw this manga’s submission?”
Facing the microphone, Kaji Keiko had a reminiscing expression: “Surprise, then shock.”
She continued: “Since becoming a manga editor, I’ve read countless manuscripts, but the first chapter of 《Chainsaw Man》 still gave me a strong impact. I had only one thought at the time—a genius manga artist had appeared.”
Host Onodera looked at the display monitor in front of the camera, which served both as a teleprompter and showed current online comments.
She kept smiling at the camera; now was about the right timing.
“It seems everyone can’t wait any longer!” Her voice raised a bit. “So, let’s give the warmest applause to welcome the new manga artist who brought us 《Chainsaw Man》!”
Kaji Keiko also smiled accordingly, turning her body toward the other double sofa on her side.
“Welcome, Sakamoto Ken Sensei!”
As her words fell, the camera lens began to steadily pull back.
Originally the shot only captured host Onodera and Kaji Keiko, then Sakamoto Ken appeared in the frame, sitting on the other double sofa.
Sakamoto Ken wore a simple white top, sitting relaxed in the center of the sofa, not appearing particularly nervous facing the camera.
After all, it was just an ordinary work promotion interview.
Sakamoto Ken’s corner of the mouth curved up in a perfectly measured smile; he raised his hand and casually waved toward the camera.
“Hello everyone, I’m Sakamoto Ken.”
