Chapter 108: Moving Day
Renting the house cost nearly one million right from the start.
But next, there will be royalties from a 60,000-copy first print run volume coming in. According to Editor Kaji’s estimate, it should amount to around 2.4 million yen.
The royalty fees received from Shueisha are all pre-tax deducted. Afterward, Sakamoto Ken can deduct the rent used for the studio, various equipment, consumables, assistants’ salaries as personal business owner expenses to offset some taxes.
Editor Kaji will handle all this work, so Sakamoto Ken doesn’t need to worry about it himself.
He explained his requirements for the studio to Editor Kaji, and soon she listed a table with estimated amounts in the price section.
Kaji Keiko operated this Excel table on the computer. She pinched her chin, pondered for a moment, and said, “Sakamoto Sensei, how about we consider purchasing some of it first?”
Sakamoto Ken had glanced at it in the morning, and Kaji Keiko’s cursor was stopped at the estimated total price position.
Adding up all the items, the estimated total price is 1.5 million yen.
“So expensive?” Sakamoto Ken was slightly surprised. He now only had just over 2 million yen left in total.
“This is planned according to standard specs. Actually, I don’t recommend downgrading further,” Kaji Keiko said.
“Then procure according to this list. I can still afford it,” Sakamoto Ken nodded in agreement.
Although it looks expensive, it’s actually just a one-time expenditure today. In the future, as long as consumables are purchased periodically, it’ll be fine.
Once this money is spent, the furniture for the other rooms can only be put on hold for now, and the bedroom he lives in can be set up with the simplest necessities.
For the specific procurement matters, Kaji Keiko called over two interns who had just finished sorting reader letters for other writers.
They will contact drawing material suppliers, go to the mall to confirm the price of each item on site, and also be responsible for transporting everything to the studio and installing it in place.
Sakamoto Ken took the three keys given by the agent back then, left one with Kaji Keiko, and took a taxi home.
For the next few days, he still had to stay in the old apartment. When the time comes, usable items from the room need to be moved over too.
Not to mention waste, discarding these desks and bedding requires buying special oversized trash disposal coupons.
Or buy tools to cut large items into small pieces at home, pack them into regular trash bags—either way, it’s particularly troublesome.
Over the next few days, Sakamoto Ken packed up the items in the old apartment room and sent them to the new house.
The entire first floor is now neatly arranged. There are five desks in total, one temporarily empty and leaning against the wall, and tools and equipment are already placed on the other four.
These days, Kaji Keiko also contacted three assistants: Ryū Kōshin, Kaku Yuji, and Endo Tatsuya. The three happened to have schedules open recently and readily agreed to work as assistants in Sakamoto Ken’s studio.
……
The day before moving, Sakamoto Ken brought a hand-drawn sketch of the inside of the convenience store and made a final trip to the convenience store.
The hand-drawn illustration showed him standing with the Store Manager at the cash register, with his name signed beside it: Sakamoto Ken.
The Store Manager grandma was slowly wiping the cash register. Seeing him come in, she came over to greet him.
“A Jian, what do you want to buy?”
Sakamoto Ken casually took a bottle of chilled oolong tea and put it on the cash register: “Actually, I’m here to say goodbye to the Store Manager. I’m moving out tomorrow.”
“A Jian is moving out…”
“Yeah, I rented a new house to use as a studio. This apartment doesn’t have space for the assistants to work,” Sakamoto Ken said.
The Store Manager grandma smiled and nodded, saying, “That’s right. A Jian is a big manga artist now and should have a proper studio.”
After chatting briefly in the store, Sakamoto Ken gave the drawing to the Store Manager and left.
Coming out of the convenience store, Sakamoto Ken turned into the path next door and arrived at Myo-in Temple.
The temple was very quiet, with only the rustling of wind through the leaves.
Da Gu was holding a large broom, sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard, his movements looking somewhat lazy.
This guy will inherit this temple in the future, and the cemetery next door doesn’t need much management either—it’s a job where you can earn money just by lying around.
“Da Gu.” Sakamoto Ken called out.
“Eh? A Jian?” Da Gu stopped what he was doing, chuckled, and said, “You’ve become a big manga artist now, huh? Lately, I’ve been following your manga every week.”
“That’s great. When the volume comes out, buy a few copies to support me,” Sakamoto Ken joked.
“And I have to buy them? You’re not giving me a signed copy?” Da Gu said.
“Fine, wait for it then,” Sakamoto Ken said. “But I came today to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?”
“Rented a studio, moving over soon. It’s in Taito Ward,” Sakamoto Ken said.
“Nice one, A Jian!” Da Gu patted Sakamoto Ken’s shoulder. “So now you’re officially a mangaka sensei?”
“Right,” Da Gu asked. “Didn’t you get into Kanzaki Art Academy? Now that you’re moving to the studio, are you still going to school?”
“Of course I’ll go to school,” Sakamoto Ken said. “The studio is very close to the school, and Kanzaki is mainly a course selection system. Art academy schedules are very flexible and won’t delay creation.”
“I’m really envious of you. You have work as a manga artist and can go to university, unlike me, stuck being a monk in the family temple, just scraping by…”
“…”
Sakamoto Ken had lived here for several years. Before moving, the people he needed to visit were really just the Store Manager and Da Gu.
On Friday evening, Sakamoto Ken had already moved to the studio in Taito Ward and slept his first night in the new home.
First floor: brand new drawing tables, ergonomic chairs, high-color-rendering desk lamps. Boxes of drawing materials were stacked against the wall, and all sorts of equipment were complete—it was already a very professional manga studio.
However, on the second and third floors, aside from his own third-floor living room, the other rooms were still empty.
Sakamoto Ken lay on the bedding moved from the old apartment. The entire room had nothing else placed except this bedding—no other furniture.
The balance in the account was only around 500,000 yen left. Utilities, assistants’ salaries all had to come out of this money.
This financially tight situation would continue until the 25th of next month, when the new royalty fees arrived and things would improve.
He looked at the empty ceiling and suddenly thought of Natsume Mio.
Today was Saturday. Natsume Mio would go to work at the convenience store in the afternoon, and she didn’t know yet that he was moving over.
Sakamoto Ken thought about it and decided to tell her.
Anyway, even if he didn’t say it, she’d find out sooner or later. This afternoon, the Store Manager would tell her, and she was already in contact with Editor Kaji and also knew Mikazuki Haruna.
Unknowingly, his entire relationship network was completely different from the previous life.
Rather than letting her hear it from someone else’s mouth, better to inform her proactively himself.
Seizing the initiative—this is the core of every strategy.
Sakamoto Ken picked up his mobile phone, clicked on Natsume Mio’s avatar, and first sent two words.
Sakamoto Ken: 「Morning.」
He was still typing in the input box when the other side’s reply popped up.
Not text, but a voice message.
Sakamoto Ken clicked to play it. The girl’s speaking speed was fast, and you could tell she was in a great mood: “Morning! Morning! A Jian! You’re actually messaging me first! Did you just get up? I got up really early, practiced my voice in the morning, and now I’m preparing today’s bento~”
