Chapter 126: A Role Model For Our Generation!
The next morning.
In the studio, Sakamoto Ken packed up the storyboard draft and organized his crossbody bag. He was heading to school this morning.
Today was the day for new student registrations at Kanzaki Art Academy.
“Ding-dong—”
The doorbell rang suddenly.
Sakamoto Ken instinctively thought Natsume Mio had arrived.
After all, they had agreed on LINE yesterday that she would come early, and then they would go to school together.
He hurried to the entrance, responding: “Coming, coming, so early…”
However, when his gaze fell on the small screen built into the door lock, his words came to an abrupt stop.
The screen showed not the red-pink-haired girl with Makima-style braids he had expected.
Haruna?
Why was she here so early in the morning?
Sakamoto Ken still reached out and turned the door handle.
As soon as the door opened, the girl standing outside immediately flashed a brilliant smile.
“Good morning, Sakamoto Ken Sensei~”
Sakamoto Ken looked at her, his gaze politely scanning her up and down. With the recent rise in temperature, she was wearing thin long black stockings today.
Sakamoto Ken’s gaze returned to the girl’s face, and he asked calmly: “Why are you here?”
Mikazuki Haruna confidently puffed out her not-so-busty chest: “School starts today. You didn’t forget, did you?”
“Of course not.” Sakamoto Ken stepped aside and pointed to the shoulder bag on the nearby cabinet, saying, “I’m about to head out.”
“Perfect then!” Mikazuki Haruna’s eyes lit up as she immediately chimed in, “Ride with me! I’m your direct senior student, so I have the duty to take you to register. Hurry up, don’t dawdle.”
As she spoke, she reached out to grab Sakamoto Ken’s arm.
Sakamoto Ken stepped back half a pace and said, “No thanks, I’m still waiting for Mio. We agreed to go together.”
“Mio?!” Mikazuki Haruna pouted and said, “What’s the big deal about waiting for her? She doesn’t even know the registration process at school. If I take you, you won’t have to run around looking for the way.”
Just as she finished speaking, Sakamoto Ken’s phone in his pocket rang opportunely.
Sakamoto Ken took out his phone and glanced at the caller ID.
Natsume Mio.
As if on purpose, he casually tilted the lit-up phone screen toward Mikazuki Haruna.
This let Mikazuki Haruna clearly see the name flashing on the screen, and only then did he unhurriedly press the answer button.
“Hello, Mio?”
“A Jian! Something happened!” Natsume Mio’s voice came from the other end, with noisy crowd sounds and faint siren noises in the background. “The train has stopped running! It’s a personal accident. There’s a big crowd over there. It seems someone jumped…”
Sakamoto Ken frowned slightly upon hearing this, but he kept his tone as calm as possible: “Don’t worry. If the train stopped, take the bus or a taxi. Don’t squeeze in to look.”
After all, personal accidents in Tokyo weren’t big news—just something briefly mentioned in news broadcasts.
Then station staff quickly clear it up, issue delay certificates to stranded office workers, and the train resumes running as scheduled.
“No, no, I’m not going to look… I’m already heading to the bus stop. I might be a bit late getting to you…” Natsume Mio’s voice still sounded a little panicked.
“Okay, be safe.” Sakamoto Ken gently reassured her. “Registration can be done all day today, so being late is fine. Be careful on the road.”
After hanging up, Sakamoto Ken looked up at Mikazuki Haruna.
Haruna had been a bit sulky at first, but she quickly forced a smile and said, “How about this? When she arrives, we all go to school together? Riding in my car is way more convenient than squeezing onto a bus, right?”
Sakamoto Ken knew that since she had come all the way here early in the morning, she wouldn’t give up easily.
Fine, together it is.
“Alright.” Sakamoto Ken nodded in agreement. “Then you drive us.”
“Yay!” Mikazuki Haruna cheered immediately, then put her hands on her hips, tilted her head at him, and said, “So… you’re just going to make me stand outside the door the whole time?”
Sakamoto Ken stepped aside again: “Come in.”
“Excuse me~”
Mikazuki Haruna happily stepped into the entrance.
She took off her small leather shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor inside.
She casually pulled out a chair and sat down, her two legs wrapped in black stockings gently swinging in the air.
At that moment, the studio door was knocked on again.
Sakamoto Ken got up to open it. This time, it was Ryū Kōshin who entered, backpack on his back, looking quite spirited.
“Sakamoto Sensei, good morning!”
“Good morning, Ryuu-san.”
Ryū Kōshin walked into the studio and immediately spotted Mikazuki Haruna sitting in the chair swinging her legs.
He was slightly stunned, then his face showed surprise, and soon after, as if recognizing her, his eyes lit up.
“Huh? This is… Miyuki Haru Sensei?!”
Hearing someone recognize her, Mikazuki Haruna’s smile became even brighter.
She immediately stood up from the chair, even smoothing her hair a bit, before saying reservedly: “Yes, I’m Miyuki Haru~. You’re the assistant, right? You read my manga too?”
Ryū Kōshin hurriedly bowed slightly to Mikazuki Haruna, his tone excited: “Nice to meet you! I’ve been reading Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose! I’m still studying Miyuki Haru Sensei’s drawing techniques—the panel details are amazing!”
Although the studio assistants like Shijiyuan handled the drawing details, this didn’t stop Mikazuki Haruna from happily accepting the praise.
She grinned and said very receptively: “Thanks for the support~”
Ryū Kōshin glanced at Mikazuki Haruna, then at Sakamoto Ken beside her, and was about to ask: “Sakamoto Sensei, you and Miyu… um…”
The words were on the tip of his tongue when he realized the question might be inappropriate, so he swallowed them back, just chuckling and quickly walking to his seat to pretend to start working.
Sakamoto Ken didn’t say much, just briefly introducing to Mikazuki Haruna: “This is my drawing assistant, Ryū Kōshin.”
Mikazuki Haruna nodded, taking note.
Soon after, Kaku Yuji and Endo Tatsuya arrived at the studio one after another.
Ryū Kōshin must have watched the JUMP live broadcast, but the other two hadn’t paid attention to those events, so they didn’t recognize Mikazuki Haruna.
Seeing an unfamiliar pretty girl in the studio, they were curious but didn’t approach to chat, just greeted Sakamoto Ken and headed to their seats.
Feeling a bit bored, Mikazuki Haruna waved at them and said hi: “Hello~”
Endo Tatsuya and Kaku Yuji then responded with slightly awkward bows.
They were both wondering about this girl’s relationship with Sakamoto Sensei, but out of professionalism, they didn’t ask.
Ryū Kōshin couldn’t hold back and whispered to Endo Tatsuya beside him: “Endou-san, you don’t read that other super popular manga on JUMP+ lately?”
“Which one?” Endo Tatsuya looked puzzled.
“Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose! The one that updates twice a week like Sakamoto Sensei!”
Hearing the name, Endo Tatsuya suddenly realized: “Oh oh! Yeah, I’ve been reading that one. The art style is awesome. What’s up?”
Ryū Kōshin jerked his mouth toward Mikazuki Haruna and whispered: “See, that’s the author of Young Lady, Miyuki Haru Sensei.”
“Ah?!”
Endo Tatsuya and Kaku Yuji exclaimed in unison, turning to look at Mikazuki Haruna with shock on their faces.
They quickly stood up and bowed to Mikazuki Haruna again.
“Hello, Miyuki Haru Sensei!”
Kaku Yuji couldn’t hold back his curiosity and carefully asked: “Um… Miyuki Haru Sensei, why are you at Sakamoto Sensei’s studio?”
Before Mikazuki Haruna could answer, Endo Tatsuya smacked the back of his head: “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t!”
“Yes, yes! That was rude!” Kaku Yuji quickly lowered his head.
Mikazuki Haruna didn’t mind. She moved her chair to sit next to Sakamoto Ken’s workbench, looking with interest at the storyboard draft spread out on his desk.
“Sakamoto Ken Sensei~, your efficiency must be much higher now that you have assistants, right?”
Sakamoto Ken nodded: “Yeah.”
“So how far have you drawn the manuscript? What about the storyboard?” Mikazuki Haruna asked casually.
Of course she knew Sakamoto Ken’s progress.
Hanabe Kyoko had already brought back all the photocopies she could get for her to see.
Asking now was just to get Sakamoto Ken to show her the manuscripts voluntarily, so she could openly discuss the upcoming plot in front of him.
And pretend it was her first time seeing them, hiding the fact that she was the sponsor behind the scenes.
Sakamoto Ken didn’t think much of it and lightly patted the thick stack of storyboard drafts nearby: “Manuscript up to chapter 22 is submitted. Storyboard up to chapter 30.”
“Eh—?!” Mikazuki Haruna exaggeratedly drew out an “eh,” her face showing perfectly timed surprise. “That fast?!”
Sakamoto Ken paused his pen and looked at her with a hint of curiosity: “Why does it feel like you already knew? Did you talk to Kaji?”
“No, no!” Mikazuki Haruna’s heart skipped a beat as she waved her hands in denial. “How would I know? I want to see it too!”
Sakamoto Ken stared at her for a few seconds but didn’t press further, saying: “You can see it, but no time today. We’re heading out soon.”
“Then… show me next time?” Mikazuki Haruna immediately followed up.
“Sure.” Sakamoto Ken nodded.
He picked up his phone, opened the LINE chat with Natsume Mio, and quickly typed and sent a message.
Sakamoto Ken: 「 How much longer? 」
Almost instant reply.
Natsume Mio: 「 Almost there! Just reaching the residential area, five minutes! 」
Sakamoto Ken’s fingers flew as he typed more.
Sakamoto Ken: 「 She came this morning too. We’ll all go to school together later. 」
Natsume Mio: 「 Who? 」
Sakamoto Ken: 「 Mikazuki Haruna. 」
Message read.
But no reply came.
Sakamoto Ken hadn’t hidden his phone from Mikazuki Haruna beside him while messaging.
She leaned over and clearly saw the entire chat on the screen.
She said five minutes, but not even two minutes later, urgent knocking came from outside the studio door.
Sakamoto Ken got up to open the door.
Standing outside was Natsume Mio.
She seemed to have run over, her chest heaving dramatically as she panted heavily.
Her gaze immediately went inside the studio, precisely locking onto Mikazuki Haruna.
Then her eyes quickly scanned the three assistants sitting on the other side.
Seeing that Sakamoto Ken and Mikazuki Haruna weren’t alone in the studio, her tense expression visibly relaxed, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Natsume Mio entered the entrance and quietly asked Sakamoto Ken: “Those three are the assistants you hired, A Jian?”
Sakamoto Ken nodded: “Yeah.”
Natsume Mio immediately put on a sweet smile and greeted the three assistants gracefully: “Hi, hello~”
The three assistants were a bit confused but politely replied: “Hello.”
Kaku Yuji’s gaze fell on Natsume Mio’s red-pink braided hairstyle, and he uncertainly said: “That hairstyle, is it Miss Makima?”
Natsume Mio’s smile widened, and she even turned slightly to show off her hair: “Yep~ I did it just like Miss Makima’s hair.”
Ryū Kōshin recalled: “Right! I saw it on Twitter—the JUMP official account’s volume promo video preview. Could the actress be…”
“That’s right! It’s me~” Natsume Mio admitted immediately.
The three assistants exchanged shocked glances.
The promo video should feature an actress, right?
Why was she at Sakamoto Sensei’s studio?
And… she seemed really close to him.
After introducing herself, Natsume Mio immediately turned her attention to Mikazuki Haruna.
“Why are you here at A Jian’s again?” Her tone was no longer as polite as before.
Mikazuki Haruna crossed her arms without backing down, raising an eyebrow at her: “What’s it to you? A Jian didn’t say I couldn’t come.”
Natsume Mio was stumped for a moment but fired back: “Are you that close to A Jian? Calling him by his nickname directly.”
Mikazuki Haruna pouted: “He called me Haruna first.”
Natsume Mio immediately turned to Sakamoto Ken, her eyes full of accusation.
Sakamoto Ken felt a headache coming on. He stepped forward to interrupt the growing tension: “Alright, Mio, Haruna, it’s about time. We should head to school.”
As soon as he spoke, Natsume Mio reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him toward the door.
“Come on, A Jian, let’s go!”
Her movement was fast and forceful—she had some strength—and Sakamoto Ken was caught off guard, nearly stumbling.
“Wait! I still need my bag…”
Sakamoto Ken quickly pulled free, returned to his spot, grabbed his shoulder bag, and slung it on.
Then, he was escorted by the two girls, one on each side, toward the door.
Before leaving, Sakamoto Ken turned back to instruct the three assistants in the studio: “I have to go to school. You three wait in the studio for a bit. Kaji said she’s coming soon. You can ask her if you need anything.”
With that, Natsume Mio slammed the door shut with a bang.
In the studio, only the three assistants were left staring at each other.
Ryū Kōshin looked at the closed door, thoughtfully stroking his chin, and after a moment said: “What do you think Sakamoto Sensei’s relationship is with those two girls…”
“Ahem!” Endo Tatsuya cleared his throat twice and said, “We shouldn’t pry into what doesn’t concern us…”
“Yes, yes…” Kaku Yuji nodded quickly in agreement, burying himself in drawing but still muttering enviously, “Sakamoto Sensei is so lucky… So talented, and with two such pretty girlfriends…”
“The key is…” Ryū Kōshin continued, “He can have two girlfriends at once, and they haven’t even fought?”
Endo Tatsuya asked: “They haven’t fought?”
Ryū Kōshin and Kaku Yuji fell silent for a moment, recalling the tense atmosphere earlier.
And the scene of Sakamoto Sensei being dragged away at the end, both sighing.
“As expected of Sakamoto Sensei.”
“A role model for us all!”
Over 10,000 words updated today!!!
Monthly tickets please~~
