Chapter 46: Everything Is Under Control
“Shijiyuan-san, did you hear that?”
“Mm… I heard it. What sound?”
“It’s Miyuki Haru Sensei, right?”
“Is Miyuki Haru Sensei talking?”
“She seems to have fallen asleep…”
“I’ll go take a look.”
Shijiyuan stood up and walked to Mikazuki Haruna’s desk.
Mikazuki Haruna was still lying on the flattened ergonomic chair, her head slightly tilted, her chest rising and falling evenly, sleeping soundly.
However, her lips mumbled and moved slightly.
“Don’t try to run…”
“What manuscript? Stop drawing, hand over the manuscript to me first.”
“You only kiss here? And there too…”
“Once isn’t enough, more…”
“Mm… again, again…”
“Ouch, ouch, it hurts, hurts… don’t do that…”
Shijiyuan turned around and looked at the other three manga assistants; they all had their eyes wide open, staring at Shijiyuan.
“What’s wrong with Miyuki Haru Sensei?” the assistant sitting closest asked.
Shijiyuan frowned in thought but couldn’t figure out the specific reason.
“Maybe she’s dreaming?” Shijiyuan said.
“So… what is Miyuki Haru Sensei dreaming about?”
The corner of Shijiyuan’s mouth curved up slightly, and he said, “Maybe she’s dreaming about those things with her boyfriend.”
“Eh? Does Miyuki Haru Sensei have a boyfriend?”
“It could also be an ex-boyfriend.”
“Haha, always dreaming about an ex-boyfriend means Miyuki Haru Sensei is nostalgic.”
“What about you? Do you miss your ex-boyfriend?”
“What are you talking about? My current boyfriend is so much better than my ex.” She held up five fingers.
“Wow, that’s impressive. Tell us, how does it feel…”
The assistants started chatting in low voices.
Shijiyuan checked the time; it had already been over an hour now.
Earlier, Haruna had told him to wake her up after an hour.
So, Shijiyuan walked to Haruna’s side and gently pushed her shoulder.
No reaction from one push; Shijiyuan increased the force and shook her again before Mikazuki Haruna suddenly opened her eyes.
Opening her eyes, she saw Shijiyuan standing beside her.
She just stared wide-eyed at Shijiyuan for several seconds, then shook her head, lightly patted her forehead, and said, “Only an hour has passed…”
“Miyuki Haru Sensei, it’s been an hour and ten minutes. I’m a bit late,” Shijiyuan said.
“Oh… got it…”
Mikazuki Haruna fiddled with the adjustment lever under the ergonomic chair, and the seat back straightened up again.
Seeing Shijiyuan still standing nearby, Mikazuki Haruna asked in doubt, “Shijiyuan-san? Is there something else?”
“Oh… no, nothing… I’ll keep drawing.”
Shijiyuan immediately returned to his seat.
The four assistants exchanged glances and silently pretended they hadn’t heard anything earlier, continuing with their work.
Haruna supported herself with both hands on the desk; in front of her was the manuscript for 《Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!》.
Just earlier, that guy had wanted to sit down and draw, but she stopped him.
Then she swept the drawings aside and, right in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the high-rise apartment, sat on the desk and hugged his back.
That sensation was quite amazing, to say the least.
She felt like she had deep emotions with him; they had done everything together, so nothing was strange.
Thinking about it, the man named Sakamoto Ken whom she had seen at Shueisha back then…
Why did she always dream about him…
Mikazuki Haruna pressed her temples with both hands, completely puzzled.
Could it be that he and I were a couple in a previous life, and only recently did I start remembering things from that previous life?
No, if it was a “previous life,” shouldn’t it be ancient times?
But it was clearly a modern room, and it was her own home…
Her parents had bought that house a few years ago; she had visited a few times but never lived there long-term.
The dream felt like it wasn’t just the present; it might even be the future.
But when she tried to look at things with time markers, they were all blurry and unclear.
Should she try to meet that Sakamoto Ken who draws 《Chainsaw Man》?
And ask him face-to-face…
…
Sakamoto Ken tugged at his pants.
He realized he was back in reality.
Looking at the rundown room, the open window, the fluttering curtain.
Feeling the cool breeze blowing into the room, he let out a long breath.
Good thing it was just a dream.
He had almost thought he was back in that awful love triangle.
Though he seemed enthusiastic earlier, he was actually panicking inside.
And because he got distracted for a moment, his action slowed, and she kicked his chest in complaint.
That girl even mischievously swung her foot toward his face, but Sakamoto Ken skillfully dodged and grabbed her ankle, lifting it up directly.
Haruna’s flexibility wasn’t as good as Mio’s; a slight bend and she was begging for mercy in pain.
If it were Mio, she could do a full split standing up.
He glanced at the time; he had actually slept for over an hour.
He had been holding her and heading to the large balcony outside.
The view from the high-rise apartment balcony was extremely open; looking out from the balcony, there were only low houses, so no one could see what they did here, and they could enjoy that free feeling in the open air.
But suddenly, Haruna in his arms froze, the scene in front of him collapsed, and after a bout of dizziness, he woke up…
First time dreaming about the previous life; his mood was very complicated.
On that day ten years later, at about the same afternoon time as now, under such sunlight, they stabbed him with a knife.
From rebirth to now, a month had passed; he thought he had gotten over the psychological trauma, but apparently not.
Since he dreamed about details from the previous life, it meant he was still dwelling on those things.
Recalling the start of the previous life, which was when he first reborn in Tokyo.
After a brief adjustment to this world, Sakamoto Ken didn’t care about the mess at home at all.
He treated that life like a romance galgame, thinking of himself as the male protagonist from the Tokyo stories he liked back then.
Whatever, now that he’s reborn, everything is under control.
But he had to admit, that dream was pretty nice; he had never had such a realistic dream in this life.
Natsume Mio had told him that lately she kept having similar dreams.
She said in those dreams, they were together, living in this rundown apartment.
Not just Mio; in an interview at Shueisha, Haruna mentioned that her 《Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!》 came from a dream.
Though they didn’t explain in detail, Sakamoto Ken now suspected they were both dreaming about things from the previous life.
So, my rebirth also affected them somehow?
Sakamoto Ken sat at the desk, twirling a pen in his hand, head lowered in thought.
First, he could rule out that they had also reborn; otherwise, they would already be showing up at his door with a yandere trope.
That meant his rebirth came with all the memories from the previous life.
While they just had some strange dreams.
Complete memories vs. dream memories; that’s an information gap.
He could fully exploit this information advantage; after all, right now he only had to deal with the two of them.
If he couldn’t handle this, then the previous life was a total waste.
