Chapter 58: 24.7 Million
In the afternoon, Sakamoto Ken sat at the desk and continued drawing《Look Back》.
The lines in Look Back are more refined than those in Chainsaw Man, and the emotions are calmer too, so Sakamoto Ken drew more slowly.
Unlike when drawing Chainsaw Man, when Sakamoto Ken would enter a state where he himself became hot-blooded, with the pen in his hand drawing extremely fast.
The G-pen in Sakamoto Ken’s hand moved steadily across the manuscript paper, the lines outlining the delicate emotional changes on the girl’s face.
At that moment, his mobile phone buzzed with vibration.
Sakamoto Ken glanced at the caller ID on the screen: Uchida Shunta.
He immediately frowned and put down the pen.
This was the pro bono lawyer he had previously commissioned, who was specifically handling the mess of debt his father had left behind.
Sakamoto Ken put down the paintbrush and answered the call.
“Hello, Sakamoto-san, this is Uchida.” A highly formulaic voice came from the other end of the line.
“Uchida-san, is there a result regarding the debt?” Sakamoto Ken’s tone was equally calm.
“That’s right.” Uchida said, “Regarding the debt reduction, after several rounds of negotiations, the creditor finally only agreed to waive all interest accrued so far, but the principal… I’m sorry, the other side’s attitude is very firm.”
“The amount is still over twenty million yen?” Sakamoto Ken asked.
He felt no ripples in his heart, after all, it was a result he had already anticipated, completely consistent with his memory from the previous life.
“Yes, after deducting the interest and a small portion of reduction, the remaining total amount is 24.7 million yen.” The lawyer’s voice paused, “If Sakamoto-san finds this amount still hard to accept, I can try to negotiate with them further, but… to be honest, there’s not much hope.”
In the previous life, for this money, he had gone back and forth with this lawyer for months after the start of school, even went to court, but the final result was no different from now.
“No need, Lawyer Uchida.” Sakamoto Ken said straightforwardly, “This amount is fine, but I can’t pay it off all at once right now.”
Sakamoto Ken continued, “I’m going to university next, so I’ll wait until after graduation and repay it in installments.”
“That’s exactly how I proposed it to them.” Lawyer Uchida said, “Considering your actual situation, this plan makes sense both emotionally and rationally, the court will support it, and the creditor has also indicated they can accept it.”
“That’s good, thank you for your trouble.”
“So, Sakamoto-san, do you have time to come to our agency tomorrow? We need to confirm the final agreement in person and sign the relevant documents.”
“Tomorrow… then I’ll come in the afternoon.”
Friday evening he had to go to Shueisha for the live broadcast, and the law firm was right in Chiyoda Ward, so it was on the way.
“Of course, see you tomorrow afternoon then.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Sakamoto Ken looked at the half-finished manuscript paper in front of him and let out a long breath.
Twenty-four million seven hundred thousand yen.
In the previous life, this number had weighed on him so heavily he could barely breathe.
Luckily, Haruna later helped him pay it off directly, otherwise he didn’t know how many years he would have to carry the debt.
He opened the bank app on his mobile phone and looked at the balance: 72,350 yen.
This amount of money was only enough to pay two months’ rent.
Or rather, only enough for one month’s rent and living expenses.
However, as long as he waited until royalty fees day, everything would get better.
After all, on March 25th, he expected over a million yen in royalty fees to arrive.
As for that debt, it would depend on whether this《Look Back》 in his hands could get a good ranking in the call for submissions.
Even if it didn’t get one, it didn’t matter; at least in the four years before university graduation, he wouldn’t have to worry about the debt.
Four years was enough time to earn sufficient royalty fees with《Chainsaw Man》.
If possible, he wanted to pay off this debt as soon as he could.
Without the debt, his mind would naturally feel much lighter.
After all, in the previous life, the reason he got caught in that complicated love triangle was that this debt was an important trigger.
For the money, he had gladly accepted that young lady’s tip…
…
After resting for a bit, Sakamoto Ken continued and finished the storyboard for this page on the desk.
He glanced at the time; it was already eight in the evening.
He got up, stretched his muscles and bones, changed into clothes for going out, and headed to the convenience store.
The store was brightly lit, and Miyamoto Shota was wandering around bored.
Seeing Sakamoto Ken come in, he quickly greeted him.
“A Jian!”
“Shota, why aren’t you on the late shift today?” Sakamoto Ken asked casually.
“Don’t mention it,” Miyamoto Shota had a face full of utter despair, “After so many late shifts, I feel like my body has been drained empty; I must adjust my sleep schedule back.”
“You’re right, flipping day and night is bad for the body.”
“More than just bad for the body!” Miyamoto Shota sighed and said, “I just got a girlfriend, and because of my late shifts, she broke up with me a couple days ago!”
“Why?”
“She said being with me, there’s no sex life…”
“What about daytime?” Sakamoto Ken asked in doubt.
“Huh? Daytime…” Miyamoto Shota’s face instantly turned bright red, and he stammered, “That… um… mainly… anyway, it’s because of the late shifts… I’m recuperating my body now…”
Sakamoto Ken pursed lips, understanding in his heart.
You guy, is it really the late shift problem? Probably some unspeakable issue.
He really couldn’t handle it; one girlfriend was too much for him—if he dated three at once, wouldn’t his kidneys explode on the spot?
Miyamoto Shota quickly changed the topic; he walked to the magazine shelf, picked up a《Weekly Shonen JUMP》.
“Hey, A Jian, you really got serialized in JUMP!”
Sakamoto Ken shrugged, “You read it? What did you think?”
“Awesome! I’ve subscribed to JUMP+, caught up on all your updates, didn’t expect A Jian you really became a manga artist!” Miyamoto Shota said, “Oh right, should I call you… Sensei Sakamoto Ken from now on!”
“Stop joking.” Sakamoto Ken waved his hand, took a half-price bento from the cooler and put it on the cash register, “Heat it up for me.”
Sakamoto Ken didn’t take the bento home; he sat down directly in the store’s dining area.
Miyamoto Shota soon came over too and sat across from him.
Miyamoto Shota asked, “By the way, A Jian, that money from your dad, you’re really going to pay it back?”
“Of course,” Sakamoto Ken said matter-of-factly, “unless I want to be a deadbeat for life.”
“Tsk tsk, that’s really not easy…”
“Seriously, A Jian, I used to think about becoming a manga artist, even thought about being a novelist.” He had a face full of emotion, “But it was just thinking; I gave up after less than half a month.”
“Creation isn’t easy,” Sakamoto Ken swallowed a mouthful of rice, “you need a very strong drive to persist.”
“So how can I get that drive?” Miyamoto Shota asked humbly for advice.
Sakamoto Ken looked up, stared at him seriously, and gave his advice: “First rack up twenty million yen in debt, and you’ll have drive.”
Miyamoto Shota: “…”
