Chapter 74: Delicious Woman
“They all say writers infuse their thoughts and beliefs into their works. I think that’s absolutely right. Um… Denji is the male protagonist under my pen.”
In the previous life, Sakamoto Ken had actually considered using such lines on them.
But at that time, the relationship was already confirmed, and saying such things would purely be scumbag talk.
But for now, the two are just classmates, so saying such things is completely fine.
Anyway, the words have already been said to this point. If you’re still willing to take it further, it’s obviously not my problem, right?
Natsume Mio’s expression shifted from brief surprise to a gentle smile as she said, “A Jian really has the beliefs of a manga male protagonist.”
Sakamoto Ken nodded accordingly and said, “Writers are like that. If you don’t have the same beliefs as the protagonist, you definitely can’t create excellent works.”
“Alright, alright, that means reality and manga are definitely different…”
Before Natsume Mio could finish, Sakamoto Ken interrupted her: “Right, I have a short story manga I’m currently creating. Do you want to see it?”
“Eh? Is that okay?!” Natsume Mio’s eyes immediately lit up.
Sakamoto Ken picked up a stack of manuscript paper and flipped it to the side of the desk facing Natsume Mio: “It’s actually not finished yet. The best part is still left, but you can look at the front part.”
Natsume Mio looked at these sheets of manuscript paper with a completely different texture from the printed copy and carefully picked up the first page.
“It’s the texture of ink, eh. A Jian draws so delicately.” Natsume Mio said.
While Natsume Mio was looking, Sakamoto Ken sat back down at his desk, took out new manuscript paper, and continued drawing the next page.
The soft sound of page-turning from behind was very slow, and Natsume Mio didn’t seem to have the intense emotional ups and downs like when she read Chainsaw Man earlier.
At this moment, Sakamoto Ken heard her sniff softly.
Turning his head, he saw tears welling up in Natsume Mio’s eyes, and she even held the manuscript paper farther away to avoid tears dripping on it.
“A Jian, after they separate, they’ll cooperate again, right…”
Natsume Mio flipped through page by page, and a very ominous thought bubbled up in her heart.
“No… could it be… there’s a knife?”
「This noon at the campus of Yamagata City Art University in Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City, an incident occurred where a homeless man wielded an item resembling an axe and swung it at a student.」
Natsume Mio directly placed the manuscript paper on the desk, not daring to hold it in her hand, afraid she might accidentally damage it.
She flipped the pages with trepidation.
She saw a serialization suspension notice, and a portrait among a bouquet of flowers.
When she wanted to flip further, there was no more.
Natsume Mio said softly, “A Jian, this… it twists later, right?”
Sakamoto Ken shook his head while drawing: “No, Kyomoto really died.”
“Ah… but, but…”
“There’s still about 30% of the content left to draw, so you can look forward to it.”
“But Kyomoto is already dead, it’s already knifed…”
“No problem, it can be knifed deeper, then slashed horizontally once more.”
“Eh?”
Natsume Mio looked at Sakamoto Ken’s back as he drew, then at that stack of manuscript paper, not daring to look at the plot that followed.
At the opening of the manga, it was the friendship and cooperation of two girls, then separation.
By the time of separation, she already wanted to cry a little, and knowing it led to eternal parting, she finally couldn’t hold back her tears.
She empathized too much with the emotions in the work.
A Jian said to knife even deeper later, but the person is already dead—how to knife deeper?
Natsume Mio flipped to the cover page.
There was a line of small text, probably about the theme of the whole work: Heart-piercing pain.
As expected…
But A Jian can actually draw such a work?
Chainsaw Man is clearly a hot-blooded battle manga…
Hiss…?
Natsume Mio suddenly had a terrible thought.
That is, 《Chainsaw Man》 even if she read A Jian’s manuscript in advance, she only got to episode 16, which for a long serialization is just the opening.
Later… could there be a knife?!
It can’t be worse than a knife—it’s a chainsaw, right?
Sakamoto Ken put down his pen; he had just finished drawing the next page.
Fujii returned to Kyomoto’s old home in her hometown and stood at the doorway of her room.
He placed this page of manuscript paper on top of the stack Natsume Mio had just organized.
Natsume Mio saw the heroine’s expression in the illustration; her own expression at this moment was almost identical.
Eyes downcast, lips pressed tight, eyes full of sorrow.
“Why does A Jian draw tragedy works…” Natsume Mio asked.
“The world’s most famous works are mostly tragedies.” Sakamoto Ken said calmly, “Power fantasies are about gaining, like gaining wealth, beauties, power, and such, but not everyone craves these. It’s just following the protagonist through a false story for a dose of mental excitement.”
“But if it’s about loss… losing a loved one, it will make readers remember it for a lifetime.” Sakamoto Ken explained.
“Loss… a loved one…” Natsume Mio murmured the words in repetition.
Sakamoto Ken continued smoothly: “For example, a character in the manga swings a knife at their loved one, butchers them, then regrets it and sobs… such a plot would be remembered by readers for a lifetime, right.”
“Ah?”
Natsume Mio was slightly stunned. She clenched her fists, her arms trembling faintly, and the incredibly clear sensation from her memory… the feeling of the knife piercing the other’s body, came back to her.
Looking at Sakamoto Ken in front of her, a sense of regret welled up from the bottom of her heart.
“No, don’t! Not this plot!” Natsume Mio said, “A Jian, in a short story, having a knife or whatever is normal, but 《Chainsaw Man》…”
No problem, Denji-kun didn’t swing a knife, he swung a chainsaw.
And there was no regret; instead, it felt especially delicious.
Sakamoto Ken smiled slightly and said, “What are you thinking? A short story is a short story, a long serialization is a long serialization; the creation of the two types of works is different.”
“Phew…” Natsume Mio relaxed a bit and said, “Exactly, a woman as good as Makima will definitely be happy together later.”
Seeing the strange smile at the corner of Sakamoto Ken’s mouth, Natsume Mio added, “A Jian, actually, what kind of woman is Makima under your pen?”
Sakamoto Ken pretended to think and said, “A delicious woman.”
“A delicious woman?” Natsume Mio asked doubtfully, “Does that mean a kiss?”
Sakamoto Ken didn’t explain much: “I haven’t even thought about the plot after Chainsaw Man.”
“Ah, sorry… A Jian, that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to interfere with your creation.” Natsume Mio knelt properly on the tatami and bowed slightly to Sakamoto Ken.
Sakamoto Ken stretched lazily, loosening his body, and said, “Alright, I need to keep drawing next, or I’ll have to stay up late again.”
Natsume Mio quickly packed up the finished bento box, checked the time, and said, “Then I won’t disturb A Jian’s creation! I’ll take the trash down for you~”
Sakamoto Ken sat by the window, watching Natsume Mio leave the apartment building and soon disappear around the corner ahead.
