27 Eriri's Wrath

"Minamiya-sama?" Ayano heard the chief editor's murmur and repeated it under her breath.

The chief editor, however, ignored her and went straight to reading the manga...

In just a short while, he finished reading all three chapters of the submission. As expected, the old ginger was still spicy. The chief editor's expression remained unchanged, unlike the other editors.

Nodding in satisfaction, the chief editor said with a smile, "Good, very good! It's indeed a rare masterpiece!"

Then, he turned to Ayano and said, "Editor Iida, I'm entrusting this work to you for signing!"

Surprised, Ayano asked, "Now? The contest hasn't ended yet!"

"Well, this person is somewhat special. If the author is really Minamiya-sama, then let's sign him now!" The chief editor explained to Ayano, "As for the ranking of the contest, it will be announced after the contest ends, and it won't affect the signing process."

Ayano nodded in understanding and asked curiously, "Chief editor, may I ask who this Minamiya-sama is?"

After pondering for a moment, the chief editor decided to reveal, "Very well, since you're going to be his editor, it's alright to tell you."

With that, he signaled for others to leave.

The other editors looked at Ayano with envy before leaving and returning to their own workstations.

With everyone gone, the chief editor and Ayano went to the side, and the chief editor whispered a sentence.

"Our Manke Bunko... is under the Minamiya Family." With that, the chief editor left, leaving Ayano standing there with an enlightened expression.

"No wonder..." Ayano muttered to herself, smiled, and said, "I'm really looking forward to meeting Minamiya-sama."

Afterward, she returned to her seat with light steps.

===

Toyogasaki High School.

Homura was having lunch with the three girls.

Utaha, eating her own bento, exclaimed, "I never thought that Homura-kun would prepare bento for us. Thank you so much."

"It's not a big deal. I just made a little more than usual, and with the help of Megumi, it was actually easier," Homura waved his hand, signaling the girls not to worry about it.

*Buzz!*

Homura felt his phone vibrate and picked it up to see an unfamiliar number.

"I'll take this call first," he said to the girls before answering the unknown call.

"Hello, is this Minamiya-sensei?" A mature female voice came from the other end of the line.

'Minamiya-sensei?' Homura thought for a moment and realized it was probably about his manga.

Was Eriri's mouth said really happening so fast? She just talked about it this morning!

"Yes, I am Minamiya. Who am I speaking with?" Homura politely asked, guessing that it was the editor.

Ayano, the manga editor for Manke Weekly, was surprised by the young voice on the other end of the line. It must be Minamiya-sama.

"Hello, Minamiya-sensei. I'm Iida Ayano, the manga editor for Manke Weekly. I'm contacting you about the signing of your manga 'Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun'," Ayano calmly stated the purpose of her call.

'Iida Ayano?' Homura was somewhat surprised. This familiar name belonged to Shiina Mashiro's manga editor!

In this chaotic world, Homura had been shocked many times, so he quickly calmed down, and the voice on the other end of the phone came again, "Minamiya-sensei?"

"I'm sorry, I was a little surprised. Hasn't the contest not ended yet? How did you sign a contract so soon?" Homura asked in confusion.

"You're right, but it doesn't stop us from signing with you. After the contest is over, we'll announce the rankings."

Homura understood that exceptionally promising works would receive preferential treatment, otherwise, what if another publishing house snatched them up?

'I can sign, but I don't have the time now!'

Homura hesitated, "Iida-san, I'm at school right now. How about we meet on Saturday to discuss the signing?"

"Okay, Minamiya-sensei, where should we meet on Saturday?" Ayano asked.

Homura thought about it and it was impossible to be in his home, because of the shy Sagiri, and said, "I'll leave the location to Iida-san to decide!"

"Okay... when I've decided on the location, I'll let you know, Minamiya-sensei. Thank you for your understanding. Goodbye," Ayano said goodbye.

"No problem. See you next time," Homura replied.

After hanging up the phone and saving Iida Ayano's number, Homura shrugged at the three girls who were looking over.

"If you have any questions, just ask."

Eriri couldn't help but speak up first.

"Minamiya, was the person who just called you the editor for 'Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun'?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too! I didn't expect them to call so soon after uploading my work yesterday."

Utaha then asked, "But didn't the contest not end yet? How did they start talking about signing a contract?"

Homura smiled, "Well, they're just trying to secure me before I run off and sign with another publisher."

Finally, Megumi asked, "So, have you decided to sign the contract?"

As soon as he heard Iida Ayano's name, he had already made up his mind to sign.

Homura nodded and replied, "Yes, I was planning to have her come to my home this weekend to discuss the details, but I realized there was Sagiri and as you know she was a bit shy and afraid of strangers, so I let the editor herself choose the location."

"Oh, by the way..." Homura remembered something he had promised Sagiri and turned to Eriri.

"Eriri, I promised Sagiri last night that you would come to her room after school today to meet her!"

Eriri was shocked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Sagiri wants to meet me today? No way! The shy girl who's always hiding in her room all this time and yet she suddenly wants to meet me?! What did you do!?"

Homura stepped back slightly and awkwardly laughed.

"Hehe, Um... I told her about your "secret" identity to her, and she reluctantly agreed."

"!!!"

"You little...!!!" Eriri jumped up and tried to grab him, but Homura ran away.

"Stop right there!" Eriri shouted as she chased after him. "How many people are you going to tell about my private life!?"

Homura ran around Utaha and Megumi, explaining, "Only a few of us know, and besides, Sagiri will be joining our club soon anyway, so it's just a matter of time, might as well let her know in advance since both of you already know each other online right?! I also want her to grow up as soon as possible in her arts or other areas, so this is necessary!"

Eriri finally stopped, panting heavily.

She said in a displeased tone, "Isn't she already talented enough? She's already famous in the industry, while I'm just a mere doujinshi artist!"

Homura also stopped and said seriously, "Sagiri still has a lot of room for improvement, and I think you can also make more progress together with her. It's good for both of you as fellow artists and illustrators to exchange ideas and learn from each other!"

Eriri didn't say anything, but her expression showed that she reluctantly agreed with Homura's words.

Utaha then raised a question, "Homura-kun, does that mean there's nothing Megumi and I can do?"