Chaebol

The editor-in-chief, having finished his phone call, approached me with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Then, as if he had committed a crime, he cautiously spoke up.

"Th-the CEO… is out for an important meeting."

"Does that mean I can't meet him?"

"Well, I think… um, how about meeting him around… dinner time?"

For someone like me, who is impatient by nature, waiting is the worst.

Perhaps he sensed my displeasure.

The editor-in-chief's back seemed to bend more and more until he was nearly bowing.

"Wh-what if I arrange for you to dine at one of the best restaurants in Tokyo? A place that doesn't accept regular guests but only caters to private clients. The chef has been making sushi for 30 years, so his skills are…."

"I'm not sure."

"A-ah, if the menu doesn't appeal to you, perhaps a Western-style meal at a top-class hotel… There's a trend now called 'Japanese Touch,' where traditional French cuisine is combined with Japanese flavors…"

"I came to discuss business, not to fill my stomach."

"My apologies."

I'm usually not a difficult person to deal with.

Despite all the hardships I endured in my past life, now that I've made some money, I have no intention of throwing my weight around.

Yet, the reason I'm maintaining such a stern attitude?

'Because this editor-in-chief plays quite a significant role in 'Weekly Manga.''

Even in the case of 'Dragon Ball,' it was heavily influenced by the editor-in-chief's input.

'He's the one who came up with the famous martial arts tournament format.'

While he's certainly well-suited for the serialized market, his characteristic of deeply involving himself in projects later has a significant impact on the premature end of 'Buzzer Beater.'

In other words.

'If I can manage this man well… 'Buzzer Beater' won't end at the Sanuong Arc!'

It's driven by my deep fandom for 'Buzzer Beater.'

'No matter what, I want to watch Shohoku's basketball for as long as possible!'

I looked at the editor-in-chief with a profound meaning in my gaze.

He, unaware of my inner thoughts, had a perplexed expression on his face.

It was still morning, yet the CEO wouldn't arrive until evening.

He was nervously shuffling his feet, probably worried I'd leave.

This was perfect.

Might as well set things straight while I'm here.

Just as I was making up my mind.

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

It sounded like someone was greeting people outside the door.

Knock, knock!

Soon, an urgent knock came at the door.

"Maybe someone brought drinks…"

The editor-in-chief glanced at me as he spoke.

"If you don't mind, may I check for a moment…?"

"Go ahead."

As soon as he turned the doorknob, a voice burst in.

"Is he still here?"

Instead of answering, the editor-in-chief quickly bowed his head.

"I asked if he's still here!"

"Y-yes, but… what about your meeting…?"

"Do you think the meeting matters right now?"

Through the slightly open door, I saw a middle-aged man fixing his clothes.

After combing his hair in a hurry, he stepped into the room with a deliberately measured gait.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Noma, the CEO of Shueisha Publishing."

***

The negotiations proceeded very simply.

While 'Weekly Manga' was competing internally among its subsidiaries, the parent company, Shueisha Publishing, was waging a bloodless war against its rival, Gangonsha.

In a capitalist market, money is ammunition!

In a situation where money is desperately needed, who would refuse a large-scale investment?

With the broad strokes agreed upon, only the finer details remained.

But we couldn't let our guard down until the end.

The same went for the other side.

"With that level of investment… it's common to have a say in management, but we entrust everything to professional managers."

In other words, they wanted to keep their current system unchanged and leave management and personnel matters to professionals.

"I agree. Manga isn't my field of expertise. I have no desire to interfere."

"Oh, I dreamt of a dragon last night, and here I am, meeting such a wonderful partner."

If it ended here, the atmosphere would have remained pleasant.

After all, if one side is giving so much, it would be strange if the atmosphere were tense!

But I wasn't going to make it easy.

"While I won't interfere with management, let's be clear on one thing."

"…?"

"Even if I'm not an expert in manga, I am more knowledgeable than anyone when it comes to secondary rights."

"S-secondary rights?"

"When creating games or producing animations based on IP owned by 'Weekly Manga,' we split the rights 80 to 20. How does that sound?"

"Who would receive 80 percent of the profits…?"

"Of course, that would be me."

"...!"

"There's no need to think it's unfair. I'll be funding the production of all projects utilizing secondary rights."

"So, not a single yen from Shueisha Publishing's capital would be spent, is that correct?"

Just lending the IP without any risk?

That might make sharing 20 percent of the profit seem reasonable.

But they should listen to the whole story.

"However, the royalties owed to the creators will need to be covered by Shueisha Publishing's share."

"What? We're only getting 20 percent, and you expect us to pay royalties from that?"

"I'll handle production, distribution, and marketing. Even if it's just plastering 'Dragon Ball' posters all over the U.S., do you have any idea how much labor costs are involved?"

At this, Noma appeared at a loss for words.

"Weren't you planning to expand into the U.S. market with 'Weekly Manga' anyway? You wouldn't fund that solely from within the publishing house…"

Naturally, they must have partnered with an American company.

In that case, they'd need to share the revenue with them, too.

"However, an 80-20 split might be a bit…."

"Of course. They didn't invest 5 billion yen into Shueisha Publishing."

There was little left to say against such a well-structured argument.

All that remained was to pull out the calculator and weigh the pros and cons.

"Could you give me a moment?"

"The sooner you decide, the better."

"…?"

"If you refuse, we'll have to look for other investment opportunities."

"Ot-other opportunities…?"

"Probably Gangonsha."

A direct statement that I would go to their rival publisher if they refused.

Even someone with a cold, rational demeanor would naturally be shaken by that.

Sure enough.

"Wh-what about a 70-30 split?"

"Not possible."

Noma's eyes twitched slightly.

"How about 75-25…?"

"..."

"We need to have something left for ourselves…"

"The royalties will be paid entirely from Shueisha Publishing's share."

"O-of course."

"Alright, let's proceed with a 75-25 split."

As soon as I answered.

"Whew…"

Noma let out a long-held breath.

Noma and I took turns signing the contract.

The battle with Gangonsha must not have been easy.

Looking down at the contract, Noma's expression seemed relieved.

He probably thought winning the immediate battle against Gangonsha was more important than potential secondary rights profits.

Noma extended his hand to me.

"I'm very pleased to have found such a valuable partner."

"The feeling is mutual."

"It's almost lunchtime. Would you care to join me for a meal?"

I shook my head slightly at his offer.

"There's something I need to resolve for 'Weekly Manga.'"

"…?"

At this, I turned to the editor-in-chief.

Naturally, Noma's gaze followed mine to the editor-in-chief.

At this point, well.

There was no way the quick-witted editor-in-chief would stay silent.

"Ah, if it's the contact information you mentioned, I'll get it to you right away…"

"Editor-in-chief."

"Yes?"

"As a shareholder, I'd like to make a suggestion for the future of 'Weekly Manga.'"

"A s-suggestion?"

The editor-in-chief glanced at Noma.

He was likely asking for guidance on how to proceed.

Since we'd just signed the contract, Noma's response was obvious.

The editor-in-chief quickly turned his head toward me, with a look that said, 'Just do whatever he says.'

"Go ahead."

"Bring Mr. Togashi here."

"Not just giving you his contact info…?"

"He's a promising writer who will be responsible for the future of 'Weekly Manga.' You should personally bring him here."

"Me… personally…?"

"Do you not want to?"

"N-not at all! If it's for recruiting a writer… I should even walk through fire to get the contract signed."

"Then I'll expect him by tomorrow."

"A-ah, but… I hate to say this, but…"

"…?"

"He's such a recluse that I can't guarantee anything by tomorrow…"

This was the moment when Noma, who had been silently listening, intervened.

"Chief Kazuhiro."

"Yes, CEO."

"We're talking about a writer who will be responsible for the future of 'Weekly Manga.' Even if the sky falls, you need to bring him in. Understand?"

"Excuse me?"

"If you can't manage that, then at least show you tried by splitting the sky open."

With the CEO saying this, what else could the editor-in-chief do?

"I-I'll go right away."

***

Kazuhiro drove a Toyota Corolla.

The most typical of compact cars.

Since he was single, the passenger seat was always filled with various things.

"..."

Today, he was carrying the heaviest load ever.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Jo Soo-deok."

"I'm Kazuhiro, the editor-in-chief of 'Weekly Manga.'"

Just this morning, Kazuhiro had been yelling at Jo Soo-deok.

Now, in just half a day, their roles had reversed.

Strictly speaking, they weren't in a direct superior-subordinate relationship.

But he was the right-hand man of a major investor!

How could he not feel uncomfortable?

"Sorry about this morning. It's the deadline season, so I've been on edge."

"It's fine. I was the one intruding and asking for a favor, after all."

"..."

"By the way, your personal information management is quite impressive."

"I really must apologize for that…"

"I'm not being sarcastic; I mean it sincerely."

Would sitting on a bed of nails be more comfortable than this?

He really would have preferred to go alone.

But Park Ji-hoon had slyly added Jo Soo-deok to the task, saying it would be a good learning experience!

Thanks to that, he had to concentrate even when driving over a speed bump.

With such difficulty, they finally reached Suzuki's house.

But, as expected.

Ding dong! Ding dong!

No response, even after ringing the doorbell.

"Maybe he's out?"

Jo Soo-deok asked, and Kazuhiro replied cautiously.

"He's quite lazy. I doubt he's out."

"…Then?"

"He might be pretending to be out to avoid working."

"Who would anticipate visitors and act like that…?"

"There are quite a few writers who are like this."

After saying that, Kazuhiro rolled up his sleeves.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to check if he's inside."

"…?"

"It'll only take five minutes."

With that, Kazuhiro quickly jumped over the fence.

The same man who made such a fuss about not sharing a phone number was now easily hopping over someone's fence.

'Perhaps enduring such irony is a key duty of an editor-in-chief!'

With a flimsy justification.

Thud!

Kazuhiro successfully scaled the wall.