Manuscripts?
Pfft! What even is that?
"Lin-kun, you really should take better care of your health and not stay up so late all the time," Nanako reminded him gently. "If you keep that up for too long, your body won't be able to handle it."
She didn't try to keep Lin Yu from leaving. It was late after all. But as his editor, it was only natural for her to show concern.
The relationship between an editor and a mangaka was, in some ways, like that between a celebrity and their manager—just look at Ōhara Shijūrō's editor, who'd practically become his full-time babysitter.
"Mm, don't worry. I'm not the type to treat my health like it's worthless."
"Well then, I'll be off. See you tomorrow morning."
Lin Yu stood up as he spoke. Kanda Torinobu and Nanako both walked him to the door.
Torinobu was close with Nanako, so he wasn't planning on heading home that night.
They saw Lin Yu off at the gate, and after watching his figure disappear down the street, Nanako returned indoors.
Thinking back to the news from the editorial department today, she couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement, a smile tugging at her lips.
'Lin-kun really is a talented guy.'
As she was thinking this and preparing to gather the teacups on the table, she caught sight of her father flipping the last page of the manuscript. His face was full of unfulfilled satisfaction.
"Dad, what do you think? Isn't Inuyasha an amazing piece of work?"
Faced with his daughter's expectant question, Ōhara Shijūrō, despite his pride as a novelist, had no choice but to admit it—even if a bit begrudgingly.
From every angle, Inuyasha was undoubtedly a brilliant, applause-worthy series.
"Mm… yeah, it's pretty good... but compared to my novels, it's still lacking just a bit..."
He didn't want to admit it too easily in front of his daughter. In his eyes, Lin Yu still seemed like he had ulterior motives toward Nanako.
Seeing her dad's stubborn expression, Nanako chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.
"I have Lin-kun's new manuscript draft here. Want to take a look?"
"Yes!"
The answer came out reflexively. And the moment he said it, Ōhara Shijūrō looked regretful and scratched his nose in embarrassment, making Nanako burst into bell-like laughter.
———
With the explosive popularity of Inuyasha, Lin Yu's life had, in many ways, become much easier.
At the very least, with his current income, living comfortably was no longer a problem.
So following his earlier plans, he refurbished his workspace—replacing his desk, upgrading to a better computer—and then quit his job at the sushi restaurant.
He'd only taken that job out of necessity. Now that survival wasn't on the table anymore, there was no need to continue doing hard physical labor.
Although both Nanako and Kanda Torinobu felt a bit wistful about it, they still supported his decision wholeheartedly.
After all, being able to focus solely on drawing was exactly what a mangaka should be doing.
Especially now that Inuyasha was on fire, Lin Yu had to pay extra attention to the quality of his work, among other things. Minimizing distractions and concentrating on his art was undoubtedly the best path forward.
When Inuyasha's second chapter was published, readers who had been eagerly waiting swarmed to buy the magazine, triggering another wave of sales.
The momentum brought by Inuyasha significantly boosted the magazine's overall circulation.
Even online, people had begun to buzz about it.
Granted, the internet in this era wasn't that developed yet. There weren't many flashy platforms or social media features, and things like hackers or paid posters were just starting to emerge.
Most websites resembled simple forums or chat rooms.
Still, those very forums became the perfect stage for Inuyasha discussion threads to explode.
The manga's reputation spread like wildfire.
"An Analysis of Inuyasha's Unique Worldbuilding"
"The Phenomenon Called Inuyasha: Shaking Up the Manga World!"
"Who Exactly Is the Mysterious Newcomer 'Teacher Qingsong'?"
And so on.
Threads like these popped up everywhere, and curiosity about Lin Yu himself only continued to grow.
People were dying to know: what kind of person could create such a fresh, fascinating story?
Lin Yu sat in front of his chunky, old-school desktop, scrolling through discussion threads online. His eyes gleamed with amusement, and every now and then, he even joined in the chatter to stir things up himself.
The wider the Inuyasha craze spread, the more benefit it brought to Lin Yu.
His system panel showed that his reputation points were climbing rapidly every single day.
Ever since chapter two started serialization, the growth had only accelerated—now increasing by over a hundred thousand points daily.
Lin Yu grinned, thrilled by the stats.
But he also understood that this was only the initial effect.
Once Inuyasha had been running for a while, people would get used to it. The influx of reputation points would slow down.
When the series' popularity fully saturated the entire Japanese market, the massive daily increases would plateau.
At that point, the growth would shift into a slow and steady stream. Maintaining that level forever simply wasn't realistic.
If he wanted another major boost in the future, he'd have to publish a new manga.
For now, Lin Yu had no plans to use his reputation points on the system's lottery feature again—it was too much of a scam.
He'd already wasted 10,000 points and got practically nothing in return.
If he wanted real powers or magical items, it would have to come from the two higher-tier lotteries.
And Lin Yu didn't believe for a second that the ten-thousand and million-point lotteries would be that stingy.
Still, before all that, he planned to invest in improving his artistic skills.
Sharpening the axe before chopping the wood, as the saying goes. Once his drawing speed improved, maybe he could finish all 600+ chapters of Inuyasha in advance and move on to a new project.
Because at a rate of one chapter a week, finishing over 600 chapters would take 12 whole years! That was way too slow and way too lazy.
With his goals now clearly defined, the rest was simple:
Shut out the world and draw.
Completely immersed in the craft.
At the Ōkawa Conveyor Belt Sushi Shop...
"Nanako, we haven't seen Lin-kun in a while, huh?"
Kanda Torinobu, bored as ever while cleaning up, chatted casually with Nanako.