As soon as she changed her shoes, Shouko eagerly walked into the living room, counting on her fingers all the interesting things that happened during those seven days.
Tsuna, meanwhile, took the seaside specialties given to him by Ajitani and placed them in the refrigerator in the dining room.
"Mom, let's talk about everything else later. Let Shouko go back and report her safety to Granny Nishimiya first," Tsuna heard Shouko talking about the test of courage as soon as he entered the living room.
Upon hearing this, Shizuka quickly told Shouko to go back and report to her family, as Yaeko and Grandma Ito had been just as worried as she had been during those seven days.
"Mom, did anything happen in the seven days I was gone?" After Shouko left, Tsuna walked over to the coffee table and sat down casually.
"Yes," Shizuka nodded seriously. "In the seven days you were gone, your dad and I ate two extra bowls of rice."
"Hehe…" Tsuna gave her a curved smile and said no more, silently peeling an orange from the fruit plate.
However, just as he finished peeling the pith, Shizuka snatched it away. "I worried about you a lot these past seven days. This one should be for your mom first."
"…"
——————————
The daytime heat at the end of July was scorching, and only when dusk settled did a cool breeze seep up from the ground.
"Teacher Miyamura, the advance payment for the lower volume and the manuscript fee for the upper volume have both been transferred. Please confirm if there are any issues."
The notification sound from his phone pulled Tsuna's gaze back from the night view. He replied with an "Okay" and then checked the account balance that had just been transferred to his card.
"No problem, it all matches."
"(OK.jpg)"
"The subsequent sales royalties will be transferred to you on time on the first of every month."
"Okay."
Afterward, Jun asked about the general situation of the new book, and after Tsuna gave a few perfunctory replies, their conversation for the day came to an end.
"Shouko, my manuscript fee has been paid. I'll transfer your share to you now." Tsuna looked at Shouko, who was diligently drawing illustrations at the desk.
"Mm-hmm." Shouko put down her stylus upon hearing this and looked up at him.
"Tsuna, you said the lower volume of Anohana will be released tomorrow. If everyone doesn't see the ending they want, will we be scolded terribly?"
"No." Tsuna shook his head without hesitation. "Only I will be scolded then."
"Mm…" Shouko suddenly felt there was some truth to that.
"Then do you want to post a preview or pray for big sales on Twitter? Or interact with the book fans?"
"Then I'll trouble you, Shouko." Tsuna got up, handed her his phone, then shook the empty cup beside the table at her. "I'm going downstairs for a drink of water. Do you want some?"
After seeing her shake her head, Tsuna decisively took the cup and turned to go downstairs. Not long ago, Shouko had used his phone to create a Twitter account and received authentication from Futaba Publishing.
Within a few days, she had over 20,000 followers, and to this day, that account had only posted one update—a brief greeting.
Most of the comments under that post were discussing the plot of the lower volume and everyone's predictions for the plot, with the guess that the main characters would find a way to revive the female lead receiving the most likes.
When Tsuna saw that analytical comment, he couldn't help but like it, and that might also be why it had so many likes.
Of course, this was also the source of Shouko's worry about being scolded…
"Why is it papaya milk again…?" Shouko took the milk, which still felt cool to the touch, from Tsuna.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner hummed outside the window, mixing with the minty scent of the floral water on the bedside table.
"Shizuka told me to bring it up to you." Tsuna shrugged helplessly. "I don't like to drink it, so I can only inconvenience you."
"Alright…"
"Ring… ring… ring…!"
Just as Shouko was about to insert the straw, the incoming call ringtone interrupted her. She saw it was her mother calling and exchanged glances with Tsuna, both of them sharing the same confusion. She answered the call and put it on speaker.
"Mom—"
"Shouko, is Tsuna with you?"
Before she could finish, Yaeko interrupted her.
"Yes, what's wrong?" Shouko heard the urgency in her voice and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Just asking if the manuscript fee he transferred to you was too much?"
She was originally handling work matters in the living room when she suddenly received a bank card notification. When she checked it, she was startled; the manuscript fee was almost two or three months of her salary.
She immediately called Shouko, now suspecting it was too much.
"Ah…!?"
Yaeko immediately rattled off a string of numbers to her. Ignoring Shouko's surprise, she then looked at Tsuna. "How much did you transfer to me? Did you transfer all your manuscript fees to me?"
Tsuna helplessly spread his hands in front of Shouko. "Aunt Nishimiya, it's just the manuscript fee as signed in the contract. No mistake."
After speaking, he showed Shouko the manuscript fee transferred by Futaba Publishing. Yaeko only breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Shouko's confirmation.
"Aunt Nishimiya didn't even know how popular my book was," Tsuna remarked after Yaeko hung up the phone.
"Besides work and being interested in the TV dramas introduced by godmother, Mom doesn't seem to pay attention to these things."
"But it doesn't matter." He shrugged. "Now Shouko will be able to help share some of the family's burden. Aren't you happy?"
"Mm." Shouko nodded happily. Although she knew her mother wouldn't use this money or mention it, at most she would just worry about her spending it recklessly.
"Tsuna."
"Mm?"
"Do you remember what you promised me not long ago?"
"The posing thing?"
"Mm." Shouko saw that he had guessed it and swallowed the hint she was about to give.
"That client is rushing for the manuscript, so I was thinking these two days…"
"Then let's do it tomorrow. Just tell me directly tomorrow." Tsuna waved his hand. It's just posing a few times; he didn't care anymore.
"Then I'll bring the clothes over for you to wear tomorrow." Shouko couldn't believe it was so easy to set the time, and for tomorrow at that.
"Wait…" Tsuna tentatively asked, "You're not going to make me wear the Action Kamen cosplay outfit, are you…?"
"No, no." Shouko shook her head like a rattle-drum. "Just a white shirt."
"A white shirt? Action Kamen? Is there any connection between the two?"
Tsuna had an ominous premonition, especially seeing Shouko remain silent for a long time, her ears gradually turning red.
"Didn't you tell me you took on a commission to draw Action Kamen?"
Shouko couldn't stand his direct gaze and gradually lowered her head. "It is Action Kamen, but it's Action Kamen before he transforms, which is 'Gotaro Go'…"
"…"
"Alright…" Tsuna hesitated for a moment but still didn't change his mind. Whether it was before or after the transformation, it was just those few victory poses.
"In that case, the head…"
"As for the head, I'll change it to 'Gotaro Go' later."
"Okay…"