Rei was curious about the New Manga Artist Award that Misaki mentioned, but he didn't take it too seriously.
Either way, the judges would automatically select new artists with standout works from that year, he didn't need to apply. And with the achievements of Five Centimeters Per Second and his current series Tonight, Even If This Love Vanishes from the World, Misaki was certain he would be nominated.
Of course, winning would be ideal. An award like that would massively boost his chances of getting future series accepted by top-tier magazines under the major publishing groups.
But as long as Rei could continue recreating the masterpieces he remembered from his previous life, he wasn't afraid of hitting a bottleneck.
That afternoon, to celebrate Tonight's rising success, Rei invited Misaki to dinner as thanks.
She had been working tirelessly behind the scenes, Rei absolutely didn't believe her job was just "submitting his drafts once a week." Being an editor at was anything but easy.
He also stopped by an anime goods store and bought a few character merch items, wrapping them up as small gifts.
Given Misaki's wealthy background, anything expensive might be awkward. But since she was a huge anime/manga fan, this was the perfect kind of gift.
Over dinner, Misaki reminded him seriously:
"With Tonight gaining steam, the company will probably push for the collected volume release in a few weeks.
The magazine ranking shows expectations, but the real value of a manga is the tankōbon sales. Adaptations, anime, live-action, depend heavily on that number."
She paused, looking right at Rei.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Volume 1 will release right when Chapter 8 is running in the magazine. And that chapter is where your 'risk' explodes. Prepare yourself mentally."
"Understood," Rei nodded.
As the new week began, Tonight's reputation genuinely began exploding within the Ametsukage Weekly readership.
Rei's manga had only been running for four weeks, yet it had rocketed into the top five. Rumors that Shirogane, the author, was actually a high school student only fueled more discussion.
Manga magazines, news sites, and critics began publishing features on this mysterious newcomer.
Genius Manga Artist Shirogane's debut hit "Five Centimeters Per Second" surpasses 800k copies, 1 million expected within the year! Who exactly is Shirogane?
Ametsukage Weekly's rising star: "Tonight" draws comparisons to prodigies like Ren and Minami Aoi. Is this year's Newcomer Grand Prize already decided?
"Five Centimeters Per Second" captured a 13-year bond in five chapters; "Tonight" dissects the fragility of time and memory. Is Shirogane-sensei truly just a student?
Rising faster than expected- "Tonight" becomes a weekly highlight; industry seniors praise Shirogane's storytelling.
Veteran romance artist Hoshizaki Aira applauds "Tonight":"Even as her senior, I've become her fan and read every week."
Miyu scrolled through the online articles about Rei, her face a mix of pride and jealousy.
"His first series started in June, it's been less than five months, and he's already this famous?"
Thinking of her own three-year climb to the top of Sakura's rankings, something she used to brag about, she felt her face heat up.
"Forget it, Miyu. Don't get discouraged. Just work harder. You've got to surpass him."
She turned to look at Rei, who was currently sleeping with his head on his desk.
Over these past months, Rei had stopped drawing at school. Too many distractions. He now chose the brutal schedule of drawing deep into the night and napping lightly at noon.
"No assistants, producing this many pages every week, Keeping top grades, and gaining national recognition in less than half a year."
Miyu sighed.
Only an insider like her understood how outrageous Rei truly was.
And then there was the Newcomer Award nomination.
Her own debut at thirteen was so rough it wasn't even close to nomination material, and by the time her second work succeeded a year later, she was no longer a "newcomer."
Seeing that Rei had the opportunity to be nominated or even win an award, Miyu couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of envy.
Some honors, if not obtained when young, remain lifelong regrets, no matter how dazzling later achievements may be.
Her mother, who debuted at twenty, had won the Gold Prize in the New Manga Artist Awards.
Miyu, who had always looked up to her mother, had indeed surpassed her mother's serialization results at the same age, but this award was something she would never again be eligible for, since she was no longer considered a newcomer.
"Rei, keep going. If you really get nominated, when the awards show airs, I'll skip school and go support you in person. At least make the top three and get a medal, otherwise I'll look ridiculous," Miyu thought silently.
Over the next two chapters, the manga shifted its perspective away from Hino and focused on Tōru.
He discovered the truth behind his family:
After his wife died of congenital heart disease, his father had emotionally collapsed. He repeatedly quit jobs under the excuse of "writing full-time," but in reality, he had never submitted a single manuscript.
Meanwhile, his estranged daughter, Tōru's sister, had run away from home, reinvented herself, and turned out to be "Nishikawa," the rising young novelist.
This revelation triggered a fierce, painful confrontation within the family, but slowly, the old knots unraveled. And quietly, in the background, Hino played her part in helping them reconcile.
But romantically, these chapters didn't move the main couple forward.
Which led to the results:
Chapter 5 held steady at 5th place
Chapter 6 slipped to 6th
Completely normal, but nerve-racking for Misaki, who knew chapter 8 was coming, and right afterward, the release of the first printed volume.
Everything was lining up exactly as she feared.
But at this point, nothing could be stopped.
Meanwhile, Miyu Suffers a Setback
In mid-October, Miyu submitted her new manga for a serialization slot in Ametsukage Weekly.
The competition was brutal.
She lost by the smallest margin imaginable.
For several nights, she could barely sleep.
Serialization wasn't something hard work alone could guarantee—sometimes the industry was just cruel.
Misaki encouraged her to submit to other magazines under Kōken Publishing, or even back to Sakura Weekly, but Miyu rejected the idea immediately.
She still remembered what she once declared to Rei:
"The next time we serialize in the same magazine, I will defeat you."
Submitting elsewhere felt like admitting defeat.
So she clenched her teeth and waited for the next Ametsukage serialization meeting.
One evening, Rei arrived at the Yukishiro household holding a fresh storyboard.
"This is the final chapter," he said.
"Only eleven chapters?"
Miyu couldn't help blurting it out.
"Yes," Rei replied calmly.
"It was never meant to be long. Romance loses its soul when dragged out. Ending cleanly, that's the highest form."
Misaki and Miyu exchanged a glance and said nothing more.
They opened the storyboard and read.
Minutes passed.
Then Misaki slowly set the pages down.
Her eyes were faintly red.
Miyu also found herself unable to speak.
Both sisters recalled something Rei had said long ago:
"Between the male and female leads, there is no regret."
Rei had kept his promise.
But the problem was, readers themselves felt the regret.
Crippling, suffocating regret.
Some even wanted to strangle someone after reading the twist.
This was the kind of love story Rei liked?
"Can you please be a human, Rei?"
Miyu groaned internally.
Then, after a long deep breath, she murmured something that even her sister Misaki didn't expect:
"Rei, your fans really are blessed."
...
Despite chapter 5 and 6 causing a slight stagnation in votes, it didn't mean the manga's fanbase was shrinking.
Far from it.
Many readers simply held back votes because the romance between Hino and Tōru hadn't progressed recently.
But fans were still buying.
Early that morning, countless readers were already at bookstores.
Among them, a girl named Emi quietly took the latest issue of Ametsukage Weekly, paid for it, and rushed home.
She flipped straight to chapter seven of "tonight, Even If the World Disappears".
The moment she saw the story shift away from Tōru's family drama, she let out a relieved breath.
Not that the family chapters were bad, they were just heavy.
What she craved was the youthful warmth between the leads.
And Shirogane delivered.
Chapter 7
The chapter opened with Tōru watching Māori sketch him on a manuscript sheet.
With a thoughtful expression, he said:
"Some skills, once learned, never disappear."
He went on to explain:
"It's procedural memory. Like learning to ride a bike, even after years, your body remembers."
Emi blinked.
It made sense.
If Māori lost her memories every morning, could she still keep the skills she trained?
And what if that skill was drawing him?
Tōru looked at her with gentle seriousness:
"Māori, you must keep drawing."
Warmth bloomed inside Emi's chest.
The magic of this couple was back.
Māori's quiet growth
In the manga, Māori woke every morning, opened her diary, and re-learned the world.
But now she also opened her sketchbook…
Filled with countless drawings of Tōru Kamiya.
She didn't consciously know why she kept drawing him.
But each morning, she looked at the sketches and felt something stir inside.
"Even if memories disappear, they always leave traces."
"The me in the diary, she feels like she's slowly falling in love with him."
Emi inhaled sharply.
"So the sketchbook Māori found in chapter one, it really was Tōru. Every page was him."
A sweetness filled her heart.
Because if muscle memory and drawing ability remain, could love also remain?
Even if forgotten daily?
Could a heart fall for someone again, and again, and again?
The chapter grew more tense:
The fireworks festival they had planned for returned.
Māori and Tōru met at the summer market, both dressed nicely, both slightly shy.
Emi felt her heartbeat jump.
'Could it be?'
A smile tugged at her lips.
She sat up straighter, eyes shining.