No way...
"I'll be right back," Haruki said politely, glancing at the manga artists he'd been sitting with all evening.
Everyone froze.
What the heck? Is this for real?
Not only Riku, but everyone at the surrounding tables—Yuna, Haruto, Shinji, veteran manga artists from other magazines, and Kurokawa staff from every department—caught sight of his face under the soft spill of light from the stage. It wasn't perfectly clear, but just enough to see...
That youthful face.
You've got to be kidding.
As Haruki circled around the tables and started toward the stage, he finally found the stairs. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe something else, but even though it was his first time standing before such a crowd, he felt surprisingly calm.
The moment he stepped on stage, the lighting technician dimmed the surrounding lights, leaving a single spotlight to follow him.
Blinding.
Haruki squinted but continued forward until he was next to Sora. She passed him the microphone with a composed nod.
He looked down at the audience and spoke, steady and clear.
"I'm Mizushiro, the author of Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance. My real name is Haruki Yuuki."
The room fell into stunned silence. Deeper than the one before.
Shinji and Haruto exchanged glances—two seasoned manga veterans who, for once, had nothing to say.
Yuna and Rika both remembered Haruki introducing himself earlier that evening. They'd thought it was a joke. Was it not?
The artists from other publications were visibly adjusting, trying to absorb what they'd just heard.
The most shocked, though, were those at Haruki's own table.
Over twenty pairs of eyes turned toward Kotone.
"Wait, Kotone—is that true?" Rin whispered, still in disbelief.
"It's true," she replied calmly.
"Then why didn't you say anything all night?"
Rin caught herself mid-sentence.
No, wait. He did say it.
Nobody believed him.
Riku and the group that had spent all night making jokes were now practically shrinking into their seats.
They'd been sitting with the very person they'd been fanboying over—and making assumptions about—all night.
Most awkward of all was the mangaka who'd said earlier that if Mizushiro turned out to be a beautiful woman, he'd go after her.
He looked like he wanted to disappear.
The silence shattered into a burst of murmurs and disbelief.
"A guy?!"
"He's so young!"
"This has to be a mistake!"
"You're kidding—his editor's right there, how could it be?"
"He looks like he's barely twenty. Still a student?"
"Out of hundreds of creators at Kurokawa, a student is the one on top?"
Haruki cleared his throat, a single cough cutting through the noise.
The venue quieted once more.
"First of all…"
He began.
"It's an honor to be invited by Kurokawa to speak on stage tonight. The success of Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance couldn't have happened without…"
The rest of his words were drawn straight from the countless speeches he'd heard earlier in the evening.
Out of ten people, at least six or seven had said something similar.
He'd been so bored, he'd fallen asleep. No way was he going to drag this out.
Once he stepped down from the stage, he was planning to quietly slip out of the venue altogether.
"Ahem, Mizushiro-sensei, let's not rush the thank-you's just yet," Masaru cut in with a grin.
"I've got a few more questions on everyone's behalf!"
You're kidding, right?
You just showed up and already want to slip away?
How the hell did you manage to keep this a secret so well?
Masaru had been getting drowsy earlier—he was planning to leave early and call it a night. But now, his head was buzzing with questions.
What's going on with this guy?
Haruki glanced at Sora standing beside the stage.
Wasn't I just supposed to come up here, say a few words, and be done?
Sora averted her eyes with a knowing expression.
She knew Haruki too well. If she hadn't practically dragged him up, he wouldn't have gone at all.
"Well… sure, ask away," Haruki replied with a small sigh. He didn't exactly want to be here, but since he was already on stage, he figured a few more questions wouldn't hurt.
Masaru grinned.
"Seeing how young you are, are you still a student?"
"Uh… yeah," Haruki said, scratching the back of his neck.
"I see, so you work as a manga artist while balancing your studies?"
Haruki thought for a second, then answered honestly, "Well… to be precise, I guess I study part-time. Manga is my main job now."
That cracked up quite a few people in the crowd.
His tone was just groggy enough that you could tell he'd been half-asleep earlier.
Masaru asked a few more questions about Haruki's background, but he soon noticed the fatigue creeping into Haruki's face. Time to get to the point.
"Just yesterday," Masaru said, voice rising with excitement, "the results of the latest Sora popularity poll were released. Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance has once again claimed first place, and it even shattered the record you set last week!"
Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Also, with three consecutive top rankings, your series has now officially secured the nomination slot for the upcoming Aurora Manga Award. Under these circumstances, Mizushiro-sensei, what are your expectations for the competition?"
Expectations, huh?
Masaru was already preparing to ask about just breaking into the first round. But Haruki didn't hesitate for a second.
"Since I'm entering, of course I want to win," Haruki said, his voice steady. "If we're talking expectations... I'm aiming for first place."
A brief silence. Then a few surprised chuckles. Some raised eyebrows.
If he weren't hoping the award might come with system rewards, Haruki wouldn't even care that much. But now that it mattered, he had no problem being direct about it.
Sora couldn't help but smile at that.
He really doesn't know the weight of what he's saying, does he?
Nine years. In all that time, no one from Kurokawa had ever made it past the first round of the Aurora Manga Award. A win? That was fantasy.
But then again...
Sora remembered how Haruki had once declared so casually that he'd reach the top of the popularity rankings.
It had taken him just six weeks.
The Aurora Manga Award was an entirely different beast—but for some reason, deep down...
She believed him.
First place?
Masaru gave a bemused smile.
"Mizushiro-sensei is certainly... ambitious."
Laughter spread through the room.
"He's still young, that explains it."
"Well, if you've already reached the top of Sora, it's not strange to think ahead to the Aurora."
"Let's just hope he doesn't take it too hard when the results come out."
"Still... I like that fire in him."
The tone wasn't mocking. These were seasoned veterans offering perspective, not derision.
The Aurora Manga Award was the biggest event in the manga industry. Creators from every major region participated—more than forty areas submitted their best serialized works.
Except for a handful of elite zones like Tokyo and Kyoto, most regions only got a few nomination slots. For smaller publishers, even breaking past the first round was considered a major achievement.
As for actually winning the grand prize?
No one from their region had ever done it.
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