“Itsuki…!”
Miyako promptly opened up the attachment.
The title of the project was You Tomorrow Is All I Need. Looking through the introduction, background setting, cast of characters, and story synopsis, she arrived at the “Target Audience” section at the very end. It made tears well in her eyes.
• Target Audience: Nayuta Kani
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“I knew you’d finally notice, Itsuki.”
That was the thing I Want to Be the Protagonist had but none of his subsequent releases had—strong emotions, pointed straight at somebody. I Want To Be the Protagonist had his love for Kazuko Honden at its core. Exactly what Itsuki was putting into You Tomorrow Is All I Need. was still unclear in this proposal phase, but Miyako could believe in one thing: This book was going to become Itsuki Hashima’s greatest masterpiece.
“Okay…!”
She nodded, picked up the phone by her side, and placed a call.
“Oh, hello. This is Shirakawa from Branch Hill… Right, yes. I’d like to make you an official offer on the thing we discussed.”
“I’d like to make you an official offer on the thing we discussed.”
A smile appeared on his lips as he heard Miyako’s words.
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Readily accepting Miyako’s offer, the man—Setsuna Ena, age 22—ended the call. He was an illustrator working under the name Puriketsu, and his talents and popularity had only grown in the ensuing years.
His looks had changed quite a bit since back when he was chasing Chihiro’s butt around. He was much more handsome, he was no longer dyeing his hair flashy colors, and he was in the habit of matching his outfits with chic blazers, in no small part because he had grown a good four inches in the meantime.
It had been over a year since Miyako had contacted him, saying, “I want you to handle the illustrations for Itsuki Hashima’s greatest masterpiece, so can you keep some space open in your schedule?” Putting an illustrator as in demand as Puriketsu on reserve for a book that would be completed at some indeterminate time was virtually unthinkable in this industry, but Setsuna wasted no time replying, “All right. Until then, I’ll go easier on my work”—and that was that.
Ever since then, Setsuna had been taking a bare minimum of work, using the resulting free time to constantly practice and improve his drawing. And not just illustrations, either—he did some more work in cubism, something he’d dabbled in a few years back; he traveled to various places to sketch what he saw; and he gained experience in computer graphics, oils, watercolors, ink, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, music, and a million other genres, polishing his techniques and perspectives.
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…Why aren’t I illustrating your new series?!
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Back when Itsuki’s Genesis Sisters of the New World (illustrated by Setsuna) ended, Setsuna had heard that someone else would be doing the art for his next series. When Setsuna demanded an explanation, Itsuki had replied:
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My novels totally lose out to your art. So…for now…I can’t team up with you again.
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Seven years later, Itsuki was now undeniably a popular author, one high up enough that nobody would accuse him of coasting to the bestseller lists on the power of his illustrator. When Setsuna read I Want to Be the Protagonist three years ago, he’d been frustrated over why he wasn’t picked to handle the art for it—but at the same time, he’d worried that if he had illustrated this book, his artwork would lose out to the text. Ever since then, he’d passionately striven to improve his art. He’d abandoned his flip attitude and fashion sense, and he’d started keeping his phone with him, answering his clients’ phone calls, and actually sticking to deadlines for a change.
Puriketsu was now reborn into the greatest of creators, gifted with mounds of talent and character, and people in the industry were calling him “God-ketsu” behind his back.
“I’ve waited seven years for this day to come.”
He looked out the window of the hotel room he was staying at. The Winter Triangle, formed by three bright stars in the winter sky, was visible to him. One of them was Sirius, twinkling bright enough to be visible with the naked eye. Setsuna reached out to it. It was the brightest star in the sky, apart from the sun, and seafarers used to follow it to gain their bearings on the ocean. He always had a liking for it. The fact that it sounded a bit like “butt” in Japanese always charmed him.
So, with the foreshadowing from Volume 1 finally paying off, the biggest, most ass-lovingest star in the sky was once again teamed up with Itsuki Hashima.
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