Chapter 95.
Shijun headed back to his room to retrieve the rest of the manuscript. He fully intended to show this uncultured young lady the true, generational charm of a past-life masterpiece.
Because his System repository was strictly limited to cooking-related items, the original drafts of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure were stored in his physical room. He had simply forgotten to put the first arc away after re-reading it the other day. He certainly hadn't expected it to perfectly trap Erina.
As expected of a closet otaku, Shijun mused, shaking his head. To think she actually managed to adapt to such a brutally hardline art style.
Back in the living room, Yuki hadn't even noticed his departure, entirely sucked into the violent, dramatic plot.
Megumi and Hisako had quickly succumbed to their own curiosity, crowding around Yuki to read over her shoulders. Ryoko, possessing a far more stable temperament, stayed back, though her eyes kept darting toward the pages like a curious cat.
"Shijun's artwork is incredible, but it feels so... wild!"
Megumi breathed out, thoroughly impressed. She rarely read manga, but she easily accepted this abrasive style simply because Shijun had drawn it. In Megumi's pure heart, whatever Shijun produced was automatically flawless.
Thanks to her duties sourcing shoujo manga for Erina, Hisako was quite well-read. Naturally, the JoJo art style was jarring to her at first, but seeing Erina endure it gave her the courage to try. Within pages, she was completely absorbed by the narrative and the striking character designs.
"The English castles and country estates depicted here are unbelievably realistic. Has Shijun spent time in the UK?"
Hisako wondered aloud. She had traveled to England and toured medieval estates; the architectural precision in the panels looked as though he had perfectly transplanted reality onto the page.
"Probably not. Shijun mentioned that he grew up deep in the mountains, learning to cook from a young age." Megumi replied casually, her eyes never leaving the sketch in Yuki's hands.
"Hmm?" Erina, whose ears were remarkably sharp, snapped her attention toward Megumi. "That guy grew up training in the mountains?"
"Yes, he said so himself. So he definitely hasn't been to England."
Megumi nodded, taking Shijun's fabricated backstory as absolute gospel.
"It seems Shijun isn't just an apex chef, but a generational talent in illustration as well."
Hisako sighed in defeat of how multitalented this man was. She understood the industry well enough to know that drawing with such flawless, flowing line art in a single, unedited stroke was a feat ordinary mangaka could only dream of achieving.
Erina, however, completely ignored Hisako's praise. Her mind was entirely fixated on Megumi's casual revelation.
Is it actually possible to hone your cooking skills to that monstrous level just by secluding yourself in the mountains?
Erina wondered, genuinely contemplating if she should embark on a mountain training retreat.
If Shijun knew that Megumi's innocent comment had severely derailed the Ice Queen's common sense, he would have laughed on the spot.
Go into the mountains to improve cooking? The only thing a pampered young lady like Erina would gain from a mountain retreat was a horrific amount of mosquito bites.
Pushing her sudden wilderness aspirations aside, Erina looked up as Shijun returned to the living room.
He tossed two thick stacks of paper onto the table: Part 2, Battle Tendency, and Part 3, Stardust Crusaders.
Erina snatched the manuscripts without a second of hesitation. Having been thoroughly baptized by the blood and tears of Phantom Blood, she was now fully immune to the abrasive art style. She dove directly into the next generation's story.
Shijun glanced at Ryoko, who was sitting alone, and then at the four girls entirely consumed by the manga.
He suddenly felt incredibly unemployed. The lively, chaotic card game was officially dead. Left with no other options, Shijun packed up the deck and settled for a quiet chat with Ryoko.
A long time passed before Hisako finally closed the final page of the first arc. She looked up at Shijun, her expression earnest.
"It is a profound tragedy that you haven't submitted this manuscript to a publisher."
"Submit it? Why would I bother doing that?"
Shijun asked, genuinely taken aback. He wasn't exactly strapped for cash. He had no need to hustle for manuscript fees like a struggling artist.
"Because it's a tragedy that such an incredible story can't be shared with the public."
Erina interjected, looking up from the second arc with a rare expression of regret.
While she had no idea if JoJo would align with current market trends, she firmly believed a story this magnificent deserved an audience. If it could captivate a die-hard shoujo fan like her, it could captivate anyone.
"I suppose that makes sense."
Shijun conceded. Hearing their perspective, he realized it was a bit selfish to hoard the Joestar bloodline to himself. He loved the story, and sharing it with the world sounded like a fun side project.
"So you'll agree to submit it?!"
Erina asked, her eyes lighting up. Sharing a masterpiece was a unique joy, and she was thrilled he agreed.
"Wait, is Shijun going to debut as a mangaka?"
Megumi panicked, her mind instantly spiraling.
He was a top-tier chef! Why would he suddenly debut in an entirely unrelated industry? Was the old internet proverb true—a chef who doesn't want to be a (any side job) isn't a good student?
Megumi's imagination ran wild.
What if Shijun becomes a famous mangaka and decides to drop out of Totsuki?!
The mere thought of him leaving the academy made her chest tighten with inexplicable sorrow.
Shijun caught the rapid, dramatic shifts in Megumi's expression and sighed. This girl's internal monologue was truly a chaotic labyrinth.
However, he needed to correct the fundamental misunderstanding Erina and the others operated under.
Shallow.
Their thinking was entirely too shallow. Who decreed that publishing a manga required submitting it to a magazine and begging for approval?
"I don't have the patience to look at the smug faces of magazine editors." Shijun stated flatly. He turned his head. "Maria, find an agent to acquire a major publishing house. Oh, and buy a high-end animation production studio while you're at it."
"Right away, Young Master."
Maria replied seamlessly. She set down her cleaning cloth and immediately pulled out her phone to make the calls.
Megumi: (O_O)!
Erina: (O_O)?!
Hisako: (O_O)!
The living room plunged into a stunned, breathless silence.
The girls stared at Shijun as if he had lost his mind.
What kind of terrifying, tyrannical logic is this?!
Just to avoid dealing with editors, he bypassed the submission process by outright purchasing an entire publishing empire and an animation studio to adapt it!
Even Erina—the wealthiest heir in the room—couldn't comprehend this level of scorched-earth financial impulse.
The Nakiri family only engaged in highly profitable, calculated business ventures. They never threw money into a void.
Shijun's impulsive order was a guaranteed catastrophic loss. Acquiring industry-leading publishing and animation firms overnight required paying an astronomical premium. To make matters worse, he only had a single IP—JoJo—to sustain them. Even if it became a cultural phenomenon, it couldn't possibly recoup the acquisition costs of two entire corporations, nor could it sustain their supply chains long-term.
For the first time, Erina felt a sharp pang of regret.
If I knew he was this unhinged with his money, I never would have suggested publishing it!
She had spent weeks wishing for Shijun to suffer a setback, yet now, faced with the prospect of him taking a massive, unnecessary financial hit, she felt a twisting knot of genuine anxiety in her stomach.
Wrapped up in her sudden financial panic, Erina completely failed to realize that her fundamental attitude toward the infuriating chef had already begun to drastically soften.