However, so as not to reveal that he had actually forgotten about his own manga, Akira kept his composure without showing any surprise.
"So soon? I mean, I know it's been quite successful, but it seems a bit early," Akira lied.
He didn't want to sound arrogant. Besides, the second part was a lie. He had forgotten to check if Kari's manga and his own had been well received, but… can he really be blamed? The poor guy was very busy with his girls. He's simply so occupied that some things can slip his mind. This isn't a perfect Chinese protagonist who excels at everything, but a real protagonist with more realistic problems.
"Yes, it is quite soon, but your mangas have been so popular that we've decided to start serializing them. I'll be honest, my boss loved your stories and it didn't take much to convince him to serialize your mangas. It was a piece of cake!" Mizuki said in a cheerful tone.
"Should you really be telling this to an outsider?" Akira thought.
If her boss heard her… what would he do to her?
"Ahem, in any case, I want to schedule a meeting for the day after tomorrow. I'll bring the contract and we can talk about the terms," Mizuki said.
"Sounds perfect. Does the same place and same time as last time work for you?" I asked.
"Yes, perfect!" Mizuki nodded.
"Just one thing. It's better if you call Kari's house in the afternoon. Her parents work until almost night and I don't think it's convenient to call them before then," I said.
Well, I have no idea if Kari has already told her parents about the manga, so this is just to buy time.
"After this call I'll have to inform Kari," I thought.
"Right, thank you for reminding me. I was going to do it right now!" Mizuki said.
Yes, calling on the phone right when they were working wasn't very polite, especially when the matter could wait. But then… why did Mizuki call Akira so early in the morning? The answer is simple: because she is too passionate and impatient.
"You're welcome. Is there anything else?" I asked.
"No, I'll let you go now. I still have a lot of work to do!" Mizuki said excitedly.
Then she hung up before Akira could say goodbye.
"Was that the editor of your manga?" Lala asked immediately.
"That's right. Apparently our manga has been a total success and they want to serialize them," I nodded.
"Great, that's fantastic!" Lala said with a radiant smile.
She was truly happy for both of them. Besides, both mangas were super interesting.
The others were also happy for Kari and Akira and decided to celebrate that same afternoon.
"By the way, what she said is completely true. Your mangas have gone around the entire internet, and there are literally thousands of people asking for your serialization," Dita said suddenly.
"Really? I've been very busy and haven't had time to check," I said apologetically.
"Dita is right. Your mangas have gone around the world. Look," Nana said.
Nana took out her smartphone and showed me some YouTube videos talking about the duo of authors who had created those masterpieces and asking for their serialization. All the comments, without exception, praised both mangas and many of them even seemed obsessed with them, desperately asking for their serialization.
"See? And this is just one of the videos I saw. I spent a large part of Saturday going through all of YouTube from all over the world and your mangas have reached almost every country on the planet. People aren't talking about anything else. You're even trending on all social media," Nana added.
"Yeah, I also saw something on Saturday while learning to use this planet's internet. People are talking about you on many internet forums too," Nemesis said.
They all nodded. Apparently, many of them — if not all — had spent the entire Saturday reading positive comments about both mangas and felt proud about it.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked curiously.
I mean, it seemed like they all knew about the popularity of both mangas and no one thought to tell me.
"Uh… I forgot on my part. Yesterday I had a video game marathon and completely forgot about the topic," Nana said.
"I was with Yami and Nana playing video games," Dita said.
"After all the sex on Sunday, I simply forgot," Nemesis said.
"Same here, yesterday was too intense," Lala nodded.
"I agree," Momo said.
… How can my house have 6 people besides me and no one remembered to tell me about the manga? No… wait, Mikan and Kari herself were also there. Why didn't anyone warn me?!
"…It's fine. Anyway, I'll let Kari know so she can tell her parents… if she hasn't already," I sighed.
There was no point in lamenting anymore, so I could only look forward and forget about the topic. Besides, it wasn't that important and in a way they were right. Sunday had been very intense.
After the call with Mizuki, I called Kari and told her what was said. Unfortunately, Kari had forgotten to mention the manga to her parents, but she promised to tell them that same afternoon after school and that she would try to convince them in every way possible. Honestly, I didn't know if that was possible, but I said I trusted her and that I would wait anxiously for her response.
After this conversation and thinking about tomorrow, Akira headed to school with the girls, as always.
…
That same day, in the afternoon…
It was Monday and Kari had finally returned home after spending her day with Akira and the others. Her father, as always, was completely deceived, believing that his daughter went to Mikan's house to play with her (although that was partly true), but her mother, Yuuko, knew the reality perfectly well. However, since Kari was happy, she simply decided not to interfere. Besides, for some incomprehensible reason, ever since she started dating Akira, Kari's health had improved, she smiled more often, and even her tutor had called asking if something had happened at home. Apparently Kari had started participating in gym class and seemed more cheerful and motivated. Yuuko only said that it was probably because she was starting puberty or something like that. What was she supposed to tell them? That she suspected the fact that having a boyfriend had changed her daughter almost completely, but for the better? Romantic relationships were forbidden at the school Kari attended and while that rule was almost never followed, Yuuko didn't want to take any risks. Besides, it was her daughter's personal life.
But that day, while the four of them were having dinner, Kari dropped a surprising piece of news.
"Dad, Mom. I have something important to tell you," Kari said in a serious tone.
The three of them were surprised by Kari's serious tone because they had never seen her like that. On the other hand, Yuuko trembled slightly. Had something happened with Akira?
"Is something wrong? If so, just tell us and we'll help you," Yuuko said.
"No, it's not that. Actually, it's not bad news, it's good news, but I don't know if you'll take it well," Kari said.
Yuuko and her father looked at each other while Tai stared fixedly at his sister. What was this important thing that Kari was going to say? Why did her tone sound so serious?
"We're listening," her father said.
First they would listen to their daughter and then judge. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Kari thought.
"I… you already know that I want to be a mangaka," Kari said.
"We already talked about that… do whatever you want, but first you have to focus on studying," her father said.
It wasn't that the profession of mangaka wasn't respectable, but her father believed that with Kari's intelligence, working as a mangaka would be wasting all her potential. In his mind, his daughter was destined to achieve great things and becoming a mangaka would simply waste her great talent.
On the other hand, Yuuko and Tai looked at Kari without saying anything. It seemed this wasn't all Kari had to say because everyone in the family had known for a while that Kari wanted to be a mangaka.
"I'm sorry, but I've already written my story and sent it to a publisher. The published chapter was a total success and they called me to schedule a meeting with me. They want to serialize the manga and for that I need my parents' authorization. I apologize for hiding it from you, but please, let me fulfill my dream!" Kari said.
The three of them looked at each other, surprised that their daughter/sister had done something like this behind their backs. She had never done anything like that before.
"Kari… I'm not going to yell, but you've disobeyed us. We already told you that you're too young to write manga. We made that very clear last time. And now it turns out that not only have you made a manga behind our backs, but you sent it to a publisher and they even called you to sign a contract with the goal of serializing it. What do you have to say about that? What would you do in my place?" her father said seriously.
He wasn't going to yell at her. It was the first time Kari had disobeyed them and done something like this behind their backs. Since it was the first time, he wanted to stay calm and let Kari explain herself.
"I have no excuse. It's just that it's my dream. Please, help me fulfill it!" Kari said firmly.
Tai looked at his sister with a furrowed brow and then looked at his father.
"Dad, Mom. I think Kari is an exemplary girl. She gets good grades, she's polite, kind, and has always obeyed you without complaint. Besides, she's never had it easy… I think you should give her a chance," Tai said.
Despite everything that had happened lately, Tai would always support his sister in her decisions… except for the one about having a boyfriend. As a brother, he simply couldn't stand the idea of his sweet little sister having a boyfriend, especially so early.
Both parents looked at each other. Tai always supported his sister and normally his… arguments weren't the best, but this time they made some sense.
"I'm sorry, but…" her father tried to say.
But he was interrupted by Yuuko.
"Kari, bring us your manga. We'll take a look at it. If it convinces us, we'll let you be a mangaka. If not, you'll go back to your normal life," Yuuko said.
Tai and his father looked at her with wide eyes.
"But honey…" her father tried to argue.
"Honey, let's give her a chance. She's just a girl with her whole life ahead of her. Besides, she's an extremely intelligent girl. I think we can let her be a mangaka, at least for a while," Yuuko said.
Kari had already gone to her room to bring the first chapter of Digimon, so she didn't hear this very well, only in passing.