Time slipped away, and it was soon June 25th.
Today wasn't any special holiday, but it held extraordinary significance for Akira.
Because today was the day Shonen Jump distributed manuscript fees!
It's finally here—the harvest season!
Including Chapters 4 and 5, which he submitted two weeks ago, he had turned in a total of 135 black-and-white manuscript pages, plus 2 color pages.
After taxes were deducted, the final amount deposited into his bank card was 2.308 million yen.
A massive windfall!
His wallet, which had started to look a bit thin, was suddenly bulging again. This felt great.
So, he immediately sent an email to Rin—
『Akira』: "Are you free tonight? Dinner's on me."
『Rin』: "But didn't you say you were about to die of poverty?"
『Akira』: "That was the old me... the manuscript fees came in today! So, what do you say?"
『Rin』: "Okay."
...
...
"—Mochizuki-sensei, we're here to bother you again!"
As the doorbell rang, Hayato's boisterous voice followed. Daisuke and Shota were, of course, there as well.
At nine in the morning, the three of them had gathered at the studio entrance as if by prior agreement.
"Coming."
Akira opened the door to let them in. However, seeing all three of them looking so cheerful and energetic left him a bit puzzled.
Is coming to work really this exciting?
In fact, it really was.
Because it was only at Mochizuki-sensei's place that they could truly relax for once.
As a professional assistant, Daisuke had to rotate through various manga studios at other times, and the intensity of those studios was on a completely different level compared to this one.
As for the rookie manga artists Hayato and Shota, while they didn't need to work as assistants elsewhere, they still had to take on extra part-time jobs to support themselves.
Furthermore, after returning home, they had to work on their own manga creations, meaning their workload was also at its maximum.
By comparison, Akira's nine-to-five schedule with a lunch break was practically a vacation to them.
To say it again, (at least in their hearts) Mochizuki-sensei was the true Master of Manga!
"Here are the line drawings for Chapter 6. The rest follows the usual rules."
"Understood."
Taking the full set of line drawings from him once more, Daisuke couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
It was always the editors constantly hounding authors for manuscripts. A case like Akira's, where the editor actually had to tell him not to draw so fast, was probably unique in the entire world.
After the line drawings were distributed, the three quickly got into their work rhythm.
But as they drew, they were gradually drawn into the content of this chapter—
At the end of Chapter 5, Emiya Shirou had summoned his Servant—a mysterious and beautiful girl in skirt-armor who called herself SabeThishis chapter mainly focused on the battle between Saber and Lancer.
This battle was handled quite well in both the original anime and the 2014 UBW anime.
Especially the UBW anime; with ufotable's technical prowess and budget, the choreography and special effects were even more refined, holding up even by the standards of the time before he transmigrated.
Since there were such excellent examples to follow, Akira didn't overthink the action scenes in this chapter; she copied what could be copied.
Aside from the fight, the information revealed in their dialogue was also explosive.
After Saber rejected the proposal for both sides to back down, Lancer stopped being polite and unleashed his Noble Phantasm—『Gáe Bolg (Barbed Spear That Pierces with Death)』.
In a three-panel close-up, Saber had clearly parried the attack, yet in the next instant, the long spear eerily pierced her left shoulder.
In reality, this strike that reversed causality was aimed at Saber's heart, but she had avoided a fatal blow through her incredible Instinct.
At the same time, through the name of the opponent's Noble Phantasm, Saber confirmed Lancer's true identity as the Child of Light from Ireland, Cú Chulainn!
"What? Lancer is actually Cú Chulainn?!"
Seeing this, Shota couldn't help but cry out in surprise. However, Hayato looked on with a question mark over his head.
"Uh, who is Cú Chulainn?"
"He's a famous hero from Celticc mythology, the son of the Irish sun god Lugh..."
Halfway through, seeing the growing confusion in Hayato's eyes, he could only helplessly switch to a more layman-friendly explanation:
"Cú Chulainn's status in Celticc mythology is equivalent to Heracles in Greekk mythology."
"Is he that powerful?!"
Sure enough, having understood now, Hayato cried out again before asking curiously:
"Then do you know who Saber is?"
"How should I know?"
Shota rolled his eyes at him.
Unlike Cú Chulainn, Saber hadn't revealed any key information during this battle.
Hearing their conversation, Akira was also a bit surprised; he hadn't expected Shota to be knowledgeable in this area.
Just then, he heard Shota say:
"Even if I don't know, Mochizuki-sensei definitely knows Saber's identity."
"Mochizuki-sensei..."
Hayato instinctively looked toward him but then had a delayed reaction, scratching his head.
"Never mind, I don't want the plot spoiled for me. That would be too miserable."
Although the other had given up on asking, Shota still had a question he wanted to confirm.
He asked Akira with an expectant look:
"Mochizuki-sensei, are all Servants heroes from ancient mythology?"
"Well..."
Akira thought for a moment and smiled.
"Let's just say most of them are."
"Most of them..."
It seemed like the questions were only multiplying, so he looked back at the weapon in Saber's hand.
Although the manga described it as an invisible weapon, for the sake of the readers' understanding, Mochizuki-sensei had still outlined a faint shape of a longsword.
The setting of a transparent weapon was coo. Still, consideringg Cú Chulainn's situation, he felt that beyond being stylish, Saber's sword must be a signature item that would immediately reveal her identity.
There weren't many female heroes in mythology who used a longsword as a weapon, and for a moment, he couldn't think of which hero would correspond to the girl before him.
However, through the content of this chapter, he seemed to truly grasp the immense potential of Fate/Stay Night!
Heroes from different mythologies and different eras, summoned to the modern age to interact and fight—it was like a modern reproduction and reenactment of myth...
What a genius idea!
He marveled inwardly.
Not just the art, but to even conceive such an exquisite setting... Is this what a true genius manga artist is?!
No wonder Shonen Jump values Mochizuki-sensei so highly!
Even though he was a fellow manga artist, because the gap in their skill was so vast, he couldn't even feel a hint of jealousy; instead, his admiration for Akira bordered on worship.
"Mochizuki-sensei, I believe Fate/stay night will definitely be a massive hit!"
Shota said with a firm tone.
"Thanks, I'll take your word for it then."
Akira accepted the blessing with a chuckle, while a faint light flickered in his eyes.
The date for the official serialization was drawing closer. Whether it would be a hit or not—he would find out very soon.