Chapter 48

"Hm?"

Tang Yao noticed Kang Ming staring at her and turned her head.

"...Actually, you can't blame the other editors."

Kang Ming came to his senses, avoided Tang Yao's gaze, and looked at the screen in front of him. "The two comics you recommended are just too popular."

"I know."

Tang Yao leaned over to glance at his screen, then replied casually, "Wasn't that yesterday's news?"

"..."

Kang Ming fell silent. He looked at the 'What are you talking about?' expression on Tang Yao's face, then at the two works on the website, whose likes had already hit 200,000, and was thoroughly humbled.

At the same time, he confirmed that he really didn't have a knack for being an editor. At least compared with the girl in front of him, he didn't have even the tiniest bit of talent.

I really should quit...

Thinking of this,

Kang Ming shook his head and made up his mind to talk to Tang Yao about it.

After all, Tang Yao had interviewed him, and she'd looked after him quite a bit since he joined the company.

Both emotionally and rationally, Kang Ming felt he should tell her he planned to resign.

"Editor Tang..."

Kang Ming gathered his thoughts and was about to speak.

But just as he began, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out.

Kang Ming hadn't been working for long, but he really did have a knack for this.

In an instant,

he recognized the footsteps as Ding Yilong's. His words abruptly trailed off as he turned around.

Meanwhile,

Tang Yao also saw Ding Yilong.

With a dark expression, he was heading toward her desk.

The other editors had clearly noticed him too. The entire Editorial Department suddenly fell silent.

"..."

Tang Yao frowned slightly as she watched Ding Yilong approach, wondering what kind of trouble he was trying to stir up this time.

He stopped in front of Tang Yao. With a dark expression, he hesitated for a long moment before slowly saying, "Third-rate Teacher's Fate/Zero can be serialized in Big Comic. Get in touch with her... The original art fee is 900 per page. You should know how high that is. Tell her to get started as soon as possible."

"...?"

Tang Yao slowly formed a question mark.

She'd considered plenty of possibilities, but this one hadn't even crossed her mind... Ding Yilong had come to talk to her about serialization.

To be honest,

900 wasn't a small original art fee.

As the name suggested, an original art fee was what a cartoonist was paid for drawing the original pages. It was usually calculated per page. For example, if a cartoonist drew 20 pages for an issue, at 900 per page, they'd earn 18,000 for that issue.

It was also the first income most cartoonists received.

In this parallel world, overall comic rates were about the same as in Japan in Tang Yao's previous life. The going rate at mainstream comic magazines was around 450 per page... and most cartoonists received no more than that.

Even Teacher Rumi, who had made a name for himself in this world and was now famous, only received 2,500 per page.

Incidentally, hentai cartoonists were paid the same per page as ordinary cartoonists.

And Third-rate Painter...that was Tang Yao. For an unknown newcomer, getting 900 per page for her first serialization really wasn't bad.

That was also proof, in its own way, of just how popular Fate/Zero was.

But...

What was Ding Yilong thinking? Did he expect it to be serialized just because he said so?

"Third-rate Teacher doesn't plan to serialize in our magazine."

Tang Yao looked away from Ding Yilong and back at her desk, answering directly, "I've already asked for her opinion."

"...What did you say!?"

Ding Yilong froze at her words, then his eyes widened. "What do you mean, she doesn't plan to serialize in the magazine!? Why did you go to all that trouble, then? You got close to the New Media Department, and sweet-talked Ou Congquan. Wasn't that all for this!?"

Clearly,

he'd found out quite a bit over the past few days.

In fact,

he'd come to Tang Yao to save himself... after his attempt to shift the blame failed and he called Ou Congquan, only to get an earful.

Zhao Fang Sheng and Shang Tao hadn't contacted him even once. Instead, they'd kept seeking out Tang Yao.

Ding Yilong realized something was up.

He was a longtime employee at the magazine, after all. Finding out what was going on inside the company wasn't hard for him.

Before long,

he'd learned about everything Tang Yao had done...

And when he found out that the problem with Ou Congquan had been resolved, yet no one had even informed him,

Ding Yilong knew he was in deep trouble!

Then the Manga Award entries were released ahead of schedule... When he saw Ou Congquan post a message thanking Tang Yao, as well as that standout category on the website,

Ding Yilong felt like the sky had fallen... Something this big had happened, and he, the editor-in-chief, hadn't known a thing about it.

What did that mean?

Ding Yilong didn't know, but he started to panic. First thing that morning, he went to find Zhao Fang Sheng.

But Zhao Fang Sheng wouldn't even give him the time of day.

So he came to find Tang Yao.

He'd been keeping an eye on the website the day before, too. Although, in his view, Tang Yao had just gotten lucky!

But the popularity of Fate/Zero was undeniable. It was incredibly popular!

So he planned to do something to restore his standing with Zhao Fang Sheng, at least a little.

For example...he could hurry up and sign the wildly popular Fate/Zero. That way, even if the thing he didn't want to happen really did, he'd have something to say for himself!

But now Tang Yao was telling him

that Third-rate Painter didn't plan to serialize!?

What a joke!

At the same time,

Kang Ming also stared wide-eyed when he heard Tang Yao.

"I tried to persuade her, but it didn't work. I couldn't change her mind. She simply doesn't want to serialize. It's as simple as that."

Tang Yao pulled a form from the document tray and filled it out as she calmly replied, "I think I made myself perfectly clear."

"How is that possible!!"

"You think I'll believe that nonsense? Wait... Is this revenge?"

Ding Yilong trembled with rage. Watching his chance to save himself slip away, he couldn't accept it and roared. Then something suddenly occurred to him. "You're trying to get back at me? You think this will make me leave? You're waiting for me to leave before you serialize it!? Dream on! I'll drag this out as long as I have to! I'll hold things up until the comic's popularity dies down! Then we'll see how you explain yourself to Third-rate Painter!"

The hype around this Manga Award would eventually die down.

The same went for those works... After all, they were all short stories. Fate/Zero looked like a long series, but it had only just begun.

Even after the hype faded, Fate/Zero was good enough that it wouldn't be ignored... Quite the opposite. If it was promoted well and maintained its quality, it would definitely do well in the end.

But the results would certainly be better if they announced the serialization while it was still riding this wave of popularity.

Readers couldn't stay excited forever, after all.

That was why Ding Yilong said what he did.

But all of that depended on one thing...that there really was a cartoonist called Third-rate Painter.

"Then take your time dragging things out."

At his words, Tang Yao looked up and handed him the completed form from her desk. Calmly, she said, "I have no interest in playing along. I'm leaving."

Ding Yilong looked down, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a resignation form...

Kang Ming saw it too and was stunned.

Wait.

I haven't even said anything yet.

You've already resigned?