I just want to quietly draw manga Chapter 337

The next day, Morishita called Kotone to meet him at Echo Shroud to finalize the serialization of Clannad.

Kotone arrived with her lawyer. Having lived in the U.S. for two years and published comics there, she had learned to always bring legal counsel when signing contracts. It avoided future problems, and she didn’t want to take chances this time either. So she had arranged to meet at the publishing office.

The receptionist knocked lightly and opened the door.
“Mr. Morishita, Ms. Kotone has arrived.”

“Thank you,” he said, standing.

“Mr. Morishita,” Kotone greeted politely, giving a small bow.

“Ms. Kotone,” he replied with the same courtesy.

Kotone’s lawyer, Megumi, stepped forward and introduced herself before they all took their seats.

“In the meeting, everyone loved your story,” Morishita said, smiling. “It can start publishing next month, if you don’t have any issue with that.”

“I don’t have any issue with it,” Kotone replied.

“For the first serialization,” Morishita continued, “we’ll publish two chapters. We’ll need four chapters from you in ten days. Will you be able to handle that?”

“I just need to do some light editing on the first chapters, so yes, I can handle it,” Kotone said confidently.

“Another thing, will you be needing assistants?” Morishita asked. Normally, he wouldn’t bring this up right away, since new serializations often struggled to survive past the first three months. Usually, they waited to see if the manga held its place before suggesting assistants. But after yesterday’s meeting, everyone had agreed that Clannad had the potential to be fully serialized, even if it moved to Echo Shroud’s secondary magazine later. The story felt like it could reach modern classic status, strong enough that its volume sales would justify the effort. Still, Morishita didn’t want to say that out loud in case it made her relax too much.

In Japan, most mangaka didn’t like the weekly schedule. Once they got a guarantee of serialization, many started slowing down unless they were extremely passionate. Even those who were serious often felt burned out after a few years.

“Right now, I don’t need assistants. I have many chapters ready, so I’ll be fine,” Kotone said. She could use assistants if she wanted, but with the amount of drafts she had already completed, she felt she could manage for now.

Besides, assistants had their limits. They mostly handled backgrounds, tones, and repetitive panels. Kotone wanted the manga’s visuals to feel strong and consistent throughout. Training assistants to handle that would be useful in the long run, but since she didn’t have any new project in mind after Clannad, spending months training people didn’t feel worth it.

She also knew that skipping assistants would increase her workload. Still, she had a plan. Before the serialization was confirmed, she had worked several chapters ahead to stay safe from tight deadlines. That way, she could take her time on the emotional scenes without worrying about the weekly deadline.

“Okay,” Morishita said. “If you ever need assistants in the future, just tell me in advance. This is a slice-of-life drama, and if it starts having frequent breaks, people might lose interest quickly.”

He spoke calmly, not wanting to lecture her like a beginner. Kotone had already worked in the industry and had a successful comic behind her, though it had been monthly. Weekly publication was another level entirely, and he had seen many artists realize the pressure only after their first few deadlines.

“Alright. If I need assistants, I’ll let you know,” Kotone said, not arguing. She could tell he meant it from experience, and while she respected that, she also wanted to keep her art quality consistent.

“So that’s all settled,” Morishita said. He took out a file and slid it across the table. “Here’s the contract. You can look it over. We’re offering you ten percent royalties, which is standard for someone with a known name in the industry, and a base page rate of twenty thousand yen. If your work climbs the rankings, the page rate will increase. The royalty rate will stay the same for this work, but if this manga performs well and you bring in another project, we might raise it to twelve percent.”

Kotone listened while Megumi carefully read through the contract, checking each clause.

“There are no problematic clauses. You can sign if you agree with the payment and other conditions,” Megumi said, closing the file and handing it back.

Kotone nodded and signed.

After the formalities, they all stood up and exchanged polite bows. Morishita smiled. “So, when can I pick up the chapters?”

“I’ll finish all four within a week,” Kotone said.

“If you need to ask or confirm anything, don’t hesitate to call me,” Morishita said.

As they left, Kotone felt excited. This had been her dream since she was a kid, to serialize a manga in Tokyo. She had done comics in the U.S. before, but this felt different.

On her way home, she called her grandmother immediately. “Grandma, my next work will start serializing next month! I’ll send you a copy of the issue.”

They talked for a long while about the weather in Tokyo, how she had been living, and the usual reminders to take it easy and not overwork.

After hanging up, Kotone looked at the clock. It was already 5 p.m. “Haruki should be leaving the studio around now,” she murmured, picking up her phone.

She dialed his number. After a few rings, his familiar voice came through the line. “Hey, Kotone.”

She spoke a little quickly, unable to hide her eagerness. “When are you leaving work?”

“At six,” Haruki replied.

“Great. You don’t have any plans, right?”

“Nope.”

“Perfect,” she said, unable to hide the smile in her voice. “Clannad is going to be serialized in Echo Shroud starting next month. Dinner’s on me.”

Haruki paused, then gave a small laugh. “Congrats. Where are we going?”

“I’ll text you,” Kotone said.

[Note:- I made a mistake earlier when I started translating this, so I’ve fixed the currency here. It might feel like a small plot hole, but from this point on, I will try to remain consistent with all of these details.]