Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 30 Ms. Imai, are you still willing to sign me?

Shueisha, sixth floor, minister's office.

"Imai, have you really decided to leave?"

The voice came from behind the desk. It was an elderly man with slightly gray hair, whose face was expressionless, and whose voice was calm, steady, and deep.

Chinatsu Imai lowered her head, avoiding eye contact, and after a long silence, took a deep breath and said:

"Yes, Manager Shimada. Thank you for your care and help during this time, but I have indeed thought this through. Due to personal reasons, I am unable to keep up with the company's pace and can no longer contribute to the company's development, so I have decided to resign."

"Personal reasons?"

A hint of coldness suddenly appeared on Shimada Kenichi's calm face. That coldness wasn't directed at Imai Chinatsu, but rather at a situation he saw but couldn't change.

"I've seen your hard work since you joined the company. You've discovered many promising new talents. Although they don't yet have the ability to publish in Weekly Shonen Jump, they have already achieved considerable success in other magazines under the company and have a good chance of growing into the backbone of the company in the future."

At this point, Shimada Kenichi paused for a moment, then said with a hint of helplessness, "As for why you decided to leave, I've heard about it. The company environment is indeed not good right now, so it's normal for you to want to leave. It's the company's problem."

Chinatsu Imai remained silent, while Kenichi Shimada made a final attempt to keep her there.

"but……"

Meanwhile, downstairs, the secretary had already placed the newly printed contract in front of Shirakawa Yuta.

With an unchanged smile, Kudo Sakae pointed to the contract on the table and said, "Yuta, take a look at the rest of the contract first. As for the price per page, we can discuss that after you've read it."

Yuta Shirakawa had no objection and picked up the contract to read it.

He mainly compared the paper contract with the electronic version that the other party had previously sent him to see if there were any modifications needed.

He not only studied the electronic version himself, but also had Chinatsu Imai check it, and there were no problems.

He was worried that the other party might tamper with the paper version, such as changing one or two clauses, which could potentially cause him a great loss.

Moreover, with the other party pressing so hard, he couldn't help but be extra careful.

Kudo Sakae watched from the sidelines, and seeing Shirakawa Yuta's serious expression, a feeling of lingering fear arose in her heart, but it instantly turned into smugness.

She wasn't worried at all that Shirakawa Yuta might notice anything amiss, because this contract was a printout of the electronic version she had given him, and the trap she had prepared for him was in the next one.

Soon, Yuta Shirakawa finished reading the entire contract.

He put the contract down, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. How come there seemed to be no problem...?

But the more this happened, the more uneasy Shirakawa Yuta felt.

He picked up the contract again, even taking out his phone, and carefully checked the signing bonus, profit sharing, and copyright ownership details one by one, and there were still no problems.

Could it be that he's overthinking things?

"Yuta, Shueisha is a top company in the manga industry, so naturally we wouldn't tamper with the contract," Kudo Sakae, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly said, her tone calm and steady.

Yuta Shirakawa suppressed his discomfort and chuckled, "Yes, I definitely trust Shueisha, but this isn't my first time signing a contract, so I have to be careful."

Kudo Sakae feigned sudden realization and said, "Oh right, your work is so excellent that I almost forgot you're still a newcomer. Oh, right, I remember you're still a high school student, aren't you? You're truly a prodigy!"

Yuta Shirakawa waved his hand modestly and said, "No, no, it was just luck."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Kudo Sakae finally asked, "So, Yuta, are you satisfied with this contract? Are there any clauses that need to be modified?"

Yuta Shirakawa shook his head: "No, this contract is already very comprehensive."

Yuta Shirakawa was speaking from the heart. After all, Shueisha had been using this contract for many years, so there couldn't possibly be any obvious loopholes.

Kudo Sakae nodded, her smile growing even warmer as she said, "In that case, let's talk about the price per page. I promised you 40000 yen per page before, which, as you know, is already far above the standard for newcomers in the industry."

Yuta Shirakawa had anticipated this attempt to lower the price, so he calmly replied, "It's mainly because 'Rurouni Kenshin' is worth the price; otherwise, your company wouldn't have agreed, would it?"

Kudo Sakae sneered inwardly. "Agree? Ha, it's just a little compensation for tricking you out of your copyright."

However, her smile remained unchanged as she said:

"That's right. Even after being an editor for so long, I still rarely see such excellence in 'Rurouni Kenshin,' so it is definitely worth the price."

"When you were looking at the contract just now, Vice Minister Fujiwara and I already discussed it. We can offer a maximum of 45,000 yen per page. What do you think?"

Yuta Shirakawa raised an eyebrow when he heard the price. This was perfect; it was just enough to cover the cost of what he paid Nao Uemura.

I broke even after the trip, and I even got a free assistant, which greatly reduced my workload.

So Shirakawa Yuta agreed without hesitation.

"No problem, I can accept that."

Kudo Sakae nodded: "In that case, I'll revise the contract amount and have my secretary print out a new copy."

Although Shirakawa Yuta was a little puzzled as to why she wanted to hand over the changes that were inconvenient to her secretary, he didn't take it seriously, assuming that she simply preferred to do things herself.

Unlike the seemingly harmonious atmosphere downstairs, the atmosphere upstairs was somewhat oppressive.

The two faced each other, silent and neither spoke.

One genuinely wanted to leave, and the other genuinely wanted to stay.

After a long pause, Shimada Kenichi looked at Imai Chinatsu, who kept her head down and occasionally wiped her eyes, sighed, and slowly said:

"Are you really not planning to stay?"

"Um……"

Chinatsu Imai let out a barely perceptible hum.

Kenichi Shimada said helplessly, "Since you've made up your mind, then let's go. I'm sorry I can't do anything about your manuscript being stolen. Kudo Sakae is backed by Vice-Department Head Fujiwara, and Fujiwara is backed by the company's board of directors. If the author were willing to stand by your side, I would do anything to help you fight for it, but the other party is actually willing to offer an S-level contract..."

Shimada Kenichi didn't finish his sentence, but Imai Chinatsu already understood what he meant.

She took a deep breath, stood up, and said in a slightly choked voice:

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I'll be leaving now! Wishing you good health and success in your career!"

Kenichi Shimada leaned back weakly and waved his hand.

Just as Chinatsu Imai was about to step out the door, her cell phone rang abruptly, and the caller ID showed Yuta Shirakawa.

As she answered the call, a male voice suddenly came from the other end: "Ms. Imai, are you still willing to sign me?"