Chapter 13 - 13

Words : 1452 Updated : Sep 24th, 2025

Chapter 13 of "I just want to quietly draw manga" starts here: (TL- Hey everyone! Just a quick heads-up—there was a name mix-up in the previous three... Discover what happens next!

(TL- Hey everyone! Just a quick heads-up—there was a name mix-up in the previous three chapters involving Kanna and Kotone. The character referred to as Kanna in those chapters should actually be Kotone. Also, in the previous chapter where we discussed the mangaka, it was Kotone, not Kanna. I'll be going back to update the chapters to fix the names and keep everything consistent. Really sorry for the confusion, and thanks so much for your patience and understanding!) "What's this?" "Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance?" Haruki Yuuki, who frequently browsed the collection of Earth-origin manga in the system space, instantly recognized the name. Rurouni Kenshin was a classic—etched into the history of manga as a timeless masterpiece. In fact, the complete series had a sky-high value in the system. But this wasn't Rurouni Kenshin in full. The subtitle "Remembrance" changed everything. What he had drawn wasn't the main story—it was just a single arc. "I thought for a second this system was finally acting humane," Haruki muttered. "Turns out it just set a trap for me." He stepped closer to the ethereal image of Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance. As expected, only part of the chains wrapped around it had unlocked. When Haruki reached out and touched the title, a stream of information flowed straight into his consciousness. In his mind's eye, the entire story of Remembrance unfolded. He didn't come back to himself until two hours later. When he opened his eyes again, there was still a lingering shock etched into his expression. "So... that's what this story is about?" Haruki's mood remained heavy even after the final chapter, haunted by Tomoe's death at the end of Remembrance. The Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance arc he had drawn this time was a deeply tragic story. After reading it, Haruki found it hard to shake the weight of it. He rarely felt this way—only when encountering truly exceptional works did something linger like this. It took him a while to calm down. With years of reading and dissecting manga behind him, Haruki had long developed a solid instinct for quality. While he hadn't unlocked the full Rurouni Kenshin series, Remembrance alone—told in just sixteen chapters—was enough for him to call it a masterpiece. Even better, it stood on its own. Despite being part of a larger story, readers could grasp the narrative without knowing the main plot. And with that, Haruki felt like he'd gotten more than his 80,000 world points' worth. Still, there was a problem. "Sixteen chapters..." he sighed. "Twice the length of The Garden of Words, sure, but it's still short. Nowhere near the half-year serialization range Sora Aizawa was talking about." He knew from experience that even if Rurouni Kenshin's full run was worth millions of world points, publishing just Remembrance wouldn't earn him access to the rest. The Garden of Words was a clear example—it was valued at two million world points, yet after five episodes, he had only earned around 80,000. Even if he completed the remaining two, that total wouldn't come close to recouping the value the system had assigned it. Granted, low returns were also tied to factors like where the work was published and how aggressively it was promoted. Haruki rubbed his temples. "Ugh, no point stressing over it." "What's done is done. Gotta move forward." Besides, Sora hadn't said short stories couldn't be serialized—just that it was harder. He shook off his doubts. Since this was the card he'd drawn, the only thing left was to make sure he adapted it flawlessly. With a deep breath, Haruki glanced at the time. Still early. Sora Aizawa had asked him to submit the first three chapters of his new series within two weeks. That wasn't an unreasonable request—especially considering some manga artists pushed out a chapter a week while burning themselves out. Sure, Haruki already had the original manga in his head, so he didn't need to plan out the story or paneling. But even so, redrawing it all, inking, toning, and shading—none of that was easy. Plus, things were different from the summer when he serialized The Garden of Words. Back then, he had all day free. Now? He was back in school. Time was tighter than ever. Still, it wasn't impossible—just exhausting. He'd have to go full throttle. Determined, Haruki headed straight to his drawing desk and began working on the first three chapters of Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance. --- "Haruki..." "Haruki..." "Haruki Yuuki!!" A sharp voice echoed in his ears. Startled like a cat, Haruki jerked awake from his nap. When he opened his eyes, he was face-to-face with his English teacher—who looked none too pleased. The whole class was watching, and Haruki couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. He'd dozed off again. "This is the third time this week you've fallen asleep in my class," the teacher said sternly. "Are you saying my lessons aren't worth staying awake for?" The teacher was a strict but earnest woman in her forties—always long-winded, but genuinely serious about her students. "It's not just your class, sensei! He's been like this in every class this week," one classmate called out, prompting a few others to snicker. After class, Haruki barely managed to drag himself to his feet, still groggy. Ever since last Wednesday, when he promised Sora Aizawa he'd compete for a serialization slot in Sora magazine, he hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep in five days. Every night after school, he locked himself in his room and drew until well past midnight. This week alone, he'd already been called out by teachers for dozing off at least ten times. If he kept up this pace, Haruki estimated he could just about finish the three chapters required by the serialization meeting—maybe a day or two before the deadline. But at this rate, running on four hours of sleep per night, he could already feel his body starting to give out. ——— Sitting a few rows up, Kanna glanced over her shoulder toward Haruki, her expression mixed with curiosity and concern. She hadn't told anyone about her growing suspicion that Haruki Yuuki might be the breakout manga artist Mizushiro-sensei. After all, the only clue she had was that forgotten manuscript of The Garden of Words she'd found tucked in Haruki's desk. She hadn't actually seen him draw it herself. So her theory remained just that—a theory. But watching Haruki this week... everything clicked into place. Kanna had read enough manga and followed the industry closely enough to know the basics: each page usually had five or six frames, and a single chapter could span over twenty pages—well over a hundred sub-panels to lay out and draw. Designing storyboards, refining the artwork, applying screen tones, fixing details... and on top of all that, attending school, club activities, and editor check-ins? If Haruki was really Mizushiro-sensei, then his current exhaustion made perfect sense. If anything, if he'd been acting completely normal, joking and laughing like nothing was wrong, she'd have started to doubt her guess. Quietly, Kanna pulled out a few issues of Inkbolt Series, the manga journal published by Kurokawa Publishing's sister label. Ever since she found that manuscript, she'd gone out and bought every issue where The Garden of Words had appeared. Maybe it was just psychological, or maybe it really did speak to her—but she found herself re-reading the series over and over. Last week alone, she'd gone through it at least three times. Now, she was counting down to the release of the sixth chapter on Wednesday. It was... kind of embarrassing, but she realized she'd become a full-on fan. Just like everyone else in the class. She smirked to herself and closed the magazine, pulling her gaze away from Haruki. ——— That night, Haruki stacked three cans of Red Bull and three coffees on his desk. Another all-nighter. It was only eight o'clock, but then— Knock knock knock. Who could that be? He put down his pen and headed for the door. Opening it— "Ta-da!" Standing outside was Sora Aizawa, grinning like she'd just pulled off a prank. "...What are you doing here?" Haruki asked, genuinely surprised. "What do you mean? I'm your editor! Isn't it normal for me to check in on your progress?" she said, breezing past him into the apartment. "You did say you'd be submitting something for next week's serialization meeting, remember? So here I am—to see how things are going!"

Chapter 13 - 13

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