Kayo acted even more swiftly than Akira had anticipated.
Only two days after he explained the situation to her, she found a new employee to take over his work.
With that, his time working a part-time job had officially come to an end, and now, a new beginning awaited.
Returning home that evening, he called Hisashi to inform him of the news, stating that he would be completely free starting tomorrow and could sign the contract at any time.
To his surprise, early the very next morning, Hisashi showed up at his doorstep with the contract in hand.
"Good morning, Teacher Mochizuki. Sorry for the intrusion!"
Looking at Hisashi, who stood outside with a briefcase tucked under his arm and a smile on his face, Akira, having just changed his clothes, said with some helplessness:
"...It's fine. After all, I was the one who said I was free at any time."
"But was it necessary to be this dramatic?"
"Well, about that..."
Hisashi also gave a helpless smile and said:
"The manga has already been approved for serialization, but the author still hasn't signed the contract. The pressure on my end is quite high..."
"Ah."
Hearing this, his expression stiffened. He scratched his head awkwardly and said apologetically:
"Sorry for causing you trouble."
"Hahaha, don't worry, it's not actually that serious."
Hisashi waved his hand and continued with a smile:
"But if I were to return empty-handed today, then I'm afraid it really would be a bit troublesome."
Akira laughed:
"I'm sure that won't happen. Please, come in."
"Then I'll be intruding."
Hisashi took off his shoes at the entrance, put on the slippers Akira had prepared in advance, and followed him inside.
Although he had no intention of prying into anyone's private life, this studio apartment was only twenty square meters. Excluding the kitchen, toilet, and bathroom, the remaining space could be taken in at a single glance.
The first things that caught his eye were the manuscripts and various drawing tools on the desk, along with a few copies of Weekly Shonen Jump.
Other than that, there didn't seem to be any superfluous entertainment items.
Was Emiya Kiritsugu and Fate/Stay Night created in an environment like this?
Nothing but manga—is this the pure heart of a genius?
Hisashi felt a renewed sense of respect for Akira.
Akira didn't know what the other was thinking. As he led him into the room, he habitually greeted him:
"Please, make yourself at home. Uh..."
As soon as he said it, he realized the situation, and both he and Hisashi were left speechless, feeling slightly awkward.
There was only one chair in the entire room, so there wasn't really anywhere to sit.
He pretended nothing happened, offered the only chair to his guest, then moved over the small coffee table he usually used for meals and sat on the bed himself.
A makeshift reception room was thus completed.
Hisashi didn't mind. After sitting down, he took a thick contract out of his briefcase and handed it to Akira with both hands.
Akira took the contract and began to read through it slowly, while Hisashi began to explain it to him.
To be honest, it felt largely similar to a web novel contract.
He focused directly on the key parts."First is the exclusive manga artist contract."
Hisashi said:
"This contract means that for the next year, any manga you draw can only be submitted to Shonen Jump and cannot be collaborated on with other publishing houses."
"Correspondingly, in addition to your regular income, Shonen Jump will pay the manga artist an annual contract fee every year."
"Generally speaking, the annual contract fee for a rookie manga artist is 1 million yen, which will increase year by year based on seniority or the performance of the manga."
For example, those well-known top-tier manga artists undoubtedly have even higher annual contract fees, sometimes reaching amounts that an ordinary person cannot even imagine.
At this point, Hisashi's tone paused slightly, and he smiled at him:
"However, considering Teacher Mochizuki's special circumstances, we have specifically increased your annual contract fee to 2 million yen."
The so-called'special circumstances' referred to the terrifying talent Akira had displayed, which made the editorial department believe he was worth special treatment.
And this special treatment wasn't just here; it applied to other parts as well.
Back to the main topic. After understanding the so-called annual contract fee system, Akira nodded calmly; he was familiar with this.
There was no point in overthinking it. He would likely have to sign this kind of thing anywhere, so just signing it was enough!
And—2 million yen!!
Akira did some simple math.
His salary when working at the bookstore was 160,000 yen per month. In other words, even if he didn't eat or drink and saved all his wages for a year, it would only be 1.92 million yen.
But now, as long as he signed the contract, 2 million yen would automatically be deposited every year, and it would increase year by year!
How did money suddenly become so easy to earn?
And this was just the beginning.
"Next is the manuscript fee, which is also the most stable core income for most professional manga artists."
"Manuscript fees are calculated based on the number of pages. Generally speaking, the standard rate for a rookie manga artist is 10,000 yen per page for black-and-white manuscripts, and color manuscripts are calculated at 1.5 times the black-and-white rate, which is 15,000 yen per page."
Hisashi introduced with a smile:
"But also because your situation is quite special, it was ultimately decided to adjust your manuscript fee rate to 20,000 yen per page for black-and-white manuscripts and 30,000 yen per page for color manuscripts."
"Furthermore, if the manga performs excellently during its serialization, the manuscript fee rate can be further increased."
For example, some top-tier popular manga artists have manuscript fee rates that can even reach 50,000 yen per page! Meanwhile, Akira gave himself another elementary school math problem. Given his manuscript fee rate, assuming a chapter of manga is about 20 pages, and Weekly Shonen Jump publishes about 48 issues a year (considering combined issues), and ignoring the existence of color pages. Question: How much would his annual manuscript fee be?Answer:
About 19.2 million yen!
In 1999, the average annual income for a Japanese person was around 4.6 million yen, and people with an annual average income of over 10 million yen only accounted for 5% of the national population. In other words, an annual income of over 10 million yen is the standard for a high-income bracket.
But there are taxes to pay...Let's not think about that for now; thinking about it hurts. Anyway, this wasn't just stepping in with one foot; it was a standing long jump with both feet, directly jumping into the high-income bracket!
This wave has directly made him rich . And this was just the most basic manuscript fee income for a professional manga artist. As is well known, for popular manga artists, manuscript fees will always only account for a small portion of their total income, while the bulk of their income comes from royalties from manga collected volumes and various derivative merchandise!
He also received preferential treatment regarding royalty percentages . Generally speaking, a rookie manga artist's royalty percentage is at 5%, while a top-tier manga artist's royalty percentage can reach 10% or even higher. And Shonen Jump set his royalty percentage at 7% for the time being, reaching the level of a mid-tier manga artist.
"I understand."
Considering his status as a complete rookie, one can only say that Shonen Jump truly values him highly, giving him good preferential treatment in all aspects.
At the very least, he was quite satisfied with these current conditions. So there was nothing left to say—Thinking of this, he looked up at Hisashi, nodded, and smiled:
"Let's sign the contract."