Chapter 33: The Dignity of the God of Manga
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33: The Dignity of the God of Manga
"Wow… this is incredible."
I couldn't help but marvel at the variety of dishes laid out on the dining table.
Generally, British cuisine has a strong reputation for being bland.
But that doesn't mean British people can't cook.
In fact, a good number of world-renowned chefs are British.
And from what I could see, Rika's mother clearly belonged to the latter group.
"Fufu, I decided to put in a little extra effort since we have a guest."
Rika's mother said, puffing out her ample chest with a proud expression.
Her mannerisms were a spitting image of Rika's.
Is this what Rika will be like when she's older?
We couldn't start eating just yet, as Kishimoto-sensei hadn't come out of his room. Rika's mother asked us to wait a moment and walked over to the study in the living room.
"Honey! Hurry up and come out! The food's going to get cold!"
The firmly shut door opened, and a man with a friendly face, who looked to be in his mid-forties, stepped out.
He had a gentle appearance, but I knew all too well who this man was.
I’d seen photos of him from magazine interviews a few times while surfing the internet.
Manga artist, Kishimoto Musashi.
Real name, Kishimoto Sojiro.
Commonly known as the God of Manga.
He had been active for over twenty years and was one of the grandmasters, a legend in the shonen manga industry.
When Kishimoto-sensei spotted me, he looked surprised.
"So you're Yoo-Sung? You look just like they said, like the protagonist of an 80s shonen manga."
"It's an honor to meet you, Kishimoto-sensei."
I was so overjoyed at meeting a manga artist I revered, more so than meeting a friend's father, that I found myself using extremely formal language.
"Haha, it must be tiring to talk while standing. Please, have a seat. My wife went to a lot of trouble since she heard you were coming over."
"Oh, you."
The couple seemed to have a very loving relationship, showing their affection for each other without any hesitation.
Once Kishimoto-sensei was seated at the table, we could finally begin our lunch.
"Have some of this, too."
"Ah, thank you."
The main dishes on the table were Italian, adapted into a Japanese Western style.
It felt a little ironic—a British woman who married into a Japanese family, making Italian food adapted for Japanese tastes.
Still, as I ate the lasagna Rika's mother had served me and marveled at its taste, Kishimoto-sensei, who was smoothly slicing his filet mignon with a knife, spoke up.
"Lately, whenever Rika sits at the dinner table, she talks so much about you that I really wanted to meet you. This is the first time our daughter has ever been so open about being close with a boy."
I swallowed the food in my mouth and spoke up to prevent any potential misunderstandings.
"Rika and I are just ordinary friends. I happened to help her when she was lost at the subway station on my first day of school, and that connection led to us becoming close."
Rika's mother, twirling pasta onto her fork, added.
"I drive her to school in the morning, so I didn't know, but she told me you help her get home every evening. That's why I invited you to dinner today, to thank you."
"Haha… I see."
Something, something felt uncomfortable.
When I first arrived, my heart was pounding with excitement at the thought of meeting Kishimoto-sensei in person. But now, eating with Rika's parents, I felt like I was in a high-pressure job interview.
As I silently shoveled food into my mouth, unable to hide the tremor in my voice, Rika, who had been watching from the side, jumped in.
"Geez! Papa, Mama, how can you keep asking him questions while he's trying to eat! He's going to get indigestion!"
In that instant, Kishimoto-sensei's demeanor changed.
"Oh my, you're right, aren't you? Papa was just worried he was being too harsh. It's just that you're Rika's first male friend, so I was a little concerned you might have bad intentions, you see~"
"Ryu-chan isn't that kind of person!"
Amidst the affectionate father-daughter banter, a clear note of caution directed at me emerged, but all I could do was laugh it off.
After all, a father with a daughter reacting sensitively to her male friends is one of the most common tropes in romantic comedies.
If I had a daughter as pretty as Rika, I probably would have seen every approaching man as a wolf, too.
Thanks to Rika's timely intervention, the tense atmosphere at the table eased, and I was able to finish the meal in a much more relaxed state.
After lunch, as I was eating the fruit Rika's mother had cut for dessert, Kishimoto-sensei made an offer.
"I heard from Rika that you're a fan of mine. If you're okay with it, would you like to see my workshop after we finish this?"
"If that's possible, I'd love to!"
I replied, my excitement getting the better of me. Kishimoto-sensei nodded, his expression softening slightly.
"You can look forward to it. I haven't shown my workshop to the media even once since moving to Tokyo."
"Thank you, Sensei!"
To see the workshop of the great Kishimoto-sensei with my own two eyes… as a fan who revered the God of Manga, I could die happy.
*
Kishimoto Sojiro was an incredibly popular manga artist, forty-five years old this year.
Since winning his first award at twenty and entering the manga industry, he had been energetically producing works for nearly twenty-five years, specializing in shonen manga.
Having achieved enough success to be called a master in his field, he prided himself on having a keen eye for people.
Since he had been on the fast track to success from a young age, more than a few people had approached him with their eyes on his money.
In that sense, the first impression manga artist Kishimoto Sojiro had of his daughter's friend, Kim Yoo-Sung, was 'big.'
He himself wasn't short, having been on the basketball team in middle school, but the young man before him had something that made him seem larger than his actual height.
Was it a unique aura? Just by being there, he seemed to exude an unprecedented power that could make people submit.
He had wondered if the boy was a delinquent who had approached his daughter for her looks or his own background, but after talking with him over the meal, that didn't seem to be the case.
If anything, contrary to his appearance, he was a surprisingly simple and honest young man.
As he was inwardly marveling that his daughter, who must have inherited his eye for people, had chosen a decent guy for her first male friend, his wife suddenly spoke.
"I drive her to school in the morning, so I didn't know, but she told me you help her get home every evening. That's why I invited you to dinner today, to thank you."
Due to the nature of weekly serialization, he was always shuttling between home and his workshop, so he had no idea that had been happening.
Hearing that this young man had been looking out for his daughter in his absence, he felt a renewed sense of gratitude.
He continued to ask the young man a few more things.
What did his parents do, where did he live, was Rika doing well at school.
They were the kind of questions one would typically ask a daughter's friend, but it seemed his daughter didn't see it that way.
"Geez! Papa, Mama, how can you keep asking him questions while he's trying to eat! He's going to get indigestion!"
Anyone could see she was embarrassed.
Sensitive to the emotional states of his wife and daughter, if nothing else, he realized it immediately.
Rika has a crush on this young man.
His wife had probably noticed long ago, which was why she had been intervening more actively between the two.
He felt a surge of emotion at the fact that his daughter was already old enough to fall in love, but also a strange bitterness.
The Rika who had always said she would marry her papa when she grew up had brought home a potential boyfriend far sooner than he'd expected.
Still, Kishimoto Sojiro wanted to be a good father to his daughter, so he said with a smile.
"Oh my, you're right, aren't you? Papa was just worried he was being too harsh. It's just that you're Rika's first male friend, so I was a little concerned you might have bad intentions, you see~"
"Ryu-chan isn't that kind of person!"
Seeing her jump to his defense so passionately, as if it were her own business, even though they weren't even in that kind of relationship yet, was somehow cute.
Kishimoto Sojiro smiled warmly at his daughter's innocent display and made a suggestion to the young man, who still seemed oblivious to his daughter's feelings.
"I heard from Rika that you're a fan of mine. If you're okay with it, would you like to see my workshop after we finish this?"
The young man's expression brightened noticeably.
"If that's possible, I'd love to!"
His claim of being a fan wasn't a lie to win his daughter's favor. Seeing his genuine delight, Kishimoto Sojiro's expression softened unconsciously.
"You can look forward to it. I haven't shown my workshop to the media even once since moving to Tokyo."
"Thank you, Sensei!"
Well, since it's come to this, he thought, I'll have to give my daughter, who's a complete novice when it comes to romance, a solid helping hand.