Chapter 3 – The First Contract
After handing over the manuscripts, Anshul and his mother sat down in the chairs across from the editor's desk.
The editor, Sam, picked up the thick stack of papers and raised an eyebrow.
"That's… quite a lot of chapters," he said.
He flipped through a few pages before looking at Anshul.
"So, which one should I start with?"
Anshul thought for a moment before answering calmly.
"You should read Pokémon first."
Sam looked slightly surprised.
"Oh? Why that one?"
Anshul replied honestly.
"Both One Piece and Naruto are slow-paced stories at the beginning. Pokémon is easier to get into."
Sam nodded slightly and began reading.
At first, his expression showed mild impatience. In his mind, he had already assumed that this was just a child's attempt at drawing manga.
What kind of story could a ten-year-old possibly write? he thought.
However, as he continued reading, his expression slowly began to change.
The characters were charming.
The concept of creatures that people could capture and train was extremely creative.
The world felt colorful and alive.
Sam leaned forward slightly and began reading more seriously.
This… this is interesting.
As he read further, a businessman's instincts began working.
If this becomes popular…
These creatures could easily be turned into toys.
Children would love them.
Even girls might like them because the designs are cute.
His eyes lit up slightly.
This could become a massive intellectual property.
Without even realizing it, Sam began reading the other manuscripts.
He skimmed through Naruto.
Then he opened One Piece.
Each story had a completely different world.
And each one was incredibly interesting.
By the time he looked up again, half an hour had passed.
Sam slowly placed the manuscripts on the desk.
The first thing he asked was something very direct.
"Would you be willing to sell the copyright of these works to us?"
Before his mother could even react, Anshul calmly shook his head.
"No."
Sam blinked.
"We will not sell the copyright of these works."
The answer came so quickly that Sam was momentarily surprised.
But instead of being offended, he laughed slightly.
"Fair enough."
Then he leaned back in his chair and looked at Anshul more carefully.
"I have to say… these stories are impressive."
"The world building is excellent, the characters feel alive, and the storytelling is surprisingly mature."
He paused before asking a serious question.
"Did you really write all of this yourself?"
After hearing so many compliments, Anshul felt slightly embarrassed.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well… yes."
Sam narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Then where did these ideas come from?"
Anshul hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well… sometimes when I sleep, I dream about different worlds like these."
Of course, that was only a half truth.
He couldn't exactly tell them that these stories came from his previous life.
Sam stared at him silently for a few seconds before chuckling.
"Dreams, huh?"
Then he asked the next important question.
"So how long do you plan these stories to be?"
"And how many chapters have you already completed?"
Throughout the conversation, Mio had remained silent.
She watched everything with great amusement.
In truth, Anshul didn't know something very important.
The publishing company they were currently sitting in actually belonged to Mio's family.
Her family wasn't extremely rich, but they owned ten publishing houses around the world, located in places like:
Japan
the United States
the United Kingdom
This company was one of them.
Sam was fully aware of Mio's identity, but he had been ordered not to reveal it.
She wanted to see how Anshul would handle the situation on his own.
Meanwhile, Anshul answered Sam's question confidently.
"These stories will be long."
"Each of them will have more than one thousand chapters."
Sam nearly choked on his coffee.
"A thousand chapters?!"
Anshul continued calmly.
"And I've already completed about one hundred chapters."
This time Sam was genuinely shocked.
Most new mangaka struggled to produce ten chapters.
But this kid already had one hundred ready.
That meant serialization could run smoothly for years.
Sam rubbed his chin thoughtfully before speaking.
"Well… your work is excellent."
"If we serialize it, we can offer $2,000 per chapter and 10% royalty on each volume sold."
Before Anshul could answer, Mio suddenly spoke.
"Just give him the highest contract."
Both Sam and Anshul looked at her.
Anshul blinked in confusion.
"…Mom?"
Mio sighed slightly and smiled.
"I suppose it's time you knew."
She explained that the publishing company, Dawn Publishing, was actually owned by her family.
Anshul froze for a moment.
"…Wait… what?"
Seeing his shocked expression, both Sam and Mio burst out laughing.
Sam wiped his eyes and shook his head.
"Well, in that case…"
He adjusted the contract.
"You'll receive $3,000 per chapter."
"And 12% royalty from every volume sold."
Then he added one more thing.
"And if these stories are ever adapted into anime…"
"You should come to Dawn Publishing first."
Sam extended his hand across the desk.
"Welcome to Dawn Publishing, young author."
Anshul looked at the contract in front of him.
Then he slowly smiled.
This was only the first step.