Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 32: Hmm

Tang Yao transferred between buses all the way home and finally arrived just after 2 p.m. She pulled out her keys and opened the door.
Since it wasn’t time yet, unlike usual, there wasn’t a girl holding clothes scrutinizing her up and down.
Even though Tang Yao always teased her about it… saying Tang Kaoru looked at her like she was checking if her sister was still alive.
But surprisingly, coming home this time without that familiar gaze made her feel a little… off.
Guess that d**n habit is really something scary.
“…Time to get to work.”
Tang Yao looked around the tidy apartment that Kaoru had cleaned, gave a little smile, and, half-absentmindedly, walked back to her room to get started.
Tight deadline. Heavy workload.
She’d told Shang Tao there were two manga going into early release, but she never mentioned that one of them still needed to be drawn from scratch…
So yeah, time was not on her side. She had to finish the opening chapters of Fate Zero before Sunday.
If she couldn’t… then she was totally screwed!
But nope — failure was not an option!
Sure, cranking out so much in such a short time was a massive headache.
Thankfully, Tang Yao had already been prepping for this. She’d started roughing out the storyboard days ago, so it wasn’t like she had to start from nothing.
Small blessings, right?
“Let’s grind.”
She sat down at her desk, took a deep breath, and bent over her work to start drawing.
The room quickly fell silent, the only sound being the steady scratch of pencil on paper.
Time passed slowly.
The afternoon sun streamed into the cramped little living room, then slowly shifted across the space… until it faded into a golden sunset.
But the one constant was the continued scratching of that pencil on paper.
Click—
As the last rays of sun disappeared from the living room…
The door lock turned, the door opened again, and in walked a high ponytailed schoolgirl in a loose-fitting uniform, holding two plastic grocery bags.
She set the bags down just inside, turned and closed the door, bent to change her shoes, then picked the bags back up and mumbled softly, “Pork rib soup, garlicky baby bok choy, bitter melon and beef…”
Suddenly.
Tang Kaoru’s mumbling stopped — she’d reached the bedroom doorway and saw her sister.
“……”
Kaoru stared at Tang Yao, completely absorbed in her drawing, a little surprised… then as if realizing something, her body tensed, and she immediately gave her sister a full once-over.
Tang Yao’s posture was perfect, so even seated, she was incredibly eye-catching. That curvy figure was just chef’s kiss.
…Nothing seemed off — she was just fully focused on her drawing.
Noticing that, Kaoru slowly relaxed. Then, after a moment of thought, she walked up beside Tang Yao and looked down.
On the page, a graceful and dignified woman in a flowing battle dress stood before a stained-glass church window, turning her head toward the viewer — or rather, toward someone — and asked: “I ask you, are you my Master?”
…Seemed like a line of dialogue.
Kaoru stared for a moment at the vivid and valiant female character on the page. Then she glanced upward, her gaze falling on her sister’s soft-lined, focused profile.
She didn’t get what her sister was thinking anymore. First it was heads and balloons, now it’s… a lady knight?
She didn’t get it.
“Why are you home so early today?”
Kaoru stood there for a good while. Seeing that her sister hadn’t noticed her at all, she finally spoke up.
“!!!”
Completely immersed in her manga world, Tang Yao jumped at the sudden voice. She clutched her chest with both hands and shrank back in fright.
Tang Kaoru: “……”
“Kaoru… why do you walk so quietly?”
A few seconds later.
Tang Yao finally registered who was standing next to her. She lightly patted her chest and let out a breath of relief.
Kaoru looked at her sister. “I’ve been standing next to you for like ten minutes.”
“Really? I must’ve been super into it.”
Tang Yao sat up straight again… realizing how absorbed she had been, she scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed. “I had something urgent, so I came back early… Oh right, welcome home.”
As she said that…
A thought suddenly popped into her head. She looked up and started eyeing the girl beside her from top to bottom.
But since Kaoru was standing close, Tang Yao could only start from her flat belly, following the curves of her waist, glancing over the part that even the baggy uniform couldn’t hide — proud and perky — and finally landing on her still slightly babyish, cute little face.
Not gonna lie…
Her little sister was really beautiful.
Tang Yao genuinely admired that in her heart.
And Kaoru, noticing her sister’s eyes wandering over her, didn’t dodge. Instead, a bit of confusion flashed in her gaze. “…What is it?”
“See? Everyone asks that.”
Tang Yao gave a mischievous grin, rested her cheek on her hand, and tilted her head. “Suddenly getting looked over from head to toe.”
Kaoru realized, “…This is payback?”
“Mhm.”
“You’re so childish.”
“Right?”
“…I mean you’re childish. Not the act of looking someone over — I look at you every day for a reason.”
“Oh? Then tell your big sis about it.”
“……”
“I get it, no need to worry about me.”
Even though Kaoru stayed quiet, Tang Yao had already guessed what she was thinking. She pulled her hand away from her cheek and leaned back in her chair, like she was showing the girl beside her that she really was okay. “I’ve already moved on. I’m not gonna break down like last week again, I promise.”
Saying that…
She glanced down at the manuscript pages she’d drawn on the desk, smiled softly, picked one up and held it out to Kaoru. “Your big sis is working hard every single day, you know.”
“……”
Kaoru stared at the smile on her sister’s face. After a long silence… she finally gave a gentle nod.
Then her gaze slowly drifted down to the lady knight on the page. “Is this a new manga?”
“Yeah.”
Tang Yao set the page down, gazing at the figure of Artoria Pendragon — also known as Saber — with a nostalgic look. She said softly, “A new manga… Kaoru, by next week, I want every manga reader to be shouting her name. Do you believe me?”
It really was nostalgic.
Even years later, Fate Zero still held up in pacing, story, and artwork.
But the world doesn’t stay the same. Audiences want different things.
As time goes on, many classic anime just don’t hit the same for newer viewers.
The best example might be Toradora! — back then, people saw it as a top-tier school romance, and the female lead even won the Moe Queen title in 2009.
But the new generation? A lot of them just aren’t into it.
“Tsundere is out” isn’t just a joke anymore.
It’s really out.
Times change. Everything keeps moving forward, regardless of what people want… Then again, maybe someday when the economy picks up, the tastes and tolerance of a new generation might swing back to the old days.
While Fate Zero hadn’t exactly become outdated, it was definitely a product of a different era — criticized by some for being too pretentious or full of cringey edginess.
When Tang Yao crossed into this world, this IP had already become a thing of the past.
So yeah… she really missed it.
She was part of that older era too.
But hey, thankfully… this world hadn’t reached that point yet.
Kaoru stayed quiet for a moment after hearing her sister speak. “…Today’s already Thursday.”
“It’s a dream, right? Gotta dream big.”
Tang Yao turned to look at her dream-killing little sister but didn’t mind at all. She just chuckled. “And if you can’t even dream… how are you gonna make big money?”
“Also, remember this, Kaoru.”
Saying that…
Tang Yao paused for a second, then decided to try and clear the girl’s heart a little.
She turned her chair to face the girl directly, gently took her small hand, and spoke softly: “If there’s something you want to do, you have to tell me. As long as it’s within reason, I’ll support you no matter what. Don’t worry about money. Don’t feel like your dream is too far away and lose hope.
Dreams… at the end of the day, are just expectations for the future. If you lose hope, start second-guessing everything, and back down, you’ll forget them before long.
At the very least, you have to try. Your big sister will always have your back. Got it?”
In her past life…
She’d hesitated and worried about everything. And in the end, she forgot her dream without ever giving it a shot.
She didn’t want this girl to make the same mistake.
She’d find a way to make money.
Even if it meant being a manga artist.
“……”
Kaoru’s little hand rested gently in her sister’s palm. That usual coldness in her demeanor faded away, and she seemed more like a well-behaved kitten than anything else.
She looked into her sister’s earnest eyes, pursed her lips, and for once didn’t reply with her usual sarcasm — instead, she nodded sweetly. “Mm.”
“Also… thank you for everything lately.”
Tang Yao glanced at the grocery bags filled with vegetables and meat, and with a guilty look, said softly, “Even though I came back early today, I still couldn’t help out…”
“……”
Kaoru’s expression immediately shifted into one that said, There you go again… Then she pulled her hand from her sister’s palm, instantly reverting back to her cool and aloof self. “You’re my sister.”
As she spoke, she lifted the bags at her feet and turned to head out of the room. “Even if you really did turn into a total shut-in and never did anything again, I’d still take care of you.”
Tang Yao froze for a second, sensing something felt off. “Isn’t that backwards?”
“Nope.”
“I’m the older sister, right?”
“Nope.”
Kaoru walked toward the semi-outdoor kitchen on the balcony, her voice drifting back from a distance.