Kato Yusuke entered the conference room and looked around casually. He was about to walk towards Director Yamashiro standing in front, but his eyes suddenly caught sight of Ryoko Nakano in the corner.

He couldn't help but be startled, and then he was ready to go and greet him.

However, the girl shook her head slightly at him and pointed to a certain position on the conference table, gesturing for him to sit there.

Kato Yusuke stopped walking when he saw this, but he still nodded to Nakano Ryoko and Director Yamashiro, and then sat down opposite Nitta Yuka.

"Ahem, then... let me introduce you."

Director Yamashiro walked to the head of the conference table and said loudly:

"Kato-san, this is the reporter representative who will interview you today, reporter Nitta from TV Tokyo. Reporter Nitta, this is Kato-san, please get to know each other."

Click, click, click, click, click.

In hindsight, countless shutter sounds sounded.

The dazzling white light emitted by the flash flashed repeatedly, as if several flash bombs were dropped.

Facing countless gazes, Kato Yusuke stood up on his own initiative and stretched out his right hand towards the other side of the table.

"Hello, reporter Nitta, please give me your advice."

"..."

The other party did not respond.

Kato Yusuke didn't change his expression, he just slightly raised his volume and called again: "Reporter Nitta?"

"..."

Still no response.

Nitta Yuka just stared at him with a fascinated expression, and his originally alert brain became confused.

At this moment, she just wanted to say one thing.

Why is this person completely different from the one in the photo...?

After all...this person...

Why is it like this——

--nice??

She was thinking in a daze, the calm look on her face had been broken the moment he entered her eyes.

Shouldn’t it be said that ordinary cartoonists are the type who are broad-minded and fat, or as skinny as a stalk?

But this one coming in now...

Even if he is placed in a group of male idols, he is still in the C position, right-!?

——So you call this a cartoonist?

Tsk…

Even burning harps, boiling cranes and wasting natural resources is nothing more than that!

When he thought of this, Nitta Yuka suddenly felt a subtle feeling of regret.

With this foundation, wouldn’t it be a good idea to become an idol?

Even if your acting skills are not good and your singing and dancing skills are terrible!

But just for your looks! My sister promises not to criticize you! She can even eat three bowls of rice——!

Why do you have to be a cartoonist who works hard! If things go on like this, you will develop occupational diseases!

Like tenosynovitis...lumbar disc herniation...out of shape...getting fat in middle age...

Waste! What a waste!

But then I thought about it...

Oh... the other person seems to be a successful cartoonist...

Nitta Yuka couldn't help but feel lost.

Others looked at her confused, wondering what she meant by her delay in shaking hands with others.

Nakano Ryoko in the corner couldn't help but frown slightly, and also looked at her expression for a moment, and the corners of her lips raised a slight arc, but she had no intention of reminding her...

Before the awkward atmosphere was about to spread, it was DongTV's photographer who stepped in to save the situation.

"Sister Nitta, sister Nitta...it's time to shake hands." He gently tapped Yuka Nitta's shoulder and reminded him in a low voice.

"…………Um?"

The touch on his shoulder brought Nitta Yuka back to reality, and his eyes finally regained focus.

While arranging his hair, he glanced around with his peripheral vision and stood up quietly.

"Excuse me……"

She showed an apologetic smile, and generously stretched out her hand to hold Kato Yusuke's right hand.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't expect Mr. Fujimotoshu to be even more outstanding than in the photo. I was a little surprised for a moment. I'm glad I have the opportunity to interview you this time. Please give me your advice."

Kato Yusuke shook his head at this, and said in a neither humble nor condescending manner: "You are very grateful. I will trouble you and all of you today, reporter Nitta."

"No, we are here. Thank you for being willing to accept the interview."

After a brief handshake and a few pleasantries, the two parties sat down again.

Nitta Yuka secretly made a gesture under the table, and the photographer who was always paying attention to her hurriedly picked up the machine and started shooting.

As the red light on behalf of the camera turned on, Nitta Yuka quickly adjusted himself, showed his professional side, and introduced the identity of Kato Yusuke to the camera.

Wait until the introduction is complete.

Following a step-by-step process, she took the lead in asking the first question.

"So, although everyone already knows...but as the most popular manga artist at the moment, does Mr. Fujimotoshu know how popular he is now?"

"Know."

Kato Yusuke nodded and said calmly: "But this is all inseparable from the support of readers. Without everyone's support, "Chainsaw Man" would not be what it is today."

‘With a calm attitude and smooth speech, have you been given guidance in advance...?’ Yuka Nitta thought calmly, and then asked.

“Why did you create a story like Chainsaw Man?”

"Actually, there is no special reason. At most, it's just because I had such a story in my head and thought I could draw it, so I drew it."

"Well... but your story is very special, and there are basically no works of the same type on the market. What is your creative concept?"

"To put it simply..."

Kato Yusuke pondered: "It can be considered as a character-based narrative in a fantasy world view to show the truth, goodness and beauty of human emotions."

Nitta Yuka was surprised: "Do you know what character-based narrative means?"

"If you're asking about a creative style that puts characters entirely at the center of the narrative, then I do know. The opposite of that is story-based narrative."

"...Sorry, my question was too abrupt. Can you please tell me about this narrative technique?"

"Metaphorically speaking, the characters in the work are not parts that drive the "story" machine, but independent individuals with flesh and blood. The characters will move on their own according to the specific environment and do what they should do."

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish

The tip of the pen slid across the paper, and reporters took notes one after another.…

Nitta Yuka waited for a while and then continued to ask questions.

"...You once painted two scenes like this in your work. When faced with a demon attack, the middle-aged Jiao did not lend a helping hand, but later he saved a passerby woman. Why is this different treatment?"

"As I just said, this is a human-centered character-based narrative work."

Yusuke Kato said: "Chainsaw Man is not and will never be a perfect hero. He is the unique Chainsaw Man, nothing more."

"But you just said that the creative concept of this work is to express the truth, goodness and beauty of human emotions, so why do you want to design a character that is contrary to traditional heroes?"

"This is not a conflict, just like light and darkness never exist independently. If you want to express the good side, it does not mean you have to avoid the evil side. A complete person itself is the coexistence of good and evil."

"So……"

Yuka Nitta followed up with a somewhat subtle question.

"Does the protagonist in your novel have some of your own characteristics?"

"It's hard to say."

"Why is it so hard to tell?"

“If you want readers to feel the emotions you are expressing, then a character should be as far away from the author as possible and as close to the audience as possible.”

"You don't seem to have answered my question directly."

As Tu Qiong saw, Nitta Yuka asked:

"So, what do you think about the fact that you initially gained more advantages than others through nepotism thanks to your seniors? Do you think this is an evil of human nature?"

As soon as this statement came out, the conference room of Nuoda fell into silence for an instant.

The reporters who had been quietly taking notes all said something to themselves, and their spirits were suddenly lifted.

Director Yamashiro couldn't help but frown worriedly.

Nakano Ryoko's expression was as indifferent as water, her eyes fell on someone, and she did not express any opinions.

On the other hand, Kato Yusuke, who was the party involved, looked as calm as ever, without any trace of panic at all, and just nodded lightly.

"I see, but I don't think much of it, and I won't interpret it from the perspective of "evil human nature." If anything, it's a rule of society."

Nitta Yuka smiled and asked: "So do you think it is a normal social rule to have a relationship?"

"People are far and near, and things have priorities - as this sentence says, I think this is the norm in society."
To be continued...