All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

After dropping Shiina Mashiro off at the teacher’s office and meeting Chisato Sengoku, Izumi Kotomi turned around to leave.

However, before she left, Chisato handed Kotomi a bag of candy.

Kotomi didn’t hesitate and accepted the candy with a smile, then headed out of the main school building, only to run into Kato Megumi on the way.

As the two walked home together, Kotomi pulled out the candy bag Chisato had given her and asked, ”It’s from Sengoku-sensei. Want to try some?”

”Sure. Oh, wait—aren’t these those trending ’Mystery Candies’?” Megumi remarked after taking a closer look at the packaging.

”Mystery Candies?”

”Yeah, look at the package, it doesn’t list the flavors, right?”

Kotomi glanced at the packaging. ”You’re right.”

Megumi explained further, ”All the flavors in these candy bags are random, and what flavor you get depends on luck. There are normal flavors like orange, strawberry, chocolate, blueberry, watermelon, and lychee. But there are also... um, unusual ones like baby diaper, moldy cheese, skunk, or freshly mowed grass. Some of the weird ones taste pretty bad, but don’t worry, they’re safe to eat. These candies are super popular for pranking friends.”

”Only a little weird?” Kotomi thought to herself, trembling slightly. She looked at the candy and couldn’t help but wonder, Sengoku-sensei, why couldn’t you just give me normal candy? Even if it’s harmless, no one wants to risk eating something gross!

Just as Kotomi was debating what to do with the candies, Megumi suddenly spoke up, ”Wanna give it a try?”

”Huh?”

”Let’s each try one of these Mystery Candies.”

Kotomi hesitated for a moment before nodding. ”Alright, let’s give it a shot.”

The candy wrappers were colorful and gave no hint of the flavor inside. You couldn’t even smell the flavor beforehand—only after putting it in your mouth would you know what you got.

Kotomi and Megumi each picked a candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into their mouths.

After a moment of tense anticipation, Kotomi’s expression relaxed.

”Melon flavor,” Kotomi said.

”I got strawberry,” Megumi responded with a smile.

”Looks like we were pretty lucky this time, getting normal flavors,” Kotomi said with a sigh of relief as she put the candy back in her bag, deciding not to push her luck. They had both gotten away with normal flavors this time, but who knew what they’d get next time?

Better save these for when I’m hanging out with more friends. These prank candies are definitely best enjoyed in a group! Kotomi thought, tucking the candy away.

”Oh, by the way,” Kotomi said as they neared her home, ”I submitted a manga a few days ago.”

”Really? Which publisher did you send it to? Houbunsha?” Megumi asked.

”No, Shueisha.”

”Shueisha? The one that publishes Weekly Shonen Jump?” Megumi asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

”Yeah, that’s the one. Have you read Weekly Shonen Jump before, Megumi?”

”I’ve never read it, but I know of it. You always hear about anime adaptations of Jump manga on TV or online,” Megumi explained with a smile. ”So, what’s the result?”

Kotomi, feeling a bit smug, nodded. ”It got accepted. I’ll be meeting with one of their editors this Friday to discuss the contract. Once that’s sorted, it’ll be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.”

”That’s amazing, Kotomi! When your manga starts serialization, be sure to let me know. I’ll definitely buy it,” Megumi said, her voice full of admiration.

”I’ll tell you when the first volume comes out too,” Kotomi replied with a grin.

”Wow, aiming high, aren’t you?”

The thought of Chainsaw Man being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump made Kotomi feel a surge of excitement. While she was thrilled about getting her manga serialized, she knew that this was only a small step toward her overall goal.

Her real journey as a mangaka would begin once her work was published as a standalone volume.

As Kotomi thought about her conversation with Megumi, something else popped into her mind.

Houbunsha, huh... Kotomi mused. Maybe in the future, I’ll try making something for them too.

Works like Is the Order a Rabbit?, Acchi Kocchi, Yuru Camp... those series had such cozy vibes.

But of course, there was one particular project Kotomi had been thinking about for a long time—Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Kotomi had big plans for Madoka Magica.

Her ultimate goal was not just to create a manga but also to get it adapted into an anime, including multiple films:

The Beginning Story - Part 1

The Eternal Story - Part 2

The Rebellion Story - Part 3