Ep. 21: Mashiro and Takagi submit stories while rivals enter competitions and protest editorial bias.

21

Mashiro and Takagi persist in submitting a story every two weeks, with Mashiro sacrificing sleep despite having several weeks remaining. They encounter Nakai with Ko Aoki, the runner-up of the Story King competition. Nakai announces he is entering with her and predicts Fukuda's entry will place first. Hattori informs them that Muto Ashirogi's work has qualified for the Golden Future Cup, noting that rank and voter numbers influence results. Their rival is Koji "Koogy" Makaino, a popular musician aiming to become a manga artist. Fukuda suspects his fans will provide an unfair advantage in questionnaires. Consequently, Fukuda, Nakai, Mashiro, and Takagi visit the editorial offices to protest this perceived bias.