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Chiyoda City - Inside a high-end apartnt.
Utaha Kasumigaoka slumped on the couch, listlessly scrolling through light novel reader forums, hoping to find even the tiniest ntion of Love trono.
Unfortunately… Nothing.
Just then, a ssage popped up. It was from her editor, Sonoko Machida.
"Utaha, don't be too upset. Poor first-day sales don't an it'll stay that way."
Utaha only replied with a single word, "Mm."
She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now.
Of course… there was one exception.
But today, Utaha had decided she wouldn't ssage first. Staring at the Oikawa avatar on her phone, she muttered stubbornly, "If you don't talk to now, I'm never talking to you again."
The mont she said it, she laughed.
Ding!
Her phone chid suddenly, and Utaha grabbed it at once.
A red notification badge had appeared over Oikawa's icon.
He'd sent sothing.
"Well… I guess I can talk to him today." Sohow, she didn't feel quite as depressed anymore.
She tapped the icon.
It was a video from Oikawa Toru.
When she opened it, the Reverse Psychology-Key & Peele cody skit filled the screen. Her attention imdiately locked onto the performance.
As the video played, Utaha couldn't stop laughing.
"So funny… Senpai really exceeded my expectations."
After it ended, she watched it again. This ti, she noticed sothing different.
"It feels like… the girl next to Oikawa-Senpai had a weird look in her eyes."
Just then, another ssage arrived.
"Unfortunately, we only got third place. The first and second prizes were too strong this year. One was a symphony orchestra ford by alumni, and the other was our school's wind ensemble."
Utaha forgot her earlier suspicion and happily started chatting with him.
"That's already amazing. Your performance really lifted my mood. But I read in your interview that you were going to sign a contract with Dengeki Bunko yesterday. I get it now… you signed it without telling , didn't you?"
Reading her reply, Oikawa could practically feel the killing intent.
This woman was a master at setting traps. A blade hidden behind a smile.
"I signed it online. I've been busy with the school anniversary stuff lately. Dengeki couldn't wait, so we just finalized an electronic contract."
The school festival preparations had indeed kept him swamped, so he signed online. The terms were already mostly negotiated anyway.
Just like he'd proposed earlier. If the second volu of Your Lie in April sold under one million copies: 6% royalties. Once sales exceeded one million: 25% royalties. Ti limit: one year.
If the second volu really broke one million copies, then: 1,000,000 × 850 × 0.25 = 212,500,000 yen.
All or nothing. Go big or go ho.
Oikawa had already started planning how to push the second volu past a million within a year.
It wouldn't be easy.
But that difficulty only made his blood pump faster.
"Senpai, I've always wanted to ask… what exactly happened between you and Dengeki Bunko? The first volu sold so well. Why wasn't there any promotion?"
Utaha was full of doubts.
"You'll know on release day."
Oikawa had no intention of revealing the answer now. There was only one week left until October 6. The real show was about to begin.
"Tch. So mysterious."
Utaha pouted. Just as she was about to tease him again, Sonoko Machida suddenly called.
After a brief hesitation, Utaha answered.
The mont the call connected, Sonoko's excited voice burst through the speaker.
"Utaha-chan, you actually know Oikawa-sensei?! Why didn't you tell earlier? I've wanted his autograph forever! I bought several copies of Your Lie in April last ti and still couldn't get a signed one! How can you be this heartless?"
Utaha froze.
Still, she instinctively denied it. "Sonoko-san, you must be mistaken. I don't know Oikawa-sensei."
She had no intention of telling anyone she knew Oikawa.
There was a long pause on the other end.
"…Utaha, why don't you check Oikawa-sensei's Twitter first?"
Utaha blinked, suddenly thinking of sothing.
She quickly hung up, opened Twitter, and tapped her notifications.
Soon, a new tweet appeared.
{"On my way ho after school, I happened to find a sweet romance light novel at the bookstore. It's called Love trono. And the author's a very beautiful girl…"}
{"…Alright, no more pretending. I'll just say it."}
{"Massive shout-out to Love trono by 'Utako Kasumi'-sensei. Go buy it. If it's bad, you can roast all you want after the second volu of Your Lie in April releases."}
Below it—
Hundreds of comnts had already piled up.
["So Dengeki Bunko won't promote your Volu 2, and you're out here promoting soone else's new book?"]
["If it sucks, I'm coming for you."]
["Be honest. Did you make so shady backroom deal with this female author from Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko?"]
["Oikawa-sensei actually knows a Fujikawa author? Damn… I have a conspiracy theory."]
["Post her photo, Oikawa-sensei. I've seen plenty of beauties, I'll judge for you."]
Most of the comnts were playful teasing directed at Oikawa, but quite a few readers also said they'd check out the romance novel Love trono.
As Utaha kept reading…
She didn't know why, but tears suddenly fell.
Was it the frustration from Fujikawa's lack of promotion?
Or the despair from seeing no one buying Love trono?
Or maybe… she was simply moved.
Or perhaps, it was because she liked him.
...
..
The autumn break finally arrived. But Oikawa was woken up early anyway.
Editor Aya Kagurazaka was calling.
"Oi, oi, oiiiiii!"
"Oikawa-kun, I heard you're collaborating with Fujikawa? Tell that's not true."
"Hello? Hey, say sothing—"
"Waaah, you can't abandon ! My first author with a shot at a million sales, my Oikawa-kun! You can't just take my heart and then heartlessly abandon for soone else… awooo…"
Oikawa muted the call, and Kagurazaka's wailing instantly vanished.
Peace returned to the world.
A minute later, when he figured she'd vented enough, he turned the volu back on.
He yawned, then explained, "Nothing like that. That 'Utako Kasumi' is in the sa online group as . We've known each other for a while."
Even if he were to collaborate, Oikawa wouldn't pick Fujikawa.
Too small.
The entire Fujikawa label only had one author who'd broken a million copies, and that was thanks to a manga adaptation.
And judging from Utaha's experience, their financial backing wasn't particularly strong either.
"That's great, that's great!"
Kagurazaka let out a long sigh of relief.
When she saw all those rumors online, she really thought Oikawa was about to jump ship.
"Oikawa-kun, once Your Lie in April Volu 1 hits 500,000 copies, you can update your contract to a 10% royalty rate."
"And with your ability, as long as you perform normally, the title of top-tier author is right in front of you."
Hearing Kagurazaka paint such a rosy picture, Oikawa picked at his ear, unconvinced.
Wait until Volu 1 reaches 500,000 copies? By then, he'd probably have already written Overlord or so other novel.
And honestly, while the editor-in-chief's decision regarding Volu 2 was understandable, it still left a lingering discomfort in Oikawa's mind.
Sotis, perspective changes everything.
From the editor-in-chief's standpoint, maximizing profit for Dengeki Bunko ca first.
But Oikawa wanted them to trust him more.
Well, nothing in life is permanent. Oikawa had already started preparing to work with other publishers.
Several major ones were on his radar.
Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and Kadokawa Bunko were his top choices.
Backup options included FULLDRIVE Bunko and a few lesser-known publishers that had strong ani adaptation channels.
"Oikawa-kun."
Kagurazaka's tone turned serious. "For the release of Volu 2… you should prepare yourself. Readers probably won't hold back."
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