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Full-Drive Bunko — Editorial Departnt
Chris Yamada was browsing online reviews and long-form blog posts about Your Lie in April.
One particular post caught his attention.
Its title was: {"A Breakdown of Every Lie Kaori Told"}
[I like Watari — The real reason she cried when they first t — Friend A — I'll always be here]
[But in the end… Kaori herself was gone. Yeah. Nobody made it through that part without emotional damage.]
[Reading Copycat-sensei's Your Lie in April for the third ti, I noticed details I'd never seen before.]
[Maybe… Maybe Copycat-sensei had been telling us from the very beginning that this story was always ant to be a tragedy.]
[Maybe he was telling us that the most painful thing in the world isn't death. It's knowing exactly when you'll die.]
[Being forced to stare out a distant window, thinking about the one person you were never destined to stay beside… And being able to do nothing but wait quietly.]
[The most painful thing in the world… isn't eternal loneliness or sorrow. It's seeing love and happiness right in front of you… while being too powerless to reach them.]
...
Chris Yamada lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
The emotional aftereffects of Your Lie in April were just too strong.
Even soone as experienced as him still couldn't help feeling a lingering sadness.
Compared to a few days ago, the comnt section had cald down considerably.
There were still plenty of people cursing Copycat-sensei out, but most of it sounded more like grievance than actual hatred. Complaints about why he had to write such a heartbreaking novel.
Also, a note for people reading the articles: "Copycat-sensei" sounds better than "Oikawa-sensei," and it's also his official pen na. we have no idea why "Oikawa-sensei" was used, since the author never admitted that was his na, so we are going with his pen na instead.
"Seventeen years old…" Chris muttered, shaking his head. "Does this world really have geniuses like that?"
Still, no matter what, this amazing author now belonged to Full-Drive Bunko. That alone was enough.
And apparently the editor-in-chief had listened to him. Upper managent was currently discussing investing in an ani adaptation of Your Lie in April.
If the project actually went through quickly, Copycat-sensei would probably feel even more attached to the company.
"I wonder if his next book can really be as good as Your Lie in April…"
On that point, Chris was pessimistic.
Not because he thought Copycat-sensei lacked talent. Quite the opposite. He believed Oikawa would absolutely write works even greater than Your Lie in April soday.
Just… probably not within the next few years.
The very best authors wrote stories that felt completely natural, as if they had simply flowed into existence.
Sotis even the writers themselves couldn't explain how they'd written them. They just knew it had to be written that way.
That was talent. And there was no doubt about it.
Oikawa possessed that kind of talent.
But turning talent into genuine skill still took ti.
"There's still enough ti."
Chris leaned back in his chair. "We don't need much. Within five years, if he can write even one more work on the level of Your Lie in April, that'll be enough."
As he spoke, he found himself imagining the future of Full-Drive Bunko.
What would it look like by then? Could it truly break into the ranks of the top-tier publishing labels?
Just then, a notification sound suddenly rang from his computer.
"An email? Another submission?"
Chris clicked into his inbox.
Three seconds later, his expression changed dramatically.
Then he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things before muttering blankly, "Oikawa's next project… already?"
Without wasting another second, he imdiately accepted the attached file.
"CLANNAD?"
Murmuring the title under his breath, Chris opened the docunt.
Very quickly, he lost all ability to stay calm.
One shocked exclamation after another burst out of his mouth. Every so often, he even let out a curse from sheer excitent.
"What the hell?! A genius. He's absolutely a genius."
"This opening is incredible. Seriously incredible. Compared to Your Lie in April, it's not inferior in the slightest. It might even surpass it. And this isn't just an opening either. He's already planned out the entire story."
"The prose is still so delicate and smooth. Reading it feels like savoring a cup of perfectly brewed black tea. The aftertaste just lingers forever."
At that mont, Chris suddenly felt like the version of himself from ten minutes ago had been a complete clown.
A genius was called a genius precisely because they could do things ordinary people simply couldn't. He never should've tried to judge Oikawa through the lens of common sense.
"This will beco another masterpiece…"
Chris couldn't even find a single place he wanted revised. This was practically ready for publication already.
And it would absolutely beco popular.
His gaze remained unsettled for a long while. After several minutes of thought, he suddenly stood up and walked out of the editorial office toward the editor-in-chief's room.
Inside the editorial departnt, quite a few people had already noticed how strangely emotional Chris was acting.
Everyone at Full-Drive Bunko knew that he'd successfully made Copycat-sensei one of his authors.
And every single one of them was insanely jealous.
That was Copycat-sensei they were talking about. The genius author who'd exploded online recently.
They'd all read Your Lie in April too, and honestly, it really was that good.
Unfortunately… None of them had possessed Chris's level of initiative.
"Chris looked ridiculously excited just now," one editor muttered. "Don't tell sothing good happened again?"
Several others exchanged aningful looks.
"Damn it, all the lucky breaks go to that bastard. Forget it, I'm making him buy us dinner in a few days."
"Speaking of which, my daughter's been bugging nonstop lately, telling to get Copycat-sensei's autograph for her. But how the hell am I supposed to do that? The guy's never even co to the office!"
Suddenly, another editor joked, "Say… what if Chris is that happy because Copycat-sensei's starting a new book?"
He chuckled at his own joke. "Maybe Full-Drive Bunko's about to get a million-selling god-tier novel too."
Silence.
The entire room went quiet.
Everyone slowly turned to stare at him.
"…Why are you all looking at like that?" The editor suddenly felt his scalp tingle. "I was kidding! Co on, how long has it even been? There's no way an author could start a new series that fast."
Still, nobody spoke.
The silence stretched on for quite a while before one editor suddenly opened his mouth.
"…But what if it really is a new book?" One editor gradually started chiming in. "If I rember correctly, the release dates for the upper and lower volus of Your Lie in April weren't that far apart, right?"
"Two months," another editor answered imdiately. "The first volu ca out during sumr break, and the second during autumn break."
"Hissss…"
Several people in the office sucked in cold breaths.
"If you think about the publishing schedule, that ans Copycat-sensei probably wrote the second volu after the first one released. And if you factor in illustration production and all the other publishing work…" Soone paused, then said slowly. "He may have finished writing the entire second volu in under half a month."
"Has there ever been anyone like that before? There was an author whose single-volu sales hit one hundred thousand copies. He once wrote a hundred thousand words in ten days. And Copycat-sensei…? Holy crap, stop talking. I'm actually getting goosebumps now."
"So this… is what a genius looks like? I better believe he really is the Copycat Transmigrator."
Inside the editorial office, every single editor wore an extrely complicated expression.
All of them hoped Chris Yamada hadn't gone to the editor-in-chief's office because Copycat-sensei was launching a new book.
But if it really was what they were imagining… then this Copycat was simply too terrifying.
So terrifying it was hard to believe he was even real.
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