POV: Third Person
At the Media Factory headquarters, a few hours earlier.
Masayuki Kuroda, an editor who worked for Media Factory, was the last person left in the usually busy office. He was scrolling through his Twitter when he came across a post that caught his attention.
It was about a novel that had recently been published on Shōsetsuka ni Narō and was becoming a huge success. Kuroda had visited the site the day before but hadn't seen any novel with that name.
"Such sudden growth is new to me," Kuroda thought as he opened the site and found the novel in the rankings.
It was in 3rd place on the daily ranking and 10th on the weekly ranking, despite having very few chapters. "And that page said the author made those illustrations too…" Kuroda was impressed by the talent.
He had never seen such a skilled artist before. Not even the illustrators who worked on the novels they published—people with years of experience—could draw that well.
Could it be a veteran using a fake account? No, that art style was unique. Kuroda didn't recognize anyone like that.
"Maybe the novel only became popular because of the art," he thought.
However, the moment he started reading, he was amazed.
The writing was smooth and very "pleasant" to read. The descriptions of the surroundings were well constructed. The emotions of the characters were also portrayed extremely well. The author clearly knew what they were doing.
On top of that, the premise was somewhat different.
He had read novels where people were transported into game worlds, but he had never seen one where the protagonist turned into a monster like Momonga.
"Interesting. It's only the beginning, but there are already many compelling characters."
Also, the entire guild building of Momonga had been transported to a completely new world—it wasn't exactly the game world.
Kuroda felt that while the premise had similarities to other novels he had read, it would definitely stand out. "Especially because of the writing quality. And the author really knows how to create a good cliffhanger! I'm curious—I need to know what happens next!"
It had been a while since Kuroda felt this excited about something.
The last time was when he read the novel "I went to a fantasy world and received a legendary bear suit."
It was a slice-of-life and adventure story he had enjoyed a lot. The first volume had already been released and was doing very well.
"I need to contact this author. It's early, but I need to secure a contract as soon as possible!" Kuroda shouted internally as he began writing an email to the author.
Fortunately, the author had left their email available for contact.
After sending the email, Kuroda took a deep breath and smiled.
"Maybe I've 'discovered' the greatest talent of the last few years."
####
The Next Day
The following morning, Kuroda received a phone call shortly after arriving at the office. As soon as the call ended, a wide smile appeared on his face.
He had scheduled a meeting with the author for the next day at a café near the company.
The day passed quickly, as he was eager to meet the person behind the art and the story.
When the next day arrived, Kuroda sat at the café. A waitress approached, and he ordered two iced coffees while waiting.
After nearly twenty minutes, the author finally arrived.
It was a tall, handsome man—blond, with blue eyes.
'He's not Japanese…' Kuroda only believed he was the author when the man greeted him and sat across from him.
"Are you the author, Aoi Haruki?"
"No, I'm not the author. I'm his father." The man took a sip of his iced coffee. "My name is Robert. Robert Evans."
"Your Japanese is very good," Kuroda praised.
"Thank you. I've lived in Japan for many years."
"You said the author is your son?" Kuroda asked, forcing a smile.
"Yes, that's right. He couldn't come today because he's at school."
"School!?" Kuroda shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "How old is your son?"
"16 years old. He's in high school."
"Urgh!" Kuroda felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest. How could someone so young create those illustrations and write that story? It didn't make sense.
That information hit him hard.
'If that kid is this young and this talented… what am I?' Kuroda had once tried writing himself but failed. That's why he became an editor.
"Are you alright, Mr. Kuroda?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't expect such a talented author to be a high school student."
Robert smiled bitterly.
'I can't tell him Kyo is only 4 years old. If he hears that, he'll faint,' Robert thought.
"Since Kyo is a minor, I'll be the one signing the contract."
"So his name is Kyo. I thought Aoi Haruki was his real name."
"That's a pseudonym he chose. I don't know why he picked it."
"I see. Shall we begin? I brought the contract—you just need to read and sign it. I would have liked the author to be here so we could discuss the story's future, but we can do that later."
"I understand. Kyo said you can contact him by email and he'll explain everything about the story and how he plans to develop it. He's not someone who likes to talk much."
"I see." Kuroda took the contract out of his briefcase. It had many pages.
Robert looked at it seriously and said, "This might take a while. I want to read everything very carefully."
"Don't worry, I understand. He's your son, after all. But don't worry too much—it's not a bad contract. I believe a lot in your son, so this contract is very favorable to him."
"Thank you."
Robert thanked him, but he still didn't fully trust Kuroda.
He read the entire contract carefully, not missing a single detail.
'Isn't this… too good?' Robert thought.
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